//------------------------------// // Frienemies // Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S9 // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// Darkness spread across the landscape, the night's shadow filling the sky as all creatures great and small tried to sleep. As this happened, a lone figure made his way through the wildness. The figure was the living armor, Armalum, who was walking calmly through some woods, the terrain now getting worse, meaning he was getting close. And as he made his way through it, movement could he heard to his left in the bushes. He stopped at this, standing perfectly still as the rustling grew louder and louder...until the source exploded out of the bushes, revealing a large monster that looked like the cross between an owl and a bear. The owl-headed beast let out a mix of a roar and squawk, its feathery bear body towering over Armalum. But the figure didn't even look at it, as the creature charged to attack. But as it did this, a whooshing sound filled the air with Armalum as he appeared to not move at all. And as this sound rang out, the creature fell to the ground with a hole in its chest. Armalum began to move again after this, one of the blade-tipped cords that made up his tail moving to the grassy ground and whipping something into it. The grass was soon stained red and Armalum kept moving. He had somewhere he had to be. Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom... Grogar sat in front of his crystal ball, the orb now glowing an image inside. It was showing a strange looking bell, the sight making Grogar smile. But before he could actually lock onto its location, the clearing of a throat broke his concentration. He looked up and glared at Cozy, who was flying up to him. "I don't want to tattle on my good friend Tirek, but...you might like to know he left food out. Again." At that moment, the stump table Grogar was using felt like a very good thing to bash his head against. This has been the most common thing ever since he had brought Equestria's greatest villains together. "I'll deal with it when I'm done." Cozy nodded and walked away with a skip in her step as Grogar tried to get back to work. But no sooner had Cozy disappeared down the hallway, Tirek arrived. "Don't trust anything that nosy little Pegasus says!" Grogar growled at this, "I don't trust anything any of you say!" He stomped his hoof on the ground and Tirek flinched at this before frowning at him. "Hmph!" He walked off at this, Grogar rolling his eyes before staring back at the crystal ball, only for a black hoof to appear on the orb, making him glance up to see a very displeased Chrysalis. "Are you planning on attacking anypony anytime soon?!" She let out a low, bored-sounding groan, "If not, I don't know why I'm wasting my time here. I am a queen, you know?" She flew off at this, Grogar letting out another growl before huffing in frustration. He then trotted into the next room, where Chrysalis sat on a wooden throne across from Tirek and Cozy. "I'm leaving, since it's impossible to accomplish the work I need to do here. I suggest the three of you come to some kind of accord." The three stated arguing, pointing at each other and trying to explain everything wrong with them. But before they could really get going, Grogar blasted them with his dark magic and placed magic duct tape over their mouths. "I don't care how, but you must learn to work together! Only then can we accomplish what you so greatly desire: The defeat of Twilight Sparkle and her friends!" The three glared at him as the magical goat spun around and walked away. And once he was gone, the magic covering their lips disappeared, allowing them to talk again. Cozy opened her mouth at this, only to see Tirek and Chrysalis get up to leave before she could get any words out. She grumbled at this, crossing her hooves with a huff. "This isn't easy, you know." Outside the skull-shaped base, Armalum stared up at the structure. He chuckled at its design, wondering if Grogar had made it himself since there was no way something like that could have been made in reality. He raised a hoof to walk inside, wondering how Grogar and his flunkies would react to him, only to sense something. Feeling this, his body exploded into a shadow, quickly flying up and into a tree as Grogar walked out. The living armor watched as Grogar glanced around, seeming to not sense or see the shadow staring at him. He then tapped his hoof on the ground and a portal opened up, Grogar walking through and vanishing. "Hmm...so you're worried your secret's gonna get out? Pitiful." He slithered down the tree at this, his shadow sliding into the skull base as the shadow moved around on the ceiling. It was here he found the other members. The first was Chrysalis, who was mindlessly talking to a piece of wood. He then moved over another chamber, this one having Tirek as he lifted some weights, trying to keep his old body in shape. The sight made the shadow chuckle before leaving, soon entering the throne room. There, he saw that Cozy had somehow created a banner with cartoon versions of all the villain's faces on it. "Nothing says 'teamwork' like an inspirational banner," she giggled while hanging it up. "When Grogar sees this, he'll realize there's no way he could survive without me!" She then heard the sound of Tirek doing his work out and flew over to him, the pony smiling as she watched the beast struggle. "You're gonna have to exercise a lot to get as big as you were when you absorbed the life force of all those ponies." Tirek glared at her as Cozy flew up onto his dumbbell and let him lift her up as well. "Anywho, Grogar wants us all to work together, so I've scheduled a team meeting. Doesn't that sound fun?" The centaur growled as she flew down onto his stomach. "And since Grogar left me in charge-" "No, he didn't." Cozy giggled at this. "Someone's a real grumpy-taur today. If we aren't meeting, I guess I could just stay and offer positive and inspiring-" "Fine!" Tirek yelled between reps, "I'll join your meeting. Just leave!" Cozy let out another giggle before flying away. smiled and flew away. "See you soon!" Armalum watched her go and looked back at Tirek, who groaned as he got up and grabbed a drink from the benchside table. "Annoying little twerp." He chose this moment to leave as well, following after Cozy as she flew through the maze of corridors towards Chrysalis' chambers. "It's been weeks, and Grogar's done nothing!" The changeling royal was still speaking to the log, and as Armalum flew in, he saw Cozy appear at Chrysalis's side as the queen ranted, "It's not healthy to hold onto all of this rage! I could lash out at any moment." The pegasus flew down in front of the piece of the wood. "And how are you doing this fine-" "How do you think I'm doing?!" Chrysalis screeched, making Cozy flinch and scramble behind the log, "I'm ready to exact my revenge!" She glared back at the hunk of wood, "See what I mean?" "Being cooped up with nothing to do is the worst! You know what you need?" Cozy chimed in as she walked back in front of piece of wood and began leaning against the log, "A team meeting!" Chrysalis growled at her and pulled the log out from under her. "Eep!" "I don't do meetings." the bug hissed before walking away, Cozy huffing as she picked herself up. "Grogar left me in charge." "No, he didn't." Chrysalis glared back at her. "And even if he did, Chrysalis obeys no one." "There'll be cupcakes," Cozy added, making Chrysalis hiss again. A little while later... Armalum was now watching the trio sit around the throne room. A plate of cupcakes were sitting on the table, Chrysalis taking one to enjoy while Tirek stared at her and licked his lips. Cozy, who was standing on a stack of soap boxes, spoke down to them. "Grogar wants us to work together to defeat our enemies," she pointed out. "Which means we need to trust each other." Chrysalis ate another cupcake, only to then notice a flaming energy string attached to her horn. "If we are to trust one another, perhaps inform Lord Tirek to STOP TRYING TO ABSORB MY ESSENCE!" The centaur quickly stopped the flaming energy string, picking up a cupcake to spit the little magic he had stolen on. "I wasn't doing anything of the sort!" He put the cupcake down, "How dare you!" "How dare I?!" Chrysalis screeched, "Do you know to whom you are speaking to?!" She picked the cupcake up and ate it, re-absorbing her stolen magic as Tirek rolled his eyes. "How could I not?!" He roared, "You tell your log every five minutes!" Chrysalis growled before taking out the log and hugging it, the sight making Cozy sigh. "This is why Grogar left me in charge." "NO...HE...DIDN'T!" The other two yelled, making Cozy groan again. She then stared at the banner she had put up, making her smile before turning to the other two. As she did this, her internal music maker started playing and she flew down. Armalum frowned at this, since he did not have such a thing within him. As such, he was greeted to the sight of the three villains begin an elaborate song and dance routine. Without the actual music, Armalum had no idea if the song was any good, though they were rhyming together at the very least, something Armalum wondered how they were doing. As they sang, Cozy had them all doing a bunch of trust and teamwork exercises, but Chrysalis and Tirek's loud and commanding personalities made them fail very quickly. "Typical," Armalum commented from the darkness, "A team must have a strong leader to pull it in the right direction. But when every member of the group is equally strong, all that happens is the team remains stalled in place as they try to pull in a different direction." He sighed when the song seemed to come to an end, "Guess trying to get their help is a waste of time." "Hey!" He heard Cozy yell, "You stepped on my cue!" The others two argued back, the three yelling at one another and likely about to start an actual fight. "ENOUGH!" They froze and turned to see Grogar had returned. "I had hoped by now you would've resolved your differences, but apparently not." Chrysalis glared back at him. "Perhaps if we knew what the plan was, we would be better able to prepare!" The other two nodded, Tirek speaking up, "Assuming you even have a plan." "Of course I have a plan!" Grogar growled, catching Armalum's attention. "I have located an object of power, and it occurs to me that this is the perfect test. The three of you will work together to retrieve it. Against this item, those ponies won't stand a chance." Chrysalis crossed her hooves at this, "I have come close to ruling Equestria several times. Perhaps I should be the one to lead us." But as she said this, Cozy pushed her out of the way and smiled at Grogar. "I nearly drained all the magic from Equestria! That was good!" But Tirek flicked her away. "I absorbed all the magic of Equestria! I could feel it flowing through my body as I grew!" "Yes," Chrysalis glared at him, "But it apparently makes you dumber." Tirek hissed back at her, "Oh, don't get angry. Shroudheart was the one who said it." The changeling stuck out her tongue, "I just agree with him." The three started arguing again, Grogar sighing before his horn glowed and a dome of magic appeared around him before exploding into a wave. It slammed into the three, throwing the trio against a wall, chaining them to it at the same time, "Each of you failed to defeat Twilight Sparkle and her friends! My power is greater than all of yours combined. This is but a fraction of it! Understood?!" The three squirmed at this, only to find they couldn't move, "Now, you shall retrieve the rest of it." "This should be interesting," Armalum chuckled as Grogar released the trio before his bells began to glow. They unleashed a dark blast of magic, which filled the room with nothing but darkness. The three were about to cry out, only for an image to appear in the void. That image was of a pony, who Armalum couldn't help but notice had several striking similarities to an umbrum. Their curved horn and shadowy mane gave that illusion. "Thousands of moons ago, the self-righteous Gusty the Great, unable to best me face-to-face, stole my Bewitching Bell." The image showed Gusty grabbing a certain object, "A talisman containing much of my own magic." The image showed Gusty placing the bell inside a cave. "The Bell cannot be destroyed, so Gusty hid it in a place that has taken me millennia to discover." The image changed to show a large mountain, "An enchanted cave high atop Mt. Everhoof, protected by magical winds that prevent anypony from reaching its peak. There, the Bell has remained until now." "Fascinating..." Armalum whispered. Though he had gained much from Shroudheart, he didn't have the same in depth knowledge as the evil clone of Flash. The best he had were basically a bunch of bullet points describing future events. The darkness vanished as Grogar glared at the three villains. "Scale Mt. Everhoof and bring me back my bell." Chrysalis laughed at this, "Ha! The ease of this task is laughable." Grogar smirked at this, "We'll see." The three were soon transported to the mountain, only to see it was the largest mountain in all of Equestria. Its peak was surrounded by clouds, and the mountain itself was dangerously ridged, with spikes sticking out of every surface. The City of Cloudsdale wouldn't even be able to fly higher than this mountain, and climbing it was going to be difficult. "Well, it sounded easy," Chrysalis sighed. "Scale the mountain..." Tirek began. "...retrieve Grogar's Bell..." Chrysalis continued. "...together!" Cozy finished with a cheer while taking out a piece of paper. "I drew up a detailed plan with several visual aids to show how we can...ditch each other and do it alone." Chrysalis and Tirek had already left during her explanation, the filly sighing, "Maybe when I'm waiting for them at the top, then they'll appreciate me." She threw her map into the air and flew off on her own, grumbling while doing so. As she did this, Armalum appeared on a large rock a bit away, overlooking the trio. He watched them head up the mountain, the living armor humming at the sight, "Let's see what's so special about this place." He burst into shadows and flew up, noticing Chrysalis first. The former queen was flying straight towards the top, clearly having not been listening when Grogar said there were enchanted winds. A second later, a powerful gust slammed into her, throwing her into a mountain wall. She flinched at this, soon falling to the ground as she found that flying wasn't going to work. And as she began to walk, the shadow cloud flew into the winds. But unlike the bug, the winds didn't affect the shadow cloud as much. Instead, his form began to swirl around, becoming thinner and thinner until it was a long shadowy rope with a tipped end. The shadow drilled into the wind, soon breaking through and getting right to the top. "Child's play," he commented. Below the peak was a cave, surrounded in dark blue rocks that had glowing runes inscribed into them. The living armor's glowing red eyes scanned them over, "Master Shadow. Lend me the knowledge needed to understand these symbols." His eyes glowed brighter as he looked upon them before nodding, "I see. A forcefield. A strong one as well." His horn glowed and magic flew out, moving into his hoof as he started moving it through the air. As he did this, the magic began forming symbols in the air before pushing them into the forcefield. When they got close enough, a yellow energy barrier formed and the symbols connected, the other barrier glitching before vanishing. "Good. The runes should counteract the barrier for a few hours." He walked into the cave, chuckling to himself, "Those fools probably haven't even made it a fourth of the way up yet." Stepping inside, he found that the place was spotless. After being empty for over a thousand years, he had expected it to be old and dusty, but whatever magic had protected it must have kept it in pristine condition. And in the very center of the cave on a stone podium that had a metal object just like the one Grogar had shown his followers. "The bell of Grogar." He reached in to take it, only for the room to suddenly summon a ton of more runes. "A secondary defense system. Must activate when the barrier outside goes down. But what does it-" He got his answer when the ground beneath him vanished, his wings quickly flaring in response. But as he did this, a powerful gust of wind blasted downward from the cave's ceiling. "Whoa!" He was pushed downward, the armor letting himself get thrown down. He fell for about fifty meters before he sensed the bottom, his body bursting into shadow and exploding when he hit the ground. The wind stopped at this, Armalum's shadowy body quickly reforming itself, the armored figure glancing around and seeing he was in a large domed chamber. The hole in the top of the dome led back up to the cave, but the wind would likely blow again to prevent anyone with wings from escaping. The room pitch black, but his vision allowed him to see in the dark while the walls of the room were covered in runes and scattered along the ground were a bunch of metal shapes. "Interesting. The runes stop you from teleporting out, but there's more to them than just that. What is their purpose?" In that moment, the runes suddenly began to glow. The chamber was illuminated by them, allowing Armalum to see the metal shapes better, which also had be inscribed with magical runes, which were also beginning to glow. The metal shapes shot up next, all floating in the air before connecting to one another, with a bunch of orbs being used as joints to allow the other shapes to move around like arms and legs. The arms and legs were a series of rectangles and cubes, its main body being a large cone-shape with a rounded bottom. Its head was the same shape, sitting on the tip of the cub with two lights on top of it that resembled eyes. "A golem?" Armalum asked, "Interesting." The creature swung its large arm down at him, Armalum leaping back, "Ha! You'll need to do better than that." He fired a blast of magic from his horn and hit the creature in the chest, making it stagger back. He expected that to defeat the creature, but the golem managed to remain on its feet before beginning to use its larger arms as stability similar to how a gorilla walked. Armalum flared his wings and beat them at this, the shadows breaking off them and morphing into a bunch of arrows that slammed into the golem. Explosions came next, but the golem just charged forward, the arrows not scratching the creature. Armalum summoned a cloud of darkness to his hoof at this, swinging the cloud for it to reveal a sword. It was black with a red light running down the blade and the tip had a chunk removed from the very end, giving it two points to stab with. He leapt as the golem tried to punch him, Armalum's wings allowing him to fly above it as he swung the sword, "RAAAAAH!" He slashed at the beast, but te creature wasn't even scratched by the attack. "What are these shapes made out of?!" He flew back at this, dodging a few punches. But as he did this, he got too close to the top of the chamber. The next thing he knew, the powerful wind that had blown him down there was blowing again, as if it sensed his presence. It slammed into his back and made him cry out, pushing right into the golem as it began another punch. But before it could connect, his body burst into shadows that flew up the creature's arm and solidified when he reached its chest. With a great amount of strength, he smashed his hoof into its chest and threw it back. The creature was thrown away, ripped apart by the impact as the pieces of its body began scattering everywhere. Armalum landed and smirked at this, "There we go. That was easy." He spun around at this, "Now, to get out of-" A sound made him glance back, only to see the creature begin to reconstruct itself. None of the pieces that made it up had been damaged by the impact, and within seconds, the golem was reborn. "Okay, this might be harder than I thought." The golem raised one of its hands and brought it down upon Armalum, crushing him under its large cubic hand. But a moment later, a shadow appeared from under it and reformed the living armor. "Really? Did you think something changed in the last minute or so?" The golem thrust its hand upward, trying to catapult Armalum into the wall, but the living armor spread his wings, stopping himself before he could collide, then started launching lasers at the golem from his horn. The monster was shot again and again, making it stagger back, but not actually hurting it. Armalum's body turned to shadow at this, which started flying in a circle around the beast to create a tornado of darkness. The twister completely enveloped the golem, who swiped its arms around in an attempt to try and knock its opponent away, but Armalum's shadow form didn't even flinch at the impacts. And as he got faster, the golem was slowly lifted off its feet. "Now I've got you!" He roared before charging at the golem while taking physical form, allowing him to deal a powerful kick to the chest of the beast and knock it flying out of the vortex. It smashed into the wall, and this time one of its arms and the opposite leg were knocked off. It began to slowly rebuild itself at this, Armalum standing tall as his wings unleashed a shadow that swirled above him into an orb. It then changed shape and morphed into a drill-like weapon, which started spinning at high speed. The drill slammed into the beast's chest next, spiraling at high speed. But no matter how long Armalum drilled into it, the creature's body just wouldn't break. Eventually, the magic of the drill weakened, the beast knocking it away. It then charged again and thrust its arm out, slamming Armalum into a back wall this time. But as it pinned Armalum, the armor let out a low chuckle, "That all you got?" As if hearing his taunt, the golem raised its other fist and threw it, but Armalum created a barrier that blocked the fist. The golem punched again and again, Armalum just chuckling at the sight. "So weak." He commented after about twenty punches, "I'm bored now." He burst into shadows to escape, the dark cloud flying past the golem and reforming behind it. "Let me show you...what I'm truly capable of." As the golem turned toward him, Armalum remained still as his wings began to flicker in the non-existent wind. And as he did, the shadows that made them up began to form shapes as it grew large. One of the shapes was the head of a pony that Armalum felt great sorrow at never getting to see again. Void. Another shape appeared beside it, this one being the head of Shroudheart. On his other wing, the head of the Flash Sentry clone appeared along with several criminals that had been defeated by Flash and his friends during their camping trip. Then, the large head of the eye-clops, Odin, appeared. The golem stared at Amralum, even tilting its head in some form of confusion. And as it began to move again, Armalum let the power flowing through his very being and his horn began to glow brighter and brighter. "Now, feel the power of my hatred!" With that, the horn unleashed a super powerful blast of magic, an explosion filling the chamber a second later. A mass of metal slammed into the walls, all shattering to pieces. Armalum saw this and stopped his attack, shaking his head, "Can't waste my hatred on something like this. It's reserved for only one pony." He stared at the now destroyed golem, feeling like he might have just stolen a difficult opponent from the others. However, in that moment, the many pieces of the golem started to move again. "What?" First, the broken pieces came together, locking themselves into place before they merged into one. Once that was done, the repaired pieces began to move to one another and rebuild the golem. "Oh, enough of this," he groaned before his body burst into shadows and moved up to the top of the chamber. Once again, the wind blew and threatened to push him back down, but he stretched himself out enough to pierce the wind. And by the time the golem was remade and ready to fight, the entire shadow was making it way through the tunnel. The wind kept trying to push him back down, but he was able to fight his way through it, slowly getting higher and higher. And finally, he reached the chamber that had the bell inside it. "Child's play," he laughed as he flew out of the cave. The barrier was still down, and once he was past it, he flicked his hoof to make the runes he used vanish. Doing so caused the barrier to start reforming, the living armor watching as it completely restored itself before disappearing from view. He checked the barrier, seeing it was still there, "Good. Don't wanna make it too easy for those idiots." He thought about the bell still inside, deciding to leave it there for the time being. "Let's see if they can actually get their hooves on it. If so, I'll reveal myself. But I doubt they will, given that golem is waiting for anypony that gets past the barrier." He turned away from the cave and leapt into the air, his shadow wings allowing him to glide down from the top of the mountain. When the magical wind slammed into him, he was pushed down even faster before turning into his shadow form as he landed on a rock. And as the wind died down, he leapt back into the air and started searching the area for the others, soon finding one as the sun began to set. Tirek had set up some kind of camp, with a fire in the middle of a forest clearing along with a chair he had made out of wood and vines. And as he added a log to the flames, the bushes rustled before a very damp, tired and cold Cozy Glow stepped out into the clearing. And when the centaur saw her, he burst out laughing. "It's not funny, Tirek!" "Didn't make it to the top?" He asked with a smirk. "Surprise, surprise." She pointed at him, "You didn't make it to the top either!" "I didn't try to." "What?!" "It took me about five minutes to deduce that Grogar was right," Tirek replied, "None of us could make it up alone. So, rather than subject myself to the elements, I decided to let you two face the danger, take what you learned, and use it to my advantage." He leaned back at this, laughing as Cozy glared at him. "I put up with your 'I'm smarter than you' attitude in Tartarus! But I'm over it!!" Tirek growled back at her, "I'd had enough of you trying to manipulate me with that insincere, syrupy sweetness. At least now we can see the real you." That made Cozy's face go red, "This is not the real me! I'M CUTE AND LOVABLE!" The pair burst out into an argument at this, Armalum chuckling until he sensed another presence, turning and using his long distance vision, he saw a creature that had the upper body of a bull and the lower body of a snake. The creature slithered through the forest and by the time the pair noticed it, the creature was right on top of them and let out a mighty roar. The pair stared in horror, then turned to each other, "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" The living armor was curious to see how they got out of this one. He didn't want to reveal himself yet, but he also knew he would need these idiots if he wanted to achieve his plan, which meant that if they couldn't save themselves, he would have to help them. That is, till a second bull serpent appeared from behind them. This one appeared to be female and was more focused on the male than them, as it gave the creature a seductive look and a come hither gaze. The male was quickly pulled away, its eyes filling with hearts as it slithered forward. "Quick!" Cozy told Tirek, "it's distracted! Let's go!" She turned to fly away, but Tirek grabbed her tai. "Wait." It seemed Tirek had also figured it out, Armalum noticing the truth the moment the female appeared. And sure enough, a flash of green fire revealed Chrysalis in the creature's place. She quickly struck the male with her magic and started draining it of power. And a few seconds later, the creature fell to the ground, looking weak and helpless. Chrysalis licked her lips, humming in delight. "So much love. I haven't eaten this well in ages." Cozy saw this and gagged, "So gross." Chrysalis turned to the pair, glaring at them. "Just so we're clear, I didn't save you because I like you. I did it because...because I..." "Neeeeeeed us?" Cozy asked, Chrysalis hissing and replying through gritted teeth. "Yes." Tirek smirked at this, "Clearly, I was right to wait. Now tell me everything you learned today. Leave nothing out." The pair did so as Chrysalis began to produce a strange green substance from her mouth that she used to seal the bull serpent into a cocoon. It took a while, but she managed to get the creature entirely encased and pulled it up to hang from a nearby tree as the others watched slightly sickened. "Why did you do that?" Cozy asked once she was finished, "Didn't you already drain it of its love?" Chrysalis shined a grin as she climbed off the cocoon. "I always save a little for the next day." Cozy flinched at this, "You cocoon all of your...meals?" "Of course." "So when you pony-napped Twilight and the others, you cocooned them?" "Yes." Chrysalis growled at this, "Until that sow Starlight Glimmer freed them, corrupted my subjects, and stole my hive!" "I heard the changelings evolved," Cozy chimed, "At least...that's what I learned at the school. Hiveena apparently made them evolve into a better version of themselves." "Technically," Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "My daughter pushed them to the next stage of their evolution, just like I pushed the changeling into what you see when I took the throne from my mother." "What did you change about them?" Tirek asked. "It's...complicated," Chrysalis slowly replied, "But it wasn't anything as big as to what happened when Hiveena took my rightful place. It's bad enough she took that fool Thorax as a mate, but turning them all bright pretty colors. Gross." Tirek laughed at this, "Those ponies do have weaknesses. I used that turncoat Discord. Tricked him into helping me capture his so-called friends." Chrysalis sighed at hearing that, "Discord was really something until friendship ruined him." "You should've seen Twilight's face when her friends appeared in bubbles around me." He started making faces, trying to imitate Twilight and making the other two laugh. "She's so stressed out all the time," Cozy sighed, "I'm surprised Flash Sentry can stand sharing a bedroom with her. I bet she files and organizes in her sleep." "When I posed as her former foal-sitter, I thought she was going to implode!" They all laughed again as Cozy thought about when Twilight had turned against her, "I wish I could've seen her face when I nearly erased all the magic from Equestria." "All magic was a little excessive, don't you think?" "Eh," Cozy shrugged, "I think big." Chrysalis crossed her hooves, "I heard rumors that if you had been successful, the entire world would have fallen apart." "Oh please," Cozy rolled her eyes. "They just said that to justify putting me in Tartarus. There's no way the world has some super powerful entity keeping it in check. If it did, why didn't it do anything to stop me from draining the world's magic? Heck, why didn't it stop any evil from happening in Equestria?" The two blinked at this, seeing her point as she added, "Besides, even if it was true, it would've been worth it just to see Twilight and her friends bow down to me!" "Indeed it would," Tirek chuckled, "Who wouldn't love to see those prissy ponies realize they lost everything?" Chrysalis got up and transformed into Twilight, "I'm a pathetic pony princess! I made a detailed list of all the ways I'm a failure!" They all laughed at this as Chrysalis returned to normal as Tirek thought for a moment. "You know, working with you two may not be the worst thing." "Perhaps," Chrysalis added, "As long as it results in the complete destruction of our enemies." "I wouldn't have it any other way," Cozy giggled before turning back to Chrysalis. "Do the pathetic princess thing again!" She did so, beginning to mock Twilight while in her body. The others laughed as she started shifting to the other heroes of Equestria, making Armalum smirk from his spot in the tree. "Those three might just be able to pull this off." He looked up at the mountain, "But even if they work together, that golem might be too much for them. However, if they can figure out a way to overcome it, they might just be worthy of my partnership after all." He continued to watch as the three mocked the heroes that had defeated them in the past. They seemed completely oblivious to the being in the tree, but that soon changed when Armalum felt his shadow form starting to wain. He couldn't remain like that forever and had to take physical form, which caused his presence to be sensible. "Who's there?" Tirek glanced around, the other two turning to him. "What is it?" "I'm sensing a magical presence," Tirek replied, "Strange...the power is quite strong. But it's the spirit connected to it that's curious." The females raised an eyebrow at this, "It's almost like a bunch of different spirits smushed together. The magic is quite strong." "How strong?" Cozy asked. "I'd say it's on the same level as Flash Sentry's Sacred Light." The two flinched at this, only for Tirek to add, "Whoever you are, come out and show yourself! Or are you a coward?" Armalum hummed at this, only to chuckle as he spoke up while still hiding in the darkness, "I'm no coward, but you three have yet to prove yourselves worthy of knowing who I am." "Well somepony has a high opinion of themselves," Chrysalis growled, "So...what will make us worthy of knowing who you are?" "Get the bell," Armalum replied. "I've already been up there and seen everything you'll need to face in order to get the bell. Getting it will certainly be a challenge. But if you can get it, you prove you have what it takes to defeat Twilight and her friends. When that happens, I will come to you." He turned back into shadows and flew away, Tirek instantly losing his presence. "He's gone." Tirek muttered. "Who the heck was that?" Cozy asked. "You think this is apart of Grogar's test?" Chrysalis added. Tirek shook his head, "No, I don't think Grogar would go to such lengths. He wouldn't have somepony sneaking around spying on us. It's not his style." They both hummed at this as he continued, "Whoever he was, we should be careful. They said they were able to get to the top of the mountain on their own. That means they're strong, so I doubt they're somepony we could defeat at our current power even if we worked together." "Great," Chrysalis sighed, "Fine. I'm going to get some sleep. Since Tirek didn't bother to try and climb the mountain, he probably still has plenty of energy left to stay awake for a few more hours." Cozy nodded at this as Tirek frowned at the two, only to see both lay on the ground and drift off to sleep. Tirek wanted to argue, but the pair were already asleep as he sat on his chair. "Fine, I'll keep watch. But only for a few hours. Obviously, as the strongest, I'll be the most crucial part of getting that bell." He glanced up at the moon in the sky at this, "Still...I wonder who that was." The next morning... As soon as the sun was up, the three villains began to make their way toward the mountain. They were constantly on the lookout of mysterious voice they had heard the previous night, expecting to sense him at any minute. But they didn't. They couldn't sense a thing, confusion showing on their faces as they continued to climb. Armalum was back at the top of the mountain, standing in front of the barrier. "Will they be able to work together long enough to achieve their goal? I doubt it, but I'm happy to be proven wrong." And so, he waited, playing tic tac toe against himself in the snow, studying the rune magic a little more for the future, and thinking about what he was going to do when he finally defeated Flash Sentry and his friends. Then eventually, he spotted the trio as they arrived at the top of the mountain. Chrysalis began to fly up first, only to find herself slamming into the forcefield and being bounced back, the other two approaching to study it. "Augh!" Tirek hissed as he tried to touch the magical barrier. "Can you absorb it and make it go away?" Cozy asked, Tirek shaking his head. "I can only absorb magic from living beings." "Like her?" Cozy pointed at Chrysalis, the former queen glaring back at them. "Betrayal!" "Not betrayal," Cozy replied, "Teamwork." She pointed at the centaur. "If Tirek absorbs your energy, he might be strong enough to break through." "And then?" She asked with a hiss. "Then..." She did a small gulp at her next words, "He gives it back." "I do?" Tirek asked, Cozy nodding with a hum as Chrysalis glared at the centaur. "How do I know you won't take my magic and leave me?!" "Would we do that to you?" Cozy gave her a smile, Chrysalis frowning at her as if the filly had said something ridiculous. "Okay, normally, yes, we would." "I'll give you your magic back," Tirek sighed, Chrysalis staring at the monster for a second before nodding. "Do it." Tirek smirked and opened his mouth, the ball of fire appearing between his horns as he began to drain the magic out of Chrysalis. The changeling moaned as she felt herself beginning to grow weaker while Tirek's body grew a bit bigger. Eventually, Chrysalis was drained dry and fell to the ground. As she did this, Tirek revelled in his increased strength. "So...much...power!" He gave his forearms a few kisses, "Welcome back, baby!" He turned to the barrier and unleashed a blast of magic, which caused the energy field to slowly fall away. However, the hole it formed was very small and Tirek could sense it was going to regenerate the second he stopped blasting it. "It's not big enough for me!" "Maybe not you!" Cozy flew into the hole, getting to the other side. "Keep it open, or I'll be trapped forever!" She flew into the cave as Chrysalis let out a moan. "Would that be so terrible?" Tirek chuckled at this while Armalum watched from above. "Huh, well that's disappointing. I was hoping they would have to face that golem." Since the barrier was in tact, the secondary defence would remain unused. However, Tirek was clearly having a hard time keeping the barrier open. "Can't...hold...much...longer!" He roared as the barrier started fighting against his magic. "HURRY!" The barrier started to close and just as Tirek was about to lose it, Cozy shot out of the cave and through the hole. She was flying so fast that she accidently crashed into a pile of snow. But a few seconds later, she popped out of it holding the object they seeked. "Ta-da!" Despite being glad they had succeeded, Chrysalis was only interested in one thing. "My magic..." She turned to Tirek, who stared at his more muscular body. She feared he was go back on his word, but then Tirek opened his mouth and the magical energy spewed out of it. Chrysalis felt her power restoring, the energy revitalising her as Tirek shrank back down to the form he had before. Once she was back on her hooves and sure she had all of it back, she turned to him in shock. "I-I wasn't sure you were going to give it back." "Neither was I," Tirek sighed again, "But working together seemed smarter than to continue fighting." Cozy nodded. "When we helped each other, it felt better somehow." Chrysalis looked herself over. "I haven't felt like this since before I lost my hive. Having others who will be there for you is...pleasing." Tirek smiled at this, "All of these years taking power from ponies..." "When you use your power to help others..." Cozy continued. "Yes," Chrysalis nodded, "It feels..." She then wide-eyed, now feeling sick to her stomach. "NOOOOOOOOO!" Her scream echoed through the mountains, Tirek and Cozy suddenly being surprised out of the feeling they had fallen under. "The Magic of Friendship is like a disease!" Chrysalis screamed, "An infection that spreads to those around you! I watched it infect my hive! I will not let it get me!" "Same," Cozy nodded. "Obviously," Tirek nodded. "But..." Cozy looked down at the bell, "Grogar said we have to work together." Chrysalis grumbled at that, "Grogar is too powerful. Something must be done about that." "Nice to see we all agree with that." The voice made them jump before a shadow suddenly landed in front of them. They all leapt back as the shadow began to take pony shape. "Shroudheart?!" Cozy asked, "You're alive?" But then, the figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing its armored self, "You're not Shroudheart." "Thank you, captain obvious." He stood before them, the three all staring at him as he spoke up, "My name is Armalum. Some of you probably heard of me." Cozy Glow gasped at this, "You mean the living suit of armor that was loyal to Shadow Corruptor? The one that needs a host in order to survive?" "Yes to the first, no longer to the second." The three raised an eyebrow at this, "You can thank Chrysalis and Shroudheart for awakening me." The other two turned to the changeling, Chrysalis looking very confused. "When he was destroyed, Shroudheart transferred his dark essence to me. That allowed me to awaken and take my final host." "But...I never helped you," Chrysalis responded, "I don't even know you." "No, but the clone of Flash Sentry that you made did." Chrysalis went wide-eyed at this, only for the armored pony to add, "Shroudheart had him dig me up and now I'm back. I have the hatred of Master Shadow, Shroudheart and the clone fueling me. Combined with the Corrupted Shadow I was infused with, I'm a new being. No longer needing a living host to give me sentience." "Interesting," Tirek slowly commented, "So what are you doing here?" "I've been watching you," Armalum replied, "Seeing if you three were actually capable of it." "Of what?" Cozy asked. "Working together. You three, despite your differences, were able to unite for a common goal." The three shared a look, "Just be careful not to become too dependent on one another. We wouldn't want you three becoming friends, would we?" The three stuck their tongues out at the thought. "Good. Now that you've shown you can work together, I hope you'll be willing to help me in my quest." "Why would we do that?" Chrysalis asked. "Because thanks to Shroudheart, I now know everything that happens in the future. Including how the three of you fail to defeat Twilight and her friends in the end." This went them all go wide-eyed, "You get close. Really close. But you get a little too cocky and don't take the necessary steps to hammer the final nail in the coffin. That's where I come in." "What can you do?" Tirek asked. "You'll see. Just remember that if you help me, I'll help you. Twilight and her friends with be yours to crush and in return, you'll leave Sentry and the Royal Knights to me." The three raised an eyebrow at this, only for Armalum to add, "Feel free to refuse. But if you do, I'll just go to Grogar and tell him what you're planning." "We're not planning anything," Cozy chimed in. "You will. If I hadn't intervened, you would have all agreed to betray Grogar. You'd pretend to obey him and wait for the perfect moment to stab him in the back." "Ooh..." Cozy giggled at this, "I love a good backstabbing!" The other two nodded, Tirek then speaking up. "After that, we can go back to trying to destroy each other!" They nodded again, as Chrysalis turned to Armalum, "But how can we be so sure you won't stab us in the back after we've defeated everypony else?!" "You don't," Armalum chuckled, "But if you don't work with me, you'll definitely lose. And I've seen what the good guys have in store for you when you lose. Its not pretty." They all frowned at this, all three glaring at each other before nodding, "Fine. We'll work together to overcome those fools. But after that, it's no holds barred." "Agreed," Armalum spread his shadowy wings. "I'll be in touch. I still have to gather more strength in order to stand against Flash Sentry. When you're ready to finally attack, I'll be there." With that, he leapt off the side of the mountain before turning into a shadowy cloud, the three watching it zigzag around until it was out of sight. "We must be careful," Chrysalis whispered, "Clearly he is after his own agenda." "Maybe," Tirek crossed his arms, "But if he can take care of Sentry then we don't have to worry about him." The mares nodded as Cozy looked at the bell they had retrieved. "In the meantime, what do we do with this?" They all stared at it, only for three big grins to appear on their faces. Grogar let out a roar as he saw the trio return, "You failed to retrieve the Bell?!" He slammed his hoof into the table as his three underlings quivered and knelt before him. "W-W-We're sorry, almighty Grogar." Cozy squeaked out as the goat glared down at them. "We worked together as you asked," Tirek pointed out with Chrysalis nodding. "We just aren't as powerful as you." Grogar let out a mighty roar as his horns glowed, the beast unleashing a blast of magic that flew through the air and smashed a hole in a wall. "Obviously!" He told the shivering trio, "At least you finally did as you were told and worked together." He began to slink away, heading through the hole he had just blasted through the wall. "Of course!" Cozy yelled. "Whatever you command," Tirik nodded. "Forget about that old bell," Chrysalis finished, "You were right. We're so much more powerful...when we work as a team." The trio turned to a rock that they had hidden the bell behind. When Grogar was gone, they all laughed at the anticipation of what was to come. Once they uncovered how to unlock the magic hidden within the bell, they would use it themselves and destroy Grogar. Then, they would turn their sights on Equestria and its oh so heroic defenders. And with their new silent partner working from the shadows, nothing would be able to stop them