Sunset, Aiko, Megan and the ponies looked up as their cell door clattered open again.
Bray crowed at them while the troggles dropped their new prisoners into the cell. “So ponies! We have captured more of your friends! Soon all of you will be here, then banished into the darkness!”
Danny, Molly and the others were tossed roughly into the cell, crying out as they landed on the floor. The troggles departed with Bray still laughing maniacally as he locked the door behind them.
“What an ass,” commented Aiko.
“True that,” agreed Sunset.
Megan rushed over to her brother and sister, untying them and looking them over for wounds. “Are you hurt? Danny, Molly, are you okay?” she asked, holding them both tightly to her.
“Yeah, it’s just bruises, we’re fine sis,” groaned Danny, hugging her back. Then he pulled away to sulk. “We were supposed to be coming to rescue you until that stupid troggle got us caught. It’s all his fault!”
Still holding tightly to her sister, Molly turned to her brother. “I don’t think he did it on purpose. Drog was really trying to help,” she explained.
“Yeah, a lot of good it did!” groused Danny, still sulking.
“Well, at least we are all together now,” smiled Paradise, giving the sulking boy a hug. With a sigh, Danny reached up and hugged Paradise back.
Calmed, Danny looked around at the smiling faces surrounding them. “So, is there anything to eat?” he asked.
A while later the cell door opened again. Bray dragged in Drog, tossing him onto the ponies. “Traitors stay together! You love the ponies so much Drog? Then you can share their fate!”
Turning, he left, slamming and locking the door behind him.
Danny turned to Drog, sitting dejected. “So, you didn’t betray us?” he asked.
Drog looked up. “No, Drog would never betray his friends. But Troggles betrayed Drog. They told Bray about my plan to bring Troggles to Ponyland. Now I am banished too!” He hung his head sadly.
Megan sat next to him. “So you want to be free of Grogar and live lives of your own? We welcome you as our friend, and any Troggle who wants to join you. You’re all welcome in Ponyland.” She hugged Drog.
Drog looked up to her. “Thank you,” he said, a tear rolling down his cheek as he hugged her back.
Bray bowed down before the throne of his master Grogar. “Good master! The moonchicks and the other ponies have been captured,” he reported, head bowed to the floor.
Grogar laughed on the throne. “Excellent! That means ponyland is mine! This calls for a celebration! Tell the troggles that anyone not celebrating will be banished with the ponies at midnight!”
He rose from the throne heading towards the large bell in the dungeons. “Now to start the spell that will banish the ponies forever!”
Standing next to the bell, his own bell glowing in power, Grogar started the spell that would banish all around it to the darkness at midnight.
Megan heard what sounded like partying and laughter coming from outside the cell. She turned to the others.
“Do you hear that?” she asked.
Sunset nodded. “Sounds like they are starting the party early. I guess with us all down here they figure they have this in the bag,” she noted.
“So, are we going to stop them?” asked Megan expectantly.
“Yup!” smirked Aiko. “And no time like the present. Let’s go!” She grabbed Paradise and teleported outside the door.
Sunset facehooved. “Okay, time to go everypony! Stay together and do not wander off. Time to save Ponyland!” She grabbed two of the foals and disappeared with a pop. A moment later Aiko reappeared, scooping up two more foals and disappearing again.
“What are they doing?” asked Danny in surprise.
“Leaving,” answered Megan. “Time to end this. Danny, take Molly and go wait by the door, I’ll be with you in a moment.” She rounded up the rest of the foals, calming them and explaining what was going on.
Drog looked on in amazement. “We can just leave?” he asked.
Aiko popped back into the room. “Yup!” she said, wrapping a paw around him, both of them disappearing with a pop.
She and Sunset appeared again, grabbing another pair of foals each then disappearing. On the next round Aiko noticed Danny and Molly waiting by the door. When she and Sunset appeared again, she popped in right next to them.
“Come on kids, no time to wait by the door. Let’s go!” Aiko smirked, wrapping them both in her paws as she popped out again. Returning she took the last of the foals, Sunset returning for Megan.
“Okay Megan! Let’s do this!” said Sunset, wrapping her in a hug and teleporting out of the cell.
Returning to the cell to taunt the ponies, Bray threw open the door. “Hah ponies! In less than an hour you will all be gone! Banished to the…”
He paused, finally noticing there was no one in the cell.
“Guards! Guards! The prisoners have escaped!” he cried out, racing back out of the dungeons.
Cowering down before Grogar’s thrown, he listened to his Master rage.
“You let them escape! You worthless jackass! You had one job! One job to do! And you let them escape!” he raged.
“Master! No! I locked them into the cell! There was no way they could escape,” cried Bray, shaking in fear.
Taking a deep breath, Grogar struggled to calm himself. “Go! Go find them! Capture them and return them to the cell. The time for banishment is almost upon us! Make sure they are locked up!” he bellowed. Bray scrambled to his feet and rushed from the throne room to obey.
He stormed out of the throne room. “They can’t have gone far,” he muttered to himself as he stormed up to the castle ramparts.
Sunset, Aiko, Megan, Danny, Molly, Paradise, the ponies and foals, and now a small army of troggles rushed through the city to the main gate, determined to make their escape before the bell rang at midnight and banished everyone around it back to the darkness. Their way was clear with all the troggles joining in the mandated victory celebrations.
Pacing around in his ramparts, Grogar spied the herd racing for the main gate. His bell glowing with power, he yelled out his command to the fleeing herd.
“Stop! I command you! You cannot escape your fate! I will not let you leave, you are doomed to suffer the fate you inflicted on me for 500 years! You will be banished!” he called out.
Sunset led them onward, ignoring his taunts while Aiko turned, launching a magical fireball at him. He ducked, the fireball igniting around him. When it cleared, he emerged from his shield grinning. “Cheeky little vixen, that one.”
Looking back over the rampart, he saw they were at the gate, with the unicorn mage attempting a spell to breach it.
“No!” shouted Grogar. “You will not escape!” He launched an enormous ball of destructive energy at them, intending to obliterate the mage and stop her from using her magic.
Looking back at the warning, Sunset quickly covered them all in a shield, bouncing the spell off them and into the gate behind them. The gate shattered from the power of the spell and the ponies, Megan, Molly, Danny, Aiko and troggles race through the destroyed gate to their freedom.
“No!” shouted Grogar in horror, watching them all run away, all save the unicorn mage who was running back towards him. Launching himself from the ramparts, he drifted down to her, his bell glowing with power as he landed on the street before her.
“I may not be able to stop them, but you will be joining me in the darkness, pony!” Grogar growled as he raced towards her.
Sunset took her battle stance, horn ready and glowing with power. Just then the bell rang out. A purple wave of power pulsed out from the castle, shooting out over Sunset and Grogar. As the wave crested over him, he dropped to his knees, his power completely gone.
“No! Not like this! Not again! Never like this!” Grogar cried out, struggling to his hooves. He looked with fear at Sunset as she approached him. “So you have come to end me, now that I am powerless?” he asked in fear.
Smiling, Sunset reached out to him, pulling him back to his hooves. She pulled him into a hug.
“A very wise pony taught me that enemies are temporary, but friends are forever. And that mercy should always triumph.” She smiled at the confused old ram.
She continued, still hugging him. “And the next time we meet, remember, we are better as friends than enemies. Mercy, always over revenge, and next time? Friends, right?”
She grinned, pulling back from the surprised old ram. “There will be a next time, I’m sure of it,” she smiled. “Until then, friend!” The bell rang out again just as she popped out of existence.
Grogar looked around as the bell continued to peel, waves of magic pulling him and Tambelon back into the dark void.
Sunset appeared next to her sister with a pop. “What did I miss?” she asked pleasantly. Megan just looked at her mouth agape. Behind them Tambelon shimmered covered in purple magic, then faded from existence.
Aiko smacked her gently upside the head. “Dork! Don’t go running back into danger! I thought I lost you forever!” she growled, hugging her sister.
“Nah, but something told me we will be seeing that old ram again, so I wanted to give him a final friendship lesson. I hope it sticks. I really do think we could get along if he would just let go of all that hate,” Sunset smiled.
Seesee watched them with her sister Looloo, taking it all in with wonder. The troggles rejoiced in their new freedom from Grogar and Tambelon, as did the ponies, dancing and singing with each other in celebration. Seesee and Looloo were scooped up along with the other foals as the celebration spread.
Drog turned to Megan and Paradise. “And Drog and troggles can stay? We have a home here?” he asked happily.
Megan pulled him into a hug, nodding happily while Paradise spoke. “Any friend of Megan’s is a friend of all ponies. Of course you can stay here! Welcome to ponyland!” Paradise joined their hug.
Sunset watched the happy celebration, her hoof over her sister's shoulders. “I hope I didn’t just banish us here for 500 years too!” she laughed. “The portal that dropped us here was in that city that just disappeared. We might have a long wait to get back,” she joked.
As Aiko joined her in laughter the air began to shimmer behind them, then with a blast of light and thunderous crack a shimmering portal appeared behind them.
Turning to look through it they saw a happy bouncing purple filly between a happy large white alicorn and a smaller just as happy pink alicorn.
“Found you!” the purple unicorn foal called out happily.
“Who is that!?” gasped out Megan, turning with her siblings to stare through the portal at the smiling pony trio.
“Megan, meet Aiko and my mom and sisters, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, and Princess Cadance Mi Amore Cadenza! Mom, Twilight, Cadance, meet Megan Williams and her brother Danny and sister Molly!” Sunset introduced.
Megan’s jaw dropped.
“Pony princesses?” she gasped. Danny and Molly were speechless beside her.
Behind them a foal sat in speechless wonder, having escaped from her enforced celebrations. Her sister came and sat beside her watching as well.
“Took you long enough!” laughed Aiko, standing before the portal and smiling back at them. “We just helped save ponyland! And we thought for sure we were going to be stuck here for 500 more years. About time!” She grinned at them.
Sunset turned to Megan and her family. “I guess this is goodbye. Megan, Danny, Molly, it was an absolute treat getting to meet you. Take care of each other, okay!” she grinned, giving them each a hug.
With a nod to Paradise and the rest of the ponies, she joined her sister before the portal.
Aiko turned to her. “So ready to get out of here?” she grinned.
Sunset grinned back. “Let’s!” she agreed.
Together they jumped through the portal, joining their family on the other side, immediately buried under a herd of pony hugs.
The foal, followed by her sister, wandered up to the portal as it began closing. “Who are you?!” she called out to the white alicorn.
Celestia’s head turned. Catching sight of the foals her eyes grew big in shock. “Seesee? Looloo?” she called out in surprise just as the portal snapped shut.
Shimmer stumbled through the barren badlands, head hung down, thirsty, confused, and utterly despondent.
Her sister had pushed her through the portal. She couldn’t have intended for this to happen. She knew Sunset was deathly afraid to return to Equestria because of the princess who banished her, but she would never have intentionally hurt her.
Lost, confused and hopeless, she kept stumbling forward, recalling the events that led to her being here.
They were playing together in the Everfree woods, running through the trails hand in hand when they stumbled on the wild magical portal. Sunset had immediately sensed the Equestrian magic streaming from it and refused to go near it, deathly afraid that if she did the princess would sense her and come to finish her banishment. Aiko had run off as soon as the portal appeared.
“Come on!” she begged her sister. “Don’t be a wuss! We can just pop through for a quick peek then come right back! You promised me you would take me to see Equestria someday! When will we ever get another chance like this!”
“No! You don’t understand! The princess wanted to banish me forever! If I even poke my head through, she will sense me and find me! We can’t go! We just can’t!” cried out her sister in terror. “Why can’t you understand?”
“And why can’t you understand why I want to see your home! I want to see where you came from! Why?” cried Shimmer in frustration.
She dragged her sister towards the portal, pulling her along with her. Just before the portal she stumbled on a root, falling towards and into it. In a panic Sunset tried to grab her and pull her back but missed, only landing one hand on her sister's back as she fell through the portal.
“No!” Sunset screamed as the portal slammed shut once Shimmer had passed through.
In Shimmer's mind as she played through her memories, she did not see her sister trying to pull her back. She only felt her hand pushing her as she passed through with her screamed “No!” in the background. Then she was here in this wretched desert, wandering, looking for any way back, or any signs of life at all.
The only thing that she had expected, though it still felt beyond odd even considering everything else that had just happened, was that she was now a pony. A cute little unicorn pony judging from the horn she could just see at the edge of her vision, jutting from her head just like her sister had always described.
Overcome with exhaustion she collapsed on the sand and hung her head in defeat.
A gentle voice called out to her. “Little lamb,” the voice kindly called. “Get up! Your deliverance is coming. You need to journey a bit further. Take heart, my dear! Know that those who care are near.”
Shimmer looked up and saw a ghost of a beautiful ewe shimmering before her. Her wool was white as freshly fallen snow and sparkled just as beautifully, The ewe’s eyes were shining emeralds of green and filled with kindness.
“Who are you?” Shimmer asked, believing she must be near death to be seeing spirits.
“You may call me Rose. And you, dear one, have captured my heart with your kind soul. Come! Rouse yourself and continue your journey. Follow me and I will show you the way,” urged the ewe, gently nudging Shimmer with her cold nose as she encouraged her up, leading her further into the desolate wilderness.
Taking hope in the ghosts' kindness, Shimmer rose and followed.
Minutes later a wave of magic washed over them, causing Shimmer to stubble in her weakened state. Successive waves of magic revealed before them a walled city. Still stumbling, Shimmer followed the ewe to the city gate.
An old ram glowed in magical power as he looked down over the rampart, watching them approach.
“Well, what have we here?” he laughed. “It appears my old nemesis has come to visit me.”
“I’m sorry sir, but I don’t believe we’ve ever met. I’m nobody's nemesis,” replied Shimmer weakly, looking up at the ram.
Beside her Rose whispered into her ear. “Trust him! He has a kind heart and will care for you. Be his friend and open your heart to him,” she consoled. Turning, Shimmer could no longer see her.
Grogar looked more closely at the weakened unicorn before him. “What’s this?” he said to himself, just realizing she was only a foal, though otherwise an exact match for the unicorn who bested him hundreds of years ago. “What is your name, little one?” he called out kindly.
“Sunset Shimmer sir, though I swear to you we’ve never met. Please help me, sir,” she called out, collapsing on the sand before the gates.
“Open the gates!” commanded the ram, leaping down from the rampart as his bell glowed, easing his descent. He landed next to the filly and gently scooped her up.
“Don’t worry, little one. You are with friends here,” he assured her, carrying her into the city as the gates closed behind them.
Aiko ran up to her sister with the park ranger in tow, only to find Sunset curled up on the ground in tears and their sister completely missing.
“Why? Why? Why?” Sunset cried out repeatedly in anguish as she rocked in place.
Aiko scrambled over to her sister, pulling her into a hug. “Sunset, where is Shimmer!? What happened to the portal?” she asked, holding her sister close as she shook and wept.
“Gone!” she gasped. “She fell through and she’s gone!” Sunset pulled into herself, shaking in distraught tears. Aiko held her sobbing sister tightly as the Ranger got on his radio calling for police backup.
“We have a possible child abduction here,” he reported, swallowing his bile. “Send the unit.”
Following her two rescued students, Celestia shook her head, lost in her own thoughts. “That couldn't have been… could it?” she wondered to herself as they returned to the airship prepared to take them all home.