//------------------------------//
// The Last Battle 
// Story: Live While we're Young 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

"OK, so let me get this straight," Gallus said slowly. "Discord disguised himself as Grogar and teleported three dangerous criminals- Tirek, Somba, and Chrysalis- to his lair. He then let Sombra run riot and destroy the Tree of Harmony, thereby destroying the Elements of Harmony. Then he let Sombra die. He resurrected him again, and then had the three of them go looking for the Bewitching Bell, another object that could make them obscenely powerful. They then used it on themselves and turned on him, taking his magic." He paused for effect. "Yeah, I can't see any way that plan would go horribly wrong."

"Agreed," Smoulder growled. "And all so he could boost Twilight's confidence! When this is over, he'll have a list of charges against his name longer than Lord Torch!"

"How long is Lord Torch?" asked Silverstream.

"He's the biggest dragon in existence."

There was another pause. "That's a long list of charges against Discord then."

A loud whistling noise overhead prompted Sandbar to look up. "That's not good. Windigos."

"Yona thought Windigos were from story," Yona said.

"The Windigos and the story are real. The tale of Hearth's Warming is our story, but now it seems everycreature has forgotten that message."

Ocellus looked out of the window to see a cloud bank being built by pegasi. "Is that Cloudsdale over there?"

Sandbar looked as well. "It is. They're sealing themselves off."

"THIS IS AN EMERGENCY BROADCAST. TIER 5 LOCKDOWN IS NOW IN EFFECT IN PONYVILLE. ALL TRAVEL INTO AND OUT OF THE CITY IS PROHIBITED. ALL WHO ATTEMPT TO ENTER OR EXIT WILL BE QUARANTINED INDEFINITELY. ALL CITIZENS ARE TO REMAIN IN PLACES OF SAFETY AND STAY IN GROUPS FOR SAFETY PURPOSES. COOPERATION WITH THE MEASURES IS IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS. REPEAT, TIER 5 LOCKDOWN IS NOW IN EFFECT IN PONYVILLE. ALL TRAVEL INTO AND OUT OF THE CITY IS PROHIBITED. ALL WHO ATTEMPT TO ENTER OR EXIT WILL BE QUARANTINED INDEFINITELY. ALL CITIZENS ARE TO REMAIN IN PLACES OF SAFETY AND STAY IN GROUPS FOR SAFETY PURPOSES. COOPERATION WITH THE MEASURES IS IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS.

"Is a Tier 5 lockdown bad?" Silverstream asked.

"It's the highest level we have," Sandbar explained. "It's the equivalent of the Pearl Alarm going off. We're in real trouble now."

"That's the understatement of the decade," Smoulder sighed. "Absolute chaos, three villains running amok, and absolutely no sign of our teachers."

"Professors probably busy elsewhere!" Yona exclaimed.

"Doing what? Sipping tea and playing card games?" Gallus suggested, sarcastically.

"Can we please try thinking productively?" Sandbar asked. "We need some way of fighting back against the darkness. The school has an adress system that is magically powered. With luck, the transmitter and ariel are still operational."

"Where are you going with this?" asked Smoulder.

"We transmit a signal across Equestria, rallying support and bringing the races together!" Sandbar continued. "Remember that most of the other groups, such as Yaks, Changelings, and so on-"

"As well as Griffons, Hippogriffs, and Seaponies," Silverstream added.

"-Will have no idea what's going on," Sandbar continued. "If we get the message out, we can rally the troops and fight back!"

"OK, so where's the generator?" Gallus asked. "I like this plan. Let's do it."





Thankfully, the generator was undamaged. Chrysalis and her Changelings hadn't spotted it during their attack, and as such had left it alone. Within minutes, it and the transmission array it was connected to were up and running, with the signal ready to broadcast.

Sandbar realigned the camera. "We good to go?" he asked.

The others all gave claws up or equivalent gestures. Sandbar hit the broadcast button.





The various races of the world, hiding away in their fortresses and bunkers, were rather surprised when transmission screens and displays suddenly flickered into life. On the image stood six creatures; one pony, one yak, one dragon, one changeling, one hippogriff, and one griffon. The pony was the first to speak.

"More than one thousand years ago," he began, "our ancestors brought forth upon our continent a new land that was to be guided by the principals of harmony and friendship. A land riven by distrust and war finally knew peace, joined together in a combined spirit of Harmony. This was a power that the Pillars of Old Equestria understood when they created the Tree of Harmony, and the Elements alongside it. This power had the strength to bring us all together, and as our land once more faces a common threat, we must stand together in the fight against this evil, or else perish from this world."

The speech was then taken up by the changeling. "We have not been liberated for long, but we know how powerful Friendship is! We can't continue to bicker and stay apart! We are stronger when united as part of a single cause! I know firsthoof how powerful Friendship can be. It can move mountains and tame rivers, unite the disparate into a single combined cause. I implore you, we need to stand together to assist our allies in this time of need. It's what they'd do for us."

Next up was the griffon. He kept his words short and to the point. "I know that griffons are, by their nature, solitary creatures, but we can't afford to live separate. True heroes are so much more than just waving a flashy sword and having rippling biceps. Being with my friends taught me something new, showed me the way, and revealed that Friendship truly is Magic."

The dragon's words were equally brief. "I know that the idea of being kind and generous sounds lame to a dragon. But our friends need our aid. We need to stand as one, to ensure that the races of Equus do not perish from the world. The alternative is centuries of tyranny."

Next came the Yak. "Yaks strong. Ponies strong. But yaks and ponies stronger together! Yaks must be loyal to pony friends!"

Having got the point across, it was finally the turn of the hippogriff, and boy was she fired up. "Most hippogriffs viewing this transmission will know that today is Freedom Day. That was the day when we finally rose up and drove the Storm King out of our lands, and reclaimed Mount Aris as our own. Ever since, we have held those values close to heart. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore, but must be united in our common interests.

"Today, we once again find ourselves fighting for our freedom, each and every one of us; not from tyranny and oppression... but from annihilation. We're fighting for the right to exist. And should we win this day, Freedom Day will no longer be a Hippogriff Holiday, but the day when all of us- All of Us!- rose up, united, with one voice, and cried out 'we will not go quietly into the night! We shall not vanish! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!'

The others glanced over to the hippogriff, in full oratorical flow. "Today, we all celebrate Freedom Day! So rise up, and answer the call!"

With that, the transmission ended. In Seaquestria, Queen Novo glanced over to Princess Skystar. "Alert the Admiral," she said. "We left our allies, the ponies, in the dust once before. I will not make the same mistake again."





The Young Six arrived at the battlefield site alongside the allies they had called upon, who immediately launched into battle. It was glorious to watch. Yaks and Bison launched charged after charge, their heavy weight knocking enemy soldiers aside like bowling balls. Dragons, pegasi, hippogriffs and griffons roared through the skies and produced dust clouds so thick that the enemy couldn't see where they were going. Spells and fire fell downwards like artillery fire, explosions rocking the terrain and producing vast craters.

As it became more apparent that victory was at hand, not least because the Doom Legion was outnumbered by more than fifty to one, Twilight Sparkle made her move. "ENOUGH!" she bellowed. That got the attention of everycreature. "Because of you, I almost lost my way! But everycreature here has reminded me of the true power of friendship! There will always be darkness in the world, but there will also always be those who find the light! The Pillars knew this!"

On her right, the Pillars suddenly warped into existence, and began to float in midair as Celestia, Luna, and Discord also teleported in.

"That's why they created the Elements of Harmony! The Elements showed me  and my friends how strong our friendship could be! Together we worked to  bring harmony to Equestria!"

Now it was the turn of the Elements themselves to take to the air, as one.

"But there will always be more to do! Which is why we teach others about  the Magic of Friendship! Others who will continue our mission after we are gone!"

Five of the six members of the Young Six floated into the air, in a similar arrangement to the other two groups.

"Erm, Headmare Twilight?" Gallus called. "You missed one."

Ocellus was soon levitated into the air, and Twilight continued her speech as though nothing had happened. "Now I truly understand! The Elements were just symbols! The real magic has always been right here! And the more who understand how powerful friendship is, the stronger we will all be! Together!"

With that, three sets of rainbow beams converged in front of them, flew upwards into the air, and down onto the smoke covered battlefield. The ground shook with the force of a thousand earthquakes as something happened down there, and when the smoke cleared at last, three figures could be seen. Queen Chrysalis (looking a lot less intimidating), Tirek, and Sombra stood there, dazed and surprised.

After cleaning up the giant cupcake that fell from the sky, Celestia landed before the trio who had caused so much trouble. "You three have caused confusion and delay," she said. "Now, what to do with you?"

Discord, by this point re-energized by the power of the Bell, floated forward. "May I make a suggestion?"

"Woah woah woah! Hey, stop!" Smoulder called, as she flew over. "Discord's the last being who should be suggesting punishments- especially given he caused this entire mess!"

"We are already aware of his misguided acts," Celestia replied.

"Did he tell you everything?" Chrysalis smirked. "Discord has quite the reputation for bending the story to suit his needs, as Ocellus will be able to demonstrate."

Luna looked over. "What dost thou mean?"

Ocellus, linking into a hive network once more, began to play back what she had downloaded from the network before the connection had been cut. Once it had finished, Celestia looked very unhappy.

She turned to Discord. "I shall deal with you later," she said. "But safe to say I am not happy with you. Not. Happy." She turned her attention back to the trio of villains. "Whilst you three have committed crimes, yes, I am not one for harsh or excessive punishment. I have already made the mistake once of kicking the can down the road." She glared at Discord as she said this. "So I shall not be turning anypony or anycreature for that matter to stone."

Tirek breathed an audible sigh of relief. "I am aware that the three of us have made errors in our behaviour in the past. But as you said, all deserve a second chance, right? Besides, saying sorry around here instantly redeems you of all you have done. Just look at Tempest Shadow or Starlight Glimmer over there!"

Celestia sighed. "I shall have the Young Six decide what is to be done with you." She stepped back, to let the others take the reigns.

Silverstream and Gallus approached Tirek. "Hmmm, what do you propose?" Silverstream asked.

"Look at those muscles!" Gallus exclaimed. "I suggest we assign him something construction related."

"Perfect!" Silverstream said. "You shall assist with the rebuilding of all the buildings demolished and destroyed during this chaotic time."

Tirek nodded. "Reformation through labour! As a centaur, I approve heartily."

Smoulder and Yona handled Sombra. "I think he needs a healthy dose of friendship lessons," Smoulder said.

"Yona know place where he'll fit in! Crystal Empire cold, yes?"

"Indeed! It's partly why I like it so much."

"Yona take Sombra to Yakyakistan! Yak place cold, and full of other creatures. Scary pony less likely to smash things if he see how good other cultures are."

Sombra, knowing the alternative, nodded.

Which just leaves us with Sandbar, Ocellus, and Chrysalis. Chrysalis seemed to be the most stubborn of the lot. "Just get it over with and sentence me to death, as you so clearly want," she snarled at them.

"Err, Ocellus, are you sure this is going to work?" Sandbar asked.

Ocellus nodded. "Hey mom. I won't lie, you did some nasty stuff to us. You ruled as a tyrant, starved us of love and food, and used us as pawns in your power games and wars. Our lives were Hell under you, and the damage is only just healing."

She paused, as Chrysalis looked surprised. "What did you call me?" she asked. "I had no idea I was causing you all this harm! I only did what I thought was best..." she trailed off.

Ocellus paused before saying the next words. "Chrysalis, this may seem really hard to believe, but... I forgive you."

Chrysalis was rendered speechless, but as she opened her mouth to speak once more, there was a blinding flash. Where the former queen had once stood, instead there was now a Changeling with yellow chitin, orange fur around her front legs, a purple shell, an orange crown upon her head, and a flowing turquoise and green mane. Her eyes were also now blue.

"She reformed!" Thorax said suddenly.

"Didn't think she had it in her," Pharynx nodded, and gently tapped his brother.

"As for your punishment," Ocellus said, "I'd like for you to return to the Hive and see how our society has changed, to see how far we have come and to, hopefully, learn how to be friends."

Chrysalis, astonished that a being she had so badly mistreated was giving her a second chance, blinked back tears. "Thank you," she whispered. "I won't waste this opportunity."

"So, happy endings all around?" Twilight said. "In which case, it's time to start planning the coronation!"

Silverstream turned around. "Wait. Celestia and Luna are stepping down?"