//------------------------------//
// The Sparks of Hope Return 
// Story: Wrath of Grogar 
// by Israel Yabuki 
//------------------------------//

There was little to no time left and Inferno was tasked to do something about the dark demonic magic lingering on earth, or the goddess, Harmony, won't survive her terrible fate.

After departing Harmony’s realm, the wraith soars high above the city, searching for the tallest tower to land on. As he soared, he sensed the dark energy in this world growing by the second. That’s when he knew he needed to act fast, or else this infection would engulf this entire universe; leaving it with death and sorrow.

After searching for a while, Inferno finally lands on the tallest skyscraper in the city, and upon landing, he looks down upon the city and then diverts his gaze to the dark clouds in the sky. Once he did his observation, his nose caught the scent of something. Something foul… fiendish… repulsive. He followed the scent to its source at blinding speeds and came across an open portal with a fully-charged Demon Crystal floating an inch above the portal.

Remembering his duty, he opened his mouth and inhaled deeply. Suddenly, the dark magic coming from the portal AND the crystal seeped into his mouth and down his throat, as if eating the darkness itself. Once the Demon Crystal was low on power, it dropped to the ground where the portal closed off. Then Inferno ensures the crystal wouldn’t replenish itself… as he raises his foot and then stomps on the crystal with force; shattering it into pieces.

One down, 4 more to go.





As for Light Ray, the slinking, murderous former Dark Trinity leader had set down the 5th and final Demon Crystal in place. "There… that should do it," he said. Just like the others, the Demon Crystal was absorbed into the dark portal for a short period of time before being spat out, brimming with dark magic.

"We have a problem," Grogar's voice called out from the portal.

"What do you mean, Grogar? I've set all the crystals in place, what more do we need?" Light asked, confused.

"It would seem the gods and their wraith pet have caught wind of what we're doing. One of the Demon Crystals has been destroyed!" Grogar alerted.

"What?! But that would mean the ritual won't work anymore!" Light exclaimed, frustrated. "Damn it, what the hell do we do now?!"

"SILENCE!!! All is not lost yet. Let the fool destroy the crystals. There's always a back-up plan. Tell me, do you still have that boy's immortality?" Grogar asked.

"Immortality? What are you talking about?" Light asked.

"Eternal Flames. I can tell you were the one who killed him and took every single drop of his demon DNA I gave him when Death almost took him! When you sapped his demonic powers, you sapped his immortality as well." Grogar said.

"Ah… so I see," Light said in realization.

"Yes… Well, as soon as that meddlesome wraith destroys all the crystals, you shall head to the center of the city and use your life force to connect to the shattered pieces. When things get dark… well… just wait and see," Grogar said vaguely before chuckling evilly.

Light Ray didn't understand what the demonic ram meant by that, but who was he to question the motives of this powerful being. Having accomplished his mission, he fled to a hiding spot somewhere near the center of the city to await the moment when to begin the ritual.

"It won't be long now. This world will soon be mine. And that foul princess will have no choice but to rule it with me… or suffer an eternal fate as my slave," Light said, clenching his fist.





Meanwhile, back at Canterlot Castle, the princesses, Starswirl and Discord have all put the finishing touches on the potion. The potion was a golden orange color and seemed to be glowing brightly. Now… the time has come.

"Princesses, please… allow me," Starswirl volunteered.

"As you wish, teacher," Celestia nodded. The sun and moon princesses allowed their former teacher to take the potion and give it to Eternal. His body had been preserved and his wounds closed off. Starswirl approached the dead prince and lifted his head up slightly, opening his mouth wide.

"Let us hope this works," Starswirl said. Soon, he poured the potion into Eternal's mouth and down his throat, little by little until the entire bowl was completely empty. The elder sorcerer then backed away, allowing the prince to lay still. 

For a few seconds, there was nothing. But then… there was a bright orange and red light emitting from Eternal's body. He's levitated into the air by the effects of the potion and as he arches back, it looks like magic particles emitted from his back in the shape of wings. Suddenly, his eyes opened, revealing a white, magical glow.

Inside Eternal's mind, everything was dark and the prince was laying in a pool of water… very thick water. He then noticed a white light in the distance appearing in his view. 

"Is this. . . the end for me?" he asked himself. Picking himself up slowly, he wobbled over towards the white light, but was then stopped just before he could reach it.

"Don't leave," an older male voice said. "...At least, not yet."

Eternal turned to his side to find the silhouette of a stallion who looked… majestic. Even had some of Eternal's features, like his sapphire eyes and red mane and tail.

"Who… are you?" Eternal asked.

"Come on, have you forgotten? Perhaps I should enlighten you," the older stallion said. His horn lit up and he used his magic to light up the empty dark void around the two, making it into a vast, wide-open white void.

Eternal was blinded for a second before his eyes adjusted to his bright surroundings. And on top of that, he caught sight of the stallion a 2nd time, but this time he recognized him entirely. Aside from the eyes, mane and tail color the two both shared, the older stallion had golden orange fur and similar scar-like birthmarks under his eyes like Eternal did. There was only one stallion who looked like this.

"F-F…Father?" Eternal asked.

"In the flesh. Or at least, that's what I'd like to say." Yes, the stallion standing before Eternal was his father… Blaze Burn.

"Father!" Eternal then ran towards his dad and gave him a big hug. "I've missed you so much!"

"As have I, son. And I wish we could catch up on some quality father-son time. But I'm afraid my time is limited here." Blaze said.

"What? W-What are you talking about?" Eternal asked.

"I mean, Death loaned me some of his magic to reach you in spirit to relay you a message. Also… I saw what you did for Sunset on top of that building," Blaze said.

"Sunset? Wait, is she alright?!" Eternal asked, worried.

"Calm down. She's in a safe place for now. But onto more pressing matters." Blaze assured before putting a hoof on his son. "Listen carefully, son. I can tell you want revenge on Light Ray for what he's done to you. But… I advise you that you do NOT kill him."

"What?!" Eternal asked, shocked. "Father, you can't be serious! You saw how that bastard killed me AND I know for a fact he played a role in YOUR death as well! So tell me this, WHY should I bestow mercy upon that wretched traitor?! He's hurt too many lives already! He deserves to die! So tell me, why? WHY should he be allowed to live?!" he asked, brimming with anger.

"Because… that is not how we set an example. We've built our world around peace and harmony, not anger and hatred. If we were to destroy those who committed crimes against others, what lesson would that teach them?" Light asked.

"Did you forget about Sombra? He died at my hands!" Eternal pointed out.

"True, but he chose to die because all he wanted was to return to his loved one. Light Ray is still alive and I doubt he wants to die yet. While he has hurt lots of others, it's only because he's become a lost soul himself." Blaze said.

"A lost soul? You call that abomination against ponykind AND humankind a lost soul?! But… But… I…" Eternal struggled to find the words, but in his frustration, he came up empty.

"Believe me, son. Even I felt like I was robbed of my happy life. And I felt the same way you do right now when he killed me. But the difference here is you're about to get your 2nd chance at life to make things right for everyone. Your mother, aunt, Discord, Twilight and even Starswirl have developed a way to bring you back." Blaze said.

"What?! So, that means… I'm gonna live?" Eternal asked.

"More than that. You'll be reborn, stronger than ever before. But before you do, promise me… my son… promise me you will let Light Ray live," Blaze urged.

Eternal's anger had risen a bit, but… it quickly went away, seeing how it's pointless to argue. And besides… his father's right.

"Very well… Light Ray… shall live," Eternal sighed. Blaze smiled at his son's choice.

"I'm proud of you, son. You've always made me proud," Blaze replied, hugging his son one last time before everything around them faded away.

Outside of Eternal's mind, his body stopped glowing and in a few seconds… he began to stir as he slowly opened his eyes, letting a couple of tears run down freely, groaning.

"Father… thank you," he uttered.

The princesses, Discord, Starswirl AND Heat Blitz all gathered around Eternal, all were relieved, rejoicing in his resurrection.

"Eternal! My precious boy! Thank the stars, you're alive!" Celestia weeped and sobbed, hugging her son.

"HUZZAH!!! It's a miracle! Thank you for answering our prayers for our nephew's safe return!" Luna exclaimed with tear-filled eyes.

"Thank Celestia you're alright. You really had us worried for a while there." Twilight said.

"Don't you DARE scare me like that again! You hear me?!" Heat exclaimed, hugging his older brother tightly, sobbing controllably.

"So, your highness. How does it feel to come back from the dead?" Discord asked, folding his claws and grinning smugly.

"Never in all my life have I met a young stallion who can be so reckless… and yet so bold enough to risk his own life for his beloved." Starswirl said calmly.

"I'm. . . sorry for. . . worrying you all," Eternal uttered before hugging his family back. It seems a ray of light has shined brightly amidst the gloom. And with a new hope arising, a hint of positive magical energy slightly restores the health of a certain goddess.





Back in the realm of Harmony and Death, the goddess' fever slightly broke and her breathing was becoming more steady, but she was still too weak to move. Thankfully, her life force is being restored. Death, who remained by her side, could tell her condition was improving a bit.

"D…Dearest. The magic. . . it's. . . re-balancing," Harmony said weakly with a smile.

Death smiled warmly at his beloved finally awakened as he caressed her head as tears fell from his hollow eyes.

“I almost thought I lost you.” He said tearfully.

"I thought. . . I was done for, as well." Harmony replied. "But. . . a brave soul… has been brought back."

“Yes, I sensed his return.” Death replied. “And as of right now… a certain wraith is currently draining the mortal realm of the infectious demonic energy that plagues it.”

"That's wonderful to hear. I'll… be sure to… thank him when I'm… good and ready," Harmony replied before allowing herself to rest easy for now.

“Good. That’s good. Take as much rest as you can until your powers return to you.” Death responded. Harmony smiled warmly as she closed her eyes again, and continued her rest.





Meanwhile, back in Camp Everfree, everyone there was waiting around, helping out Gloriosa around the camp, despite it having no campers. Some of the boys were cooking up meals and some of the girls were helping set up the table inside the mess hall of the cabin. If they're going to be hiding out there, they might as well make themselves useful.

Of course, the majority of the group heard about what Starlight did to snap Inferno back into his old self and everyone had mixed feelings towards her actions.

"Have you gone and lost your marbles?!" Copper Plume asked. "Why would you stoop so low as to jump off the building?! What if he didn't hear you?!"

"Yeah! Imagine how heartbroken we'd feel! ALONG with Inferno!" Frostbite pointed out.

"I get why you're upset, but I had no other choice. He wasn't in the right mindset," Starlight pointed out. “And I knew deep down, he’ll never let me get hurt.”

"I mean, she's got a point, guys. Any one of us would gladly put ourselves in harm's way for the sake of our loved ones, even if it does kill us," Lightning Burn pointed out in understanding.

"True, but the only difference is Inferno's godlike abilities gives him an edge. That's how he was able to save Starlight from falling to her painful, crushing death," Blazing Waters explained.

"And what are we, chopped liver?" Rainbow asked, slightly offended. "Come on, Blazing, you do realize the girls and I have magical abilities."

“Yeah, but in case you forgot, Rainbow. Death did say that wraiths, at their lowest, were capable of destroying 9 universes.” Twilight reminded her rainbow-haired friend.

"And on top of that, just because we have magical abilities, doesn't mean we all have a similar edge like Inferno does. Some of us can't fly at the same pace as Inferno can. Some of us can't even fly at all, period." Sunset stated.

“SILENCE! ALL OF YOU!” Fluttershy raises her voice for all of them to hear.

Everyone in the room all fell silent and shivered with fear and intimidation; as if they were face to face with the Devil himself. Well, even though they have a bunch of times.

But they rather deal with that than an angry Fluttershy.

"Whoa! Remind me never to make Fluttershy mad," Israel said

“Remind yourself, dude! She’s your girlfriend.” Copper commented.

"Well excuuuuuse me, princess." Israel retorted. "But anyways, how long do you guys think we have to wait? With the city falling to pieces, we're stuck here twiddling our fingers. I feel so useless right now!"

"Trust me, we all feel the same way. But we gotta have faith in our friends out there fighting for our lives." Lightning Burn replied.

“And what choice do we have?” Applejack added. “Ah’ mean, Ah’m all fer dealin’ with Equestrian magic and magic powered varmints… But that out there, we’re nothin’ compared to those godly beings.” she said.

"Maybe, but we have one thing that's just as important to us as any godlike powers or beings that exist out there. And it's never failed us before," Fluttershy said, trying to be encouraging.

"You mean… the Magic of Friendship?" Sunset asked.

"Precisely," Fluttershy nodded.

"Darling, while you provide a valid point, I'm afraid our combined strengths to use it won't do us much good. I'm afraid one or more of us wouldn't have our heart in the right place." Rarity stated, looking at the other girls. "What I mean to say is… if we're not in the right mindset, our plan might backfire."

"...Because… Because…" Fluttershy didn't want to mention it, even though she knew what the problem was.

"Because I'm still hurting over what my father did to Eternal," Sunset said, somberly. "I'm sorry if I'm no help to you all."

"Then do something about it!" Aria called out as she and the other two Dazzlings walked up to her. "Okay, so your stupid dad turned your lover into a boyfriend kabob, are you just gonna sit there and take that kind of punishment?"

“Yeah, I mean back when we had our magic, we turned you all against one another and absorbed your magic. But what happened after that? You rose up and beat us.” Adagio commented.

"For realzies, though it's not our proudest memory to bring up, it still proves a point. You girls always found a way to win, even when you were at your lowest," Sonata added.

The Rainbooms were both shocked and speechless to hear this coming from the three girls that they least expected to give them words of encouragement.

“As much as I hate to agree with these girls, they're right. You seven had been through so much together and in the process you saved our school and even the world countless times.” Celestia stated.

"And even if you don't think you can do it, we still believe in you no matter what," Heat said. "Take my brother, for instance. You helped bring him back to me and mom when he was that giant, rampaging demon."

"It seems you girls have a very unique ability to expel demonic magical energies. Just like how you did with me when I tried to save Camp Everfree through… unethical means," Gloriosa brought up.

“Plus you girls have been through so many events that challenged your friendship.” Copper stated. “Such as the Fall Formal, Camp Everfree, the Friendship Games, the Anon-A-Miss incident…” 

“I THOUGHT WE AGREED NEVER TO SPEAK OF THAT!” the Rainbooms all shouted after that last event was mentioned.

"Ugh… if Eternal found out about who caused that incident, I doubt he'd just sit down and… let the real culprits go scot free." Sunset said, facepalming herself.

“The subject! Change it!” Fluttershy spoke out of irritation.

"Okay, so regarding Inferno, what's he doing at this very moment? We know Starlight managed to calm him down, thanks to that stunt she pulled," Twilight asked.

“Death asked him to save Harmony; he’s been taken to their dimension where she’s resting in.” Starlight answered.

"Harmony? What's happening to her?" Heat asked.

“This world is plagued with demonic energy, it’s causing an imbalance in this universe, which is weakening Harmony greatly. And if all of it is not cleansed soon, it could kill her.” Starlight explained.

"That's horrible!" Rarity gasped.

"We've got to do something to help!" Pinkie added.

"News flash, not all of us can leave Camp Everfree. The only ones who can are Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Well, Sunset, too. But she can't transform into Daydream Shimmer unless she's got a major power boost. And Rainbow's the only one who's the fastest in our group. How are we all gonna get back into the city?" Twilight asked.

"We'll think of something. And if all else fails, then maybe that wacky-looking snake creature with the one eyebrow can teleport us back," Israel brought up.

“Uh, that’s Discord, back in my world, he’s known as the God of Chaos.” Starlight said.

"Oh. I was wondering why he gave off that zany kind of vibe," Israel said in realization.

"I have eyes and ears everywhere, you know," Discord's voice echoed before the wacky draconequus poofed in front of everyone, sipping a cup of chocolate milk. “I am a god, as Starlight here has stated.”

Sunset was startled a bit when he showed up, but then she realized… "Discord! How is Eternal Flames, is he alright?"

"If you're referring to the rampaging demon Inferno tossed around like a rag doll, he's probably resting somewhere close by. But… if you mean the prince… you can stop worrying, the operation was a success. Eternal Flames have been brought back to life." Discord said, flicking his small cup away into thin air.

Sunset felt so relieved, as if a stone fell off her heart. "Thank goodness. I thought he was a goner for sure. Can you bring him over?" she asked.

"Yeah, uh… here's the thing. Eternal's not at full strength just yet. He has to recover and then go through some extensive last-minute training with Starswirl the Bearded before he can come back here to help you all out." Discord informed.

"Last-minute trainin'? But we ain't got the time fer him to be trainin' when the world is at stake! We gotta stop those varmints out there who're destroyin' our city!" AJ stated.

"Relax, "partner," I wasn't born yesterday. Starswirl asked me to send him and Eternal into the limbo realm. Inside, time is irrelevant. Think of it this way, time out here is moving at normal pace while time in there looks like it's speeding like crazy, but it's not. They won't age or corrode or grow weak." Discord breaks it down.

“Woah! That sounds cool!” Pinkie proclaimed.

"Now that could give us the edge we need!" Blazing Waters said enthusiastically.

"If he's undergoing some training, then we'll wait right here when the time is right to strike. As soon as we're all at full strength, we're gonna give those bastards hell!" Frostbite said with fire in his eyes.

"Oh, goodie. Then I'll return to pick you all up at "Clobbering Time" sharp! Don't lose any sleep over it!" Discord said enthusiastically before poofing away.

“About time we finally get good news.” Rainbow proclaimed.

"Sunset, you have to admit. Your boyfriend's got a strong spirit," Celestia said.

The bacon-haired beauty then cried tears of joy silently to herself, nodding. "Yeah… you're right about that."





As everyone back in Everfree was presented with good news, the wraith, Inferno, continued his search for the remaining demon crystals in the area. After locating the first one, he now draws closer to the location of the 2nd demon crystal.

He could smell the negative energy about 2 city blocks; heck, he can sense the energies of the other crystals for miles. Though he kept focused on only one at a time. He traveled at high speeds, eventually reaching his destination and finding the 2nd Demon Crystal.

"Don't think I'm letting you off the hook," Inferno said as he began absorbing the dark energy from the crystal before smashing it to pieces. “2 down… and 3 to go.” He claimed.

Then the wraith took off into the air and flew off towards the direction of the 3rd demon crystal.

And in just seconds, he located the 3rd crystal and soar at high speeds to his next destination. He wasn't planning on leaving anything to chance, not with Harmony's life on the line.

All the dark energy must be cleansed from this world. Within a minute, he approaches the 3rd Demon Crystal. Just like the previous 2, he devours the dark energy emitting from the crystal before destroying it, crushing it in the palms of his hands.

"That makes 3," Inferno said. But this was no time to relax. He took to the skies once more and followed the scent of the 4th Demon Crystal. However, every path has a few… bumps along the road and Inferno has the displeasure of being shot at by a military sniper in a chopper.

A bullet struck him in the temple, but the bullet merely got crushed upon impact, but it was enough to knock Inferno off course and send him crashing into the wall of a building.

"Target has been hit! Repeat! Target is down!" said the sniper. But his little victory was short-lived when Inferno pulled himself out of the debris and then flew off into the night; not taking his time with the natives of this world. Not while he had a mission at hand.

The sniper’s eyes blinked in disbelief as he looked at the wraith flying off and then towards the rifle in his hand.

“I think I need better bullets?” he said to himself.

As he was flying far away from the military, Inferno finally arrived at the location where the 4th crystal is located, and then he dropped down onto the ground and scoured the area for the demonic crystal.

He followed the scent for a while before he was able to locate the crystal, which the smell was coming from the concrete wall that the crystal hid behind. With that, Inferno raised his hand to the wall and then he used his magic to completely disintegrate the wall; down to its last atom.

And there, the crystal was revealed before his very eyes. He then grabbed the crystal and ate up all the dark energy inside it before crushing it in his hand. 

"Now… to find that last one," he said.





Meanwhile, back in Harmony's and Death's dimension, her condition was slowly getting better and her old powers were slowly returning to her. Death sensed it within her and felt relieved that the plan was working.

"My powers… my old strength… it won't be long now, dear," Harmony said with a smile.

“Let us hope that it's sooner.” Death replied with a smile of his own.

"Don't worry, dear. All will be well," Harmony assured. "While I was asleep… I had a vision."

"A vision? Of what?" Death asked.

"An epic struggle… between the demon ram… and two brave souls," Harmony said. "One who's aura radiates like a bright light. The other, an aura that burns fiercely… like a red-hot fire. A Fire of Courage."

“Sounds like a pleasant vision.” Death replied, though he was a bit silent. “But I can’t help but fear what may come.”

Death had every right to be fearful. For not all visions are clear as to what the future may hold. will it end in victory for the good… or defeat at the hands of the demon ram? Only time will tell, let's just hope everyone is well-prepared for the epic clash until then.





Meanwhile, in the realm of limbo, Starswirl and Eternal stood across from each other, about to begin their training.

"Now, I'm sure you understand why I've asked to bring you here with me, right?" Starswirl asked in a stern tone.

Eternal nodded. "To prepare myself against Grogar, am I right?"

"That's the gist of it, but also to help you unlock your potential." Starswirl confirmed.

"My… potential? I thought I had already unlocked it, master." Eternal said, confused.

"Assuming such a claim would be considered naivety on your part. You haven't unlocked anything with all that demonic energy you've been relying on! But now that your assailant has cleansed you of any and all demonic magic, it's my job to unlock the true power that lies dormant within you." Starswirl said.

"I… I see," Eternal said, unsure of himself. Starswirl could sense the conflict within him before they've even started and sighed.

"Let's try and think about this for a moment. Do you recall what happened at the end of the demonic war? You know… after reverting back to your old self and almost got done in by Grogar's sneak attack?" Starswirl asked.

"How could I forget? That monster killed my best friend, Inferno! I… I lost my temper and… and. . . I shot Grogar with some sort of magical energy beam from my hand." Eternal said.

"Yes, that was your magic that you just shot out. Your real power. You need to reconnect with that magic power before we can unlock the dormant power that sleeps within you." Starswirl pointed out.

"I see. A-And what kind of hidden power do I possess?" Eternal asked.

"Who's to say? But with the proper training… it could lead to the redemption that you desperately desire. Now… are you prepared to train under my guidance?" Starswirl asked.

With a newfound determination, Eternal stood tall, ready for anything. "Yes, master!"

"Then let us begin!" Starswirl nodded. He lit up his horn and Eternal lit up his. Both stallions, young and old aimed at each other and fired their magic attacks.

While they were training in the limbo realm, Princess Celestia and Luna both resumed their royal duties while Heat Blitz went with Twilight to the library. Everyone needed something to distract them while the fallen prince was busy training with the princesses' old teacher.

Luna could tell that her sister was still anxious about her son. Sending him off to limbo with Starswirl felt like a big mistake. Not because Starswirl is a bad teacher, but because she feared losing her own son… again. Once was already enough for the sun princess. Luna was no different on the matter. Losing her nephew was like being stuck on the moon all over again.

Heat Blitz, well… who wouldn't be afraid of having to lose his big brother, not just once, but twice if it ever does come to pass. Luckily, Twilight's emotional support helps keep him in check. Having her as his special somepony made him feel very lucky.





Back in Camp Everfree, Halo was sitting on a bench outside while Flash was pacing back and forth all anxious. 

"Flash, would you mind not doing that so much? It's kinda freaking me out," Halo said.

"Sorry, Halo. But I can't help but worry about the others. They've got the edge when it comes to magical baddies, but all we can do is cheer from the sidelines. It's not enough!" Flash stated.

"I get what you mean, Flash. But there's nothing we can do except lend them our support. If there were a way to help them out more, we'd have gone and done it by now. But right now, the best we can do is show them we haven't lost faith in them." Halo explained.

"I know, but… I feel like they need our help! Remember that demon war? We helped crush some of those demons with the flashlights Inferno gave us," Flash said.

"Yes, that was a pretty big deal and we did what we could to overthrow the Demon King, but without our special moon-powered flashlights, we're just a couple of teenagers." Halo said.

"There is a way you can help," Gloriosa said, cutting into their chat. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your little debate. But if you want, I can take you to where you can get an upgrade."

"Really? Where is it?" Flash asked.

"You'll have to follow me so you can see for yourself. Keep in mind, it's in a place you've already visited in the past," Gloriosa said.

"What about us?" Lightning Burn asked, gesturing to himself and the other boys.

“Yeah. We wanna help out as well.” Copper said.

Gloriosa stroked her chin, trying to jog her memory. Then, a few seconds later, "Actually there is something for all of you to help the girls. Follow me and I'll show you what I mean."

The boys rejoiced to hear they can finally lend a hand. The boys all followed Gloriosa deep into the forest, leaving the girls to wait by the camp. Almost all of them were curious about where she was taking them. However… one of them somehow knew.

"Why is she…" Sunset muttered to herself.

"Hmm? Something wrong, Sunset?" Starlight asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," Sunset replied. 'Why is she taking them to that place? There's nothing there but… an empty pedestal.' she thought.

While contemplating her thoughts, Gloriosa soon led all of the boys to a cave by the waterfall. The birthplace of… her.

"Wait a second, didn't the girls get their geodes from this place months ago?" Halo asked.

"Yes, but there's more to this place than what's on the surface. Stay close, we're almost at our destination, boys," Gloriosa said. She guided the boys further inside and then reached the empty pedestal where the original geodes used to be. She turned her attention to one of the stalagmites and tilted it downwards towards her.

Suddenly, the pedestal twitched and sank into the ground and a big door opened up in the far back of the cave, leading into a secret, hidden room. The boys looked in awe, seeing the wonders behind the secret entrance.

"Gloriosa! How did you find this place?" Halo asked.

"A couple of times when I'm not so busy, I come here to reminisce and repent for my past deeds of putting CHS in danger. Then, one day, I leaned against that very stalagmite, feeling sorry for myself and stumbled upon this room. I figured that I should see what this place has in store and wouldn't you know… It did hold some valuable secrets. Look over there." she points to another pedestal in the very back.

The boys all look and see a bunch of shiny geodes embedded on a pedestal. 

"No way. You're telling me… that these geodes… could be ours?" Flash asked.

"That depends. You'll have to get closer to find out." Gloriosa said. The boys got all confused before one of them approached the pedestal. Our first volunteer: Frostbite. He reaches his hand out over the geodes and one of them begins to glow brightly. A light blue geode floats up from its resting place and shines brightly, blinding everyone before reappearing around Frostbite's neck as a necklace.

"Guess, this is my geode." Frostbite said.

"Interesting. So… who's going next?" Copper asked.

"I'll go next." Lightning Burn volunteered. So, the young man approaches the geodes and waits for one of them to react to him. Sure enough, 5 seconds in and the geode colored in blue and white shines brightly and floats towards the young man. In a flash of light, Lightning Burn is blinded before it dims and he finds his geode around his wrist like a bracelet. "Wow… guess they take on different forms."

"Maybe I can find out if there's one for me," Flash said.

"Go on, man. Try your luck," Israel encouraged. Flash approaches the geodes afterwards and sure enough, a geode in yellow and white levitated towards the blue-haired wonder. The others watched as another light flashed before the geode appeared on the center of Flash's belt.

"That's not a bad place to keep it," Heat said in approval.

"Hey, not bad!" Flash said.

"Definitely suits you. But I say we speed this up. Come on guys, let's see if we're lucky enough to wield these little trinkets," Halo said. And the others approach the geodes as a group. And just like the others, the geodes all approached the guys and within another BIG flash of light, their geodes appear on parts of their clothing.

Copper Plume's geode appeared on his right index finger like a ring. Halo's geode appears in between the lens of his glasses. Blazing Waters' geode appeared on his shirt near his left chest in the shape of a badge. Heat's geode appeared around his neck in the shape of a pendant. As for Israel, his geode appeared on his shirt like a button.

"I wonder how the girls felt about getting their powers from these things. I've got mixed feelings about all this," Heat said.

"Is it just me or does this feel all too convenient?" Blazing asked.

"Convenient or not, those geodes are officially yours. Now you have the power to help the girls out in their hour of need," Gloriosa said.

"But we still don't know what our powers are. For all we know, we might as well be walking into the danger zone with mere clothing accessories," Copper pointed out.

"Maybe we should test them out and see what we can do," Flash suggested.

"He's right. It's our only option at this point," Halo implied. 

"Alright then. Let's see what mine can do," Frostbite said, grabbing his geode. The thing shines and sure enough, the air around Frostbite grew super cold and before he knew it, his right hand got encased with ice. Frostbite also gained pony features. His hair is given an amazing ponytail extension, pony ears on his head and pegasus wings "Whoa! What the?!"

"Hey! You got ice powers! It really fits your name, huh.” Copper commented.

"Y-You're right! And what's more… I'm not in the least bit cold!" Frostbite said in surprise.

"Sweet! I wonder what my powers are," Flash said, activating his geode on his belt. And in his right hand, a sword of pure light energy appears and his left hand is given a shield of the same caliber as his light sword. And for the finishing touch, Flash grows pony ears, pegasus wings and a ponytail just like Frostbite.

"Somebody pinch me, these guys are beginning to pony up just like the girls can!" Halo said in surprise and shock.

"I wonder what mine is," Copper said, activating his geode. His pony features make themselves known, except he doesn't have wings. 

"So… feel anything?" Blazing asked.

"I'm not sure. Hang on, let me try something," Copper said. He held out his hand and tried to blast something out of his hand, but nothing came out. "Hmm… nothing. Maybe I have a power-type ability similar to Applejack."

"Here, punch my hand and find out," Frostbite said, holding up his ice-armored hand.

"You sure?" Copper asked.

"Trust me, I think this'll protect me enough to absorb the blow." Frostbite assured. Copper nodded and pulled back his fist and punched Frostbite's hand. But it remains unfazed, not even a crack was formed.

"Darn! And… ow! That thing’s as hard as the Antarctic icebergs!" Copper said, shaking his hand to stop the pain. "If strength isn't my power, or energy projectiles, then what is it?" he stomped his foot in frustration and in an instant, he ZOOMED past the others and hit a wall on the far end of the cave away from them. "OW!"

"What the?! Copper?" Halo called out, looking for him.

"Over… here," he called out by the exit. The others ran towards him and found him laid by the exit of the cave, clinging to the wall. 

"It looks like you've got super speed to rely on," Blazing said. 

"I am… but, I'm gonna have to watch my step from now on." Copper groaned, fixing his nose.

"Let's see what we can do with our geodes," Lightning Burn said to Blazing and Heat.

"Uh… maybe we should take this somewhere more… open. Don't wanna cause any damage to the forest… or cause a cave-in by accident," Israel said.

"He's got a point. Follow me and we'll head back to camp," Gloriosa said.





Minutes later, the group finally arrives and the girls notice the guys have returned.

"There ya are. Ah was startin' to think y'all done got yerselves hurt or somethin'," Applejack said, folding her arms.

"Where have you boys be--" Pinkie paused and gasped upon seeing Copper with a bloody nose and rushed towards her boyfriend. "Plumey!!! What happened?" She then turned to the other boys with a very scary glare. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PLUMEY-POO!!! TELL ME!" she yelled, spooking the others.

"Hey, whoa! Chillax, Pinkie! We didn't do anything!" Israel said defensively.

"Ooh…" Rainbow winced.

"Bad move, Israel," Twilight said, backing away.

"Chillax?" Pinkie asked sweetly. "CHILLAAAAX??!?!" she boomed, pinning him to the ground at full force and chokes the silver-haired big mouth. "I'LL MAKE YOU CHILLAX ETERNALLY IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!"

"Pinkie Pie, calm down, please! I did it to myself by accident! I ran into a stone wall while I wasn't looking," Copper called out.

Pinkie kept on going a few seconds before she finally calmed down. "O-Oh! Hehehe… sorry about that," she said, calming down and letting go of Israel. She giggled nervously while Israel coughed, catching his breath.

"Do you always fly off the top like that or am I just a special case?" Israel asked, gripping his own neck, getting up.

"Sorry about that. It's just that I'm super protective over my Plumey-poo. You know… after the whole Demon King incident?" Pinkie reasoned.

"Understandable." Israel sighed.

"Now that she's "chillaxing," where have you guys been, anyways?" Rainbow asked.

"See for yourselves," Heat said before all the boys showed their geodes to the girls, surprising them all.

“Whoa! You guys got your very own geodes!” Rainbow proclaimed.

“My, darlings, this is simply divine.” Rarity commented.

“Well, Ah’ll be darn.” Applejack said.

“Oooh! This is super-duper exciting!” Pinkie cheered.

"But… how? I thought our geodes were the only ones that existed. How did you get yours?" Sunset asked.

"That's the thing. Gloriosa found a hidden room inside the cave by accident and stumbled on these geodes embedded in a stone pedestal." Heat explained.

"But unlike the last time when I used your geodes, I left these ones alone. I've already learned the dangers of magic once and once was enough," Gloriosa said.

"Thanks for the reassurance, Gloriosa. Still, I'm curious. What can your geodes do?" Twilight asked the boys.

"I can manipulate ice. Flash can conjure up a sword and shield made up of pure light energy. Copper can run fast, but--" Frostbite said before being cut off.

"Speed? As in… he can run fast too?" Rainbow asked.

"Sounds like you've got some competition, Rainbow Dash," Applejack teased.

"No way!" Rainbow replied in shock.

"And what about the others?" Fluttershy asked.

"We're about to find out." Blazing said. He, Lightning and Heat all approached the lake, but kept themselves apart by at least 10 feet just in case.

The three boys activated their geodes and grew pony features… all of them with wings. The girls watched in awe. But for some reason, Heat's wings seemed to be way bigger than the others, possibly the same size as Princess Celestia.

"Heat! Your wings! How are they bigger than the others?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know." Heat replied.

"Here goes something," Blazing said. He held his hands out and concentrated hard to try and make something happen. Suddenly, in his left hand, he shot out a burst of water like a geyser and in his right hand, a burst of blue flames.

Lightning, on the other hand, was a bit different. His entire body was engulfed in blue lightning and fierce, red flames and shot it up into the sky.

Heat gave his large wings a good flapping. With that one flap, a strong gust of wind blasts across the lake like a vicious hurricane.

"Whoa! Wicked awesome!" Rainbow said in awe.

"Looks like we've got some strong allies," Starlight said, impressed.

"That just leaves those two. What kind of powers do you think they'll have?" Aria asked.

"Only one way to find out," Halo said as he activated his geode. His pony features appeared, but has no wings. He held out his hands upwards and all of a sudden… BAM!!! A laser of pure magic shoots out of one of his fingers. "Wow! Now this is pretty handy."

"Cool beans. Let's see what mine can do." Israel said excitedly. And the cycle repeats for this young man. Just like Halo, he has no wings in his pony features. But his body is enraptured in a bright aura that sparkled like the stars in space. 

"Wow, pretty light show!" Sonata said with star-spangled eyes.

"Impressive. But is that all he can do?" Adagio asked.

"Izzy? Do you feel anything?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh yeah, I feel something. Let's see what I can do…" the glowing wonder boy then took one step forward at full throttle and zoomed over the lake. After that, he applies the same force upwards, soaring high in the sky. "FAR OUT!!! Now… let's see…" he looks at his hands, seeing some kind of energy coarse through them. "Maybe… just maybe…"

Putting his hands together, he conjures an energy ball and blasts a wave of stars into the sky, launching him back towards the camp at high speeds. He flips a few times and lands safely, leaving an indent in the ground before powering down.

"Woo! What a rush!" Israel exclaimed.

"Oh… my," Fluttershy said in awe.

"Heavens. Now that's what I call a major upgrade." Rarity said.

"It looks like Israel's geode grants him the power of the stars. Not a bad power-up," Heat said.

"We… are gonna kick some ass!" Frostbite says excitedly.

"Not… so fast, Chills-A-Lot." Copper said. "We just barely found out about our powers, we still haven't figured out how to master them yet. We need to take this time to practice these powers so we won't end up hurting ourselves more than the enemy."

"What?!" Frostbite asked, disliking the idea.

"He's got a point, sugarcube," AJ said, approaching her boyfriend. "Y'all need to get a handle on yer powers before we can head out to fight. Besides, Inferno's coverin' fer us so we got plenty o' time to train."

"Yeah and if you'd like, we can coach you through your training." Pinkie added.

"I say we take them up on their offer," Flash agreed.

"The ladies are right, boys. They've had more experience with these things than us." Halo pointed out.

Of course, the boys all agreed to accept the girls' help in training them for the battle ahead. And with the agreement settled, their rigorous training officially began.





As everyone else was busy with the boys discovering their newfound powers, the wraith, Inferno is on the hunt for the last and final demon crystal. He's also had to avoid the city's military forces chasing him. Of course, he grounded a few choppers shooting at him, but he made sure to avoid killing the pilots and landing them safely on the ground. And by ‘safetly’, he more likely carried them down to the ground and threw them onto the streets.

Eventually, as he turned the corner, the almighty wraith finally located the final crystal. He wastes no time in approaching the crystal and was about to grab it, until…

"What do you hope to accomplish here… wraith?" Grogar's voice called out from the portal under the crystal.

Inferno let out a growl of rage and hatred as he refused to give the demon ram any notice as he reached out to the crystal again.

"What's the matter? Do I disgust you? I can sense it in your spirit! You hate me. Yeeees." said the demon ram, like he's enjoying it.

“Fuck off.” Inferno silently spoke as he didn't take his eyes off the crystal.

Grogar simply laughed. "A cheeky one. Just like your spunky little girlfriend. What exactly was her name again? Starlight Glimmer? Hehehehehe… I heard she committed a serious sin back in Equestria. If you ask me, she's just as evil as I am… and she never got punished for it. Maybe I can… remedy that."

“I said… Fuck… OFF!” Inferno responds one again.

"Yes! YES! GET MAD!!! Just like you unleash your anger out on your so-called friend! Even after he went through all the trouble to stop that Sombra buffoon! You know… I recall Light Ray telling me how he killed your best friend and took his powers! He'll make a fine Demon King in my absence! And you'll be cursed to live an eternal life of regret knowing you failed… your… miserable… FRIEND!" Grogar roared before laughing maniacally.

“SHUT THE FUCK UUUUUUUP!!!!!!!!” Inferno roars in anger as he then unleashes a massive beam of destructive energy directly towards the demon ram’s spirit. The beam itself expanded and engulfed half the city of Canterlot, annihilating everything in its path. Then the energy beam shot directly into the earth’s atmosphere and into deep space.

There’s no doubt that anything within a hundred miles could see the whole thing happening. Or perhaps even beyond the stars.

The military forces within the other half of the city that's barely standing saw the light. The people who've evacuated safely out of the city and are taking shelter in military tents in the country saw the light as well. Even the girls at camp saw the light and were just as shocked.

When the dust settled, the part of the city that was blown away was now reduced into a deserted wasteland, devoid of any sort of life whatsoever. And the wraith responsible for this action, stood still at the very same place he shot that attack from, breathing heavily and growling in deep rage.

Of course… With the addition of half the city, the crystal was also destroyed, reduced to only a few small fragments.

And with the deed done…

"Light Ray… NOW!" Grogar shouted aloud and telepathically.

Somewhere in another section of the city, where Light was unharmed…

"As you wish, master!" Light Ray uttered. Using his demon powers, he commences the ritual and activates a magic glyph. It starts off at moderate size, encasing Light Ray only, but gradually expands to the outer areas where the crystals were destroyed.

Sensing the growing spike in demonic energy that shouldn’t be around anymore, Inferno took to the air and flew to where Light Ray might be. It takes him mere seconds to find him and blast this corrupt maniac with one of his energy blasts, but Light Ray merely laughed it off.

"You're too late! It's only a matter of time before master reappears!!! YOU FAILED!!!" Light yelled before laughing like a maniac.

Frustrated with himself and the enemy, Inferno let out one gigantic roar that echoes within a 500 mile radius.

In that instant, back in Harmony's and Death's realm, the goddess lets out another violent and terrible coughing fit, becoming pale again.

Death was shocked and frightening by this sudden change. He didn’t know what just happened. She was fine a minute ago? What caused this?

“Harmony?! Harmony!? What’s wrong?! What’s happening!?” Death said in panic as he held onto his beloved as she continued to grow more ill than she did before.

"The… r-ritual! It's. . . begun! He's. . . coming back! That *cough* *cough* monster," Harmony wheezed weakly.

Death couldn’t believe what he heard. And more importantly, of Grogar’s return from the dead. This could ruin everything. It has ruined everything. The grim reaper felt powerless and frightened for the first time in his existence; watching as his beloved was dying in front of him, faster than before.

“Inferno, I do not know what is even happening down there, but please hurry! She’ll die if you don’t hurry!” Death telepathically spoke to the young wraith, hoping that he could hear him from across dimensions.

Just as he warned the wraith, the two suddenly felt… something odd. Like… a flame had been ignited somewhere.

And he did. Back in the limbo realm in Equestria, Starswirl's and Eternal's training had taken a turn for the better as Eternal's magic was surging during their sparring session.

"Come on, boy! Almost there! Let your power explode!" Starswirl encouraged. "Do it for your family, for your friends, for the sake of BOTH WORLDS!"

"I… WON'T FAAAAAAAAAAIL!" Eternal shouted. His adrenaline kicked in and in that moment, he exploded in a surge of both red magic aura… and burning, hot flames. Just as the flames bursted, a fearsome screech echoed throughout the void, even reaching the ears of the grim reaper and the peaceful goddess.

This burst of energy gives Harmony her second wind as the color slightly returns to her body. But she's still gravely ill.

"Dear. . . The boy! He's… he's ready! His power has… grown stronger!” Death said, as leave Harmony’s side for a brief moment and exited the room to find one of the guards patrolling the hallways. Immediately, the grim reaper approached the guard and got up in their face. 

“Quick! Alert his mother and bring him to the human world immediately!" he ordered.

“Uh, what?” The guard asked, not understanding what Death was talking about, or who he’s talking about.

Death mentaly face slaps himself as he repeats himself again. “Go to Equestria and seek out Princess Celestia. And when you find her, tell her that she needs to send her son to the human world at once!” he demanded.

"Oh, r-right! On my way, sir!" the guard saluted. He teleported out of the realm to deliver the urgent message.

Death let out a sigh as he said. “I think those mortals are rubbing off on me.” After sending the guard, Death then returns back into the room he left, and returns back to Harmony’s side as he holds her hand and hopes that there’s still time.





Back in the city, the whole place was rumbling violently. In the center of the glyph Light Ray created, a black mass circle soon formed and expanded to an incredible size. Dark energy seeped out of the portal. As the portal grew big enough, a large hand came out of it and clinged to the earth's soil. Another large hand does the same.

Grogar's head soon popped out slowly from the portal, letting out a deep, guttural roar. 

As for the wraith that observed all of this happening, Inferno showed no expression of fear or worry. Instead he bared an expression of rage and territorial behavior as he let out a few growls in anger.

And as the beastly ram finally emerges, Inferno finally gets a glimpse of the massive atrocity. Grogar stood as tall as a skyscraper, checking his surroundings as the portal under his hooves finally closed.

"The end is near. The world shall now fall before my might! No mere mortal on earth can hope to stop me now!" Grogar proclaimed. 

Inferno was not fazed by the demon ram’s words, but instead the only thought on his mind… was search and destroy. And so the wraith lets out a roar of defiance and hostility.

Grogar catches the sound of the wraith's roar and is slightly startled. "That fool is going to ruin everything for me! I have no time to deal with him. At least, not in my current state." Grogar said to himself. "If I'm going to get back to my original strength, I need to feed!" Grogar then senses the fear coming from a long distance away from the city. "And if I hunch is right, my feeding ground is just a few wingbeats away. Humans are so easy to follow when they're… afraid."

Licking his lips, he takes to the skies and heads out into the direction of where the people have evacuated to.

With his supernatural senses spiking, Inferno detects a sinister aura and thoughts from Grogar. And upon looking towards the direction he’s heading, the wraith realizes that Grogar was heading towards the evacuation camps over on the other side of the city; so many innocent souls to devour.

Upon realization, the wraith doesn’t hesitate for a nanosecond and immediately flies after the demon ram at lightspeed.

As Grogar was dead set on feeding off the mortals at the encampments; he failed to notice Inferno flying directly behind him and drawing even closer. And when Grogar decided to turn his eyes behind him; he was too late to halt the wraith as Inferno collided with the demon ram in mid-air. And soon the two of them were sent crashing down to the ground, about a long distance away from the encampments.

"Curse you!" Grogar growled, getting back up.

Inferno doesn’t allow him to get up as he lays the hurt on his hated enemy, bashing and punching at Grogar’s face. Grogar felt the solid impact from Inferno's attack. The damage was heavy despite Inferno being smaller than him.

Inferno continued his brutal assault, letting out growls of rage, before he was soon kicked off by Grogar’s front hooves.

Grogar knew this was an unwinnable battle and had to escape quickly. Rising back up, Grogar was about to head off to the encampments. Until he was stopped as magical, abstracted chains coiled around him and tightly wrapped around his upper body.
Grogar looks back and he sees Inferno hands tightly wrapped around the chains and not letting go.

With an angry snarl and glare, the wraith spoke with a venomous tone: “I’m not letting you hurt one more soul.” He growled, before he started to pull on the chain, bringing the demon ram closer to him.

Then with his god-like strength, Inferno lifts the demon ram up into the air, while still holding onto the chain, before pulling Grogar down and slamming him against the ground with sheer brute force.

Then the demon ram got back up, enraged as he broke through the chains and turned to face the wraith. Both Grogar and Inferno glared at each other before the two roared out their battle cries as they charged at one another.

With the oversized demon being occupied by his unbeatable foe, Light Ray decides to keep out of sight until the time is right for him to receive his "reward" for releasing Grogar.

Time grows short for our heroes as Grogar has finally arisen from his underworld prison. How will the Rainbooms handle this towering titan of darkness? How long can Inferno hold him off? And what kind of brand new powers have awoken within Eternal Flames?

Find out next time on Wrath of Grogar!