//------------------------------// // Bonus Chapter: What If? // Story: The End of All Things // by Boltstrike58 //------------------------------// Crystal Empire, Equestria "We can't just go up against Grogar and the others again. Not with nothing but our wits," insisted Twilight. "We don't have the Elements of Harmony anymore, so we need something to even the odds." "But what else could we possibly bring to the fight?" asked Spike. "The Crystal Heart only works in the Empire, and I can't think of any other magical artifacts that could overpower someone like Grogar." "It's not like we can just lure him to the Empire," added Tempest. "There must be something that can match the power of those dark elements." Twilight thought for a minute, while the others tossed around suggestions but dismissed them just as quickly. Tempest had to be correct, Grogar's power couldn't be absolute. But in all of Equestria, was there anything that could— An idea hit her like a lightning bolt. There might not be anything in Equestria, but what about beyond Equestria? Plus, they could get some additional aid. "I've got it!" she exclaimed, taking off with a single flap of her wings. "I know where we can go!" "Where? What do you mean?" asked Celestia. "Through the mirror!" Comprehension slowly rose into the faces of Spike and the other former Element Bearers. "Are you sure about that?" asked Rainbow Dash. "From what you've told us about that place, it sounds kinda...less magical." "But Sunset Shimmer's group embodies the Elements of Harmony as well," said Starlight. "Maybe their powers haven't been affected by the loss of the tree." "Wait, what?" asked Tempest. "Who's Sunset Shimmer? What's this about a mirror?" "Trixie would also like to know what's going on," said the showmare. "It's...kind of a long story," said Twilight. "To sum it up quickly, there's a magic mirror back in my castle that is a gateway to another world, where counterparts of all of us live as a species without magic called humans. Oh, and Celestia's former student, Sunset Shimmer, basically moved there." Tempest blinked a couple of times. "That...is a lot. Seriously, that sounds insane." "Anyway," Twilight continued, "Sunset and the counterparts of myself and my friends can basically channel the power of the Elements of Harmony. They each have a special pendant that gives them a magical power. Combined, they can equal the power of the Elements themselves." "Sweet. So we're sneaking back to Ponyville?" "Definitely. There's a magic journal I can use to contact Sunset in my castle." Canterlot High, Earth Sunset Shimmer and her posse charged down the halls of their high school, having rushed out of class the second Sunset's copy of the journal vibrated. A few texts had summoned everyone, and the teachers, used to these seven students having to rush to avert magical catastrophes over and over again, had simply let them go. Sunset had filled them all in on Twilight's message, and the current situation in Equestria. Eventually they shoved open the front doors of the school, arriving at the Wondercolt statue nobody had bothered to repair. They didn't have to wait long before the portal opened and Princess Twilight, in human form, came tumbling through, only to be caught by Sunset. "Thank you. Hey, girls," she said to the others. "Hey, me." The spectacled Twilight gave her the thumbs up. "I got your message," said Sunset, holding up the journal. "Is it true? Grogar destroyed the Tree? The Elements are gone?" "Pretty much, yeah," replied Twilight. "Please tell me your geodes are still working, at least." Rarity projected one of her diamond barriers in front of her. "They seem to work, darling," she replied. "Though I don't know if we'll be much help in pony bodies we're not used to." "Not to mention we have no idea if they'll work in Equestria," added human Twilight. "We still have no idea how much works in this world. Maybe their powers will fade if we go through the portal." Princess Twilight swallowed nervously. "Well there has to be something! We can't beat Grogar by ourselves! Can any of you think of anything?" For about two minutes, nobody spoke. They thought, staring around and scratching their heads. All of a sudden, Sunset snapped her fingers, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "I have an idea!" she announced. Then her face fell a little. "But... Now that I'm thinking about it, it's pretty radical. Risky, too." "At this point, Sunset, I'm willing to try anything," replied Princess Twilight. Sunset took another deep breath. "How would you feel about revealing the existence of the portal to everyone?" *Several phone calls, demonstrations of magic, and one teleportation later* "So, let me get this straight," said the president. "You're from an alternate universe, which is populated by the same people, except instead of humans, they're magical talking ponies, you're the Princess of Friendship over there, you've been traveling between world via a magical portal in front of a high school, and you're coming to this government for help to deal with a goat who wants to destroy your world simply because he can." "Well, when you put it that way, it sounds kind of ridiculous," responded Princess Twilight. "Still, that's pretty much it. I'm sorry our first real contact had to be a plea for aid from you, but we're running out of options." The president sighed, running his hands over his face. "You know, if you hadn't proven that magic exists just a few minutes ago, I wouldn't have believed you." He pointed to human Twilight and Princess Twilight. "I'd be more inclined to believe you two were just twins pulling some super elaborate prank. Now, I don't know what to think." He sighed again. "I never thought my administration would be the first to have contact with aliens." "I assure you, my world has no problems with yours," said Sunset. "But if Grogar brings Equestria to ruin, and finds out the existence of this world, he'll come for you." "That's another thing," replied the president. "You're a magical unicorn, yet you've been living among us humans for years. How'd you manage to go undetected for so long?" Sunset frowned. "It...took a lot of work. I admit, not all of my methods were legal. But can we sort that out later?" "Sure." The president turned back to Princess Twilight. "Now, what exactly is it you need from us?" "I didn't have a lot of time to study your human weapons," she replied, "but from what I have seen in books and on the internet, your militaries are quite impressive. We just need some of that firepower to convince Grogar to surrender." The president swallowed. "Well, I'll see what I can do," he answered. "Though, will our soldiers be of much use in pony bodies they're not familiar with?" "Leave that problem to us," responded the princess. "I'm sure we can tinker with the mirror to get it to keep you in human form after passing through." "Alright." The president picked up his phone. Canterlot, Equestria Grogar impatiently tapped his hoof against the floor of Tambelon Castle. Twilight Sparkle and her friends, along with any allies they might manage to drag out, should've attacked by now. He'd studied them and their personalities for years, and come to the conclusion that hiding like cowards would've been out of character for them. He'd predicted that they'd make one more futile effort to attack him, even without their precious Elements of Harmony, and he'd crush them, asserting his dominance over Equestria. However, his magical senses hadn't detected them approaching. "Chrysalis," he barked, "are there any more hidden pathways Twilight Sparkle's team could use to get to Canterlot? Perhaps if they intended to take us by surprise?" The changeling queen shook her head. "We've searched every possible avenue they might've used to reach this place. If they were on their way, we'd know about it." "That's what I thought," responded the goat. He rested his chin on one hoof, thinking deeply. Perhaps he'd overestimated their bravado. Perhaps the defeat he'd previously handed them was so great they couldn't muster the will to face him again. If that were the case, he could simply hunt them down and exterminate them, without the need to— A ping in one of his magical sensors brought Grogar out of his own head. He smirked. "So they're coming after all," he muttered. He turned his gaze towards the eastern sky. His magic scanning had detected movement in the air from that direction. Grogar had expected the ponies not to approach from the air, considering how easy it would be to spot them, but perhaps they were more foolish than he thought. Now all he needed to do was shoot down the airship they were using, then head to the crash site and pick off the survivors. His confidant smirk faded into a confused frown as the detected object pushed through the clouds, coming into view. He'd expected a zeppelin, or perhaps a few pegasus chariots Celestia had managed to dig out from somewhere. What he saw was no fewer than twenty-five large, metallic tubes with wings, with flames shooting from their rears, that seemed to be propelling them. In all his years of observing Equestria, he'd never seen any kind of technology like this. A tapping on his shoulder caught his attention. "Master Grogar?" ventured Tirek, pointing down at the plains surrounding Canterlot. Grogar had felt his magical sensors below go off as well, and as he looked down, he discovered several large, metal vehicles advancing on Tambelon Castle. They were pulled by no ponies, but seemed to run on their own power, pushed forward by tread-like wheels on either side. A long tube extended forward out of the top of each one, pointing forward, aiming directly at Tambelon Castle. Grogar didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. "What are those?" asked Cozy Glow. "I'm not sure," admitted the ram, "but they change nothing. Whatever Twilight Sparkle has brought to challenge me, it cannot compare to my power." From her position inside the tank, Twilight went over the plan again, praying that nothing would go wrong. Get in, get Grogar to surrender. That was all there was to it. "Everypony ready?" she said into her microphone. Her and all her friends had been provided with one. None of the soldiers believed they would need to communicate, expecting an easy fight, but she'd insisted on them, just in case. "We've got no problems so far," responded Rainbow Dash. "Aerial approach is going smoothly." "Same thing on the ground," added Applejack. Twilight swallowed in anticipatory fear. She trusted the human soldiers, but that didn't mean she had one hundred percent faith in this operation. "Sunset, are you absolutely sure about this?" she asked, one more time. "Definitely," replied the unicorn, patting Twilight on the wing. "Trust me, Grogar has no idea what we're bringing to his doorstep. There's nothing he has that can counter this." Twilight felt a little better, smiling at her friend before turning back towards Tambelon Castle. Grogar himself had taken the first few steps out onto the lawn, his five lieutenants hanging back a short distance. All the tanks pointed their cannons at him, though if it worried him, he didn't show it. Twilight used her magic to open the hatch on the tank she was riding in, and floated out with a single flap of her wings. "Grogar," she called out, using a little magic to amplify her voice, "we have you completely surrounded. You are outnumbered and outgunned. Surrender, and you will be shown mercy." The ram cast his butter-colored eyes across the force that had assembled before him. Above, the jets were now doing loops around the towers of Tambelon Castle, primed to start bombing should the situation require it. Fortunately, he had no way of knowing that. "I'll admit, Twilight Sparkle," he began, "this isn't the last stand I was expecting. It is...slightly more impressive. However, it is clear to me you are simply bluffing in an attempt to convince me to surrender, and you will fail in that endeavor." "You honestly think this is a bluff?" Twilight snapped back at him. "What, you think this is all some kind of magic illusion? Even with all of our magic combined, I don't know if I could create an illusion this elaborate!" "The Great and Powerful Trixie could," muttered the showmare from inside her tank, only to be shushed by Starlight. "The exact method by which you achieved this eludes me, I confess," Grogar continued, "but my magic is powerful enough to defeat these forces, even if they were real." Twilight felt her wings droop a little. He wasn't going to listen, no matter what they did. "So be it," she said. She ducked back inside the tank, closing the hatch behind her. "You did your best," said the driver. "He's just too stubborn for his own good." "So now what?" Twilight asked. The soldier passed her what looked like a small, metallic sphere. "Pull the pin and chuck it." Twilight knew what a grenade was. She didn't like this plan, but she supposed there was no other choice. Lighting up her horn, she lifted it in her telekinetic grip, and opened the tank hatch once more. She yanked the pin out, and pitched the grenade as hard as she could towards Grogar, who didn't react. The sphere landed a short distance from his hooves. "Really? You hope to defeat me by throwing balls at me? What are you—" The rest of Grogar's evil rant would go unheard, as the grenade burst, obscuring the ram in a smokey explosion. His five lieutenants were far enough away that they weren't hit, but they still reeled back in shock. When the smoke cleared, it revealed Grogar's fallen body, clearly dead. Twilight poked her head out. "Now, if any of the rest of you want to fight, we will not hesitate to—" "We surrender!" exclaimed the Storm King, throwing his hands in the air. The other four followed suit, thrusting their forelimbs upwards. "Oh," replied Twilight, dumbfounded. "Well, that was easy." "And you beat him that easily?" demanded Scootaloo. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, as well as Sandbar and his friend group, had arrived mere minutes after the surrender, along with pretty much all of Equestria, looking to help in the battle against Grogar. However, they'd quickly learned there was no battle to be fought. "Pretty much, yeah," replied Sunset Shimmer, taking a swig of her drink. "Oh," said Apple Bloom, sounding a little disappointed. "We, uh...had a whole 'power of friendship' speech set up and everything." "Looks like we won't be needing it this time," said Twilight. "Thanks, though. Maybe keep that speech for the next crisis."