//------------------------------//
// Breaking the Peace 
// Story: Return of the Core 
// by TheClownPrinceofCrime 
//------------------------------//

“Come on, everyone, push!” Terramar commanded. 

“You heard my son! Keep pushing!” Sky Beak encouraged. 

All the hippogriffs pushed toward the massive stone with all their might. All at once, they slowly lifted the stone off the opening and threw it off to the other side. Thus, they freely flew out of the pit. 

“Good job, everyone. We’re finally free!” Terramar sighed. 

“Indeed. Now we just need to—what in Celestia’s name?” Sky Beak muttered, shocked. 

All the hippogriffs saw a bright magical aurora hover above the Canterlot castle from afar while the thunderstorm remained active. 

“What is that?” Terramar wondered. 

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out. You go ahead and help out the griffons in the meantime.” 

“You got it, Dad! Come on, everyone, follow me to Griffonstone!” 

The hippogriffs obeyed and followed their soon-to-be king while Sky Beak took off to Canterlot. 





Once the hippogriffs arrived in the town, they saw all the houses destroyed, ground burned, and the smoke arising thereof. Gulping, Terramar led his citizens to where the battle took place; there, he saw all the griffons and dragons lying on the ground exhausted. 

“Gilda? Gabby? Are you guys alright?” 

“Ugh…*cough*…we don’t…give up that easily,” Gilda replied, getting back up. 

“Don’t worry, Terramar, we’re A-okay! Ow…” Gabby added, soothing her left wing. 

“What happened here?” 

“Took you guys long enough! We could have really used your help!!” a griffon angrily shouted. 

“Were you that scared of facing those scaly beasts?” another sneered.

“What?! No, no, no, it’s not like that! We were all trapped in a hole! Somepony trapped us!” Terramar frantically explained. 

“Definitely something a coward would say,” a third griffon accused. 

“Oh, you hippogriffs are siding with these egg thieves? Huh, that makes you all accomplices!” Ember growled, getting up as well. 

However, something caught her eye; she noticed the same magical aurora on top of Canterlot which attracted a huge crowd of ponies and creatures. Both Gilda and Gabby looked toward her direction and saw it also. 

“Stay here, Gab. I’ll take a look,” she ordered before taking off. 

“All of you, take the eggs and head back to the Dragon Lands! I’ll see what this is all about,” Ember commanded. She also flew away to the city of Canterlot. 

“Mind if we help you clean up?” Terramar offered. 

“Nope! We can use all the help we can get!” Gabby smiled. 





Once Gilda and Ember arrived, they noticed three other rulers who were likewise staring at the Unity Crystals: King Thorax, Prince Rutherford, and Sky Beak. 

“You guys are seeing this too?” 

“Of course! Who hasn’t seen this?” Thorax replied. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Sky Beak. “Those crystals appear to be quite different from all the other gems I’ve seen.” 

“DON’T CARE! WE YAKS HATE THE BRIGHTNESS!” Rutherford shouted, stomping. 

“What purpose do they serve anyway?” Gilda asked. 

“I don’t know, but I’m curious enough to find out. They can’t be just floating up there for no reason,” Thorax replied. 

At that moment, two ponies came near and awkwardly waved their hooves at them. “Greetings…uh, best friends! We hope that…uh…your day is going fantastic!” they said in unison, sweating nervously. After that, they instantly ran off. 

“Oookaaay? What was that all about?” Ember asked, looking confused. 

“Ponies spooked by storm?” Rutherford guessed. 

“Possibly. Although, it did seem like they were afraid of us,” Sky Beak reasoned. “Almost as if someone forced them to welcome us.” 

“Pffff, that’s nonsense! Everypony embraces friendship! Don’t we all?” Thorax scoffed. 

“We finally made it!” Red cheered. The non-pony rulers looked and saw a seemingly injured unicorn gently held by her two other friends. 

“Oh no! What in Equestria happened to her?!” Sky Beak exclaimed. 

“Why don’t you ask Thorax?” Blue sneered, pointing at him. 

The others looked at him suspiciously. “What is everyone looking at me for?” 

“The changelings attacked her—our best friend!! She tried to make friends with them until they harmed her for no reason! How could you let that happen?!” Purple screamed, sobbing. 

The rulers gasped in complete shock. “What?! No, no, that can’t be! My changelings would never do such a thing!” 

“Wow, Thorax…and here I thought you were a competent king,” Gilda remarked, shaking her head. 

“No! Come on, guys, you know me better than that! I would never allow it!” Thorax argued, sweating profusely. 

“Yet, it happened…because of you!” Red growled. 

“Hold on, now, I think we should hear him out. I’m pretty sure this is a huge misunderstanding, so let’s all calm down and maintain our civilized demeanor,” Ember advised. 

“Thank you, Ember,” Thorax smiled, sighing in relief. 

“Oh, now you wanna talk reasonably?! You didn’t believe our innocence, but he is an exception? Double standards much?” Gilda accused. 

“Well, he just…umm…he…UGH! Why you little—?!” Ember snarled. 

Then the crystals began to vibrate. 

Just before they could fight, everyone except Feisty got shocked and fell to the ground. The unicorn quietly giggled before she returned to her facade. 

“Ow….what the heck was that?!” Ember shouted. 

“I dunno. Wait…those crystals—I heard them vibrate!” Sky Beak mentioned. 

“Those things? You mean they—?” 

“Reacted to our behavior,” Gilda finished. “If that’s the case, then…then that means….*gasp*….we can’t fight each other.” 

“What?” 

“We can’t fight each other! The more we argue, the more we get punished for it. At least…that’s the impression I’m getting.” 

“YAKS HATE SHOCKY THINGS! Yaks prefer regular stuff!” Rutherford said. 

“I think you’re unto something, Gilda. Somepony had to create them in order to enforce friendship between everyone. But it had to be somepony who is exceedingly powerful and skillful in magic,” Sky Beak added, rubbing his chin. 

“Not to mention its hovering right above the castle…which leads to the only answer.” 

Everyone looked at each other with widened eyes. “PRINCESS TWILIGHT!” 





Twilight was crying in her bedroom, lying on her pillow. She grabbed tissues and wiped off her tears. 

“How can I be a beneficial ruler if I can’t say nice things to my friends? I wish I never said that.” 

She was silent for a few minutes. She looked back at the old pictures in her book that Starlight and Spike gave her twenty years ago. She slowly smiled in tears looking back at the wholesome memories she made with her friends over the years. 

She even giggled at the memory of getting her new wings and being declared as the princess of friendship. 

“The Unity Crystals may be our new safeguard, but friendship still remains as the most powerful magic of all. I’m gonna go down there and tell my friends how much I love them,” Twilight determined. 

“I’m afraid we can’t let you do that,” The Core spoke. 

“Huh?” 

Suddenly, a metal tentacle with claws broke through the window and locked the door from outside. The Core’s helmet crawled inside and mechanically hissed at the surprised Twilight. 

“The Core? Is…is that you?” 

“It is a mere extension of our being, dear. Additionally, it will serve as a means to ensure you won’t do anything unwise.” 

“What? Wh-what’s going on, Core? What is the meaning of this?” Twilight demanded. 

“The time has come to reshape Equestria into our image. Now that everyone sees the true nature of friendship, they no longer require a princess. They need…an Emperor!” 

Then Twilight’s pupils shrunk again. “You…used me? But—but I thought we were friends?! You helped me rule Equestria for years! Why are you doing this?!” 

“Amphibia’s way of life must be preserved, even if it means taking over one world to do so. Marcy was amazing, but you…are perfection incarnate!” 

“Amphibia? And who’s Marcy?” Twilight asked. 

Then the Core took her legs and strapped her to the floor. The alicorn struggled to free herself, but her effort was ultimately fruitless. She ignited her horn, but the helmet immediately landed on her head—her horn perfectly fitting right through the hole. Her crown fell off during the process. 

She screamed in agony from the hive mind entering her mind. After a few seconds, she became motionless, and the tentacles retrieved back inside the helmet. 

Her entire body went through a rapid transformation: black metal grew throughout her wings, legs, tail, body, and horn. Three orange stripes were on each side of her belly, and the Core’s insignia appeared on her chest. She opened her wings where four large extra eyes were shown underneath. 

Then she got up on her metallic hooves, and the Core reopened its eyes. She wickedly grinned in excitement. 





“I hope she’s doing okay. Do ya mind checking on her, Spike?” Applejack asked. 

“Not at all,” Spike replied. As soon as he opened his wings, an explosion knocked him down to the ground. 

“Spike!” Rarity yelled. 

Once she checked on him, a new and improved alicorn flew down from the smoke and landed before the Mane Five. 

“Hello there.” 

“General Kenobi! Oh wait, sorry, wrong universe!” Pinkie randomly shouted. 

“Twilight….what happened to you?” Rainbow wondered, gazing at her new looks. 

“Darling, no offense, but that outfit certainly doesn’t suit you. You could’ve at least used more—,” 

“SILENCE!” 

Rarity fearfully closed her mouth. 

“Twilight isn’t the ruler anymore. We are in charge now, and every single creature of this pathetic world will kneel to us!” she said, her deep voice echoing. 

Spike and the others then walked backwards away from the Core. “Who are you? What have you done with Twilight?!” Fluttershy demanded. 

“Oh, don’t worry. She won’t be heard from again anytime soon. To answer your first question…” The Core seized everyone through telekinesis. 

“You can call us…Gloam Fall!” 

She threw them against a wall. After that, she created a spell where dozens of frobots appeared out of thin air. More and more magically came to existence, surrounding the Mane Five and Spike. 

“What are those things?” 

“I have no idea! They look like…metallic frogs?” 

“Take them to the dungeon immediately. We have some royal business to attend to.” 

“As you wish, Master,” the frobots robotically complied. They took the prisoners to the dungeon, ignoring their screams. 

Gloam Fall approached the balcony and saw the non-pony rulers and the ponies discussing their doubts. “Citizens of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle is no more! Gloam Fall is your ruler now! We are your Emperor!!” 

“What the—? Is that supposed to be Twilight?” Sky Beak noticed. 

“What is up with those eyes?! Those scary looking eyes!” Red yelled. 

Then the bruises disappeared from Feisty’s body as she smugly walked around with zero problem.  

“Huh? Wait, I thought you were injured?” Blue mentioned. 

“It’s time these heathens get what’s coming to them,” sneered Feisty. She teleported to the balcony where Gloam Fall was standing, leaving her now former friends dumbfounded. 

“You’ve done well, my friend. Equestria needs a strong role model to look up to; someone who will deliver justice and exemplify true power by any means necessary,” Gloam praised. 

“I’m at your service…my lord,” Feisty acknowledged, kneeling. 

“Good. The Core is well pleased. You shall serve us well….General Feisty.” 

A frobot clothed the unicorn with a dark cape, armor hooves, and a golden necklace with the Core’s insignia imprinted. 

Smiling in satisfaction, Feisty stood beside her new master as they both viewed the stormy sky. They evilly grinned at the sight of their new future—a new Equestria—a new Empire. 





THE END….FOR NOW.