Pinkie skipped up to Scanlan and began to join him in the song.
Percy stepped to the side and watched them.
Twilight smiled as she sat down and watched the party. Looking back at Percy, she asked, "Is something wrong with me?"
"Hmm?" Percy looked at her, “Not that I'm aware of, why?"
"We have one of the eight items, one of the gods is down, and we are all safe. I should be happy and excited but I'm not!" Twilight said with a small shout. Shaking her head, she said, "My mind is just filled with what we have to do in the future, all of the risks we have, and what we are still missing. What if we fail, what if we mess up? What if we got lucky this time? I went here to look for the item and the font for earth pony magic to help me and I haven't found that yet!"
She let out a small little grunt and slam a hoof onto the table, "We're partying and we only barely completed step one! And I should be happy, but I'm not... I’m not."
Percy groaned inwardly(Of all ponies she could complain to, she complains to me!)"Well, we did make a big leap. Today I did not expect to kill a god, but here we are." He looked at her, “How many days do we have left?"
Twilight looked up at the moon, "About 53."
"Then we'll be fine." Percy looked at her,"The map does show the next area, right?"
Twilight brought out the map, "We are here at Westruun. The next few areas are to the north, east, and south. Then of course we have the other parts of the riddle."
Vex leaned over Twilight's shoulder," South would be..." She noticed Syngorn to the East,"Of course."
"A problem dear?" asked Rarity.
"That's where our... father lives." She hissed a little.
Vax looked at the south,"Well, at least the Earth Pony font and Kraghammer are next, so we won't have to meet him for a while."
"So, do you need me to punch that deer in the antlers when we meet him?" asked Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy shook her head, "Dashie, let's hold back on the beatdown until later. Let's enjoy the party."
Scanlan then shouted,"Yeah, they're doing Limbo over here!"
"HA! None can defeat the master of the Limbo!" Pinkie shouted.
Twilight looked on as they began to dance and gave a soft smile.
Keyleth giggled and looked at Vax, "Heh, has anyone told you that you look cute with those antlers?"
"Um, occasionally?" said Vax, watching Keyleth's drunken motions, "Maybe we should consider getting you to an inn?"
"Oh, in and out, in and out, I don't care as long as it's you," Keyleth giggled and nuzzled Vax.
Vex sighed and shook her head. Turning to see Percy sitting at a bench, lightly drinking, she sighed and walked over to him, "You know this is a party, right?"
"Yes," Percy said, looking at his glass.
"Which means fun, right?" asked Vex.
"Yes," Percy confirmed.
"Good, this means that you won't complain if I take you to dance!" Vex said, grabbing Percy’s hoof and pulling him into the square.
Rainbow Dash watched as Percy was taken to the dance floor and laughed a little. Looking back to Fluttershy, she smiled as she watched her friend tend to Trinket. Flying over to her, she said, “You, are gonna dance."
"Wha-eeep!" Fluttershy let out a squeak as she was taken to the dance floor, the two hovering above the rest as they began to dance.
"Let us party the night away everypony! So that way we are too drunk to remember our problems tomorrow!" shouted Scanlan.
---------------------------------------
"And you said, all she wants is a map of Glidesdale?" a mare asked.
"That's all she needed from the Slayers take," the male voice said.
"And she took on the project, all alone?" asked the mare.
"In record time too."
Samus stood over the corpse of the dragon, sighing. She looked down at her hoof and frowned, "An adult white dragon was nowhere near as fun as I thought."
---------------------------------
The next morning, Rarity woke, snuggled up to Grog, "Oh dear, please tell me that I passed out drunk where we fell."
"Oh, you got sloshed, So I cuddled you," Grog said.
Keyleth moaned,"Can somepony give me some coffee, and a crossbow to shoot myself?”
"Remember, suicide is not the way," Pike said with a warm smile.
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but laugh, "Being a pegasus is awesome, right Twi...ohhh..right."
Twilight glared at her for a few seconds, then laughed a little.
Applejack groaned, "Can't feel my legs. Just leave me here girls, I don't wanna do anything."
"Hey Twilight, does the sun have to come up?" Pinkie moaned
"Unfortunately, Celestia has a schedule to keep." Twilight moaned.
Vax sighed, "Pike, can your magic help?"
"Give me a few seconds." Pike began to cast Lesser Restoration on them, allowing her horn to shine a bright light on them.
The group slowly got up, the hangover slowly washing over them thanks to the bright light from the symbol. Rainbow looked at them, "Ok, now that we are done with the hangover, where are we heading to Twilight? Font or the next item?"
"Font." Twilight said immediately,"I want my magic back as soon as possible."
"Would the font be at the temple?," Applejack said.
Rainbow Dash let out a small mumble, "Here's hoping that it doesn't have a complicated test."
"Actually, it's a few miles southwest from here." Twilight corrected.
Applejack groaned "Couldn't make it easy."
“What do you mean you are in charge of the money?" shouted Rainbow Dash as she looked at Vex and Rarity.
"Well, we discussed it and figured that the ones most responsible that wouldn't be spending the cash on frivolous things would be me and Lady Vex," Rarity said.
Vex nodded,"Indeed, we talked with one another, and realized that we are the most trustworthy."
"So, we are all giving out 200 gold each," Rarity said. "And in case you are asking, I am getting some from my personal bank and Twilight had some sent over from her private school bank account."
"Also, for some reason, the monsters we killed had some gold in them," Twilight said.
"Why is that?" asked Applejack.
"Oh, every monster gets money for each adventurer and victim they eat from the monsters guild," A random earth pony said.
"There's a monster's guild?"
"Well yeah, a monster has to get paid once in a while," the earth pony said.
"Come on, Gramps, it's time for your meds," a young female pony in a nurse’s outfit said, taking him away. "Sorry, he has some wild theories."
So the group went and bought supplies.
A mare popped up to look at Pike, Keyleth, and Fluttershy they entered the store, "Welcome to Potions and Notions. Where you got the notion, we have the potion!"
Pike walked up to the desk, “Yes, what do you have?"
We have potions of healing, potions of sealing, one potion of giant strength, one potion of fjord pony strenght, one potion of Sam Reigel comedy, some defunct mana potions, some potions of mana, potions of maana, potion of continuity, potion of injuity, potion of lag, potion of itune, potion of google, potion of wedding, potion of divorce, potion of legal, potion of illegal, poton of corn,potion of p0rn, potion of cameo, potion of spoiler, potion of MGS, potion, notion, potion of notion, potion of gay, potion of straight, potion of furry, potion of evil, potion of good, potion of chaotic, potion of lawful, potion of discord, potion overly long gag, potion o running gag, potion of button, potion of jerk, potion of Ramsey, potion of Ferrari, potion of kiss, potion of stealt, potion of loud, potion of figaro, figaro, FIIIIIIGARO!, potion of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, potion of dnd, potion of successful fanfic, potion of running gag, potion of puttery, potion of adorable tiefling, potion of Twilight, potion of small, potion of large, potion of kidney stones, potion of how much longer can this gag go on, potion of puppies, potion of kittens, Neighpon poshion, potion of tranlate languages, and potion of end of fic.”
"I think we'll just stick with the potions of healing..." Pike whispered
"Ok, but we do have a sale on the potion of iTune!" the mare said and she went to grab some small and large potions of red vials. She then walked over to bring them out. On her name tag was the word Dare.
"Um, is your name dare?" asked Fluttershy.
"Yep, Dare Mare of Potions and Notions Westruun branch. We are working hard to bring our business all over!" Dare Mare of the red hair said bringing potion to bear.
Grog, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash went to some of the smaller weapon shops, "Rassin fracking, Stupid Rarity. What does she mean that I am an irresponsible shopper?" Dash grumbled.
"I think she knows what she is talking about..."Applejack sighed.
After a few moments of shopping, the group regathered outside of town. "There, I hope nopony bought anything frivolous,” Vex said
Twilight subtly put away her novel, “Yeah, nothing frivolous."
"Wait a sec," Rainbow Dash said, looking at Rarity's bag, "What's that then?!"
"Oh, this? This is a bag-"
"All of this talk about us buying frivolous things and you and go and buy a bag!" Rainbow dash said, "And not even a good-looking one! It's just a little, brown, Bag of-
"Holding!" Twilight said, "I read about it in some of Celestia's books but I didn't think we would find one."
"Yes, cost me a pretty penny, but I think it was worth it," Rarity said with a smile as she pull out some arrows. "And Vex was nice enough to let me have a new bow and some daggers."
She then looked at Vax, "Speaking of which. You seemed to have lost one of yours in the fight. Here," she handed the dagger "you can have Whisper.”
"Whisper?" Vax looked it over, “Looks good." He said with a smile
"Yes, I bought it not too long ago from," as she walked away, she held up a giant hoofmade sign that said,"Gilmore's Glorious Goods."
Vax gave a smile," Gilmore! My old friend!"
"Oh, you know him?" Rarity asked as she walked with Vax through the wood.
"Yes, we've enjoyed each other's company several times."
This gave Rarity pause, and a moment to think. And then after a moment, she nodded and followed him. Applejack, walking just behind them, lightly chuckled and rolled her eyes before joining up with Grog who was busy looking up at the butterfly above. Sighing, "Ok, so how do ya do it?"
"Do what?" asked Grog.
"That thing where you practically seem invincible, stronger, and more...you," Applejack asked.
"I don't know," Grog said, putting a hoof to his chin, "I just get really mad and think about how much I want to kick the big monster in front of me!"
Applejack le out a small chuckle at the big lug. Pinkie, on the other hand, bounced to and fro, looking at pony from pony, listening to everypony talk while they walk.
"So, Pike," Twilight asked,"What... who do you think raises the sun and moon over here in the west?"
"Celestia and Luna, of course," Pike said.
"Oh, that's- what." Twilight looked back at her in shock.
"It's actually surprising to know that they are on this plane as we speak!" Pike smiled,"We do have ponies worshipping them from over here, telling tales of how they keep the world in balance." she frowned,"Though, I wonder why Luna left her Moon Kingdom?"
"That... is a long story," Twilight muttered.
Fluttershy walked with Pike, "You don't know? What...did you think happened to Luna 1000 years ago."
Pike cocked her head,"Well, isn't she living on the moon? Though the Mare in the Moon did disappear 2 years ago..."
"Um, well, you see..." Fluttershy began to fumble, trying her best to talk about the difference in myth. Lightly tapping her hooves she was about to speak.
"She was actually corrupted thanks to a lot of ponies forgetting to appreciate her and tell her how beautiful her night was, so she became really grumpy and was turned into the dark side so Celestia sent her far away to the moon and then she came back and we had to band together to go through a series of tests to stop her and that's how we became the Elements of Harmony!" Pinkie said, explaining at a rapid-fire pace. "Next time I'll talk about how we beat chaos and made him our friend."
"Oh. Okay." Pike said,"That wasn't long at all."
Scanlan muttered,"Enough for a two-parter.
"And for a whole lot of alternate dimensions," Pinkie joked back at Scanlan
Coming up ahead was a large stone temple.
"Oh wow!" Pinkie said, looking up at it, "It's so big."
Scanlan chuckled, "Yeah, almost indescribable, isn't it." he said, looking up at you.
"How do we get in," Applejack asked. "It might have a few secret doors and tricks and-"
"FOUND IT!" Grog said, pushing the door with one hoof.
An Earth Pony stallion dressed in a red robe showed up at the front, panting,"Finally, got to the front entrance..." He coughed,"Welcome to the Font of Earth Pony magic!"
"Were you, waiting for us?" asked Twilight with a raised eyebrow. "How long were you...why did you...?"
"Well, not waiting for you specifically. I'm merely they greeter for all who wish to take the trials and regain their Earth Pony magic." The stallion said.
"..." Twilight paused at this, and asked, "Is losing an earth pony magic such a common thing that there needs to be a test and a trail and a ceremony to regain it?"
"Believe it or not, yes!" The stallion said.
"...I wish I had my magic so I bring out a notepad and write down this as things to ask Celestia later," Twilight said.
"Here you go!" Pinkie said, giving Twilight a list.
Twilight nodded and looked back at him, "Then what are the trials?"
"Well, you'll have to see." The stallion said, before looking at them,"Unfortunately, those without Earth Pony magic within them cannot come."
"What," was the group’s responsive answer.
"Well, I suppose that makes sense. It is an earth pony temple," Applejack said.
Rainbow Dash groaned, "But you'll take forever in there!!!"
"Ah, you'll be fine," Applejack said. "You guys can just have some conversations with each other while me and Pinkie-"
"And me," Grog said stepping forward. "I want to see this place for myself. Besides, I'm not standing around bored!"
Percy also raised a hoof, "I'm going as well. I am actually quite curious as to what I can find in there."
"Perfect!" The stallion beckoned towards them,"Come, come, I will talk you to where you need to go."
He led them down a long stone corridor. Cracks appeared all along their sides. Looking closely, they could see drawings of Earth Ponies doing tasks, creating tools.
Finally, they came to a large chamber, with three doors. One on the north, one to the west, and one to the east, “The magicless one must go through that door and enter a special chamber, the other four must pass the trials, and then complete the ritual." He turned and headed out.
“Wait, what if we need-" Applejack sighed and looked around, "So... how do we split up?"
Twilight stepped to look at the other two doors, trying to read it, "Hmmmm, it's in different languages, but If I'm right...I think it's strength and skill. So-"
She paused looking at the sigils of the points crafting and working hard, for a few moments regarding the words of Volkermord playing her mind. She blinked for a second as she heard Applejack’s voice call out other, "Twi?"
"Um, anyway. I think it should be Pinkie with Percy," she looked at the look of fear and horror that flashed on the normally stoic pony's face, "Sorry. And Grog with Applejack."
"Oh yeah," Grog said, giving a light hoof tap to his blood sister.
"I wish everypony good luck. I mean, after all, they wouldn't put killer tests in here...right?" Twilight said with a chuckle
Percy sighed, “Way to tempt fate, Twilight Sparkle." He walked towards the west door, “Come on..."
Twilight sighed as she went towards the front-facing door to a large pod, "Here's hoping everypony will be ok
-----------------
Pinkie and Percy would end up upstairs and seeing a floor with several numbers on them
"Oh, my gosh!" Pinkie shouted, "There are more numbers here than I can count!”
Percy looked at the numbers
They were arranged in a 3x3 square. Next to them was a sign,"Find 15"
8 ? 4
1 5 ?
? ? 2
Pinkie looked at the numbers, and then circled the one and five, "Found it!" she giggled at her joke. Then she put a three in between 8 and 4,
"Huh, you figured that out." Percy walked over and put a 9 after the 5
"Well duh, of course, it's easy!" Pinkie said, "I used to do these with Maude all of the time. It was to help her study and for me to 'get that hyper ball of kinetic energy out of my hair' in the words of Limey."
Percy smirked,,"It appears that I have underestimated you, Pinkie." He put a 7 and a 2 on the bottom.
"That's one of the best things about being so peppy!" Pinkie said, "I am totally unpredictable!"
"Indeed," Percy said, as a wall ahead of them shifted down to reveal a hallway.
Pinkie followed, looking up, "Gotta try harder than that to trick me you tricky trick puzzle!
Percy and Pinkie would appear in a circular room. On the other side was a door with a keyhole. In the center was a pedestal, with a small grey orb floating in the air.
Pinkie paused, and began to look at her body, "Mmmm, let's see..."
Percy looked at Pinkie, “What are you doing?"
There didn't seem to be anything scary.
"Want to touch the orb?"Pinkie asked.
"Trying to see if my Pinkie sense is picking up anything scary," Pinkie said.
"That sounds like a plan." Percy went over and touched the orb. The orb began to morph around his hoof before he pulled away.
Pinkie lightly tapped the orb
The orb did the same thing to Pinkie's hoof.
Pinkie pulled away, and then put her nose to the orb.
The orb morphed around her nose.
Percy grabbed the orb with a frown,Ithink we need to turn this into a key."
Pinkie nodded and turned the orb into a keyblade.
"I... suppose that works..." Percy muttered.
Percy indicated the keyhole, “Well, put it in."
Pinkie put in the key and turned it, before walking in while dressed in an outfit with a lot of zippers.
Through the door was a similar wall with two holes. The message was the same.
Pinkie smiled and pulled out a cupcake, "This is tasty magic!" she then put two of them into the holes.
Percy watched as she did so, to no effect, “I think we need to put our hooves in there."
Pinkie whimpered, "Right. Oh, I hope the Dude who Made this didn't put in needles!" she then put her hoof in
Percy did the same.
And then needles struck both of them, causing a bit of magic to drain from them.
"Ow!" Pinkie whimpered.
------------
In front of Applejack and Grog, there were several large blocks.
"Oh please don't tell me it's a slider puzzle," Applejack said s she walked to try and push one of the blocks
The block went forward and then swung back. Applejack would notice that there are three sets of different colored blocks, all set in a column, with two blocks in a row across from one another.
Grog walked o the middle column and punched the middle block. Applejack began to look at the sets and then the two blocks in a row. Stepping over to move one of the blocks in a row.
The two blocks slammed against each other.
Grog knocked one of the bottom blocks.
The block was a little harder to push this time.
Applejack and Grog punched another set of blocks this time together.
The blocks broke.
"Was that supposed to happen?" asked Applejack.
"Who cares! Block smashing time!" Grog said, pushing and smashing a few more blocks.
As all the blocks were smashed, the wall beyond them lowered to reveal a hallway.
Grog and Applejack gave each other a high hoof, which accidentally sent Applejack flying. Grog looked a little sheepish, but she gave a hoof up and smirked at her comrade. The two walked through the hallway.
When they walked through, they would feel their bodies growing heavier.
"Hey, do you feel heavier?" asked Applejack, walking a little slower.
Grog shrugged, "Well, I did eat a lot."
The gravity increased little by little on each step.
Grog shrugged, "Still not feeling anything."
"Really," Applejack said, looking at his knees, "Your knees are saying something else."
"Probably can handle more than you, “Grog smirked,
"Try me ya tall softie."
The gravity got even stronger as they neared the end.
"Still feeling nothing?" asked Applejack.
Grog shrugged, ignoring the sweat on his forehead, "Why? You wanna quit?"
"Nope, just want to make sure you are ok." Applejack said.
The gravity got heavier and heavier as they entered the last stretch.
Grog shrugged, like taking off a jacket. Each step began to create a crater beneath his feet while his thighs trembled. Looking to Applejack, he asked, "Ready to quit?"
"Nah, just needed to let you catch up," Applejack smirked.
They reached the door where the gravity turned to normal
They looked at each other and then hoof bumped.
AJ and Grog would see beyond them a large golden wall, with two holes in it.
A sign above said, “Feed magic into the one who has none."
"Now what the-
“Hey does that mean!" asked Grog and Applejack together.
The holes glowed before them.
Grog and Applejack put their hooves into the holes.
The holes clenched around their hooves, while needles stuck into them. A little bit of magic drained from them.
Applejack and Grog shrugged, "Was that all we needed?"
Twilight headed into the center room. Inside was a small pond surrounded by stone tiles. Beyond those tiles were a ring of flowers.
Twilight let out a sigh, before entering the pod. A few minutes later, she felt a surge of energy flow through her.
Applejack was the first to step into the area, and seeing the pod, ran to it, "Twilight, are you all right?"
Twilight stepped out, steam pouring from the pod. She then wiggled her hoof with a grin, “I've got Earth Pony magic now!" She began to hop around, “I've got Earth Pony magic!" she ran to AJ and bopped her on the nose, “Did you feel that, huh, huh, huh?"
Applejack looked at Twilight, "Um, Twilight, if ya wanted a liar then you should've tried hitting Grog, Percy, or Pinkie." she said, frowning. Then she put her hoof onto Twilight's shoulder, "Even when you were at full power, your punches were um....kind of like-"
"-a butterfly punching a giant pony like Grog?" Pinkie asked.
"Hey, that one butterfly hurt my nose," Grog said. "Oh, I know, you can try punching me
Twilight, smile wide, went over and bopped Grog,"Did ya feel that!?"
"Yeah!" Grog said smiling, "Totally felt that! It hit hard!" he said, looking at Pinkie who did sign language to tell him what to say.
Twilight let out a squee as she began hopping around, “I've got magic!" She then bolted away.
Applejack ran after her, "You don't have your magic, just earth pony strength!"
Pinkie Pie was about to run, but then looked around, "Mr. Earth Pony guardian? Are you going to be stuck here all alone when we leave?"
The guardian appeared behind Pinkie,"Nah, we work in shifts."
"You do?! Oh yay!" Pinkie cheered, "I was worried you worked all alone and had nopony to talk to. Still gonna give you a cake tough!"
"Ah, thanks!" The stallion said. Then he went to a time card, punched it out, as a mare walked past him.
"Do they have a union or something?" asked Applejack.
"Who cares, they give out free drinks in the lobby and free cookies! Plus I used the tablet at one of the ice cream stands and now have a free ice cream!"Pinkie cheered
"Since Twilight's not here to cock her in confusion, I will do it," Percy cocked his head,"How in the blazes is that tablet working as a coupon!?"
"Well," Pinkie said, bringing out the stone tablet/map, "You'll note right here that it says "turn this in for a free sweet or treat for a year? I decided I might as well try it at the temple's concession stand."
"That... just... let's just go..."
Applejack and Percy soon left, with Pinkie following close behind with a small cone and Grog with an even bigger cone and some more cones. Applejack walked up to Twilight after catching up, "So now the excitement is dying down, how do ya feel??"
Twilight turned to her with a smile,"Pretty good! I can't wait to get the rest of my magic back."
"Bladesinger?" Rarity asked herself as she read from the book.
"Ah, one of the lesser-known of the magic schools," Scanlan said, "Always learning how to wield their swords with the strength of a swordsman while losing none of their power. Can be a little bitchy though and sometimes you dare one and right in the middle of the fun stuff will start comparing blade sizes..."
Rarity rolled her eyes at what Scanlan had said, and then went back to look at her book. She could see the picture of a deer wielding his blade and pulling back, looking like a dance. For a moment she a bit of memory hit her, "It looks like the style of bladesinging back home. Granted, no pony but the old knights know it."
"Ain’t that the boring truth!" Rainbow Dash said, resting in the tree and playing with a pinecone. "Your uncle is a cool knight with swords and all of that, but unless it's a normal pony he doesn't get to use it! We know all of these cool tricks but we never get to prove ourselves, and this whole country thinks that we are wimps!"
"Are you saying that you would rather have us be in a battle mode all of the time, be ready for a war or a fight?" asked Rarity, looking up from the book.
"Well, know. I mean," Dash sighed, "Just look. These ponies are still peaceful, with the exception of a monster or two. They are just like us, just better fighters! I just-"
"Want to prove that we are just as tough if we trained like them?" asked Rarity, looking back up at Rainbow Dash. "That's what all we are doing right now. Learning from each other, exchanging cultures and ideas. That's what it means to travel to a distant land. Perhaps, when this adventure is over, we can all begin to learn more and help each other. Perhaps then...never mind. Look at how Fluttershy is taking this."
Dash looked up at Fluttershy as she continued to talk and concentrate around Keyleth and Pike. Magic sparks came from her hooves and wings as she practiced. Rainbow sighed as she looked at her friend and nodded. Shaking her head she laid back and said, "Whatevs. I'm conking out. You are on Vax duty."
"Vax duty?" asked Rarity.
"Make sure he doesn't sneak up and prank me while I sleep wait for the two slowpokes to get over here," Dash complained as she began to sleep.
Vax looked at Rarity, “Where's the trust?"
"Handsome, though you are Vax, you are also a cunning rogue with all of the implications there are," Rarity said, using her magic to create an alarm spell around the tree.
Vax smirked, “Now you're just giving me a challenge."
Samus looked down at Ridley, her horn cannon aimed at his maw. She glared daggers at him as he watched his bleeding body slowly die before her, "Y-you think this means anything? Heh. I'll come back someday, I always do. I'll be able to stand with my brothers and fight again, and all you will be is alone. I don't even know why you care about that infant. It's only suffering the fate we all do. We are born alone, and then we die alone. Forgotten by all but those who are the closest-" Ridley's next words were obliterated by the sound of two super missiles going down his throat and exploding, leaving him a headless corpse.
"If only you didn’t come back so often," Samus said, "I might et some satisfaction from this..."
Samus woke up on the ground of Glidesdale, before sighing and saying, "Alone...always alone."
"He was wrong you know," said Adam, coming on, "No one is truly alone. Perhaps, if you had allowed others to help you could-"
"Just go to sleep Adam, the wyvern won’t be here for a few more hours," Samus said, closing her eyes again.
The group finished resting up at the temple, before continuing onwards towards Kraghammer.
Applejack walked with the group ahead of the others, occasionally she would look overhead at Rainbow Dash. Then she would look back "Anypony from the West know much about this Kraghammer place?"
Pike looked up at her,"Well, I know that it's full of Shetland ponies."
"Shetland ponies?" asked Applejack.
"Um, very short like Fjords, but also very aggressive miners and blacksmiths."
"My kind of ponies!" Grog said, smirking.
Fluttershy walked back with Rarity and looked at her. With a curious eye, she asked, "Are you ok?"
"Hmmm, me darling? Why do you ask?" asked Rarity.
"I was just thinking about what you said before we got here. How you were always afraid that we might die alone? I was wondering if you are still scared," Fluttershy asked.
"I think are all a little scared dying again, my dear," Rarity said. "We are in a new land, surrounded by threats we do not know of, and while Vox Machina's skills are great. I cannot help but worry that at one point, our luck may be up."
"Oh my, and you...are still fine?" asked Fluttershy.
Rarity smiled warmly and placed a hoof onto Fluttershy's shoulder, "Fluttershy, of course, I am. It just wouldn't do to worry when I am seeing you and the others slowly improve. If it isn't Twilight getting her magic slowly day by day, there is you with your cleric training."
Fluttershy watched as Pike walked ahead, talking with Vex, "I...do think I'm getting better. Pike has been showing me so much about healing magic and Keylteht's been letting me practice on plants with my druid magic."
"You see dear? We are all improving, even if we don't know it," Rarity said, looking up to the sky as Rainbow kept her aerial patrol. "Though I will say this, I do wish we bought a carriage!"
Fluttershy let out a giggle and put her head to Rarity's "Maybe we can find one in Kraghammer."
Twilight kept stepping on with a small hop,"Applejack, how does your earth pony magic work?"
"How does...Ah," Applejack paused and looked down, "I don't know really. I always just felt it come naturally. Though...Granny Smith has told me about some sort of skill that some ponies used to do to get in touch with their magic."
Twilight frowned,"Should've asked you back home then..."
Applejack stood, "First you gotta breathe deep, letting the sun flow through you. Letting it warm your coat, like how it would warm a tree."
Twilight let out a deep breath and began to concentrate.
"Put your hooves onto the ground, feel the earth's mana just flowing on through," Applejack said. "Just like if you are a tree and taking in Celestia's good light and it's making you grow big and strong."
"Yes..." Twilight said.
"And voila, you should be feeling a little of the earth pony magic flowing right through your mana," Applejack said.
"Wow... it's not much..." Twilight muttered.
"Well, remember, you are just now getting reused to it," Applejack said patting Twilight's shoulder.
Twilight sighed,"Yeah..." She muttered.
Rainbow Dash grumbled to herself in the sky before shouting down below "How much longer. I swear if I don't see something interesting soon I'll do something drastic!"
Vax then yelled back,"Why don't you fly into another rock golem's mansion then!"
Vex frowned,"You were a part of that."
"Yes, but I'll take any chance to take the piss out of Speedy."
"And why don't ya take one of your daggers and shove it up your nostril, captain emo!" Dash shouted back
"And why don't you take a flying dive off-" Vax began.
Vex bopped him on the head,"No! None of that!"
"Ha! I win-"
"Rainbow Miriam Dash, you cut that out," Fluttershy said.
"Yes ma’am," Dash said, defeated.
Up ahead was a large mountain. Built into the side of it was a large set of red doors with hammers on them. In front was a grumbling pony with a lot of braided hair.
"Hey!!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the grubling pony, "Is this Kraghammer?"
Rarity stepped forward, "Why are you grumbling sir?"
"Yeah." The pony said,"And there's this douchebag alicorn spouting constantly about democracy. He. Won't. Shut. Up!"
"An alicorn!?" Pinkie said, rushing in, "Well, we made it a hobby of stopping them! Why is he talking about democracy?"
Applejack also looked at him, "And why are you out here anyway Mr...
"Hammerstein," The pony said,"And I'm out here to get away from that guy!"
"Well don't worry big guy!" Pinkie said, "We'll take care of that man who is spouting democracy and make him pay."
Applejack looked over her shoulder, "Why does this all sound wrong?"
Twilight was too stunned,"No, that's gotta be an exaggeration, there's no way-"
Then they saw Pollux in the center of the stone-built city, on a pedestal where several moaning ponies were
"MY FELLOW PONIES! WE MUST MAKE A STAND TODAY!" Pollux shouted at the top of his lungs, "WE MUST STAND FOR THE BEAUTIFY OF DEMOCRACY. FOR WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS CAPABLE OF NOT ONLY FREE THOUGHT BUT FREE SPEECH! WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, THAT ALL PONIES ARE CREATED EQUAL. SO YOU MUST SHARE THAT EQUALITY WITH OTHERS, WHILE WE ALICORNS SHOW YOU OUR OWN DEMOCRACY!
Twilight stared at him,"Sorry girls, but I'm going to be gone for a minute." she walked away. A few seconds later, there came the sound of something hitting a wall.
"Excuse me miss," Asked a stallion "But could you sign this impression, please? It might help with the Kraghammer tourism."
Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed, signing out her autograph, "There. Probably not going to be big anyway."
Keyleth looked at the impression on the wall, "Oh, that looks just like you!"
Twilight let out an annoyed groan, before walking away.
Pollux stepped forward, "And in order to best represent democracy, we must stare down the threats to Democracy! Threats such as the undemocratic and monarchial Twilight Sparkle and her team!!!"
"You're not democratic either!" Twilight shouted,"Scanlan, tell him!"
Scanlan was looking elsewhere when his name was called,"What?"
"AND HOW AM I NOT DEMOCRATIC!!? I REPRESENT NOTHING BUT DEMOCRACY! I HAVE US ALL VOTE EQUALLY TO DETERMINE THE LAWS OF THE PEOPLE AND WE ALL HAVE ONE VOTE IN OUR LAND AND WE ALL MAKE THE SAME RULES THAT TEN ARE APPLIED TO YU PONIES. BY DOING THIS WE SHOW THAT ALL ALICORNS AND GODS ARE MADE EQUAL AND CAN MAKE DECISIONS AS AN UNIFIED BASE!!!
Scanlan chuckled,"You're equal, but not the rest of us."
"BUT UNDER DEMOCRACY, YOU ARE EQUAL! EQUAL BENEATH US AND BELOW US. IN YOUR UNEQUALNESS YOU ARE ALL EQUAL!"
Scanlan tipped his beret,"I bow to no one but myself."
"AND WHO ARE YOU TO QUESTION MY BELIEFS AND THE POWER OF DEMOCRACY!!!"
"Scanlan Bert Reynolds Shorthalt Esq., the most magnificent bard in all of Glidesdale!" He bowed.
"POLLUX! AND WHAT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT MY DEVOTION TO DEMOCRACY!!"
"Oh, I happen to be under the service of another princess that's working against you. Also, I am an amazing bard."
"A BARD YOU SAY. HA, FOOLISH MORTAL, I HAVE WRITTEN THE BOOK ON BARD SPELLS AND ABILITIES! DO YOU THINK THAT BEING ONE IMPRESSES ME!?
"You may have created the Bard spells..." Scanlan pointed to himself,"But I perfected them."
"OH YEAH, THEN PROVE IT! YOU CANNOT MASTER A CREATOR!"
"Alrighty then." Scanlan turned his beret around as Vox Machina, the Mane Six, and several Shetland ponies gathered behind him, all wearing some sort of bling.
Pollux smirked and clapped his hooves, summoning his own men, "Lay a beat."
They began to make a beat.
"You are short, small enough to be run over by an armadillo. Why do you ya think you can match me fellow?"
Scanlan flipped his mane,"I got a lot of wit in this little frame. As opposed to you, whose form is very lame."
"Ya think ya got wit,
You don't know ya twit
See, you are small
Like your momma
When I plastered her against the wall
Yeah, she is so tiny
The mice made her a queen.” Pollux smiiled
"Please, you think that affects me?
I got a million of these, see.
That ain't nothing big,
I did more with your Ma
Almost snapped her like a twig..” Scanlan crossed his hoves
"Look pal, you momma so big
We thought she was an ultra being
Like these silver giants
we smash them as gnat” Pollux grinned
"Yo momma was so fat
She made the earth shake!
When she died, we fed her to my rat!
Pinkie then jumped in and added, "Also, she is so twisted, that we thought she was a pretzel!
The hype machine answered with an ooh!
Pollux looked around, "The hype machine?"
The crowd around you and Scanlan.
"Fool! I am the hype!"
"No, Mr. Pollux, I am." Scanlan said,"You're just a low-end pretend god.
“Bet you're the second weakest of your group,
I'll turn you into soup!"
"Do you really think that you are bad
Don't you realize that you have been had
Weak though I may be
No one handles my beats!"
He glowed his horn and began to unleash some whispers as he went back to his mockery. Pinkie then jumped in front of Scanlan and strummed a random guitar.
"Now I say that you misunderstand
See you walk around and have to
play like this!"
"WALK THIS WAY! I say WALK THIS WAY!"
Pollux winced and was pushed back from Pinkie. Pinkie then pulled out a small bomb and looked at Scanlan, "Music change?"
Scanlan nodded, pulling out his lute,"We got the biggest, Bombs of them all!"
Using a combination of minor and major illusion spells from Pinkie's bomb and Scanlan's music, the world change to a giant stage with Pinkie and Scanlan on one side and Pollux on the other." NOW! I WANNA ROCK!"
"You think you so bad, you so dumb that you thought about concentrating on orange juice. Now watch as I rock out loud! SHOUT IT SHOUT IT OUT LOUD!"
"Oh yeah?!" Pinkie said, twirling her guitar and summoning some lighting, "Thunder!
Scanlan sang back, tuning the lightning into a little ball,"Baaaaallll"
The world began to change again and everyone started to dance, "You, make me feel like dancing. Aw Aw All night long!" Pollux smiled ats his fellow dace began to amp it up.
"You can tell by the way I walk, I'm Ma's Stallion,
No time to talk
Pollux screamed as he was hit by the powerful spell, shaking his head, he glared at the two bards with rage.
Scanlan began to ping a few strings ofhis lute.
Pollux growled and stamped his hoof, summoning some fire, "Burn through the ditches and slam through the bitches and into the back of my Dragula!"
"-Indestructible, Determination that is incorruptible!
"Killing the beast Killing the beast," Pollux panted (WHAT'S GOING ON, MY MAGIC IS FAILING ME?)
Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to Never Neverland
Pollux growled, "Help! I need someone HElp!"
Some of the stallions became zombies, only for the magic to break
"I get by with a little help from my friends," Pinkie sang.
"Get back, get back to where you once belonged!"
"Kisten," moaned Pollux, "You think you are bad? You ain’t nothing. You are just a...a..." he began to lose track of thought.
"Doctor, doctor, give us the news..."
Pollux shuddered
"Not gonna give in tonight!" Pinkie shouted
Pollux began to fall to his knees, "This evolution of music, of the soul..."
Scanlan smirked,"The music makes you lose control."
"You need to get with the times. You are so old that you knew Mimic and her friends." Pinkie said.
"N-n-n-
"You're so weak, a squirrel could break your nuts!" Scanlan said.
Pinkie brought out her metal bat and handed it to a squirrel. Pollux shuddered in fear as he was hit. Pinkie twirled her guitar, "Come on everyone smile smile smile."
Pollux let out one final scream as a blast erupted from his body. Before he finally collapsed to the floor, "I...how is this possible. I invented the bardic magic you wielded."
"You may have invented it... but we perfected it!" Scanlan said, bowing with his beret.
"I...see," Pollux gasped, feeling his body fade away. "You know something..."
"Hmm?"
"Maybe, what I was preaching wasn't democracy after all..."
"YOU THINK!?" Twilight shouted.
"Maybe...I was in support of...a republic." he then faded, allowing Twilight to have the appropriate reaction
Twilight let out an annoyed scream.
Pinkie frowned as she watched the dots fade from his corpse, “Aw, I liked him.”
Samus held her gun horn at the dirty and grey dog creature as it stood on its hind legs. In any other world, it would be like a hyena. However, here it was a sub-species of diamond dog known as a gnoll. With a laugh, it cracked its whip lined with spiked unicorn skulls, "Hahahaha! Pathetic armored pony. Trying to help the town. We rule the town, we own the gems. And we own the pony meat. You think you can stop us?" the fiend laughed while the rest of his war pack laughed and howled.
Samus was about to usher a one-liner but then smirked. Her visor scanned the area behind the gnolls and she smirked, "Interesting?"
"Eh?" the fiend asked.
"I just got a new power," she said, before rolling into a ball and rolling behind the war pack. Using the energy in her suit, she formed a series of small little bombs that she planted behind the gnolls. Then she rolled back in front and stood up. "I'm leaving. And those of you who want to surrender might want to do so in 5..."
"Five what?"
"Three," Samus said walking out the path towards the entrance.
"What happened to four.?"
"It took you a second to say all of that and two so now you have one," she said, walking out of the cave.
As the explosion rocked the cave, Adam's voice rang out, "You know, is it possible to leave a place without blowing it up?"
"Hey, there is some planet left standing," Samus said, leaving out the cave. Behind her, she could hear the ponies cheering at their iteration. Turning around, she sighed.
"Ever want to stay for the celebration. Maybe enjoy the day?" asked Adam.
Samus shook her head, "Naw, that's for heroes. I'm not a hero...just a huntress looking for the next hunt. They'll forget me soon enough." and then she turned to walk away.
The shetlands cheered them.
A copper pegasus was giggling,"You guys did great!
Pinkie giggled, "Thank you! We try to make sure every place we leave is a little better than we left it! And you are?"
The curly maned pegasus pointed to herself, “I am Copper Tongue, guardian of the Temple."
"I'm Pinkie Pie! And these are all of my friends!" She said, pointing to them, "Tha's Vax, he's the brood, That's Kiki and she's their Fluttershy, and that’s our Fluttershy. That's Vex, she’s an archer, that's Percy and he says as many big words as Twily, That's Scanlan and he's awesome, and that's Pike and she's the nice one, and that big guy is Grog. And those are my other friends, Twilight the smarty, Dashie the sporty, AJ the toughy, Rarityy the glamour, and that's Pinkie Pie!"
Pinkie Pie ran to the side and waved hi to herself
Copper smiled,"I like you!" She fluttered towards them,"I hear you're looking to enter the temple for some goodies, ain't ya?"
Twilight nodded, "We need to find one of the items, and we need to find a font."
"How did you hear about that?" asked Dash
She winked,"That's my secret." She flew towards a temple,"I'll tell you about the Pegasus Font, after you get your item. First, you must defeat the dragon in this temple.
"Another... dragon?" asked Fluttershy trembling.
"Eh, considering the last one? This will be easy Fltters," Rainbow Dash said, smirking
"Please don't jinx it, Rainbow..." Twilight muttered as she neared the temple.
Pinkie bounces to the copper pony, "Soooo, how did you get such a coat? And what do you know about the dragon?”
"Oh, my coat is all-natural." She smiled,"And, well, you should see for yourself!" She disappeared into the temple.
Pinkie smiled as she bounced ahead, "I like her!"
"Please tell me this test or whatever is gonna be easy," Rainbow Dash said as they walked into the temple.
A loud stomping was heard.
Behind them was the sound of breathing.
"Twilight, tell me that was you," Applejack said.
Twilight shook her head.
Everypony turned around to look at the breath coming from behind them
"Boo!" A large copper dragon was behind them, grinning.
"Boooo yourself!" Pinkie said with a giggle at the copper dragon.
"Yep, it's a dragon," Applejack said calmly.
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but notice her grin, "Awfully cheerful, ain’t ya.
"Yep! I am the most cheerful of the Metallic Circle, Reventh!" The dragon said.
"I see. You must be one of Bronze's friends," Rarity said .
Twilight looked at her, "How did you all end up agreeing to this?"
"Now that's a long, long, long, long story!" Reventh said with a chuckle," That'll have to wait though, wouldn’t want to tell the whole story, that wouldn't be fun!"
Pinkie nodded, "Yes, and besides, we can wait for that for a little bit longer. Let’s have some fun instead!"
"Oh gods it’s a Dragon Pinkie," said Dash
"Oh, yes!" Reventh's grin then turned into a frown," However, if you want to enter, you must pass a test."
"What kind of test?" asked Applejack
Reventh laid on her claws,"You... must... make me laugh."
"Laugh?" the group asked.
"Yep! Make me laugh! I should warn you, I am very old, so I've heard tons of jokes and variations of those jokes!"
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight looked to Pinkie. Pinkie smiled back, bowed, and walked up to Reventh, "Oh, I will make you laugh, giggle, guffaw, chuckle, chortle, and smile. But first, care to tell me what is the first joke in this book?" she then pulled out the book trying to answer the question of what is the oldest one in the book.
"How do you entertain a bored princess? You sail a boatload of young stallions dressed only in fishing nets down the river and urge the princess to go catch a fish." Reventh said.
"Curses, she does know the oldest one in the book," Pinkie said, snapping her hooves.
"Try something more recent! Like from the east!" Dash shouted.
Rarity nodded, "Indeed. She may only be stuck to this one region."
"Ok, so here!" Pinkie said, handing her a train schedule, "We actually think that these come on time!"
Reventh let out a yawn in response,"I may or may not have taken a few trips over there."
"Oh, so you fell on a banana peel to get over there?" asked Pinkie.
Reventh shrugged,"I can't because I flew there."
"And boy are your wings tired!"
"I made that joke when we were first formed," Reventh smirked.
"Tough crowd," Pinkie said, putting a hoof to her chin. "Oh, I know, psychical comedy! Hey AJ!"
"What?" asked Applejack, before finding herself in a little ball, "What?"
"And fire!" Pinkie said, taking out a pool cue and shooting her down a long tunnel, allowing her to hit the wall several times until Tilt hit the screen.
"Wow, pinball." Reventh still didn't laugh.
Pinkie frowned, and then pulled out a scorecard, "This is gonna be a tough nuttie to crack. Hmmmm..."
Bringing out a copy of Ponies make war, she said, "Time for some funny reviews!"
"Ooh! I love these!"
So Pinkie spent 25 minutes making fun of Astor Coruscare’s book.
Reventh leaned on her arm,"That was pretty good."
"And did it make you laugh?" asked Pinkie.
"It was amusing, but it didn't make me laugh."
“Curses," Pinkie said, sitting in a thinking chair, "Hmmmm..."
"Excuse me, but I'm not a thinking chair," the chair said.
"You're not?" asked Pinkie.
"No, I'm a mimic chair!"
"Ahhhhh!"
"NOM!"
After Pinkie was eaten, the chair smiled. Then he moaned in pain, before screaming, "ARG! DIABETES!!!!!" and then melted away.
Pinkie smiled as she stepped away, "Remember...always get checked for Diabetes."
"So, you're made of sugar, then?" Reventh smiled and licked her lips.
"No, but my Piezooka MK VII is!" Pinkie said, pulling out a large cannon firing a sugar pie and sugar cookie her way.
Reventh dodged it and leaned in,"Hmm, you do seem tastier." She laughed,"I'm only kid-" She stopped,"Oops."
Pinkie smiled, and then booped her on the nose, "I win."
"Yep, you win!" Reventh disappeared in green smoke, leaving Copper Tongue.
Dash looked at Copper shocked and then grumbled, "Does every dragon like to dress in their colors. I swear the next one I see wearing some metal I'm going to start asking questions."
"Yay! I guessed it," Pinkie said, giving Copper a hug.
Copper gave her a hug back,"Yeparooni!"
"I am impressed by the differences of the personalities of the metal dragons we have met so far," Rarity mentioned.
Twilight looked at Copper, "Miss Reventh, where is the item. And why do you guys enjoy mingling with us?"
"The item is just behind me, and personally?" Reventh wrapped a hoof around Twilight,"You ponies are so much fun to be around!"
Twilight let out a small chuckle at this, "Is there anything you can tell me about your friends?"
Reventh put a hoof to her mouth,"Shh, I can't say anything because it's a super-secret."
Twilight frowned, "Of course." she said as they began to walk into the temple room.
"It's over..." a voice whispered.
Pinkie looked up, "Huh?"
Twilight looked at Pinkie,"Again?"
"What?" Pinkie said, turning to look at Twilight, watching the world slowly fade to black
"Pinkie!" Twilight watched as Pinkie gained a blank look.
-----------
Pinkie looked around her, watching as her friends began to disappear. Soon, the world around her was replaced with a desolate wasteland full of broken buildings and dark clouds. Turning around, she watched as ponies began to walk behind her. Their colors were grey, cutie marks were gone, and no smiles. Pinkie raised a hoof to try and say something but was interrupted by a whisper.
"It's over. See. You have lost. In what world did you think you could win?"
"This one," Pinkie said, looking around for the voice. "Well, maybe not this one, but the one where my friends are near me and were this a little more light."
"Oh really? You think you can win, even though she lost?"
For a brief moment, Pinkie saw a flashback of Twilight's battle with the gods. She watched as she fell and was obliterated before her eyes, "She only lost because we weren't there. If she had all of us-"
"All of you would've perished as well," the voice echoed. "Don't you get it yet? This is too big for you now. You aren't a hero, you never were. This isn't a battle you can win with singing, dancing, and a warm hug. This is a...are you mocking me?"
"Nope!" Pinkie giggled, holding up a puppet with a name tag that said 'silly voice' and was playing.
"You-you ARE! You are mocking me!" the voice said. "Aren’t you getting it yet? I said this is a world where you don't belong. Volkermord, the gods, and a few other shadows are lying in wait. They are darker than what you know. You are too full of light, too happy. This is not for you. Now, take your," the voice stopped as Pinkie began to walk to the shadows and try to cheer them up, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to cheer them up while you finish with your big ol 'I'm going to break her speech'" Pinkie said, smiling back at the voice.
"You can't cheer them up. You...you don't get this," the voice said, almost begging to laugh, "This world is full of light fighting back against the darkness but the darkness will just grow stronger in the end. You can never win and you can't keep ponies happy forever. Sooner or later, you will fade into legend and the ponies will separate again. You aren't even a real virtue, you are just laughter."
"So, this means I hope aren't I? The hope for the future, the hope for a brighter day, and hope for things to get better," Pinkie said, smiling. "I mean, yeah, I'm gonna die and fade away and things might not always be this way. So, that means I'm going to have to work super duper hard to make everything great now and make people see a better world while I'm here!"
"I..." the voice shook her head as she began to appear, a tan earth pony with a white headdress and a white gown, "Could tell you the world will be black and your friends will die and you will still keep going."
"Nope," Pinkie said, "Because they aren’t going to die. Not again, I'll keep on trying to make sure that they are all ok and we'll get through this together."
The mare smiled, "Good answer. Sonambula," she said, offering her hoof.
"Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said, hugging the mare. "Hey, weren't you one of Meadowbrook's closest friends?"
"Yep, she helped to arrange these tests. I enjoyed this one because I get to scare ponies and see who is willing to fall to darkness," Sonambula said. "And I am glad to see, you aren't. Take the item, and then kick those gods in the hiney!"
"I will," Pinkie said with a giggle as she skipped away into the light, and into the world. Complete with a brand new cloak. A light blue and yellow one with many pockets.
"Pinkie?" Twilight asked.
Pinkie played with her cloak and then looked to Twilight, "Yessssssss?"
"You spaced out there, you okay?" Twilight asked
"Yepperorni!" Pinkie said, "I just had one of those vision things. You know, where you are forced to face the big challenge of yourself to move forward?"
"Ah, like what happened with AJ." Twilight said.
"Yep," Pinkie said, "And I got a cool item!"
"So where is the disk and what does that cloak do?" asked Rainbow.
Twilight looked around and noticed the disk on a pedestal,"I'm not sure what that cloak does... unless it brings out whatever Pinkie wants."
"The cloak will provide hope and clarity," Rarity said to herself as she read the tablet. "Perhaps it's a-"
"Ooooh, a Groovitron!" Pinkie said with a smile, "I was hoping to get a new one."
"I figured. Whatever Pinkie wants, she can pull it out of that cloak." Twilight said.
"YAY!" Pinkie cheered as she pulled out popcorn. Then she looked back and sat as she waited for Twilight to hit the disk.
Twilight activated it.
King Methusulah appeared once again," This next chapter doesn't exactly star my daughter, but the great wizard himself, Starswirl, and a friend that will soon fall..."
(Aw, thanks for spoiling it!" Pinkie said.
Rainbow Dash shouted "Booo, I hate it when stories look at side characters we don't care about!!)
"War, bloodshed, battles," Starswirl whispered to himself. "Ever since light and shadow declared war on one another, the gods have done their hardest to prove who is right. And sadly, it is the ponies that fall in the crossfire." as he left his home, he turned to look at a photo of a young light green pegasus holding a small colt with a little hat. "Mother... if only you saw what you sacrificed yourself for."
Starswirl looked down as he stepped outside and allowed the dun to beam down upon him. Shaking his head, he began to walk through the small village that lay in the shadow of the castle. Occasionally, he would look up at the towering spires and the looming towers, "The Alicorns of Shadow are rumored to have a powerful goddess on their side. Even if they could teach her to unleash the power within, would it be enough to win the war for their side? What is that element that is missing from their side to win for freedom."
Making his way to a small library, he smiled, "At the very least, they allow for neutral wizards to study across the battlefield. Good morrow Vecna."
A yellow stallion with a grey mane and tail dressed in a black robe looked up from a book and smiled,"Morrow to you as well, Starswirl. How goes your day?"
("V-Vecna!?" Twilight gasped in shock.
"Who?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"HE's the lich king!")
Vecna closed his book,"My studies of the Shadowfell are going swimmingly." He said with a smile,"But what pray tell were you doing with Titan yesterday?"
Starswirl looked at various books and picked one from the shelf, "Encouraging the young soul to partake in games of go in order to bolster his skills. He needs to learn to embrace the world."
"Did you mean to bring the madmare, or did she invite herself?" Vecna asked.
"You should know as well as I do, no one can determine where mares like her go. She is a free spirit who wishes to hang out with her comrades," Starswirl said, pulling out a book on trees and looking through it. He began to walk towards the light from the window and sat down, "A lesson you could learn Vecna. We do miss you from time to time."
Vecna sat in the shadows and laughed,"I'm so dreadfully busy these days, Starswirl. I have so much work to do!" He leaned back,"So much for me to understand about the different planes of existence... about life and death... about the gods." He frowned.
"Understanding? Why the interest in life and death and of planes old friend?" asked Starswirl.
"I... I merely want to aid our people, Starswirl." He frowned,"We're caught in a war of gods. A war where several ponies could die." He glared at the table,"and... my son's disappearance still haunts me.
Starswirl frowned and sighed, "Vecna, about your son. I am sorry, and I promise I will do all I can to find him." He then looked back up at Vecna, trying to see his face within the shadows, "But how will learning the means of life and death help out people? Medical spells have gone as they far as they can without tearing apart the weave."
"It's not enough." Vecna snarled,"Especially when we are at their mercy. Starswirl, look at us. We're nothing more than lapdogs to a higher power. But we are capable of so much more."
"There is only so much that we are capable of, Vecna," Starswirl said, looking up from his book, "We are only mortal. And as mortals we have limits. I am sorry that our people are getting caught in this god war too, but we can only do so much."
"Are we not the most powerful mortals on this plane, Starswirl?" Vecna said,"We can warp the fabric of reality if we wanted to. Imagine what could happen... imagine what would happen if we become like them?"
"You are talking of ascension," Starswirl said, frowning, rubbing his temples with his hoof. "That is not a step to be taken lightly."
"It is a necessary step, Starswirl. One that would need to be taken if we want to be on their level!"
Starswirl sighed and looked down, "Only the worthy should attain that power. One who can show the perfection of that cutie mark. Only one pony has ever actually achieved it. We are too old to push ourselves to that limit. There is no need to break these limits."
"Starswirl, I thought you knew." Vecna glared at the light in the window,"Limits are meant to be broken."
A door opened, and a green unicorn mare popped in,"Uh, Teacher?"
"Yes Clover?" asked Starswirl, looking towards his student with a warm smile.
"I, uh, decided to come early for some lessons." She turned to Vecna,"Oh, Grandpa, I didn't see you there."
Vecna smiled at her,"That's okay. I really should stop sitting in shadows."
(Twilight's eyes widened in horror,"What?"
“Twilight?” Rarity asked
“Clover’s my ancestor, that means-” Twilight stammered
"That means..." Applejack asked, pausing for a second.
"Darn it, why does Twilight get all the cool relations. I mean, you have two liches in your family, how did that happen?" asked Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't know!" Twilight shouted.)
Vecna got up,"I'll leave you, for now, Starswirl."
"Far well Vecna," Starswirl said, before turning to Clover. "What are you interested in my dear?"
"Well, quite a few things actually..." Clover trailed off before the scene ended.