Starswirl had felt the magical surge the instant it happened. It had shaken his aetherial senses to their core.
Brief scrying magic confirmed his worst fears: not only had numerous villains joined forces, they were being led by Grogar. He had long known the ram to be real. After all, he had seen his bell himself, and even helped reinforce some of its protective wards. But Grogar’s return this early was disturbing. Starswirl had hoped Grogar would have been too weak to conquer for several thousand more years.
He’d used his magic to contact the rest of the Pillars, and asked them to meet him in Las Pegasus. Now, with Flash Magnus’s arrival, they were all here.
“Canterlot fell at approximately eleven hundred hours,” Flash reported. “Evacuation was successful with minimum casualties.”
“The Crystal Empire is preparing for war,” Mistmane added. “The prince and princess are heading to Ponyville.”
“This is awful!” Stygian bemoaned. “So many villains working in unison…”
“Aye, ‘tis a dark day.” Rockhoof leaned on his shovel. “I hope our friends are safe.” Meadowbrook gave him a reassuring pat on the back.
Somnambula looked up at the dark, cloudy sky. “I feel something. A… looming presence. I fear this day’s nightmares are not yet over.”
“Friends, I fear we may be facing an enemy beyond our power to defeat. If necessary, I am willing to enter Limbo once more. I do not expect you to join me, but my duty demands I must: who is prepared to sacrifice to stop the darkness?” Starswirl looked to his companions’ eyes one by one. Each of them nodded in turn—as did Stygian.
“Then let us spread out, and stay ready,” Starswirl finished. “We do not know the limits of our enemies.”
Tirek smiled as Ponyville came into view. Oh, I’ve waited so long for this day. The day of his return to glorious victory. And here he was, striding alongside Queen Chrysalis, with Cozy Glow perched over his shoulder.
“So, it’s settled then?” he asked. “We hit as hard as we can, each covering for each others’ weaknesses?”
“Agreed,” Chrysalis nodded. “I’ll do my best to make them waver. Cozy, you—”
“Keep them distracted and off-balance,” the filly finished. “Carefully play with their vulnerabilities.”
“And Chrysalis and I will provide the magical artillery,” Tirek said.
Cozy smiled one of her cruel smiles. “We crush them quickly and efficiency. No gloating, no leaving them around to witness our victory, just winning without hesitation.” As she spotted Chrysalis’s displeased look, she added, “Don’t worry! I’m sure you’ll get plenty of time to exact your revenge on Starlight Glimmer after we’ve dealt with all her friends and Grogar.”
The changeling queen thought it over. “Very well. I suppose I can… suppress my love of savoring victory until this evening.”
Tirek thrust one fist into his other palm. “Let’s go.”
The three charged into Ponyville, ready to fight…
But it was completely deserted. Not a single pony or other creature entered the streets.
“Golly, I expected as much, but I’m still disappointed,” Cozy said with a pout.
“Patience,” Tirek gently reminded. “We already know several other spots those six are likely to be.”
“Yes, the Tree of Harmony should be our first stop.” Chrysalis licked her lips. “And I happen to know exactly where it is.”
Three pairs of eyes watched the villainous trio enter Ponyville. A set of especially acute ears even heard some of the words exchanged, and its owner whispered what was said to the adjacent watchers.
The three ghosts were wrapped in carefully tailored garments designed to blend in with the tree they were observing from, and a set of binoculars was employed by one of the three to get a better look. Yes, that was Cozy Glow alright, and looking as deceptively adorable as ever. A snout curled into a contemptuous glare.
As the villains moved out of hearing range, a few rapid hoof motions were exchanged. The hidden trio snuck after them, being careful to stay out of sight.
And their efforts appeared to pay off. Though Chrysalis checked over her shoulder suspiciously more than once, and even briefly shapeshifted into a creature with a thousand eyes, she never caught her shadowy pursuers.
If Chrysalis had thought to shapeshift into something with extremely sensitive hearing, though, perhaps she would have heard three voices whisper an exclamation aloud together:
“Cutie Mark Crusader super spies, yay!”
Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst stepped out of the void between worlds, and into the Dragonlands. The scent of sulfur was overpowering, and the heat made drops of sweat coalesce on her brow.
She looked around. Dragons of all types were milling about, Claw wrestling, swimming in lava, and even reciting poetry.
“We need to find Dragon Lord Ember,” Starlight said. “And then we need to convince her to help us.”
“What does she look like?” Trixie asked in a nervous whisper. “All these dragons are hard to tell apart.”
“She’s light blue, about yeigh high, with a red scepter. Probably about 19 in dragon years.” Starlight put a hoof to her chin. “How do dragons age, anyway?”
“Well, the matter has been hotly debated among many biologists, though it seems that they age logarithmically.” Sunburst blinked. “Oh. That was a rhetorical question, wasn’t it?”
Starlight giggled. “Only partly.” She looked over her two companions. “You might want to plug your ears.”
Starlight set her horn alight, and cast a spell to amplify her voice. It wasn’t the Royal Canterlot Voice, but it was as close as a unicorn could get.
“Dragons of the Dragonlands!” she called out. “The ancient tyrant Grogar has returned, and Canterlot has fallen. We need your help to free Equestria!”
“What’s in it for us?” a dragon shouted back.
“Yeah! Why should we help ponies, especially if it’s risking our own scales?”
“Because… we’d help you if you needed our help?” she asked, a bead of sweat running down her face, as much from the stress as the heat. “Some of you are friends with ponies?”
“My sister is in Equestria!” Garble added. “Nobody messes with her and gets away with it!”
“Yeah, see, you have reasons to care about ponies!” Starlight looked back to Trixie and Sunburst, and added without her magical enhancement, “Help me out here!”
“There’s another reason you’ll do it: Because I told you to!” a commanding female voice demanded. Moments later, Princess Ember flew into view. “Is Spike okay?” she demanded of Starlight as soon as she saw her. “He might be your assistant, but he’s MY friend!”
“Um, I’m Starlight Glimmer,” Starlight said awkwardly. “Twilight Sparkle has Spike as her assistant. And I think he’s okay.”
“You know I can’t tell you apart,” Ember said factually. “But anyway, nothing is going to happen to my little buddy. Everyone got that?”
Dragons reluctantly nodded. The Dragon Lord shouted, “Then we march on Canterlot!” Roars of exultation rang out among the craggy mountains.
“Now, Twilight—”
“Starlight,” the unicorn corrected.
“Starlight. You’ll tell us which city is Canterlot, right?”
“A-actually,” Sunburst interjected, clearly frightened by Ember’s imposing stance, “we have to contact our other allies too.”
“Other allies?” Ember blinked. “You need more than US?” She waved a claw at the fire-breathing dragons equipping armor, beating their wings, gathering spears, and otherwise preparing for war. The former-Dragon Lord Torch, who could probably destroy Canterlot himself, roared with enough ferocity Starlight was knocked to the ground. “Seriously?”
“Grogar erased Discord,” Trixie answered. “The Great and Powerful Trixie would rather not take any chances about the safety of her friends. Would you risk Spike on the chance that your army can win without other help?”
“When you put it like that… no,” she admitted. “But it’s just… aaaargh! I hate talking about my feelings!” She punched a boulder, shattering it to rubble. “You made your point. We’ll wait until you contact the others.”
Starlight gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I know Spike will be okay.”
In another flash of pink light, Starlight appeared in the Changeling Kingdom. It was a green, lush place now, but a keen eye could spot many ambush spots among the greenery. Just because the changelings were peaceful didn’t mean they wouldn’t have to defend themselves, after all.
Trixie quickly put a hoof to her mouth. “Give me some warning next time, Starlight! The Great and Powerful Trixie would rather keep her lunch inside her.”
“Alright, get ready for another,” Starlight replied, and with another magical flash, the three of them teleported ahead to the base of the great hive.
“I’ve never seen a changeling hive up close,” Sunburst said, excitement dancing across his face. “I wonder how this one will differ from the diagrams? All the illustrations were published before changelings learned to share love, after all.”
“You’ll get to examine it now,” Starlight answered him, and proceeded inside.
The hive looked much the same as the last time Trixie and Starlight had been here. But Trixie’s keen eye spotted a few changes. Longspears were neatly stacked where there had been none before. Slits were carved (or grown?) into the stone walls, giving any archers plentiful cover. It seemed Pharynx had been hard at work making the hive more protected.
Thorax himself greeted them with a smile. “Starlight! Trixie! Sunburst! It’s so good to see you all.” He suddenly frowned. “You’re all oozing with fear. What’s wrong?”
Sunburst stepped forward. “Well… Canterlot Castle destroyed, Celestia and Luna missing, Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow teamed up and they’re being led by Grogar… where should I start?”
“Chrysalis is… back?” Thorax echoed, his voice trembling.
“Bug up, little bro,” Pharynx ordered as he walked in. “You could beat her when you were just a weak little traitor. Now you’re king of the Hive. She’d have to be an idiot to attack you.” He grinned. “Plus, we’ve fortified our defenses just in case we got attacked.”
“Pharynx! Just the changeling I was looking for!” Starlight said. “I have a huge favor to ask of you.”
“Right, from how I owe you one after you tried to get Thorax to banish me?” he shot back with a glare. But a moment later, he cracked a smile. “You’re my brother’s friend, and that’s good enough for me. What do you need?”
“I need the entire changeling army mobilized,” Starlight replied. “Everyling you can muster. And you need to be ready to march on Canterlot with my signal.”
“Well, something like that… you’d have to ask the King for approval.” Pharynx gestured to his brother.
“Will you do it, Thorax?” Starlight asked. “Please?”
“I… I…” Thorax’s voice cracked. “I don’t know. I’m sorry Starlight, but I can’t put the welfare of ponies above my own people. Invading another country… that could be dangerous. I’m sorry.”
Starlight felt crushing despair overtake her. What could they do? Could Equestria win without the changelings?
Trixie spoke up. “Oh, sure. Just don’t go rescue the ponies from the tyrant who they helped you overthrow. I’m sure that’ll go fine. Who knows, maybe Grogar will be kind enough to appoint Chrysalis ruler again! I seem to recall her saying something about what happens to those who betray the hive?”
Thorax put his face in his hooves. “If Chrysalis is victorious, then… I will face her judgment. But at least the other changelings won’t be hurt.”
“Won’t they?” Trixie countered. “Being ruled by her would be very bad for them. The entire hive would have to go back to starving all the time, and back to taking love by force. Not to mention that she might decide to make examples of various changelings for following you…”
Thorax moaned. “Auoguhhh, this is why I wish Ember were here! She’d help me decide what to do. Or Spike—he’s smart and good at making decisions. Oughh, I hate being king!”
Starlight suddenly knew what to say. “Spike is still in Equestria, probably with monsters on his tail. And Ember is getting ready to invade. But we can’t launch a successful attack without all our allies. Ember and Spike need you there.”
“I… I think you’re right,” he conceded finally. “Plus, there’s Ocellus—she wouldn’t want to lose any of her friends.” He froze. “Where’s Ocellus?”
“We told her to board the train heading home,” Sunburst answered. “I thought she arrived here safely?”
“Aughhh, we haven’t heard from her at all! She could be lost, or kidnapped, or—”
“Or,” Starlight offered, “She could be off working with her friends to save Equestria like she did with Cozy Glow?”
“Yeah… that’s probably it…” Thorax said, not sounding like he believed his own words. “Alright, I’ll do it. Pharynx, can you go ask around for volunteers?”
“On it,” the navy blue changeling answered. He buzzed away.
“Thank you so much, Thorax,” Starlight said. “We’re really glad to have your help.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” the changeling king replied. “I still feel like this is a bad idea. But… you’re right. Not doing it is a worse idea.”
Starlight nodded a simple acknowledgement, and drew Trixie and Sunburst close to her. With another flare of her horn, the two stepped through the world once more.
With a gasp, Starlight appeared out of the ether and about 5 feet of the ground. She unceremoniously fell to the snow, and Trixie and Sunburst landed on top of her.
“Urgh, Starliiiiight,” Trixie complained. “How much more of this will we have to do?”
“Four more stops, including this one,” the archmage replied. “Speaking of, I’d really rather not offend Prince Rutherford. Getting war declared on us is not how I’d like to spend today.” She sighed. “I wish Pinkie were here. She gets along with him so well.”‘
“I’ve studied yak culture,” Sunburst said. “I might be able to help.” He shrugged, his wizard robe rippling down his back.
“Well, let’s go.” Starlight trotted into Yakyakistan. Yaks looked at her in a mix of confusion and suspicion, but she hurried by. She was here to see the Prince.
A voice she had never heard before said loudly, “The Royal Spa employs the best stylists and pamperers in the land, but I suppose I could lend their expertise to you… for certain considerations, of course.”
“What pony want for deep shampoo treatment?” a rough voice she vaguely remembered replied.
“Well, first up, we’d need to…”
Starlight poked her head into the source of the voices, to see a perfectly groomed unicorn stallion sitting at a well-made table. Across from him sat Prince Rutherford.
“Ah, we can put that thought on hold,” the stallion said. “You must be Twilight’s protégé. Ms. Glimmer, if I’m not mistaken?”
“That’s… right. I’m sorry, who are you?” Starlight always felt embarrassed when a stranger recognized her. Was he judging her for her past?
“I am Prince Blueblood, Equestria’s ambassador to Yakyakistan.” He smiled a dazzlingly handsome smile. “Did Auntie send you to check on my progress?”
Starlight winced. “Not… exactly. Is Celestia your aunt?”
“Most certainly, as is Auntie Luna.” He stretched back.
“Well… they’re both… missing.”
“Again?” He rolled his eyes. “Which evildoer is responsible this time?”
“Evildoers,” Trixie corrected. “Tirek, Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Grogar.”
Blueblood’s snow-white face got even paler. “And… Auntie?”
“We don’t know.” Starlight looked at her hooves. “I’m sorry. I came here hoping to convince Prince Rutherford to help us take back Canterlot, and hopefully rescue Celestia and Luna.”
Blueblood stood up. “Then that’s what we’ll do.” He took Rutherford aside, had a quick, whispered conversation, and then the two turned back.
“Ponies and yaks friends. Bad pony and other bad creatures hurt ponies. Yaks help save ponies. Yaks best at saving!”
Starlight allowed herself a slight smile. “I’d better be going now. There are still more of our allies to visit, after all.”
Blueblood gave a slight bow. “Of course, Ms. Glimmer. I owe you a favor for coming here and standing against darkness. I hope you, your best friend, and your lover have safe travels.”
“Lover?” both Trixie and Sunburst cried in surprise. Starlight felt her face turning red, and quickly threw a teleportation field around herself and her two friends.
The trio stumbled out onto a sandy beach. “W-well, here we are, heh heh,” Starlight said, avoiding the gaze of both her companions. She’d really rather not have them see her blush. “Mount Aris. Let’s see if the hippogriffs will help us.”
Trixie said, pointing with a hoof, “Hey, over there. Isn’t that the kid who told us his sister was missing?”
“Yeah, that’s Terremar!” Starlight blinked over to him. He gasped, jumped backwards, tripped over his own legs, and landed in the sand.
“Phhhfghghgh,” he sputtered. “Starlight? What’s going on? Where’s Silverstream?”
“She’s probably near Ponyville with her friends,” Starlight responded, her voice still tinged with worry. “But we have another matter to attend to. Can we speak with your queen?”
“Sure! I’ll take you to Queen Novo right now.” He held out his necklace to them. “Follow me!”
“Starlight, who’s Queen Novo?” Trixie whispered suspiciously. “Why haven’t I ever heard of her?”
“She’s the queen of the hippogriffs,” Sunburst explained. “And she stays underwater most of the time.”
“Come on, let’s go!” Terremar said, and Starlight nodded. His necklace crackled with power, and suddenly Trixie, Starlight, and Sunburst were seaponies!
“Starliiiiight, I have gills now!” Trixie cried out in shock, joy, displeasure, or some combination.
“Heh heh, yeah. This feels quite peculiar…” Sunburst agreed.
“Right this way,” Terremar said. Starlight followed, and as she did, she allowed her mind to process.
Best friend, and lover… was Blueblood just teasing? Or had he seen something she’d missed? And who was who, anyway? Was Blueblood calling Trixie her lover, or Sunburst?
One thing at a time, she reminded herself. We still have to deal with politics. How do ponies like Blueblood put up with it?
Through quick turns in dark tunnels, Terremar led them to the grand throne room. Queen Novo rested there, talking with a seapony Starlight recalled as Princess Skystar.
“Ponies? Back again? What’s goin’ on this time?” Novo asked.
“Grogar has returned,” Starlight said bluntly. “Queen Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Lord Tirek are serving him. We’ve come to ask for your aid.”
Novo sighed. “I can’t do that. I’m sorry honey, but we just ain’t ready to start a war. Especially after hiding for so long. To lose our freedom again… that can’t happen.” She gave Starlight a sad look. “I hope you win, but I’ve gotta put the interests of my people first.”
“But if Grogar isn’t stopped, he’ll conquer Seaquestria too!” Trixie argued.
“We outlasted the Storm King,” Novo replied. “We’ll outlast this Grogar. I’m sorry. I am. But I have an obligation to my people.”
Starlight nodded, sadly. “I understand.” Inwardly she was cursing this short-sighted queen’s name, but she’d mastered her emotions enough to keep such outbursts down.
“Come on,” Terremar said. “Let’s get you back to the surface.”
Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst swap back up. But as they walked onto dry land, Terremar put a hoof on Sunburst’s shoulder.
“Wait here for a few minutes,” the hippogriff said.
Starlight just nodded mechanically, her mind already returning to the conundrum Blueblood had posed.
After a few minutes lost in thought, Starlight saw Terremar returning, with his father Sky Beak just behind.
“As you know, the hippogriffs can’t do anything to help you,” Sky Beak said.
“We’d learned as much,” Sunburst replied unhappily.
“However, if some ships of the navy were to independently decide to go against orders and help you…” Sky suggested, his eyes twinkling.
“Well, hypothetically speaking,” Starlight said, “the assistance of the legendary hippogriff navy could well turn the tide of the battle.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” The humor dropped from his beak as stoic determination took its place. “I’m doing this for Silverstream. I can’t lose my daughter. Please, keep her safe.”
“I would… if I knew where she were.” Starlight gave him a sympathetic look. “She seems to have run off on another adventure with her five friends. Probably trying to save Equestria.”
“In that case,” Sky said, “good fortune to her. And to us.” He turned away, clearly sending her a simple message: Do what you have to do.
Starlight focused, and in a flash of light, she and her two friends were gone. When they reappeared, she felt a chill breeze on her coat. This high, there were few trees to block the wind.
Griffonstone was still a dump, but not quite as much of one as it had been. The griffons had started to rebuild.
“Leave this one to the Great and Powerful Trixie,” Trixie assured. “I’ll have them all ready to fight in five minutes.”
Starlight nodded her assent. She could use a little time to think, anyway.
Best friend and lover. But who’s my friend, and who’s my lover? She enjoyed every minute around Sunburst, that was for sure, but the same could be said about Trixie. Trixie had an amazingly heartwarming smile, but Sunburst’s beard was just adorable.
Well then, time for the alicorn-magic option.
Starlight imagined herself dating Trixie, and cast a complex illusion spell to make it seem completely real to her. Naturally, it would be completely invisible to everyone else.
Illusion-Trixie blushed, and gave her a little kiss. It was very pleasant, and Starlight felt her cheeks heat up. She couldn’t deny Trixie was very cute.
Okay. Now for Sunburst.
Sunburst’s illusory kiss ignited a roaring flame in her heart. Sunburst—her oldest friend, her closest friend, the pony she’d started an equality cult over—was kissing her!
Starlight instantly knew the answer, then. Trixie was her best friend, and Sunburst was her crush. But lover? No, they had never so much as flirted.
But could we?
On the one hoof, she was scared of alienating him and breaking their friendship. On the other…
That kiss was really good. She wanted more like that.
Starlight shook her head. She’d figure out what to do later, ideally after they’d saved Equestria. For now, probably best to check up on Trixie and make sure she wasn’t doing something reckless. Romantic daydreams were a luxury she really shouldn’t spend.
“Come on,” she said to Sunburst. “Let’s catch up with Trixie.”
Trixie stood atop a straw podium, her voice booming down at the assembled griffons. “Now, let me just say this one more time:”
“If Grogar wins, he will come and take ALL your bits! Every last one! And he won’t stop there.” She used a flash of magic to create an image of him sending Griffonstone plummeting off its mountain.
“So what can we do?” Grampa Gruff squawked. “It’s not like we have a magical superweapon hidden in our ruined houses.”
Starlight joined in. “The griffons are a proud and noble race. When you had the Idol of Boreas, you were the envy of Equestria. But you don’t need the idol to be mighty! The thing you lost was friendship!”
“What’s the exchange rate between friendship and bits?” some griffon Starlight didn’t recognize asked.
Starlight slapped her face with a hoof.
“She’s right,” Gilda said, striding forward. “Things have been getting better since Dash showed up and helped me out. They’ll keep getting better if we continue to embrace friendship.” As the clearing stayed relatively quiet, she rolled her eyes. “That means more bits for everyone.”
“I agree!” Gabby added. “I want Spike to be okay too.”
“I suppose it’d be good to check on Gallus and make sure he hasn’t done something stupid… again,” Grampa Gruff agreed grumpily.
“And Dash is my friend. Anyone who messes with her, messes with me.” Gilda locked eyes with Starlight. “You point us in the right direction. We’ll hit them hard and fast.”
Starlight felt relief filling her veins. Okay. Okay.
“Wait for my signal,” Starlight said. “I’ll tell you when to attack.” With that, she turned away, and headed for the outskirts of town.
“One more stop, right Starlight?” Sunburst asked.
“Yep,” she said with a simple nod. “Off to Saddle Arabia.”
Tirek flexed his muscles with a cocky smile. Power coursed through his veins. It felt so good to have a respectable level of magic again.
His musings were interrupted by blast of magic that knocked him to his knees. He saw Chrysalis beside him outright flattened. Cozy gasped. “What—?”
Tirek looked back, groaning. Princess Cadance looked down on them imperiously, her wings beating steadily. Shining Armor stood beside her, his horn aglow.
“I’ve waited a long time for that, Chrysalis,” Cadance said. “Now are you going to come quietly, or am I going to get to enjoy pounding your tail into the ground a bit more?”
Chrysalis hissed. Tirek raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think you can take us?”
“Yeah,” Shining shot back. “But just in case, I brought a friend.” As Shining said that, Flash Magnus darted down, cutting off the trio’s escape route.
“Awww golly, I guess you got us good, mister,” Cozy said with false sweetness.
Tirek focused, and fired a beam of immense power at Shining. But to his astonishment, the unicorn raised a shield—and the shield held! How can he create protective spells like that?
Chrysalis was faring no better. Cadance was striking with a calculated fury. Every time the changeling tried to move to an advantageous position, Cadance deftly tripped or grabbed her, and Cadance was keeping her too off-balance to cast spells.
Cozy wasn’t even the slightest difficulty for Flash. He was in the prime of his life and incredibly well-built, while she was a weak foal. With a simple bear hug, he’d completely immobilized her, and no amount of saccharine cajoling or sly manipulation could get him to release her. “Kid, you need help,” he muttered with a shake of his head.
Suddenly, the solution came to Tirek. He stopped firing at Shining, and launched a quick bolt of orange light at Flash. Flash fell backwards, reeling from the impact, and Cozy tumbled free. She flew forwards towards Chrysalis and Cadance, a diabolical smile on her face.
“Why are you so angry at Chrysalis, Your Majesty? Are you worried Shining thought she was a better kisser than you?” Cozy asked innocently, batting her eyes.
Cadance’s expression darkened with rage. “Don’t talk about Shining like—”
But she didn’t finish her sentence, as Chrysalis took the opportunity to hit Cadance with an emerald beam of magic right in the back of the head. Cadance collapsed.
Shining pawed at the ground once, his horn glowing with blue light. “If you’ve hurt her, so help me…”
Now that Shining was fully distracted, Tirek opened his mouth, and began to feed. Even as Shining charged towards Chrysalis, a battle cry escaping his lips, his body slowed and slowed, until finally he slumped to the ground.
Finally, only Flash Magnus remained. He looked at the two prone royals, and the three evildoers, and made a decision.
He wasn’t a coward. But if he threw himself into battle here, he’d certainly lose. A tactical retreat, regrouping with his six fellow pillars, and then returning would have a much better chance of success. He grimaced, and took to the skies.
He hadn’t flown more than 30 feet when he heard an old friend. “Somepony!” Rainbow Dash cried. “My wing’s stuck, and… oh no. Stay back! Help! Somepony! Help!”
It pulled at his heartstrings. To Tartarus with tactics—Rainbow was his friend. He shot backwards, scanned for her, and suddenly felt something collide with him.
Rainbow had pinned him to the ground!
“W-what!?” Flash cried out. “Why are you doing this, Dash?”
Green flames licked across her body, revealing her to be Chrysalis. “Can’t have any witnesses,” she said with a peal of dark laughter. “Now, then…”
In just a few moments, Chrysalis had effectively cocooned all three of the interloping ponies. “Oh, don’t feel lonely,” she taunted the half-conscious Shining. “You might have some friends to keep you company soon. And even if not, I’ll be back to drain your love later this evening!”
As Chrysalis gloated, Tirek sucked out Cadance’s and Flash’s magic. Cozy stuck out her tongue. “Golly, you sure are trusting, Flash Magnus! It’s a shame that I taught my allies here alllll about how to control trusting ponies. I guess those classes at Twilight’s School of Friendship did pay off after all!”
“Grogar was right about one thing,” Chrysalis begrudgingly agreed. “We’re a far better team together than apart.” She smiled down at one of the cocoons. “And don’t worry, Cadance. I might let Shining out early if I’m feeling nice. I could make great use of the Captain of the Royal Guard as a minion…”
Cackling, the trio set off for the Tree of Harmony, and Cadance, Shining, and Flash could only watch helplessly through their green prisons.
Chrysalis felt the touch of long leaves on her hard chitin, the mud sticking in the holes between her legs. It was a bit unpleasant, but such minor annoyances were a small price to pay for victory.
“Once we find Princess Twilight, you may hear me acting very weird,” Cozy said. “I may say things that sound ridiculous or even treacherous. I promise, I am not going crazy or betraying you. I spent a whole semester around them, and I know how they think. I need you two to trust me.”
Chrysalis had to suppress an ironic smile. Cozy saying “trust me” was like a pukwudgie saying “pet me”. But the little filly did have a point: out of all three of them, she had spent the most time around their enemies.
“Why not just go over what you might say so we’re prepared?” Tirek asked.
“First, I’ve come up with so many options going over them all would take too long,” the sickeningly adorable filly answered. “And second, your reactions would be less realistic. I don’t want you thinking I’ve actually betrayed you, but the shock from hearing what I say will help sell the deception.”
“Of course,” Chrysalis purred. “And don’t worry: I won’t waste time gloating or savoring my victory. I’ve learned just how catastrophic that can be the hard way.” Memories of her first invasion of Canterlot being completely ruined by the fact that she ignored Cadance and Shining still burned.
“I’ll be good to finally get rid of these troublesome interlopers,” Tirek said. “And after that…”
He didn’t have to finish. After that, they’d retrieve Grogar’s bell, remove Grogar as a threat, and carve up the world into their personal kingdoms.
Chrysalis allowed a dark chuckle to escape her throat. She lived for this.
Once the trio of villains were out of earshot and eyesight, the shadows observing them got to work.
A flurry of pegasus wings brought some specialized equipment. Normally, such tools would be kept away from little hooves, but with Ponyville abandoned, there was nopony to stop them.
Sweetie Belle focused her magic, as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom held the device. Together, the three of them tried to use the automated saw to slice open a cocoon. The resiny substance made the blade slid off, though.
“Maybe a jackhammer will be better?” Apple Bloom offered. “I dunno, what do you girls think?”
“Let’s try the jackhammer next,” Apple Bloom agreed. “Ah think Rivet has one?”
The trio hurried off to Rivet’s house. With a little bit of searching, they found what they were looking for. It took all three of them to lug the jackhammer back to the cocoons.
After a few attempts, they got everything set up. Sweetie gave the cocooned Cadance a reassuring smile, and powered up the jackhammer with her magic. They applied it to the top of the cocoon, pressing down with determined purpose.
The hardened green surface cracked, and shattered! Cadance fell out of the gooey case. She weakly got to her knees. “Is Shining…?”
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were already breaking open Shining’s cocoon. Sweetie Belle caught him as he fell, setting him down gently.
With a few more moments, Flash Magnus was free.
“My magic… drained,” Shining said. “Tirek… be careful…”
“I bet Rainbow Dash and her friends will take care of them!” Scootaloo said reassuringly. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine in no time!”
“We aren’t goin’ to go fight them directly,” Apple Bloom agreed. “We can do more as super spies followin’ behind!”
Pinkie Pie watched the horizon with bated breath. Bated, not baited, though she supposed her breath was a sort of bait. And what she was trying to catch with this bait was those dastardly villains!
She stuck out her tongue, and made her nastiest war face. Grrrr! She was situated in a high tower near the bridge to the castle. Right beneath her, in the central courtyard, Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike conferred. Pinkie listened in.
“Queen Chrysalis can look like any of us. So I’ve made these coats out of the drapes. I do apologize for the shoddy work; I could put together much finer pieces were we still in Ponyville,” Rarity said.
Rainbow was next. “Tirek takes a few seconds to drain magic. That’s why he was so dangerous when working with Discord. But with Discord not on his side,” Rainbow paused, and gave Fluttershy a comforting hug, “we’ve got a shot. If you see him starting to drain somepony’s magic, distract him.”
“Like with a pie to the face?” Pinkie interjected.
“Yeah, a pie would work, if we had one.”
“You’re in luck, then! I keep pies stashed all over Ponyville, in case of pie emergency.”
“O…kay,” Rainbow said. “Anyway, keep Tirek too off-balance to drain anypony’s magic.”
Applejack stepped forward. “Cozy Glow’s got a real talent at messin’ with our heads. When we face her, remember that anythin’ she says is meant to mess with ya. Either she’s lyin’ to mislead us, or tellin’ the truth to make us doubt it, or just talkin’ nonsense to distract us. Best thing to do is ignore it all.”
Spike stood up. “Then there’s Grogar. Unfortunately, we know almost nothing about his actual powers—just the legends about him. From those legends, it seems likely he’s really talented at creating monsters, so I think it’s unlikely we’ll see him chasing us. He probably sent the other three after us, and he’s probably doing something nasty in Canterlot. Maybe creating a malwurf or roc.”
Fluttershy offered, “And don’t forget—Chrysalis might have transformed herself into somepony we care about and had the others ‘capture’ her! We should be very cautious of hostages, because they might be fake.”
Pinkie continued to scan the horizon with her binoculars and spy goggles. These evildoers wouldn’t escape her sight!
Twilight nodded as each said their piece. “Remember, we still don’t know what happened to Celestia, Luna, and Discord. For all we know, Cadance could have been defeated too. It’s possible I am the last alicorn still free, or even…” her voice trailed off.
“If you are, we’ll be here for you,” Fluttershy promised. Her voice held more conviction than Pinkie had heard her carry in months.
“Yeah!” Rainbow cracked her wings. “And we’re gonna show those losers just how powerful friendship is!”
“Remember, we’re trying to save Equestria, not take revenge,” Rarity cautioned. “But I agree. They’re going down!”
Twilight pulled her friends into a hug, even using her telekinesis to add Pinkie to the hug. “You girls really are the best friends a pony could ask for. I wish you were alicorns too…”
“Ah don’t need wings or a horn to put some varmints in their place,” Applejack said, coiling her lasso. She cracked a wry smile. “But they’d sure make harvestin’ apples easier!”
Pinkie returned Twilight’s hug. “Aww, thanks Twilight! But who’s keeping a lookout for Tirek and the others?”
“Oh, don’t worry Pinkie, you are.” She gasped. “Quick! Hug over, into battle positions!”
Pinkie resumed her lookout post, a stockpile of pies, cupcakes, and other baked goods beside her. Applejack ran forward to near the front gate, her rope ready. Rainbow dove down under the rickety bridge across the chasm. Spike hid in a nearby tree, his internal fire ready to blaze outward. Rarity charged her horn, and slipped into some of the curtains. Fluttershy slid to just over the archway.
Twilight stood openly in a battle stance under the archway, a ruined table making a makeshift barrier. She was deliberately leaving herself clearly visible. They all hate me. They won't be able to resist targeting me.
High above, Pinkie watched the forest with her binoculars. Now came the hard part: waiting.