The element bearers felt a little giddy when they were making their way over to the historical place called Ponehenge. While it was a place that had been long forgotten by modern ponies apart from scholars and princesses, it was nonetheless, a historical place and was rumoured to have been the place the Pillars had their castle.
Well, Twilight found out it was a rumour due to a book she had read that the castle had been located elsewhere but the name of the location had been smudged over as if food of some kind had landed on it.
Ponehenge was also the place Stygian had taken the artefacts and had been kicked out of the Pillars and essentially disowned. No doubt the Pillars will feel a lot of shame and guilt if they manage to bring them back from Limbo.
The element bearers weren’t alone, though, Starswirl the Bearded was also with them. He had been shocked when Twilight had informed him that they knew the truth and that his friends had contacted Applejack through her dreams. They told him that they might know of one way to bring them back and that caused the old wizard to become giddy.
The main six had found the artefacts that the Pillars all used once upon a time, travelling to the far reaches of Equestria to find them which they had all succeeded in.
With all of the artefacts in their hooves, they made their way over to the historical site while chatting lightly about what would happen and what they should do about the threat that they had been warned about. Starswirl hadn’t been remotely surprised about the warning and had gotten that distant look when he heard about it.
“Hey, Starswirl sir, looking forward to seeing your friends again after so long?” Twilight asked and turned to the older stallion who had been lost in his thoughts.
“Yes I am, princess, I haven’t seen them for over a thousand years and now that I have a possibility to see them and hug them, I cannot wait.” He spoke with longing in his voice. “I only hope that we can find Stygian and apologise.”
The others looked at each other and smiled sadly as they saw the look in the old wizard's eyes. But there was one question that the group still had and it had been bugging Rainbow Dash the most.
“Sorry for being rude, but are you sure that you didn’t run into Stygian after you were cursed? I find it hard to believe that you gave up so easily,” she admitted which earned her a smack on the back of her head.
“Rainbow!” Twilight scolded while the others glared at the rainbow-maned pegasus.
“No, it's alright princess, she has a good point. But I must tell you Miss Dash that I never did look for Stygian because I never knew where he went he cursed me and told me he hated my mere existence and longed for the day I would fall before him. He told me that if I ever tried to bring back the Pillars he would go to Limbo just to kill them,” Starswirl explained. This caused them to be horrified and confused.
“Wait, wait, if he told ya that he’d kill yer friends, why are you following us then?” Applejack asked with confusion on her face. The old wizard wasn’t lying from what she could tell.
“Well, I will admit I was hesitant with following but If you're successful in bringing back my friends, I wanted them to have a familiar face to see. I don’t want them to believe I abandoned them or blamed them.” He spoke with a sad voice as he hung his head and stared at the dirty path they were walking on.
They had entered a forest not too long ago with large trees that covered the sky with their green leaves hanging on the branches and the dirty brown wood covered the secrets the forest held. The air was fresh and smelled of roses and grass.
Fluttershy looked uneasy at what Starswirl had spoken before. “Uh, Mr Starswirl? Has… has Stygian ever killed any pony?” Was the fearful question she couldn’t help but ask.
The others turned to the mare in shock. She looked so frightened at the prospect but she was the one who dare ask the question that was hanging over their heads. They turned to Starswil who hadn’t reacted to the question.
“I’m going to be honest with you Miss Shy, I do not know if he has… or will,” was the brutal truth that the wizard gave that didn’t make any of them feel safe.
They stopped talking after that and continued down the path they had been following for the last two hours and from the looks of things it would take a couple of more minutes before they reached the area of their desire.
While making their way to their destination, Starswirl was thinking about his friendship with the other Pillars. He valued them all and didn’t play favourites among them. Or so he had believed. The one Pillars who banded them all together and read about the beasts they faced together was now somewhere in Equestria and was planning something if the warning Rockhoof gave was anything to go by. Starswirl felt uneasy. What was Stygian planning?
Stygian had been such a sweet unicorn that always helped them and read about everything he could about the beasts they fought and even planned strategy. He was a true Pillar, without him, they could have never functioned. When he felt unappreciated he turned cold and distanced himself from them but he didn’t show any malice towards them which meant he didn’t hate them.
Looking back, Starswirl realised it was loneliness that had made Stygian want to show that he could be more than a researcher. But the second they saw their artefacts missing they kicked him to the curb and stripped him of his title as a Pillar. The tears the unicorn had shed when running away hadn’t fazed him back then but a few hours later he would regret it so badly that he had considered using a time-travel spell.
…And then Stygian came. Before they could utter any words he banished the five Pillars while Starswirl had managed to dodge the spell.
Starswirl felt his breathing quickening.
When Stygian noticed that Starswirl had managed to avoid getting sucked in he had laughed and said that there would be a far worse punishment for the wizard. Starswirl hadn’t believed there was anything worse than being sucked into Limbo but there was.
Immortality with no possible way to die.
He also remembered the words very clearly that Stygian had spoken in that… unnatural voice.
“Listen here, Starswirl, If I ever see you again I will uplift the curse and execute you, no questions asked. But if I hear that you try to make the other Pillars come back I will go to Limbo and show you their heads that I’ll mount on my wall as trophies! You better never speak of my existence to any pony unless you want your friends to die, goodbye,”
Starswirl hung his head before looking up and seeing the blue sky with only a couple of small clouds being gently guided by the breeze.
“I wonder where Stygian is at this moment?” Starswirl didn’t realise he had spoken out loud until he saw their gazes land on him with concern.
“Are you okay, darling?” Rarity asked gently making the old wizard chuckle.
“It might sound crazy, but yes and no,” he smiled at them. “I’m happy that I might see my friends once more but I’m also very sad because I have no idea what to do in regards to Stygian. I wonder if he’s looking up at the sky the same as I did?”
They understood what he was saying.
“Oh look, Twilight weird rock formations! Maud would love those!” Pinkie jumped excitedly around.
Twilight turned to what Pinkie was pointing at and felt her eyes widen in glee. They had found Ponehenge! Oh wow, how many ponies believed it was a mere legend from the books and how controversial it was whether it existed or not due to scholars saying it existed. Being a scholar herself, she had always been neutral in that topic but now she would side with the believers.
“Guys, we found ponehenge!” Twilight shouted which caused the others to cheer.
Much to their shock, however, Starswirl began to run towards the historical site which prompted the others to do the same. They couldn’t believe that a pony his age still had such speed, but then again, he would be seeing his friends again who he missed so they couldn’t blame him.
When they arrived at the site they couldn’t help but observe the area. Twilight studied the place from top to bottom trying to find anything that the scrolls mentioned was there. She found a few small clues but not all of them.
“Oh my, this place hasn’t been taken care of in a long time,” Fluttershy spoke while looking at the green vines that circled around most of the stones that still stood in place despite the years wavering them down.
“Well, most ponies forgot about it so it's no surprise that it hasn’t been taken care of,” Twilight replied while pulling out a scroll to read.
“Hm, so this is the place they have been in stasis?” Rarity asked with hesitation while looking around the vines that grew on the stone pillars that were broken. The stone circle around the area they stood had many small stones and multiple cracks.
“Yes, it was here that I would have placed the objects but I realised that there was a possibility that Stygian might use them to corrupt the elements but he still corrupted the seeds without using them, erasing all problems surrounding him. So I hid them in my friends’ places where they lived which you all managed to find.” Starswirl said and pulled out a book and walked towards a stone pillar and placed it there.
“Don’t worry Starswirl, we’ll find him after we save the rest of the Pillars so you guys can go and talk to him,” Twilight reassured which made Starswirl, yet again, gain that distant look in his eyes.
“I’m afraid it is not that simple, but I thank you for the encouragement,” Starswirl smiled sadly at Twilight who smiled back.
“So, shall we place the artefacts on the other stone pillars and watch as they return?” Rainbow Dash asked, holding the shield of Flash Magnus while hovering above Rarity and Applejack.
“Yes, just place them on the stone Pillars and I shall fire a spell that will open up a portal to Limbo. We won’t be sucked in but the remainder of my friends will come. To them, it will either feel like a dream or as if they’re waking up,” Starswirl explained while the others started placing the artefacts in the correct order.
When the artefacts were all placed out, Starswirl took a few steps away before he fired a spell at his book for a few moments which caused the book to flare up in white magic and shot a beam towards one of the artefacts and then another and another until it landed right back at the book. A shining bright light shined for five seconds before the five remaining Pillars who had been stuck inside of Limbo for a thousand years were released from their prison.
They fell to the ground only to be caught by their respective bearer and taken to safety from the flying rocks that had started to hover when the spell had been activated. When the rocks and dust had settled, the Pillars started to stir and slowly open their eyes which hurt at first due to it being the first time seeing sunlight since their banishment.
“Ugh, where are we?” Came the tired voice of Magnus who tried to look around but the sun he hadn’t seen for a millenia hurt his eyes.
Starswirl allowed a few tears to run down his cheek as he saw his friends after so long. He trotted up to Magnus and helped him up.
“You’re in Ponehenge my old friend,” was the old wizards’ reply. The other Pillar's heads turned towards the voice they had prayed for and wished to hear every day. When their eyes adjusted to the sun's unforgiving light, they saw the wizard that fought alongside them.
“Starswirl!” They shouted in happiness and got off the ground to meet their friend and pulled him in a hug. The main six couldn’t help but smile at the scenery before them.
“Oh Starswirl, I have missed you so much!” Meadowbrook cried.
“Yeah, she’s right, I thought that you were you know…” Magnus couldn’t finish his sentence.
“Oh, I never thought I would ever get to see you again!” Starswirl openly cried as he hugged his friends for dear life, as if afraid that it was all a dream and he would wake up soon. Luckily, that wasn’t the case, they truly were there and was no dream.
After they finished their hug, they smiled at one another, even Somnambula had a smile on her face that stretched wider than usual.
“Miss Applejack… lassie… you, you saved us!” Rockhoof said with a large grin on his face as he embraced the apple farmer in a hug followed by the other Pillars and the element bearers.
The farmer was as red as a tomato but embraced them with her hooves. When they released one another, Starswirl turned to the element bearers.
“Thank you, all of you for helping me get my friends back, but there is only one friend who is missing,” he gloomily spoke which caused the others to feel sad. They knew who the wizard was talking about.
“Stygian,” they spoke together. Somnambula’s facial expression was covered by her bangs. Meadowbrook lay a hoof on her shoulder and spoke soothing words into her ear.
“Starswirl, don’t you know where he is?” Magnus asked while hovering slightly above the legendary sorcerer.
“No, the last time I ever heard from him was when he had cursed me but I did hear rumours that a few villages had been… destroyed. Luckily, there weren’t any casualties. But a thousand years is a long time…” Starswirl spoke with hesitation in the end when he saw the look Somnambula was giving him. “But then again, it could have been the Pony Of Shadows doing since it fits him better…”
“Is it possible he’s outside Equestria?” Twilight asked with a tilt of her head.
“It’s possible, I haven’t heard anything from Yakyakistan while living there nor have I heard anything from the Crystal Empire so I do believe that he’s outside Equestria. The Pony Of Shadows on the other hand… I have no idea where to begin,” Starswirl said while tapping his chin with his hoof.
“Well, anypony hungry?” Pinkie Pie asked and pulled out a large tray of sweets from who-knows-where.
They all chuckled at the party pony’s antics.
~~The Kingdom Of Darkness~~
They talked and shared stories while they ate. The Pillars had many laughs when hearing the stories the main six had done and the Pillars—minus Starswirl—were amazed by the changes Equestria had gone through and were both looking forward to seeing the new and improved Equestria while also dreading it because of how long it has been since they disappeared.
After they ate, they began to walk to Ponyville where they could inform the Princesses that the Pillars had safely returned to the lands of Equestria.
While walking, they continued to share their stories and even spoke about their friendship with Stygian.
“I remember he gave me courage when I was too afraid to ask my special somepony for their hoof in marriage,” Rockhoof spoke with a smile on his face while allowing a tear to escape.
“Oh my gosh! You’re engaged?!” Rarity squealed before she stopped herself and felt bad. “Oh, sorry darling you must miss her.”
Rockhoof raised a brow. “What do ya mean lassie?”
“I mean that she’s well you know…” Rarity looked around awkwardly unsure how to finish her sentence. That was when Rockhoof understood and chuckled.
“Ah, Miss Rarity, she’s not gone, she’s with us right now,” Rockhoof explained which caused the group to widen their eyes and stare at the big stallion.
“Really?” They all asked getting very curious.
“I think you’ve teased them enough, sweetie,” Meadowbrook said while giving him a peck on the cheek causing the others to squeal.
“Oh, Meadowbrook I’m so sorry dear I didn’t—” but Meadowbrook put her hoof on the mare's mouth.
“It’s okay, you didn’t know you have nothing to be sorry for.” The Pillar of Healing assured.
“Well, I remember when Stygian and I would go and surf on the waves of the many beaches we came across,” Magnus spoke fondly while smiling at the memories he shared.
“Oh, yeah, you two did that a lot didn’t you?” Starswirl asked while turning his head to face Magnus who nodded.
“Yep, he was better than I was of course but It was always fun to hang out with him,” Magnus said.
“Stygian was so smart and would always give me the advantage in battle positions. He and I could talk spells and strategy all day long,” Starswirl entered the fray with a chuckle. The other Pillars chuckled with him.
“True, I still remember you getting into an argument about how you thought it was a better idea to charge towards that Timberwolf while Stygian believed that we could confuse it and land a sneak attack on it,” Magnus said while snickering. “They argued for three hours!”
They laughed while Starswirl blushed in embarrassment and turned away from them.
“I have no recollection of that,” it made the group laugh harder.
“I remember he would always give me to most exotic flowers he could find whenever he was visiting the flower shop or had travelled somewhere. He and I had many conversations about the different kinds and what they could do,” Mistmane spoke with a smile on her aged face.
“Yeah, he was very good with potions!” Meadowbrook spoke with a little glee in her tone. “I remember he would help me whenever I was stressed. He came and helped me with the different options and never once seemed stressed and always helped me with a smile.”
Somnambula remained silent throughout all the stories being told and debated whether or not she wanted to tell a few of her stories. In the end, she decided to join in.
“I always enjoyed Stygian’s company. He was fun and he always cheered me on whenever I needed help. He gave me hope and he made me laugh. I loved spending time with him… I would do anything to have him within my hooves…” Somnambula tearfully spoke. Meadowbrook comforted the pegasus.
The others became silent and continued on their way to Ponyville.
It was clear to everypony there that despite what Stygian had done, the Pillars still cared for Stygian and saw him as a friend while Somnambula saw the unicorn as something much more. The main six could only pray to Celestia that they could find Stygian and end the Pony Of Shadows.