//------------------------------// // Light Chapter 3: Going Separate Ways // Story: Fate of the Legion: Light and Dark // by SamSwordsman123 //------------------------------// Days in Tartarus stretched into weeks, the weeks stretched into months, the months years. Boredom was mostly satisfied for the three former villains by playing chess or other board games and crafts that Twilight had been kind enough to send to them. That made it somewhat bearable at least, along with the thoughts (or at least hopes) that they could make amends to those that they had wronged or betrayed. Finally, a now fully grown Cozy Glow woke up to the light from the outside world coming in from the door in the distance. She was truly an adult now, not a filly that Grogar had made temporarily full grown with his magic. Princess Twilight made her way to them, levitating a key in her magic. Behind her were Spike, Gallus and several Pegasus members of the Royal Guard. Cozy Glow stood up in her cage eagerly. She looked around and saw her neighbors and prison-mates were still asleep. “Tirek! Chrysalis! Wake up!” The centaur opened his eyes, he’d slept standing up while Chrysalis had curled up in her cage and wrapped the green blanket she’d been provided with around herself. The changeling yawned and got up as well. “Morning you three,” Twilight greeted them. “Uh right, morning,” Tirek said in as courteous a tone as he could manage. Twilight took a breath, then said, “Your time is up and I’m releasing you.” She approached Cozy Glow first and slowly levitated the key into the keyhole and twisted. The door opened and Cozy Glow stepped out as Twilight moved onto Chrysalis. Gallus and the royal guards kept their eyes on the villains as they were released. Once Tirek was out of his cage they began to walk to the doors. Cerberus ran over and barked, his three heads throwing slobber everywhere as he panted excitedly. “Bye Cerberus!” Cozy Glow said using her hoofs to rub the middle head. They walked outside, leaving the three headed dog to whine as he was left in the now completely empty prison. “Will he be okay?” Gallus asked looking back. “He should be, but maybe now that this place is empty again, I’ll let him go out and wander a bit,” Twilight said. As they stepped outside, Cozy Glow tried to use her wings to fly but found herself plopping back to the ground. Spending so much time in Tartarus had depleted her magic, which would take a while to return and allow her to fly again. The last time had only been a few weeks before Discord freed her, so it hadn’t affected her then, and Discord giving Tirek a magic sample had restored his strength. “That will come back in time Cozy Glow,” Twilight promised. Cozy nodded and gave a small sincere smile. From now on she was determined to act like the good pony she’d pretended to be at the School of Friendship. That would be her true personality, but a little more mature now. They gathered in a spot just outside Tartarus and Twilight levitated a basket full of food in front of them. Inside were cupcakes and hayburgers. Chrysalis licked her lips at the sight of the sweets, which were perhaps the closest thing physical food could get to tasting like love. Of course, she didn’t need to eat that anymore, but she hadn’t lost her sweet tooth. The former queen tried to levitate the cupcakes but found her magic was also disabled. This left her to use her holed teal hooves to pick up the food. It was an awkward picnic to say the least, the Princess of Equestria, her Friendship Advisor, Royal Guards and their former enemies. Few could have ever imagined this would have ever occurred. Finally, Chrysalis broke the silence, “Well Twilight how are things going with being the ruler of Equestria? Your subjects still happy?” “Yes,” Twilight said. “We have the Festival of the Two Sisters coming up soon and I plan to abdicate the thrown to Luster Dawn soon.” Cozy Glow’s eyes widened. “You’re giving up the throne already? But you’ve only had it about thirty years or so by now!” Twilight smiled. “It's not as though I have to rule for a thousand years like Celestia.” Cozy Glow was surprised but assumed that was fair. “So, what? You and Luster are going to take turns ruling?” Twilight shook her head. “I’m going to retire to Silver Sholes after she takes the throne.” “But you’re still going to live for a thousand years, aren’t you?” Tirek asked. Twilight hesitated, not sure she wished to share the secret of the true source of her immortality with them even if they weren’t her enemies anymore. “I have… a plan of sorts.” The centaur shrugged. “Hmph! Well, its not up to me to say how you ponies should operate your government.” “No, it isn’t,” Spike spoke for the first time. “But perhaps we might be open to hearing any suggestions centaurs have in the future. I mean Twilight has me as an advisor and we’ve managed to promote good relationships with the other lands, but even so your kind has still maintained its isolated policies.” “Eh, we prefer to keep to ourselves. I see that hasn’t changed,” Tirek said. “My father always made sure to keep his most loyal soldiers strong so only they could learn magic. Speaking of which, would you be willing to share some of your alicorn magic as per our agreement?” Twilight nodded and summoned a big of magic to her horn, levitating it out in the form of a lavender ball toward Tirek like Discord and Grogar had at one point each. Tirek took it in his hands and ate it. He grew to his second form and kissed his bigger muscles. “Alright, and this time I’m gonna use these for good!” Tirek promised. Twilight nodded, then told him in a matter-of-fact statement, “You better cause you know I can always take that away just like I did the other two times. And I’ll do more if you go back on that promise this time.” Tirek and the others chuckled nervously as they recalled how close Twilight had been to killing them in the Battle of the Castle of Two Sisters while under the influence of absorbing Grogar’s dark magic. They certainly didn’t want to repeat that scenario. They ate the rest of their picnic and Twilight rose to her hooves, “Goodbye. I wish you all luck in your endeavors to make yourselves better creatures.” “Thank you, Twilight,” Chrysalis said then as a show of respect, bowed her head to Twilight. “You were a worthy foe back in the day, for a pathetic pony princess.” She smirked to let her former foe know she was teasing and Twilight smirked back. “If I’m pathetic you’re helpless,” Twilight said. “Yes, a queen without her hive is no queen at all,” Chrysalis admitted. “You have all the magic in the world, and the treasure of friendship,” Cozy Glow said. “Without a purpose and comrades, there is nothing worth using power for,” Tirek said. “I hope I can make peace with my family.” Twilight nodded. “Goodbye.” She, Spike, Gallus and the Royal Guards all flew off back to Canterlot. That left the three former villains there. Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow faced each other. “I guess this is goodbye,” Cozy Glow said. “I’m going to go around Equestria and do what I can to redeem myself among my own kind. You both are gonna head back to your homes, right?” Both of them nodded. “It was a long dark road that turned out to be a waste of time,” Chrysalis said. “But I hope that I can find something fulfilling at the end of this new road to light.” “I guess this is where our fiendship breaks apart,” Tirek said. “Now we might as well call ourselves friends.” He extended his hand and the two females put their hooves on top of it. “Goodbye, friends,” Chrysalis said. “I guess we might as well admit it huh?” Cozy Glow said. The other two sighed and as Discord had long ago did so with Cozy. As one, they all said the famous words of their enemies. “Friendship is Magic.” As they said it, all of them glowed faintly in white magic and Tirek grew to his third form. “What’s happening?” Chrysalis asked as her horn suddenly glowed. “Ah! My magic is back!” “I’m in my third form!” Tirek said. “And I didn’t need to absorb magic!” “Admitting we were friends must have canceled out Tartarus’s effects and made us stronger!” Cozy said as she flapped her wings and flew. “Yeah!” Both of the females flew in excitement and laughed, finally able to stretch their wings after so long in that prison. Tirek watch with a small smile as they circled him for a moment. Then they landed. “Guess we got a better way to go that doesn’t have to be bad huh?” Cozy asked. “Yes,” Chrysalis said. “A new way to go.” “Goodbye,” Tirek said. With their little surprise over, the three of them turned their own directions, flying for both the females and jumping immense distances for the lone male centaur. They headed off into their own paths of redemption in their homelands.