//------------------------------// // Chapter seventeen: Return to Ponyville, finishing training. // Story: Season 10: Dawn of a new generation of Harmony // by xombiekilla //------------------------------// The Hippogriff soldier then shuffled back to standing and hugged his queen. "I-I'm sorry, Your Highness; I was the reason you lost the most protected relic from our ancestry." She consoled him by hugging him. "It's okay, Soldier. You did your best to protect your queen. That moron wouldn't even know how to open it with any luck." "He doesn't need to, Novo," Twilight told the hippogriff queen. "Hm? How do you know this?" "His job was only to retrieve Pandora's Box, not open it. If Chrysalis wants it, that makes it dangerous." Twilight stated as Celestia approached and spoke. "Twilight's right, Novo. Chrysalis might know how to open it; she's wicked, not stupid." "I was hoping to never hear of that name again. I've been told of her foul deeds. I'm aware of the attempts she has made in trying to take over Equestria. If I recall correctly, wasn't she recently sealed away in stone?" "She was." Twilight said to Novo as she continued, "emphasis on the word was." "Who released her? I know how that curse works; there's no way to escape that prison unless someone were to release you willingly." "That's what we're trying to find out, Novo. A mysterious stallion in dark robes let out Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis. For what purpose, I have no idea." Celestia spoke up. "So, our newest villain knows how to dispel curses then, huh? I'll admit, he sounds powerful. No ordinary equine or creature can do that alone unless they've had special training." As she was then in deep contemplation, Novo said, "But the question is, who was his mentor?" "That's just the thing; this guy is a total enigma; we know hardly anything about him. But I recall Starswirl saying that he felt like they had met. I'm not sure why he'd ever say that." Hero said, trying to help everybody piece together this mystery. "But that's ridiculous. Starswirl would never train somepony to be so.. cruel. There has to be a mistake." Twilight said to Hero. "It's what he told me, so I'm telling you." "I have a tough time believing that, Hero. You'll have to forgive me for that." Twilight said sharply to Hero, "It just doesn't make any sense to me. Why would he ever have worked to create such a terrible threat to Equestria?" Twilight was pondering with Novo, Celestia, and Hero as Starlight was still consoling Fluttershy but was listening. "Well, Twilight. I think it's safe to say that Starswirl might be our only lead to knowing anything about this guy." Celestia concluded to the group. "Well, unless anybody else has a better idea. I still need to report back to him, too." Hero said as they all looked at Novo. "Is there anything we need to do for you, Your Highness?" "Not much. But I do have a favor to ask of you all. Do your best to bring back Pandora's Box. You do not know how dangerous that thing is. If it were ever opened, darkness and evil unimaginable would get released from it." Novo said somberly, "this was why we guarded this artifact for so long. Chrysalis and that imbecile have no idea what they stole." "We promise, Novo. When we get Grubber and Chrysalis- and we will, we will get that box back. You have our pledge on that." Twilight stated as Novo started to feel relieved. "I will have faith in you guys that Equestria and my kingdom shall remain safe from the horrors of that box. My ancestors have fought against that darkness, and a few were tempted into opening it, but I refuse to allow such evil to ever see the outside of that box for as long as it exists. Be safe and successful in your travels, my friends." They bowed to her as she did to them as they bid their mutual respect and bade farewell from her palace. They were all currently boarding the train to head back to Canterlot. "So the Tainted are thankfully gone from Mount Aris, right?" Hero asked Twilight. "I can only hope so. If it was Grubber that summoned them, then they likely retreated with him." Then Starlight spoke up to Twilight, "but what about Tempest? That was her and not at the same time. That doesn't make any sense at all. And neither does this new big bad. Well, maybe Starswirl has more information for us now. Then, we'll be able to get one step closer to finding out his identity." "I'll send a magic signal to his tower once we return home. I want to know what in Equestria is going on here." Twilight couldn't shake that concern for her kingdom and home. "There must be something we can do to stop this from worsening." "I know there is, Twilight. We can all do this together." Starlight said to Twilight to help keep that fire of hope burning strong. "Yeah. We've got one thing that this guy doesn't: friendship. We can win this." Twilight then looked to Starlight and said, "Thanks, Starlight. That helped." "I agree with Starlight. We have the power of friendship on our side. We'll be able to prevail, just as we had done so every other time." Celestia said in agreement. "Look, everypony, Canterlot is approaching in the distance. We're almost home." Fluttershy said in relief after the huge fight they all had earlier. "Hey, Your Highness. I've got a surprise for you." Grubber came out through his portal to greet his queen. "Yes, Grubber, what is it? It had better be good." "I'm pretty sure that this would qualify as good." He showed off the black box, Pandora's Box. to Chrysalis as she grinned ear-to-ear upon seeing it. "Well, you have delivered, Grubber. Excellent work; you have redeemed yourself exceptionally." "Novo called that thing Pandora's Box. Was that what you were looking for?" "It was. With this, I can weaponize it to destroy my enemies. They'll never stand a chance against me- us was what I meant to say." "Well, consider my interest piqued. So I'm guessing you want me to open that box for you?" "No. I want you to lure those elements to me, and I'll open the box. I want to see the despair on their faces as I deal their doom to them." "I see. Well then, when shall we get started?" Grubber said as he was eager to begin. "Immediately," Chrysalis said with an evil cackle. The heroic company arrived back at Canterlot Train Station as they departed and headed back to Canterlot Castle. "Finally, we're back home. These Tainted are a huge problem and must be taken care of for the safety of our kingdoms." Twilight returned to the castle gates and saw Luna awake as she rushed to Celestia to hug her. "Tia! There you are. I was worried sick. Where did you guys go?" "It's alright, Luna. We had to go to help Queen Novo. The Tainted have attacked. I'm sorry we left on such short notice." "Those vile creatures again? When will these attacks cease, Sister?" "Honestly, Luna. I don't think they will anytime soon. Chrysalis and Grubber now have possession of Pandora's Box." Luna had a look of utter horror-stricken across her face. "No... not that thing. The last time we had to deal with it was so long ago. I was hoping never to hear of its name again. What are we going to do, Sister?" "I do not know, Luna. But we'll see what Starswirl has to say about this." "We must do that at once as time is of the essence. Twilight, use your spell to summon the gateway to Starswirl's Tower!" Luna said in an act of desperation. "Alright then, Who's coming with me besides Hero?" Twilight asked everyone. "I will, Twilight," Starlight said. "I'm going as well," Celestia said. "And so too shall I, Twilight." Luna finished. "Alright then, I'm sure you would want a break from today, Fluttershy. I can't blame you. Go and relax with everybody else. We'll be back." Twilight said as she shot a beam of magic out like a beacon to call upon the gateway to Starswirl's pocket dimension. "Please be safe and return here, okay?" Fluttershy asked as Twilight nuzzled her snout and nodded as the party left to go through the gateway portal. "So, you want me to create another distraction? I could do that to draw their attention." Grubber said to Chrysalis. "Patience, Grubber. The best things come to those who wait for the opportune moment. When ready, we shall create such wonderful chaos and destruction towards Ponyville. That will get their attention." Chrysalis said as they were already there at Ponyville Central, lying in ambush, waiting for the right moment to enact their plan. The heroic group made it to the floating isle of Starswirl's Tower. As they approached the door, Twilight knocked as Somnabula opened it up. "Oh? Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise? Come in, you guys. You're always welcome here." Twilight and company entered as Hero met eyes with Somnabula. "And I see you've gotten stronger since before you left our tower." "Yeah. We've been fighting those Tainted. They're getting stronger." Hero said as he mocked and flexed his muscles to display power, "But they're no match for my friends and me." This caused her to giggle as she gestured for us to ascend the stairs to Starswirl's Study. "Be that as it may, Hero. You still have your training to finish up. Don't keep Starswirl waiting." Somnabula finished as Hero, Twilight, and the rest of her friends then went to Starswirl's Study. When they got there, Twilight knocked on his door; she heard his voice say to her. "Come in." They did as he looked up from what he was reading to see Twilight. "Oh? Hello there, Twilight. It is a pleasure seeing you here. So then, what can I do for you?" "The pleasure is all mine, Starswirl. We came here for some guidance. We want to know if you've found anything we need to know about this new villain." He sighed sadly as he spoke, "Unfortunately, nothing yet. All I have is this badgering feeling of familiarity with this guy." "Ha. I told you, Twilight." Everyone there gave disapproving glares at Hero as Hero blushed from the embarrassment. "What? Was it something I said?" "And I can see that you still have that attitude of yours. Do you have a progress update on your training, Hero?" Starswirl said with a raised eyebrow as everyone looked over to Hero. "I-I do. I've gotten stronger against fighting those Tainted. I can feel it. Somnabula also noticed it. I've made great progress in making new friends, and we all saved Ponyville, Canterlot, and Mount Aris from the Tainted. I want to call that a victory, but I'll assume you've got another assignment from me, yes?" "I do." "Well, what is it then?" "I want you to embark on a journey of enlightenment. Stygian mentioned that he would do that as well before he left. I currently do not know what has become of him. If you can locate him, please relay anything back to me. A mentor always must look out for their students." "Yes, sir!" Hero saluted as he looked at Twilight, "So then, we going back to check up on Ponyville?" "Yeah, we should. To get everypony back home where they need to be. And you're still a student at the Friendship Academy, aren't you?" "Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that. It's where I first met Starswirl. His timing was impeccable." "Thank you. I may be old, but I still got it." Starswirl said in his sense of pride. "Yeah. I can see that. So you'll eventually get more information on our mystery man, right?" Hero asked Starswirl. "Indeed. Whatever I can dig up. Your knowledge of Stygian for my knowledge of your biggest threat: a fair exchange. Oh, and nice new clothes, Hero. They fit you." "Say, thanks. Rarity made them for me to fight the Tainted with- hey, since when did this become a bargain?" "I'm only kidding, Hero. Compensation is never needed. Having a sense of humor is refreshing, especially during these dark times." "R-Right. I knew that, right guys?" They all chuckled as Twilight spoke up. "Right... sure you did. Well, we'll be off to Ponyville Central then. We'll check with everyone there to see if they're alright." "Best of luck to you all, and especially you, Hero. Never forget how valuable you are; if you fall, so does Equestria." "Right. I'll be sure to be careful, Starswirl. You can count on me." They all bid their farewell to Starswirl as they left his tower and went through the gateway back to Canterlot.