//------------------------------// // The Return Home // Story: Filmatic Escapades: The Pagemaster // by Toonwriter //------------------------------// “Fiction A to Z, where all is possible.” "The devil of the deep! The white whale!" "Every man is possessed of both good and evil." "The meanest, black-hearted pirate that ever sailed the seven seas..." "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" "And they all lived happily ever after..." Those were the phrases Richard and Twilight remembered hearing as they and their friends spun around in the vortex they had been lifted up to and now held meaning to the boy. After falling from the vortex, Richard, Twilight, Spike, and the rest of their pony friends fell to the bottom of the rotunda with yells. Down and down they fell towards where their unconscious selves lay at the bottom. Their spirits landed smack dab in their bodies, which jolted. As for the ponies who had joined them halfway through the movie, their falls came to a slow as they got closer to the floor and lightly landed on their hooves. Next to them, Adventure, Fantasy, and Horror- now simply ordinary books- hit the marble floor. SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! Then the Equestrians' eyes opened wide. They were stargazing up at the portal, which disappeared and was replaced by the mural from earlier, looking as if it had never melted. The last thing to fall from the former portal now mural was Richard's library card, which landed beside his body. Turning to the unconscious boy, ponies, and dragons, the conscious ponies approached their friends. Starlight lightly shook Twilight and Spike. "Hey, you guys okay?" She asked with a smile. The purple alicorn and dragon moaned as they slowly regained consciousness. "Applejack. Wake up." Apple Bloom spoke softly, gently nudging her older sister. "Rarity?" Sweetie said, gently shaking her own sister. "Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo said as she gently nudged her sister-like figure. The ponies the CMC respectively spoke to start waking up. Richard himself slowly woke up as the others followed suit. The first thing he noticed was the reformed mural at the top of the rotunda. His gaze was fixed on the painted image of the Pagemaster. All of a sudden, a familiar voice called out to him and the others. "You and your friends took quite a spill, young man." "Huh?" Richard asked in confusion, trying to think more clearly. Before the boy knew it, Mr. Dewey stepped into his line of sight, leaning over him and blocking the Pagemaster's image. "Are you all right?" The old librarian asked him, just as Twilight and the others got up on their feet and hooves. "Yeah, we're okay, Mr. Dewey," Twilight replied. Richard slowly climbed to his feet and looked around. Above the stacks and rows of bookshelves, he saw the exit sign, looking as though it had always been there. Without hesitation, thinking, or saying a word, the boy began running toward it. "Careful, you'll slip again!" Mr. Dewey called after him. At hearing those words, Richard skidded to a full stop as if he had remembered something. He whirled back around and rushed into the middle of the rotunda where the elderly man began collecting the three books from the floor. Seeing this, Twilight spoke up, "Hey, wait a minute!" "Wait!" Richard also exclaimed, just stopping before Mr. Dewey to kneel down and pick up his library card, "I forgot something. Here." The librarian examined the card with interest before he turned to Richard and said, "I'm afraid you can only check out two." At that, he began to remove Horror from the top of the stack. "Horror?" Richard asked, looking disheartened. This left the ponies and dragons looking shocked and saddened. Twilight stepped forward. "Wait! I'll check him out!" She offered, holding up her own library card. Richard shook his head, "No, Twilight. I promised him I would." Hearing this, Mr. Dewey cast the boy a curious look. "Promised whom?" Richard turned to Twilight, not sure what to say next. The lilac alicorn gave him a reassuring smile and nodded as if telling him to go on. Nodding back at her, albeit with an unsure look, the blond boy turned back to the elder librarian as he sighed and spoke. "Look, I need..." He began, not sure how to explain that he promised a book he'd check him out, "... just this once?" "Please, Mr. Dew-?" Spike pleaded, standing next to Richard and Twilight. Mr. Dewey raised a silencing hand. "Shh. I have a talent for guessing what people need." He glanced around to make sure that no one, save for Twilight and Spike's friends and family, was around to witness what was going on. He then placed Horror back in Richard's arms. "Just this once." "Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Dewey." Nyx said with a warm, thankful smile. “My pleasure, Nyx.” Mr. Dewey replied to the black Alicorn foal. Richard smiled to Mr. Dewey and turned again to rush off, holding Adventure, Horror, and Fantasy in his arms tightly. Feeling as though their own work was done, Twilight, Spike, and the others rushed off after the blond boy down the aisle and toward the exit. “Godspeed to you all!” Being the last one down the aisle, Twilight stopped briefly and turned back towards Mr. Dewey, who stood alone in the rotunda. She only glanced in his direction, remembering how the Pagemaster had said those exact words to her, Richard, and the others before sending them back to the library in the real world. Mr. Dewey only smiled back and winked at her, as if he knew exactly what the lilac Alicorn was thinking. Twilight then smiled and nodded in gratitude before turning back to join her friends. ---------------------------- The rain-washed streets glimmered with the orange light of the setting sun. The storm had passed. Richard rode his bike with confidence down the tree-lined street. The three books were nestled comfortably in the bicycle basket. The ponies and dragons trotted/flew alongside the boy, some of them chattering about the unbelievable adventure they had gone on. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were riding on the backs of their respective sisters (sister figure for Scootaloo) while Toola and Coconut rode on Starlight and Trixie's backs. "Oh, man, that was the coolest adventure we've ever had back at that library!" Rainbow exclaimed excitedly. “It was pretty scary at times,” Fluttershy replied sheepishly, “but most of it was beautiful.” "Just wait till Grandma Celestia hears all about it!" Nyx grinned. "And Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, too!" Apple Bloom added in excitement. "Not to mention Sunburst and the students at the School of Friendship!" Trixie added. As they chatted on, the group turned a corner before they noticed Richard had stopped. When they looked ahead, Twilight, Ben, Rarity, Starlight, and Trixie quickly cast spells on themselves and the group minus Richard, making it seem as if only Richard sees and hears them and not anyone else. Just ahead was a makeshift ramp made from a large wooden board propped up on a concrete cylinder. The reason the alicorn, her coltfriend, and her unicorn friends had this necessary spell was because of the group of children on bikes surrounding the ramp. "Hey, look who came back!" One of the kids called upon noticing Richard. "Hey, Tyler, ya gonna chicken out again?" Another asked tauntingly. Rainbow looked offended on Richard’s behalf. “Nobody calls one of my friends a chicken!” "Yeah, no one!" Scootaloo agreed. Richard, however, didn’t seem too phased by the other kids’ taunts. Compared to what he and his friends went through in their journeys through the lands of Horror, Adventure, and Fantasy, their jeers were nothing but words. The boy barely noticed Twilight as she trotted up next to him. “You got this, Richard. Show them what you’re made of.” She spoke encouragingly. "Yeah, don't listen to those punks." Ben agreed. "Go on, Richard!" Nyx encouraged the boy. "Yeah, show 'em!" Spike agreed eagerly. Richard gripped the handlebars of his bike, looking determined. His heart pumped fast but sure as he pedaled towards the ramp. The more he pedaled, the faster he was going. The bike picked up speed. Faster and faster it went, faster than it had ever gone before. The other kids scrambled to get out of his way. Richard hit the ramp at full speed. The bike lifted into the air, higher than any of the kids in the area had ever gone. The other kids watched in awe as it landed solidly on the wet asphalt. "YES!!!" Richard cheered right after landing. “Woo-hoo, Richard! Way to go!” Applejack cheered as they rejoined their human friend. "Yeah, that stunt back there was so awesome!" Rainbow squealed. "Best. Biking. EVER!" Scootaloo cheered. "Yeah, you rock!" Sweetie remarked with a grin. Richard looked back briefly to see the other kids’ priceless expressions before turning his attention back to the road ahead of him. He had the biggest smile on his face as he and his Equestrian and draconian friends kept going on their way. “Good! That was definitely good!” The boy exclaimed with exhilaration. As the group continued down the street, the street lights turned on, illuminating the soon-to-be dark neighborhood. Eventually, they stopped at Richard's home as the boy got off his bike and laid it down on the ground. Fluttershy noticed the house, “Wow, Richard. This house looks really nice.” "I agree. Lovely place." Rarity agreed. "Hey, that's a really cool treehouse!" Apple Bloom exclaimed with a smile upon seeing the treehouse. Richard looked up at the treehouse, remembering how his dad had tried getting him to climb up into it and how he insisted it was safe despite the blond boy telling him there was a chance of an accident happening with it. He then smiled, “Yeah. I guess it is. Even though it’s not quite done yet.” "And your dad accidentally fell from up there? Yeesh!" Phobos remarked with a cringe. “Well, um… it was kind of my fault, really.” Richard replied, looking ashamed. "Your fault? What do you mean?" Twilight asked in concern. “Remember when I said he sent me to get nails from the hardware store?” "Yeah. Why?" Rainbow asked. “Well, he asked me to bring a bag of nails up to him, but I was too nervous to go up the ladder. So he asked me to lift it up to him in a bucket attached to a string. I got distracted and I, well, accidentally dropped the bucket on his head, causing him to fall from the treehouse.” "Oooh!" The Equestrians exclaimed as they cringed at the sound of that. "Well, since you faced your fears and all in that epic adventure we had back at the library, I bet you want to climb that treehouse now, right?" Pinkie asked happily. Richard took another long look at the treehouse. As he did, he realized that given the adventure he went on and the fears he faced, almost everything he considered dangerous in real life seemed like nothing worth being afraid of. The blond boy then smiled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” He replied. "Attaboy, Richard!" Rainbow praised the boy with a grin. "We're so proud of you," Twilight said happily as she put a hoof on Richard's shoulder. “Thanks, Twilight.” He replied. "You know, I was wondering." Spike said as a thought came up to him just now, "Since we pretty much finished our adventure here, and Richard is back home, how do we get back home?" Twilight looked confused as she scratched her head. “Well, um… to be honest? I’m not sure.” "That's a very good question, Spike," Applejack remarked. At that moment, Nyx sensed something that caused her to look in a direction with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, what's that?" The black alicorn foal asked in curiosity. The others turned to what Nyx was looking at as Sweetie asked in confusion, "Huh? What's what?" Then what they saw got them all curious. There was a glowing circle that slowly expanded until it revealed itself to be a silver magic portal. “Is that…?” Spike began to wonder aloud. "A portal?" Phobos finished in curiosity. At first, everyone was curious, until Rainbow remarked in an excited tone, "That's our answer to how we can get home!" ““Get home?” What do you mean?” Richard asked, feeling very confused. Twilight turned to Richard as she decided that the time had come to tell the truth. "Richard, me and my friends are from another world called Equestria." She said. Richard would have looked shocked by this, but he had already been used to the fact that his new friends weren’t human. Especially given how he spent hours exploring an enchanted library to get home with them. “This Equestria… is it inhabited by ponies and dragons like you guys?” "Precisely." Twilight nodded in reply, "In fact, it also has other creatures that inhabit it; Yaks, hippogriffs, griffons, changelings, Kirin, Breezies, zebras- almost all kinds of equines you can think of." “Wow…” Richard managed to say, looking amazed. "But you can't tell anyone, not even your parents," Ben said. "The only ones you can tell, though, are Horror, Adventure, and Fantasy." Starlight said with a wink while pointing to the three books in Richard's basket. Richard thought it over, then nodded in agreement. "I won't tell anyone. They might think I'm crazy." "Thank you so much, Richard," Twilight said with a grateful smile. She hugged the boy as she said, "You're a real true friend." The rest of the Equestrians joined in hugging Richard, who smiled warmly as he hugged them all back. "I'm really gonna miss you guys." The boy commented out loud. “We’ll miss ya too, Rich,” Applejack replied sweetly. "You all won't forget me, will you?" Richard asked. “As long as you won’t forget us,” Twilight replied, hugging Richard once more. "Yeah, maybe we'll meet again someday," Nyx said with a smile. "When the co-authors get to that bridge, no doubt we will!" Pinkie said with a grin. Everyone else looked at Pinkie in confusion at this before Rainbow remarked, "Pinkie, you are so random." "Well, everypony, I guess it's time to go," Ben said. After having said their goodbyes, the ponies and dragons made their way through the portal. Once all of them were through, the portal disappeared. Richard immediately went inside the house and came back out minutes later with a lantern before gathering up Adventure, Horror, and Fantasy and climbing up the ladder into his treehouse. ---------------------------- The silver portal opened again as Twilight and her friends stepped out and onto the stage in front of the big movie screen. They have returned to the Grand Palace Cinema in Hope Hollow and Equestria. "Well done, my little ponies." The group looked to see Bethesda standing before them, smiling proudly. “Hey, Bethesda! You’re a sight for sore eyes!” Pinkie greeted cheerfully. Bethesda chuckled at the pink pony's statement as he said, "I'll take that as a compliment." "It's great to see you again, Bethesda!" Twilight said happily. "Likewise, Twilight." Bethesda nodded in agreement, "So, how did you and your friends like being in the movie, so to speak?" “Well-.” The lilac Alicorn began, but Pinkie cut in. “It was so amazing! We went up against a crazy doctor, a giant whale, a gang of pirates, and even a ferocious dragon! And we met a ton of cool characters!” The party pony exclaimed really fast and excitedly. "Yeah, it was awesome!" Rainbow agreed, sharing Pinkie's excitement. “Some of it was very scary…” Fluttershy admitted sheepishly, but then smiled, “But most of it was beautiful.” "And we even became friends with Richard Tyler who found the courage to face his own fears!" Applejack added honestly with a smile. "Splendid!" Bethesda exclaimed, "I knew you would enjoy the Grand Palace Cinema." "Man, I wouldn't mind doing it again, now that I know what this experience is like!" Spike remarked excitedly. "Me too!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Nyx, Phobos, Toola Roola, and Coconut Cream all said at the same time, sharing Spike's excitement. "I quite agree!" Rarity nodded with a smile, "But I think we better head for home, 'cause I got some work to do on making new outfits." "Awww, but don't you wanna see how the movie ends?" Bethesda suggested a bit playfully, winking at the Equestrians who had their first movie adventure. Starlight smiled, “Now that you mention it, I would like to.” "Trixie would love to see it, too!" Trixie said eagerly. "Ya know what? I wanna see how it ends, too!" Applejack said with a grin. "Can we, Twilight?!" Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow, Spike, Nyx, Phobos, the CMCs, Toola Roola, and Coconut Cream all asked in excitement and unison. Twilight smiled and giggled. “I don’t see why not. After all, it’s like they say, “It’s not over until the fat lady sings.”” "Wonderful! Now, let's watch the show and see what happens." Bethesda said happily. With that, the ponies, Spike and Phobos turned their attention back to the screen as they took their seats. On the screen, it was now nighttime at Richard’s house as a car pulled into the driveway. "I can't imagine where he could be. Maybe we should call the police." A woman's voice said in worry. At that, a car pulled into the driveway. In the driver’s seat was a man in his mid to late thirties with light blond hair while a woman around his age sat in the passenger seat. Her hair was shoulder-length and brown. Twilight and her friends knew off the bat these two must have been Richard’s parents. Just then, the woman spotted the bike in the driveway and gasped. “Alan!” She exclaimed, getting out of the car as soon as her husband stopped the car and turned it off, “He’s home!” As she got around the car, Richard's mother looked down at the bike before she looked up to see something that made her look shocked. Just as Richard's father, Alan, closed the door while looking down at his son's bike in confusion, the woman's shocked expression turned to a delighted grin as she said aloud, "Alan." "What's wrong, Claire?" Alan asked. He noticed his wife, Claire, looking up at the treehouse. Following her gaze, he noticed a certain boy up inside the treehouse sleeping. A warm yellow light glowed from within the walls. "That's impossible." He muttered. Deciding to take a closer look, Alan went to the ladder of the treehouse and began to climb. Upon reaching the top, he opened up the door at the top. "Rich?" He inquired, but his presence didn't so much as cause the boy to stir. Even so, he was in disbelief that Richard, a boy who was supposed to be usually fearful about heights and almost other stuff, had actually climbed up the treehouse, and he didn't know it until now. But there was Richard, asleep in the treehouse as the lantern cast a yellow glow over him and the three books nestled under his arm. Not even ten seconds later, Claire climbed up the ladder and saw Richard asleep and smiled at her husband. She then picked up Richard's glasses, which were lying by his face. "We probably should put him in his bed." She suggested to her husband. "Let's let him sleep up here tonight," Alan said. Claire chuckled and climbed back down the ladder, leaving Alan alone. The latter smiled and laid his jacket over Richard and kissed him on the head. "Love ya, Richie." He spoke as he turned off the lantern before climbing down himself. Richard's parents then headed inside the house through the back door. Before he followed Claire in through the door, Alan turned to look up at Richard one more time. "Good night, son." He said before heading inside and turning off the lights. Just when Twilight and her friends thought the ending couldn't be any happier, something stirred in the darkness of the treehouse--the sound of pages rustling. "It's dark out here." A familiar voice spoke up timidly, surprising Twilight's group, "I wish there was a nightlight." "Honey, wish granted." Another familiar voice replied. As if by magic, the lantern once again became illuminated. The first voice gasped in delight at what just happened. Then it laughed giddily as he exclaimed happily, "Oh, hooray! Hooray, hooray!" Much to the Equestrians' surprise, the shadows of three familiar books were cast on the wall of Richard's treehouse. "It's Horror, Adventure, and Fantasy!" Nyx exclaimed softly. "As shadows!" Phobos added also softly. Adventure took a deep breath and exhaled, a grin on his face. "Breathe it in, mateys." He spoke proudly, raising his cutlass, "This be the land of Adventure. Ye can lay to that." Then, as the pirate book sheathes his sword, Horror began to cry, much to the concern of the other two books and the Equestrians. "Come here, handsome. Why you cryin'?" Fantasy asked gently. "Because I have friends." Horror replied with a sniffle. Hearing the hunchbook's teary statement put warm smiles on Twilight and her friends' faces as they watched the film with Bethesda. Adventure chuckled, "That ye do, matey. Aye, that ye do." He then cleared his throat before speaking again. "You know what would make this a happy ending? A kiss." The screen faded to black as Horror's voice was heard saying, "Duh, o-okay." Horror said. Then Twilight's group all widened their eyes and, except for Rainbow who grinned widely and looked like she was about to laugh, dropped their jaws in shock as they heard what sounded like Horror giving a big kiss. "Grrr! I meant from her!" Adventure's voice shouted, and after that was the sound of him spitting in frustration and Horror and Fantasy laughing hysterically. The Equestrians watching the film, including Bethesda, couldn't resist joining the laughter. Rainbow did her best to regain her composure. "Guess he got what he asked for." She said between snickers. "You said it." Applejack agreed with a laugh as she wiped away a tear. "Oh my!" Fluttershy laughed, going into giggles. "I got the giggles!" As soon as he relaxed, Bethesda said to the group, "Now, my little ponies, the movie has ended." "Mr. Bethesda, thank you for an amazing experience." Twilight praised with a smile. "You're quite welcome, Twilight," Bethesda said with a bow. "That was a great movie!" Scootaloo exclaimed happily. "Ah agree!" Apple Bloom said with a smile. "Me too!" Sweetie agreed excitedly, "Being on an adventure through the Pagemaster movie and helping Richard face his fears was so much fun!" Upon hearing the white foal speak the last word in a squeal, Bethesda gave a chuckle as he remarked, "Until now, I never realized how you have such an adorable voice, Sweetie Belle." "Whoa, careful now." Apple Bloom teased. "She is done too young fer ya." "Relax, it was a compliment," Bethesda explained to Apple Bloom with an amused smile, knowing she was teasing. Sweetie giggled as she blushed from the dark blue unicorn's compliment. "Ah don't understand the Pagemaster's poor box office performance in real life, or those critics giving the movie negative reviews." Applejack commented, "Ah thought it was great!" "Right, it's like liking a film no one else likes," Nyx explains in concern. She added quickly, "Not saying that the author of this story likes everything his friends like!" Twilight turned to Applejack, "Still, your statement about the Pagemaster just now- what brought that on?" "Oh, just somethin' ah thought of," Applejack remarked. "Ahh, you must be referring to the reception of the Pagemaster seen on the net." Bethesda said as he held up a cell phone of his own, "Even I don't care what those negative reviews or critics say about the Pagemaster. Because like I said, there are no bad movies in my theater." "That's good to know," Applejack confirmed with a nod. "And Spike, regarding yours and the other kids' statement before." Bethesda said as he put his cell phone away, "Since all of you now know what the experience is like, you all shall indeed visit the Grand Palace Cinema again." Then the theater owner gave a wink as he said, "But that's another movie." "Really?" Spike asked, looking excited. "Of course." Bethesda replied happily with a nod, "You and your friends deserve more excitement and more adventures." "That would be so cool!" Pinkie spoke eagerly. "Yeah!" The foals agree in unison. "Mom, Dad, and Aunt Luna would never believe this!" Ben remarked excitedly. "Oh, they will learn about this theater soon enough, Ben Valorheart." Bethesda said, "Just wait and see. Until then, my little ponies, you're all now free to return home." "Goodbye, Bethesda. And thanks again!" Twilight spoke as she made her way to the door. "Farewell, Princess Twilight Sparkle." Bethesda said as the purple alicorn and her group left the theater, "See you next time." As soon as Twilight's group left and the doors closed, the dark blue unicorn remarked out loud, "This is only the beginning." ---------------------------- Meanwhile, in Canterlot, a statue stood in the garden. It displayed a former changeling queen, a scrawny centaur, and a pegasus foal. All three of them looked to be frozen in poses of terror and defiance. Of course, due to the events of the Knights of Harmony attacking Equestria some time ago, the statue was beginning to crack, showing only a dark green eye with an elongated oval pupil, and a twitching black leg full of holes. Curiously, the statue doesn't seem to be cracking any further, as if what the Knights of Harmony did wasn't enough to break them free. Just then, a red flash of light appeared a few feet close to the statue as Chrysalis's eye looked towards it in confusion and curiosity. At that moment, one of the royal Canterlot guards was walking along, inspecting the area, when he just noticed the glow. "What in the name of Equestria?!" The guard exclaimed in shock, his eyes widened. Walking into view were nine humanoid figures. The guard witnessing this nervously looked on as he attempted to hide from view, not sure what they wanted. "Why do we have to go to this disgustingly adorable world?" One of the figures asked rudely. "Yeah, and what do we need a stone statue for anyway?" Another figure asked. "This world we're in is full of magic." The figure leading the group explained in a demonic-sounding voice, "And this is no ordinary statue." From his hiding spot, the guard made out the details of the figures as best as he could. The leader was mostly red, save for his chrome crown and mask. Flanking him was what looked like a witch who carried an odd staff. And looking at the figure that asked about the stone statue, the guard also saw that it was a half-white, half-camouflage-color skeleton of some sort. "That's the ugliest-looking statue I've ever seen!" remarked a short, blue-skinned hobgoblin-like creature with a large horn. “I say we smash it. It’s a real eyesore!” Suggested the winged lion-like creature wearing gold armor. "Eyesore is right! It's so ugly, it's hurting my eyes!" A comment came from what looked like a tall, slim, black, and vampiric creature that resembles a cross between a monkey and a bat with crippled wings. He wore a monocle over his left eye and what appears to be a pocket watch on his chest. "If I had a mace, I'd be sure to give it a whacking!" An armored pig remarked snidely. "Hmm... Judging from the looks of this statue, it appears to be of three unique looking creatures," The white bird-like leprechaun creature said in intrigue upon inspecting the statue. "And it appears to be cracking, like something inside is trying to come out." Suddenly, the guard who was hiding looked determined and made his presence known as he hopped from his hiding spot. He glared at the newcomers as he held his spear at the ready. “Halt! Who are you and what do you want?!” The guard spoke. "Don't mind us." The red figure said evilly, "We just want to take a look at this statue. In fact, you look like you've been working all night. I think it's time for you to take a rest!" As he said that, he pointed his metallic staff with the "Z" on the tip, and the guard with his spear at the ready was zapped by electricity. He screamed from the shock, but then, he fell to the ground and dropped his spear, passing out. Chrysalis's free eye on the statue widened in shock and amazement at seeing this. “I could do that. I just choose not to.” The pig commented. "Oh, shut up!" The female dressed like a scorpion snapped in annoyance. On taking a closer look at the statue, Rita sees the cracked statue of Chrysalis and the centaur. "Ahh, perhaps you were right about this statue after all." The witch carrying the weird staff said, "I'm sensing powerful dark magic from it." "Good, you see my point." The red figure approved the witch's remark, "These three creatures will be very useful to us. And now, let's crack this statue and free its prisoners!" "With pleasure!" The witch agreed as she and the red leader held up their staffs and shot magic at the statue, causing it to start cracking even more. Chrysalis's freed leg started twitching even more. This time, shaking a little harder as the cracks spread. In fact, the statues of Cozy Glow and Tirek began cracking as well. A pale red hand was seen as soon as it broke free and clenched into a fist. Next, the foal's pegasus wings started fluttering once they were loose. Soon, the three villains' eyes began moving around in all directions, but it was too dark and blurry to make out their surroundings. As the stone flakes chipped off of their mouths, they started breathing again while discovering that they could move their whole bodies, including their faces. All the stone flakes finally fell off in thin chunks. Chrysalis and Tirek fell to the ground, while Cozy plopped on top of the large round pedestal that was magically formed underneath them when they were cursed. They groaned and slowly began to stand up and shake off some of the remaining flakes. They looked around to see it was night. They were in what appeared to be the Canterlot statue garden with Canterlot City in view, on the edge of the mountain. “What just happened?” Cozy asked in confusion. “Were we just turned to stone?” Tirek asked as he stood on his four horse legs and began flailing his arms around, shaking off the flakes. “Those fools! How long were we out?!” Chrysalis shouted as she stomped on the ground in anger. "You three have been out for nine months." The witch explained, getting Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy's attention. “Who in Equestria are you?” The centaur inquired, eyeing the group suspiciously. The red leader stepped forward as he replied, "I am Lord Zedd, sworn enemy of all that is good and decent, Emperor of all I see." The witch stood next to the red leader, Lord Zedd, as she spoke. "And I am Rita Repulsa, Empress of evil. We have been looking for the three of you." "Looking for us?" Cozy Glow asked in confusion, a bit intimidated by Lord Zedd's appearance, "What do you mean?" "We learned a lot about the three of you of the different times when you tried to take over this world," Rita explained. "And we see lots of potential in you." Lord Zedd added, "Your powers, your manipulation, your cruelty- they are all so incredible, we would love to have you join us." "Flattery will get you nowhere." Chrysalis said as she raised an eyebrow, "What's in it for us?" "If you pledge your loyalty to us, we can conquer not only your world but countless others as well!" Rita exclaimed. Tirek looked intrigued, “We’re listening.” "You help us destroy our enemies, we will help you destroy yours." Lord Zedd spoke. "We'd love to consider that, really, but there's one teeny-weeny problem." Cozy said out loud, "We're powerless." "Indeed." Chrysalis agreed with a frown, "You wouldn't want three useless Equestrian creatures that have no powers." "No powers?" Lord Zedd asked, "I believe we can fix that. Can't we, Rita?" "Precisely!" Rita nodded in reply with a grin. "You can what??" Tirek asked in confusion and surprise, but then, he, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow were zapped by the same magic from Zedd and Rita's staves. Then, the three Equestrian villains, surprised by what's happening to them, found themselves levitating before they started glowing. After a bright flash that caused Lord Zedd and Rita's minions to cover their eyes briefly, Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy levitated back on the ground. Then they looked at themselves. To their shock, they saw that Tirek and Chrysalis now look exactly the same as when they unlocked the power of the Bewitching Bell, while Cozy was not only an alicorn foal but also wearing the same collar she wore when she tried to destroy the School of Friendship. Except that instead of the pendant of the shield of the School, on the front of the collar was a pendant whose design was the same as the tip of Rita's wand. After a moment, their shock turned to wicked delight. “We’re back in business!” Chrysalis exclaimed, grinning psychotically. "YIPPEE! I'm an alicorn again!" Cozy cheered excitedly as she did a loop-de-loop. "I feel young and strong again!" Tirek shouted with a confident grin as he flexed his muscles. "Are you satisfied now?" Rita asked with a wicked smile. "Oh, we are definitely satisfied!" Chrysalis responded gleefully. "Now, about my proposal." Lord Zedd said, "Are you in or are you out?" Tirek bowed before the red demon as he said, "Because you gave me what I desire, I, Lord Tirek, am at your service, Lord Zedd." “I bow to no one, but for you, I’ll make an exception,” Chrysalis added, bowing before the demon. "As long as I have power again, I'll do anything for you, Lord Zedd," Cozy said as she bowed before the evil monster. "Excellent!" Lord Zedd said evilly, "Together, we will conquer our world, yours, and many others and our enemies will have no choice but to surrender to us or be destroyed! Nothing can stop us now!!!!" Then the red demon began laughing evilly, along with Rita. Their minions joined in the evil laughter, while at the same time, Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow joined in as well. This is the beginning of a new and dangerous threat to Equestria... THE END?