Shadowy images were dancing on the wall. An alicorn princess flew high, fighting against a giant winged reptilian shadow that resembled a dragon, who was holding another pony without any particular features in its claws. They battled, their fire and magic flying all over the place, the dragon seeming to look like it was doing all it could to stop the princess from getting to its captive, and when the final clash was about to happen…
KRAKOOM!
Twilight snapped out of her slumber. On the way back to Ponyville, the group could hear the sound of raindrops falling. It was still a long way home, so the constant tapping sound finally made her doze off. But the sudden thunder clash woke her up, and only now did she realize that it was an absolute downpour.
“Criminy,” Applejack commented, “it’s rainin’ cats and dogs.”
“Weird… I don’t recall there being any talk about rain showers from Cloudsdale, especially not this intense,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
Fluttershy suddenly realized something. “Wait… You don’t think… HE is responsible, do you?”
“Well, he definitely didn’t crumble to bits like last time,” the party planner said. “We’ve all seen Grogy’s portal opened where he supposedly fell.”
“Delightful…” the white unicorn sarcastically said.
She didn’t blame her for the reaction. With all that’s happened in the last few days, they pretty much had the right to be disgruntled. The only one whose reaction she didn’t see was Zecora’s, who was completely covered by the winter coat; it seemed as if she just wanted to sleep through the entire thing until they all came home.
“ARRIVING AT CANTERLOT! NEXT STOP, PONYVILLE!” the conductor announced.
The group was still lounging back, but the Princess of Friendship rose.
“Twilight? Where are you going?” Fluttershy asked.
“I have to report to Celestia about what’s happened,” she answered.
“Fine, we’ll go,” the wonderbolt made a lazy groan.
“No,” she quickly declined, “I’ll go by myself. The rest of you go back to my old castle. Starswirl and Starlight are likely already waiting for us. Tell them all that’s happened, and I’ll be back later. Besides, the cargo that we were given needs to be delivered.”
They gazed at the large bag that sat on the floor near the entrance door, full of changeling’s magic negating armor, and they knew that it couldn’t be moved around magically.
“Okay, Twi,” Applejack agreed. “We’ll wait for you back in Ponyville."
The Princess of Friendship nodded and then walked over to the door that opened soon after, with Spike quickly running to her side. After stepping out on the platform, she quickly cast a spell, and they disappeared in a flash of light.
FLASH!
Twilight and Spike teleported to the front entrance of the Canterlot’s castle, making the guards at the front jump from shock.
“Your Majesty!” one of them yelped. “We didn’t know you were coming back.”
“I need to see Celestia right away,” she commanded.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The doors opened and the two quickly strode in, before the alicorn teleported them. They turned up in the throne room, where the mare expected her former mentor to be, only to find it empty. She could be anywhere and she didn’t want to waste energy teleporting all over the place, so she instead opted to just look for her on foot. Yet the moment she stepped through the giant door she only ended up crashing into an unsuspecting passer-by. She recognized this elderly stallion with a mustache and red butler’s tailcoat.
“Oh my goodness! Kibitz, I’m so sorry!” the mare apologized, and quickly scrambled to pick up whatever the old unicorn was holding. “I didn’t see you! I thought Princess Celestia was inside, but she wasn’t, so I wanted to check elsewhere and-“
“Is that lavender?” Spike pointed at the pile of flowers that the princess was holding, but didn’t realize it immediately.
“Kibitz, I’m sorry,” she apologized again. “You’ve probably been to my room in the last few days and saw all the lavender around the place. I should’ve said ahead of that there was no need to replace it, as Princess Luna had managed to help me deal with the issue.”
The elder unicorn got up and readjusted his glasses. “Your Majesty, I’m glad that you’ve returned, especially considering the recent events. As for the lavender, they are not for you, but rather for the aforementioned Madame’s younger sibling.”
“For Princess Luna? Why?”
“Come and see for yourself,” he offered.
He picked up the lavender and carried it down the hallway, with the duo following him. They eventually stopped at the room that once belonged to the Mare of the Moon, and the butler promptly entered, while the younger alicorn and her sibling peaked inside. Most of the room pretty much remained untouched as it was left, except for the bed. The former Princess of the Night lay in it, slowly turning and making a mess of it, making incomprehensible mumbling words. The old unicorn in the meantime placed the lavender on the nearby flower pot, before slowly walking out and closing the door behind.
“What’s with her?” the dragon asked.
“She’s been like that since the night you all left: Sleep-deprived, exhausted, almost delirious,” he explained.
“Why?” Twilight still wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“I think Madame will be able to give you a better explanation,” the unicorn stallion said. “She’s in the conference room at this very moment.”
The old butler escorted the alicorn and the dragon down the hallway to where the previously mentioned room was, and they could all hear multiple voices coming from the other side of the door. She knocked and slowly opened the door, looking inside. It was loud; ponies were sitting behind the table, yelling over one another, so much that Twilight couldn’t understand what they were even saying, and would also explain why they didn’t hear or notice her enter. Somebody else did, however. On the far end of the table, the Mare of the Sun sat, listening to their grievances and complaints, her eyes slowly wandering left and right between those present, and then, as she was making another pass, she finally spotted her.
“Twilight!” she raised her voice, and all other ponies went silent, their gazes turning to the door.
She waved awkwardly. “Am I interrupting?”
The elder alicorn rose from her seat. “Everypony, the conference will be adjourned for now. We will reconvene within two hours.”
They said nothing, merely nodding their heads, and then marched off, past the Element of Magic, the last one closing the door behind her. Before she was even able to address her, the former princess dashed to her and pulled her into an embrace.
“Twilight, I’m so glad that you’re okay.” She finally let go of her. “Cadence sent a message the day before, and although short as it was… it was rather cryptic, saying something about “the Storm King returning”.”
“It’s more than that, Princess,” the former student said. “So much has happened that that part is more of a cherry on top.”
“Tell me everything, Twilight,” the white alicorn insisted.
“We’re gonna be here for a long time then,” Spike sighed and opened the conference door. “Kibitz, you better bring some tea.”
For nearly an hour, the two alicorns and a dragon sat at the table, as the younger set talked about the events that took place in the Frozen North: Of King Sombra’s return, the original heartlands of ponykind that were buried under the Frozen North, Sombra’s mother from which he and all the umbrum were born, the victims she had claimed, and last but not least, the confirmation of the satyr warlord’s impossible return.
“That explains a lot of things,” the white alicorn sighed. “Those ponies that were here when you arrived, they had a series of misfortunes. The storm that’s come out of nowhere yesterday has been devastating the crops, setting trees on fire, and even causing landslides across the center of Equestria. If the Storm King is the one responsible then he’s truly grown in power.”
“What he did last time when he visited seems like a cakewalk at this point,” the dragon said as he bit a muffin, “but that still doesn’t explain how did he manage to get back. We’re seen what was left of him after we restored everypony’s magic.”
“I think I can guess how.” Celestia levitated a letter off the table to her side. “Do you both still recall Silverbeak? The hippogriff historian in charge of the exhibition in Manehatten, which was vandalized? After Cadence’s letter arrived, I sent an inquiry to him asking if they figured out what was stolen yet. The letter arrived this morning, confirming what item was taken.”
“Let me guess… his petrified head?” Twilight asked, knowing the answer was already obvious, to which the Mare of the Sun nodded.
“But that still doesn’t explain how, Twilight,” Spike continued. “We all know what the Storm King did, and I’m pretty sure nopony or any other creature that was involved with him in any way would want to see him return. But Chrysalis and Grogar? They likely never even heard of him, let alone know what happened to him in the end. So how did they manage to concoct such an elaborate plan where they went and gather all the necessary materials to bring him back?”
“Spike, I’m not sure I follow,” his elder sister looked at him confusingly. “Are you saying that there’s another creature that seems to be working alongside them, that we’ve not seen yet?”
“I mean that’s the only possible answer. Remember those Earth Elementals attacking way back when, because of which we lost petrified Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow, and all of a sudden she turned up? And the strange shadow thing that’s affected your mind and gave you nightmares, and for some reason also affected Discord not long after?”
She paused for a moment. “Now that you mention it, Spike, remember what Grogar said at the Jagged Ridge? He said that somecreature which he called “the shadow wisp” was responsible for Discord’s condition… meaning it was likely responsible for mine as well.”
“It’s a good thing Luna managed to fix that problem.”
“That reminds me…” the princess finally returned her attention to the former one. “Princess Celestia, I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s happened with Luna? When we arrived and bumped into Kibitz he was delivering lavender to her room, and he was very sparse with words.”
“So you’ve seen the state she’s in?” She sighed. “I fear that my sister’s gone overboard in re-entering her former duty.”
“What do you mean?” the dragon asked.
“She told me of the things she had seen when she entered your and Discord’s dreams, of the mysterious shadow remnant that was tormenting you… and of the form it took when she faced it.”
Spike tilted his head. “You mean when Twilight’s manifestation turned into Nightmare Moon?”
She nodded. “After you all left for the Crystal Empire she started entering the dream realm during the night. She would continue doing it, vigorously so, to the point that she’s become overworked. Probably more so than she did before.”
“But why?”
“Luna is the only one with the power to gaze into the dreams of others, it was a power she was born with, it was her purpose,” she answered. “Years ago, after we left you and your friends to look after Equestria in our place, Twilight, we were finally able to enjoy the leisure, which our responsibilities have denied us before. But after we learned what’s been happening… after what Starswirl revealed to us, she became overcome with dread over the thought that there could be many more innocent ponies suffering from the same affliction that both you and Discord had to go through. She feels guilty, Twilight: She’s the only one who could’ve seen it happen and she let it.”
“What?!” the Princess of Friendship raised her voice. “But what happened wasn’t her fault!”
“We both know that, Twilight. But Luna also knows that if she didn’t neglect her duty completely and at least kept checking on the realm of dreams every now and then, the damage could’ve been mitigated.”
“Isn’t there anything we can do for her?”
“I wish there was… But I fear words will do little at the moment,” she shook her head. “Besides, I believe you have a greater problem to tackle.”
“We know, the whole Turmoil-thing,” the dragon stated the obvious.
“It’s more serious than that, Spike,” the younger alicorn corrected. “If the storm that appeared yesterday was indeed caused by the Storm King, it means that he and the rest of his peers are ahead of us on wherever they’re going next, and we’ve no clue where to follow them yet, which means we’re kind of short on time.” She rose from her seat. “We’ll be showing ourselves out, Princess Celestia.”
The white alicorn nodded. “I completely understand. I have to return to dealing with the aftermath anyway. I’ll be waiting for your next report.”
“Why am I having a sudden deja vu of you being back as her apprentice?” Spike quipped.
A chuckled escaped both mares. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and the butler entered.
“My apologies for interrupting, Your Majesty,” Kibitz addressed the princess, “but there’s a message that’s just arrived for you.”
“Oh? Well do bring it over,” she answered.
“It will be brought, Your Majesty. I would, however, ask in advance, if any important documents are present, that they are put at a safe distance. The messenger has had a clash with the current weather pattern.”
Twilight was confused about what the unicorn was talking about. All of a sudden, the doors swung open further, and a short feathery figure flew in, making loud hooting noises, splashing water all over the place with each beat of its wings, before finally crashing into the mare, knocking her off her feet. After a momentary daze, she finally realized what it was: A little owl was sitting on top of her, completely drenched from the rain, shivering from the cold.
“Owlowiscious!” She hugged him. “Awww, poor little guy, you’re shaking all over.”
She quickly conjured a towel and wrapped him in it to dry him up. As she did, the owl extended one of his legs, revealing a message tied to it. She noticed it, quickly unwrapped it, and started to read.
There was a prolonged silence before Spike finally got her attention. “Bad news?”
“You could say that,” she replied. “King Aspen is saying that the storm’s hit them pretty hard as some of the trees have been struck by lightning and set on fire. And… he’s also saying that there’s unease in their neck of the woods. There’s a dark sinister presence that the forest seems to be emanating that couldn’t be felt before. He wants to know if we know anything about it.”
The two siblings looked at each other, and then they both turned to the elder alicorn. “Both of you best leave now,” she told them.
They nodded and were about to depart, but just then, the mare stopped herself. There was something that was left unfinished.
“Princess Celestia, before I go, there’s something that I need to give you.” She pulled off the extra set of saddlebags she was carrying with her.
The elder alicorn picked it up and looked it up closely, noticing an image of a yellow staff with two snakes coiled around it, with a pair of wings on top printed on it. “Twilight… is this what I think it is?”
She solemnly nodded. “It may have been only for a brief moment, but in the end, she was still your student. I figured it would be more fitting that you keep it.”
The former princess said nothing, only quietly opening the saddlebag and then slowly started to take out the contents, staring at them. The silence lasted for so long that it started to feel awkward.
“I’m not sure if I’m reading the room right, Twilight,” the dragon whispered. “Is she content or…?”
“It’s okay you two,” Celestia finally spoke. “You best go as fast as you can. I won’t hold you back anymore.”
Spike pulled out a quill and a parchment, preparing himself to write the response letter for the Heart of the Forest, as dictated by the princess. With that, the two finally left the room, Twilight’s voice being heard from the other side. The Mare of the Sun was left all by herself now, a frown forming on her face. Among the things she shuffled through she found the letter, one she wrote so long ago, inviting the bright and gifted little unicorn to come to study under her, old library books that by now have been completely forgotten by the new workers of the place where they were borrowed from, and lastly, the journal detailing her journey and discovery, the only thing that was missing from it was the ending, one which her former protégé delivered to her. She was another one… one of the students that she couldn’t have helped.
“I’m sorry… I wish there was more we could’ve done for you…” she said, as a single tear ran down her face.
FLASH!
It took them a while, but they finally managed to get outside of the castle for Twilight to teleport her feathered companion back to the deers, and then directly to her old holdings in Ponyville. When the bright light disappeared, they were inside the room where the Cutie Map was, and as expected, the rest of the Elements, along with Zecora, Starlight Glimmer, and Starswirl the Bearded were present, waiting for her.
“Hey everypony,” she greeted them, “sorry for letting you wait, but I had to explain to Princess Celestia what happened. Now, for those who haven’t been informed yet-“
“I already explained to Starswirl what had happened, Twilight,” the headmare intervened. “You were out cold the day before, so the other 6 were pretty much able to go in-depth on what happened.”
“Oh… Well, I suppose that saves us some time, considering we’re running short on it-”
“Twilight,” she interrupted her again, “you may wanna come to check this out.”
The group moved away, making a clear path for her to the map. The Princess of Friendship moved forward and took a look at the map along with her companion. In the middle of the map where Ponyville and Canterlot were, there was still the sinister dark cloud looming over the Everfree Forest’s location. She wondered what Starlight was talking about, but it didn’t take long to notice what was sticking out like a sore thumb. Further up the map, in the northern direction where the Crystal Empire stood, there was now a dark cloud that was constantly raining thunderbolts.
“How… when did…”
“It happened yesterday,” the ancient unicorn wizard answered. “While I was doing some research, I notice from the corner of my eye, how the thunder cloud suddenly manifested out of nowhere. And as to what had caused it, my best guess, based on what I was told happened at the Crystal Empire, it may be because this “Storm King” creature used his power.”
“You mean to tell me… he’s grown so powerful he can leave a mark so noticeable that the Cutie Map feels it’s worth registering?”
“That’s a possibility, Princess Twilight. And a very likely one.”
The thought unnerved her. She recalled when she faced off against Chrysalis in her master’s domain; empowered by hatred she was able to completely overpower her, and it was only with the rest of the Elements that she was nearly defeated. But with the satyr not just surviving but also growing in power that seemed to outmatch what she faced before, did they even stand a chance against him now…?
The alicorn felt a tap on her side as the workhorse reassured her. “Don’t worry, Twi. Even if the walking pile of rubble’s gotten stronger, we’ve faced off against far worse, remember?”
“What about the giant massive towering goop by the tree?” the party planner pointed out.
“I was referring to the non-eldritch variety, Pinkie,” Applejack rolled her eyes. “True, we can’t do anything against that thing beneath the Everfree Forest, but we can still stop the other bits of it from coming back, Twilight.”
The princess inhaled and then exhaled. “I know, Applejack. But still at this point, finding out where to go next, will require some research. Starswirl, Starlight, and I can handle it from here. The rest of you can go home for the moment. We’ll call on all of you when we find something.”
“Twilight, are you sure there’s nothing we can help with?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’ve been out for more than a day. I think all of you deserve a little R&R while we work.”
“Ah supposed Ah could go check up on the family,” Applejack said. “Ah wonder if the storm’s damaged any part of the orchard.”
The fashionista looked at her mane, the grey streak running through it was an absolute eyesore to her. “Well, I really could go for something to get this… unsightly thing, out of my mind.”
“Yeah… I could go for a little chillax… although getting home’s gonna be a bit of a problem,” the wonderbolt said.
“Because your wings aren’t well yet?” the animal caretaker asked.
“Well, yeah, but also cuz of the storm outside.”
“Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash, you can stay at my house tonight,” she said with a smile.
“As long as I don’t get another wake-up examination from “you-know-who”,” the blue pegasus whispered in her ear.
Suddenly, the fanny pack around Fluttershy opened and Discord poked his head out. “I heard that!”
They said their farewells to Twilight and left, the main doors closed shut and the three magical ponies and the dragon were left all alone.
“Okay, let’s get to work,” Twilight eagerly said, trying to grab hold of the bag containing the changeling armor, remembering too late that she wouldn’t be able to use magic to move it, before grabbing the ropes that were attached to it to try and pull it, but the contents were too heavy for her to budge and she ended up falling flat on her face as the rope slipped from her bite.
“Maybe you should’ve told them to move the bag inside before you sent them away,” Spike answered, to which his elder sibling groaned.
“Then you are in luck that I have no other place to run amok.”
That was the zebra’s voice, and only now did Twilight realize that she hasn’t left yet.
“Oh yeah, you two don’t know that Zecora’s staying here, considering her tree house is a complete wreck, to say the least,” Starlight answered.
Without wasting a moment, the shaman gripped the other piece of rope, and with combined might, they dragged the bag into the room.
Zecora was strong enough to pick up one of the black spikey helmets from the bag and placed it in the middle of the table they have set up with a loud thud. Then she stepped aside to where Spike stood, while in the distance, the old wizard, the headmare, and the princess stood at the ready. When the alicorn gave a sign, they simultaneously unleashed a powerful magical attack in the armor’s direction, only for it to simply evaporate a few hooves from it.
“Seems you were right, Twilight,” Starswirl said. “It was nullified completely.”
“This is just like what had happened in the changeling kingdom,” the alicorn replied. “There’s no doubt now that both this armor, the protection of the Everfree Forest, as well as Chrysalis’ throne, are in some way related.”
“I know, Twilight,” the pink unicorn concurred, “but that still doesn’t explain how. I mean, even before that I couldn’t understand how is it possible for powerful magic to exist that negates every type of magic, but that of changelings. And Thorax made it clear that the stone from which Chrysalis’ old throne was made was unique in the world. How was she able to replicate such power all of a sudden when she couldn’t have done it before?”
“I would guess that the thing under the forest is somehow responsible,” the dragon stated.
“That is a sound thought,” the Zebra replied, “but the question remains how it formed the force that makes all magic for naught?”
“Powerful magic must be at work,” the old wizard added. “But even so, it’s clear that this creation is mineral-based. Unfortunately, my geology knowledge is severely lacking in this regard.”
“I already made an inquiry on that from one of the best rock experts I know, Starswirl,” Twilight quickly spoke. “I had Maud Pie examine the armor beforehand, and she said that it’s unlike anything she’s ever seen. I suggested that since it was made of black rock that it might be obsidian, which would’ve made sense since the Storm King’s body has been rebuilt from it, which means they managed to acquire it in huge supply from somewhere, however, she said that it resembles pumice, but it doesn’t make sense since that it would have such power or be ridiculously heavy.”
“Then we will have to perform some experiments.” With a flash from his horn, the Pillar of Sorcery summoned forth a giant wardrobe, swinging its doors open, revealing a large collection of reagents. “I’ve traveled across Equestria, and I’ve collected many rare and difficult-to-acquire ingredients for powerful spells and potions. We will use obsidian as a base for the experiments, and then work our way to see if any other mineral will display magic-negating effects. One of them is bound to show results.”
“Oh, well in that case it’s a good thing we have a potions expert on the hoof as well,” Starlight looked at the shaman.
“There is no need for flattery, your acknowledgment is satisfactory,” she waved her hoof.
“But still, what are we going to use all that stuff on?” Spike wondered. “There’s like thousands of different types of rocks and minerals out there and anyone could be used.”
“I know, little dragon, but we have little choice,” the elderly unicorn shook his head.
To say that the task before them was monumental would’ve been a gross understatement. The five participants would together have to find the right combination of mineral and magical substance to recreate the desired effect, and they had an entire geological and alchemical world to cover. Starswirl and Zecora worked together on preparing the proper concoction, with Twilight and Starlight using their magic to add additional magical enchantment upon the alchemical creation, in hopes that it would boost its effect, all the while Spike stood by to write down all the possible combinations. The results were as expected: They were conducting tests for several hours, yet they ended up having nothing to show for it, as the obsidian samples simply bent to their overcharged magical creations, most of the time ending up dissolving as a result.
“Ugh,” the headmare groaned. “We’re not getting anywhere.”
“We’ve not yet exhausted all the options,” the old wizard urged. “All the reagents that I have here would provide several hundred possible outcomes.”
“Well,” a voice came out from a nearby pile of several parchment roles, “with this last one we’re on number 569. And we’re nowhere near close.”
Starlight looked about. All the mess they’ve made with failed outcomes was strewed all over the floor, the dragon climbed out of the pile of parchments, Meanwhile, the shaman diligently continued to mix the selected ingredients that the Pillar of Sorcery had provided, not letting any sound disrupt her. She looked out the window and saw that, even though it was still raining, it was already night. This would also explain why the Princess of Friendship was out at this point, her head laying on the table. Yet when she went to check on her up close, she discovered that wasn’t the case, as she was just making a pouty face.
“I know it’s a drag, Twilight. We can stop for today and try tomorrow.”
“I’m not tired,” she answered with a grouchy voice.
“That look says otherwise.”
“I’m not doing it because I’m tired, I’m just frustrated,” the alicorn retorted.
“From failing?” Starlight asked.
“No, not from the experiments,” the alicorn answered. “There’s this thought that’s been gnawing me since we left the Crystal Empire. Something that we discovered in the depths of the Frozen North.”
“You mean the original home of the three tribes that you discovered?”
“No, not that,” she elaborated further. “When King Sombra dragged us into his nightmare realm and the spark of Radiant Hope saved us, she showed what she experienced when facing Fear. It tried to tempt her by, what it called “sharing their pain” and she showed her a vision of some event that I can’t understand what it’s supposed to be.”
“Huh… others didn’t mention any of that when they explained what happened,” the headmare wondered.
“They looked like shadows dancing on the wall; I can still remember it vividly, but even so, I cannot decipher its meaning.”
“What exactly do you remember?” the pink unicorn tilted her head.
“It looked like… an alicorn princess, facing up against a giant dragon, who was holding an earth pony in its claws... “
CRASH!
BOOM!
Two loud sounds followed one after another as if it was a chain reaction, which turned out to be the case, as the two mares both looked in its direction, seeing broken glass next to Starswirl's hooves, while the nearby zebra’s face was blackened by a sudden magical blast, the tip of her mane being slightly singed.
“My sincerest apologies, shaman!” the old wizard apologized, as he quickly summoned a patch of water to fall on top of her, extinguishing any potential blazes. “It seems that fatigue is beginning to grip me as well.”
Zecora said nothing, only letting out a grumbling sound, as she tried to fix her flattened mohawk mane.
The princess and the headmare looked in confusion for a while, the latter giving him a look of suspicion before the former finally got her attention. “As I was saying, the princess and the dragon clashed, and then both fell to their demise. That’s how I remember it.”
“You sure it wasn’t just a trick that Turmoil’s aspect was trying to play on her?” Starlight wondered.
“I wish I could say so, but it felt so real,” she continued. “The words that Fear spoke carried weight in its voice. It claimed that it felt the pain, that it felt it in the-“ She suddenly went quiet.
“What? It felt pain in what, Twilight?” the pink unicorn inquired, but didn’t receive an answer.
She couldn’t believe it; she had the answer with her this entire time and she realized it only just now. “The lifeblood of the world… The lifeblood. Starswirl, I know what substance we’re looking for!”
She lept over to where her luggage was and started to dig through, eventually pulling out several vials filled with a glowing green substance.
“Twilight, what is that?” Starswirl inquired.
She brought the vials to the experiment table and placed them on it. “Fear called this substance the lifeblood of the world. The room where it was trapped all this time was filled to the brim with it, and what's more, I’ve seen streams of it running through the kingdoms of the three pony tribes. But most importantly… I’ve seen it under the Everfree Forest, surrounding the Tree of Turmoil.”
The old sage leaned in, observing the contents of the small container, and the memory came to him. “I remember it now… After Turmoil was destroyed this substance started to ooze out of its remains before I buried them.”
“Twilight, are you sure it’s a good idea to carry this around? It could be extremely dangerous,” Spike voiced his concerns.
“Considering I’ve bathed in it and I’ve not sprouted dark tentacles or speak in multiple voices as a result, I can safely say that it’s got no effect on ponies,” she refuted. “Minerals though…” Her sight was set on the piece of obsidian that was on the table. “Everypony, brace yourself.”
She opened a vial and slowly poured the green liquid on it, and let it set. They waited for a reaction for quite some time, but there was nothing. Twilight then used her magic to envelop the rock piece and lifted it off the table.
“Well… looks like we’ve got another dud in the end,” Starlight sighed.
The princess fumed in anger. She was certain that she was onto something and in the end, it didn’t pay out. She let go of the rock, letting it fall on the table with a heavy thud. They were all drawn to the sound. Obsidian was supposed to be light, it shouldn’t make that kind of sound. The dragon got on the table and poked the sample with the tip of his claw. He then picked it up and knocked on it, the sound that it made was almost... metallic.
“It changed the composition of the mineral,” Starswirl said before Starlight picked up the rock and tapped on it herself. “The rock turned into iron?”
A bright smile appeared on the alicorn’s face. “So I was onto something after all!”
“Well, we’ve one problem down then,” the headmare leaned in, “but that still leaves us with the one of finding which mineral will turn into what we’re looking for.”
“We may not need to seek far,” the zebra finally spoke, “the answer might be where the Lord of Chaos’ actions are.”
“Discord? Zecora, what are you talking about?” the alicorn questioned what she meant.
The shaman walked over to her saddlebags, searching. “On the day that you were away, and the draconequus came to play, the mess he left was most peculiar, I must say.” She pulled out a bright piece of stone, along with a black one.
“Wait, aren’t those the rocks that you gave to me to give to Maud to examine?” Starlight recognized them.
“You are right: One of the rocks which rained upon us was pumice, white, the other, black, was obsidian and did not crack.”
“Wait… and because we know now that obsidian was used to make the Storm King’s new body… does that mean the other rock was for…?” Spike tried to put it together.
“We’re about to find out,” his elder sibling answered.
Twilight grabbed the small white stone and levitated it over to her side. She then opened one of the vials and dropped the rock inside of it. And then it happened: They all watched as the level of the green liquid began to drop, and as it did, the small bright sliver started to change color, until it turned into a darker shade of green. It finally stopped; the change was complete, and the vial suddenly slipped from Twilight’s grip, falling to the ground, breaking in the process.
“Twilight, why did you do that?” Spike said after he flinched from the surprise.
“Spike, I didn’t! It just…”
“Negated your magic,” the wizard said.
There it was. They found the answer they’ve been struggling to discover for a prolonged time.
“Well, we finally got somewhere in the end,” Starlight said. “But still there’s a problem with this. I recall that both Maud and Mudbriar said that these types of rocks can’t be found normally around Equestria.”
“That’s true,” the dragon concurred, “they’re volcanic-based rocks. The only place that has them that comes to mind is the Dragon Lands.”
They went quiet, trying to think where the other possible source could be, but they didn’t wonder for long, as the hoof steps from the old wizard got their attention when he moved over to the Cutie Map, and they all decided to join in.
“I think we can try and guess from where the next possible destination lies,” he said.
His horn glowed, and suddenly a pillar of light appeared on the map at the location of the Everfree Forest. It suddenly spread across the sky in three different locations, one going west, the other north, and the third one east.
“This is the trajectory of where Turmoil’s fragments have been sent flying,” he further explained. “The northern one, as you and your friends have proven, Twilight, fell in the direction of the Crystal Empire. As for the other ones…”
They saw the south-western trail disappear off the map into the body of water, meanwhile, the eastern trail continued to travel past Baltimare, Horseshoe Bay, and into the Celestial Sea, until it finally reached the landmass that was on the opposite end of it, littered with volcanoes.
“It really went in that direction?” Twilight wondered.
“You’ve heard what Luna said,” the old unicorn said, “it’s likely that the fragments are at the locations where great calamities took place. Your expedition to the Crystal Empire confirmed that. However, I know of no horrible things that took place in the eastern part of Equestria, which means…”
“We’re going to Dragon Lands,” Spike stated as he gazed at the map.
On the airfield on the edge of Canterlot, the royal zeppelin had been prepared. The Princess of Friendship knew that they were already behind the opposition for more than a day. Any other form of transportation would take too long and they couldn’t wait for the storm to let up. Hence, drastic measures would have to be taken.
“Ah don’ get it, Twilight,” Applejack questioned. “If we’re gonna teleport to Dragon Lands anyway, why do we have to take the blimp with us?”
“We can’t risk getting there without a backup,” she explained while Spike was writing down the checklist. “If Chrysalis and the rest decide to move we’ll have to catch up to them.”
“Twi, you do realize they have a magical sheep that can teleport them anywhere across the world, right?”
“I know, Applejack. But even so, we cannot risk staying behind. If we have to return home, even if we can’t get past the storm, the least we can do is get to the closest town. I can’t guarantee that I’ll be strong enough to teleport all of us back to Canterlot if things turn bad.”
“Isn’t teleporting all of us, along with the blimp gonna do the same to ya?” she looked at the airship
“Yes… which is why we’re gonna need some help to save up on energy. We just have to wait for them. Not to mention I can't disturb the only three who will be busy with holding things together on this end after this.”
A sudden gust pulled in, and everybody braced for it until it finally passed.
“Twilight,” Starlight said, “can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Over there”, she nodded to the side of the ship. “Alone.”
Concern turned up on her face. What was it that required them not to be heard?
“Excuse us for a second,” the princess said as they walked off, and stopped in the cover.
Meanwhile, the rest of the gang was standing by, trying to seek protection from the rain and wind. Fluttershy looked about for the rest, seeing the dragon and the workhorse talking, Rainbow Dash snoring out loud by her side, and on the other end, Zecora, her head hanging down, her cloak obscuring her facial features. And the fashionista…
“Wow, Rarity,” Pinkie Pie jumped in, looking at a giant bun on top of her head and tail, wrapped in tin foil, “are the beehives back in style already?”
“Not a chance,” she replied. “I spent several hours trying to fix the travesty that Sombra did to my elegant mane. And I don’t want to risk it getting ruined in this rain.”
“You sure you’re not risking it getting struck by lightning?”
“Oh please Pinkie, we’re under the cover,” she boasted. “No lightning could ever hit-“
KRAKOOM!
Suddenly, a thunderbolt struck the nearby lamp post on the airfield, and everybody flinched out of the cover, a strong gust pulled in, ripping Rarity’s head and tail protection, the heavy rain drops quickly washing away all the pristine purple color on her mane, revealing the grey hair strands.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” she cried in sorrow. “All the hard work, wasted!”
FLASH!
They all flinched again, fearing that the lightning struck for the second time, but instead, the three horned ponies appeared before them, the dark blue one slightly slouching against the bright one.
“Sorry for the wait, ladies,” Starswirl announced. “I hope your wait hasn’t caused you any grieve-“ He went silent as he saw the white unicorn crying her eyes out.
“Can we please postpone the travel for a few more hours so I can get back to Canterlot Carousel?” she whined, only for the rest of them to give her a frown. “Okay…” she sighed. “I suppose there are greater priorities…”
The unicorn sorcerer went past them. “Everypony, get on the airship. Celestia, Luna, get to your positions.” He trotted past the moored ship and spotted the other two mares by it. “Is everything ready?”
Twilight looked at Spike, who gave her a thumbs up. She nodded in response.
“Excellent. Starlight, get on your position. The ritual will require a lot of magic and concentration, and I’ll have to compensate a bit considering one of the participants is… well, under the weather so to speak.” He moved to the back of the ship.
As he reached his destination and prepared himself, he suddenly heard a cry. “NO!” He rose his head, seeing that the princess was behind it. “I mean… NO problem on this side of the ship.” She said loudly and smiled awkwardly, before mumbling something to the pink unicorn, who after that let out a groan.
“Thanks,” she hugged her. “Take care.” As she made her way over to the ramp, her pace slowed down, as she saw the former Princess of the Night standing nearby, looking like she was barely holding up. “Princess Luna… are you okay?”
She made an awkward smile. “Of course I am, Twilight’s Sparkle… Just… I got pulled away from my nightly patrol and I received a bit of a backlash as a result, that’s all.”
She was lying, she could tell, but she knew that words wouldn’t dissuade her; all she could do was offer encouragement. “Just please… look after yourself.”
The alicorn nodded, but the moment the younger one turned, she could see from the corner of her eye that it changed into a frown. It would have to wait, they had to go. She stepped onto the airship and seeing everybody present, she gave others a signal to go. She started casting the teleportation spell, her magic enveloping the entire airship. Then Starswirl cast his, followed by Celestia, Luna, and lastly Starlight. The entire ship was enveloped in bright rainbow light, and with a blinding flash, the blimp disappeared before their eyes.
“Urk… there go the legs…” the dark mare uttered before collapsing in the rain.
“LUNA?!” the older sister cried out upon seeing the younger sibling falling down.