//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14: Rise of the Fire Nags 
// Story: The Ending of the End Revised, or Be Careful with what you wish for. 
// by SaburoDaimando 
//------------------------------//


Rise of the Fire Nags



In the nearly abandoned city of Canterlot, a crowd gathered around the castle chanting Neigh Nanners’ name as loudly as possible.  On a platform in front of the crowd, Daybreaker laid there, completely unconscious.  There were bruises scattered on parts of her body, indicating the damage she got during her fight against Neigh Nanners and his cult.  Her crown, necklace and shoes were shattered.  Her wings were extended outwards and laid limping on the ground.
Neigh Nanners emerged from the entrance of the castle, causing the crowd to cheer in unison.  He now wore a gold battle armor around his body and a purple cape flying from his neck.  The Emotion Amplifier was now pinned onto a sash that covered the chest area of his armor.  He looked primed and ready.
“CITIZENS, TRUE BELIEVERS,” Neigh Nanners shouted, causing the crowd to be silent.  “TODAY MARKS THE DAY OF YOUR FREEDOM FROM THIS MENACE KNOWN AS FRIENDSHIP!  AND I AM YOUR LIBERATOR!  WE WILL MARCH ONTO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, OVERTHROW PRINCESS CADANCE, PRINCESS LUNA AND PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE, AND END FRIENDSHIP, ONCE AND FOR ALL!”
The crowd cheered as Neigh Nanners walked down the staircase towards Daybreaker.  He approached the altar where the pony formerly known as Princess Celestia laid there.  Neigh Nanners got on his two legs and raised his hooves into the air.
“AND NOW MY FAITHFUL SUBJECTS,” Neigh Nanners yelled.  “THE LAST MOMENTS OF PRINCESS CELESTIA’S TYRANNY!  SHE WILL BE SAVED AND BECOME ONE OF US!  A MEMBER OF THE FREEDOM PONIES!  TO END THE REIGN OF THE SCOURGE KNOWN AS FRIENDSHIP!”
The crowd cheered as Neigh Nanners unhook the Emotion Amplifier from his sash and raised it into the air.  The artifact floated into the air and hovered above the unconscious body of Daybreaker.
“BEHOLD,” Neigh Nanners yelled.  “THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF FRIENDSHIP!”
A powerful beam of energy emitted from the Emotion Amplifier, blanketing Daybreaker in its magic.  Her eyes awoke to see the powerful flare of magic cover her body, causing her to scream in pain.  The crowd cheered as the sky around them darkened.  
“DO YOU HEAR THAT?” Neigh Nanners yelled.  “THAT IS THE SOUND OF FRIENDSHIP BEING CAST OUT OF THEM!  THIS IS THE PROOF THAT MY VIEWS ARE THE ONLY CORRECT VIEWS, AND THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS WRONG!  AND NOW THE TRUTH WILL SET HER…FREE!”
Daybreaker’s screams came to a stop as the crowd cheered once again in unison.  The Emotion Amplifier continued to pour its magic onto her, until Neigh Nanners raised his hooves in the air again.
“And now,” Neigh Nanners said.  “It is time to welcome the newest member of our organization.  Behold, Crusader Celestia.”
The magic pouring out of the Emotion Amplifier stopped up as the artifact floated back into Neigh Nanners’ hooves.  On the platform, a figure formerly known as Princess Celestia and Daybreaker rose up and faced the crowd, who cheered in unison.  No longer did she have a fiery red and orange mane, nor the bright colors of her traditional mane.  Instead, her mane and tail were now a bright yellow, and she was decorated in bright orange plate armor covering her body sans her head.
“Crusader Celestia,” Neigh Nanners said.  “I welcome thee to the Order of the Freedom Ponies.”
Crusader Celestia turned towards Neigh Nanners before bowing down to him and said “It is a great honor to be amongst your organization, my Lord.  How may I serve you?”
Neigh Nanners looked up into the air, and saw the Windigos circling in the atmosphere above Canterlot.  He turned his visage back towards Crusader Celestia.
“Do you see the Windigos above you?” Neigh Nanners replied.  “They, like the very Earth Ponies, Unicorn and Pegasi, are the slaves of the Tyranny of Friendship.  When we embrace our own freedom, they come out to do the will of Friendship’s great power.  Would you kindly free them from their shackles?”
Crusader Celestia raised her head and said “Consider it done.”

Meanwhile, at the Crystal Empire, Midnight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Grogar and Tirek emerged from the Crystal Chalice tavern.  They had only taken a few steps forward when they noticed the Windigos in the skies above, circling around Canterlot.
“Oh no,” Midnight Sparkle said.  “The Windigos.  We had forgotten about them.”
“I’ve read up about them back when I was Celestia’s snobbish student,” Sunset Shimmer said.  “But I never expect to see them in person.”
“It means we only have a limited time before Equestria is frozen,” Grogar said.  “If we do not purge the land of Nihilism Magic, then we will be doomed.”
“Being caught between a mad pony with that kind of magic and those mythical beasts of pure ice,” Tirek said as he looked a little discouraged.  “It can’t get any worse than that.”
Suddenly, a red-orangish beam shot out from afar at Canterlot and hit the Windigos directly.  Midnight, Sunset, Grogar and Tirek just stood there, completely stunned, as they watched the Windigo’s color shift from blue to red-orange.
“WHAT?”  Midnight said as she stood there with her jaw dropped to the floor.  “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?”
“It’s worse than I imagined,” Grogar said.  “Somehow, Neigh Nanners just figured out how to transform the Windigos into Fire Nags.”
Midnight Sparkle slowly shifted her head towards Grogar and said in a shaky tone “Fire…nags?”
“Beings of pure hate and malice,” Grogar said.  “They were the original forms of the Windigos, and their powers involve amplifying these negative emotions.”
“In other words,” Sunset said with her eyes glued to the Fire Nags that hovered above Canterlot.  “They’re like the Sirens who amplified the hate and anger of ponies.”
“But far worse,” Grogar said.  “They were made Windigos to prevent the build up of Nihilism Magic across Equestria.  A safeguard, if you will.  But without that safeguard, it will be far easier for hate and anger to spread across the whole world.”
Sunset and Midnight turned their heads towards Tirek with a disgusted look on their face, with the centaur looking at them oddly.
“What?”  Tirek said.  “How would I know they would turn into Fire Nags?”
Grogar stepped in between Midnight and Tirek and said “Now is not the time to argue.  We must report this to Princess Cadance at once.”
Midnight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer and Tirek all nodded as they followed Grogar through the streets of Canterlot and towards the palace.
But nearby, Latin Roma stuck his head out from the alleyway and caught a glimpse of Tirek and Midnight Sparkle.  His eyes burned with fire.
“Midnight Sparkle, Tirek,” Latin Roma said.  “I’ve waited a long time for this.”

Inside the Medical Wing of the Castle, Diamond Tiara held herself in place as she lay sleeping inside a crystal filled with a cool, refreshing liquid.  Outside, Starlight Glimmer, Cozy Glow, Apple Bloom, Smolder, Discord and Princess Cadance stood by.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Apple Bloom said as she continued to stare at Diamond .
“This is an ancient healing technique from the days of Princess Amore,” Princess Cadance said.  “The crystal essence used has healing properties that are unlike anything across this world.  A pony can go from near-death to totally revitalized in little time.”
“So why wasn’t Discord’s magic enough to fully heal Diamond Tiara?” Smolder asked.
“I can explain that,” Discord said.  “My magic does possess some healing capabilities.  But not on this kind of level.  Chaos magic can be very unpredictable and it could do more harm than good.  Something as basic as a stabilizing spell runs little to no risk of harming the patient.”
“Wait,” Starlight said.  “You mean to tell me that Chaos Magic has its limits?”
“Well Chaos Magic is more of a reality-shifting power,” Discord said.  “It unfortunately is not as powerful when it comes to healing magic or pure destruction.  And no way can it be used to directly take a life or to bring life back.”
“So let me get this straight,” Starlight Glimmer said, glaring at Discord.  “Even in spite of the fact that you’re the spirit of chaos, you cannot kill anyone directly or bring ponies back from the dead?”
Discord crossed his arms and said “No matter how many contradictions I’ve shown, I cannot off anyone, nor can I resurrect anyone.  I’ve tried that before and nothing happened.”
Cadence just laughed and said “I think we should focus more on Diamond Tiara’s health for the moment instead of getting involved in a civil dispute.”
But as the words left Cadance’s mouth, she heard the sound of hooves marching down.  Princess Cadance turned her head to see Midnight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Lord Tirek and Grogar enter.
“Twilight, you’re back,” Princess Cadance said. “And you brought our guest here.”
Starlight Glimmer, Cozy Glow and Discord all got a close look at Discord, causing the iris in their eyes to shrink down and their ears to flop down.
“Wait a minute,” Starlight Glimmer said.  “Is that…who I think it is?
“That’s Grogar alright,” Cozy Glow said.  “The real one, and not the one that Discord pretended to be.”
DIscord quickly put his hand around Cozy Glow’s mouth and said “Not so loud.  I don’t want Grogar to chew me out for my little stunt.”
Grogar just laughed and said “If you want my opinion, I found Discord pretending to be me to be funny, which includes the part where Twilight Sparkle, Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow made a monkey out of you in the end.  Even I could have seen that treachery coming.”
Princess Cadance glared up at Discord and said “Seriously?  You pretended to be Grogar just to fool Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow?”
Discord stuck his tongue out and said “It was to boost Twilight’s confidence.  And how would I know Twilight would side with them, or be forced to ally with Celestia?”
Grogar marched towards Princess Cadance with his tone shifting from amused to concerned.  Cadance turned her head towards Grogar as the former emperor said “But I’m afraid I have some terrible news involving the Windigos.”
“I knew it,” Cadance replied.  “Neigh Nanners’ actions have unleashed the Windigos onto Equestria.  If we don’t hurry, we’ll…”
“It’s far worse than the whole planet being frozen solid,” Grogar said.  “For some reason, Neigh Nanners managed to use Nihilism Magic to turn the Windigos into Fire Nags.”
Princess Cadance, Cozy Glow, Starlight Glimmer, Discord, Smolder, and Apple Bloom stood there dead silent.  Midnight Sparkle walked up to Princess Cadance and tapped her face, causing the older alicorn to snap out of her trance and look at Midnight.
“Tell me this is worse than Windigos,” Princess Cadance said.  “Because I know what Fire Nags are, and they make Windigos look cute and cuddly.”
“They are Fire Nags,” Midnight Sparkle said.  “I remember Princess Celestia telling me about what Fire Nags are: Beings of pure fire, malice and hate.  Unlike the Windigos, who will seal the land in pure cold to contain Nihilism Magic, Fire Nags amplify and spread the hate and malice of Nihilism Magic.”
“They’re like the Dazzling sisters that tried to feed on magic by amplifying the negative emotions of individuals,” Sunset Shimmer said.  “Only difference is…they serve only as that amplifier, and that power can spread really fast.”
“I was told legends about these fearsome beasts by Sendak the Elder,” Tirek said.  “I never thought they were living among us as Windigos.”
“And it is important that we alert everyone about this,” Grogar said.  “For if we do not contain them, their magic could either wipe out all magic, or even all life, across the planet.”
“All life across the planet?” Smolder said.  “Does that mean….we would all die?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Princess Cadance said.  “We must alert every pony in the Crystal Empire about this.  The stakes have never been this high.”
“Then let me do it,” Sunset said.  “I’m fast on my hooves.”
“That won’t be needed,”  Princess Cadance said as she extended her wings.  “I’ve got this.”
But just as Princess Cadance was about to run out, she noticed a figure in front of the doorway.  Immediately, Princess Cadance folded her wings back in, much to the surprise of everyone in the room.
“Princess Cadance,” Midnight said.  “I don’t like that posteur of yours.  It means there is someone behind me.”
“There is someone behind you.”  Those words caused Midnight Sparkle to turn around to face the figure, who turned out to be none other than Latin Roma.  Sunset, Tirek and Grogar turned to face the bulky unicorn stallion, who stood there glaring at Midnight Sparkle.
“Latin,” Midnight Sparkle said.  “I had a feeling you would track me down after what I did to you and your people.”
Princess Cadance walked up to Midnight and said “Twilight, what is this all about?”
“Long story short,” Midnight Sparkle said.  “I decided to test Discord’s magic on a group of ponies living in Bridlewood, by jinxing them to say ‘Bing Bong' after hearing one of four words.”
Immediately, Discord stomped towards Midnight Sparkle in a hurry, much to the surprise of everyone, Latin Roma included, in the vicinity.
“You used my magic to jinx ponies into dancing to a bing bong?” Discord said in a cold tone.
“Why not?” Cozy Glow said, flying up to Discord.  “After all, you’re the kind of guy who would have done the same thing.”
Discord rolled his eyes as he held up his hand and flicked his index finger at Cozy Glow, sending her flying across the room.
“Real funny,” Discord said.
Midnight Sparkle turned her attention back to Latin Roma, who continued to stare down the corrupted alicorn.
“If you came here to get revenge for what I did to your people,” Midnight said as she stood there with the fluff of her chest sticking out and her wings extended.  “Then let me have it.”
“Twilight, no,” Princess Cadance said in protest.
“It’s alright,” Midnight said.  “I can handle this.”
Latin Roma stepped away from the doorway and towards Midnight Sparkle.  He raised his hoof in the air, and gently nudged Midnight on the chest, causing her to back up a bit.
“I was going to avenge my people,” Latin said.  “But after what I saw while coming up here, I’ve lost my desire for vengeance.”
Midnight folded her wings back up and said “What?”
“After you cast that jinx on us with that bell you had,” Latin Roma said.  “I vowed to avenge my people by beating you in combat.  So I followed you up to what you call Manehattan with the intent on doing so.”
“So why didn’t you show your face in Manehattan?” Tirek asked.
“That’s easy,” Latin Roma said.  “When I saw you four attempt to confront Neigh Nanners, only to retreat from his magic, I began to wonder if revenge really was the righteous path.  I still wanted to do so, but I had second doubts.”
“And what made you give that up?” Princess Cadance asked.
“I saw with my own eyes what this Neigh Nanners guy was capable of doing with what he called the Emotion Amplifier,” Latin Roma said.  “The kind of things that would turn a pony into a Complete Monster.  I could feel the kind of magic get to me and I did struggle to fight it. Compared to that stunt that Twilight Sparkle and her friends pulled on me, I was disgusted by Neigh Nanners and his so-called cult.”
“But how did you find out where I was going to be?” Midnight said.  “The Crystal Empire is far away from Manehattan.”
“I believe I can answer that,” Grogar said.  “Before I made my way to the Crystal Empire, I was doing some observation on what Neigh Nanners was doing with the Emotion Amplifier when I happened upon this stallion being affected by the Nihilism Magic.”
“You helped him out?” Sunset asked.
“Yes,” Grogar said.  “What I did was that I drained him of the Nihilism Magic that was clouding his mine with my Second Bell.   Once his mind was clear, I shot the magic up into the air so it would affect any pony.”
“I never thought I would say this,” Latin Roma said.  “But I owe Grogar a lot for freeing me from that mad pony’s trance.  It was a lot worse than saying ‘Bing Bong,’ I can assure you.”
“Sometime after I drained the dark magic out of Latin,” Grogar said.  “I intended on heading to Canterlot to aid you in the fight.  But without the Crystal Heart, I would have fallen to the power of Nihilism Magic.“
“That explains why you came here to the Crystal Empire with Latin Roma,” Midnight said.  “But how did you get here so fast?”
“You already have that answer,” Grogar said as he held his Second Bell in the air.  “My original bell had the ability to create portals to other areas as does my second bell.”
Midnight Sparkle looked down at the first Bewitching Bell in her hooves.  Her ears flapped down as she placed her bell down on the floor.
“You’re still thinking about Celestia, right?” Sunset asked.
“Yeah,” Midnight sighed.  “I knew I should have used the bell’s portal ability to get everyone to safety.  Celestia would have been here.”
“I can tell why,” Sunset replied.  “But there’s a part of me that believes Celestia stayed behind so that she could give us a key to vanquising Nihilism Magic.”
Midnight held the bell up and said “I hope you're right.  Because if she is the key needed to bring down Nihilism Magic, then it would bring a new hope to Equestria.”
Latin Roma approached Midnight Sparkle and said “But I am not yet forgiven of your sins, Princess.  If you wish for my village to forgive you for what you did, then you must take up arms against Neigh Nanners and save the whole world.”
Midnight Sparkle picked up the bell with a determined look in her eyes and said “I intend on doing so anyway.  We have the Crystal Heart, we have two bells.  And the one thing we do know is that Neigh Nanners will come to the Crystal Empire. This is where we make our final stand.  You have my word.”
Latin Roma nodded and said “Then it’s settled.  I will aid you in the final confrontation with Neigh Nanners.”
Midnight nodded.  She turned towards Princess Cadance and said “It’s time we told everyone about The Fire Nags and what they could do to Equestria.”
“I’ll go on ahead and gather everyone in the courtyard,” Princess Cadance said.  “Right now, Diamond Tiara’s healing is just about complete.”
“Roger that,” Sunset said.  
With that, Princess Cadance dashes out of the doorway and down the hall, leaving everyone else in the medical wing of the castle.  Midnight Sparkle turned towards Diamond Tiara, still asleep inside the healing crystal.  She walked up to the crystal and looked down at the console.  The screen showed a number of signs pointing to Diamond Tiara’s health, from her organs to her brain and limbs.  
“Wow,” Midnight said.  “I heard the magic within the healing crystals are supposed to be amazing.  But now I believe that’s an understatement.”
Midnight Sparkle presses a few buttons on the console, causing the liquid with the crystal to drain out and for Diamond Tiara to settle down at the bottom.  Once the liquid was emptied from the crystal, the container opened up, allowing Diamond Tiara to awaken.  Cozy Glow immediately flew up and above Diamond Tiara.
“That was the best dream I ever had,” Diamond Tiara said as she pulled herself up.  “I dreamt I freed my parents and Silver Spoon from a curse.”
“Well dreams can turn to reality,” Cozy Glow said as she picked up Diamond Tiara out from the healing crystal.  “I heard we have a means of fighting back against the Emotion Amplifier.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Midnight Sparkle said.  “But Cozy’s right.  Grogar just explained to me that…”
“Wait,” Diamond Tiara interrupted.  “Did you say…Grogar?”
Diamond Tiara turned her head to see Grogar standing next to Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Lord Tirek and Discord.  Her face dropped down in fear before burying it on Cozy Glow’s chest.
“HEY!” Cozy Glow yelled.  “What’s wrong with you?”
“I’ve heard tales about Grogar,” Diamond Tiara cried.  “About how he conquered Equestria and made our ancestors slaves.”
Grogar just casually approached Diamond Tiara and Cozy Glow before he said in a casual tone “Tales that I wrote myself to propel the status of my adopted daughter Gusty.”  Those words caused Diamond Tiara to stick her head out and face the former emperor.
“Wait,” Diamond Tiara said.  “You wrote your own stories as a villain?”
“Yes,” Grogar said.  “Even though I had some bitterness towards my late adopted daughter, I still appreciated what she did to end the original curse of Nihilism Magic.  That is why I wrote those books so that ponies would not forget the tales, and to pay tribute to Gusty.  And in case you’re wondering, I’ve given up on being a villain.  Instead, I wish to help the ponies of Equestria stop Neigh Nanners from destroying this world with the Fire Nags.”
“Fire Nags?” Diamond Tiara said.  “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Creatures of pure fire, malice and hate,” Latin Roma said.  “The polar opposite of their alter egos The Windigos.  They have the power to spread this kind of toxic behavior across the entire world.  Should Neigh Nanners get his way, magic, or even all life, could be wiped out from the face of this planet.”
Diamond Tiara turned to face Cozy Glow, who let out a sigh and said “Look.  I know you’re afraid.  I am too for the first time in a long time.  But what matters is that we have to come together on this.  If we fail, we may not have anything left.  So I ask you this: Are you in?”
Diamond Tiara’s face turned to determination as she shook her head and said “I’m game.”  She then followed up by giving Cozy Glow a big hug, in which the alicorn filly followed suit.
Back on the ground, Smolder looked up at the two fillies with a bit of pride while Apple Bloom was crying her eyes out.
“I never thought I would say this,” Smolder said.  “But I’m glad to have you back, Cozy Glow.  I don’t know what was in you when we first met, but I did miss it when you were originally transferred to Tartarus”
“This is the happiest moment of my life,” Apple Bloom cried, causing Smolder to turn her head down to the apple filly  “We’re about to unite together against the biggest monster in Equestrian history.”
Suddenly, Shining Armor made his way into the medical wing of the Castle, yelling out “Princess Cadance told me about the Fire Nags.”  This caused everyone to turn their attention towards the older brother of Midnight Sparkle.
“Good,” Midnight Sparkle said.  “Then we should get ready to head down into the courtyard.”
Shining Armor turned to face Grogar and said “Oh hey, Grogar.  I assume you told Twili and the others about the plan.”
“I have, Prince Shining Armor, “ Grogar said.  “Now come.  We have work to do.”
Shining Armor nodded as Grogar walked out the doorway with Midnight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Lord Tirek, Discord, Cozy Glow, Diamond Tiara, Apple Bloom, Smolder and Latin Roma followed from behind.  Immediately, Shining Armor walked alongside Latin Roma.
“So,” Shining Armor said. “I never saw your face before.  What’s your name?”
“Latin Roma,” the gray unicorn stallion said.  “I hail from the Bridlewood forest.”
“And I heard that you had a run in with my sister, Twili,” Shining Armor asked.
Latin Roma reached over and whispered into Shining Armor’s ear before letting out a “Bing Bong” from his mouth.  Shining could do nothing but laugh and walk.
“On the one hand, that is horrible,” Shining laugh.  “But on the other hand, that was something Twili and I did during our foalhood.”
“Foalhood?” Latin Roma asked.
“Every once in a while,” Shining Armor said.  “Twili would pretend to be some kind of big monster and chant those words as a curse.  And so, pretending to be the big hero, I would chant ‘Bing Bong’ and charge my sister as if I was a knight protecting Equestria from evil.  Sort of like a Battle Cry.”
“A Battle Cry?” Latin Roma replied with intrigued.  “Interesting.  I never thought about those words being a Battle Cry for combat.  Maybe it should be used once we confront Neigh Nanners.”
“You want to confront Neigh Nanners?” Shining Armor asked with curiosity.
“After seeing what Neigh Nanners truly was,” Latin Roma said.  “I’m down with it.”
“It’s great to at least have more hooves on board,” Shining Armor said.  “Though I must warn you.  This will be a difficult fight.”
“I know,” Latin Roma replied.
“And I think I may have a bit of a talk with Twili over that curse he placed on you,” Shining Armor said.
“That won’t be necessary,” Latin Roma said.  “It would be best if the past was in the past.  Besides, I think that curse has given me a new lease on life.”
“Very well,” Shining Armor replied with a laugh.  
And with that, Latin Roma laughed with Shining Armor as the group continued down the hallway, and towards the grand foyer of the castle.


	To Be Continued