Whenever you would think of the land of Equestria, you’d think of rainbows and sunshines with Ponies, Hippogriffs, Yaks, Dragons, Changelings, and Yaks living together in peace. With the accomplishments of Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends in the Magic of Friendship, their world was in harmony and peace settled for many years ever since Twilight ascended to the throne after they and everybody else by their side finished off Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow.
That, unfortunately, was no longer the case because with the real Grogar’s complete takeover following his return and after usurping Twilight from the throne, Equestria and its neighboring kingdoms have all gone into an unbearable state of panic, paranoia, and fear. The former Princess of Friendship was forced to flee by everyone she knew and loved for her own safety with Spike tagging along to protect her and keep her company because of her own mistake and as a result, everyone paid the price for it dearly.
Grogar had occupied Canterlot Castle for himself after his plan succeeded and he reworked it into Tirek’s old abode of darkness that had fallen generations ago when the centaur was first thwarted, Midnight Castle.
To ensure that everyone around the world knew his reign was back in full swing and that Gusty was no longer here to help save them, he made a point that going against him and his forces would mean death and destruction by taking a few creatures from each land and killing them. And, that was on top of putting them through the much worse fates of enslavement and torture in an ever-growing pursuit of extracting his vengeance on not just the ponies but their fellow creatures from the other kingdoms. What was worse, there were donkey patrols set up at any and all times to keep an eye on the denizens as they went about their lives. It wasn’t as bad as some may think but it was worse since the donkeys would have their eyes on them at all times, watching them like hawks and being ready to contact Grogar on any and all transgressions they would pull since they have connections with him.
Friendship no longer was cherished as it once was after Twilight’s short 3-year rule since she took over; now, what’s more important to everyone is their survival no matter what they have to do to achieve it. It seemed that with what they’ve done prior to Twilight becoming the Supreme Ruler and with their previous actions in dividing Equestria’s ponies before the Student Six managed to bring everybody together again, Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis did indeed have the last laugh.
But, despite the hopelessness of the current situation, there are still some Hippogriffs, Griffons, Ponies, Yaks, Dragons, and Changelings left that have managed to escape the bloodshed and torturous regimes everybody was being put under. Those survivors, who were all forced to fight their way out of Canterlot and Equestria, managed to scatter to any other surviving nations from the north, south, east, and west that have not yet fallen under the Tambelon Necromancer’s iron fist rule.
Ever since Grogar completed his takeover of Equestria and began making his name again but in a much darker and terrifying light, the survivors have since got together to work out and execute a series of rebellions against the tyrannical ram and his forces. Before the donkey patrols were initiated, the survivors had worked out and developed a series of underground tunnels and labyrinths for them to get around Equestria and stretch out to Seaquestria/Hippogriffia and the Badlands in the south and and Yakyakistan (being the only three regions left in Equestria that have not yet fallen under Grogar’s tyranny) with the fall of Griffinstone, the Dragon Lands, and Equestria itself.
Amongst the survivors that were leading the charge were two bands of creatures along with two large platoons of soldiers from a faraway kingdom visiting on a supposedly diplomatic trip to Equestria for an international peace meeting but, in reality, were sent by their own superiors of a particular government or their people’s own king and queen/princesses and/or prince(s) to help stop Grogar before he could conquer the rest of the world in his hot pursuit for revenge.
They were comprised of eight creatures – five coming from the northern half of their kingdom (featuring a Unicorn, Pegasus, Kirin, Yak, and Griffon) and three from the southern half (consisting of an earth pony, a Hippogriff, and a Changeling). They and their platoons were all battle—hardened warriors specializing in Shaolin Kung Fu and had been training throughout much of their lives in a monastery they all came from on the southern half of their home kingdom. When the threat of Grogar was heard throughout the world and became too much for everybody in every corner to bear and ignore, many groups of resistance fighters from the wayward kingdom have been gathered and some had been sent to Equestria to deal with him and his forces until help from the heroes’ side can be found and they didn’t care who as long as they would be willing to join them and fight instead of hiding away in fear (that is, if they show themselves to be trustworthy to them in their cause to stop Grogar and end his tyranny).
The rebellions were long and tense as resistance fighters from the heroes’ side put up as much of a fight from time to time across the kingdom throughout the past eight years since Twilight and Spike were forced into hiding. Some of the fights were lost but a majority of them had the rebels put up quite a front and defense for whoever’s left to do what is right and save their home.
It was on one particular day for the rebels that they were developing a new plan and any surviving leaders of the captured/soon-to-be-captured nations that joined the resistance were having a meeting with them. While those leaders were glad for the help, they were apprehensive and scared by how they find themselves ready to die at any point without fear and to go out all the way in their fighting, even if it meant finding and taking down any traitors who would align themselves with Grogar just to save themselves.
The leaders that were able to escape from Grogar and his minions three years ago but just barely with their lives intact were Queen Novo, Princess Skystar, and General Seaspray of Hippogriffia, Griffonstone’s Gilda, Equestria’s former Moon Princess, Luna, along with the Crystal Empire’s Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor (along with their only daughter, Flurry Heart), and the Badlands’ Changeling King Thorax and his brother, Pharnyx. The others once with them were captured in giving them a chance to run from the monster that threatened to end the world during the onslaught with no hope of making it out alive while a couple of.
It was them whom kept the remaining hope alive for everyone else in the resistance.
“You’re all here. Good,” acknowledged the first and the brains of the five northern rebel leaders, a vigilant Kirin named Flying Blade.
“You took your time getting here, really,” remarked the tallest and blunt yet caring Griffon leader, Cross Fist, giving them a disappointed and expectant look. “I was starting to think you would bail out on us when you had the chance to save your own skins.”
“Forgive us, Cross,” pacified Cadence as she and her leaders faction came over, wary about the leaders. “We were still trying to plan out our part in helping out with the war.”
“And, we figured you succeeded and have something in mind?” Long Staff, the Unicorn leader and eldest of the northern rebel leaders, quizzed.
“Not surprised, given how he took all of us for fools.” Queen Novo scoffed.
“Do I dare to ask what today’s complaint from you, given our current situation for the past two years, is, Novo?” Cross snorted in disgust at the Hippogriff queen.
“The same as always and you know it!”
“Yet, you of all creatures also didn’t catch on to the threat that he possessed when he walked through those doors and made his invasion known,” snorted Rolling Kick, the witty, sometimes soft-spoken (unless needed), and second youngest northern rebel Pegasus leader, irking Queen Novo as she flustered.
“Of all the-UGH, you don’t know a thing! Unlike you ruffians, since you don’t give two flying feathers about your own fellow creatures, I was actually doing what I felt was right to protect my subjects and my own daughter! You’d just let them rush to their deaths even if it’s for the greater good, I had to look after my own first before others!”
“You-!” snarled Cross Fist at Novo before Flying Blade pacified him and an equally angered Rolling Kick gently and glared back at her.
“Cut it out. Don’t forget your place nor should you underestimate him so easily as you all once did, Queen Novo. Everybody around the world had no idea that Grogar would return after all this time, his power seemed to have recovered when Gusty’s seal started to break. Your subjects aren’t the only ones who suffered,” retorted Flying Blade, not taking kindly to Novo’s attitude towards them.
“I concur, it isn’t your place to throw accusations on others without having some sort of proof on you and doing something that actually warrants a reason to not trust those who are willing to do what they must for the sake of their own people and homes,” replied another voice as the source revealed itself to be the first and eldest of the three southern rebel leaders, Tiger Claw (Changeling), as he and his fellow masters joined everyone in the makeshift briefing room.
“And, if you think we’re just a bunch of thugs who don’t give a damn about helping others, you got another thing coming,” agreed an indignant Stork Beak (Hippogriff).
“Novo, please control yourself! This is what got Twilight into this mess and we’ve not heard from her ever since after Grogar broke her and after he ambushed us with no trouble,” Cadence attempted to pacify as well, not liking her fellow royal making enemies with their last hope. “The last thing we want is for this alliance between all of us and these fine warriors their homeland sent to help us break. I’ve heard they’re amongst the best they could send for us since they’re martial arts masters of Shaolin Temple.”
Novo sighed regretfully as she took a deep breath and composed herself, “You’re right, I apologize…… I deeply overstepped and I wasn’t being fair to you all, forgive me.”
“That’s fine, we all know how you feel and this war has put us through the gutter for a long time,” the Yak leader, Long Pole, sympathized. “But, we can’t afford to waste time on petty arguments knowing that Grogar and his forces are still out there.”
“And, we still have no idea how to get Twily to realize that there was nothing she could’ve done to realize that Grogar had returned and we were all caught off guard,” Shining Armor sighed sadly, remembering his little sister and how broken she must be.
“I don’t know if she could help us given how hard she was beating herself up for her mistake; even Spike could only do so much to help her before she breaks down after telling us about her current condition. We need her help and fast!”
“At the rate she’s going and with how much of a broken mare she is, having lost faith and hope in the Magic of Friendship, it’ll still be a while before she does,” remarked Tenner Cross, the third southern rebel leader (Earth Pony) and Stork Beak and Tiger Claw’s brother-in-arms, to the distraught Crystal Prince.
“Plus, Grogar’s still a powerhouse and his forces including that pet grizzly bear of his aren’t going to let us off the hook after each battle we’ve won. We’ve already taken out a number of his generals after we managed to liberate tons of settlements in the land and beyond but we don’t know how long it’ll be before he gets word of it.”
“…….It has no end. No, revenge never stops and as long as there’s good, there will always be evil to offset it no matter how many people would want to have good reign,” Pharnyx sighed despondently.
“Now, listen. It’s not just the donkeys roaming the streets and abusing everybody on the surface who are responsible for this mess,” Tenner said to him. “No, Grogar himself is also involved since he let his anger over ponies and other creatures take him over.”
“He’s right; at this rate, he and his minions want us all dead, all of those who believed in Princess Twilight’s ways involving friendship,” Stork Beak agreed, looking around to everybody with him and his brothers. “While we fight in her stead and look for a way to save this world, not only is he going one step ahead of us in his plans for complete and utter domination but his donkeys are also going further in combat and they grow fat.”
“And, that’s how Grogar and his minions are dealing with all of us, Hippogriffs, Changelings, Ponies, Yaks, Griffons, Dragons……” Thorax sighed sadly. “It’s a pity those who are controlled by their own fear can’t see that this is what that monster would want from all of us.”
“But still, is there anybody else you’ve found that would be willing to help us?” Shining Armor asked, hoping to have more creatures to help fight for their world’s liberation from Grogar’s tyranny.
Flying Whip gave a disgruntled sigh as he shook his head, “My brothers and I all went around for ten miles in each kingdom, couldn’t find any of our people willing to fight back. They’re all too scared to even go against that mad sheep and his forces with how much he’s got them under his hoof.”
“We crush them, then!” Rutherford demanded, wanting action.
Flying Whip glared hard at him before he addressed their big problem with using the idea of a full frontal assault, “But, we’re only a small portion against a giant army of powerful donkeys and a monster ram, it’s useless and we won’t stand a chance. Our plan is to head up north and down south in two factions and try to see if there’s anybody else that fled from the conquered kingdoms who would want to be recruited for our mission to save everyone and Equestria from this mess.”
Long Pole nodded as he continued for his Kirin brother, “The last time we had to deal with something like this long before meeting you all, we met up with some other rebels who are already fighting the good fight and we’ve arranged some contact codes with them using signals of all sorts, especially cups. It’s simple if you get some practice with them and they become second nature, any of you know them?”
“Oh yeah, father once told me about them! One of them’s 3-1-uh?” Skystar began, showing off a random hand sign or two that only garnered annoyed frowns from the rebel leaders.
Realizing her mistake, Skystar tried another symbol but she couldn’t figure out what it is until Flying Whip and Long Pole nodded to each other and conjured magical human hands, showing her the correct symbol as intended: the Talman, Ring Man, and Pinky fingers sticking straight up, the pointer bent in on an inward curve, and the thumb sticking out horizontally/diagonally.
“3-1-9; on the 19th day of the 3rd month, full moon, the Empress of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, was overthrown by the Emperor of Tambelon, Grogar. Now, come on, you got it now, Princess?” the Kirin Leader explained.
“Yeah,” Skystar nodded sheepishly.
“Since there’s not much we could do for now except to continue fighting and do reconnaissance, we should split up from here on out. Try to continue with life as normal but keep an eye out for anybody who wants to help us in our cause,” Rolling Kick put in afterwards.
“If anything, we should arrange for another safe house to meet again for an update meeting if there are still anymore underground networks under the conquered kingdoms Grogar took under his control. But, we’ll have to watch out for his forces should they know what we’re up to. What’s more, we have a feeling that there must be a spy roped into Grogar’s games that helped him to return and enact his vengeance and wanted to take advantage of and finished the work Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis started. We’re sure of it so be careful and exercise constant vigilance if you want to same your own damned skins.”
“Masters, please reconsider that thought. There wouldn’t be anycreature alive from all of our races that would act as a spy for Grogar out of fear and what else, I’m sure of it,” Luna protested worriedly.
“Lady Luna, you could never tell. Someone like that is complex and if anything, they could only have agreed to his plan if he or she is promised something that would guarantee power and their own personal safety,” Cross Fist interjected skeptically to the former Moon Princess.
“While my brothers and I were doing our first rounds of reconnaissance, we’ve inquired about Grogar and his minions and how he was able to take you all down so easily despite the resistance you put up when he laid siege to this region amongst many things. One of them, a Crystal Pony, told us that in exchange for Express Twilight being overthrown and for the safety of himself and his own family after they were threatened, the traitor was being rewarded for his/her cooperation. Grogar might’ve given that bastard a gift: a special award for a seat of power by his side, gold, and/or something like a custom robe of some kind ranking him/her as his right hand. Guess who it was for: a creature in your lands that had since grown disgruntled and tired by the empress’ reign of peace. We tried to get more information but that was all the Crystal Pony and the creatures we met knew.”
Everyone went silent and uneasy after this; with what they had just heard, they knew to do anything else except comply to a villain’s demands if they want to live would be the first reaction pulled. They knew it all too well when Twilight was forced to surrender and give up her title for their sakes just to protect them when Grogar’s siege played out and became successful.
“Princess Skystar, come with us on our journey north or join Tiger Claw, Stork Beak, and Tenner Cross for their trip down south. We’ll all be heading off shortly and you’ll be safer with us than with your own mother,” Flying Blade ordered to Skystar, much to her chagrin and Novo’s shock.
“I resent that! You tell me why you think you’ll have the nerve to look after my daughter?” snapped Novo.
“That’s not fair! Why can’t I go off on my own, what if Pinkie Pie and her friends need my help if they’re already looking for Twilight?” she grumbled, walking towards Flying Blade indignantly.
“Hmph, not surprising there, because you’ve forgotten a contact code your late father once told you about before he died protecting your people. Even if we teach you again and you remember, you’re bound to forget anytime; you’ll get into trouble for that,” snorted Cross Fist.
“And, if anything, nobody trusts her much after what we’ve heard regarding how she reacted to the Storm King’s invasion of both her and her people’s homes and Equestria. We figured she’d be not fit to be something of a queen if she lets her anger and trust issues get the better of her again,” Stork Tiger smirked, glancing at Novo cheekily.
“How DARE you, you little…!” seethed Novo quietly, her right claw slowly clenching into a fist and slowly shaking in fury.
“Who said we would get into trouble and if Mom can’t be trusted to do the right thing? I remembered the code and she knows what she’s doing regarding my safety and that of our people, right?!” barked an indignant Skystar as she got into Cross Fist and Stork Tiger’s faces before Tiger Fist halted her.
“Enough!” Tiger Fist barked at Skystar, Novo, and his Shaolin brothers for their petty squabbling before he sighed in defeat.
“Right, we give up; it’s clear you two aren’t going to change your minds but we can see where you both are coming from since you and your people did try your best to reintegrate into society after everything that happened to you recently. Skystar, you can go on your own and find your friends while your mother stays with us, we’ll try to be more diplomatic with her for your sakes. But, regardless, be careful and let us know if you’re in trouble so we can bail you and your people out of it, alright?
“Sure!” Skystar smiled, glad for the approval despite it being forced on the rebels’ part.
With that the parties flew off in the hopes of finding more allies for their resistance.
“Before heaven, whatever comes, we’ll do whatever it takes to save Equestria and avenge everyone that fell before Grogar and his power,” prayed Long Pole.
Little did they know, help would arrive in the most unusual form.