//------------------------------// // Chapter 68 - A Clash of Lightning // Story: Off The Mark // by Goldfur //------------------------------// I regained consciousness with a groan and took a moment to gather my wits. Apparently, I had screwed up and let one of the invaders get the drop on me while I was focused on the Storm King. I had to wonder why I was still alive though. I had been high enough to die from a fall, so somepony or something must have caught me. Aside from a hell of a headache and dizziness, the rest of me felt in reasonable working order. I pried my eyes open, confirming that I was still in Celestial form upon seeing my white forelegs stretched out in front of me. The second thing that I saw was the cage that I had been put in. Now that I thought about it, I could feel more metal bars pressing up against my rear and left side. Not much room in here. Lifting my head, I blearily looked around and saw my wife’s concerned expression. “Thank Celestia, you’re alright, Dowser. Trixie was worried about that nasty gash on your head.” “Alright is relative, Lulu. My skull feels like it’s splitting. Where are we?” I noticed the bars behind Trixie and when I turned my head, I confirmed that we were in a cage – one that was sitting in the throne room for some reason. My wife gave me a lopsided smile. “Where else should a prince and princess be found?” “I gather they captured you here? Why didn’t you get away?” “Trixie had to save her castle staff first. Then one of those brutish thugs grabbed me before I could execute my teleport. Trixie was thrown into this cage where she languished until they threw you in here too.” “So, why haven’t you tried to escape?” I asked as I dizzily struggled back onto my hooves. I had noticed that Trixie didn’t have a nullifier on her horn, and I could sense that they hadn’t put one on me either. “Magic-proof cage. Spells wither and die on contact.” I tentatively reached out with my magic to grasp one of the bars, only to feel it fizzle out. The same happened when I tried to levitate a piece of chalk that lay on the floor outside the cage. Nothing was stopping me from creating a spell, but with these bars surrounding us, it was like I was in a magic Faraday cage. Looking around the room, I spotted Twilight Sparkle. She was still encased in that stony shell and I wondered why they had brought her here. I sincerely hoped she was still alive. What was more puzzling, however, was the presence of the statues of Luna and Celestia. Was the Storm King collecting alicorn figures? Crap. Were Trixie and I fated to add to his trophies? To add insult to injury, banners showing the Storm King’s twin lightning bolt symbol stretched from the floor to ceiling, covering up some of the stained glass windows. Just then, the doors to the room opened and Tempest Shadow walked in accompanied by the short and almost round creature that had announced her. He had a huge slice of cake in his hand and much evidence of more around his mouth. Tempest looked at us disdainfully as she approached the cage. “I see you’re awake. Not that it matters. You’ll serve my lord in any case.” “And why is a pony serving the Storm King anyway?” I snarled despite the throb of pain it gave me. “A promise was made in exchange for the loyalty that I did not get from ponies, Princess. I need your magic to fulfil that promise.” “You need it? I don’t recall you ever being in our court requesting it, and if you had, I don’t think Princess Twilight would have denied you if your need was great.” “Oh, I need far more than a token gesture, and you princesses would never consent to that.” She scowled and the stump of her horn sizzled and crackled with undirected mana. She pushed her face close to mine and said, “Did you think you five could keep it all to yourselves? Time to share that power, and then I will show everypony what I can truly do.” I stared at her in disbelief – she obviously thought I was an alicorn and that Celestia and Luna were more than just statues. Didn’t she get the memo? I was about to disabuse her of her misconceptions when a new voice joined the conversation. “Ooh, fascinating! What can you really do?” I turned to the throne room’s entrance to see silhouetted there the yeti that I had tried and failed to bring down – the Storm King. The rotund sidekick replied, “Your bidding, of courth, Your Mighty One.” The Storm King looked thoughtful as he approached us, waving a staff. The wood was a dark purple color and the top held a light blue crystal jammed between the only two twisting branches. He was closely followed by the elderly yeti whom I recognized as his ambassador. “Why, thank you, Grubber. Bidding's good. I like bidding! Um, what are you supposed to be?” he asked, glaring down at Trixie. “You are addressing the Great and Powerful Princess Trixie!” she replied imperiously. The Storm King laughed. “Oh. That's nice.” He looked over to Tempest and his expression was replaced by a scowl. “Why are these two still moving?” Tempest replied, “They were both unconscious, so it was simpler to throw them in a magic-proof cage. They won't be a problem. In fact, now that I have supplied five alicorns rather than the four I promised, the results should be even greater.” Well, that confirmed it – neither of them had heard that I was only a pegacorn and the Royal Sisters had gone missing years ago. I suppose if you focus your efforts on invading countries, you don’t have much time for the local gossip. Still, I wondered why the ambassador hadn’t made things clear. Thank the heavens Cadance had avoided the conflict. Some of the evacuation portals led to the Crystal Empire, so she may have made it home to coordinate the return of the Crystal Pony armed forces. She might yet be our secret weapon. The Storm King’s eyes narrowed and he turned to Tempest. “Report!” She glanced at me, obviously uncomfortable with talking about the progress of the invasion with the two of us present. Rather than voice an objection, she started. “The wards protecting the mirror portal and spatial portal rooms in the castle have been breached. The chambers were found to be empty. The castle grounds are under our control, though pony soldiers will occasionally emerge from areas that have previously been searched. The size of the Storm Beasts is preventing them from effectively searching every room.” The yeti rolled his eyes. “Have them widen the door frame a little. I don’t care if the entire floor above lands on them. Next.” After a brief hesitation, the unicorn continued. “The large dragon is dead and the yaks have been subdued. Troops have captured a hundred or so civilians and around seventy pony soldiers. Their injured are being taken away by pegasi and griffons before our forces can reach them. Also, the ponies have developed a new tactic. A hole will open up under our soldiers causing them to fall in. By the time reinforcements get down to the bottom of the pit, our troops have been subdued and carried off through tunnels that the ponies collapse behind them.” The Storm King rapped his staff against the floor. “Rate of loss?” “A few dozen every hour, my liege.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Trivial. Is that all?” Tempest’s ears wilted a bit. Apparently, she had left the worst news for the end. “The last of our flying mechanoids was destroyed so the ponies have aerial superiority. They launched some sort of everlasting-fire liquid in the area of our grounded airships. Mixed in with it were inferno salamanders. About a quarter of Canterlot is on fire and despite the best efforts of the crews, the last of our airships was abandoned just minutes ago.” “Good, good.” The yeti laughed. “Now my troops will have no choice but to continue to press forward.” He raised a fist and shook it. “‘Victory or Death!’ and all that, don’t you know.” His commander stood open-mouthed, apparently unsure what to say. The Storm King smirked. “Don’t think that good news excuses your poor performance. Canterlot should be conquered by now, but what did you deliver? Half my airships and a third of my army wiped out in the opening minutes of the invasion! Instead of cowering ponies and thousands of slaves, I get squads of well-trained soldiers resisting my authority. I’ve had to fortify this castle with most of my troops to hold it for now. What do you have to say for yourself, Commander?” Tempest frowned in the direction of the ambassador. “The intelligence that I was given was woefully inadequate. With forewarning, all of these obstacles—” “Yeah, yeah, I get that,” the Storm King waved his hand dismissively. “So, speaking of problems, this place, it seems a little too – oh, I don't know – cute! I don't like cute! I never did like cute! Doesn't really go with my whole ‘big bad powerful magic guy’ thing, does it?! Deliver the punchline, Tempest, because this has gotta be a joke!” “We’re ready to take their magic, sire. Then you can redecorate at will,” Tempest pointed out. The yeti smiled cruelly. “Yes. Me and the Staff of Sacanas have big ideas.” He slammed its base down onto the floor. Only then did I notice the four-pointed petal pattern on top of a circle that had been inscribed on the castle’s marble tiles. As the magic from the staff spread outwards, previously invisible runes glowed on the surface of each line. Trixie and I were at one of the points, Twilight at a second, and the statues of Celestia and Luna had been placed at the remaining two. The staff sat in the middle of the pattern and shafts of magic streamed into it from each point. The otherwise magic-proof cage must have been keyed to rune spells because I immediately started to weaken. I could feel my magic being drained, much as Tirek had done. When Trixie moaned and leaned against me for support, I knew that it was also happening to her. The statues of Celestia and Luna started to glow on the lines connecting all the crystal facets. The same was happening to Twilight’s petrified form. The spell ended and I staggered as I reverted to my pegasus self, bereft of the magic that sustained my alter ego. The Storm King apparently did not notice as he was currently gloating over his ill-gotten power. Tempest did, however, and her eyes widened in surprise. The Storm King laughed as he waved his staff which fairly throbbed with the power stolen from one alicorn, a pegacorn, and a unicorn. “Oh, wow! Check out the light show!” He was like a little kid with a new toy, one that he had stolen from another child. “Let’s get this storm started! Ooh, hey, that’s good. I should trademark that.” He giggled, then leveled his staff and started blasting power around indiscriminately. One of the thrones was destroyed, decorations were obliterated, windows smashed, and holes opened in the walls both to the outside and internally. Trixie and I had to fend off some flying debris, as did the others in the room. “Not bad,” the Storm King opined. “Actually, kind of first-rate. Now let’s see if this pony magic is all it’s cracked up to be.” Tempest spoke up with a hint of urgency in her voice. “Your Excellency – you promised to restore my horn and give me—” The Storm King waved his free hand. “Tut, tut, tut. Hang on a moment. Gotta give this thing a real workout first.” Tempest replied, “Work it on me! I did everything that you asked of me and I deserve my reward.” The warlord glared at Tempest and then started chuckling. He patted her condescendingly on the head and said, “Yes, you did, like a good little patsy. And now that I have what I wanted, I don’t need you anymore.” Tempest stared dumbfounded as he turned and strode out onto the balcony. “Ooh! Burn!” said Grubber. We watched as the Storm King aimed his empowered weapon at the sun. The blue crystal glowed and the heavenly orb sluggishly moved toward the horizon. The Storm King turned back towards the throne room and tapped the staff with a finger a few times. He frowned and narrowed his eyes before again facing outside. His arms shook as he appeared to concentrate harder. Slowly, he pushed the sun below the horizon before dragging a reluctant moon into view. Abruptly, they both reversed direction and the sun rapidly returned to its rightful place in the sky despite the yeti’s efforts. Something was opposing the power of the staff, and I had to presume that it was the Guild of Mages and Cadance who were safely holed up elsewhere. The Storm King rounded on his ambassador. “You told me the power of the alicorns would be mine! The power of Celestia and Luna is not here!” “But it is, sire! I heard it from the lips of the Princess Trixie herself. Your suspicions were proven correctly when she revealed that, indeed, she petrified the former rulers by crystal.” I shook my head. “That’s not true. Celestia and Luna were lost.” The ancient yeti turned to me with a sneer. “Were you there to see this thing? Or did you believe the lies told because you are a fool?” I closed my mouth and frowned. There was no point in arguing with him. He just didn’t make any sense. Trixie said. “It is you who lie. Trixie told you no such thing.” The ambassador came up close to our cage and gave us that familiar, condescending smile. “Ah, but pony princess caught herself in falsehoods. Kreesach is clever enough to understand when you told him truth. Did you not say, ‘The centerpieces will be the rock forms of Celestia and Luna’?” Trixie and I looked at each other blankly. Then we stared at the ambassador with the same expression. He sighed as if addressing a small foal. “Your exact words said, ‘My dearest Kreesach, the centerpieces will be the forms of Celestia and Luna in rock, sugar.’” Both of us turned to each other and said, “Ohhhhh!” Trixie spoke up. “Don’t you know what ‘rock sugar’ is?” The old yeti tilted his head and his smile did not look quite so self-assured. I said, “It’s another term for ‘rock candy’.” Grubber waddled up to the statue of Celestia and gave it a lick. “She’s right!” The Storm King strode back into the throne room, stopping when he was again in the center of the petal design on the floor. He scratched his chin and let out a long “hmmm…” Frankly, he seemed to be taking the news rather well. He set the bottom of the staff on the floor and leaned on the top. “But why in the name of me would you have sugar crystal statues made of your former rulers?” Trixie shook off the last of her weakness caused by the draining of her magic. She stood proud and beaming. Here we go. “Trixie knows what her little ponies need. They need to look fearlessly to the future! No longer shall Equestria be shackled to its past. A new set of rulers will lead our ponies into a glorious tomorrow!” She thrust a hoof upwards and looked up as if seeing something far away. “At the conclusion of the festival, all the foals and chicks will be called to the center stage where the statues of Equestria’s past will wait for them. The little tykes will all receive wooden mallets with Trixie’s cutie mark on one face and Twilight Sparkle’s on the other.” Her demeanor softened and she looked back to me with a hint of apology in her eyes. “I would have made the handles your color green, but the order deadline was approaching and the Entertainment Budget was stretched as it was.” I honestly did not know whether to feel offended or not. Trixie’s jubilant smile returned and she yelled to the heavens. “As the sun sets on the Festival of Friendship, so would the chains binding our country to its past! With every cathartic blow from the next generation of Equestrians, the way forward would be forged! The past would lay scattered, broken and ultimately consumed, leaving nothing but the glory of tomorrow to greet us! Hail Equestria!” Her impassioned speech was not met with answering cries. Grubber took the opportunity to back away further from the caged mare, perhaps concerned about her being contagious. I did, however, see Tempest Shadow’s gobsmacked look, occasionally punctuated with a twitching eyelid. If Twilight hadn’t already been petrified, I’d imagine she might have been by that speech. Not knowing what else to do, I said to everyone, “Don’t look at me – Twilight was the one who put Trixie in charge of the entertainment.” Trixie punched me in the shoulder. The Storm King quickly leveled his staff at the Ambassador and a beam shot out, blasting him across the room and off the balcony. The yeti warlord returned to his earlier pose, leaning on the staff, his face calm and contemplative. “Yes indeed. Makes perfect sense.” “You may as well give up,” I said. “You haven’t got enough power to overcome all the Equestrian forces and those of our allies.” “Who are you anyway,” the yeti asked, drawing closer and narrowing his eyes. “And what happened to the alicorn that was just here? Is this another of your stupid pony tricks?” “That stupid pony trick is my pegacorn alternate form which I used to battle you. I’m no alicorn.” The Storm King smirked. “A cute little stallion becomes a battle mare – kinky!” He walked away, tapping the staff in his outstretched palm. “Ah well— the time for playing games is over. I mean, why should I just let ponies whittle down my forces to nothing?” He turned to grin at Trixie and me. “Do you see a reason why? I don’t see a reason why.” He clenched his jaw, baring his teeth. “Enough with being Mister Nice Yeti. Time to change things up. Yes. I think killing all of the slaves and prisoners will be a good start. If ponies won’t be cowed by my troops, the peace and friendship-loving herbivores will be by my tactics.” I heard Trixie gasp next to me and saw Tempest take a step backward, her eyes wide and ears flat on her head. The Storm King froze in place and his grin returned. “Speaking of which, who better to start with than…” He pointed his staff at Twilight and the crystal started to glow. I didn’t have any more time. “Coward!” I spat. “Exactly what I would expect from a so-called Storm King. Can’t stand on his own so he hides behind his troops and kills the helpless. Our intelligence described you as pathetic, but I didn’t realize it was this bad.” I felt Trixie jabbing my side urgently but chose to ignore it. The Storm King smiled like I had just given him the best gift in the world. He lifted the staff until it was upright. “Did you actually think you could goad me into releasing you? So your cute little pony self can die challenging me? No, I think I would rather you watch and suffer as your friends all die.” I snorted. “What you want doesn’t matter anymore, does it? You’ve already sealed your fate. You and your empire will go down in defeat.” I smirked. “Your footnote in history will be that you let ‘cute little ponies’ kill you.” The yeti tilted his head back and laughed. I had a hunch what would come next and I steeled myself. My wife took advantage of the distraction to hiss in my ear. “Are you trying to get all three of us killed, Aardvark Smells?” “Stay behind me, Trixie,” I said quietly. “Trust me.” The Storm King brought his head down and gave me a cold-blooded smile. “Pity. You would have made a good slave.” He lowered his staff and pointed it at me. “What are you going to do?” I scoffed. “Magic can’t get past these bars, idiot!” The Storm King giggled insanely. “You forget who I am, cute little pony. And you forget that I hate cute!” A lightning blast shot out and struck me in the sternum. I cried out as if in pain, although I was relieved to note that my special talent still worked. The lightning stung a lot, as usual, but I was not incapacitated at all. Here’s hoping my acting was good though. I ground out, “Just because I’m not a pegacorn anymore, doesn’t mean I won’t beat your ass when I get out of this cage!” “Big talk from a dead pony,” the Storm King replied, pummeling me with an even bigger bolt. I yelled and staggered but, in fact, I began to feel invigorated. I narrowed my eyes and growled at the yeti, “I’m a weather pony. Not… not going to t-take m-me out s-so easily.” The Storm King smiled toothily at that. “Good. Slow deaths are more fun.” Then he blasted me with a series of bolts. I screamed and collapsed. Trixie grasped me with both hooves, wailing in distress. “Hsst! Get back, Lulu,” I whispered. “I’m okay. I really do have a plan.” She looked up at the Storm King whose grin grew and I knew he was going for a twofer. I sprang up just as he fired the next lightning bolt and I blocked it from hitting my wife. I absorbed its power, just as I had done with the others. When I could feel that I had reached my maximum potential, I slammed my forehooves onto one of the bars – one at ground level and the other at head height. Then I released the electrical energy into a massive short-circuit that literally blew the portion of the bar between my hooves into plasma. Fortunately, I had closed my eyes first, protecting them from the blinding flash. More than a few molten blobs of metal bounced off of me, but I didn’t have time to check if I had been burned. Before anyone in the room could react, I dived through the gap that had been left and charged at the Storm King, shifting to my long-maned Marklestia form. I propelled myself forward with quick beats of my wings, closing the distance to the Storm King. The sparring lessons with Crimson Boulder and Penumbra forced me time and time again to quickly come up with a plan when faced with a new opponent or unfamiliar weapon. When I first saw the yeti warlord standing on the balcony of one of his airships, I tried to get close enough to crush him with my one-shot collapsing shield. Now with the Staff of Sacanas charged with the magic of an alicorn, that was no longer an option. All the power of Twilight Sparkle focused on the point of the crystal could easily break my shield, which would leave me without any magic. I had to knock the staff away from him somehow. The laughing yeti started his swing, the air crackling and ionizing in the wake of the glowing crystal. The Storm King took a step back just as I dodged over where the staff would have been. That gave him time to adjust. Before I reached him, it felt like a baseball bat swatted me in the side. I bounced off the ground, rolled, and took flight once more. Looking past my opponent, I saw Penumbra speed across the room from the balcony, passing well behind the Storm King. She dropped out of the air and swung at Tempest Shadow with her sword. The unicorn’s horn flashed, knocking the blade from my bodyguard’s grasp. The thestral herself didn’t stop, plowing into the other mare. The two were trading blows with their hooves as they rolled out of my line of sight. The Storm King spun the Staff of Sacanas then leveled it at me, his lips pulled into a sneer. He shot a crackling bolt of white lightning that I disrupted with a compressed ball of magic. Filaments of charge scattered in all directions, impacting the floor and walls. With the lightning dispersed, I could get close enough to try severing the crystal from the staff. Before I could even shift my weight forward, the yeti grinned wider as the beam shifted into a blast of magic that pushed my shield aside, narrowly missing my head. I juked to the side, gaining altitude to avoid the broad shaft of lavender magic that erupted from the crystal. The next beam cut in front of me and stayed there, forcing me to back-wing to a halt. Gravity took over and I plummeted to the floor. Scrambling to the side, I tried to avoid the next blast while I raised a shield that might deflect most of the magic. Might. I looked directly down the shaft into the yeti’s eyes and I fought the urge to run away to any kind of safety. The Storm King tilted his head then brought the staff up vertically and bounced the end on the floor. The shockwave that tore across the room caught me by surprise. The stones under me rippled like an ocean wave and knocked me off my hooves. When I struggled to stand upright, I heard the yeti say, “No. I don’t think so. I mean, where’s the sport in that?” When I looked up, he smiled and started walking briskly my way. “I’d rather tear you apart with my own hands, little pony.” I pretended to have trouble getting my footing and stumbled backward weakly. This wasn’t hard to make convincing considering my breaths came out in ragged gasps. I couldn’t afford to think about why because I needed to concentrate on using the Changeling Stone in my crown to transform my right forehoof while keeping it tucked out of sight. During my training, a long-armed minotaur with a spear drilled into me the lesson to never stay in the range of the business end of the weapon for any length of time. So I didn’t. As the yeti pivoted his hips to swing at me, I leaped forward and rolled. The shaft bounced off my rump, but unlike the glowing crystal, did no damage. I uncurled and jabbed my right foreleg upwards, now ending in a manticore’s stinger. I felt it dig into his arm for just a moment before the yeti spun away with a scream. I didn’t realize I was at exactly the wrong distance until a split-second later when the Storm King completed a full revolution and the crystal end of the staff slammed into my left wing. I heard the bones crunch and all the magic left my appendage. I careened helplessly across the throne room, stopping when I crashed into rubble at the far end. Sparing a quick glance as I righted myself, I saw that frost covered my wing. Maybe that was why I didn’t feel any pain. I couldn’t wonder about that now and brought my eyes back up. At the far end of the room, Tempest Shadow sent a shower of crackling magic at my bodyguard, who countered with a tracking nullstone band that uncoiled as it approached the unicorn. After a dazzling flash, the band split apart, but now Penumbra pressed her advantage on the backpedaling mare. The Storm King laughed, twirling the Staff of Sacanas with his right arm while his left hung limp at his side. “Oh, what fun! A pony that fights like a tiger!” He jogged toward me, in no particular hurry. “You may not be Celestia, but… mmmm… you’ll do.” I snarled. Laugh it up, dickhead. One arm down, one to go. Then I’ll squash you like a grape. Three-quarters of the way to me, the Storm King swung his staff behind him without looking. I saw Dusky Wings spin away and crash through a stained glass window. Somehow, the yeti had sensed the thestral’s approach and knocked him out of the sky while I hadn’t perceived him at all. The Storm King dodged around the empty magic-nullifying cage, dropping to one knee. He pointed the staff directly at my head, the crystal lighting up like a firework display. Rather than dodge, I threw up my force reflecting bubble. A cacophony of noise and color exploded across my shield and it shattered. I could not ignore the crushing pain this time that reverberated in my skull. Now I couldn’t fly or do magic. A loud clang rang out in front of me. When the light-show cleared, I saw the Storm King sprawled face-first in front of the magic-nullifying cage, his eyes scrunched closed. His right hand still held the staff tightly. Now! It had to be now! I skipped forward a few steps, cocking my right forehoof back to my shoulder. When in range, I shoved it into the yeti’s neck, only to realize with horror that it was now just a hoof. Did I lose my concentration? Did the loss of my magic break the effect? The Storm King’s left hand shot out and grabbed my right foreleg. Any illusion that I had paralyzed his arm died when I felt and heard my bones snap in his grip. I tried to struggle free, but the yeti lifted me without any effort and slammed me into the ground, then the cage, then the ground again. Each time, the pain from the rest of my body matched the agony of my trapped leg. The Storm King yanked my head backward roughly and forced me to stare into his face. Blood obscured my vision and I could see two of him. As everything came back into focus, I perceived that the yeti dangled me off the floor at the height of his eyes. He had dropped the staff and pulled my mane back with his other hand. “Time for your story to end, little pony. Any last words?” I smiled as best I could, coughing blood to clear my throat. “Sure. How about ‘No. I don’t think so.’? ” I shifted to my short-maned form, freeing my head from his grip. At the same time, I pushed what little magic I had recovered into my good wing to pivot my body towards him. By stretching myself out as far as I could, I bucked him in the face. One hoof smashed the bridge of his nose and I felt something give. The other landed directly on his right eye. My world spun as I felt the floor smash into me followed by a crushing blow to my ribs. Blearily, I realized I had been thrown to the ground and kicked. I tried to stand up, only to have my horribly broken leg collapse under me. After that wave of pain subsided, I shoved myself into a sitting position. I heard, “Enough.” I looked up to see the yeti’s blurry form approaching. My body went numb. I knew I couldn’t get out of his way in time. I was drawing a blank. I didn’t know any more tricks. The Storm King’s one remaining eye glared down at me. As he pulled the Staff of Sacanas back over his head with both hands, I saw it spark with Twilight’s lavender magic. “Trust me when I say this ends now.” I heard Twilight’s voice in my head. ‘Trust in Harmony, Mark.’ I gasped. That was it! I raised my left forehoof. The yeti smiled, apparently pleased by my pitiful attempt to ward off his final blow. When the staff swung downwards at blinding speed, I reached out for it – not the crystal or the staff, but for Twilight’s magic. The crystal stopped in mid-air, just above my hoof. The Storm King frowned and grunted, trying to push the staff downwards. The purple field pulsed and glowed as it coalesced around my hoof and down my foreleg. I felt the rush of magic clear my head and drive the pain out of my body. The Staff of Sacanas moved only fractionally as the yeti tried to pull it away. “It’s mine!” he howled. The Storm King snarled and tried to twist the staff free. My emotions drained away leaving a feeling of tranquility. I willed my magic to straighten and splint my broken wing and foreleg. I pulsed my will through the emerald in my crown. My left forehoof transformed into an alabaster-white but very human-shaped hand. I grasped one of the wood spires that twisted around the crystal saying, “It never was.” The Storm King looked at my hand and his good eye opened wide. I used a technique Rainbow Dash showed me to flap a gale-level gust of wind at the Storm King. His grip failed him and he spun away. I rose into the air, transforming my other hoof into a hand to better grasp the Staff of Sacanas, which now felt as much a part of me as my wings. I gathered the magic into myself then my horn. The Storm King had already recovered and pulled a hilt from his waist with his right hand. As he brought his arm up, a curved blade flashed into existence that appeared to be made of fire. I easily blocked the blow with a shield and threw my constricting bubble around the yeti as I back-winged. The Storm King charged, striking the bubble shield with the pommel of his sword. It rippled and broke apart as I saw the familiar gray sheen of nullstone on the bottom of the hilt. I felt a momentary shock from my shield breaking, but the magic still flowed through me this time. The yeti continued his charge, the sword hissing through the air as it bore down from my left. Something in my training told me to dodge down to the floor and to that same side even as I threw up a new rectangular shield to stop his blow. My right shoulder exploded in pain and scorching heat ran across my withers. My right wing was somewhere in the middle of the fire. Fear once again gripped me and I could feel my heart pounding. Without thinking, I called on the ground itself to throw up a wall in front of me. The Storm King’s second sword yanked free of my side as spikes of rock thrust him upwards. A wave of dizziness and weakness swept over me and I tottered for a moment. Dimly, I perceived the yeti jump backward and run around the spires of rock. I tried to shift the staff to put it between us but it got caught in the stone columns in front of me. Just as the Storm King got within striking distance, I heard a wet smacking sound and my opponent rocked back onto his heels as a large chunk of rubble fell at his feet. Dozens of stones bounced off of the yeti’s head in quick succession, each covered in one of two shades of blue magic. He ducked and glared at me with a snarl, only to have a party cannon full of confetti explode into his face. As he stumbled backward, a rainbow-colored streak hit him square in the jaw, a lasso tightened around one horn and dragged him backward, and a pink blur drove into his knee from behind. Starlight and Rarity surged up to my sides and their magic shoved his shoulders away from me. The Storm King toppled onto his back with a roar, only to have Thorax spit large green globs of resin onto his hands, gluing them to the floor. I gathered myself again, trying to ignore the fatigue for just a bit longer. With a magic field, I immobilized the yeti and his swords, making sure not to cover the nullstone at the bottom of each hilt. I rushed over and jumped to land on his chest, shifting the staff to my right hand as I transformed my left. He looked up at me, pure hate in his eye. “You and your—” I didn’t stop to listen. Instead, I shoved the manticore stinger that was my left forehoof directly into his neck and held it there. After a few seconds of ignoring his angered cry, I felt no more venom left to give. I leaped off of the yeti and motioned everypony to fall back. With a tremendous heave, the Storm King shattered one of the masses of changeling resin and hammered the base of his sword into my shield, again causing it to break and dissipate into nothing. After a couple of attempts ruined by his aim failing him, the yeti slammed the hilt of his sword into the other resin ball, freeing his other hand. He staggered to his feet, his back hunched over. Shivers racked his body. Slowly, he turned and started to shamble towards us, his smile showing all his fangs. “Ahhhh. The Elements of Harmony. Well… most of them… and a couple of stand-ins.” The Storm King’s mind was still sharp, but his body betrayed him. The yeti’s left hand dropped its sword and the blade blinked out of existence as soon as it slipped free. My friends surrounded me, three on each side. We moved backward as one unit. “Do you know what’s so funny, little pony?” The yeti lurched to the side and barely kept his balance. “I will not be killing you right away.” The sword in his right hand fell. The hilt bounced on the marble floor with a loud clatter. “Instead, you get to watch your friends die.” He fell to his knees but continued to crawl forward. “All of them.” The Magic of Harmony in the staff united me with all my friends. I knew all our hooves moved in lockstep as we kept our distance. In my head, I could feel the attention and purpose of all of us— unflinching and everlasting. The Storm King pitched forward to land on his chin. His manic smile only grew wider as his eyes glazed over. “And just so you know, I will… take my… time… to…” At last, his eyes rolled up into his sockets and he exhaled. I sank to the floor with an exhausted sigh. The connection to my allies dissipated and the ache of my body started to take over. Thank heavens we finally beat him because I didn’t think I had any gas left in the tank. Rarity cautiously approached the fallen yeti, her horn alight to respond if he made any sudden movements, but the Storm King didn’t stir. “Did you… kill him?” Rarity asked. I had to cough for a few seconds and the blinding pain made me firmly decide not to do that again. After some shallow breaths, I said, “I don’t think so. I used manticore venom which paralyses rather than kills. Still, this is novel magic for me.” Starlight came over to examine my injuries. “The cuts you’ve received are nasty, though the one on your right wing and shoulder is cauterized. Broken left wing, I see. Your foreleg too?” I nodded. “I’ve been splinting them with my magic.” I coughed and winced. “I think my ribs may be cracked as well.” “Keep your splints in place until I tell you to drop them. That will make the job of the bone-mending spell more effective. Hold still.” Her horn lit up and her magic glow surrounded the breaks. Then sharp and intense pain stabbed me – much worse than my earlier coughing fit. “Ffffuuuu—” After what felt like forever, it stopped. I panted for a bit then glared at her. “What in Tartarus did you do?” Starlight gave me a lopsided grin. “Sorry. The spell for fixing broken bones is very effective but is also kind of painful. Best to get them all over with at once. You’re welcome.” My advisor obviously got her bedside manner from her Friendship Studies tutor. “You could have warned me!” “Tensing up only makes it take longer. You’re a big mare, so suck it up. You can dispel your splints and use the limbs normally now.” I took a few deep breaths. So far, so good. After taking her suggestion and dissipating my splints, I tried extending my left wing and the grating of broken bone was absent. The gouges in my flesh were another story though. “What about my wounds?” “I’m not a doctor – I suggest you have somepony look at them soon. Don’t switch back to your normal self yet because it might complicate your healing. Injured flesh doesn’t respond well to transformation magic.” “Okay,” I replied as Trixie came over to help me back onto my hooves. She was disheveled but looked otherwise intact, for which I was eternally grateful. One of her wings had been knocked askew and I straightened it out for her. Then we kissed. “What do ya want us to do with him?” Applejack asked, pointing at the Storm King. “Have him hauled off to the dungeon for now until we can deal with him properly. Have plenty of guards watching him.” “Hello? We don’t have plenty of guards right now,” Rainbow Dash replied. “The fighting is still going on out there.” She had a point. Now that I listened for it, I could hear the sounds of battle coming from outside. “Trixie will command the fighting to stop,” my wife said, moving toward the damaged balcony. “They won’t listen to you,” came an unwelcome voice. I turned to see Tempest Shadow’s face looking up at me from the floor. Penny had one armored hoof holding her head down and I could see a suppressor ring locked onto the stump of her horn. As far as I was concerned, the Storm King’s Commander didn’t pose a threat anymore. I motioned to Penumbra to let the unicorn mare stand up, which earned me a tight-lipped frown but no backtalk. My bodyguard stayed within striking distance, however. I said, “The Storm King is defeated and your invasion has failed. Your troops must surrender now before there are more casualties.” “I agree, but they won’t listen to you. They will to me though as I am their Commander.” “Why should we trust you?” “The Storm King betrayed me. My very reason for serving him was a lie. I am no longer your enemy.” Penny said, “You sure put up one heck of a battle for somepony who isn’t my enemy!” Tempest sneered at her. “You attacked me while I stood by watching those two fight.” Penny frowned. “Perhaps if you had been helping Prince Mark instead of just watching, I might not have jumped to that conclusion. And what’s this about being betrayed anyway?” I said, “Stormy here promised to repair Tempest’s horn in exchange for her service. He was only playing her for a sucker though.” Penny stared at Tempest in contempt. “You believed that lunatic? What kind of idiot are you?” “A desperate one,” the mare replied sullenly. Trixie said, “That does not excuse what you have done and you will have to answer for your crimes.” Tempest replied, “I cannot be arrested as a criminal – I am the head of the Storm King’s army and as such am entitled to be treated as a prisoner of war.” “You’ve gotta be kidding!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. I said, “She’s correct, unfortunately. Different laws apply.” I turned to the defiant mare and fixed her with a hard stare. “What do you want, Tempest?” “A full pardon and my horn healed.” Everyone present muttered angrily. Thorax cleared his throat and motioned towards his wife. I nodded, letting him know I had not forgotten. “You don’t want much, do you?” Trixie said dryly. I snorted in grim amusement. “A pardon would require the unanimous agreement of all three Triarchs, but one of them is currently petrified.” “The Staff of Sacanas can undo that spell,” Tempest replied. “There was always the chance that we would need to unpetrify someone to interrogate them.” I looked at the staff where I had left it on the floor. It still contained Twilight’s power so I reckoned that Tempest might be right. I lifted it up in my magic to bring it into my grasp, aimed it at the alicorn, and applied my will to the task. The vertices of the stone prison glowed then broke apart, leaving behind an otherwise unharmed mare. Twilight blinked, looked around, and gasped. “What happened?!” Everypony tried talking at once. That stopped when Thorax swept in and started kissing his wife. Twilight gamely tried to get some space or at least a word in edgewise, but without her magic or earth pony strength, she didn’t stand a chance. After a bit, she stopped fighting it and returned her husband’s affection. After a minute or so that was awkward for everypony else, the couple finished with their private words and embraces. Only then was Twilight allowed enough room to try again. “So… what happened?” Again, everypony tried talking at the same time. “QUIET!” I yelled. In the sudden silence, I said, “Short version – You were petrified. The Storm King invaded Canterlot with Tempest Shadow commanding his army in return for his promise to heal her horn. The Storm King stole our magic with the Staff of Sacanas. Tempest was betrayed and the Storm King has been defeated. Tempest wants amnesty in exchange for commanding her troops to stop fighting. We need the unanimous agreement of all three triarchs to grant that amnesty. I recommend that we do so.” “What?!” exclaimed both Trixie and Twilight. “Aside from preventing any more deaths or injuries, we have to look at the big picture. With the Storm King out of the equation, what do you think will happen to the lands that he conquered? In the absence of the authoritarian dictator, a power vacuum will occur and the next most ambitious candidate will try to take his place. They could end up being even worse than the Storm King. I’m all too familiar with that happening back where I came from. Tempest has made demands of us, but we can impose conditions in return. She can use her authority to not only stop the battle here and now but also temporarily take the reins of leadership in the conquered lands subject to our authority. That way, we can prevent civil wars and maintain peaceful rule. Later, we can work on restoring rightful self-governance for the countries and cities that the Storm King conquered. If they so choose, they can join the Commonwealth of Equestria.” I turned to Tempest again. “In return for our amnesty, you must swear allegiance to the Crown of Equestria.” “And my horn?” she asked. “If anything can be done, it will.” “In that case, I am willing to swear my allegiance.” “Why should we trust her?” Rainbow demanded. Knowing what appealed to her most, I replied, “Because she was utterly loyal until she was betrayed. Even though what she was doing was wrong, Tempest remained steadfast because she swore an oath to the Storm King’s service. She is released from that oath because he did not fulfil his side of the bargain. We will keep ours. Besides, she can swear her loyalty to the Crown in front of Applejack and Thorax. If the Avatar of Honesty and Twilight’s husband both confirm that she’s telling the truth, then she will be granted amnesty. Agreed?” Tempest nodded. I turned to my wife. “Trixie doesn’t like it but she concedes to your logic.” Twilight looked glum but nodded also. “I still want to talk to Tempest as I first offered, but it’s more important to stop the fighting right now. I agree.” But first…” She held out a forehoof. “… may I have my magic back, please?” My ears folded back on my skull. “Uhhh… sorry, Twilight. Kind of forgot about that.” I pointed the business end of the staff towards her. “Let me see if I can figure out…” The purple alicorn shook her head and walked closer. “And risk you giving me back all of my magic in one unintentional blast? Let me have that, Mark.” I passed the staff over to Twilight and allowed my hands to revert back to the hooves I now considered more natural. Twilight closed her eyes and spread her wings wide. Her mane and tail began to wave in a wind that came out of nowhere. A lavender nimbus surrounded her and she floated upwards. The most remarkable part was her smile. It was… angelic. I heard Tempest gasp and I smiled to myself. There was a reason why some ponies revered alicorns as godlike creatures, and the unicorn mare had a front-row seat to a very convincing example in favor of that view. After several seconds, the wind died out and Twilight opened her eyes. They glowed white for a moment before the effect faded, showing her purple irises. The restored alicorn settled to the ground, looked down at her barrel, and patted it affectionately. She had obviously checked on the foal inside her and it was still healthy and whole. Twilight pointed the Staff at Trixie and a nearly identical spectacle took place as my wife’s magic returned. If anypony noticed that she opened her wings a bit late and that the glow surrounding her was much less than it was for her co-ruler, they had the grace not to mention it. After Trixie once again alighted on the ground, Twilight shifted the staff to inside the crook of one foreleg as she looked up and nodded to our newest ally. “You’re up, Tempest.” Penny stepped back from the maroon mare and Tempest approached me, Trixie, and Twilight. Applejack and Thorax joined us as Tempest bowed her head. “I, Tempest Shadow, hereby renounce any and all allegiance to the Storm King and swear my complete and utter loyalty to the Crown of Equestria.” I looked at Applejack who had a puzzled look on her face. “Is something wrong, Applejack?” “Her oath's right fine, but there's still somthin' cattywumpus 'bout how she said it.” Thorax blinked a couple of times and nodded his head. “I… I think that’s right. It’s something not directly related to the oath she has made, but still important to her.” I turned my stern gaze back to the Commander. “The whole truth, Tempest, or the deal is off.” She actually started blushing. “Umm… my birth name is Fizzlepop Berrytwist.” I barely stifled a snort of laughter. Rainbow Dash didn’t have that problem and fell out of the air, holding her stomach and guffawing for all of us. When she got her chortles under control, the pegasus mare said, “Well, now I guess we know why you are so angry all the time.” Okay, that was an unexpected twist. “Satisfied now, Applejack?” “Yup,” she replied with a grin. I looked at my co-rulers and it seemed that little piece of information had alleviated the tense atmosphere. “Are we in accord with accepting her oath?” “I am,” Twilight replied. “Trixie agrees,” my wife said. “The Crown of Equestria accepts your oath of allegiance. You are hereby granted a Royal Pardon for all crimes committed in Equestrian territory up until and including today. The Triarchy names you Commander of our foreign forces. Your first order is to halt all the fighting in Canterlot and gather up the invading troops.” “As you command, my liege. Will you join me on the balcony?” I inclined my head towards Trixie. “My wife will accompany you.” Tempest asked, “You defeated the Storm King in combat with only a bit of help at the end. Yet you want to pass the credit on to somepony else? You seem to lead the Triarchy. Why do you want Princess Trixie to make the announcement?” I replied, “First of all, we are a Triarchy. No pony is more important than the other two.” I saw Trixie purse her lips and glance away as if to suppress an objection, then she looked me in the eyes with a wry smile. Yeah, she fooled me again. I grinned back to my wife then faced Tempest. “I tend to ask the hard questions but my wife is the face of our partnership. Our talents complement each other.” “And through such actions, ponies tend to underestimate you, don’t they, Your Highness?” Grudging admiration colored her voice. I just smiled in return. Trixie and Tempest headed for the balcony, my wife levitating the defeated warlord in her magic to give proof to her words. I listened as Trixie used the usual voice amplification spell to announce our victory over the Storm King and Tempest commanded the cessation of hostilities. I lost track of what followed because the adrenaline that had been keeping me going wore off completely. I started feeling every ache and pain incurred during my fight. “Ow,” I said with a groan. “Oh, you poor dear,” Rarity said solicitously. She gave me a comforting hug but that only exacerbated some of my injuries. “OW.” “Let me see those wounds,” Twilight said. I carefully extended my right wing and the outer two-thirds dangled freely. Of course, that also made it hurt much worse. “Ow, ow ow!” “Can’t you say anything except ‘ow’, Mark?” Rainbow Dash asked with a snicker. “Yes, but it would consist of ninety percent swear words.” “I’ll find a doctor for you,” Rarity offered. Twilight, who finished examining me, said, “No, I have a better idea. Just hold on for a minute – I need to fetch something from the labs.” She disappeared in a flash of teleportation. Seconds later, she returned bearing a large jar and a bottle. She opened the latter and poured some of the contents onto a clean cloth that she had also brought with her. “Before I do anything else, first I have to clean the wounds or the healing process might not work as effectively. I’m afraid this is going to sting a bit.” Twilight is a damn liar. That hurt like hell! As she continued to torture me, she explained, “While we have had healing spells and potions for quite a while, none have been a hundred percent effective and all of them are painfully slow.” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Uh… no pun intended.” She nodded to her husband. “However, Thorax’s hive also has its healing methods and I’ve discovered that they are complementary to ours. The fluid inside of a changeling pod can sustain ponies for years and heal many injuries without scarring. This jar contains the result of our joint research into a new treatment. Basically, it’s love-infused healing gel combined with our cell-growth potion that will repair skin, nerves, muscle, blood vessels, and even bone. The compound is exponentially more effective than either of our treatments alone. However, because of the rapid regrowth, foreign material can interfere with and even deform the healing areas, which is why I need to clean out your wounds and remove dead tissue first. Otherwise, for example, your wing might not heal properly and you’d never be able to fly again.” She had moved on from my shoulder to my wing by this time. Through gritted teeth, I said, “Perhaps next you can work on a way to numb the wounds before exacerbating the pain.” “That’s an excellent idea,” she replied obliviously. She finally got to the part where she started slathering the gel on my injuries. At least it had a soothing coolness to it. I sighed in relief. “So – you’re saying this will repair all the damage?” “Yes,” Twilight replied. While she talked, a cylinder of her magic surrounded the area on my wing where the bone had been cut. When she was satisfied the splint was stable and was holding the gel where it needed to be contained, she continued. “Or it should. It’s still in the clinical testing phase. The first batch has only very recently been completed and we didn’t exactly have many candidates to test it on.” “Oh, great. Now I’m a guinea pig again.” The alicorn smiled enthusiastically. “Yes, and just think about the service that you’ll be doing for Our Little Ponies. And all the mandatory follow-up testing and checkups that will need to be done for the sake of Science!” I groaned. I almost thought I would have preferred healing the slow way. With the major wounds slathered and dressed, Twilight then applied the remainder of the healing gel to every other minor cut and bruise including a slash on my cheek. The bilious green gel clashed horribly with my coat color. “I think that’s enough, Twilight. Save some for other victims,” I said. “Oh. I did say that this was the first batch, didn’t I?” I facehoofed. It never ceased to amaze me how Twilight could be such a genius one moment and missing the obvious the next. “Okay, we’ll have to deal with the injured the usual way.” By now, Tempest and Trixie had returned from the balcony. I faced our new Commander and said, “You will have to instruct your troops to find their injured and bring them to where they can be treated. Twilight – I’m guessing that medical staff were evacuated too when the fighting began. Prioritize getting them back and arranging triage for the wounded. Rainbow Dash – I need you to pass on the word to the Equestrian forces to assist and coordinate these efforts.” “On it!” Dash declared and left in a rainbow streak. “I’ll start that right away,” Twilight replied before teleporting. “As you command, Your Highness,” Tempest said. “But first, could you please command your guard to remove this nullifier?” “I wouldn’t recommend that,” Penumbra said. Tempest gave the bat-pony a disdainful look before turning back to me. “We are either working together to prevent the Storm King’s empire from imploding or we are not. Make up your minds.” “Do it, Penny,” I ordered. She grumbled as she unlocked the horn ring, watching the unicorn carefully. The stump sparked but otherwise, nothing happened. Tempest bowed and said, “By your leave.” She turned and trotted out of the throne room. “That there is one strange mare,” Applejack declared. “Agreed,” I replied, “but I think I trust her. When we get a chance, we’ll have to learn a bit more about her and how she broke her horn. Meanwhile, we have lots to do. Could you go make sure Shining Armor and Derpy are safe so that I can unpetrify them? I didn’t want to mention Shining in front of Twilight in case she freaked out about his condition. We’ll be down in the main square soon to set up a command post.” “Sure can, sugah.” As she turned to leave, I added, “And look out for other potential victims. I don’t know if Tempest used any more of those petrifying balls.” “Mark, darling – have a look at your injuries,” Rarity said. I brought my right wing forward to observe the wound. My eyebrows rose as I could literally see new flesh growing and sealing up the gouge in the wing. The pain had virtually disappeared too. Then a fresh batch of feathers started sprouting and covering the healed skin. In next to no time, the wing was as good as new. I couldn’t even tell that it was ever injured. I felt the flesh on my shoulder and withers knit itself together – a bizarre sensation that would have made my skin crawl if it already didn’t feel exactly like that. Exploring the area with a forehoof confirmed that I was as good as new. As those were the worst of my injuries, it came as little surprise to me that the others had also finished healing. I was bone-weary but otherwise, I seemed totally healthy once more. My alabaster coat was unblemished and the pain was completely gone. Well… not exactly unblemished. I probably looked like something out of a horror film. “Rarity, would you mind casting your cleaning spell on me?” “I was just about to suggest that, darling.” The fashionista's horn lit up and I felt her magic tickle me from the top of my head down to my hooves. Looking myself over I saw the blood, dirt, and grime were now gone. I sighed with relief and took a moment to dispel the splint on my wing. “Twilight didn’t say so, but I’m pretty sure it’s safe for me to turn back to my normal self once more.” Nobody disagreed, so I willed the change to my stallion body. Trixie giggled and I looked at her pointedly. “What’s so funny?” “Oh, Trixie just thinks that you should stop playing with alicorn power so much.” “Why is that?” She picked up a piece of rubble with her magic and tossed it to me. “Catch!” I caught it in my magic and it hovered in front of my face. Wait! My magic? The stone was surrounded by my familiar golden yellow aura matched by the same glow from just above my eyes. I dropped the marble shard and reached up with my hoof to rap the horn on my head to ensure that I wasn’t imagining things. I winced at the twinge of pain that doing so normally caused. It was real. “Are you an alicorn now?” Rarity asked. “Can you use earth pony magic?” I focused my awareness on my hooves. I tried to sense the feeling that I had experienced the one time that Discord had transformed me into alicorn Twilight, but I felt nothing. Likewise, the affinity with the ground I felt during the fight with the Storm King was absent. “Nope. I’m not an alicorn. I’m a pegacorn in this form too.” “Hah! Told ya! Now, pay up!” Starlight thrust a hoof towards my bodyguard. Penny returned an icy glare. “Forgive me for not being the kind of mare who carries spare change into battle.” I said, “Wait. You two were betting on me turning into an alicorn?” The pink unicorn smirked. “No. I bet that the next time you were caught up in crazy Harmony stuff, you would not become an alicorn. You’re just not the type, and obviously, Harmony agrees with me.” She turned back to my bodyguard. “So, like I said. Pay up!” Penumbra waved a hoof. “I will! I will! Don’t get your horseshoes in a jumble.” I tried to tell myself I didn’t want to know, but the words came out of my mouth anyway. “How much? How much was the bet?” Penumbra gave me her toothiest smile. “Ten thou… no. A hundred thou… no… One bit.” My eyes opened wide. “One bit?” Starlight shrugged. “Hey. It was the principle of the thing.” I was pretty sure I should feel insulted, but I didn’t know exactly why. As Trixie walked up to me, she chuckled. “It seems that you lack the commitment to go full alicorn, Trademark Harebells.” Penny studied my new appendage and snorted. “Anything is preferable to you sporting those fangs.” I wondered if the Changeling Stone interacting with alicorn magic had anything to do with my new horn. “You make a better match for the Great and Powerful Trixie now,” my wife said with a coy smile. Without her trademark cape but still wearing her prosthetic wings, she and I did indeed make a good match. “In the meantime, Trixie needs to find her crown.” She narrowed her eyes and scanned the floor. Pinkie Pie called out, “I’ll help!” My wife said, “Thank you, my little pony,” without looking up. The pink earth pony snuck along the ground with her nose sniffing furiously just like a bloodhound. That’s when I noticed the platinum tiara sitting on her poufy mane. Well, I was sure they would figure out where it was eventually. Just then, a glowing ring appeared in midair, expanding to reveal a portal to elsewhere. Discord slithered through, closely followed by Fluttershy. With the sound of a squeaky door closing, the portal disappeared behind them. “Ooh! I do like what you’ve done to the place!” Discord enthused. “If I had known that the festival was going to be this kind of party, I would have come sooner.” I frowned. “Where were you during the invasion? We really could have used your help.” “What invasion? May I remind you that Fluttershy and I intended to join you all about now for dinner before the evening concert? We had… other plans for earlier.” “Other plans?” I asked. When Discord didn’t elaborate, I switched my gaze to Fluttershy. “Umm… well… because most ponies would be going to the festival, I knew it would be very quiet for the weekend. It gave me time to do… something special without interruption.” “Oh? What was that?” Fluttershy didn’t respond, but she did start blushing. “Are you okay, Flutters?” She blushed even more. Wait. Uninterrupted, private time. With Discord. I looked at the draconequus and he smiled and waggled his eyebrows. Well, that explained not only his absence but also why he was so distracted that he never noticed the abundance of chaos in Canterlot. “Okay – moving right along!” I said hastily. “Discord, could you at least do something about fixing this place up a bit? I think that everypony would be upset to see what a wreck the throne room is right now.” “Everyone’s an architectural design critic,” grumbled the chimera. He snapped his fingers and the castle was intact again. The décor, however… “I don’t remember you being involved in the defeat of Tirek,” I said as I looked at one of the restored stained glass windows. “And I don’t think you are the seventh Element of Harmony,” Penny opined as she looked at another. “Those gargoyles clash horribly with their pink tutus, darling,” Rarity offered. “And aren’t gargoyles supposed to be on the outside of a castle?” asked Starlight. Pinkie Pie said, “Now Mark’s throne doubles as a cotton candy machine! Verrrrrrrry classy!” “Trixie is rather impressed by the fountain on the ceiling though.” “You’re welcome,” Discord replied. “Now, I think I’ll go see what other repairs need to be made.” In a flash, he was gone. Fluttershy gave us an apologetic smile. “He means well.” “Not a problem, Flutters,” I said. “Anypony who asks for help from the Lord of Chaos should know what comes along with it. I know I did. Besides, we were thinking of remodeling the throne room anyway. The current design dates back to the days when Celestia ruled alone.” A unicorn and two earth pony Royal Guards entered just then and saluted. “Your Highnesses – Lady Applejack informed us that we were needed here,” one said. “Good timing,” I replied. “Haul the Storm King to the dungeon and put him in our biggest and strongest cell. Have all of his armor removed – I have no idea how many weapons and nasty tricks it hides. I want one of you to organize a dozen guards to keep watch over him although I don’t expect him to regain consciousness for quite a while. Make sure that guards are replaced as they get relieved. I want him monitored at all times.” “I will attend to it, Your Highness,” Corporal Slingshot replied with a salute. “You two will return to the throne room. If anypony comes here seeking us, you will redirect them to the main square where we’ll set up a command post.” “It will be done, Your Highness.” There came a sudden cracking noise behind me. Worried that something hadn’t been fixed properly and was breaking again, I whirled around. Spotting the source, I facehoofed. Grubber was holding the broken leg of the rock candy Luna and was munching away on it. The statue had been in the way of some of the fighting as evidenced by the neck and one wing already in pieces… or maybe the little creature was a stress eater? “What? Isn’t anybody else hungry?” he asked when we all stared at him. Come to think of it, I was starving after all my efforts and I was sure there was plenty of festival food that had been left untouched. I picked up the Staff of Sacanas from where Twilight had left it and said, “Okay, everypony – let’s get that command post set up and check out the current situation for ourselves.” I added under my breath, “Preferably starting with the concession stands.” Judging by the way Penny snickered, I think her keen ears had caught my muttering. “What about him?” she asked, looking back to where Grubber was gnawing on a hoof. “The Guards can take him along also.” As Grubber’s face fell, I added, “And give him the rest of the Luna statue to tide him over until mealtime.” I’ve never seen a happier prisoner of war. # # # # # # # # #