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 followed the former Emperor of Equestria while struggling with the bag. “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 many millennia for the chance to take over Equestria again. With Celestia and Luna dead, and two young 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 influence immediately. 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 be here in the Everfree forest where monsters… my children… thrive.”
They suddenly came to a stop at a clearing.
“This should be good,” Grogar said. “Open the bag of monster bait!”
Sombra frowned.
“This servant's work is beneath me! We should have brought Starcutter along to carry this!”
“Starcutter is too valuable for me to risk…for now. He advises Princess 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. Now quit stalling!”
With a sigh, Sombra levitated the bag off his back, cut it open, and dumped its contents. A foul smell quickly filled his nostrils. He covered his nose with an armored hoof while Grogar grinned. For a time, they waited, then eyes began to appear in the bushes and 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 stepped out into Ponyville. It was still dark out, 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 to honor Celestia and Luna. Even though they both died before Luster was born, Twilight and Starlight still admired them. With all the stories Starlight had told her, 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 was to celebrate Celestia defeating her younger sister Luna. The latter had transformed into Nightmare Moon and tried to overthrow her elder sister. After Twilight defeated Nightmare Moon with her friends and turned her back to Princess Luna, the festival was reworked to celebrate their reunion. Now it served Equestria as a way 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 decorated the town with ribbons and other gorgeous accessories. River Song stood in a choir singing the song of the two sisters with several students from the School of Friendship led 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 not 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.
Peace endured for a long time, and the two sisters were loved.
But then Luna turned looney.
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!”
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!”
The Kirin giggled. “Well, what do you expect? Song is part of 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 think so also.”
“Do you think the princess will like my singing? Do you? Do you?” River 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. “Let’s just wait for her to arrive.”
“Uh… hate to interrupt, but something IS arriving, and it’s 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 way. 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 braver 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 do as I say and get somewhere safe!”
She surrounded herself in 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 yelled, then flew at the Roc, hitting the giant bird with enough force to make it squawk painfully.
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 this time, it remained upright, and with a hiss, lashed out at Applejack, narrowly missing her.
"Whoa! This should have worked! Let's try something else… eat this!" The cowgirl threw a piece of ricotta at the goat head, but it merely bounced off, and another strike from the monster quickly followed. Applejack jumped away, painfully landing on her side. "Ugh…tThis monster ain’t right! Yer snake head should go to sleep! And the goat head loves that stuff!"
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 tail, 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 manticore's 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 this time. The manticore answered with a mighty roar that sent Fluttershy flying back like a string-less kite. She hit the ground with an agonizing thud.
She gasped. “My stare always works!”
The manticore charged, Fluttershy whimpered and covered her head in fright. Luster aimed with her horn to stop the Manticore but before she could fire a beam at the beast, it was stopped by a cage that fell out the sky. Discord flew down and picked his wife up.
“Nopony… or monster, hurts my Fluttershy!”
The manticore growled and suddenly reared up on two legs, throwing the cage off of itself. Discord flew Fluttershy out of the way as it crashed into the tables that had been prepared for the festival, sending the hayburgers Gallop and Yelena had prepared to the ground. The Earth pony and yak noticed this from their hiding place and their mouths fell open.
“Our food!” Gallop said.
This caused Yelena to grit her teeth.
“No monster messes with Yelena’s hayburgers!” The yak screamed in rage.
She charged out and pummeled the manticore with her hooves. Luster and Gallop rushed to help their friend, as did Georgia and River Song. Luster and River shot gold and blue magic at the beast while Gallop joined Yelena in hoof fighting it, adding high speed strikes with her strong ones. Georgia scratched the Manticores with her talons, but the monster just wouldn’t go down! It swiped its massive paws at them, narrowly missing River. Luster wasn’t sure how much longer they could keep this up… until another cage fell on the Manticore, this time covered by a huge boulder.
“Now you just stay put, okay?” Discord said patting the cage.
Around Luster and her friends, the other monsters were starting to gain ground. Starlight, Sunburst, and Trixie were sweating; the timberwolves were somehow resistant to their magic. The beams they shot didn’t break them apart easily. 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 suddenly took Luster’s hoof. “Everycreature hold hooves, or claws! I think it’s 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.
“Mom! Dad! Aunt Trixie!” Luster screamed.
The timberwolf advanced, it had the three unicorns in a corner. Then suddenly it was lifted into the air and flung back with a howl.
“Who did that?” Luster asked looking up.
Flying in the sky, was a huge lavender alicorn.
“The princess! We’re saved!” River Song jumped up.
Up in the sky, Twilight Sparkle flew. She had a look of fury on her face as she looked at the monsters, her body glowing white. She shot a beam at the roc, causing it to release Rainbow Dash. The roc then squawked and flew at her, Twilight dodged its beak and it continued to peck after her or try to catch her in its talons. Twilight performed a barrel roll underneath it and shot beams at it, hitting it on the wings as she had to another roc long while trying to rescue Rarity and Zecora. Her magic was much more powerful now, and caused the roc pain but it remained airborne.
“We need something more powerful!” Twilight said. “We need the magic of friendship!”
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Flurryshy all gathered together. Twilight spotted them below her, but was too busy fending off the roc to call upon the magic that came from their bond.
“Spike!” Twilight called.
Her dragon royal advisor who had been holding off another monster, flew up and shot green fire at the roc. The giant bird than turned its attention to him.
“Do what you got to do, Twilight!” Spike called.
Twilight nodded.
“We need to stop all these monsters now!”
With the roc out of the way, there was nothing to stop the Ruler of Equestria from levitating her friends, the source of her great magic, up to her side.
“Hey!” she shouted.
Her shout got all the monster’s attention as she and her friends were surrounded by white magic. Twilight frowned, eying the monster that locked their eyes onto her. "I don't know where you all came from, but I will not allow you to hurt Ponyville anymore. I give you one last chance - leave now!"
The monsters glanced at each other in confusion, then back at the stone-faced princess. Seeing Twilight's cold gaze, they began backing away, and for a moment, things seemed to be calming down. But then, their eyes flashed blood red again, their hissing and growling began anew and they took attack poses.
Twilight shook her head. "As you wish..." Her horn began to glow.
Seeing this, the roc lunged straight for her first, coming in with razor-sharp claws, ready to rip and tear. But then, Twilight's horn blasted like a bomb, and her magic turned the air into a shock wave of rainbows. The beautiful spectacle collided with the incoming beasts like a train, sending them flying towards the Everfree like a bunch of rag dolls. It was over.
"Is everyone alright? What happened here?" Twilight asked once she touched down.
“The monsters just came out of nowhere,” 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, and 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.
“It’s alright, Luster. You can’t expect to be able to perform a rainbow laser on your own after just having friends for a couple weeks.”
The princess then looked around. Several ponies were laying on the ground.
“Get the injured to the hospital immediately!
Her royal guards as well as the citizens of Ponyville jumped on the task.
…
Ponyville wasn't the only place the monsters attacked. Canterlot and a few other cities were under siege as well. With the enhancements Grogar put on his children, the guards would have their hooves full for a while.
With everyone occupied, Grogar and Sombra teleported to Canterlot with no issues. They made their way to the statue symbolizing Twilight's greatest victory against the three villains, Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Cozy Glow.
Grogar looked around and saw no one within sight. It was time, he lowered his hood and lit up his horns, firing his magic at the statues. The spell encasing them was incredibly powerful, as it had been performed by the combined strength of two alicorns and the Spirit of Chaos. But Grogar himself was also incredibly powerful. 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.
Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow found themselves in a familiar area. It was Grogar’s lair, or rather, the lair that Discord had summoned them to when he pretended to be the ram.
“So… you’re not Discord in disguise?” Tirek asked suspiciously.
“No!” Grogar stated. “I am not. I am the true Father of Monsters! Witness!”
He raised a hoof in the direction of the cave entrance. Sure enough, dozens of monsters walked through it. Seeing them, Cozy shivered and hid under Tirek’s hoof. The centaur showed visible fear as well. Even Chrysalis flinched at the sight. Alone, she might have considered herself scarier than any monster, but even she was not arrogant enough to assume she could win a fight against so many at once.
The monsters all approached Grogar, whose eyes lit up a brighter red as he grinned. The monster’s eyes did the same, but he was not using the Ruby of Reign to control them like he was Star Cutter.
“All monsters bow to their father’s wishes!” he said before looking at the freed villains and Sombra. “You briefly served that imposter Discord when he gathered all of you here. He offered you a false chance to crush Twilight Sparkle and her friends. I offer you a true chance! Discord merely meant to use you to help Twilight gain confidence in herself. Join me, and I will return you to the places of power that you once held or sought to hold. Refuse, and I will have my children devour you!”
His last words thundered off the walls. The freed villainous trio looked at the monsters who all growled softly, salivating. It was clear Grogar was not joking around.
Cozy slowly flew out from under Tirek. “I’ll join! I’ll join! I don’t want to be monster food!”
“Same!” Tirek said. "Anything for a chance at revenge!"
Chrysalis scoffed. “Well, I suppose if the three of us came close to ruling Equestria together, we would fare even better if we have an army behind us. But how do we know this isn’t you trying to pull some trick like Discord? As powerful as he is, he could likely control monsters somehow?”
Grogar growled. “Watch.”
He put his hoof on the Crystal ball that still remained in the lair. An image played out of what was happening in Ponyville.
…
Luster looked around at the things that had been planned for the festival. Wigs of fake multicolored manes and coat paints to make anypony resemble the royal sisters. Starlight had planned so much and now it was all ruined. She’d asked Discord to help Twilight split the sky so that night would be on one end and day on the other. Trixie would put on a fireworks display in the night side, and little colts and fillies would run back and forth between night and day.
Luster walked over to her mother who oversaw the efforts to get ponies into the hospital.
“You okay, Mom?” Luster asked.
Starlight shook her head, her eyes tearing up. “All this planning for the festival today, it was all ruined thanks to those monsters! Now we have over fifty injured and seven dead!”
Luster nodded. “I know. Nopony expected this! But... none of it was your fault, Mom.”
She leaned in and nuzzled her mother.
“I’m sure Princess Twilight would have been very proud and everypony would have loved your plans,” Luster said.
“Thanks honey,” Starlight said in appreciation.
Once all the injured were stabilized, Twilight called everypony to town hall. She held a scroll in her magic.
“Today was not the day of joy we had planned. Those monsters attacked not only here but Canterlot and other cities as well. The royal guards managed to hold them off, but many of them were injured or killed. I’m deeply regretful of this happening today, everypony. I don’t know why those monsters attacked, much less in armies. Something like this has never happened before but I will do everything I can to get to the bottom of it and determine the truth.”
With that, the Princess, Spike, and her guards all got up on their wings.
…
“You see? Discord is in Ponyville with Princess Twilight and her friends,” Grogar said.
“So, I see,” Tirek said with a grin as he realized their festival was ruined.
“How did Celestia and Luna even die? I thought they were immortal?” Cozy asked. “Not that I’m complaining. Two fewer princesses for us to worry about.”
“That Cadance is gone too, thanks to me!” Grogar proudly stated.
“But that sow Starlight Glimmer has a daughter now!” Chrysalis spat, seeing Starlight nuzzle the younger pink pony. It filled her with fury seeing her nemesis so happy. But it quickly turned to an evil look of intrigue as an idea occurred to her. “Hmm… they say a mother's love for their child is the strongest thing. I will take her daughter from her! What better way to pay her back for stealing my hive?”
Cozy and Tirek looked at her in surprise, while Grogar smiled.
“Patience, Chrysalis,” the ram sorcerer said. “You will have your revenge in time. In fact, I will let you take your time. Have fun with it. Enjoy it. Revenge, your hive, and more will be given to you.”
The changeling queen grinned.
“I look forward to it. Nice and slow does sound pleasing. It wouldn’t do to simply destroy them after all they put me through! They’ll wish they had killed me instead of turning me to stone.”
“Tirek, come forward,” Grogar said.
The centaur hesitated, but then did as he was bid. Grogar put a hoof to one of the small bells on his red collar and drew out an orb of magic which he blew at Tirek. Tirek caught it with a smile and devoured it. To his absolute surprise, it had enough power to restore him all the way to his third form, which he was in during the battle of the bell. Tirek looked at his muscles and grinned, kissing them. How he loved being strong!
“Yes!” he said. “Oh, if only my pathetic father could see me now!”
“You shall have the power to crush all before you,” Grogar assured him before turning to Cozy. “When Equestria falls, you shall rule over Ponykind, little filly!”
“Golly! I like the sound of that!” Cozy said with false sweetness.
Grogar looked from Tirek to Cozy.
“I can’t turn you into an alicorn without the power of my bewitching bell. But I can make you stronger in a way.”
He lit up his horns and cast another spell. Cozy Glow suddenly grew from a filly to a full-grown mare.
“Ah!” Cozy screamed, looking at her hooves and wings. “I’m an adult!”
“You would have been one already if not for being encased in stone,” Grogar pointed out. “You’ll be more useful as a full-grown pony to me. Besides, once Twilight Sparkle finds out you three are free, she will likely put up wanted posters. This will prevent the likeliness of you being recognized.”
Cozy spread her now larger wings and flapped them, finding herself able to fly at a greater speed than she could as a filly. She was a stronger Pegasus now, that alone gave her power, just what she wanted. She grinned evilly.
“And I shall have my empire back?” Sombra asked, speaking for the first time since they’d entered the lair.
Grogar nodded. “Yes, you shall, Sombra. The Crystal Empire will be yours once we dispose of Princess Flurry Heart. All of you shall get what you desire. Your kingdoms will be restored to you. But I shall be the supreme ruler of EVERYTHING!”
The last word was followed by a flow of magic that threw all four of the other villains against the walls.
“UNDERSTAND?” Grogar asked in a menacing voice. “I HOLD THE POWER HERE! I’M AWARE THAT YOU THREE BETRAYED DISCORD WHEN HE IMPERSONATED ME! BUT DO NOT THINK THAT I WILL MAKE THE SAME FOOLISH MISTAKE! I WILL BE WATCHING YOUR EVERY MOVE. IF YOU BETRAY ME, I SHALL DESTROY YOU!!”
They struggled against the magical restraints for a moment futilely, then nodded.
“Good!” Grogar grinned, then began to laugh evilly as he set his new minions down. “Now… we will begin phase one of my plan.”
…
With the Festival of the Two Sisters cancelled, Twilight and Spike flew back to Canterlot, accompanied by Gallus and a group of Pegasus Royal Guards. Twilight’s now massive body made it more difficult for her to fly long distances than it was when she’d been smaller a couple decades ago. Of course, she could have teleported straight to Canterlot, but that would have denied her the chance to see the scenery. It also helped to clear her head after the stressful events of the failed festival.
“Well, that certainly didn’t go as planned today, huh, Twi?” Spike asked.
Twilight sighed. “No. It didn’t. But it’s not like this day could possibly get any worse.”
They landed on the outskirts of Canterlot, where she and her friends had fought their final big battle for Equestria years ago against Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow. As they did so, Spike looked ahead at something and his mouth fell open.
“Uh, I think it just did!” he pointed.
Twilight gasped as she saw something in the distance. The pedestal which the trio had stood upon. It was empty!
“No! No! No!!” Twilight screamed. “They can’t be gone? How is this possible?”
…
Starlight and her family were now having dinner in the castle dining room. There was an awkward silence.
Luster sighed. “If only I’d been able to use some friendship magic when we were fighting the monsters,” she said.
Starlight put a hoof on her daughter. “For a long time, it took Twilight having to use symbols of friendship like the Elements of Harmony or the chest that made this castle. It was a long time before she was able to use the Magic of Friendship without any sort of artifact. The bonds between her and her friends grew deep over the years. It takes time.”
Luster sighed. “You’re right. I just wish I could have done something.”
“Tomorrow’s another day. We’re bound to have a change of luck, right?” Trixie said.
“You’re right Trixie!” Starlight said. “Let’s make tomorrow a great-”
Suddenly the door to the kitchen opened. Twilight and Spike burst in.
“Starlight! I have bad news!” Twilight screamed.
“Twilight? What’s wrong?” Starlight asked. She hadn’t seen Twilight this upset in years. Not since the deaths of Shining Armor and Cadance, which was a shock for all of them.
“No time to explain! I need the Council right now!” Twilight shouted.
Starlight could tell this must be serious. Something bad was happening in Equestria by the way Twilight was reacting. The alicorn lit up her horn and let out a bit of rainbow magic, summoning Discord to her as well as Fluttershy. The Spirit of Chaos and his wife were kissing.
“Ahem!” Twilight cleared her throat.
Discord broke the kiss and looked at Twilight. “Oh-ho! A sudden summons from the ruler of Equestria,” he then changed his tone as he looked at Fluttershy. “This better be an urgent matter as I was in the middle of something very important.”
“Now Discord, we can always kiss later,” Fluttershy said. “Twilight would never summon you and me without good reason.”
Twilight took a breath to calm herself. “Trust me, it's very important. Discord, could you please summon the others?”
“Sure thing!” Discord said in a clearly annoyed tone as he put Fluttershy down and snapped his fingers, summoning the other four ponies in the Council of Friendship.
Rarity was sopping wet as though she’d been showering. “Darlings, what’s going on?”
“Are we having a surprise sleepover?” Pinkie asked.
“No!” Twilight said. “We have an emergency! THEY are back!”
Everypony was silent for a moment. Knowing that THEY most likely referred to the three villains.
“Please tell me they are not who I think?” Applejack asked.
“Oh, no! Not them! Anypony but them!” Rarity exclaimed as she took the table cloth and used it as a makeshift towel to avoid getting water everywhere.
“Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight nodded. “I was on my way back to Canterlot when I saw the statues of them were gone!”
All the ponies gasped. Even Discord’s teeth chattered as he recalled how he’d been deceived by the trio whom he had put together while posing as Grogar.
Starlight cringed, her mind wandered back to the early days when Luster was little. She’d had those nightmares of Chrysalis coming back and stealing her baby. Starlight had reminded herself that Chrysalis was trapped in stone, that she was gone for good.
“You’re joking!” Starlight said. “Please tell me you’re joking!”
Twilight looked at her. “Starlight, I would never joke on a matter like this!”
Starlight began to breathe heavily and pace. “No, no, no, no! Chrysalis is back, and she’ll be out for revenge! She’s gonna come and try to take Luster!”
Sunburst put his hooves on his wife. “Starlight, calm down!”
“Calm down! Calm down?!” Starlight screamed. “My archenemy has returned, and she’ll be after our daughter, I know it!”
“Hey, Star! Take it easy! There’s no way Chrysalis even knows about Luster!” Trixie said. “She’s been trapped in stone for the past twenty years, and it was like taking a long nap!”
“That’s right!” Discord said. “She and the other two were in hibernation while they were trapped. Unlike me, they didn’t hear, see, or feel a thing while in stone. I did consider making their existence like mine, but I thought it best to be merciful and not torture them. Being trapped together was probably bad enough for them. There’s no way they know about Luster.”
Starlight looked at her daughter. Luster’s face was full of worry and fear. Worry for her mother’s current state, and fear of what her mother said.
“You… you think Chrysalis is gonna come after me to get revenge on you?” she asked.
Starlight nodded. “I thought she’d never return! But now she’s back! She’s wanted revenge on me ever since I convinced the changelings to change for the better! If she finds out I have a daughter, she’ll come after you for sure!”
Everyone was looking at Starlight oddly as if she had a moment of “Twilighting,” or “Starlighting” in her case.
“Becoming a mother sure caused you a lot of worries, huh Starlight?” Pinkie said.
Twilight approached her former pupil and put a hoof on her. “Starlight, don’t worry. I’ll put out the word for everypony to keep a lookout for Chrysalis and the other two!”
“You think that’s gonna solve anything!?” Starlight yelled. “Chrysalis can take any form! There’s no way we can catch her! She could be here in Ponyville right now… she could even be one of you!”
This caused her friends to look at her in astonishment.
“Starlight, it’s us!” Fluttershy said.
“Yeah, sugarcube. You’re overreacting, Chrysalis can’t have been out long! You think she would know what we all look like now that we’re older?” Applejack asked.
“Yes, these bags under our eyes, and I have a gray hair!” Rarity said before looking at Twilight. “While you get the flowing mane!”
Twilight frowned.
“And I summoned all of you here! My magic would only bring the real ones!” Discord pointed out.
Starlight took a breath.
“You’re right, I am overreacting. I’m sorry. I just… had some nightmares about Chrysalis returning and taking Luster after she was born. I knew it would never happen as long as she was in stone, but now… she’s back!”
“Don’t worry, Starlight. We’ll deal with her and the other two. We beat those villains once - we’ll do it again!” Rainbow Dash said.
“They don’t have the real Grogar’s magic this time, and the Bewitching Bell is being kept in my realm, so no pony can use it!” Discord said.
“Those meanies are gonna wish they stayed in stone!” Pinkie Pie declared.
“But… how did they get out?” Rarity asked.
“There’s a simple answer to that. Somepony or some creature freed them,” Discord said. “The question is… who?”
“Ooh, you think it’s another of our old enemies back for revenge?” Pinkie asked. “Let’s see, who could it be? Pony of Shadows, Storm King, King Sombra? No wait, they’re gone...”
“Maybe it’s a new enemy?” Twilight wondered aloud. “I don’t like what’s been going on recently. The Crystal Heart was stolen at Flurry’s coronation, somepony took the energy from it, a group of monsters attacked Ponyville today, and now these three are missing. Something sinister is rising.”
“Well, we’re just gonna have to defeat it like we do every other bad guy!” Rainbow Dash said. “There’s nothing we can’t handle!”
“Don’t be overconfident, Dash, sure we’ve always won before… but things can change,” Applejack said. “We nearly lost against those three last time, and if they’re working with somepony else, it could be a lot harder.”
Discord but a claw to his chin. “Who would even want to team up with those three losers anyway?”
“Says the Draconequus who pretended to be Grogar and had his magic drained by those losers?” Rainbow Dash asked in Discord’s face.
“Now, Rainbow Dash, Discord had good intentions even if they were misguided,” Fluttershy defended her husband.
“Girls, that’s in the past now! We need to deal with our villains today!” Twilight said. “We’ll put up wanted posters of the three of them. Discord, can you give us illustrations of Tirek in all his forms?”
Discord (in a painter’s garb) immediately painted pictures of each of Tirek’s forms and handed them to Twilight.
“Thank you, I’ll get a picture of Cozy Glow out. Chrysalis will be hardest to spot since she can transform.”
Starlight shook her head. “Next to impossible. Well, I don’t care what she does to me! I’m not going to let her hurt Luster!”
She turned to her daughter. “Luster, I need you to leave the castle until Chrysalis is caught! Stay with one of your friends. If you see me in Ponyville, walk past me as though we’re strangers! Same with Sunburst and Trixie!”
“What? Why?” Luster asked.
“If Chrysalis doesn’t know you’re my daughter, she won’t hurt you!” Starlight said. “I need you to pretend we’re strangers until she is back in stone or sent to Tartarus!”