//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The Return of Grogar // Story: [CANCELLED] The Revival of the Tambelonian Empire // by AlphaWP //------------------------------// CHAPTER 2: THE RETURN OF GROGAR The Legion of Doom was petrified in stone, and that was that. Day after day, ponies would walk by, and the villains would envy them for their freedom. Now, on the third year of their capture, they truly desired to walk again. “It’s horrible being trapped in here!” Tirek yelled, his statue visibly shaking. “How are we supposed to get away from each other when we’re stuck in the same statue?!” Chrysalis glanced back at Tirek. “It’s no picnic for me either. I was a Queen. I had an entire army at my hooves until Starlight Glimmer turned them against me. I was this close to finally taking her down. Now I’ll never have my vengeance!” “You think you two have it bad?” Cozy Glow replied. “I’m a pony! That means I’m not immortal like you guys. I won’t live forever! In 100 years, I’ll just be a dead mare in stone!” “Would that really be so bad?” Chrysalis coldly remarked. “Hey!” Suddenly, the Legion of Doom’s stone prison was surrounded by a magical blast. The villains were immediately teleported out of the stone into a large, dark throne room decorated with gray pillars, a red and yellow carpet, and banners appealing to the battle of Grogar and Gusty. “Where are we?” Tirek asked, trying to get up. “I don’t know,” Chrysalis replied. “Golly, the last time we were brought together in one place, it was by Discord. This must be someone even more powerful!” “Indeed, it is,” said a dark voice. The three villains looked over and saw a blue figure on the throne. He looked like Discord’s Grogar disguise, but taller. He had scars all over his body and cracks on his horns. His eyes were bright red, and his teeth were yellow. When the villains saw him, they asked: “Are you?” The figure let out a quiet, deep voice. “Yes. You may call me… Grogar!” “Grogar?” Chrysalis asked. “How are we to be sure you’re not Discord in disguise?” Grogar snarled. “I assure you—I am the true Grogar.” “Prove it the—” Before Chrysalis could finish, Grogar let out a gigantic blast of magic from his horns. “Is that enough for you?” Chrysalis got back on her hooves. “Yes.” Cozy Glow sat on Tirek’s shoulder, who just rolled his eyes. “If you’re the real Grogar, why aren’t you trapped in another realm?” Cozy asked. Tirek flicked Cozy off of him. “Gusty the Great banished you to the Realm of Darkness. How did you escape?” “Three years and seven months ago, when that filly drained the magic of Equestria, it weakened the walls of my prison. That magic was brought to my realm, and I was able to absorb enough to climb through.” “Wait,” Cozy said, lifting her hoof to Grogar. “Why are you just coming back now? Why didn’t you come back a long time ago?” “Millennia of being trapped in another realm can weaken one’s powers, small filly. I only recently gained enough strength to free you from your prison. You were the only villains who came close to defeating Twilight Sparkle and her friends.” “Why would you need us?” Chrysalis asked. “We have nothing. Not since those ponies drained us of magic.” “You could do it with my magic and you can do it again!” As Grogar spoke, a wave of magic came from his horns and onto the villains. Before long, their powerful forms were restored. “Yes! The Queen reigns once more!” Chrysalis hissed, her glowing yellow eyes and bright green regalia around her black body. “Babies! You’re back!” Tirek shouted, while kissing his muscles. He was in his fourth form: even stronger than that of the Bewitching Bell previously. “Long live Princess Cozy Glow!” Cozy exclaimed—with her horn and crown on once more. “You may keep these forms on one condition,” Grogar informed. “You pledge your loyalties to me and me only.” “Of course, Emperor Grogar,” the villains said, seemingly in unison. “Good. Very good. Now I have generals for the army.” “What army?” Chrysalis asked. “My army! An entire population of undead creatures known as the Troggles. They may be deceased, but we shall bring them back!” “But how do we do that?” Cozy asked, scratching her forehead. “With a creature of dark magic, a shadow umbrum.” “But the shadow umbrum were wiped out during the Crystal Wars!” Tirek exclaimed. “There is one that remains. The very one that ruled them.” “You don’t mean that arrogant cloud of smoke, do you?” Chrysalis asked. “He was arrogant only because Discord was soft. Sombra is a being of darkness—of fear—and that is what I control. King Sombra shall be loyal to me and me only.” “How do we bring him back then? He was obliterated by the Mane Six. He’s long past dead now,” Tirek said. “He may have been obliterated, yes. But he is not dead. Rather, he is stuck in the Aether, where his kind are as well. Using my magic, he shall become my servant and a useful weapon against the ponies!” Grogar sent a blast of magic in front of the villains. The blast lingered on the ground before forming into bright, smoky, red eyes. “Where am I? How did I get here?” “You are somewhere where you are needed,” Grogar responded. “Who are you? I will destroy you!” “No need for that now. You may call me Grogar.” “Grogar? But in that cave, I thought you—” “That was an imposter! A fragment—created by Discord to test Twilight Sparkle!” “Discord? Then you are truly the Father of Monsters?” “Indeed. Serve me, and you shall earn great rewards.” “I was a fool to believe I could take Equestria alone. I accept, my Emperor.” Cozy Glow appeared in front of Sombra. “Hey, Sombra. It’s nice to see you again.” “The filly? And with a horn? And it’s ‘King Sombra’ to you.” “She is an alicorn because of my magic!” Grogar yelled. “I gave the filly a new form, the changeling Queen royal power, and the centaur strong magic!” “Then what am I to have?” “This!”  Grogar let a blast from his horns and Sombra was surrounded in black and gray smoke. Laughing, Sombra activated his horn and destroyed a pillar. “Yes! My full power has returned! I will not let you down, my lord!” “See that you do not,” Grogar ordered. “Well, now we have everyone,” said Chrysalis. “Not everyone,” Grogar replied. “Who could we be missing?” Tirek asked. “A warlord who had an army of loyal satyrs at his command. The very one who manipulated the Royal Guard captain: Tempest Shadow.” “Wait, wasn’t that the Storm King?” Cozy asked. “He was killed during the battle of Canterlot,” Tirek remarked. “Nothing could bring him back, not even you!” “The Storm King was indeed shattered, but in a petrification spell, a soul neither moves on to the Underworld nor the Utopia!” “Then we can bring him back?” Chrysalis asked. “Yes!” As Grogar spoke, another blast of magic appeared and brought what appeared to be a statue of the Storm King. Using his magic, Grogar reassembled it and freed the satyr. “What’s going on? How am I free?” “Because of my magic. You have been revived to serve me: Emperor Grogar.” “Grogar? Then the stories of the First Emperor of Equestria are true!” “Indeed; we have big plans for you.” “We?” Glancing to his left, the Storm King noticed the other villains. “You and these other villains have been restored to power for one purpose: to help me take back Equestria as my own!” “Wait, restored to power? I don’t even have my staff… or magic!” “If it is magic you desire, then I shall fulfill your wishes!” Grogar let out a blast of magic and the Staff of Sacanas appeared in the Storm King’s claws. “My staff!” “You may keep your staff if you help me in my quest for power.” “Of course, my Emperor. But wait, what’s in it for me?” “Power!” Tirek yelled. “Vengeance!” Chrysalis hissed. “Magic!” Cozy shouted. “Respect!” Sombra exclaimed. “These luxuries are yours if you follow me and me only,” Grogar ordered. “Then I am your servant most humble.” Smiling, Grogar and the other villains gathered around a crystal ball. Focusing on the ball, Grogar brought up an image of him and Gusty the Great. “Long ago, Gusty the Great banished me to the Realm of Darkness. She locked my Bewitching Bell away on Mt. Everhoof. It now resides in Canterlot Castle. You five shall work together to retrieve it.” “Why do you need the bell?” asked Cozy Glow. “Your magic is much more powerful than what we ever came across,” Chrysalis remarked. “The power you received was but a fragment of its true power. In my grasp, the Bewitching Bell is a powerful weapon, with the magic of the Fallen One himself!” “The Fallen One?” asked the villains. “Who?” Cozy Glow asked. “Indeed. And, once you retrieve it, we shall be unstoppable. But before you do, there is but one more thing that I must do.” “And what’s that?” Chrysalis asked. “I must recruit a powerful group of allies to our cause!” “And who could be as powerful as us?” Tirek asked, with Sombra nodding in agreement. “Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk: The Sirens!” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “The Sirens? They were defeated by Twilight Sparkle in the realm they were banished to. How are we supposed to free them?” “Do not worry, changeling,” Grogar answered, “I assure you, if I could restore your power, then I can restore theirs.” “How are you even going to reach them?” asked the Storm King, who was hanging off the ceiling. “I may be weakened from giving you power, but together, we have enough magic to create a portal so that I may enter their realm and bring them back to us. And get down to the floor!” Following Grogar’s order, the Storm King jumped down to the floor. Afterward, Grogar and the villains used their combined force to open a portal. “Now, my servants, you five shall stay here while I go to the Human Realm. And know this: anyone who dares defy my orders shall be… exterminated.”