Chapter 11: Where Evil Grows
~Shard~
It was with a heavy heart and a heavier mood that the elements were laid out on the map table after the group had returned to the Friendship Castle. In all his life, Shard had never seen the element bearers so despondent; grim faces all around. Even Twilight looked as if she was about to cry.
"There's nothing we can do about this?" He asked, hoping to be helpful. "No records of how to restore the elements?"
"The Tree of Harmony is gone." She said mournfully. "Without it, there's no way to replace the gems."
"Hey, come on." Said Flurry. "You lot have to wake up! You're the elements. You lot saved Equestria more times than anypony can count."
"Haven't you been listening?" Said Harmony, her voice uncharacteristically angry. "Without the gems, there's no way to access the magic. No Tree, no gems, no magic."
Shard looked on, shocked and saddened, but in silent agreement.
"Oh, come on now." Said Discord, looking exasperated. "The power was in all of you, not in the gems. Remember what the Tree represents?"
"Discord's right." Said Shard. He looked to Twilight. The glow in Twilight's eyes had been penetrated somewhat, but regained a glimpse of its former luster at her words. "Remember? All those stories you told me; all the enemies you defeated. Even without your Alicorn Magic, you still beat Tirek."
"And you beat Chrysalis. Twice even." Said Flurry. "Three times if you count the incident with the comet."
"And my Dad." Said Shard, gesturing to his father. "No offense."
"None taken." Said Sombra, grinning sheepishly. Beside him, Hope put a hoof on his shoulder.
"And... well, you kind of, sort of did defeat me as well." Discord said, most unwillingly. "But I reformed, so it doesn't count."
"Yes it does." Muttered Twilight.
"We can still defeat Grogar, even without the elements." Harmony slammed a hoof on the Friendship map, making it quake. "Send to all of Equestria's neighboring kingdoms for aid. We've got to take this battle to Grogar himself!"
At her words, the map began to glow and suddenly sprung to life. The expanded sections suddenly appeared as well, giving all a glimpse of the outer regions of Equestria, which everycreature present quickly realized were on fire.
"No need, Harmony." Twilight said grimly, her eyes widening in shock. "He's bringing it to us."
Closer inspection of the map revealed a number of locations being attacked - Mount Aris, Yakyakistan, Griffonstone and even the Dragon Lands, along with a portion of the Everfree Forest just outside Ponyville, near the Castle of the Two Sisters.
Tempest chose this moment to have her voice heard. "Princess Twilight, I suggest we divide into groups. Each should take a detachment from the Friendship Guard and reinforce the regions under siege. I will lead the defense of Ponyville in case Grogar's legions return."
"When we've dealt with each of the regions under attack, we'll regroup here and plan our next move."
"In the meantime, I have an idea that just might work. Shard, you need to come with me. I'll need your help," Said Sombra. "But I don't think you're going to like it."
"Father?" Said Shard, curious. "What do you mean?"
"You'll see."
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~Chrysalis~
In the depths of the Everfree Forest, far beyond even the Princess' knowledge, Chrysalis, the Changeling Queen stood, contemplating her next move.
"I'm sure to get my revenge, no matter how long it takes. Isn't that right, Mean-Twilight?" She said with a chuckle, gripping the purple log and staring into its lifeless wooden depths. It didn't answer, of course, but talking to it had helped keep the maddening isolation at bay.
In the wake of her last, minor setback nearly twenty years ago, Chrysalis had wandered Equestria in disguise, feeding on what little scraps of love she could get. Even though she had barely managed to scrape by, her will was strong - and she held off the mental deterioration by reminding herself of how much she would make Starlight suffer, once her next master plan could be completed... whenever that chance presented itself.
In the meantime, she had contented herself with staying low in the wilderness, just near the Everfree Forest - trying to stay beneath Twilight's notice and frightening off whatever creatures came at her.
"No matter that I have no hive, no allies, no subjects. That will not stop Queen Chrysalis!" She said aloud to no one at all, cackling at the sky as she did so.
She was about to make yet another declaration before she found herself engulfed by a powerful spell, one she instinctively knew was a teleportation spell. Suddenly she found herself afloat - then was spirited away into the air. As soon and suddenly as the spell was completed, she found herself in a strange looking cave of red rock and with what she recognized as a scrying orb in the center of a vast chamber.
Readying herself with a snarl, Chrysalis' eyes scanned the chamber - coming to rest on a familiar looking figure.
"Lord Tirek?" She wondered aloud.
"A Changeling? Here?" Said the Centaur. "See? She gets it." He gestured to what appeared to be a Pegasus Filly, though closer examination showed lines on her face, indicating she was actually much older than she appeared. Most probably she had her growth inhibited somehow.
"Where am I? Why did you bring me here?"
"Oh golly!" She exclaimed in a high voice, hiding behind Tirek's back. "We didn't bring you. We thought you were the one to spring us from Tartarus!"
"Tartarus?" Chrysalis repeated. She was aware of that cursed place. Only the most vile and ruthless of Equestria's enemies were imprisoned there. "It must have taken somepony very powerful to remove you from that place."
"If you didn't bring us here, then who did?" Tirek wondered.
"It was I." Said another voice.
The Changeling, the Centaur and the Pegasus turned, just in time to see a blue furred ram emerge from the shadows and take a seat, just behind the scrying orb. A red collar was about his neck, along with what appeared to be gold rings. Huge horns curled above his head, glowing with awesome magical power.
"You may call me... Grogar."
Chrysalis gasped in recognition. "The Grogar!? I have heard of you."
"I thought you were only a myth!" Tirek exclaimed.
"Who?" Said the Pegasus.
"I assure you, I am quite real." Said the necromancer, eyeing the three up and down. "I have brought you three here as part of my plan to rid Equestria of Twilight Sparkle and her friends."
"I have heard stories of the first Emperor of Equestria." Chrysalis said.
"As have I." Said Tirek. "I remember reading about his tyranny when I was young. I heard he was called the 'Father of Monsters'."
"In Ancient Equestria, I gave life to the foulest of creatures and allowed them to take what they wanted and destroy the rest." The orb glowed in response to his words; suddenly shadowy creatures appeared within its depths. The imagery shifted, showing them laying waste to Equestria, stealing and killing everything in their path. "My reign was a glorious epoch of darkness. I even created the Umbrum, long ago to serve as my agents, to continue my work in case I should ever fall."
"And you did." Chrysalis spoke up again. "When Gusty the Great defeated you and stole your Bewitching Bell."
"That fool," Grogar snarled. "-Believed that stealing my bell would defeat me forever. However, I have spent the last few thousand years gathering my strength; biding my time for my return. And now, I have tried and tested the Elements of Harmony - and I have succeeded in destroying their source of power, this 'Tree of Harmony' that they drew their strength from. Thus weakened, I planted the seeds of their destruction. All that remains is for us to divide and conquer Equestria, and all the land will be ours!"
"What are you suggesting?" Chrysalis eyed the ram. Ancient powerful evil or not, she was not about to let somecreature order her around.
"I suggest nothing." Grogar replied, putting himself directly in front of her and glaring. For the first time in a long time, Chrysalis felt a twinge of fear. "I demand that you join me."
"How can you be so sure?" She managed to retort. The words rang hollow, even in her own ears. She struggled to think of an excuse. She found one. "Those ponies only defeated me because they cheat."
"And they are annoyingly lucky!" Tirek chipped in.
"I'm just a kid." Said the Pegasus, even though that was obviously untrue.
"It is because they work together." The ram sat down, gesturing once more to the orb. It showed each of the element bearers - and Starlight - and Chrysalis seethed at the sight. "Where one is weak, the others are strong. As long as they work together, they are formidable - but there is a weakness that we can exploit."
Suddenly the view shifted - this time to another figure - one that Chrysalis was all too familiar with - King Sombra. Strangely, he did not appear as he did before, like when Chrysalis last knew him. He appeared... normal. Like his shadow powers were gone. A little closer look - and suddenly it hit her. That was exactly what happened. Sombra had lost his power. He was no longer an Umbrum.
"King Sombra?" Tirek wondered. "What use is he?"
"He is a King no longer." Grogar said. "He forsook the dark powers I used to give him and his race life. Now he is but an ordinary pony. However, the balance in him may have shifted one way, it can just as easily be shifted back."
"Are you saying you mean to corrupt Sombra once again?" Tirek asked, raising one massive eyebrow.
"Precisely. In that was but one step of my master plan." Grogar chuckled darkly. "The next was to destroy the Tree, which I have already done. Step three has begun. Open war."
"And I suppose the Umbrum somehow have a role to play in this plan?" Chrysalis asked. "They answer to no pony."
"Not quite. The Umbrum are destroyed." Grogar looked quite irritated at that statement. "Twenty years ago, an old enemy sacrificed herself to remove them from this world. But it is of no matter. My armies are already on the move. While the ponies are distracted, we will make our next step."
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~Blitz~
Being a career soldier in the Royal Guard of Equestria came with a number of perks - not the least of which was the discipline and focus that came with the training to follow orders without question. What the guard did not prepare Blitz for was talking to his longtime crush, Harmony Shine. Every time he looked at her, his tongue tied and he found himself mesmerized by her beauty.
A little known fact about Blitz was that he had some deep seated insecurities which he tried to hide using his wit, bravado and his eagerness to get into the action. Following in the hoofsteps of his father, Sergeant Rapid-Fire, he had a reputation for being fearless in combat and a skilled combatant. However, what most ponies didn't realize that he certainly did still feel fear - it was just so that his training had taught him to punch and kick his way through danger rather than freeze up.
To his great annoyance, none of that prepared him for when he, Brier Shade and Harmony Shine had been given a mission together. His mood further darkened when he noticed how the two of them exchanged glances every so often - and even he could see the sparks they shared. Jealousy flared in his chest as he watched them smile and lightly brush each other every so often as they walked.
Because they were not going far, to Sweet Apple Acres, they had forgone flight and simply trotted to it at a leisurely pace. It was a quiet trip, but Blitz felt the urge to speak up - say something, anything that might separate them - give him a few minutes to speak to Harmony alone, but that was against his honor code and would make him a bad friend. He liked Brier - but he couldn't help but feel that the hybrid was in the way.
Blitz had met Harmony Shine three years before, when his father retired from Guard service and nominated him in his place. Blitz first took notice of her when she was with her mother, Twilight Sparkle on the balcony of her Castle, watching him and the other new recruits in training. From the moment he first caught a glimpse of the young princess, he was smitten - completely taken in by her beauty - the way the sun caught in her purple hair and her eyes.
Their introduction had come after one of his training sessions - when Captain Shadow introduced him to her and Princess Twilight as per his promotion to Corporal. It had been short, but he had tried to make a good first impression - yet he couldn't help but notice the Princess' shy looks and the way she averted her eyes whenever the conversation between her and Captain Shadow had turned to her own instruction. Apparently, Harmony was born an Alicorn, but she had given up her horn - a fact which caused her no small amount of anxiety.
Now? She had regained it, and she seemed much more confident - perhaps too much so, at least towards the hybrid in Blitz's opinion. She was much more open - she chatted openly and laughed whenever he shapeshifted as per some lame joke.
Through the whole walk, Blitz kept his face carefully forward and his mouth shut, but the whole time, he was wishing it was him that brought her such joy while at the same time he wrestled with the guilt. What kind of friend would he be if he wasn't happy for Brier?
...The kind who was infatuated with her and too much of a coward to act on his feelings, that was who.
With a heavy heart, he turned his gaze away from the two and looked up at their destination; the Apple Family's farm house. It hadn't changed much, but there was the unmistakable smell of burning carrion. No doubt the enemy had tried to flank around this place and use it to hit the defenders of Ponyville in the rear during the earlier fighting, but they would find it impossible. Applejack's older brother, Big Mac, her sister Apple Bloom and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were at the farm - as were their distant cousins - the Pie sisters.
"Howdy there!" Came a small voice.
The three turned and were greeted by the sight of two grey Earth Ponies. One was Boulder, he knew, the other was a little filly he did not.
"Hey Beryl." Said Brier. "And Boulder, it's good to see you."
"Hey Boulder." Said Blitz. "Who's the filly?"
"This here is ma older sister, Beryl Pie."
Blitz blinked. Did he hear that right? "Come again?"
"Beryl Pie!" Said the little Earth Pony, jumping up and down on her brother's back. He did not even seem to notice or care. Compared to her, he was massive. "I'm Boulder's big half-sister! We got the same Mama, Maud Pie - but our daddies were different."
That was something Blitz did not know. He knew that Maud's husband was Trouble Shoes, but he had never guessed that she might have had another child - let alone an older one. But then, he didn't know much about Boulder, except that he was quite an accomplished chef - (if you had a taste for rock based dishes that is) and that he enjoyed geology, mining and chiseling.
"And who's your pappy?" Blitz mentally kicked himself. These country colloquialisms were contagious.
"My Daddy was Mud Briar. Mama's first husband." The little Earth Pony's ears drooped a bit as she spoke. "He died when I was just a little filly, but if Mama hadn't met Trouble, my little brother would never have been born!" Her grin quickly returned as she patted her half-brother's mane.
"And me and ma big sis have been thick as sedimentary ever since I was born." Boulder said with a rare, small smile.
"We heard that the farm had been attacked during the fighting." Harmony said. "By the wights."
"Sure did." Boulder said, gritting his teeth. "Them corpses went and wrecked our cousin's farm. We was lucky we were here when it happened."
"We 'Were' lucky, little brother." Beryl corrected. "But yeah, you should have seen it!" She wooped, shadowboxing with her tiny hooves. "Boulder here ripped right through those cadavers!"
That didn't surprise Blitz. He knew that Boulder was quiet and slow to anger, but it was even harder to get him to calm down. When combined with his Earth Pony strength and size, he was a force to be reckoned with. Adding on to that was the fact that, while he was enormous and powerful, he was anything but slow. He had seen it before during one of his spats with Cosmic Flare. In the time it took for him to blink, Boulder had come between them and put a stop to it.
The mental image of Boulder fighting Wights contrasted with the gentle image he had of the quiet pony, but then, further examination of the farm and he caught a glimpse of a pile of corpses. Truly dead corpses that were piled into one gigantic, burning mound. Most of the corpses were smashed into pulverized muscle and bone fragments - no doubt Boulder's doing.
"He was stomping and kicking them right over the horizon, they never stood a chance!" Beryl started to jump again, Boulder looking away bashfully at the praise.
"Weren't nothing." He said quietly. "I'd never forgive myself if any of them hurt you or Granny."
"Speaking of whom, is Big Mac here?" Harmony asked.
"No, he took cousin Sugar Belle, the Pie twins and Lil' Cheese to my Mom's Rock Farm before the Wights showed up." Boulder explained. "I was in town, visiting Shard and Blitz here. Big sis wanted to come along and introduce herself, once Shard's date with Flurry was done."
"And when the wights arrived, I wanted to help little brother here fight, but he had it covered." Beryl said, her grin fading somewhat. "I wish there was something else I could have done to help."
"As a matter of fact, there is." Harmony said. "We're going to head to the Everfree Forest in a little while and scout out where the Wights first came from. We could use Boulder's strength and maybe find something for you as well. Your expertise on rocks might be useful. Would you like to come?"
"Would I?!" Beryl exclaimed, excitedly thumping her hooves. "Me, my little brother and you three, on a whirlwind adventure!"
"Glad you're so excited, Beryl." Said Brier dryly. "But this is serious. We need to be prepared for anything."
"Come on, Brier." Said Blitz, interjecting at last. "We got me, a soldier in the Royal Guard. We've got you, the Guardian of the Everfree Forest, the Princess of Friendship's heir and Boulder Pie with us. What's the worst that could happen?"
