//------------------------------// // Chapter 14:Hope after all // Story: The final challenge // by Dianabel //------------------------------// Spike hugged his knees inside his cage. After he killed Twilight, Grogar sent him to Tartarus. Ever since he arrived, he didn´t say a word. He was just there lying on the ground, waiting to be succumbed by darkness as he silently shed tears that formed a broken heart when they reached the ground. The pillars, Stygian looked at him sympathetically. They were very worried. Scorpan tried to reach him. “Hey kid, are you alright?” he asked concerned. “Leave me alone.” Spike replied. Meanwhile, the ponies talked to each other in whispers. “What do you think that happened for him to be so sad?” Rockhoof asked softly. “I have no idea, but if he got captured and is so sad, that´s not a good sign.” Stygian shook his head. “Do you think that Grogar did something to them, Starswirl?” Mage Meadowbrook asked scared. Starswirl the Bearded closed his eyes. “Could be. This is Grogar what we´re talking about. Everything can be possible.” “But if Twilight Sparkle and her friends aren´t capable of defending Equestria, who will? It can´t be up to us! We have no magic left.” Flash Magnus said. “Let´s not think that this is the end yet.” Mistmane tried to lift up the mood. “We need to remain hopeful. Right Somnambula?” Mistamane cuddled up to the sad pegasus. Somnambula sighed sadly. “I´m sorry Mistmane, but even I am having difficulty to remain hopeful. I want to believe that everything´s alright but-” her voice broke. “I can´t.” Mistmane put her hoof on Somnambula´s. Meanwhile, Scorpan kept on trying to communicate with Spike. “Do you want to tell us what happened?” No response from the dragon “It´s ok if you don´t want to talk about it now.” Spike turned his head to Scorpan. “I do want to talk about it!” he exclaimed desperate. “But I-” he panted while the image of Grogar shooting Twilight replayed in his mind. He pulled on his tears. “NOOOO!” Scorpan would have hugged him if he was in his cage, but he couldn´t. The only thing he could do was hold his claws. He shushed him. “It´s ok, it´s ok.” he repeated. “I am here. We are here.” he looked back at the pillars and Stygian. They smiled sweetly or showed concerned faces. “We care about you and we´ll be here for anything you need.” he dried Spike´s tears with his big hands. “But we can´t help you if you don´t tell us what happened.” Spike sniffed. “I can´t. If I try to tell it, it replays in my mind.” He put his claws on his head. “But even if you keep it to yourself, it will replay over and over again.” Mistmane continued. “Maybe it won´t stop immediately, but eventually, you´ll get better if you tell us what happened. I promise” she gave him a hopeful smile. Spike looked at them. No matter how painful it was, he knew that they had to know sooner or later. He gulped. “Ok.” “Just take some deep breathes before starting.” Somnambula advised. “Breathe after me.” After she inspired and expired slowly, Spike breathed. After taking a few minutes, he felt prepared. “Ok. I´m ready.” “Go ahead.” Meadowbrook ordered. “After being separated, I reunited with Twilight and the rest. We were planning on using the bell against the villains and Grogar but our plan failed: Grogar was able to get his bell back.” The pillars gasped. Starswirl´s eyes widened. He slowly sat down, trying to process what he just heard. “And the first thing he did with it, was-” Spike sobbed hard. “kill Twilight.” tears streamed down his face after he said. Scorpan covered his mouth after gasping soflty.The pillars´ eyes filled with tears. Stygian held the bars while panting. Starswirl felt great his heart wrenching as he cried. “And what´s worse, I couldn´t defend her. I wasn´t able to return the favor to my sister.” Spike said while crying. “No, don´t say that buddy.” Scorpan held his claws tightly. “I´m sure you did all you could. Seeing you blaming yourself like this would absolutely break her heart. Grieve, but don´t smash yourself for something that´s not your fault.” “I would advise to try looking ahead. But right now...” Stygian advised. “We have nothing to look forward to.” Flash Magnus scoffed. “Yeah! The only future I see is either rotting here or being executed.” Flash Magnus said. “So that´s the end of the pillars of Equestria, huh?” Rockhoof laughed sadly. “Defeated by an evil and unbeatable overlord, the once great pillars failed Equestria and spent the last of their days inside Tartarus until their last breath. That´s how our future legends will be.” “Just by thinking all the atrocities Grogar could commit against ponies, I get sick.” Meadowbrook put her hoof on her forehead. “And everything that Equestria was once, will disappear.” Mistmane lamented. “I might not have any hope left for us, but I do hope that somepony, in a far future, will stand up to Grogar like Gusty did. History tends to repeat itself, something we´ve just unfortunately witnessed.” Somnambula commented. Starswirl sighed. “I hope so, Somnambula. I hope so. But who knows how much time till then. Besides, confronting Grogar comes with events and images that will haunt you forever. I don´t know how many ponies will be willing to go through that.” Spike thought about what the pillars said. They seemed to have given up and expected the worst. But Twilight never gave up. And if she did, he or her friends always gave her a push. Looking far ahead, was too much for him right now. He couldn´t imagine a future without Twilight. But maybe he could think about a closer future. A chance to do a small thing that could at least motivate others to fight Grogar. The next thing that could happen was his choice. A choice he could make. For Twilight. Maybe he could not defend her from the hooves of the diabolical ram, but maybe that´s how he could honor her name. He frowned and got up slowly. “Maybe we don´t need to wait too long.” The pillars, nor Stygian or Scorpan understood what the little dragon meant. “I´m sorry, but I think that none of us caught that.” Rockhoof said while raising an eyebrow confused. Meadowbrook nodded in agreement. “What I mean is that we need to escape.” “But for what? To spend the rest of our lives running like fugitives?” Mistmane asked. “We are powerless Spike, we have no magic left. And without any magic left, we can´t battle Grogar.” “Maybe we cannot combat Grogar face to face, but maybe somepony else can. And the only way to find out who is by escaping. Besides, Grogar might have taken away our magic, but there´s something that he hasn´t taken away from us.” Spike smirked. “Well, clearly hope is not the answer, because Somnambula has none.” Flash Magnus said. “I was going to say our intellect. We might be able to outsmart him. That´s how Gusty defeated Grogar in the first place, right Starswirl?” he looked at Starswirl. Starswirl looked at the ground while thinking. “I guess so, yes.” “And while we come up with ideas, another pony could participate in combat.” The pillars, Stygian were still unsure about the idea. Scorpan, however, in spite of not knowing how Spike was planning to escape, he still wanted to listen to the little dragon. “Look, I know it sounds too idealistic, and believe me, I was thinking the exact same thing while explaining my idea. But.” he sighed. “It´s the only thing I can do for Twilight. To pay my debt for everything she has done for me. All her love and acceptance despite the fact that I´m not a pony, but a dragon, a species that has terrified ponies for centuries. She did not see me as a monster. Not for a moment. Instead, she treated me like family. In fact, she called me brother. I couldn´t repay her by saving her life, but maybe I can repay by not giving up.” Scorpan smiled at Spike. He put his hands on his shoulders. “You have no debt to pay for. You already gave her all your love. And I´m pretty sure that for her, that´s enough. But, if what you feel the need to do it, then I´m all for it. There could be some hope after all. What about you guys?” he asked the pillars and Stygian. “Count me in!” Stygian replied while elevating his hoof. “Aye!” Rockhoof answered. “Seeing you hopeful, makes me hopeful that the situation will get better.” Somnambula said as she dried out a tear. “I want to fight by your side.” “I have no idea of how we´ll do this, but hey! I guess there´s nothing better to do right now, so yeah, I´m in.” Flash Magnus shrugged. “I´m an elderly mare and I know that there´s not much time left for me, but at least I want to die knowing that Equestria will be in peace.” Mistmane put her hoof on her chest. “Yeah, and I still want to do my job.” Meadowbrook said. “I know that if I sit here till I am executed, I´ll never take it somewhere. If I fight, I might die, but I also have the chance to keep healing ponies.” Everypony looked at Starswirl. He was still a bit skeptical, but nopony seemed to be upset because of that. They seemed understanding, which gave him a warm environment to talk about his feelings. “What you want to do won´t be easy for me, my friends.” he explained after sighing. He put a hoof on his chest. “I myself have faced Grogar before, and believe me, it´s a rough process that leaves scars in your heart. Scars that are still trying to heal. But my dear old friend Gusty never stopped fighting despite everything she carried in her heart. So, in her honor, I will be doing this.” They all smiled at Starswirl. “So… Any ideas to escape?” Flash Magnus asked. Spike scratched his chin. “Well, when me and the girls were trapped in Tartarus-” Stygian gasped. Scorpan and the pillars were surprised as well. “You were in Tartarus?” Stygian asked unbelieved. “Yeah… It´s a long story. I´ll tell you later.” Spike cleared his throat. “Well, we used the magic from the creatures trapped in here and Tirek.” Scorpan gasped this time. “You used my brother´s magic? How?” he asked surprised. Spike started to get a little frustrated about getting interrupted every time. “Yes, another long story that I´ll tell you once we´re done with this. But as I was saying-” “Um… Buddy…” Rockhoof said to Spike while looking around nervously. “We are the only creatures trapped in Tartarus…” “Ok. Will you stop interrupting me, please?” Spike asked upset. Rockhoof scratched his foreleg while looking down with an apologetic expression. “Sorry…” “But yes, you´re pretty right. We can´t escape from Tartarus like I did last time.” “Then, we´ll think something else.” Mistmane said. Meadowbrook stared at Scorpan for some time. “Scorpan, now that I remember, Tirek didn´t take away your magic.” “Well… That´s because I have nothing to give. The only powerful artefact that I had was the Staff of Sacanas, and since the Storm King took it, I have no idea where it is. I myself haven´t got any magic.” “Don´t say that!” Starswirl told him. “Pegasi and earth ponies also have magic, even though they do not do any spells.” “Even I have some magic!” Spike added. “And I´m just a dragon.” “So… You mean that I am the key to get out of here?” Scorpan asked confused. Starswirl nodded. “But how? Even I had magic, I cannot transfer it to you!” “That´s true, but you might have the strength.” Stygian said while pointing at the bolts. Scorpan took his cage´s bolt. He looked skeptical at it. “Are you sure about this?” “Doesn´t hurt to try.” Flash Magnus told him. “Well, it would, actually.” Somnambula corrected him. “There´s a chance that he could damage his knuckles. Luckily, we have a doctor among us, so no worries.” she smiled. “I guess you´re right.” Scorpan agreed, still a bit insecure. He took another glance of the bolt. He inspired and expired before hitting the bolt. Fortunately, it broke and opened his cage. They all cheered at him. “You did it!” Somnambula exclaimed. “I knew you could do it!” Stygian exclaimed. “See? What did I tell you?” Flash Magnus grinned smugly. “You are stronger than you think, Scorpan. Don´t underestimate yourself just because you don´t have your brother´s or an unicorn´s abilities.” Mistmane advised him. “Yeah! Even stronger than your brother I dare to say.” Starswirl raised an eyerbrow while smirking. “He needs to absorb magic in order to get stronger, whereas you don´t.” Scorpan blushed. He smiled confidently. He opened his wings to get out of the cage. But Rockhoof tried to warn him something. “Scorpan, I´d advise that you watched something before you-” Scorpan tried to fly, but quickly fell to the floor. He forgot that his leg was still enchained to the ground. “Oh. Right.” he laughed nervously. He pulled the chain until breaking it. However, it was still wrapped around his leg. “Well, that´s a start.” he thought aloud while looking at his leg as he stood on one. Then, he broke the other cages´ bolts. The pillars, Stygian and Spike got out with some help to get up and walk. They were so weak that they couldn´t even run, and also too tired to walk. Scorpan stood in four legs and he opened his wings. “Hope there´s space for everypony.” he winked an eye. Fortunately, there was. Scorpan started to feel their weigh, so his legs shook a little. Seeing that he already had a big load, Spike decided not to ride on the gargoyle. Scorpan raised an eyebrow confused. “Don´t worry, I can walk. I´ll go slow, but I don´t suppose that´s a problem for you.” “Not at all. The better for me.” After some minutes of walking, they finally got to the door. “Now what?” Scorpan asked. “I have no idea. Did any of you see what Tirek did to enter here?” Spike asked to the pillars and Stygian. They all shook their heads. “We were almost unconscious, so I´m afraid not.” Mistmane replied. “Nonetheless, my guess is that he must have broken the magical bolt and after trapping us here, locked it again with his magic.” Stygian said. “That´s my guess too, yes.” Starswirl agreed. “If I could fly, I would try to burst it out.” Flash Magnus said. “Believe me, Rainbow Dash tried that and almost broke all of her bones. So, no, I don´t recommend that.” Spike told Flash. Flash trembled. “Then, how are we going to get out? By miracle?” Rockhoof asked while raising an eyebrow.” Suddenly, Scorpan heard something. He tilted his head and raised his left ear. “What is it Scorpan?” Starswirl asked. “I hear somepony talking.” he looked at Spike. “Spike, can get closer to the door and put your ear on it? Just to know what they´re saying.” Spike nodded and did as Scorpan said. He heard two voices conversating. He gasped happily when he recognized the voices. “What? What is it?” Somnambula asked. “Hope, Somnambula. It´s hope.” “And there goes the cliché line.” Rockhoof muttered under his breath. Spike shushed to hear better. “Do you have any idea of what this is?” a female voice asked. “Because I don´t know anything about pony geography.” “I´m not so sure, but my guess is that this is Tartarus.” “Tartas? Isn´t that a word for cakes?” another male voice asked. The first male voice sighed. “Tartarus. It´s an ancient pony prison where they kept dangerous creatures, including Tirek.” “How is it that you know so much pony history?” the female voice asked. “Ocellus told us all. Right guys?” Some voices agreed with the male voices. Spike´s smile grew wider. “Huh. Smolder didn´t tell us anything. You should check on your sister´s academic courses.” “Yeah, yeah whatever.” The other male voice said. There was a brief silence. “So you think that somepony´s trapped in here?” the female voice asked. “Could be, yes. Tirek could have trapped somepony here in revenge.” “For example?” “The official Equestria´s dragon ambassador and the Crystal Empire greatest hero. In other words, ME SPIKE!” Spike yelled from inside the cell nervously. He heard some gasps. “Spike?” the first male voice muttered. “Spike! This is Ember. I´ve come with Thorax and a few more allies. You inside?” the female voice asked. “Yeah! Me, the pillars of Equestria, Stygian and Scorpan.” “The pillars are there?” Thorax asked surprised. “Well, I have no idea who the rest are, but don´t worry. We´ll manage to get all of you out!” Even though he couldn´t see her, Spike knew that Ember was trying to burn the doors by the sounds she made. “Dragons, help me!” Despite there was more fire blowing, there were no results. “What? Why didn´t it work?” Ember asked confused. “These aren’t like any other doors you had ever seen, Ember. They are magical doors.” Spike explained. “Then, what do we do?” Thorax asked. Seeing that Spike was silent, Rockhoof decided to ask. “Well?” Spike turned his head back. “They´re Ember and Thorax, two good friends of mine. They´ve come to free us but have no idea how.” Starswirl´s eyes widened. “Wait. I might have an idea.” With Stygian´s and Somnambula´s help, he managed to get down Scorpan´s wing. He walked to the door. “Is there a magical creature with you?” Garble widened her eyes. “Spike, your voice has changed.” Garble said somewhat surprised. “That´s because I´m not Spike, I am Starswirl the Bearded.” The changelings and crystal ponies gasped. “I never ever thought that I would hear Starswirl the Bearded´s voice.” Thorax whispered in Ember´s ear excitedly. Starswirl stroke his beard. “Tell me. Is there some orange magic locking the door?” Ember and Thorax checked the door. “Yeah.” Starswirl turned his head to his comrades. “Our suspicions were right. Tirek´s magic is what´s blocking the door.” “That means that the only way to get out would be by magic.” Stygian thought aloud. “Can any of them use magic?” Starswirl asked the same question. “Can any of you use magic?” Thorax stepped forward. “Um… We changelings can, but I don´t think that our magic is strong enough to break it.” The pillars and Stygian looked at each other worried. It was completely impossible to get out without magic. So, how to do it? Scorpan lowered his head while sighing. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that Tartarus´ entrance´s floor was made of soil, unlike the place of his brother´s cell. “Maybe we don´t need to use the door.” he suggested. “We are standing on soil.” The ponies and Spike felt foolish for not noticing. “You´re right. How didn´t we notice it?” Flash Magnus asked to the other pillars. “Sometimes, stress clouds our judgment.” Mistmane exclaimed. “So, I guess we´ll have to dig, then?” Somnambula suggested. “But can we? We can barely walk!” Meadowbrook pointed out. “It would take days to get out!” “Um… Is everything´s alright?” Thorax asked, since he couldn´t hear Spike nor Starswirl. “Yeah! Scorpan just discovered that Tartarus´ floor is soil. We are thinking on digging, but I don´t know if we can do, since we have no magic.” “Who says it is you who must dig?” Angie intervened. She immediately turned into a mole and started digging up. The dragons, changelings and crystal ponies stared at the hole she just made. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she came back to the service. “Changelings. I might need some help.” she said while panting. “Oh. Right.” Thorax smiled nervously. He and the changelings turned into moles and helped Angie to dig a hole big enough for all their imprisoned friends. After some minutes, the changelings went back to the surface inside Tartarus. Fortunately, it was big enough for the ponies and Spike. But not enough for Scorpan. The changelings felt a bit bad for not taking him in mind. But Scorpan smiled warmly. “Don´t worry. I have enough energy to dig.” he started to dig. “See?” The changelings sighed in relief. They reunited in a circle, planning how to help them escape. Once they reached to an agreement, Thorax turned to the pillars, Spike, Stygian. “Ok. We´ll go one by one. The crystal ponies will help you going underground, and the dragons will help you to get out. So… Who´s first?” “I´m in!” Somnambula exclaimed with I tired smile while raising her hoof weakly. The changelings got out of the hole, turned to their original forms and helped everypony walk. Once they finished the path formed underground, they finally went back to surface, outside in the forest. They felt so relieved to breath some fresh air. The changelings reunited with all of them and returned to their original forms. The dragons helped the crystal ponies to get out of the hole. Scorpan arrived a little later than the rest. He coughed as he approached the pillars and Stygian. Spike hugged Thorax and Ember. “I´m so relieved to see you´re ok!” They patted his back. “Yeah, the same thing goes for you.” Ember said with a warm smile. Garble approached Spike and hit the back of his shoulder. “What´s up?” he asked in a friendly manner. When he realized he hit him too hard, he quickly apologized. “Sorry.” he muttered as he massaged the back of Spike´s shoulder. The little dragon smiled warmly. “It´s ok. You didn´t mean any harm.” “What brought you here?” Stygian asked. “After Spike helped us to free the Crystal Empire, the crystal ponies, the changelings and I decided to make a team to free all the imprisoned creatures we could. So far, we managed to free dragons, including Ember.” Ember nodded. “We have made a small camping near here. Come along!” Ember waved her arm. Scorpan stood on four legs and opened his wing, so that the pillars and Stygian could ride on him. “Are you sure you don´t want to ride?” he asked Spike. “I told I can walk.” “No, no. Right now, what you need is to rest.” Thorax disagreed. “If what you want is not to overwhelm Scorpan, ride on me instead.” “Really, it´s not necessary.” Suddenly, Ember took him with her two arms and put him on Thorax´s back. “As the Dragon Lord, I order you to do as the ruler of the changelings says.” Spike sighed defeated and smiled warmly. “Ok, fine.” “Let´s go then!” Ember exclaimed. On their way to the camp, the creatures talked to each other. Thorax decided to ask something to Spike. “There´s something that I don´t understand, how is it that you aren´t with the girls?” Thorax asked concerned. “Did you get captured? Are they still out there?” Spike bit his lip. He knew that he had to explain, but he didn´t want to have that awful image in his mind again. Luckily, Scorpan intervened for him. “Let´s say it´s a long story. I will tell you later, but not right now. He´s been through a lot and needs to rest.” Thorax nodded, being the understanding changeling he is. Spike thanked Scorpan with his smile. The gargoyle winked an eye. Ember also had a question for Scorpan. “You´re Tirek´s brother, right?” The gargoyle nodded. “But if you´re a weird lion-monkey like creature and he´s a monkey-horse like creature? How is it that you´re siblings?” Scorpan sighed a bit frustrated. The pillars and Stygian tried to hold their laughter. Thorax shook his head while narrowing his eyes. Spike rolled his eyes playfully. “Same old Ember.” he said.