Two cloaked figures made their way through the Everfree forest, one draped in blue, the other black. Both of them had red eyes under their hoods. The one in black carried a heavy bag on his back.
“Why exactly…” Sombra grunted as he carried the bag on his back followed the former Emperor of Equestria. “Must we leave the Crystal Empire? Why not take it now? We already have Starcutter there as a puppet advisor to that usurper Flurry Heart! We could take it from her anytime!”
“Patience, Sombra. We must not rush. I’ve waited millennia for the chance to take over Equestria again. With Celestia and Luna dead, two young inexperienced alicorns ruling Equestria and the Crystal Empire, I think the time is approaching fast,” Grogar said. “But in order to take over Equestria, we need numbers.”
“The Crystal Guards can provide those numbers!” Sombra snapped. “I could easily brainwash them with my magic.”
“Yes,” Grogar agreed. “But Princess Twilight would recognize your magic on the Crystal Guards. We must be subtle, work our plan slowly and carefully so that when we strike there will be no chance of defeat. We will recruit more to our cause. This is why we must go here to the Everfree forest where monsters… my children… thrive.”
They suddenly came to a stop a clearing.
“This should be good,” Grogar said. “Open the bag of monster bait!”
Sombra frowned.
“This servants work is beneath me! We should have brought Starcutter along to carry this!”
“Starcutter is too valuable to me to risk suspicion to… yet. He advises Princes Flurry Heart and serves as my eyes to the outside world as well as a trainer for future soldiers that will belong to you,” Grogar reminded him. “Remember… aid me and I will restore you to your throne forever.”
“Fine!” Sombra said. “But next time have somepony else be your beast of burden!”
“If all goes well today during the festival, we shall have one. No quit stalling!”
Sombra sighed. “Fine.”
He levitated the bag off his back, cut it open and dumped its contents out. A foul smell stench quickly filled Sombra’s nostrils. He covered his nose with an armored hoof while Grogar grinned. For a time, they waited, then eyes began to appear throughout the bushes and in the dark areas of the forest.
Grogar laughed. “My children! I have a mission for you today!”
__________________________
“Luster! Wake up, honey!” Starlight called through the castle hallways. “We need to get ready for the Festival of the Two Sisters! I don’t need to remind you that Twilight’s coming to Ponyville for it this year, do I? And that you’ve been given the honor of helping me oversee everything?”
“Course not mom!” Luster called as she emerged from her room.
Starlight walked her daughter to the Castle doors where Sunburst and Trixie were already waiting. The family walked out into Ponyville. It was still dark outside, as the Festival of the Two Sisters would start when Twilight arrived and rose the sun. But all the ponies and other creatures had been hard at work decorating the town with banners showing the sun and moon as well as depictions of two ponies, a white one with a multicolored mane and a blue one with a blue mane. The depictions showed the two ponies with manes sparkling like Princess Twilight’s did. Luster had been born less than a year after the former Princesses had passed away at over a thousand years old. They’d left their thrones in Twilight’s hooves, gone to Silver Shoals and then aged rapidly for some reason before leaving this world. Luster wished she could have met the two princesses.
She knew this festival had once been known as the Summer Sun Celebration, its original purpose being to celebrate Celestia defeating her younger sister Luna who had transformed into Nightmare Moon and tried to overthrow her elder sister. After Twilight defeated Nightmare Moon with her friends, the purpose of the festival was reworked to celebrate their reunion. Now… it served as a way for Equestria to remember them after they were gone.
Starlight and Luster looked over the preparations. Luster saw Gallop and Yelena with their hayburger cart, Georgia and other flying creatures were in the sky clearing out any clouds. Rarity,Sandbar, and Yona were decorating the town with ribbons and other gorgeous accessories. River Song was in a choir singing the song of the two sisters with a number of students from the School of Friendship lead by Sweetie Belle.
“Oh, once there were two Royal Sisters, the elder raised the sun, the younger the moon. Celestia and Luna, their sisterly bond could be broken. They defeated Discord that chaotic menace!”
“I heard that!” Discord’s voice said as he appeared from out of a fabric of reality as a part of the song. This caused Luster and Starlight to giggle.
“And Sombra that dark king. They banished him away to save the Crystal Empire, though sadly it vanished with him. Peace endured for a long time, and the two sisters were loved. But than Luna turned looney, she was jealous of her sister for being more loved. The Princess of Dreams turned into a nightmare from the moon and was sent there. Celestia missed her sister, and waited a thousand years for her return. Sending a young unicorn here to meet friends. The nightmare returned when the sun did not rise. But six ponies stood against it and brought back the light. The Nightmare ended, Luna returned and the two sisters were together again!”
The crowd watching the choir clapped.
“Bravo! Bravo!” Starlight said. “I believe you are more than ready tonight!”
Seeing the Stewardess of the Castle of Friendship approve caused the singers to smile. River Song tapped her hooves excitedly.
“I’m ready! I’m ready!” she said.
“Good job, everycreature! Everything looks good to go!” Starlight said as she looked around the Festival.
Luster approached River Song.
“That was some good singing, River Song!”
The Kirin giggled. “Well what do you expect, song in is my name after all. If I were a pony I’d probably get a cutie mark with a river and a musical note on it.”
Luster smiled. “I could picture that.”
“Do you think the Princess will like my singing? Do you? Do you?” River Song asked. “I hope she does! Maybe I’d be allowed to be her personal entertainer someday!”
“Okay let’s not get carried away,” Luster said. “Lets just wait for her too arrive.”
“Uh… hate to interrupt but something IS arriving and its not Twilight!” Trixie said pointing toward the Everfree forest.
Looking in that direction. Luster’s jaw dropped as she saw not one, but a group of monsters coming their direction. Among them, Luster spotted a Manticore, Chimera, a Roc, and a group of Timberwolves, all with red eyes. They charged at Ponyville, trampling the houses and tearing things apart.
“Ahh! Monster attack! Run for your lives!” somepony screamed.
Many of the ponies began panicking, while more brave ones like Starlight stood their ground.
“Luster, you get somewhere safe!” Starlight ordered, bringing blue magic to her horn.
“But mom, I can fight!” Luster protested.
“No!” Starlight said. “You’ve never been in a fight before! I have! You get somewhere safe!”
She surrounded herself in blue magic and flew towards the monsters, quickly joined by Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“I don’t know where you monsters came from or why you’re working together! But you’re not gonna ruin the festival of the two sisters!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew at the Roc, hitting the giant bird hard and causing it to Squawk.
Applejack ran at the Chimera.
“Yehaw! You remind me of a monster that tried to eat my little sister when she was a filly! I know how to handle you bad boys!”
She drew a flute and played it. Normally this would have put the tail which was the head of a snake to sleep. But instead of falling over, the tail snakehead remained up right and stuck out its tongue with a hiss. It lashed out at Applejack, narrowly missing her. The cowgirl threw a piece of ricotta at the goat head, but it simply bounced off.
“This monster ain’t right!” Applejack said. "Yer snake head should go to sleep!"
Fluttershy appeared, flapping her wings as she approached the manticore.
“Now now, I’m sure we can find some way that doesn’t involve fighting.”
The Manticore roared at her and flung its scorpion tale, which she dodged.
“Please?”
Starlight, flanked by Sunburst and Trixie, shot beams of magic at the Timberwolves. Seeing this reminded Luster of that time when she’d gone monster hunting in the Everfree forest and they’d all had to come and save her. But she wasn’t a little filly anymore. She charged in and shot a beam of gold magic at the manticore attacking Fluttershy.
“Oh, thank you Luster!” Fluttershy said. “It seems this manticore is too mean to tame with kindness! Well let’s see how he likes this!”
She flew up into the manticores face.
“You stop this right now!” she screamed.
The usually shy pony gave the monster her signature stare which was enough to frighten even a dragon. But for some reason it didn’t work on the manticore who simply roared back. Fluttershy whimpered and flew away.
“My stare usually works!” she said as she hid behind Luster.
The Manticore charged. Luster teleported herself and Fluttershy out of the way. The manticore crashed into the tables that had been prepared for the festival causing the hayburgers Gallop and Yelena had prepared to fall to the floor. The Earth Pony and Yak noticed this from their hiding place.
“Our food!” Gallop said.
“No monster messes with Yelena’s hayburgers!”
The two of them charged out with cries of fury and began to hit the Manticore with their hooves. Luster rushed to help her two friends, as did Georgia and River Song. The Manticore raised its tall at Yelena, the yak was too slow to move out of the way, but Luster was there with magic to the rescue. She took hold of the Scorpion tale and pulled on it, grunting. The strength of the creature was too great for her to hold, until River Song added her magic to Luster’s. Together the unicorn and Kirin managed to stick the tail into the ground while Georgia scratched the Chimera’s face with her claws.
“It would be uncool of me to let some monster attack my friends!” the griffin said.
“Ow! Ow!” the monster suddenly spoke and stopped attacking, its red eyes turning normal looking around as though it had just realized where it was. “Arrgh! Where am I?”
“You’re in Ponyville, and you ruined our festival!” Gallop said raising a hoof.
“I did? I’m sorry!” the manticore said.
“Why were your eyes all red?” River Song asked.
“Eyes red? I don’t know,” the manticore said. “I just want to go back home.”
“Well Manticore go home after Yelena done with you!” the yak said.
“Wait!” Georgia said. “He said sorry for ruining our festival, and that red glow is gone. It looks like something was wrong with him.”
“You’re right, Georgia,” Luster said. “Manticores eyes don’t glow red. Unless… you were under some sort of mind control?”
“Well, we don’t need to hurt him anymore.”
“I can go?” the manticore asked.
Georgia nodded. “Yes, go. I’m sorry for scratching you up, but you were attacking my friends.”
“Thank you, and sorry for that as well.”
The manticore ran back to the Everfree forest. Around Luster and her friends, the other monsters were starting to gain ground. Starlight, Sunburst and Trixie were sweating, the Timberwolves somehow resistant to their magic. The beams they shot didn’t break the wolves apart. Rainbow Dash was in the talons of the roc, and Applejack in full retreat from the Chimera.
“What do we do Luster?” Gallop asked. “We got to help them!”
Luster gritted her teeth. “I-I don’t know!”
River Song suddenly took Luster’s hoof. “Everycreature hold hooves, or claws! I think its time we see if we can use the magic of friendship!”
They did as the Kirin said, putting their hooves (or claws in Georgia’s case) together.
“Come on! We’re all friends!” River Song said. “And you know what they say, friendship is magic!”
The Kirin’s horn lit up and she shot a beam from it. But it was just her ordinary blue magic. Not some grand rainbow laser. It hit the timberwolf, causing it to stagger, but the foul-smelling monstrosity shook it off and kept moving in on Luster’s family.
Suddenly a beam of magic shot down the Roc, causing it to release Rainbow Dash.
“The Princess! We’re saved!” River Song jumped up.
Up in the sky, Twilight Sparkle was flying. A look of fury on her face as she looked at the monsters, her body glowing white. Rainbow Dash, Spike, Fluttershy as well as Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack all levitated up to her, drawn by the magic as though they were magnetized.
“No pony or monster hurts Ponyville!”
She let out a wave of magic that sent all the monsters back to their home in the Everfree forest than came down.
“What happened here?”
“Monster attack,” Starlight said as she approached the Princess. “Afraid the festival got a little trampled.”
Luster looked around and saw the damage the monsters had done. In addition to the food scattered around on the streets, the banners were torn, some of the houses bashed in, fences broken.
“Sorry Princess Twilight, we tried to make the monsters go away with the magic of friendship. But it didn’t work, and the festival got ruined.” Luster said.
Twilight merely chuckled. “It’s alright Luster. You can’t expect to be able to use a rainbow laser after just having friends for a couple weeks. There is still much more for you to learn. Don’t worry about the festival, I know someone who can fix all of this in a snap.”
Moments later, Discord appeared and with a snap of his fingers everything was the way it was before the monsters came, Gallop’s mouth watered as he looked at the restored hayburgers. Twilight smiled at the spirit of chaos, then raised her horn and rose the sun.
“Let the Festival of the Two Sisters begin!” Twilight said.
The crowd cheered. Gallop and Yelena immediately began feasting on the Hayburgers.
____________________
With the monster’s clearing the road of any travelers and attacking in Canterlot as well as Ponyville to scare off or distract any who got in their way, Grogar and Sombra stepped out of the Everfree forest. The father of monsters had taken control of a good many of his children and given some of them a slight enhancement to make them more difficult to deal with. They made their way to their destination undeterred, the outskirts of Canterlot in the meadow where Twilight Sparkle had achieved her greatest victory against the three villains, Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Cozy Glow. All of whom were now encased in stone.
Grogar looked around and saw no one within sight. There were distant sounds of monsters roaring and screams. Now was the time. He lowered his hood and lit up his horns, firing a spell at the statues. The stone around them began to fade away, a few pieces falling to the pedestal they stood on. Chrysalis who had been in a lunging position, lost her balance and fell to the ground while Lord Tirek and Cozy looked at themselves for a moment and let out breaths of relief.
“We are free!” Tirek said before looking at the two cloaked figures before them. He let out a gasp.
“Are you…”
“The REAL Grogar!” Grogar said as he grinned. "And you all serve me now!"
There was a flash of light and all of the villains vanished before the newly freed trio could say a word.