//------------------------------//
// Jailbreak 
// Story: The Stone Chisel Way 
// by King Genesis 
//------------------------------//


Arc I - Chapter III - Jailbreak


Ok, what has just happened?

From a minute to another one, Tirek and Cozy Glow have disappeared with no explanation and Stone Chisel is the only one who knows this, and he wouldn't like to be seen by Cerberus in this particular scenario. That's why his plan, the one he tried to do on the Everfree Forest and didn't work, needs to be done now. It's a very risky and almost useless plan, but it's the only thing that can save him. He looks that inside the cave where he is, there is a small hole which leads to some stairs. That's why he decides to stand up, clear his throat and whisper: "Celestia, LaCrowley... I hope this freaking amulet I fucking swallowed is worth it right now."

The earth pony fastly gets in position, smashing his hooves to the cage's floor, taking a long, looong breath and saying the magic words: "Dáz Krhëk Ko§ Krƒühhk, make my dream come true." Chisel expects for something to happen, but nothing changes. "Come on... come on... Dáz Krhëk Ko§ Krƒühhk, make my dream come true!" Nothing happens again. "LaCrowley! You son of a... Come on, make this damn amulet work... Dáz Krhëk Ko§ Krƒühhk, make my dream come TRUE!" 

And then, out of nowhere, Stone Chisel starts floating, which makes him take a long breath after shouting his spell three times. It has worked. FINALLY. That's when a black mist starts sticking to his body, completely covering his light grey skin and fur, turning into some kind of shadow. I've gotta hurry up, he tells to himself, being conscious that this spell won't last so long. He easily gets out of the cage by simply going through the iron bars, which didn't even touch him. His body is no longer something touchable either visible, and can float and even go through every kind of solid objects. The amulet actually worked, but instead of celebrating this, Stone Chisel gets mad at it because it didn't work when he tried to escape from the guards. It didn't work there and he thought it wouldn't work here... what is happening with the small magical charm inside his body?

He goes downstairs, floating and going through the dark grey stone walls and finds a bigger cave with lots of light blue platforms, filled with monsters, criminals and ruthless creatures imprisoned in small cages. What really calls his attention is that on a platform in the cave's centre, there is an enormous black dog with three heads. The robber takes some time to observe the beast but hurries up once his body starts feeling cold. "No," he thinks. "I've got to hurry up before someone sees me." He forgot, after so many tries of enabling it on his body, that the magical effects are limited, and once he feels a cold rush in his stomach, that means the floating time will be gone in no further. He starts waving his legs, travelling around the dark, depressing environment inside the cave, about to overfly the three heads. 

Nevertheless, the stallion's body begins to feel colder once he approaches the Cerberus. The beast's snores don't help too much to him, making the whole place shake as if this was an unexpected earthquake, making Stone Chisel shiver so much that he has to stop floating. The sounds tremble his body so bad he even feels the cold mist inside his stomach moving with him, occasionating the spell to break in the worst time it could have been and the stallion falls to the platforms, thinking about if this is his finale, but Cerberus' back, who has been interrupted while sleeping, spares him, cushioning his fall. The now mad dog wakes up from his dream and looks around, and Stone Chisel, trying to get out of this, tries not to move and play dead. The prisoners from around start looking at what's going to happen, without even saying a word, while the three heads of the beast find out there is an immobile body with a piercing which reminds him of a stallion. Cerberus, now growling, dares to touch once the mysterious object who is annoying him at the moment, and when he decides to slowly approach one of his heads to listen to some weird whisper from around, he finally finds out something: 

"Dáz Krhëk Ko§ Krƒühhk, make my dream come true... Dáz Krhëk Ko§ Krƒühhk, make my dream come true... Dáz Krhëk Ko§ Krƒühhk, make my dream come true... come on... Dáz Krhëk Ko§ Krƒühhk, make my dream come true... Dáz Krhëk Ko§ Krƒühhk, make my dream come true... make this work, damn it... Dáz Krhëk Ko§ Krƒühhk, make my dream come true... fucking LaCrowley... Dáz Krhëk Ko§ Krƒühhk, make my dream come true..."

Cerberus is listening to everything the stallion is whispering, and Stone Chisel, with his eyes closed, hasn't realized the beast is literally behind him, with just a thin line of air separating them. Then, the robber feels a strange impulse of air with a certain smell, looking like something that came up just from a dog's nose. The breath force is so strong he is moved until the platform's edge, looking with one of his eyes to the precipice, a cliff so deep and narrow he can't even see what's on the bottom. After taking a look at the abyss, the robber starts trembling, having such a big lump in his throat he can't even talk. The three heads, trying to debate and come up to a conclusion, decide to kick away the strange doll, making Stone Chisel fall to the abyss, and the robber, now in freefall, wants to shout with all of his force, emptying the air of his lungs but decides to calm down and repeat unstoppably, once again, that spell.

About the fifth time, it finally works. Stone Chisel's body turns black again, almost like a shadow, and starts floating around the abyss. There are no cages there, but what calls his attention is there is a scary, strange buzz heard at the bottom. He gets scared once he gets nearer, but... how could someone on the bottom see him, even if it's a beast? He is conscious he has to do this quickly because he has to get out of here, but turns out curiosity just killed the cat... and he doesn't know the cat is him in this case. The deeper he gets, the louder the buzz can be heard, the colder it gets. He thinks, maybe, it's because the spell is coming to an end, but then he finds out, and he realizes the cold actually comes from the outside. Wasn't the deeper supposed to be hotter because it's nearer the lands' nucleus? His Manehattan teacher in his early days told him the nucleus was hotter than anything else, so, why is this getting much colder? 

He finds out a possible answer a minute later when he finally arrives at the bottom. The first thing he looks is there is a strange cold mist which doesn't let him see. He starts prowling around and that's the moment he finds a drawing on a wall:





What's this strange symbol he's looking at? And why it is around a cold mist at the bottom of Tartarus? He starts floating around again trying to find another symbol or anything, and then, just several seconds later leaving the strange writing alone, he comes across something made of stone. What calls his attention is that the big rock has a certain warmth that comes from the inside. Is something inside the rock? There is only one way to find out, and he has the power to do it.


...


Well, how stupid. That was actually a bad idea. A very bad idea, he thinks after being fastly expelled from inside the stone a second after getting it through. He is thrown away to the ground and, not being able to crash himself into the walls or the floor, gets inside the cortex, falling down, being so scared he is praying for something to stop him, like a cave or even a lake of lava. He can't float with no air around to do it, and if the spell ends up during freefalling, he will get crushed by the ground and die instantly, and he doesn't even know if his bones are going to survive in pieces after that.

One second. He was only a second inside the mysterious stone, but that miserable, stupid second was longer than anything else he has ever lived. His eyes were blinded by some kind of red light, which could be the main cause of the stone's inside heat. The environment from inside was suffocating, so much he couldn't even take a small breath while feeling his invisible skin getting burned alive. His stomach's cold, showing his amulet was going to end, stopped and now it's magically warm again. Maybe the magic has come back? Maybe...? And what he won't forget, never, never, is a shout he heard from the inside. A shout so deafening it can even be heard from outside the stone, as that mysterious buzz. Looks like all the problems have been solved, but there are still loose ends to tie... what was that symbol? And what was the mist? And most importantly... what was inside that stone?

Crash. Suddenly, his life has been spared by a cave. He feels his back getting crushed and hurt by some rocks under him, but thankfully, at least he didn't get crushed while being in the cortex. Despite being inside a dark cave, he can hear some voices coming from far away, and once he slowly moves his head, he finds a beam of light far from him. Nevertheless, while he tries to move, having his loin hurt, he finds another beam of light coming from above. A red hot light that fulminates him with its heat. He tells himself to take a look, maybe because he may identify what is going to kill him. Daring to find a face for his killer, he looks at the shadow emanated by the light. A big beast with long horns, dark blue fur, blue eyes and a golden collar with a gem on his neck. Once the mysterious monster gets down and touches the cave's rocky surface, the place gets illuminated by a menacing, frightening dark red light, but once the gem on his neck starts shining, the colour fades to grey. The beast which turns out to be a ram takes a look around and then discovers Stone Chisel crushed into the ground. "You," says the beast. "You touched me."

"What?" whispers the robber, with so much pain he can't even talk louder, but then, out of nowhere, the ram's eyes shine for a while and Stone Chisel's back starts moving on his own. It hurts and tickles at the same time, but he also gets scared while listening to bones moving inside his back with no pain at all, he gasps. Is he... is he doing that? Oh my god. Oh, Celestia, LaCrowley, Mom and Dad, whoever... this man is allegedly fixing his back by just looking at him. No. No. He feels the end. The end, his end... near. He doesn't know how to react to this, so he just does the only thing he can do: "AAAHHHH!" 

The shout is heard everywhere, with echo, something that makes the ram fix Stone Chisel's back faster and once he finishes with that, he fastly stomps one of his hooves in the Chisel's belly. "You... you have something that revived my hope." 

"What... what are you talking about?"

"You've got inside the statue I was trapped in, and something connected with my heart... my hopes... it was something so powerful the stone broke in pieces after you got expelled." 

"What?" says Chisel again, being trapped by the ram's hooves. "I... I freed you?"

The ram nods his head. "Yes... and you have something that belongs to me." 

Now, the robber feels a certain shiver around his body. "For you?"

"I felt connection. My hopes were revived when you entered... You have something that woke up my soul, and I don't know if it's you... or if it's something else inside you."

Stone Chisel, now with his back fixed, takes a breath and moves from where he fell. His back is OK now. "You... you fixed it?" he asks, trembling, looking at his loin. 

The dark ram nods his head. "I fixed it for you to answer my question, you filthy pony."

That way of saying filthy pony hid certain cruelty behind, something that made Stone Chisel shiver a bit. "Um..." says Stone Chisel. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"You don't know, you useless creature?" shouts aloud the big dark ram. "You dare to lie to Tenebris, the leader of the night rams?"

Oh... oh no. Did he? Did he, for real? Was Tenebris inside that statue where he broke in? The one that his mentor Black Magic LaCrowley told him was the first Wizard of Chaos... and also the cruellest? No, this must be a dream, no... No... "You... are Tenebris?"

"What do you think? You ponies left me here to cry... but I never did, you piece of litter. I'll have my revenge once I get my Rushkwa and my tribe of night rams again."

...Rushkwa? "What?" says Stone Chisel. "I've heard you were a wizard of chaos. That's why... Do you want to take revenge?... What did the ponies do to you?"

The dark ram, now known as Tenebris, approaches the thief. "They did this to me."

"What?"

"Don't you see? Trapped in the Tartarus as a statue. Cold mist around me because that's what I need to survive. They wanted me alive for eternity to suffer. And last but not least, this," he says, and then he points with a hoof to the gem on his neck. "A magical necklace which kills my inner power. The real me. They did this... the Princesses of the Friendship Ideology."

Now Stone Chisel begins to understand. "Friendship Ideology... you mean..."

"Celestia and Luna."

"Wow... how ironic, from the Friendship Community, isn't it?" he says, chuckling. "I'm also a victim of them, like you."

That last phrase makes Tenebris raise his eyebrows, confused. "You've been through my hell?."

"No, um..." adds Stone Chisel. "You see... my name is Stone Chisel and I'm a professional thief, and today I went through my trial and they told me I didn't know anything about friendship. What they don't know is that I know how to help people... but in a different way, don't you know? A mentor, that you may know, taught me that way."

"That I know?" says Tenebris. "A night ram of mine?"

Stone Chisel gets confused at hearing that because he has no idea what a night ram is. "Um... a stallion called Black Magic LaCrowley. One of the Wizards of Chaos."

"No," immediately answers. "I've got no idea about this Black Magic and the Wizards of Chaos."

"What?" says Chisel, shocked. "But LaCrowley said you were the first wiza--"

But at that same moment, Tenebris stomps Chisel with one of his hooves. "Listen, pony. I don't care about what you are telling me and I'm only keeping you alive because this obnoxious gem is controlling my power and also because I'm waiting for your answer to the question I asked before."

"Um..." he says, getting his loin stomped by Tenebris' strong hoof. "Seriously, I have no idea about that connection you meant. I have no idea! Let me go!"

"WHO DARES TO INTERRUPT MY PLAN?!"

The big ram and the stomped thief hear that shout from far away. Once Tenebris turns around, there is a blue light covering his dark grey aura, showing several, scary figures observing the scenario from beyond. At the same time he takes a look at one of the figures, Tenebris finds out he has a connection with him. "Me, Grogar, the Father of Monsters... nobody wants to face me while developing the plan that will invade these lands for my benefit. Who are you and why are you under my lair, stranger?"

Tenebris knows there is something wrong with them but doesn't say anything. He leaves Chisel alone, and the thief takes advantage to walk away, but once he looks that Tirek and Cozy Glow are behind the blue-haired ram, he decides to stand straight. They are with Grogar, a beast that used to appear in LaCrowley's tales. Furthermore, behind Grogar there are Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra, two of the scariest enemies of the lands of Equestria. Clearly, he knows this won't be something easy to get out of.

Tenebris, instead of getting intimidated by all of these presences, gets nearer them furiously. "GROGAR!" shouts the angry ram, in such a way it intimidates them back. "Where were you all this time?"

The ram gets confused, with a certain spark on his eyes. "And why I should tell you where I've been all this time?"

"Because you promised me you were going to help me against the enemy."

At a really awkward moment, Stone Chisel smiles at Tirek and Cozy Glow and slowly turns around to get out of there, but Tenebris also turns around. "You're not going anywhere until you answer my question."

"But... but!" shouts Chisel. "I've got no idea what happened and which kind of connection you felt!"

"I don't care," says Tenebris. "We'll find the answer together, then."

"Did you finish?" replies Grogar, again. "Don't you dare to hold the back on Grogar again, you piece of filth."

And at that moment, the gem in Tenebris' neck starts trembling uncontrollably, turning his eyes to a fiery orange. "The only piece of filth here is you, only you. You promised me you were going to stay with me until the end, but when they trapped me in the stone prison for eternity... where were you? Where were your promises when I failed? When my Rushkwa failed? WHERE WERE YOU?!"

Grogar suddenly discovers something from the ram, which is now intimidating everyone while his dark grey aura is slowly turning into a dark weak orange. "Oh," says Grogar. "Which silly mind did free you from the stone, Tenebris?"

"No way," says Tirek, looking at Stone Chisel in the back. "You did this? You freed Tenebris, pony?"

"Um... yes but no," says Chisel, holding his desire to run away. "It's quite a long story, I was messing around the pla--" He, instead of saying what he has to say, immediately runs away while trying to perform his spell. However, seconds later, gets trapped by magic, but this time is Grogar the one who holds him back. "NO! I'M FREE! I'M INNOCENT! DON'T SACRIFICE MY SOUL!"

"Shut up," says Grogar, "and tell me... how did you free Tenebris from his jail?"

"I just entered."

"How?" asks Grogar. "Nothing can pierce magical stone."

"He entered the jail for a second, I do not know how... but something connected with my soul and unleashed my inner powers so quickly it broke the stone from the inside."

"How?" asks Chrysalis. "Did this happen when Discord broke free from the stone?"

Grogar makes a small chuckle and looks to Chrysalis for a second, something that calls Tenebris' attention. If he knew there was something wrong before, now he is getting nearer to his point. "Discord was trapped too?"

"Uh-huh," replies the ram. "He was freed a time ago but luckily the Princesses defeated him, Tenebris."

The dark orange aura around the place is now getting lighter. The big dark ram is now getting furious while looking at Grogar's blue fur. "And how do you know that?"

Now, Grogar's allies are looking at him, confused. Where was Grogar all this time? And how does he know Discord was set free? "Come on," says Grogar, laughing. "You think I'm stupid enough to don't get informed about what is happening on my lands?" 

"And you think I am ignorant enough to fall into your lies?"

Grogar this time gets angrier and pushes Tenebris away with his hooves. "What are you talking about, you fool? Me, a liar? Grogar, the Father of Monsters, a trash talker?"

"You are not Grogar, in the first place!"

And in that right moment, Sombra, Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow and even Stone Chisel get confused at looking at both rams. "How is that possible?" interrupts Cozy Glow. "He looks like Grogar and talks like Grogar! He is, indeed!"

"No," adds Tenebris. "Of course not, filly. If the real Grogar was here he would have recognized me. He would have recognized his relatives, his partners, his long-time allies. Rams and Night Rams got on well at one time, and since the moment you called me stranger, I knew this wasn't Grogar... Who are you?"

"How dare you... you clearly are not recognizing me for who I really am, you imbecile night ram!"

Tenebris could handle this situation until Grogar insulted his family, his tribe. This fake Grogar clearly knows the tribal chief of the night rams, creatures of the North of Equestria, but doesn't consider him as an ally. At that right moment, the orange aura around the dark cave gets lighter and the gem in Tenebris' neck starts trembling much faster. "DON'T INSULT MY TRIBE!" he shouts while his blue eyes shine looking at the ram, only to spread a cold mist coming out of his mouth which covers Grogar for the whole. Everyone behind the ram takes a step behind but doesn't run away because they want to know what is really going on. However, the cold mist around Grogar suddenly increases its size, revealing there was a taller being imitating the ram. "I knew it. Grogar would never have insulted my tribe." 

Everyone gets shocked at realizing that Discord comes out of the cold mist. The God of Chaos looks everywhere around and stops when he looks at Stone Chisel. However, one of Tenebris' hooves covers the thief pony and stomps the draconequus' tail. "Discord?" says Sombra, shocked. "He tried to..."

"Trick us?" shouts Tirek. "Playing as Grogar?"

"Or maybe he was..." interrupts Cozy Glow.

"Why would he go back to the bad side again dressing as Grogar?" shouts Chrysalis. "He clearly wanted to play with us."

"I knew it," says Tenebris. "When you said I was a stranger, I knew it was you, Discord. No one else could have called me in that way."

"Hey!" shouts Discord, happily. "Hey, guys... Hey, Tenebris! Long time no see! Sorry if I couldn't help you to get out of your prison at Tartarus, you know... I didn't have much time because I was also---"

"Shut up," interrupts Tenebris. "Tell me how can I get rid of this gem and unleash the power you and that foolish bell gave me so I can complete my mission." 

"Hey, but..." says Discord. "Don't you know that there has been a new School of Friendship which practically gives access to all of the creatures for friendship? Clearly, your mission has been accomplished! Isn't it, guys?" he says while looking at his former allies, but no one says something because everyone is looking for the same: get rid of him. At that same moment, Tenebris gets Discord up with his magic. 

"I don't care about that now," interrupts Tenebris. "The United Kingdom of Creatures I had in mind is now gone, Discord. Now that the Princesses banished my community from these lands and they are dead or lost because of them, my mission now is to get my tribe back, get my revenge and then... go back into my lands where nobody would dare to battle us. Now, would you let me know how can I destroy this... hateful gem?" Discord desperately looks at Stone Chisel, who is still standing straight behind the night ram, but Tenebris finds that out. "Don't look at that waste, Discord, and tell me how can I get this gem out of me, because if I can't with my power, neither you!"

Discord doesn't know what he should do, so when he is about to snap his fingers, Tenebris smashes him against a wall with his magic, and nobody does anything. They, and even Stone Chisel, are standing to know who is Tenebris for real. "You know that bell gave me the ability to get the magic out of you."

"NO! NO! I won't tell you!"

"Since when you are the good one, Discord? The God of Chaos trying not to assemble pure chaos?"

"He was reformed by the ponies," interrupts Tirek. "He's on their side, not ours."

Tenebris turns around and looks at weak Tirek with his horns and his beard, with Cozy Glow staying behind him and having Chrysalis and Sombra next to him, who are just looking at the Ram with respect. "So... you are the new villains?" A mighty roar gets heard by all of them, and the orange aura gets much lighter, so much it blinds everyone. Tenebris tries to absorb Discord's magic, but seconds later he throws the draconequus away with his magic, while the dark ram is growling. "Imbecile gem... stupid, obnoxious gem... it doesn't let me..." 

Discord this time gets crashed nearer Stone Chisel, so the robber approaches him to help. That's when the draconequus looks at the robber. "You..."

"I can't absorb your magic," says Tenebris, while the evil alliance gets nearer them, without even saying a word, being shocked. "But I can do something else."

Tenebris' magic attracts lots of boulders and crashes them against Discord's hands. The draconequus doesn't shout but growls while looking at the evil dark ram smiling at him. Seconds later, both hands are trapped inside two big boulders, which doesn't let Discord snap his fingers. He has also a fragile chain made of stones. "If I can't use your magic, then you won't too," he says while stomping on Discord's tail.

"And how are we going to do what we were waiting for this whole time?" interrupts Sombra, looking at Tenebris. "Clearly, although he was going to trick us, Discord's magic can be useful for what we need."

Tenebris chuckles for the first time after hearing Sombra's words. "Looks like nowadays Equestria is talented at not answering questions," he adds. "I asked you if you were the ones who try to confront the Princesses. If you actually are, you are the weakest I've ever seen. You won't last even a minute."

Now, the four of them get offended and show their magic with their glowing horns. "Dare to say that again, fool!" shouts Tirek. "You dare to say I wouldn't last a minute against some stupid ponies?"

"You?" interrupts Chrysalis. "You fool, you got defeated by Princess Twilight Sparkle alone!"

"Hey!" shouts Cozy Glow, angrily. "Don't insult him! You were also clearly defeated by them!"

"Don't you dare to answer me, you pathetic filly," shouts Chrysalis. "You got defeated by six dorks which weren't even the princesses."

"I think this Tenebris' got a point," interrupts Sombra, taking a step forward. "The three of you were all defeated. That's why I'm the only one worth to defeat the princesses and obtain the bell."

"You?" shouts Chrysalis. "You got defeated by a baby dragon and your own citizens, stupid!"

"See?" interrupts Tenebris. "The four of you have been already defeated because you did the wrong things on your own. What you really need, rulers of the lands... is someone who can lead you in the proper direction."

"And who will be that leader?" shouts Chrysalis. "You? No, thanks."

"I think every one of us here has the same objective... you also want to get rid of the princesses?"

"Of course," says Tirek. "And originally, Discord said we were going to have the Bewitching Bell of Grogar in our hands..."

"I already have the powers of the Bewitching Bell that Grogar gave to me thousands of years ago in my body... but this necklace the princesses put me doesn't let me use it... that's why I'm trying to tell you peacefully, Discord, how can I get rid of this... because you always know everything."

"I told you I have no idea, Tenebris!"

"Shut up, I know when you are lying..." he says, and dares to look at the four villains one more time. "Truly everyone here has the same objective... even this filthy little pony next to me," he says, pointing at Stone Chisel. "And I already know Discord's lying, so... we can make a deal."

"We've already told you we don't want a leader," says Chrysalis.

"No," interrupts Sombra. "You said it because you are desperate for winning, but clearly we need a leader... and that leader will be me."

"Shut up, you fool," interrupts Tenebris, something that makes Sombra mad.

"How did you call me?" says the fallen king. 

"If you help me to destroy this gem, get my tribe and my soulmate Rushkwa back to obtain the lands that were taken off me and my community... I promise I will help you to get the Bewitching Bell and destroy the Pony Equestria together, as a team. The only important thing we need to do is to get rid of this gem, who Discord does know how to... but I think we will have to do something to make him say it."

"I deny working along with you after what you called me," replies King Sombra, something that makes Tenebris laugh.

"Don't come to me after you get defeated by a dull rainbow beam."

"Like you, a time ago."

"Shut your mouth up."

Despite Sombra and Chrysalis being against Tenebris' offer, Tirek and Cozy Glow look at each other and come up with a conclusion. "I mean," says Cozy Glow. "He found out Discord was Grogar with just exhaling his breath. That was..."

"Great," says Tirek. "But do you think you are good enough to lead someone like me, Tenebris? Sure not."

"Tell me," adds Tenebris, approaching Tirek. "If you think you can be the leader, then tell me the best of your feats, my Little Centaur."

"My name is Tirek, firstly," replies the Lord. "And my best feat was consuming the magic of almost every pony of Equestria, trapping the princesses and locking up Discord."

"Until Twilight Sparkle kicked your butt," interrupts Chrysalis, something that makes Tirek angry.

"Shut up, you useless changeling!"

"Useless? You tell me I am useless? At least I can morph into others!"

"You are more useless than him," interrupts Sombra. "Nobody is better than me here, even you, Tirek."

"Don't you dare to say that!" shouts Cozy Glow. 

"WOAH! WOAH!" shouts Stone Chisel. "Can we calm down, everyone? We can solve this like civilized creatures."

However, not only everyone looks at Chisel weirdly, but also all of them laugh at him, except for Discord and Tenebris, who are still waiting for the villains to stop. "Don't you dare to tell me what I should do, you pathetic," says Sombra. "You don't have the authority to even tell this pathetic filly your orders."

"Hey! What's wrong with me being weaker than you?" shouts Chisel. "That doesn't mean I can't tell you what's the best for you!"

"You are not going to tell us what's the best for us because you don't know anything, you earth dork!" shouts Chrysalis. "Get out of here!"

"I don't know anything, Miss Universe, Changeling Edition?" says Chisel, madly. "I'm a robber! A thief! I know how you act and why do you want to kick the princesses out!"

"You don't even have a horn to control magic," interrupts Chrysalis. "You clearly don't know how to handle our power, so shut up and leave us alone."

"Trust me," says Chisel, this time approaching Chrysalis. "I know how to handle magic better than all of you."

Chrysalis is about to attack Chisel, but everyone stops when Tenebris says something very shocking: "I killed Gusty the Great."

Now everyone looks at him, even Discord. The draconequus closes his eyes and sighs. "What?" asks Tirek. "What did you do?"

"I murdered Gusty the Great."

"The... the one who defeated Grogar?" whispers Cozy Glow.

"Yes. It was in a battle before the princesses trapped me with this necklace. I had all of my power and my Rushkwa with me. She was standing there, shooting magical, clear beams against me... and I didn't even find that out because they didn't hurt me. When I saw her... I only shot one beam. One beam... which went through her body and almost cut her in half. The last thing she saw was me looking at her bleeding out. She was afraid of how cold were my eyes while looking at her dying. Does that compare to any of your feats, you villains?"

Now everyone looks at each other, confused. They've done miserable things in their lives, but none of them was as cruel and ruthless as this one. Tirek is the first one to say something: "Wow... um... I've never killed someone in such a cruel way."

"And did you, you little filly?" Cozy Glow only shakes her head, so Tenebris now looks at Chrysalis. "And did you?"

"No," answers Chrysalis.

"Did you, red-eyed stallion?"

"No," says Sombra.

And finally, he turns his head to look at Chisel. "And did you?"

"Uh... no, I've never killed someone," he answers, something that makes Tenebris laugh.

"It looks like there's only one leader here, and its name is Tenebris and it's standing right here next to you. As I told you before, whether you help me to get this gem off, and help me to get my revenge, I promise you will obtain your bell and do what you want on these lands... just let me be with my community back and have my revenge, and then... you can do anything you want."

"But... do you want Equestria or not?" asks Tirek.

Tenebris sighs. "No. I've said I only want to get revenge for those who may have died out there. Everyone under the sun's loin will pay, and then... I'll leave with the survivors to my lands. The Kingdom will be yours."

Wow, everyone thinks. Not only do they have a powerful one who killed Gusty the Great on their side, but also he will give the Kingdom to all of them, without even complaining. Tirek, Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, King Sombra and Stone Chisel. Five creatures will become the most powerful beings of Equestria. "So..." says Tirek, smiling. "You do the work... and the kingdom is ours?"

"You'll do the work with me, but you'll keep the Kingdom and the Bell. Just let me take charge of Celestia and Luna."

"Sure," says Tirek, smiling.

"But... Tirek!" shouts Cozy Glow. "Didn't you want to face the princesses?"

"Yes, but if Tenebris can give us the kingdom in an easier way... I won't complain about it."

"Me too," says Sombra. "If only I could control every filthy creature of the lands..."

"Me among everyone..." whispers Chrysalis.

"The dream of being a queen..." also whispers Cozy Glow, but Tenebris stops their dreams when he speaks one more time:

"Just one thing. You can rule everywhere you want... except for my community. You dare to touch me, my wife Rushkwa or anyone of my night rams, and I'll assure you... You'll want to apologize personally."

"No problem, if you don't get on our business after the battle," says Tirek. "I agree with this crazy night ram."

"If you agree..." says Cozy. "I agree too!"

Now Chrysalis and Sombra have to speak. "If I have my Crystal Empire back, I accept," replies Sombra. 

"Sure," says Tirek. "And what about you?" he says, looking at Chrysalis. "It's 4 versus 1."

"Hey!" interrupts Stone Chisel. "Actually it's 4 versus 2. I haven't decided yet."

Once Chisel stops talking, everyone laughs at him, even Tenebris. "Who told you you were going to be here?"

"Exactly!" shouts Chrysalis. "You're not like us, you stupid!"

"You won't have anything because you don't need anything," replies Sombra. "Get out."

Cozy Glow also sticks out her tongue while looking at the robber, something that makes him mad: "I'm also a villain! Don't you know? I stole from others! People hate me and hey, listen... while all of you were defeated by Twilight Sparkle, I was free! All of you lasted less than me!"

The four villains chuckle, but then Cozy Glow and Sombra get mad at him and try to attack him, but Tenebris gets in the middle. "No. I need him alive."

"Why?" asks Chrysalis. "Are you literally defending a weak earth pony?"

"No, I need him because he hasn't answered my question yet... and Discord also didn't. Hey!" he says, looking at Discord. "I bet you tried to break the boulders with your magic, haven't you? I made them unbreakable for you because Discord's lent magic can do anything... isn't it?"

Discord now growls again. "Giving you part of my power to defeat the princesses was the worst thing I've ever done."

"Wrong. It was the best thing you did in your imbecile life, Discord. Admit it."

"Discord gave you part of your power?" asks Tirek. "I've heard you were a powerful guy... but not a Discord guy."

"It's called chaos magic, Tirek, and that's what makes me who I am. Long story I can tell you on the way... where is the exit? Do you know how to get out of here, Discord? Tell me. We're going to go outside, even you, grey pony... we need to find our connection."