Twilight Sparkle and Silver Shock could have spent a lifetime in Star Swirl the Bearded's tower, pouring over the thousands of ancient texts and spellbooks. The three unicorns had been chatting for a few hours, Twilight and Silver rattling off strings of questions about the past, present, and future while Star Swirl worked on their battle plan to confront the five remaining True Hearts. Star Swirl had been using a scrying crystal to track down the True Hearts, finally the crystal pointed to a location.
"Château-Silly, of course!" Star Swirl exclaimed. Star Swirl grabbed his tome about the Order of the True Heart again and flipped through the pages. "Here we are. 'Château-Silly. The home of Monika le Magnifique, this extravagant, fortified cloud manor was once host to non-stop parties, bringing joy and laughter to the populace as it slowly drifted across the lands. After Monika's descent into evil, Château-Silly became just as dark as its mistress. Gone were the days of singing and dancing, the château became infamous for the terrible cruelties its owner committed against her subjects within its halls. Rumored to be haunted, the château has roamed freely in the sky ever since Monika's banishment to Tartarus, avoided by all but the most foolish of ponies.'"
Twilight excitedly said, "Ooh, I know a cloud walking spell! And a wings spell!"
Star Swirl chuckled, "I'm afraid it will take more than just the three of us to defeat them. I had hoped they would split up, trying to reclaim their former seats of power. Unfortunately it appears they have deduced that together, they are an almost unbeatable foe." Star Swirl stroked his beard, "Hmm, we are going to need some help for this one. Twilight Sparkle, Silver Shock. I am leaving you two here while I travel to Equestria and see what kind of reinforcements I can drum up."
Twilight pouted, "I want to go with you."
Star Swirl stroked her mane, "No, sorry, Twilight. Remember Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? I'm sure you do, and she remembers you as well. In fact, I do believe there is a warrant out for your immediate arrest. It would be too big of a risk to bring you there, especially when we are going to need you in the coming battle against the True Hearts. Don't worry, you two shall not be bored." Star Swirl pulled several tomes down from the shelves. "Some reading material for you both."
Twilight and Silver anxiously began reading the books as Star Swirl left the library to begin preparing for his journey south. When he returned, he was carrying two large gemstones in his magical grasp, and beckoned the two unicorns to follow him. "Bring your books, girls."
Twilight asked, "What are those gems?"
Star Swirl explained, "Relics from our tribe's warmongering past, they are teleportation devices. You bring this one to the destination," Star Swirl placed a red, orange, and yellow sun-shaped gemstone in the middle of a large dining hall. "And this one, you give to those that require teleportation." He held a pouch underneath the blue and purple gemstone, which was shaped like a crescent moon, and the gem shattered into pieces and fell into the pouch.
Star Swirl pulled an hourglass out of his pockets. "When the sand in this hourglass runs out, you need to use your magic on the sun stone. The moon stone will then be summoned, bringing the holders of the shards along with it. See if you can think of any strategies to defeat the True Hearts, those books should give you all the information required."
Twilight nodded, "Understood. Good luck, Star Swirl."
Star Swirl smiled at the two young unicorns, dropped a potion at his feet, then vanished in a cloud of blue smoke.
---
As the sand in the hourglass slowly trickled down, Twilight and Silver devoured the knowledge in the books Star Swirl had selected for them. They learned all about the remaining True Hearts abilities, their history, their terrifying reign as tyrants. Twilight used her magic to construct an illusionary Château-Silly and the two began discussing assault strategies.
They came up with several plans which they wrote down to present to Star Swirl. Twilight was describing the good times she had had with her brother in the past as the hourglass' last grain of sand fell. "Here we go," Twilight said. The two unicorns zapped the sun stone with their magic and stood back as the stone floated into the air. The air crackled and suddenly the room was filled with a variety of ponies.
Twilight and Silver handed Star Swirl their reports they had written, and he motioned for a pony wearing a dark cloak to join him. Star Swirl conjured up food and beverages then left the room with the beckoned pony.
Twilight excitedly scanned the crowd, recognizing a lot of the new faces, then cried tears of joy. "Rainbow Dash! Rarity! Pinkie Pie! Applejack! Fluttershy! Spike! I am so, so happy to see you!"
Twilight's friends rushed over and embraced her. "Oh, Twilight! We've missed you so much! You disappeared without so much as a note, we all thought Cadence banished you or put you in the dungeons. We're sorry we doubted you about Cadence, you were right."
Twilight smiled, "Thank you! So what has been going on down there? How's Shining Armor? You girls look terrible." Twilight looked around the room, "Well, all you ponies looks pretty rough."
"Oh, it's just dreadful," Fluttershy said. "Princess Cadence found a loop hole in Equestria's constitution that allowed her to usurp the throne!"
Rainbow Dash slammed her hooves together, "Yeah, just because her aunts never married, some legal mumbo jumbo let Cadence take over!"
"What's even worse," Spike said, "is that she didn't even let me host my bachelor party!" The ponies rolled their eyes at him, "What?"
Applejack spit, "Then once she got in power, she brought in this army of weirdo things to enforce all these new laws she was a'makin'. I don't know what the hay she was up to, but ponies started bein' taken away and hauled off somewhere. We were workin' with Celestia to try and get rid of Cadence, but she was too powerful."
Pinkie Pie was shoveling food into her mouth and talked between mouthfuls, "Cadence kept trying to catch us! It was fun! It was like a big game of hide and seek! Except when you got caught, you got thrown in the dungeon. That part wasn't very fun..."
Rarity lifted Twilight's battered cloak with her magic, "Twilight, darling, what happened to you? You look an absolute mess."
Twilight looked down at her garments, "It's been one hay of a week."
Applejack put her leg around Twilight, "What's wrong, sugarcube? I can see it in your eyes. You aren't the same Twilight I know and love."
Fluttershy forced herself to speak up, "Um, yes. Twilight, there's something different about you."
Pinkie Pie excitedly said, "It's her mane, right? She did something different with her mane! Ooh. I know, she got a hooficure! That's wha-" Rarity put her hoof over Pinkie's mouth. "Twilight, we're your friends, we're here for you."
Those words struck a nerve with Twilight and she snapped back, "You weren't there for me when I needed you to confront Cadenza. You weren't there for me when everypony and even my own family was treating me like I'd committed high treason. You weren't there for me when I caused somepony to die. You weren't there for me when I went psycho and trashed a cider tavern. You weren't there for me when I almost died exploring this tower...."
Twilight looked at the shocked and hurt expressions on her friends' faces then looked down towards the ground. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were crying. Rarity was outraged, "Twilight, how can you say such things?"
Rainbow Dash glowered at Twilight and embraced Fluttershy, "Yeah, what the hay, Twilight."
Twilight took a deep breath, "I-I'm sorry. That wasn't me... Something is different about me, something deep within my very being. I... I think it's my soul. It's been growing darker and darker, ever since I abandoned somepony to her death."
Applejack frowned, "What in Sam Hoof you talkin' 'bout, Twilight?"
Twilight sighed, "When I was traveling, I wandered into the reindeer kingdom. One of their tribe saw a vision of me dying. She joined me to keep me safe, knowing the fate of Equestria, and the world, was in jeopardy. She sacrificed her life for mine."
Twilight's friends glanced at each other, Rarity whispered, "Oh, Twilight..."
Silver Shock, who had been awkwardly observing Twilight's reunion with her friends, stepped forward with a look of concern. "Twilight, you never told me that..."
Rainbow Dash turned to the stranger, defensively putting herself between Silver and Twilight, "And who are you?"
Twilight tugged Rainbow's tail with her magic. "It's okay, Dash. She's a friend. Name's Silver Shock, a weather control unicorn."
Rainbow Dash glared at Silver, "Weather control, huh? Using some freaky magic to do a pegasi's job? This is who you left us for, Twilight?"
Twilight tugged even harder on Rainbow's tail. "Rainbow Dash, why are you being so confrontational?"
Applejack started to say, "Twilight, don't-" when Rainbow Dash turned and interrupted her.
A single tear fell down Rainbow's cheek, "Gee, I don't know, Twilight. Maybe because all of Equestria went to hay and the one pony I knew I could count on to save us, to save me, vanished without a word? I waited and waited for you at the library, and you never came back."
Twilight gently said, "Rainbow Dash, I..."
More tears ran down Rainbow's face, "One by one, they captured us. AJ, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, all except me. I was too fast for them. And then one night, they burned down the library. My heart broke because I knew you were gone and I was going to be all alone... I hate being alone..."
Twilight reached out to touch Rainbow Dash, "Rainbow, I didn't know..."
Rainbow Dash moved back, "Then when Star Swirl the Bearded showed up and told me you were still alive and had been off on this epic quest... I was devastated. You know we would have gone with you, Twilight." Rainbow Dash snorted and looked away, "And then, we finally see you again, and although you hurt me, I could put it behind me. But then you have the audacity to blame us for the terrible things that happened to you when you abandoned us to go off on your own?"
Rainbow Dash turned back towards Twilight, "Every day, I dreamed that you would come to save me and everything would be fine. And you know the worst part of it all, Twilight? You didn't even come find me yourself, I had to get the news from somepony I've never even met before..." Rainbow began to sob uncontrollably.
Twilight was also in tears, upset that she had badly hurt her friends. Silver Shock looked to Rarity and asked, "Yikes. What in the world has been going on down there this past week?"
The entire room of ponies was staring at Twilight and Rainbow in awkward silence. Star Swirl reentered the room and muttered, "Oh dear. Of all the times to be lacking my time travel abilities.."
Star Swirl picked up Rainbow and Twilight with his magic and teleported the two of them to a secluded room. He peered around the room of sullen ponies and found who he was looking for, "Apple Bloom is it? I've heard you have quite an uncanny knack for mixing potions. How would you and your friends like to come with me and help brew some up?"
---
Twilight pulled at the door handle and sighed, "Locked." She wiped the tears from her eyes and glanced back at Rainbow Dash, who was lying on a bed and sobbing into a pillow.
Twilight walked over and sat on the bed next to Rainbow and began stroking her mane. "Rainbow Dash, I am so sorry. I... I just didn't know, you have to believe me. I was out wandering in the middle of nowhere and I didn't even have Star Swirl to help guide me. The only contact I had was from the locals, and they had no idea what was going on down south."
Rainbow glanced back at her, "Why didn't you come back for us, Twilight? Why didn't you come and save me?"
Twilight pondered Rainbow's questions for a moment, "The thought of returning home to you girls was what helped keep me going. Even if I tried to go back, I don't think I could. There was this urge, this... wanderlust within me, that forced me to continue even though at times I just wanted to lie down and die."
Rainbow pouted, "But you still left us behind, Twilight. You didn't even leave a note or say goodbye."
Twilight gave a weak smile, "That was Cadenza's fault." Twilight closed her eyes and sighed, "Oh, Dash. That day that I confronted Cadenza, it was horrible. My own father slammed a door shut in my face. Ponies I had been friendly with for months were throwing food at me in Ponyville and planning to enact vigilante justice. Even you ponies had snubbed me at the rehearsal. It just felt like everypony I cared for didn't love me anymore, so I left as soon as I could to try and get things back to normal."
Rainbow rolled over and sat up against the headboard. "I'm sorry, Twilight. It's just.. You've always been this sort of hero for me. Whenever things go sour, you are always there with a magic spell to set things straight. Or if you don't know what to do, you read your books and find the solution. When everything went to hay I just knew you would know what to do, but you were gone, and I didn't even know what happened to you."
Twilight reached over and touched Rainbow's hoof. "Twilight, you know I don't like ponies touching my hooves."
Twilight grinned, "I know." Twilight crawled onto the bed and sat next to Rainbow and touched her wing. "I just need to know that this is real. I am not doing so well, Dash. That darkness I feel within me, I fear it grows stronger by the hour. Sometimes I wonder if Star Swirl knows, he looks at me strangely when he thinks me otherwise disposed. The things I've witnessed on this journey, the things I've been subjected to? They've been haunting me. I dread going to sleep because I know they will be waiting there. Sometimes I wonder if this isn't just some horrible dream, and I will finally wake up and none of this will have happened."
Rainbow pulled Twilight towards her with her wing. "Oh, Twilight... I'm sorry I got so upset with you. I forget sometimes that you're just as pony as the rest of us and have problems of your own..."
Twilight smiled, "Rainbow Dash, I am so honored that you think of me so highly. If I had known how much anguish it caused you, I would have come back for you, wanderlust or no wanderlust. But I'm all too pony I'm afraid." Twilight unbuttoned her Winter Wrap Up Day vest. On her chest, the death knight's hoof had left a magical burn, which still glimmered with unholy blue magic. Next to it were the hoof imprints of Valdis, scorched into Twilight's flesh.
Rainbow looked at the wounds with alarm, "Do they hurt?"
Twilight shook her head, "No, just the opposite actually. The whole area is numb. That unicorn you were having a problem with earlier? I would be dead without her. Earlier, something used a trick on me. I thought I was saving the Cutie Mark Crusaders but instead it was these crazy Death Knights of Westmarech."
Rainbow's eyes lit up, "They sound cool!"
Twilight giggled, "Well, they were trying to do something to my heart in order to convert me into their undead slave. And they kinda wanted to eat Silver Shock."
Rainbow laughed, "Okay, not so cool."
Twilight smiled, there was the Rainbow she knew. "Then we had to save Star Swirl from this donkey witch," Twilight sensed the question forming in Rainbow's mind, "Yes, donkeys apparently can use some kind of magic. It took all three of us together to take her out, and Silver and I both nearly died in the process."
Rainbow sheepishly looked at the ceiling. "Oh. I guess I should apologize to her."
Twilight stared at the ceiling, "I'm glad you're back by my side, Rainbow. I've really missed you."
Rainbow embraced Twilight and carried her into the air, "Just don't leave me alone like that again."
Twilight nuzzled her friend and hugged her tighter, "I won't."
Rainbow gently set Twilight on the floor. "I love you, Twilight."
Twilight smiled, "I know."
They heard a click as the door unlocked and they walked out together, their friendship's flame burning brighter than ever. Twilight felt the ever-growing darkness fade a little, but she knew it was still festering within. She only hoped that she could fight it off long enough so she could stop Cadenza and hopefully prevent all of this from happening.
---
Twilight and Rainbow Dash had rejoined their friends in the dining hall. Twilight apologized to her other friends and as they chatted about their experiences over the past week, Star Swirl and the Cutie Mark Crusaders returned, pulling two cauldrons behind them. The Crusaders set up the cauldrons to serve the ponies as Star Swirl addressed the crowd.
"Everypony," Star Swirl said, "please drink a ladle's worth of the green elixir my young friends and I prepared. All non-pegasi, you will also need a drink of the blue concoction, which will provide you with cloud walking. Thank you." Star Swirl bowed his head and teleported back to the library.
Applejack and Rarity glanced at each other, "Uh, he left our little sisters in charge? We should probably mosey on over there and make sure nothing happens."
Rarity rolled her eyes, "Agreed."
The ponies lined up to get their potions. As the green elixir entered their belly, they felt a sudden burst of energy and were left feeling rejuvenated. The potions were distributed without incident, and the ponies resumed chatting amongst themselves.
A pony walked over to Twilight, "Excuse me, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight looked and saw one of the provocateurs from Ponyville and winked at her, "Come to tie a can to my tail?"
The pony scuffed her hoof on the ground, "Um, no. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for that. We all are. It wasn't until later that we found out Cadenza had done something to our minds and made us behave like that. I still can't believe we acted like that."
Twilight sighed, "Yeah, well it was pretty unbelievable for me too. That really hurt... and not just the food you ponies were throwing at me. Cadenza sure does know how to mess with a ponies emotions when she really wants to."
The pony smiled at Twilight, "Well, I just wanted to tell you before we head off to fight the True Hearts. With what happened earlier and all, I just wanted to make sure you were feeling better, since I'm sure you'll have to go up against that awful yak."
Twilight nodded, "Indeed I will. Thank you for apologizing, although that evil Cadenza is the real culprit, not you ponies." The pony bowed her head to Twilight and wandered away. Twilight looked to her friends, "That lousy so-and-so Cadenza... I can't wait get back to Canterlot, I'm going to personally kick that manipulative witch, just like I'd kick a snake!" Twilight grinned as her friends nodded in approval, then frowned, as she remembered her friends had avoided a question she asked earlier.
"So what's happened to Shining Armor during all this?" Twilight asked.
They all glanced at Rarity. Rarity sighed, "Fine, but you ponies know no good can come of this. Twilight, about your brother..."
Twilight grew concerned at Rarity's tone, "Yes?"
Rarity closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Twilight, he's gone."
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Twilight said, feeling like she had just been socked in the gut.
"He's just.. gone. Celestia managed to get him out of Canterlot and worked to dispel the magic Cadenza had used to control his mind. But, there was nothing left. He was just gone. An empty husk of a colt. I'm.. I'm sorry, Twilight."
Her friends moved to comfort her, but instead of the tears they expected, Twilight instead snorted in anger. She walked over to a window and looked towards the sky. As Twilight spoke, her mane and tail began to ignite. "Shining Armor... I thought I lost you that day at the wedding rehearsal, I guess I lost you sometime before that, whenever Cadenza got her evil little hooves on you. I will avenge you, my brother. Mi Amore Cadenza will pay for what she has done." Twilight stomped her hoof down onto the window sill and fractured the stones. The flames dissipated as she walked back to her friends.
Rainbow Dash watched with fear, and whispered to herself, "She wasn't kidding about that darkness growing inside her..."
"Are you okay, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight smirked, "Oh, I'm just tickled to death, Fluttershy."
Applejack moved next to Twilight, "You're takin' the news pretty well, sugarcube. You sure you don't wanna talk about it? I'm a lil' worried about you."
Twilight shook her head, "I'm fine, girls. Really. Thank you though. I knew I lost Shining Armor a week ago when he wouldn't believe me and uninvited me to the wedding. Go figure Cadenza took him away from me, too. I just want to go home. I want this all to be over with. And the quickest way to get it over with is to go get the True Hearts. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home, and everything will be back to normal. Sh-"
Twilight suddenly teleported away, leaving her friends to whisper amongst themselves in concern. Alone, Twilight cried out in pain and grimaced as she pulled her Winter Wrap Up Day vest open. The magical hoof mark burned brightly and the numbness had been replaced with pain. She found herself staggering through Star Swirl's tower, eventually arriving at the corridor they had slain the Death Knights of Westmarech in.
Twilight stared at the empty robes. "What did you do to me?"
Twilight jumped as she heard a voice behind her. "What didst they do to thee, indeed."
Twilight turned, "Princess Luna? What are you doing here?"
Luna looked at Twilight's chest with concern, "Trying to save thine life, it would appear. How long ago didst this happen?"
Twilight struggled to remember, "A few hours ago, I think."
Luna nodded, her expression grim, "Good. Star Swirl is getting careless in his old age. How did he miss this?"
Twilight frowned, "What is happening to me, Luna?"
Luna looked down at the robes, "Thou havest been marked with the Death's Hoof ritual. If we can't cure thee, thou willst soon be transformed into a death knight."
Twilight sat down and looked up at Luna with tears in her eyes, "B-but they didn't finish the ritual. Silver Shock stopped them before they could."
Luna kneeled down and rubbed her horn against Twilight's, "Their hoof entered thine body, that was enough. Now, lie on thine back, please."
Twilight laid down and watched as Luna began channeling her magic. A powerful tendril of energy snaked it's way from Luna's horn and into Twilight's wound. Twilight groaned as the pain became excruciating, then was suddenly gone. The tendril disappeared and Luna breathed a sigh of relief. Twilight looked down at her chest and saw the hoof marks were all gone.
"Thank you, Luna. Am I going to be alright now?" Twilight asked.
Luna nodded, "Thou art welcome, Twilight Sparkle. Thou shouldst be fine, although if thou feelest any relapse, find me immediately."
The two ponies walked back to the dining hall. Twilight asked, "How did you know to find me there, Princess?"
Luna's expression turned dour, "We had a very bad feeling that something was wrong with thee. We were right."
Twilight laughed, then put her hoof on Luna, "What's happened to your sister?"
Luna frowned, "Celestia was captured while working against our niece. She is still raising and lowering the sun, so we hope she is okay." Luna paused, "At least, we hope it is her raising the sun and not somepony else."
Twilight nodded, "How have you and your guards escaped Cadenza's ire? Seems like you'd be a pretty big target for her, being co-princess and all."
Luna raised her eyebrow, "Cadenza may have usurped the throne and possess tremendous power... somehow, we are not sure where her strength comes from, it is... troubling, but she can not get to my palace on the moon, so I have had little to worry about from her. Besides her harming the welfare of all my subjects and my sister, of course."
The crowd fell silent as Luna strode into the dining hall and climbed up onto a table, immediately flanked by a squad of bat-winged royal guards. The cloaked pony stomped her hoof. "Loyal subjects of Equestria, it is I, Princess... I mean, just Luna... Cadence stripped my sister and I of our crowns.... The legendary conjurer Star Swirl the Bearded and I have been working on a plan to solve the Cadenza Crisis." The crowd burst into cheers and clapping of hooves.
Luna waited for the crowd to settle down, "If the plan succeeds, all of what has come to pass in this last week will have been averted. I have the utmost confidence in our abilities, so everything shall be back to normal shortly." The hall roared with the thunderous cheers of the crowd. "However, some ancient and extremely powerful evils have interfered with Star Swirl's plan, and we must deal with them first. Star Swirl?"
Star Swirl appeared out of thin air on the table alongside Luna. "Six of the most vile denizens of Tartarus have escaped. They once were known as the heroes of the Order of the True Heart, but were corrupted. They have stolen some of my spell books and arcane instruments which we require to stop Cadenza." The crowd murmured amongst themselves. "Fear not, friends, I left Twilight Sparkle and the unicorn Silver Shock to work on solutions to this problem while I gathered you all here. Miss Sparkle, Miss Shock?"
Twilight and Silver nervously stepped forwards, Twilight used her magic to put on a display. "Valdis the donkey witch has already been defeated. We are left with Colonel Stormwing, a pegasus knight. His pride is his greatest weakness, we can lure him out with taunts and subdue him." Twilight's illusion showed an enraged Stormwing flying out of the château, only to be set upon by a group of ponies.
Twilight continued, "Next is Baroness von Richthooven. She is an extremely talented mage, and was once the Element of Generosity, but in her corruption she has become extremely greedy. We will use some of Star Swirl's artifact collection to entice her. These won't be unicorn artifacts however, and are in fact Earth pony relics, powerful anti-magic devices from the ancient conflicts between our tribes. All unicorns are to stay far away from where this goes down, as they will drain the magic of anypony close by once the trap is sprung." Twilight's illusion showed the Baroness eagerly clutching at the artifacts, then collapsing as her strength was drained.
Silver Shock introduced the next villain, "Striking Shadow, a powerful Earth pony warrior. He will be armed with all manner of enchanted weaponry and armor. Star Swirl has special potions which will disenchant Striking Shadow's gear, removing his greatest advantages. Even unarmed, he will be a fierce opponent. Do not engage him in hoof-to-hoof combat unless absolutely necessary. Stay with your task force and overwhelm him with numerical superiority." The illusionary Striking Shadow was shown to charge towards a group of ponies, stop as all his weaponry and armor fell off, then the ponies swarmed onto him.
Twilight continued, "The yak warlock Shamoke is perhaps the greatest threat of them all. He possesses mastery over dark magic, the likes of which we ponies haven't seen for thousands of years. He will be surrounded by an army of clay soldiers, which can take the form of ponies you know. Silver Shock and I had a run in with them before. If their glowing purple eyes don't give them away, look for their fangs. We will need all those with magical talent for this battle." The illusion showed an intense fire fight between Shamoke, his clay soldiers, and a group of unicorns, eventually ending in Shamoke's defeat.
Twilight introduced the final villain, "Monika le Magnifique is a griffon and owner of Château-Silly. Her songs have the power to charm, terrify, conjure illusions, and even injure you. She will be a most wily opponent, be wary of secret passages she may slip into during the fight, and make sure to keep your hearing protection on at all times." Twilight's illusion showed the griffon leading the ponies through a maze of corridors until finally being surrounded.
Twilight held up a pair of shackles, "These are a new and improved model of the binders used to contain evil in Tartarus. They will drain the powers of their victim. Once you get your target subdued, slap these on them and they will be rendered unable to hurt even a fly."
Twilight and Silver stepped down, Star Swirl addressed the crowd. "So, now you know what we are up against. We will split up into five task forces, one for each True Heart. Once yours is defeated, seek out the others to help them, but remember, no unicorns near the Baroness' trap! I see by the look on some of your faces that you are a little worried. Fear not, friends, I have an entire tower full of rare and mystical objects which shall bolster you against the challenges we shall soon be facing!"
---
Preparations were under way for the assault on Château-Silly. The ponies were split up into teams and loaded up with arcane artifacts. The ponies talked excitedly amongst themselves after their team assignments were handed out.
Rainbow Dash grabbed Fluttershy and twirled her into the air, "Yes! I get to fly with Spitfire and the Wonderbolts on Able team!"
Scootaloo smiled up at them, "I get to be on Able team too!"
Fluttershy smiled, "Oh, goodness. I'm just glad I'm on the easy team."
Rainbow Dash tilted her head, "Uh, Fluttershy, you know they mean Easy as in the name, not the task? You're going to be helping to subdue the griffon singer."
Fluttershy gasped, "Oh, my."
Rarity giggled, "Oh, don't worry, Fluttershy. I am on Easy too, as is Sweetie Belle. We will protect you."
Sweetie Belle grinned up at her big sister, "Yeah, Fluttershy! Maybe I'll get my cutie mark for Fluttershy defending!"
Silver Shock smiled at Sweetie Belle's enthusiasm, "I'm on Easy too. I've helped keep Twilight alive, I think you should be safe, Fluttershy."
A male voice said, "I'm leading Easy team. All you mares will be in very capable hooves."
The ponies looked and saw a familiar pony, Donut Joe, owner of the Canterlot donut shop.
Spike's eyes lit up, "Hello, Joe! You didn't happen to bring some of those donuts I like, did you?"
Donut Joe shook his head, "Nope, sorry. How've you been, Spike?"
Spike looked sad there wasn't any donuts, "Oh, I've been okay, I guess. The Cakes took me in once Twilight disappeared and kept my belly full of sweets."
Rarity smiled at Joe, nodded in approval at the tuxedo he was wearing, and cooed, "Ooh, I told you you would look simply dapper in a tux."
Donut Joe chuckled, "Well..." he glanced towards Twilight, "You're going to re-write history, aren't you, Twilight?"
Twilight nodded, "With any luck, yes. If Star Swirl is correct, none of this will have happened."
Donut Joe smiled, "Excellent. In that case, I think you all owe an apology to Miss Pie, for you see, I am Con Mane." He used his magic to pull a wallet from his packs and flipped it open, revealing an ID card. "Canterlot Intelligence Agency."
The ponies stared slack jawed, Pinkie Pie bounced merrily, "I knew it! You all doubted me but I was right! Who's Forelock Hooves now, Twilight! Or should I say, my lowly assistant?" Pinkie spontaneously produced a pipe and blew bubbles towards Twilight.
Twilight laughed, "Well Pinkie, sorry for doubting you back then. I guess you did know what you're talking about, although Joe, or Con, whatever, didn't sabotage that cake."
Con Mane shook his head, "Indeed I did not. This whole Cadenza thing has been one hay of a fiasco, though. I'm glad you're all alright. The CIA heard rumors of a threat against Canterlot, but we could never isolate the source."
Pinkie Pie bounced circles around Con Mane, "I'm just glad I'm on Baker team! That's the best team because it reminds me of cakes!" Pinkie began to drool.
A voice asked, "Pinkamina Diane Pie?" Pinkie turned to see two ponies walking towards her. "My sisters?!" Pinkie rushed over to hug her siblings. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you say something earlier?!" Pinkie paused, "Wait, how come I didn't even see you before?"
Her sisters glanced at one another, "Well... we was hidin' from ya. We didn't wanna intrude on you and your friends or nothin'. We know you highfalutin city slickers got your own way 'bout goin' round things."
Pinkie Pie shook her head in disbelief, "You're my sisters, you're always welcome in my life! And I'd hardly say a Ponyville pony is a city slicker." Pinkie nudged Applejack, "Isn't that right, AJ?"
Her sisters smiled, "Sorry, Pinkie. You know how us Pies can be."
Pinkie laughed, "As stubborn as a mule, and as crazy as a fox! Ooh, what team are you gals on? Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease say Baker!"
Her sisters grinned, and said "Baker" simultaneously.
Pinkie Pie leaped into the air, "Hooray! The Pie sisters are on Baker! The Pie sisters are on Baker!" Pinkie began dancing with her siblings.
Applejack laughed at Pinkie's antics, "Well, I'm just glad the whole Apple family got to be on Charlie team."
Apple Bloom grinned, "Yeah, us Apples gotta stick together like, uh, apple pie! Ain't that right, Granny Smith?"
Granny Smith cackled, "Darn tootin'!"
Big Mac nodded, "Yup."
Twilight looked at her friends and smiled, "I just hope we all will be okay. Especially all of us on Dog team. The things I read about that Shamoke fellow... He's bad. Very bad."
Spike laughed, "Us Dogs are gonna rip that yak apart! Woof! Woof!"
Twilight snickered, then was surveying the crowd and grew a little concerned, "Excuse me." She walked over to Star Swirl, "Um, Star Swirl, do you have a moment?"
Star Swirl glanced at her, "Yes?"
Twilight awkwardly rubbed her hoof on the floor, "Uh, far be it from me, but, aren't some of our 'troops' a little...um..."
Star Swirl looked over the crowd of ponies. "I believe I see what you are getting at. Of course you know I myself am far older than any of those here?"
Twilight said, "Well, yes, and I appreciate their enthusiasm, but I'm worried. I mean, Cranky Doodle Donkey, Matilda, Granny Smith? Or the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Even poor little Spike. I don't want to see anypony get injured."
Star Swirl sat back and mused over the situation. "Well, it was.. slim pickings you might say, back in Equestria, I recruited as many able bodied ponies as I could find. All that you see here are some of the strongest-willed ponies in Equestria, able to resist Cadenza's foul magic. Hmm, my time travel abilities may have been blocked, but I suppose my chronal alteration abilities may still work." Star Swirl gathered the elderly and young ponies before him and explained the situation. The Cutie Mark Crusaders simultaneously exclaimed, "Yes!"
Star Swirl's magical spell enveloped the selected ponies and Spike. They began to glow brighter and brighter, growing so intense the others had to shut their eyes and look away. Their blinding radiance suddenly faded and the crowd looked at them in awe. The elderly ponies were maybe 40 years younger, back in their prime. The fillies were around Twilight's age, if not older, and Spike was finally the dragon he had always dreamed of being.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders eagerly checked their flanks, "Aww, you're kidding me!" Scootaloo cried, seeing nothing there, like usual.
"Ooh, my little Spikey-wikey is all grown up." Rarity cooed, as she eyed the adult Spike.
"Any more suggestions, Twilight?" Star Swirl asked.
"Nothing else comes to mind. Thank you for helping them, Star Swirl."
Star Swirl nodded, "It's the least I could do. I guess I am getting old, as I didn't think of that myself. The sooner we get through Château-Silly, the sooner we can get order restored to Equestria, and I can take a much needed vacation. Mmm, I think I'll go to the 12th century this time."
As they finished their preparations, Star Swirl gave the sun stone to Luna and presented their forces with shards of the moon stone. Luna would fly out to Château-Silly and summon the others with the sun stone. Luna and her royal guards set off, and the assembled ponies began talking amongst themselves as they nervously waited for the moon stone shards to activate.
Twilight had been selected for the anti-Shamoke team while Silver Shock had been put in the Monika group. "Well, Twilight. If I don't make it.." Silver started to say.
Twilight interrupted, "Don't say that, you'll be fine, we all will be."
Silver smiled, "Well, I just wanted to say, this past week of traveling with you has been the most exciting times of my life, and I am proud to consider you my friend."
Twilight hugged the other unicorn, "You're a good friend, Silver. Perhaps we shall meet some day in happier times once we fix the world. Where hopefully I won't have haunted you in your dreams beforehand." The two unicorns laughed.
Twilight looked around the room and saw so many happy ponies. The Apple family was enthused by Granny Smith, who was no longer the somewhat senile old mare she normally was, and little Apple Bloom was all grown up. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were being entertained by Spike, who was proudly displaying his new physical strength by lifting the bench they were sitting on. Cranky and Matilda were waltzing like they did back in the day at the Grand Galloping Gala as Pinkie and her sisters sang some crazy song for them.
Twilight suddenly had an epiphany and raced out into the tower. She returned with a magical device that replicated a modern camera. "We may not be able to remember what happened once I fix things, but maybe I can bring back some permanent memories," Twilight said, as she began taking pictures of the happy throng.
A short while later, they all found themselves magically transported to the château.
The Battle for Chateâu-Silly had begun.
---
Luna and her royal guards were already engaging clay soldiers outside the chateâu gates. The ponies said farewells to one another and quickly separated into their strike forces.
Able team headed out, their objective was to taunt and subdue Colonel Stormwing. Stormwing was coordinating the chateâu's defense from atop the ramparts. Spitfire, who was the captain of the Wonderbolts, was leading the team, and Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were amongst this team's members, along with a dozen other pegasi from all over Equestria, including a handful of Wonderbolts.
Rainbow Dash, known for being a prankster, had been selected to be the bait. She flew towards the enemy and began taunting him in the ways she knew best. She flew past him, making faces at him, "Hey Stormwing, you're so old, I bet you can barely get a foot off the ground! Did that griffon have to carry you out here?"
Stormwing sighed and ignored her insults, dispatching some clay soldiers to take her down.
Rainbow easily out flew and destroyed the soldiers, then resumed taunting Stormwing. "Sending magical creatures to do your dirty work? That sounds like something a feeble old unicorn would do, not somepony that is supposed to be one of the most feared pegasi in history!"
Stormwing glared at her and sent more clay soldiers skyward, which Rainbow dispatched with ease.
"Come out and fight me like a real pony! Or are you just chicken?" As Rainbow began making chicken noises, Stormwing had finally had enough. "Silence, cur! I shall cut that offending tongue from thy mouth!"
Stormwing took to the air and abandoned his post, fuming over the insolent pegasus. He was astonished at how fast Rainbow Dash could fly. He grit his teeth and flapped his wings harder. He began to catch up to Rainbow Dash as she weaved in between the clouds, leading him towards the ambush point. "I have thee now!" Stormwing snarled as he snapped at Rainbow's tail.
Rainbow laughed, "I don't think so!" She rocketed forwards, accelerating to the magical speed that triggered the legendary sonic rainboom. The explosion of energy stunned Colonel Stormwing and he fell towards a cloud waiting below.
Stormwing staggered to his feet and bellowed in frustration as the ambushing pegasi lept through the cloud and surrounded him. Scootaloo grinned maliciously, "Maybe I'll get a cutie mark for helping to beat this guy!"
Stormwing wasn't going to go down that easily, and began pummeling the gathered pegasi with his hooves and wings. Their magical adornments deflected his blows and he became further enraged. "Thou have made a grave mistake, challenging me!" Stormwing snarled, as he pulled a vial out from under his breastplate and quaffed it.
Stormwing let loose a terrifying scream as his potion took effect. The pegasi backed off, alarmed. Scales sprouted on Stormwing's body and he began to grow in size, his armor snapping off under the pressure. His feathers fell off and were replaced with the scaly wings of a dragon. His hooves formed into claws and he began to laugh as his transformation was completed.
Stormwing swept his tail across the cloud, smashing into the stunned pegasi and sent them catapulting into the sky. Most of the pegasi were knocked out by the blow and began plummeting towards the ground. Rainbow Dash, who had been flying at her super sonic speed still, flew into action, pushing a cloud to catch her comrades on. Their safety ensured, Rainbow regrouped with the remaining members of Able.
There weren't many left: Scootaloo, Spitfire, two Wonderbolts, and Rainbow Dash. Spitfire began to give orders to her team,"Alright, Able. The Wonderbolts have dealt with rampaging dragons before, we..." The words died on her tongue as a jet of fire sent them scattering.
Stormwing flew after the ponies, belching flames. Spitfire yelled, "Attack pattern delta! Go!" and the Wonderbolts flew in to engage the dragon.
Scootaloo frowned and looked at Rainbow, "I don't know what that means!"
Rainbow grinned, "Just follow me, kid. I may not be a Wonderbolt yet, but I know their moves by heart!"
The pegasi used their superior agility to out maneuver the dragon. Around and around they went, strafing him and tearing at his wings and scales. Stormwing was growing more and more frustrated as his attacks missed his tormentors. Eventually more of the pegasi recovered and joined the fight, enraging Stormwing even more.
As Scootaloo was preparing to make another attack run, she glanced down at the magical amulet Star Swirl had given her and rubbed it with her hoof. She panicked as her leg disappeared, then noticed the rest of herself wasn't visible either. Scootaloo laughed, "Invisibility. I like it!"
As the fight continued, Stormwing had had enough, "Thou foals. I have played thine game long enough. Now I must get back to a real battle."
Scootaloo had been biding her time, waiting for the right moment. Finally, the opportunity came for her and she flew as fast as she could towards the dragon. She delivered a bone-snapping kick to his head and Stormwing was knocked out. His transformation faded, and the pegasi caught the falling pegasus villain. Setting him down on a cloud, Spitfire snapped the arcane shackles onto him that Star Swirl had provided. Spitfire smiled at her team, "Good work colts and mares, and especially you, Scootaloo. Let's go see how the other teams are faring!"
Rainbow Dash gave Scootaloo a high-hoof and flew off, Scootaloo eagerly looked at her flank: nothing. "Darn it, knocking out a dragon would have been an awesome cutie mark," Scootaloo sighed as she followed her teammates towards the sounds of distant battle.
---
Baker team strode forth, battling their way through the clay soldiers. This team included Pinkie Pie and her sisters, Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda, and several Earth ponies.
Pinkie Pie broke out into song as she kicked her way through the clay soldiers. "Oh, out in Marezona where the bad colts are, and the only friend to guide you is an evening star! The roughest, toughest, pony by far is Ragtime Cowpony Joe! Got his name from singing to the cows and sheep, every night they say he sings the herd to sleep in a basso rich and deep, crooning soft and low!"
Her sisters joined in on Pinkie's song and the Pie siblings were a whirlwind of destruction, shattering clay soldiers left and right while belting out the song about a singing cowpony.
Baroness von Richthooven, who was observing the battle and tossing down spells from a veranda, watched with curiosity as Baker team approached. The Baker members were all wearing fancy clothing fitting the era that the True Hearts had lived in, and were carrying a large chest between them. The Baroness was intrigued by this display and allowed them to approach.
Pinkie Pie shouted, "Oh, fair Baroness! We, thine loyal subjects, have brought to thee an offering! We have waited oh so very long for your return!" They opened the chest, revealing gems and other trinkets that a unicorn, especially the Baroness, would find irresistible.
"My subjects? Really? And thou hath presents for me?" The Baroness rubbed her hooves together in glee and teleported down next to the chest.
"Ooh, look at these gems! Ooh, and this crown! If I had known thou hath such wonders saved for me, I would have escaped sooner!" The Baroness gleefully rummaged through the chest with her magic, marveling at each object. Suddenly she gasped and clutched at her horn and fell backwards. "What hath thou done to me! Traitors!"
Pinkie Pie cocked her head, "Traders? What do you want to trade?"
The Baroness scowled, "Foal! I mean, why hath thou betrayed me?"
Pinkie Pie smiled and bounced around the stricken Baroness, "Aww, I thought you wanted to trade with me!" Pinkie pulled her clothes off, "I'll trade you these for that cloak you have!"
The Baroness looked at Pinkie with confusion, "What? No! Put thine clothes back on! I meant, why hath thou done this to me? Thou sayeth thou are my subjects, didst thou not?"
Pinkie rolled her eyes, "Oh! Yeah, it's because you're evil, and we're proud subjects of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, not Baroness von Asks-a-pony-to-trade-then-doesn't-want-to. Ooh, speaking of which, have you ever had traitor taters? It's a potato with a tomato inside! I call it a traitor tater. Awesome name, right? Have you ever had one?"
The Baroness stared wide-eyed at Pinkie, "N-no..."
Pinkie Pie grinned, "Well, no wonder! I just made it up myself. Ooh, perhaps I should call it a Tomatato! Which do you think sounds better? Traitor tater, or tomatato? What if I combined them? Traitomatater? Which sounds better?"
The Baroness just stared in confusion at Pinkie. Pinkie Pie smiled and slapped the arcane shackles on the Baroness. "Next!"
---
Charlie team headed for the main entrance to the château. The Apple family led the team, which was comprised of several other ponies of all three tribes. Each pony in this group was heavily armored, and each had one of the magical disenchantment potions Star Swirl had prepared.
All around the area lay wounded lunar royal guards and destroyed clay soldiers. Standing by the doors they barely saw Striking Shadow himself lurking in the shadows, a jet black stallion with pure black mane and tail. Even his armor had been dyed black to further help him blend into the gloom.
Striking Shadow saw them approaching and roared, "I'm Striking Shadow, who dares to fight with me?"
Charlie team had decided that Applejack was their best choice to go up against Striking Shadow. Applejack stepped forward, "I'm Applejack of the Ponyville Apple family, and I'm going to kick your teeth in, you big meanie!"
Striking Shadow laughed, "How quaint. Don't worry Applejack, the world shall remember thy name, if only as a footnote in the list of my conquests."
Applejack and Striking Shadow charged at one another. As they were about to clash, Applejack spun around and thrust out her rear legs, the powerful blow knocked the wind out of Striking Shadow and he dropped to his knees. Applejack yelled, "Now!" and jumped away as the rest of the ponies threw their potions at Striking Shadow.
"What foalishness is this?" Striking Shadow asked as he recovered and rose to his feet then snorted, preparing to charge into the crowd of ponies. As he did so, he felt a peculiar sensation and looked back to see his armor melting. Undaunted, he charged into the ponies and a fierce melee broke out.
The ponies were heavily armored and had some magical protection, but even that wasn't enough to quell Striking Shadow, who began wearing out his opponents with repeated blows. Pinkie Pie and the others from Baker team arrived and entered the fray, although most were quickly taken out since the nature of their role had meant they couldn't use magical items, leaving them to bear the full brunt of Striking Shadow's attacks.
The Apple family put up a tremendous defense, rallying together and delivering a rain of blows upon Striking Shadow whenever he neared. Apple Bloom sensed the battle was going nowhere and had an idea, "Pinkie Pie! Take this!" she yelled, tossing an orb Star Swirl had gave her towards Pinkie.
In typical Pinkie fashion, she caught it with her mouth and swallowed it. Apple Bloom sighed, "You were supposed ta hit him with it..."
Pinkie, however, was excited, even more than usual. "My Pinkie sense! It's going insane!" she happily said. For Pinkie, it was as if everything else had slowed down and she was moving incredibly fast. She bounced over to Striking Shadow and began slapping him with her hooves while easily dodging his every attack.
Able team came in at the tail end of the fight and Striking Shadow began to get overwhelmed. Since Stormwing and von Richthooven were downed, no clay soldier reinforcements were being directed to his front. Although, it would not have mattered much, as the empowered Pinkie was proving to be invincible against his attacks and was able to occupy him by herself, leaving the rest of Able, Baker, and Charlie to sweep up any reinforcements, had they been able to come.
After several minutes of this, Striking Shadow laid down and cried out, "I yield! I yield! Just taketh that pink one away from me!" Applejack laughed and slapped the arcane shackles on him.
---
As Easy team tunneled their way into the château, the tunnel began to shake. "What was that?" Sweetie Belle asked in concern.
"Don't worry," said Rarity, "I think it was just a sonic rainboom. How are we coming, Silver Shock?"
Silver Shock had been using her weather manipulation magic to bore through the château's cloud foundation. "Almost there."
Con Mane nodded, "Better get our ear plugs in, girls."
As Silver Shock finished the tunnel, they found themselves inside an aviary. Con Mane brought up his wrist wizard and looked at a 3D representation of the château. He held it up so the rest of Easy could see it, then motioned for them to follow.
Fluttershy flew around the aviary, looking at all the beautiful birds. "Oh, my. It's so lovely." she thought. The birds gathered around her and appeared to be singing. "Oh, I know Twilight said not to but she said not to listen to the griffon, not innocent little birdies." Fluttershy pulled out her ear plugs to listen to the brids and immediately felt ill. In her mind she heard a strange voice. "Good, good. Thou art under my command. Remove thy friend's hearing protection as well and I will let thou play with my birds."
Fluttershy nodded, "Yes, Mistress Monika."
Fluttershy fell in line behind the rest of her team as they cautiously explored the château. Con Mane held up his hoof and used his magic to disable a tripwire. He pointed his hoof at his eye then moved it around to try and tell his team to make sure to look for traps.
As they proceeded, Sweetie Belle stumbled and fell into Rarity. As Rarity turned to help her sister, her eyes went wide as she saw a swarm of clay soldiers was pursuing them. Rarity used her magic to pull Con Mane's tail, and he grinned as he saw the approaching force.
Con Mane motioned for Easy to get behind him, then pointed his wrist wizard towards the clay soldiers. He used his magic to push a button on the device, and a laser beam shot forth. After sweeping his leg back and forth across the hallway a few times, the clay soldiers were nothing more than piles of dust. Con Mane winked at Rarity and the party continued exploring the château.
Inside a grand ballroom they found Monika, playing a piano. The griffon smiled, and leaped through a trap door in the stage. The ponies chased after her and quickly found themselves being led on a wild goose chase through a labyrinthine section of the château.
Quickly growing fed up with the griffon's antics, Silver Shock began using her powers to cut holes through the walls as Con Mane blasted his own with his arsenal of gadgets. As they were advancing, the griffon and Fluttershy would pop out of a wall or the ceiling and snatch at the pony's ear plugs. The defenseless pony would then become enthralled by the griffon's song.
Silver Shock had nearly forgotten the horn ring she had taken from Star Swirl's tower, it felt like it had been months ago. As their numbers were dwindling, something reminded her of it and she pulled it from her dress' pocket. She was about to slip it onto her horn, when she turned and looked quizzically at Sweetie Belle. Her gut was telling her to put it on Sweetie Belle, so she did. "What this for?" Sweetie Belle mouthed. Silver Shock shrugged and mouthed, "Hunch."
The remaining team members found themselves on stage in a grand theater. They had been led right into a trap. Clay soldiers and their charmed teammates surrounded them and the griffon clapped her hands together. Fluttershy and another pegasus swooped in and grabbed the ear plugs of the last four, which included Con Mane, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle. "Bravo, excellent performance," Monika said. "Now wouldst thou care to hear a song?"
Con Mane scowled at Monika, "Do you expect us to applaud?"
Monika laughed, "No, Mr. Mane. I expect thou to be enslaved." She giggled, "I suppose I can forcest thou to clap after thou art under my control."
Monika sensed the danger Con Mane represented, "Oh, Fluttershy? Be a dear and get that mean unicorn's magical wrist thingy. It looks fun."
As Con Mane was disarmed, Rarity looked at Sweetie Belle, and tilted her head, admiring the horn ring. "Sweetie, I think you should sing something."
Sweetie Belle looked scared, "What? Why?"
Rarity hugged her little sister, "Please, if I'm going to become somepony's thrall, I'd like to listen to my sister sing one last song."
Sweetie smiled, "Well, okay, for you."
Sweetie Belle sighed and lowered her head, then began belting out a song.
"Lately I've been off my nut, I keep hearing nothing but: "Yes, we have no bananas." And I'd like to find the guy who composed that lullaby, "Yes! We Have No Bananas." I wish that I could go to a cabaret or show where someone wouldn't come along and sing that dog gone song!
I've got the Yes! We Have No Banana blues! I got the blues! And when I hear it, oh, how I fear it! It's just like hearing bad news! It hasn't got a bit of sense, and I go wild when they commence: "Bananas! Bananas!" I wish I could break up a million pianas! Day by day, and week by week, it's: "Yes! We have no bananas!" Every time that Greek meets Greek, it's: "Yes, we have a no banana, no banana!"
B-A-N-A-N-A! Yes! No! Take them away! I've got the Yes! We Have No Banana blues, today!
Apricots and apples are good to eat. Tomatoes and potatoes can't be beat. Onions, cabashes, peaches and plums, I could go for any kind of fruit that comes. Yesterday somepony kept asking me, "Say, what's a vegetable, starts with 'P'?" I gave it up and I asked him to tell, when he said "Pananas" I just had to yell: 'I've got the Yes! We Have No Banana Blues, today!'"
As Sweetie Belle sang, the horn ring blazed with arcane power. Sweetie's magically imbued singing shattered the clay soldiers and broke the charm on the other ponies. As she ended her song, she saw everypony staring at her and awkwardly asked, "How was that, Rarity?"
Rarity rubbed her horn against Sweetie's, "It was just lovely, Sweetie Belle."
As the sisters hugged, the griffon watched on and the icy mass that was her heart melted a little. She blinked her eyes and rubbed at them. "Tears? It's been so long since I have cried..." The griffon landed on the stage and presented her arms. "Quickly, bind me whilst thou can, the evil will soon overtake me again I fear. Thine performance was spectacular, young one. Cherish that bond thee have, it may save thine lives again in the future."
Con Mane clamped the shackles on the griffon and chuckled as Sweetie Belle looked for her cutie mark. Rarity smiled at her, "Maybe next time, Sweetie."
---
"Shamoke had better have quite a few tricks up his sleeves with the firepower we're packing," Twilight said, as Dog team made it's way through the château grounds in search of the yak warlock. The Dog strike force consisted of Luna, Star Swirl, Twilight, Spike, and around a dozen magically talented unicorns, including, to Twilight's annoyance, Trixie, a unicorn she had a run in with in her early days in Ponyville.
The unicorns battled their way through hundreds of clay soldiers, finally arriving at an amphitheater out back of the château. The warlock was lying in wait and his horns began to glow as the unicorns entered his trap. A magical cage formed around the unicorns.
Star Swirl scoffed, "A parlor trick, nothing more."
The yak shrugged and smiled, then bellowed, "Soldiers, to me!"
The shattered remains of Shamoke's clay soldiers began to arrive from all around the château. The glow from Shamoke's horns intensified, and each piece of clay began to form into its own soldier. Soon, there were thousands of clay soldiers gathered around the unicorns' cage, and their numbers kept growing. Star Swirl frowned, "Well, this may be problematic."
As the magical cage collapsed, the band of unicorns began fighting for their lives against the oncoming horde. Magical effects were flying all over the place. Energy bolts, waves of force, fireballs, ice shards, lightning bolts, cones of color, tornadoes... Magical animations rampaged against the clay soldiers as well. Shamoke sat back in his chair and watched the chaos unfold with glee.
The unicorns fought valiantly, but for every enemy they dispatched, more rose in their place. Luna took to the air and yelled, "Fall back!" A giant, taloned hand made of magical energy appeared and grasped her, pulling her towards Shamoke.
Star Swirl swore, "Damn it! Retreat! Cut a path back to the château! We'll regroup with the other teams and try again!"
Shamoke watched Luna struggle against his magical grip and laughed. "I've always wanted a pet alicorn. I've heard thine horn can be ground up to make quite a potent concoction."
The unicorns plowed their way through the horde of clay soldiers and barricaded themselves inside the château. Star Swirl rubbed his cheek where he had been struck by a soldier's hoof on the way out, "We lost Luna.... Anypony else?"
Spike looked around the room, then cried out, "Twilight! Twilight's not here!"
Star Swirl frowned, "We lost Trixie too. Damn. Spike, go find the other teams and bring them here if they were successful. Quickly now, but don't do anything foolish. I don't want to lose you, too." Spike gave the old unicorn a salute and hurried off to find the others.
---
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as the horde of clay soldiers seemed to be focused on the château's doors and weren't searching for her. A voice whispered, "What do we do now?" and Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin.
Twilight looked behind her and saw Trixie. "Trixie? What are you doing here?" Twilight asked.
Trixie grinned, "Well, I saw you teleport away from the group, and I wasn't going to let you hog all the glory again. I really should thank you, when your little hoodlums in Ponyville ruined my show and destroyed my home, the only thing I had left was my magic, and you had shown me that I had room to improve in that regard. I trained myself harder than I ever had before, now I truly am Great and Powerful."
Twilight smiled, "I learned a lot from you on that day too," then thought to herself, "A lot about how not to behave.."
Trixie grinned, "Well, how do you propose we save Luna? The Great and Powerful Trixie believes we should distract him while the other flanks around and frees Luna. Since I am the performer here, the Great and Powerful Trixie shall give that dumb yak the show of his life."
Twilight nodded, "Thank you, Trixie. Be careful."
Trixie winked at her, "I fought the dreaded Ursa Minor, this two-bit warlock shall be no match for the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Twilight shook her head and chuckled, then began sneaking towards Luna.
Trixie appeared in a cloud of smoke in the center of the amphitheater. "Lord Shamoke, the Great and Powerful Trixie demands an audience!"
Shamoke laughed, "Thou art brave, little unicorn. Proceed."
Trixie began putting on her greatest performance ever, life-like illusions of deeds that the Great and Powerful Trixie allegedly accomplished. Shamoke seemed to enjoy the show and his attention was focused on Trixie's tricks.
Twilight sneaked over to Luna and jabbed the magical grasp with her horn, dispelling it. Luna smiled at her, "Twilight Sparkle, thou hast helped us once more." Luna turned to look at Shamoke when something caught her eye. "Twilight, what is that thou art wearing 'round thy neck?"
Twilight glanced down, she had forgotten about the amulet she grabbed after fighting the false Nightmare Moon. Thinking of Nightmare Moon made her laugh. "Oh, Princess Luna, the story I have to tell you once this over... but this thing? I grabbed it in Star Swirl's tower before we fought the donkey. I haven't noticed it do anything yet."
Luna asked, "May I?"
Twilight nodded, and Luna grabbed the amulet with her magic. "Hmm, yes. I recognize this."
Shamoke sniffed the air then snorted in anger. He could smell the scent of burned magic on the air and knew his spell binding Luna had been dispelled. Enraged, he sent a blast of infernal magic towards Trixie, who immediately crumpled to the ground as the magic washed over her. He stood on his hind legs and turned towards Luna and Twilight. He sneered at them then raised his hoof towards Luna.
The yak laughed, "I'm afraid the alicorn won't be helping in thine fight, Twilight Sparkle."
Luna gasped and her hoof automatically reached for her throat. Luna began to gag as her throat constricted in Shamoke's magical grasp. Twilight stared in horror as Luna's face was hideously contorted as she fought for a breath of air, then her eyes rolled back in her head and she dropped into a heap on the ground.
Twilight began to back away as the yak approached her, "St-stay back! I have powers... powers to destroy you!" Twilight cast her forcefield spell.
Shamoke laughed, "Thou might have the potential, but in thine current state, thou art nary a threat."
Twilight screamed as the yak waved his hoof and dispelled her forcefield, then picked her up in his magical grip and pulled her over to him. The yak licked her horn, "Mmm. Yes. So much potential here." Shamoke smacked his lips as he savored the immensely powerful essence of magic he could taste on Twilight.
Twilight kicked at the yak and he moved her back from him then sent a current of energy through her body until she hung limp in the air. "I am going to makest thou an offer thou shalt not refuse," Shamoke said as he lifted her head towards him. "Join me as my apprentice, and we shall rule the world."
The yak pulled a tome out of his satchel and held it up for her to see, "Take this, 'tis my spellbook. Join me, Twilight Sparkle! We have much more in common than thou thinketh."
Twilight feebly shook her head, "I am not like you. You're evil. Why would I do that?"
Shamoke laughed, "Because, Twilight, thou art evil. Maybe not right at this moment, but I can sense it within thee. There is a darkness there, yearning to be free. I can taste it upon thy magic. Just allow me to strip away the rest of thine ponyanity, and thou can be more powerful than thou could ever imagine. The things thou couldst do, Twilight. Dost thou even knowest of thine true potential?"
Twilight defiantly stared into Shamoke's eyes, "Even if what you are saying is true, I wouldn't want that. I'm a good pony, not some evil tyrant like you, Shamoke. I don't want to rule the world, I want to save it. And any minute now, all my friends and Star Swirl the Bearded will be coming out to vanquish you."
The yak looked puzzled, "Thou rejectest my offer? So be it, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight struggled against the magical grip as Shamoke approached her, "I would have given thee the world, Twilight Sparkle. Thou foal." Shamoke pulled a double-edged sword from his scabbard. The sword's blade was etched with characters of the yak alphabet and the hilt has been made from a unicorn's horn. "This is the Ma Bai jian, if thou willst not share thine powers with me, I shall take them."
As the yak prepared to stab Twilight, his sword magically transformed into a serpent and slithered away. Shamoke roared, "Who dares?" He turned his head and Trixie lifting herself off the ground.
Trixie staggered to her feet and laughed, "The Great and Powerful Trixie prevails."
The yak snorted in amusement, "Thou amusest me, unicorn. I was going to letest thou live, but thou hath become a nuisance." The yak pointed a hoof towards her and she fell to her knees, clutching at her throat.
As the yak's attention shifted to Trixie, Twilight felt his grip on her begin to waver. She felt a spark of hope and closed her eyes, focusing on her magic. Twilight began to glow with a bright light, a magical aura enveloped her and she felt Shamoke's grip disappear. The yak turned around with fear in his eyes and dropped Trixie to the ground as he staggered back away from Twilight.
Lightning-like tendrils of energy lanced towards Shamoke and his blood began to boil as Twilight's magic coursed through his body. Shamoke screamed curses in his native tongue as he felt his strength waning. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a scroll, but Twilight's magic lanced out towards it, disintegrating it in a puff of smoke. The yak's eyes went wide as he gasped and fell backwards down the stone steps of the amphitheater, landing in a crumpled heap at the bottom.
Twilight hovered over to Luna and put her hoofs on her chest. Magical energy flooded into Luna's body and she found herself rejuvenated. She sat up, rubbing at her throat and stared in wonder at Twilight. Luna whispered in amazement, "Now I know why Celestia is interested in thee...."
Luna looked around for Shamoke, "Didst thou defeat Shamoke?" Twilight nodded and smiled. Luna looked around and found the amulet Twilight had been wearing. "Put this on him."
Twilight grabbed the amulet with her super-charged magic and forced it around the yak's neck. He weakly opened his eyes and stared up at Twilight. As his horns began to glow as he started to cast a spell, a vortex opened from the amulet's gem. The yak screamed as he was pulled inside the vortex and disappeared. His clay soldiers, which had been battering at the doors into the château, immediately disintegrated into dust as their master left the plane.
Twilight floated, staring with curiosity at her glowing body. She had felt like this only once before, when she was a filly and about to flunk her entrance exam to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The power was intoxicating. Her aura suddenly vanished and she gently landed on the ground. Luna was standing behind her and she put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "Twilight Sparkle, thou art amazing."
Luna and Twilight rushed to tend to Trixie as the besieged unicorns and the rest of their forces spilled out into the amphitheater. Pinkie Pie pouted, "Aw, it's over already?"
Star Swirl laughed, "I knew there was much more to you than meets the eye, Twilight. Now, hand me the key and we shall get your Cadenza situation righted as well!"
Star Swirl frowned, "The key Shamoke was carrying with him that unlocks his magical vault."
Twilight looked to Luna, who shook her head. Star Swirl sighed. "Please tell me Trixie has it?" Trixie was still out cold, but Star Swirl knew the answer was no.
Star Swirl stroked his beard, "It's not going to be pretty, but we will need to free Shamoke from the amulet. He will not be very happy, mind you. Prepare yourselves." The ponies got ready to fight the warlock and when they were all set, Star Swirl drew his blade and stabbed it into the amulet. A powerful magical explosion shook the château as the amulet's magic was destroyed.
Shamoke appeared and began to grow in size, becoming a thirty-foot tall giant. He was as surprised as all the ponies, and looked down upon them with glee. "So much power!" he exclaimed. Shamoke used his magic to rip off huge chunks of the château and began hurling them at the panicking ponies.
Luna flew next to Star Swirl as he dodged the falling debris, "Star Swirl, what happened?"
For the first time since Twilight had encountered him, Star Swirl looked fearful, "That amulet, it was an ancient relic from the unicorn civil wars. In order to enforce the peace, everypony had to wear one, and those that used dark magic would be sucked inside. When I detonated the amulet, he appears to have absorbed all of its stored up magical power," Star Swirl pulled the remains of his sword from its scabbard, "and took the powers of my favorite sword, as well."
Twilight galloped up next to them, "What do we do?"
Twilight did not expect the words that came out of Star Swirl's mouth, "I do not know." Star Swirl looked back at the giant yak, "Can you use your power to defeat him again?"
Twilight shook her head, "I... I don't think I can. That's only ever happened to me twice now. I can't control it."
Chunks of the building, pillars from the amphitheater, and a slew of dark spells were taking their toll on the ponies, inflicting heavy casualties. The surviving ponies fled into the halls of the château and regrouped on the other side of the building. The giant yak gleefully smashed his way through the building in pursuit.
The ponies were struggling to catch their breath and tried to come up with a plan before the giant yak reached them. Things were not looking good. As the ponies frantically discussed their options, Apple Bloom suddenly spoke up. "I'm takin' control of this here situation. Everypony, show us what artifacts y'all got left, Star Swirl, Princess Luna, or anypony, tell us what the hay they do."
The ponies spread out their surviving artifacts on the ground. As the items were identified, Apple Bloom began to laugh. "What's so funny?" Scootaloo asked.
"Don't y'all see it?" Apple Bloom questioned. No pony spoke up. "I'm the only one? For real? Shucks, I thought y'all unicorns were the clever ones, not us simple Earth ponies."
Applejack rolled her eyes, "Apple Bloom..."
Apple Bloom snickered, "Fine, fine. It's easy. See these here seeds? Us Earth ponies will plant 'em and use our pony powers to make 'em grow real fast like." Apple Bloom looked towards Scootaloo, "Do you think you pegasi can fly circles 'round a yak?"
Scootaloo giggled, "We can fly circles around everything, especially some big dumb yak." The other pegasi laughed.
Apple Bloom nodded, "Good. Now you unicorns, y'all think you can lift up some vines with your magic and help keep it wrapped around the yak?"
Sweetie Belle said, "Of course! Why, even a foal could do something that simple!"
Apple Bloom grinned, "And Pinkie Pie, you think you can use that there Pinkie Sense of yours to keep us safe?"
Pinkie bounced excitedly, "Can do!"
Apple Bloom saw the group of ponies were smiling and had figured out her very simple, yet possibly highly effective idea. "Alright then, folks. Let's go lasso us a yak'!"
Shamoke charged forwards through the building, immensely enjoying the destruction he was causing. He had never felt so alive, so much magical power coursed through his veins. He hoped that the ponies had set up a good final stand, he really wanted to enjoy crushing them beneath his giant hooves. As he smashed his way into the courtyard, he was a little saddened. He saw just a semi-circle of Earth ponies waiting for him. He thought to himself, "Hmm, I thought there were more alive than this? Perhaps they perished in the château. No matter, these will have to do, and they appear to be ready to die."
As the giant yak stepped towards the Earth ponies, Granny Smith yelled, "Now!" and they simultaneously activated their tribal powers, quickly growing immense plants that would have taken months to naturally grow.
The yak laughed, "Growing thy last meal?" As he prepared to stomp on the ponies, he felt an immense pain in his gut and heard a tremendous boom. Rainbow Dash had led the pegasi assault by detonating a sonic rainboom on the yak's belly. The yak swatted at the pegasi, but like Stormwing and many others before him, his immense size was a huge disadvantage against the swift and agile pegasi.
As the yak staggered around, attempting to fight the pegasi, the unicorns sprung into action. They guided the Earth ponies' plants around the yak's legs, using their magic to strengthen it as well. As more vines were tightened around him, Shamoke fell backwards onto the château. The ponies cheered.
Luna put her hoof on Apple Bloom's shoulder, "Well done, young Apple Bloom." Apple Bloom grinned then looked at her flank. Nothing. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo comforted her, "Don't worry, we didn't get ours either."
Star Swirl climbed up onto the giant yak and rummaged through Shamoke's satchel. He plucked the key out then pulled out the last pair of arcane shackles, which expanded in size to fit the giant yak's wrists. Thus ended the Battle of Château-Silly.
Star Swirl hopped back down and grinned, "Now we can finally get things back to normal around here!" As Star Swirl distributed the moon stone shards and the ponies were preparing to leave, Twilight remembered her magical camera and took more photos, including one with everypony posing in front of the giant yak. As Twilight was near the yak, she felt a strange sensation within. Almost as if in a trance, she teleported up and found herself grabbing the spellbook from his satchel. As she tucked it into her saddle bags, she nervously glanced around, nopony seemed to have noticed
Part of Twilight felt sad that she would be losing these memories. They were not the best memories she had had by a long shot, but it had been an adventure of a lifetime. The more Twilight thought about it, the more she realized it was something else too. Soon she would be traveling back in time to go fight her brother's fiancée, and as much as she desired to do so, she was worried that she might forever lose her brother in the process.
---
After the victorious ponies returned to Star Swirl's tower, Pinkie Pie and Applejack helped cook up an incredible feast. They all met in the dining hall again, exchanging stories of their feats of heroism at Château-Silly while enjoying the variety of baked goods Pinkie and AJ had whipped up.
Rarity beamed at her sister, "Oh, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, I wish you could have been there. It was simply wonderful."
Scootaloo smirked and looked at Rainbow Dash, "I wish you all could have watched us fight that dragon! I kicked him right in the face and he was out like a light, didn't I Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow smiled at Scootaloo, "You sure did, kid. I was impressed, you kept up with the Wonderbolts. Maybe that'll be your talent."
Scootaloo giggled, "Wouldn't it be awesome if I got into the Wonderbolts before you!"
Rainbow laughed, "Hey now! Oh, Fluttershy, what's wrong? You've been quiet ever since we got back. Quiet even for you."
Fluttershy looked away, Rarity chimed in, "Fluttershy accidentally got enthralled by the griffon and was used against us. She feels just awful about it, even though we've told her it wasn't really her fault."
Pinkie Pie leapt over the table and landed behind Fluttershy and picked her up, "Fluttershy if you wanted to hear somepony sing, you should have seen me!" Pinkie began re-enacting her battle against the clay soldiers, whirling Fluttershy around the room.
Applejack laughed at the look of terror on Fluttershy's face, "Can y'all believe my lil' sister helped take out that giant yak? I'm so goldarned proud of her, always knew she was one smart cookie." Apple Bloom giggled and nuzzled against her sister.
Twilight looked down at her uneaten cake. She was preoccupied by thoughts of Shining Armor and Cadence, and what she was going to do when she went back to stop her. She forced her attention back to her friends, Pinkie Pie was now demonstrating what happened in her battle against Striking Shadow, performing a variety of facial expressions to the terrified Fluttershy, which Pinkie still held in her grasp.
Rarity sighed, "What you girls really missed was Con Mane. He was simply breathtaking." Sweetie Belle and Silver Shock nodded and also sighed, looking across the dining hall at Con Mane.
Twilight smiled, "Well it sounds like you ponies all had some good times with the bad. I wish things had been easier for Dog team. I mean, I think we only won because of a freak occurrence, although I guess all of us combined could have beat him since we took out his super-powered form together. Oh, Rarity. You should have seen Spike, he was a wrecking machine, tearing through those clay soldiers like they were paper."
Spike flexed his muscles, "Oh, yeah. Those clay guys didn't know what hit them."
Twilight sat back and absentmindedly ate her piece of cake as her friends continued discussing the battle. Star Swirl appeared behind her and put his hoof on her shoulder, "It is time, Twilight. Let us get you prepared for the coming conflict with Cadenza."
Star Swirl let Twilight say goodbye to her friends then teleported her to the top room of his tower, the observatory. He led her over to a pool of water. "Before we get started, Twilight, I want to show you just what it is you are fighting for."
Star Swirl leaned down and stuck his horn into the waters. An image began to form in the liquid. "This is Equestria right now." The image showed strange creatures whipping ponies in the streets of Canterlot. In Canterlot Castle, the rooms were full of ponies staring lovingly into each others eyes. The image continued, showing scenes of ponies in despair all across Equestria.
"As you know, Cadenza is a master of love magic. In fact, she is able to feed off of love itself, which is why she became so powerful. Your brother truly loves Cadence, by the way, which is why she grew so strong in the first place. After Celestia and the others rescued your brother, she began corralling ponies and moved them to Canterlot. There, she forced them to drink a powerful love poison, which you may remember from Hearts and Hooves day. The ponies are unable to do anything but stare lovingly into each others eyes, giving Cadenza a massive power source."
Star Swirl stuck his horn in the water again, the image transformed into a scene Twilight had seen before, Ponyville when Discord had struck. As the image showed the chaos-infected landscape, Star Swirl continued, "Cadenza eventually falls after overloading on power. In her wake, all love is no more. With no love, the ponies begin to fight again. Their conflict eventually reawakens Discord, and he swiftly takes over the land.
Star Swirl leaned down once more, the images changed to a scene of apocalyptic nightmare. Everything was destroyed and in ruin. "And this is what comes after the third reign of Discord. In desperation, somepony unleashes all of the evils that are imprisoned in Tartarus. The result is as you can see."
Twilight was shocked, "All of this just because my brother married the wrong mare?"
Star Swirl laughed, "From a certain point of view, yes."
Twilight furrowed her brow, "There's some things I don't understand, Star Swirl. Like, most importantly, why couldn't you have just fixed this on your own? Couldn't you have gone back in time and stopped my brother from proposing to Cadence or something? Why did I have to go through all of this?"
Star Swirl sighed, "Oh, Twilight. I've tried. I've tried hundreds of times, perhaps even over a thousand, to fix this. Every single attempt has ended with what you just saw as the ultimate result. I've tried pretty much everything. I've erased Cadenza from history. I've kept Nightmare Moon trapped in the moon. I've married Celestia. I've let Nightmare Moon bring eternal night. I've even stopped the foundation of Equestria itself. Somehow, it always ends up playing out the exact same way in the end."
Twilight frowned, "How do you know it will work this time?"
Star Swirl stroked her mane, "Because Twilight. I finally found the key. It was you, Twilight. I couldn't alter anything because I was never meant to. This has all been for you. Everything you experienced, the horrors, the near death experiences, the friendship, that darkness that chills your very soul, all of it has been to prepare you to fight Cadenza."
Twilight looked into the water, "I don't understand. Why am I so special. Why did someponies have to die and get hurt just for me?"
Star Swirl shrugged, "I.. don't know, Twilight. All I know is you are a very special little mare and the, as you would say, 'PTB' certainly have something in mind for you."
Star Swirl pulled over a heap of books with his magic, "These tomes should contain everything you need to save Equestria and defeat Cadence."
Twilight looked at the pile of books, "How do I know what I need to defeat her?"
Star Swirl winked at her, "Oh, you'll see soon enough. Take as long as you want, I will channel my time stopping spell, just in case, don't want to take any chances. Don't worry, my tower is impervious to its effect."
Star Swirl departed and Twilight began rapidly reading through the books. Star Swirl had given her several of his personal spell books and Twilight eagerly memorized the complex incantations. Twilight picked up a book, "The History of Hearts and Hooves Day? What's this doing here? Well, better read it just in case, although I can't imagine what arcane mystery it contains that Star Swirl wanted me to see."
Twilight flipped through the book then blinked in amazement. "No... Couldn't be that simple.." she said to herself. "Star Swirl, you truly are one of the greatest minds the world has ever seen!"
Twilight finished going through the books, mentally preparing her battle plan, then walked downstairs. She opened the door and found Star Swirl and all her friends eagerly awaiting her arrival.
Twilight nodded at them and said, "I'm ready. Let's go save the world."