//------------------------------// // Prologue - Battle at Tambelon // Story: Her Destiny // by Broken //------------------------------// Luna's tranquil, night sky smothered the land of Equestria in its soft embrace. The bright stars shone high in the dark blue mantle, and they were accompanied by the silver moon in the center, casting its glorious, pale light upon the landscape. From atop a small cliff, a single pony gazed at the big forest right in front of her. Her purple mane flowed with the blows of cold wind, and her innocent, lavender eyes were shrouded with doubt and concern. Her irises observed with attention the green mantle of leafs, looking for something down there. Her already wide eyes went even wider after she found what she was looking for: A city. “It is true after all,” The purple unicorn breathed, “Tambelon returned from Tartarus after a thousand of years in the banishment.” From inside of a cave behind her, several other ponies trotted closer. Two earth ponies, two pegasi, and another unicorn. “I can’t believe Princess Luna send us here at this time of the night! My beauty sleep is going to be ruined!” A chalk-white unicorn complained. “What in tarnation?” an orange pony wearing a stetson exclaimed, after seeing the same image as her purple friend, “How’d a huge city appear all o’ sudden in tha middle of tha Everfree Forest?” “B-b-but what happened Twilight?” A pink maned pegasus asked, stammering and shaking, “w-w-why is the city here now?” “Calm down, Fluttershy,” the purple unicorn smiled to her with kindness answering, “It looks like the spell weakened now that the Princesses are not attuned to the Elements anymore, and Grogar found a way to bring himself and his city back from the banishment. Do you remember what Princess Luna told us? Grogar is a powerful spellcaster, he probably teleported his entire city here, where he can command his invasion easily.” “I don’t remember about the Princess telling us about any... spell.” Fluttershy gulped. “It was a powerful spell that only an alicorn is able to cast. It is capable to send a being to the Tartarus, even if it is still alive... It’s a terrible, forbidden magik that was never used again. He wants revenge now, that’s why he sent his army to besiege Canterlot and corner the Princesses.” “Wait a minute,” a cyan blue furred pegasus flew to Twilight’s side asking, “If only an alicorn can cast this spell, how the hay are we going to defeat him?” “Tha Elements of Harmony, right?” Applejack turned to Twilight. She nodded. After finishing the conversation, she glanced at the ominous city once more. “Even so, this is not going to be easy. Discord and Nightmare Moon were one thing. Our enemy this time is Grogar, the king of Tambelon, he is violent, evil and his guards are trained for war. The struggle against Chrysalis during my brother’s wedding can’t compare with this.” Each one of the girls looked at Twilight with worry... “In the past, Grogar invaded all the nations to the north. Every time he set foot on a new nation, he gave them two options: complete submission, or total annihilation. Those who submitted were turned into slaves for the rams, those who tried to resist were destroyed with cruelty. That’s why the Princesses didn’t saw another destiny to him, other than sending him straight to the Tartarus, alive.” Her eyes started to water up. Twilight was on the verge of tears... Applejack took a step closer to her, “What’s happening sugarcube?” “I’m concerned about you girls. I don’t know what’s going to happen inside the city... I don’t want to see anypony here hurt.” She turned her face away from the orange pony. “Oh, Twilight! Don’t feel sad. I know those guys are, like, super evil meanies, but we are together! And if we stay together nothing can stop us!” A pink earth pony planted a kind hoof over Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight looked at her and then Rarity took a step up too. “Pinkie Pie is right. We can do this because we are together,” the chalk white unicorn nodded. Twilight looked around, and the smiling faces of all her friends around her helped to reassure her that all would be well in the end. The group traversed the mist that shrouded the city’s vicinities. Everything was quiet, giving the already ominous forest an even creepier atmosphere. Finally, they reached their destination. The walls encircling Tambelon were huge and imposing. Even in the total darkness, they seemed to reflect an eerie light into the mist, as though an invisible pair of eyes were watching all from behind them. They found some nearby bushes which could provide some cover while Twilight analyzed the possible means for the Element Bearers to enter the enemy stronghold without being noticed. “Looks like the gate is open,” Rainbow Dash pointed with a hoof. “Maybe they are expecting us, with some cakes!” Pinkie smiled, “I never tasted cakes made by goats before. I want to taste it,” she licked her lips. “Umm... I doubt that they want us inside Pinkie,” Fluttershy nudged her before the pink party pony could start bouncing towards the gate. “Any plans, sugarcube?” Applejack asked to Twilight. The purple mare gave a concerned look to the Element of Honesty, and shook her head in denial. “Oh, for Celestia’s sake! I don’t want to keep crawling in a bush for the rest of the night,” Rarity grumbled. She cast her telekinesis spell, reaching her saddlebag. A huge white cloth, big enough to cover all the ponies was drawn from inside, and outstretched in front of them. Confused, Rainbow Dash asked, “We are going to sew something Rarity?” "Don’t be ridiculous Rainbow Dash! This one of my masterpieces. Lo and behold!” Rarity exclaimed, proudly. The chalk-white unicorn started to cover the said cloth with her blue magic aura, and in a few seconds, the cloth vanished. All the other ponies stared blankly at it, trying to understand what just transpired before them. “Ooo! Do it again! Do it again please!” Pinkie started to happily bounce where she stood. “I don’t get it Rarity,” Rainbow Dash scratched her mane with a confused frown. Twilight’s eyes sparkled in awe when the realization sunk in, “Rarity! You made an Invisible Mantle?” Everypony looked to Twilight, even more confused. Rarity moved her curly mane and raised her head, “It took me several nights, but after our struggle at the Crystal Empire, I thought that we could need something like this eventually.” Twilight turned to the rest of the gang, “We can use it to get past the gates and sneak into the city.” Rarity levitated the mantle and covered all the Bearers. The contraption was really an amazing invention: From the outside anypony who hides underneath the mantle is completely invisible, but from inside the mantle is transparent, allowing the ones under it to see everything that’s happening around them. Both unicorns used their magic to help the mantle float a little from the ground, to not get it stuck on anything. Even the glow of their magic auras was hid under the marvelous cloth. With their disguise, the ponies trotted through the gate with care. The two big watchtowers, standing threateningly at each side of the shallow passage made of gray cold stone, were empty. This fact concerned Twilight, but they had to keep going. After passing through it, the Elements saw the interior of their enemy’s stronghold: the atmosphere inside the city was as heavy as lead, the roads were made of cold gray stone, the night above gave a creepy and eerie appearance to everything around the Bearers. At both sides, some houses stood, they were made of wood, and had some gray and black painting. However the buildings seemed abandoned, looking as ruins long forgotten, making the city even more gloomy. “Hey,” Rainbow Dash whispered, “This place is deserted.” “Keep quiet, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight scolded her, “they can’t see us but they can hear us.” “They?” the pegasus laughed, “there’s no ‘they’ here Twilight. This place is more empty than my stomach.” “We can’t go out in the open before being sure.” A sound coming from the end of the road startled them. Applejack, who was leading the group, signaled to the rest of the gang to stop. A rubber ball bounced from a corner, echoing through the streets as it hit the ground and continued towards the girls. They just stared blankly as the red round object bounced on the stone floor in their direction. Fluttershy, the last on the line started to hear a mumble at her side. “Pinkie?” she looked to the pink pony. Pinkie was sweating profusely, trying with all her inner strength to not break their formation. “Pinkie, please don’t do something rash!” Fluttershy whispered. Pinkie’s face filled up with a red glow, the sweat rolling faster and faster, as she bit her lips and tried to ignore the playful sound of the rubber ball. But her efforts were in vain. The pink party pony jumped out of the cloth, revealing all the Bearers below it. In the air, she yelled in a cheerful tone, “I will catch it!” “Pinkie!” Twilight shouted, looking to the mare going to jump on the red rubber sphere, pinning it down on the ground with her hooves. Suddenly, the sound of a bell is heard, echoing through the empty streets, making everypony freeze. “This was easier than I predicted,” A bass, evil male voice boomed on the air. In front of the Bearers, a large figure appeared out of nothing. It was a big goat-like monster, dark-blue furred, a long lighter blue beard protruding from the chin, and giant curved horns coming from the top of its head, curling to the sides. His maleficent red eyes had no irises and shone with fury. Around his neck, a large red belt was used to hold a golden bell. “Welcome to my capital, Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. It’s a shame that I won’t be able to smash Celestia and Luna for now, but maybe obliterating each one of you shall be enough to hurt them in some way.” Twilight’s face twisted with rage, “Grogar!” “It’s him? The big bad guy?” Rainbow Dash asked to Twilight. “Y’all can bet it is, sugarcube!” Applejack confirmed. Grogar looked to the orange pony with curiosity, “The hat looks ridiculous on you by the way. What happened with your tastes through those years?” Applejack ignored the fact that, somehow, the monster seemed to know her, and laughed at his face. “Oh yeah? From where ah come, only cows use bells ‘round their necks partner!” the orange pony replied, with a grin on the face. “Should I feel offended by it coming from the Element of Honesty? The said most dependable pony from Ponyville?” Grogar replied, irony resounding on his voice. “He knows about us?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. His evil laugh boomed through the vicinities, “Not quick enough to catch my hints Element of Loyalty? And Celestia dubbed you the quickest pegasus of Equestria. That’s rich.” “Stop insulting my friends you-you monster!” Fluttershy tried to put her bravest face and protect her fellow Bearers. Grogar cackled madly, “Don’t try to look brave Element of Kindness. Maybe you should return to that cottage of yours and cower below your bed!” His eyes are then directed at Rarity, who kept looking to him with visible fear. “Good evening, Element of Generosity, I should feel honored about receiving you at my not so clean Tambelon. After all, you hate getting dirty, right?” “He sure knows a lot about us!” Rarity gulped. “Big deal!” Twilight shouted, “what difference does it make?” The goat grimaced showing his sharp teeth, “It pains my heart hearing this coming from you Twilight Sparkle. The all-powerful Element of Magic, the catalyst that recreated the strongest spell in existence. Where’s the curiosity that drives you?” “You want questions?” she yelled, “then how did you gather so much information about us?” “I returned from my banishment quite long ago. On the same day that a certain Princess returned from the moon...” The same day that I met the girls! That’s really a long time ago! “However, you don’t simply jump declaring war against a nation that already defeated you. I decided to take my time and study my enemies using a ‘Hide in The Shadows’ spell that can completely hide my presence from the world around me. Surely putting that lame piece of cloth that you used to invade my city to shame.” “The nerve of you!” Rarity shouted displeased. Applejack turned to her, “Calm down, this guy is just tryin’ to get tha best of us.” “I was rather happy by seeing how the Princesses lost their attunement to the Elements of Harmony, but you six appeared in the way before I could take advantage of the weak moment that Equestria was facing. Defeating Nightmare Moon sure was an impressive feat for six countryside brats.” “Well, technically Twilight is not from the countryside, she’s-” Pinkie explained, but was interrupted by Rainbow Dash. “Too much information Pinkie!” “And so many things happened after that! I would say that sending the spirit of chaos back to stone and reforming him was even more impressive. What about your little war against those disgusting insects called Changelings? I watched it all and I have to clap my hooves for you.” Pinkie giggled, making a happy and silly face, “Oh you! Stop being a flatterer.” “I don’t think he’s complimenting us Pinkie... It’s called sarcasm,” Fluttershy whispered to her. “Meanie!” Pinkie’s face changed to a serious frown. “I know everything about each one of you ponies. Your strengths and your weaknesses. That's why I am attacking Canterlot now, because as I predicted, Celestia sent you six to try and defeat me using those stupid powers of harmony, but her precious knights don’t stand a chance against me.” “Then let me tell you a secret, goatee!” Rainbow Dash flew closer to him, “we are going to make you eat that bell, because no goat can defeat the Elements!” “Yes! We will send you back to the banishment!” Twilight yelled. “You ponies don’t know anything about your precious Elements of Harmony. Guess that Celestia’s utopia does not have space for some truths...” “Shut up!” Twilight yelled, “we don’t believe in any lies that you are planning to throw upon us!” A sick laugh erupted from the goat’s mouth. “Twilight Sparkle, your faith on your beloved teacher sure is astounding, but as a fellow researcher, you should know better that our only true friend, is knowledge.” “Don’t you dare to continue with that small talk with our Twilight!” Fluttershy leaped in front of her purple friend, shouting to the behemoth. A sick laugh erupted. “You ponies really thought that I, Grogar! King of Tambelore and Lord of The Rams could be defeated by six adolescent ponies playing heroines? Don’t make me laugh! I have made strategies far beyond your comprehension to invade kingdoms that put your small Equestria to shame.” “Really?” Twilight shouted defiantly, “because to me it looks like you are right where we wanted you to be!” Her horn flared with a strong pink glow, and the necklaces of the Elements of Harmony appeared instantly around the necks of her friends, and her crown at the top of her head. Grogar took some steps backwards, concerned. “You used a ‘Hide in The Shadows’ spell to observe us, right? Good, because Princess Luna taught me the same spell to hide the Elements and catch you off guard.” “Whoa Nelly! Where’s Pinkie Pie?” Applejack started to look around, scared. Twilight gulped with the realization that a team member was amiss. Grogar smiled, full of himself. “Guess that she saw another ball bouncing to somewhere...” The behemoth shook his bell, and several goat knights were summoned on the buildings nearby, armed with crossbows. They were small rams, same size as an adult stallion, and were wearing a basic set of armor along with a ringmail. They had long horns that pointed upwards and curled a little at the tips. Their fur was dark-blue, just like Grogar's, and they had red, glowing eyes. “I will not waste my time with such idle banter. I have an army to prepare for the invasion of Canterlot.” Grogar turned back, ignoring the Bearers and disappeared in a flash of magic. Twilight and the gang looked around, their small forms trembling. The goats were pointing the crossbows directly at them. “What we are going to do Twilight?” Rainbow Dash called to her purple friend. “Everypony! Gather around me, now!” The four mares gathered around Twilight, and she cast a big shield spell, very similar to her brother’s speciality. The goats fired their crossbows, but the arrows were deflected by Twilight’s shield. Each time an arrow hit her shield although, the unicorn mumbled and gasped as if she was in pain. “What’s wrong Twilight?” Rarity turned to her. “I’m not so good with ward spells Rarity...” she raised her head, giving a pained smile to her unicorn friend. “Heads up girls! They are preparing the next wave!” Rainbow Dash called their attention to the goats. They were recharging their weapons. Twilight gasped, “I don’t know if I will be able to hold for another wave!” “What we are going to do?” Rarity eyes welled up with some tears. Fluttershy was cowering on the middle of the group, shaking from head to tail. A vision of something in the top of one of the buildings attracted her attention, “Pinkie Pie?” The Bearers looked to the same direction as her: It was Pinkie Pie indeed, and she was sneaking behind one of the knights, bringing with her the red rubber ball on one of her hooves. She walked closer to him, and nudged the back of his shoulder, “Surprise!” she shouted before hurling the ball against his face. The object hit the knight which enough strength to send him flying out of the building, unconscious. Taken aback by the sudden attack, all the other goats turned their crossbows to Pinkie. She quickly took cover by throwing her body on the roof, right before an array of arrows passed above her. “Pinkie!” Twilight screamed, worried. Applejack broke through the shield, running towards one of the houses, “Ah’m not lettin’ yah get our Pinkie!” The orange pony bucked the wall with her hind legs, making the entire building shake violently. The three knights located on the border of the roof all fell down, breaking some crates on the other side where they landed. “We still have three more to go!” Rarity shouted to Twilight. The purple unicorn focused her gaze on the remaining enemies, and turned to Rainbow Dash. “Can you put them out of commission before they prepare the next array?” The cyan pegasus nodded, “I can, but their helmets are going to give me a hard time.” Immediately, Twilight’s horn flashed, and a pair of boxing gloves appeared around Rainbow Dash fore hooves. “What are those?” she exclaimed, taken by surprise by the curious objects involving her limbs. “Don’t ask!” the purple unicorn replied , “just go there and punch them right in the face. Those will help you to not get hurt from their helmets.” A rainbow blur flew right to where the remaining three knights were preparing the next attack and they could only see the colors, and feel a strong punch in their faces, forcefully throwing them off the roof and to the ground. After her attack, Dash landed on the roof, “Easy as pie! Speaking of which: Pinkie! Are you ok?” The party pony got up on the other roof, and smiled to all the girls. The Bearers assembled on the ground, “We need to plan ahead before proceeding.” “We need to be fast too Twi, those goats know that we are here,” Rainbow Dash warned, looking around. “Yup!” Applejack nodded, “not only that, but that ol’ Grogar knows an awful lot 'bout us.” Twilight moved her attention to the orange pony, “Yeah, but that’s not a real problem. Judging from his reaction, he fears the Elements, and he probably wants to avoid a direct confrontation with us.” “Umm... What if we, you know, go to his castle without being seen?” Fluttershy whispered. “That will be hard my dear, they are probably waiting for us,” Rarity replied to her. “Right Rarity,” Twilight nodded, “what we need to do is create a distraction, and make them come out in the open. This way, we will avoid being caught by surprise again.” “Whoa Nelly! Y’all saying that we should lure them on?” Applejack gulped. “Not only that, but act in separate groups, creating more distractions at the same time and forcing them to use all the horsepower they got to try to catch us. Also, somepony will have to sneak inside the castle to distract Grogar himself, while the others assemble back after losing his knights.” “It’s a nice plan Twi,” Rainbow had a unsure frown on her face, “but that’s sounds kinda like a suicide mission. We are alone on this, and we are not in our territory.” “We still can run away if anything goes wrong. Besides, the only one who is going to really take on the risk of being caught is the pony who is going to distract the king inside the castle.” “And who’s going to take this task Twilie?” Pinkie took a step up, looking with a concerned gaze upon her friend. The purple unicorn frowned lowering her head, “Me.” Everypony gasped. Rainbow Dash started to shake her head in denial. “No you don’t! If anything, I should be the one going. After all, I can try to run if you guys fail, and I’m the fastest here.” “I know Rainbow Dash, but once inside, there will be no way of knowing that the parties outside had to withdraw. I can’t rely on any magic to give you a signal, because Grogar is a spellcaster like me and he must have some sort of defense for that. I will have to completely trust you all and keep him distracted until we are together to use the Elements of Harmony.” Twilight walked a little further, looking to the bridge at the end of the street. “Besides, this is my plan anyway. If it fails, I will take the responsibility for everything. My friends can’t pay the price for my errors, I would... never forgive myself. “And how you think that we would feel if you got hurt Twilight?” Dash tried to reason with the purple unicorn. Rarity trotted to Twilight’s side, “Rainbow Dash is right my dear! Let me go with you then, my magic is not strong as yours but still can be of some help.” However, the purple unicorn denied, “I have to carry this burden alone. And I have to ask to you Applejack.” She turned, facing the orange mare straight in the eyes. Applejack froze, “W-what are yah talking about sugarcube?” “This time, you have to trust me,” Twilight’s eyes beamed with determination, she was reminiscing the episode on the cliff, on their first adventure together. Applejack didn’t find the right words to answer. She stared at Twilight, blankly for some seconds, in silence, then a voice shattered the silence, a calm and soothing voice... It was Fluttershy. “Then promise us,” the pegasus said firmly, getting near the purple unicorn, “promise us that you are going to be safe, and we are all going to escape from this city together!” The purple unicorn nodded, and turned her gaze to Pinkie Pie. She motioned one of her front hooves to her chest and started to design a cross over it. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Pinkie’s lips trembled, “Y-you can’t break a Pinkie Promise!” Twilight smiled tenderly, “I would never do such a thing with you.” They hugged, both in the verge of tears. All the other ponies joined on the hug, one of the strongest ones that they ever shared... Here’s the plan girls. I was able to make a mental map of the city by the view we had in the cliffs earlier. It’s not precise, but will be enough to help us for now. First of all, everypony needs to be aware that Grogar knows about us, and his soldiers will try to use our weaknesses against us. But I know that their dirty tricks can’t weaken our bonds. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, you both are pegasi, then you two will go first, through the main bridge, and feign a frontal attack. They started to traverse the long bridge. After going halfway through it, they finally spotted some enemies. Two of them were different from the previous foot soldiers that attacked before, being larger goats, not as large as Grogar, but bigger than the soldiers. They were wearing spiked armor through their bodies, and their giant horns curled on their heads. The two larger goats were accompanied by several smaller soldiers, all of them armed with crossbows and waiting for the girls to pass by, forming a defensive line. The elite guard spotted the two pegasi flying through the bridge, and shouted, “The enemy is coming, prepare to immediate fire!” “They are going to hit us Dash! We need to turn back!” Fluttershy yelled at her friend. “We can’t pull off without getting their attention. Trust me ‘Shy we can do this!” In a impressive stunt, Rainbow Dash gained some more speed, and begun to fly in circles. I know that you normally need two strong flyers to make this, but I just need a smaller one. A small tornado formed in the middle of the bridge, and started to go towards the rams. The strong winds made it difficult for them to have a clear aim, and some of the foot soldiers were being pushed backwards by it. The elite guards stood unaffected by the winds though, and they yelled at their subordinates at the same time, “Fire you idiots!” With difficulties, the rams shot their arrows. A huge barrage of them flew towards the tornado that kept coming to their direction, and were pulled in by it. The uncontrollable winds spread the arrows to all directions, some even being throw back at the rams, who panicked. “Stay in your positions!” one of the bigger rams yelled, but all the foot soldiers were fearing being struck by their own arrows, and begun to withdraw. “I’ve had enough of you mare!” the other elite guard shouted, scraping his hoof on the wood floor. He lowered his head, aiming his horns to the middle of the small tornado, and rushed in. Rainbow Dash was nailed, screaming in pain and flying backwards with the recoil. Fluttershy gasped in horror, and quickly flew to catch her friend and try to soften her fall. She hugged Dash on the air, but the hit was too strong to absorb and both pegasi were sent crashing to the floor some meters away. The cyan pegasus was barely conscious, and Fluttershy had some bruises on her body. “You need to run...” Dash mumbled. “I’m not abandoning you!” Fluttershy screamed, tears coming to her eyes. “I can take care of myself silly... This is nothing. But you need to make them go away remember? Twilight is counting on us!” the cyan pegasus begun to get back on her hooves, her body shaking from the pain. Rainbow Dash finally got up, while Fluttershy stayed on the ground, trembling. “You need to fly away ‘Shy, now!” Dash yelled at the butter pegasus. “B-but...” she stammered, uncertain of what to do. “Look to me right now Fluttershy!” Dash yelled even louder, as if she was giving orders to her friend. The butter pegasus rose her head, exchanging gazes with Dash’s magenta eyes, “don’t think that I’m not feeling any fear, they can kill us and I know. But there’s no way in Tartarus that I’m letting my friends down right now! If you can’t take your piece of this cake, then I will have to defeat both of these ugly goats!” Fluttershy gulped. She could not abandon Dash, and everypony was counting on her too... It was time to be brave, for her friends. She got up, and produced from her saddlebag a tomato. The butter pegasus aimed the fruit and threw it against the other ram, hitting him right in the face. “I may be late for the rendezvous at the castle,” she whispered to Dash. The cyan pegasus giggled, “Take your time ‘Shy, just give that monster a wacky ride.” Furious, the ram grumbled, “Damned foal! How dare you?” The other ram tried to calm his brother, “Wait. It’s Fluttershy, remember from the briefing that she is just a coward, and she must be ignored. Rainbow Dash’s treat level is higher.” Another tomato was threw against his face. Fluttershy giggled, provoking the elite guard. “Blast the orders! I’m not letting a pipsqueak humiliate me!” The ram roared, and begun to run towards Fluttershy. She turned back, and flew as fast as her wings could carry her, with the guard right on her tail, back through the large road from where they entered the city. “That foal. I hope he captures her at least.” the remaining ram stared blankly as his brother vanished on the mist that covered the vincity. Rainbow Dash cackled, “He’s screwed. ‘Shy will show him.” “Are you sure? You know that you ponies don’t stand a chance against us. Why fight back?” “We don’t stand a chance?” she laughed at his face again, “I should be the one saying you to give up.” “Why don’t we make a deal?” Dash raised an eyebrow, “What you are talking about?” “You know that my brother is going to capture your friend sooner or later. Then why don’t you give me your necklace and run away from the city with her? I promise to send him a signal to let your friend go unscathed.” “Never,” Dash replied blankly. “Are you going to abandon her to her own luck then? That’s your loyalty?” The cyan pegasus knocked a hoof against her own chest, “My loyalty lies with my friends. I will never doubt them, and never abandon them! ‘Shy is going to defeat your brother, and we will defeat your king together.” “Whatever,” the ram grumbled, “I wanted to reduce you to a bloody pulp anyway you cocky brat!” He prepared to attack Dash, who just stood on place, eyes determined and focused on her opponent. The ram rushed against the pegasus, faster than before. Dash could evade, but she didn’t... Somehow, the pony managed to get a hold of his large horns and absorb all the impact with her front hooves. The ram kept pushing Rainbow Dash backwards through the bridge and towards a wall of one house on the other end of it. “I will smash you!” the ram shouted, doubling his speed. A second before the impact, Dash used her hind legs to buck the ground, making a momentum that lifted her to flight. The wall blasted, spreading debris all over the place. The cyan pegasus landed right after, looking to destroyed house. The debris moved and the elite guard emerged from it, his eyes spinning. “I think you used your head too much huh?” He collapsed in the next second. Dash giggled, and felt to the ground too, breathing heavily, her face turned into a pained frown. My side is killing me. The hit I took from the first guard really hurts... I need to rest just a little. Guess you are not going to be the only one who’s going to be late for the party ‘Shy. Fluttershy managed to escape from the ram until now, but she was almost outside Tambelon, already seeing the two watchtowers and the shallow stone passage from where they entered. “Stop running you foal!” the elite guard yelled behind her. She looked behind to measure the distance between herself and her chaser. Her heart was almost jumping out of her chest, all she thought was to keep flying towards the exit. Fluttershy entered the shallow passage, but the ram followed her. She closed her eyes, and passed through the gates, going directly to a nearby tree and hiding behind it. Her lungs bellowed wildly, she despaired. The butter pegasus peaked from behind the vegetation, looking back to the gates, but she saw nothing. A sense of relief washed over her chest. But before she could breathe alleviated, a evil laugh boomed behind her... The elite guard was there, looking straight to her soul, he raised one hoof and punched Fluttershy, who somehow managed to throw her body to the ground, avoiding being hit by millimeters. His strength was enough to open a hole on the tree. The pegasus started to crawl on the ground, hopeless, trying to think of something in order to escape. But her fear clouded her mind completely. The ram removed his stuck hoof from the tree body, and jumped right in front of the mare crawling on the floor, laughing, “You can’t escape anymore! Any last words?” Fluttershy froze. She knew that was over for her. As a last attempt, she brought to her face her most brave look, and faced the enemy direct on the eyes... “Do your worst!” she shouted, locking eye contact with him. Something made the ram doubt his own action. The gaze on that mare’s eyes was... frightful. He froze too, unable to smash Fluttershy under his hoof. Some seconds passed. The butter pegasus kept her opponent paralyzed into her stare, but he was too strong willed to give in and run. That was when a mad laugh was heard by both, seeming to come from nowhere. “Watch out!” Fluttershy shouted, pointing upwards with her hoof. The ram escaped from the effect of the stare, “You little wimp! Who you think I am to fall for an old trick like this one?” Then a piano fell from above, hitting him direct on the head, smashing the ram below it and putting him out of commission. Fluttershy leaped backwards from the shock, scared. Some seconds later, when her breath started to come back to normal, she finally realized that a message was written with red paint on the body of the piano. I know that Celestia ordered me to not intervene, but I could not let my only friend to be hurt by those abominable rams. I never abide by her rules anyway, so why this would be any different? Go get’em tiger! Fluttershy smiled, “Thank you!” She moved her attention to the city. I’m going Twilight. Please be safe! Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack, you three need to take the longer way, through the house’s street, and towards the market place. At the end of the second district, right in front of a building that looks like a prison, you girls are going to find a place where the width of the stagnant moat encircling the castle is smaller. That’s where you will enter, but stay alert, the marketplace and the town district are prone to have enemies expecting a back-door. The ponies were already running at full speed towards the second district, passing through the marketplace. Rarity was behind, panting, while Pinkie and Applejack were side by side, paying attention on the nearby buildings, searching for any enemies trying to ambush them. “Oh dear! Why do I have to get so sweaty from all this rush? My mane is going to get smelly and wet!” Rarity complained. “We can’t be worried ‘bout some wet mane Rarity!” Applejack shouted. “No rams until now. Maybe we got really lucky and will be able to reach the castle without being attacked?” Pinkie asked to Applejack. The orange pony shook her head in denial, “I doubt it sugarcube.” They continued to trot as fast as their legs could carry them. Pinkie looked behind to see where Rarity was, but she vanished from her vision. “Applejack! Rarity is not behind us anymore!” the pink pony slowed the pace, until she comes to a complete halt. “Shoot! What happened?” Applejack did the same. Suddenly, a lasso was thrown from the window of an abandoned candy store, and wrapped around the orange pony’s neck. Something strong began to drag Applejack inside the store, as more and more ropes kept coming and captured her hooves and body. She tried to resist, but whatever was pulling her had enough power to subjugate the earth pony. “Oh noes! Applejack!” Pinkie shouted going towards her direction, but her friend yelled at her. “Go find Rarity! Make sure she’s safe! Ah can take care of mahself!” Pinkie stopped, and the image of Applejack being pulled inside the dark and ominous building through the window burned into her eyes. They started to get moist, but she sent the tears down her throat and turned back the road to find Rarity. Her search didn’t take long. The chalk-white unicorn was behind a building, with her eyes glued to a storefront. “Rarity!” Pinkie yelled, almost mad. The unicorn turned her neck to the pink party pony, “There you are Pinkie Pie, come over here!” She obliged, but as she reached Rarity’s position, Pinkie started to shake her front hooves in all directions at random, blabbering some unpronounceable gibberish. “I don’t know what you are talking about my dear, but take a look inside!” Rarity pointed to the insides of a deserted fashion shop. Pinkie glanced through the window, seeing an amazing and preposterously large diamond shining on the floor. If ‘Tom the Rock’ had a twin brother, this was the one. Only this one was really a diamond. “I’m going to enter and take it! It’s too big of a treasure to leave behind,” Rarity trotted towards the door. Faster than Rainbow Dash, Pinkie covered the door with her body, “No! Don’t go inside, it’s a trap and you know it.” “Don’t be absurd my dear. There’s no enemies around here, plus it will take just a second, don’t worry.” The chalk-white unicorn removed Pinkie out of the way, as if she was the door itself, and entered inside. Pinkie leaped out of place and tried to enter, but immediately all the doors and windows were locked with thick iron covers that came sliding from above. The pink party pony could do nothing but sit on the ground, staring blankly at the sealed way separating her from her friend. “I told you that this was a trap...” “Pinkie?” Rarity’s voice came from inside the building. Pinkie leaped in surprise, her hope reassured, “Are you okay you silly pony?” “Indeed! But you need to go without me! I shall find a way out, but Twilight needs you to help her. Go to the castle!” “Alrighty!” Pinkie slammed a hoof against her forehead, “take care please!” Inside the store, Rarity turned around, to take a better look at what was surrounding her. It was a boutique, similar to her, but was completely abandoned and tattered. At her right side, several mannequins were stacked one above the other, covered in dust, at her left side; she found a counter, destroyed with several holes. In front of her she saw some coat hangers, with tattered clothes hung on the rusted iron bars. And of course, the giant diamond shining with the lights of some torches that were ablaze to give the place some lighting. “Come to mama!” Rarity smiled, and trotted towards the stone. But before she could reach it, a trap door opened below the gem, making it fall into a big, pitch-black trap hole. “That’s really ironic to see. The Element of Generosity’s very weakness is in fact, her greed.” The double doors at the other side of the fashion store slammed open. From inside, a big ram trotted out. He was smaller than the elite guards, having long horns going up instead of curling to the sides, and cruel eyes with red irises. His coat had the same dark-blue coloration as Grogar, and he wore the spiked armor of the elite guards. He stared at Rarity, who still looked to the trap hole with her mouth agape, and her eyes wide open in shock. “You were the easiest to trap. My name is commander Hammer Horn, I’m Grogar’s general and my orders are to arrest you and all the elements.” “Was it you who activated the trap door?” Rarity asked, ignoring him. The ram sighed with exasperation, “Indeed it was.” The chalk-white unicorn threw her body to the ground, and begun crying with despaired screams, slamming her hoof continuously on the floor. “Why?” she shouted while on tears, “you are a monster! A monster I say!” Enraged, the ram expelled some smoke from his nostrils, and clasped his hoof against the ground; making the whole building shake, “Don’t make a fool of me wimp! Don’t you understand the situation you are in?” “He was so pretty!” Rarity proceeded with her act, crying even louder, “how you can be so cruel?” The ram leaped from the other side of the trap hole, and tried to smash Rarity under his hooves. The chalk-white unicorn snapped out of her act, and swiftly evaded the attack by leaping from the ground to the counter at her right. Hammer Horn smiled, “You are pretty fast for a fashionista” “A lady never reveals her secrets darling.” Rarity winked, taunting him. He turned to her side and rushed to pin down the unicorn with his horns. Rarity jumped from the counter to his back, and from his back to the ground in the blink of an eye. Hammer Horn destroyed the rotten wood with his mighty assault. “That’s it? You are going to keep running?” he turned to her, and asked with a bored voice. “Do you think that I am going to dirty my hooves by fighting you or something?” The ram smiled mischievously “We don’t need to fight then.” Rarity raised an eyebrow, and looked to the commander with curious eyes, “What you mean?” “Hand me over your necklace, and I will not only leave you alone, but I will give you the diamond you saw, and even more treasures from the Tambelon’s vault.” Rarity paralyzed, and kept staring blankly at the ram with her eyes wide open. Hammer Horn started to laugh, “It’s tempting is it not Lady Rarity? You do not have to keep fighting on in this dirty, defiled place. You can leave this hole and go back to your precious boutique, with your saddlebag stuffed with the treasure of a kingdom and a diamond bigger than your body. Just hand me over the Element of Generosity and this nightmare will be over...” Then the chalk-white unicorn cackled. Her laugh was so loud, that the sound echoed through the place. The commander was taken aback by her reaction, he stared at Rarity, shocked, with his jaw dropped, trying to understand what happened. “You really think that I would fall for it? That I would exchange my friends for some diamonds? Don’t make me laugh Mister Hammer Horn!” Rarity expression changed suddenly from a huge mocking smile to a serious and disgusted frown, “there’s no bigger treasure in this world to me than them, and I will never betray my five most precious gems for some dirty money! Your sick words are disgusting and make me want to vomit!” Hammer Horn could have exploded from rage then, his eyes were set ablaze from the upcoming wrath filling his being, “Guess the briefing was not so accurate. You are not the weakest minded of the Element Bearers.” “It is true that I can be weak at times. But as long as they are with me, there is nothing in this world that I cannot overcome.” He expelled another cloud of smoke from his nostrils, “Then be it. I shall bring your life to end without any problems; you are after all the weakest of the Bearers.” “Is it what your briefing said to you?” Rarity raised an eyebrow. The ram cackled, “A pathetic unicorn afraid of fighting. This is the only thing that my eyes show me right now; I do not need any further info to know that.” Hammer Horn rushed in her direction without a second warning. The murky room is lit with a bright blue light, and the curtains that adorned the windows come to life. They quickly grabbed the commander’s hind legs, making him fall to the ground and slammed his entire body against the stone floor. “You do realize that you choose a boutique to trap me do you not? My magic is not strong as Twilight’s magic, but you are in my natural habitat darling.” Hammer Horn tried to cut the curtains with his teeth, but it was all in vain, as Rarity used her magic to wrap his front hooves and mouth with some of the old cloths from the coat hanger. “Do you give up?” she asked with a smile, and released his mouth from the wrap. “Never! Equestria will fall upon the might of Tambelon!” “Then have a good night my dear, my friends are waiting for me.” Her horn flared with an even stronger light, and Rarity levitated the giant diamond from inside the pit, back to the ground level. “How is this even possible?” Hammer Horn shouted, impressed by Rarity control over the giant gem. “This is my speciality.” The stone involved by the blue light floated in the air, and with crushing speed is hurled against the goat, hitting him mercilessly. The impact sends both the commander and the diamond against the wall. The fragile stone composing the building was not able endure the hit, and a hole opened, making Hammer Horn and the gem end up on the outside street. Rarity smiled, she was victorious, but her hooves began to shake and she almost fell to the ground. My horn is hurting! I’m going to need some painkillers when I get back. Need to remember to not try to lift so much weight again. With some difficult, the chalk-white unicorn exited the store through the hole she opened on the wall, and took a look at the direction she was supposed to follow. Please, be safe everypony... Applejack woke up inside the candy store. She was surrounded by foot soldiers armed with small hammers. Some of them still were holding the several ropes used to bring her inside. Rage welled up inside her belly. The rams had made the mistake of letting go of the ropes, and were just observing her. “Ah’m not goin’ to be kind partner. Better be prepared...” The mare stood on all four. Her green irises rolled around, exchanging threatening gazes with every foot soldier there, tension building up in the air. One of the foot soldiers finally jumped to attack the mare with his hammer, Applejack rapidly turned around, and in the exact moment that the ram was close enough, she used both hind legs to buck him on the chest. The metal of his armor bent in the shape of her hooves, and the foot soldier was sent flying against the wall, crashing there and going out cold. His fellow soldiers gasped in shock. In an attempt to control the furious mare, the rams took the ropes with their mouths to hold Applejack on place. But before enough soldiers could grasp the restraints to counter her, Applejack took one rope with her mouth and moved it with all her strength aiming to use one of the soldiers to hit all the others that she could. With one move of her neck, the orange pony swept through the room, bringing all the foot soldiers restraining her with the ropes down, as she used one of their own companions like a flail to hit them with impressive strength. “That’s how it is on tha farm, you mess with tha bull, yah get tha horns!” The remaining opponents gulped, but charged at the same time against Applejack. The mare smiled... From outside, all that could be seen was the unconscious bodies of the rams flying through the glass windows, from the roof, and from the wooden door into the street, while the sound of metal being hit and screams of pain came from inside. As the last foot soldier was sent breaking through the window, Applejack trot out of the building, her stetson covering one side of her face. The mare stopped on the doorway, looking towards the castle. Her stetson covered a purple eye, and some bruises on her face. Ah’m coming Twilight, hang in there... My part is going to be tricky. While all you guys got Grogar’s forces attention, I will use some of my spells to sneak inside the castle and walk right inside of his royal chamber. This will be sure to get his attention on me, and buy time for you girls to come by and surprise attack him. Remember that we will act all at the same time, so each second counts, we have to be swift and relay at the castle the first opportunity we get. Twilight choose a way behind the main set of houses, a small road between the buildings and the west walls. he never ran so fast in her life, adrenaline running wildly inside her body. Something was strange. A lump was stuck in her throat, and it refused to go down... A lump of something that even the most sedulous researcher of Equestria was unable to define what was. It was dread she felt? Fear? Doubt? She just continued to run, until she saw the image of the castle’s walls past the stagnant moat. The purple unicorn trotted to the border of the road, and looked down on the smelly water pond. There was no turning back now... Twilight summoned her magic powers, and closed her eyes, the memories of her brief training with Zecora coming to her as vivid images. Slowly, she planted a hoof on the water surface, feeling it as hard as the ground; she proceeded to place her next hoof down. Everything was looking fine, and then she brought both hind hooves down. Twilight was standing on the surface of the water. Then, step by step, the unicorn walked through the stagnant moat. In her forehead, drops of sweat were rolling, showing how stressful it was to maintain the spell running, but she had to be strong and keep pushing. The water pit seemed to be bigger than an ocean, but Twilight never opened her eyes, to keep her concentration unbroken. The sound of her hooves hitting the water seemed to never end... Finally, a different sound, she opened one eye to check. The torture was over; she had managed to traverse the moat. Her irises ran up the castle wall in front of her. Now I need to use my reverse gravity spell to climb the wall. She trotted closer, and prepared her mind to cast another high level spell, but she heard the sound of hooves coming closer at high speed. Twilight ducked behind a house, and observed a foot soldier running through the main street with an arrow plunged into his helmet. He looked completely freaked out. The ram entered the castle, screaming ‘Lord Grogar’ with all the might of his bellows. It looks like the girls are doing a good job with leading the enemy troops astray. Let’s follow the guy and see what happened. Twilight didn’t have to waste anymore spells with sneaking. Maybe due to overconfidence or because he really was a very careless ruler, Grogar simply let his front door opened, without any guards to overlook it. The purple unicorn trotted inside, passing through a garden. Said garden was horrible, the only plants were weeds and big thorn bushes. There were statues, but the thorns were covering them, hiding the sculptures under the thick foliage. After some walking, there it was, Tambelon castle. It was not too big, and looked more like a manor than a castle. As the rest of the city, it was ominous and creepy. The walls were made of cold gray marble, the entrance was adorned by two big stone columns that formed a portal. The doorway leading inside was wide open, the two big wooden doors inviting anypony to enter. Twilight swallowed any fear that clouded her mind, and with care to not be too loud, entered. “They are squashing us my liege.” the ram said with a trembling voice. The foot soldier was now in front of the Lord of Tambelon inside his throne room. A large room made of the same cold gray marble as the rest of the castle. It was perhaps the only place in the entire city that didn't looked like a ruin. A red carpet coming from the giant entrance doors adorned the floor, flowing all the way to the steps leading to the throne where the goat sat. At both sides, several torches hanging on the walls provided light to the murky, windowless room. Some shields depicting Tambelon’s crest also were on the walls for decoration. Behind the throne, a giant golden bell hung with a chain, from the ceiling. Grogar, furious, stomped his hoof against the arm of his luxurious throne, “Send more soldiers! I want them imprisoned right now!” “We can’t my liege... You ordered the troops to assemble near Canterlot. We have just a small group of guards and few Elites here for your personal protection,” he tried to reason with the behemoth, shaking from head to tail. Grogar creaked his teeth menacingly, his red eyes lit in an even more angered light, “How’s this even possible?” he shouted as loudly as his breath allowed him, “they are six brats! Six stupid little ponies from a countryside village! We are trained soldiers; we crushed countless of those towns in our times of glory!” The foot soldier could only continue to shake in fear hearing his lord venting out his frustration, “The briefing was not as accurate as it seemed. We studied them individually, but not as a team...” “Shut up!” Grogar’s loud bass voice almost crushed his minion against the ground, “are you suggesting that those cursed Element Bearers are strong due to their Friendship or whatever? That’s preposterous!” The giant goat stood up from his throne, “Power lies within crushing might, with ultimate strength, be it magical power or simple military prowess. Friendship is not power! It’s just a cheesy word!” “I agree my liege,” the ram started to nod, moving his neck as fast as he could, “but what are we going to do?” Grogar’s horns lit with an electric blue light, then some blue sparks begun to appear around the tips. “I will crush them with my own hoof. As for you...” A lightning bolt is hurled from the horns against the foot soldier, hitting him without mercy. He was electrocuted to death by Grogar. “I don’t need weaklings in my ranks.” He shook his bell, the sound echoed through the room. He scratched his throat, and started to scream loudly, “Attention you fleabags still inside the castle!” his voice was magically projected, gaining enough volume to rival a megaphone, “Grogar demands all of you to hunt down the invaders and bring them to me immediately! Forget about my protection, just find those ponies and bring them here right away!” The behemoth proceeded towards the front doors, but then... “Stop right there Grogar!” Twilight’s voice boomed inside the sinister room. Grogar stood in place, shocked. She jumped from the ceiling, and landed safely right in front of him. Her lavender irises looked with sadness to the executed soldier on the ground. “A reverse gravity spell? You are really good for someone your age little pony.” Twilight had used another high level magic to reach his throne room by walking on the ceiling where she could go unnoticed by any guards that might have crossed her way. It was a clever trick, but the spell sure drained the unicorn of some stamina. “I don’t need any compliments from you,” she replied, her words sounding as sour as possible. “You realize the mistake you committed? This is my castle, my throne room, what makes you think that I’m not going to simply smash you?” The unicorn lowered her head, “I know, you don’t need to remind me. However, I’m not letting my friends face you, I don’t want to see them getting hurt.” “Self-sacrifice? Celestia taught you that too I assume,” his face turned into a mocking smile. “I don’t plan on losing too!” “You are going to fight me alone? Are you nuts, little pony?” This time, the goat didn’t resisted and cackled madly, mocking Twilight, “ Your beloved princess send you to die then! And I will show you.” Grogar launches another lightning bolt, aiming at Twilight this time. The attack almost took the unicorn by surprise, but she summoned a ward around her before being nailed. The blue energy hit the lavender shield, the magical power strong enough to send Twilight backwards, shattering her defense. Luckily, the spell ended before doing her any harm. “Congratulations. You are the second spellcaster to have enough magical power to resist my Thunder Horn. Shame that by invading my fortress, you are already exhausted.” “I’m not here to fight!” Twilight yelled at Grogar. The goat eyes went wide in surprise, “What are you talking about?” “I’m here to offer peace to you, as Princess Celestia offered a thousand years ago. We don’t need to wage war Grogar! Let’s stop with this madness before anypony else get hurt.” Once again, all that Twilight heard was a mocking laugh, “Silly unicorn! Why I would accept peace?” “Then tell me why you choose war over it? It does not make sense!” “Because war is in our blood. Our race is born to fight, to conquer, to search for glory on the battlefield. You ponies are marked with your destinies right? Those cutie marks or whatever. They define your destinies, personalities, your whole beings. Can you change it Twilight Sparkle? Change what you are down to the core?” Twilight's mouth went dry, and she didn’t knew why, but Grogar’s words stung her chest as an arrow, making her heart beat even faster. “ I... Can’t.” “Then you know that there’s no way of changing me. We rams live for war, it’s our destiny, and you can’t change it with words.” The giant goat lowered his head, and passed his roof on the floor, aiming his big horns at Twilight’s direction. “You are good with spells, but can you fare so well with your muscles? I assume you are far from being the athletic type...” He rushed at full speed towards the unicorn. Twilight stood in place, planning how to react to the onslaught of her opponent, when a pie flew from the doorway behind her and struck Grogar right in the face, spreading whipped cream all over his eyes and blinding him temporally. Twilight immediately turned around to see who did the prank, and she found Pinkie Pie standing still on the doorway, with her muzzle dirty with the same white cream-like substance. “Pinkie! You did it!” “The pies those goats bake are horrible!” she complained, “but at least they serve as good weapons.” Grogar struggled to wipe the cream from his eyes, and was running aimlessly through the large throne room. Twilight quickly saw it as an opportunity. Her horn flared, and she enveloped one of the shields at the walls in her pink magic aura. When the blind goat tried to finally hit her with his horns, she put the shield right in front of him, making his attack hit the metal surface instead. Twilight’s magic was strong enough to rival against his physical might, and the shield held by her telekinesis made him collapse to the ground as if he hit a wall made of concrete. Pinkie Pie rapidly came to Twilight’s side, “Are you alright Twily?” “Yes don’t worry, you made it just in time. Let’s keep him busy until all the girls are here.” The behemoth didn’t take long to recover from the crash. He quickly grabbed the bell at his neck, shaking it. The cream covering his eyes was engulfed in a pale blue light and lifted to the air, “Never thought that I would use my magic for something like this.” A stream of smoke flowed from his nostrils, and he focused his maleficent gaze upon the two Bearers, “Enough with your silly jokes! Time to end your pathetic lives!” His bell is once again rung, and his mouth lit with a flaming glow. Grogar’s cheeks expanded and he coughed up a big fireball from his mouth, which flew at high speed in their direction. “Try to defend this spell with your pathetic ward Sparkle!” he shouted, mocking Twilight. Seconds before the scorching sphere struck them, a blue blur passed and pushed them out of the harm’s way. The fireball exploded, opening a hole on the ground. Twilight and Pinkie were safe, reunited with Rainbow Dash. “Sorry for being late egghead, but fear not! Your friendly neighborhood Dash is here.” “You are our hero Dash.” “No time for pointing the obvious Twi, we have a bad guy to bring down.” The behemoth was beyond infuriated, “Why do you rats keep coming? My troops must be a bunch of dronken monkeys!” His bell rangs once more. The king raised one of his front hooves and thundered it against the ground, sending a shockwave of such power that the earth shattered as the spell made its way towards the three mares. A rope flew through the air, wrapping around Twilight, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash‘s waists, and a firm pull removed them from the danger. The powerful spell hit the wall breaking a part of it and opening a hole to the garden outside. “This can’t be!” Grogar yelled, frustration was clear on his voice, “not a single one? All the rats are still alive?” Applejack trotted towards her friends, “Is everypony alright?” The three nodded. Twilight gasped after taking a glance at Applejack’s wounded eye. “Applejack are you alright?” “Don’t worry sugarcube, this is nothin’ that an ice cube can’t fix. How is everything goin’?” “Not too good,” Rainbow Dash complained, “he keeps bombarding us with those spells, and it’s a pain to keep evading them.” “As long as he has that bell, there’s little we can do,” Twilight explained, “that bell is a powerful regalia from Tartarus that works as an infinite pool of stamina; Grogar can keep throwing us all the spells he wants and he will suffer little to no fatigue...” “Then we need to do something ‘bout that bell,” Applejack affirmed, “Pinkie, did ya bring that party cannon of yours?” “Of course silly, how do you think that I traversed the moat?” Pinkie giggled. After some seconds of silence from everypony due to the image of Pinkie blasting herself from her cannon towards the castle windows was printed on their minds, Applejack scratched her throat and ordered, “Let’s bring it here! I’ve gotta a plan.” The party pony nodded in accordance, “It is on the corridor outside.” “Perfect! Twilight, Dash, keep tha old goat busy, we will be right back!” The earth ponies exited the room, trotting as fast as they could. Grogar remained analyzing his opponents the whole time, trying to figure which spell he should use to obliterate them. “That’s good to see. At least some of your fellow Bearers have something inside those tiny skulls, and decided to flee.” “Don’t be hasty to have your flank kicked, goatee!” Rainbow Dash yelled at him. “Enough with the pointless threats! This is a battle, and it is fought with actions, not with chat!” “You could not be more right!” Rainbow Dash lowered the front part of her body, craving to run against the behemoth and take him on. I am worried about Applejack’s plan... Twilight looked to the doorway, worry clear on her face. Seeing her disarray, Rainbow Dash called her attention with a loud shout. “Don’t doze off now!” Twilight immediately returned her focus to the situation at hand. “Trust in AJ! Trust in your friends egghead! We are with you on this, and we will not fail.” The unicorn nodded with determination, “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, I tried to take everything in my hooves and I forgot that I am stronger because you girls are with me.” “We knew...” Twilight was taken aback. “We knew from the start that you devised that crazy plan just to try and confront Grogar alone.” “I’m so sorry...” Dash smiled, “Don’t worry, and thanks for trying to protect us as you always do, Twilight.” Ignoring the reassuring words shared by his opponents, Grogar prepared another charge. “Rather than using any spells, I think smashing your frail bones under my hooves is going to be so much more pleasurable.” Grogar launched a furious assault without a second thought, his giant horns aimed directly at Rainbow Dash. In that exact moment although, Pinkie and Applejack returned, armed with the pink pony’s party cannon. The goat, impressed by the heavy weaponry displayed in front of him, stopped his rampage immediately. “How the hay did you bring a cannon inside through the stagnant moat?” the king asked, bewildered. All the girls except Pinkie cackled at his face. “That’s Pinkie Pie for you goatee!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “It does not matter!” his angered voice made the laughs hanging on the air cease, “even a cannon can’t destroy the might Grogar! You ponies probably don’t have the guts to shot it anyway.” The party pony picked a small phosphor from inside her messy mane, and lit it by passing it against Applejack’s flank, “Are you sure my dear?” she asked, with half-lidded eyes and a mocking smile. A drop of sweat rolled down Grogar’s forehead. The short wick is set alight, and quickly vanishes. Grogar took some steps back, awaiting for the impact but then... A huge amount of confetti and small pieces of paper along with two or three balloons was everything that apparently shot from the contraption, much to his surprise and dismay. Some of it even ended up stuck on the goat’s face. “This is some kind of joke right?” he asked, with a mix of deception and rage. “Of course it is silly!” Pinkie answered cheerfully, “I am the number one party pony of Ponyville.” “Then let me smash you all with my most powerful spell! I don’t even care if I have to blow away my own castle; I just want to reduce each one of you vermins to shreds!” The pieces of colored paper on his face self-combusted and he was ready to take any price just to destroy the Bearers. Suddenly, Pinkie giggled, “Oh! I forgot to say that I am also very good with surprises!” Rarity, hid under a small part of her Invisible Mantle, appeared atop his back and involved the red belt that kept the bell around his neck with her blue aura. A simple pull, and the chalk-white unicorn snatched the regalia from the king. She was hiding inside the cannon? It was just a distraction for her to be shot in my direction! “No!” Grogar shouted when the realization of their plan sunk in, “give it back!” He moved his hooves, trying to take back the artifact floating right above his head, but Rarity was faster, she threw the bell in the direction of the door, and immediately, a butter pegasus passed soaring in its direction, and took the regalia in her mouth. The behemoth moved his attention to the Bearer sitting on his back, “I will crush you!” “Twilight, now!” Rarity signaled. Twilight responded by casting a teleport spell on Rarity, bringing her to safety in a second. Fluttershy was floating close to the doorway with the bell on her mouth. Grogar was sweating profusely; not only he had lost his trump card, but also, all the six elements were right there in his throne room. “Don’t be a bad pony Miss Fluttershy! Please, give me back my bell, and I promise that I will be more gentle when I execute each one of you.” She raised an eyebrow, sarcastically. Everypony planted a hoof against their faces. Twilight asked, bemused, “That’s how you was planning to reason with us?” “What do you expect? If you are not going to give it back-” Grogar jumped in Fluttershy’s direction, “I will take it by force!” His strong legs allowed him to give a huge impulse, enough to really reach Fluttershy in the air. But before he could grasp the butter mare, Applejack reacted picking up her lasso with her tail, and with a quick and precise throw, she wrapped one of his hind hooves. Rainbow Dash joined forces with the orange pony, and together they pulled the rope, bringing the behemoth to the ground, planting his enormous body against the stone floor. Before he could express any reaction, Twilight and Rarity combined their magic and wrapped his entire body with the rope, restraining each limb to make sure that he was not going to escape. The purple unicorn then casted a transformation spell, and turned the rope into a thick cable made of metal. “Fluttershy! The bell, throw it away!” Rarity yelled. Fluttershy flew to the hole opened on the wall, and with a move of her neck, she threw the bell away. The object traversed the air and landed directly on the stagnant moat, sinking into the pitch-black water... Grogar smiled; Tambelon had lost once again, and he knew it. All the Bearers proudly wearing their respective necklaces gathered around the fallen giant in a circle. Twilight was the first to manifest, “It’s over Grogar. You lost.” “I know.” The purple unicorn felt a little unsure, seeing a once powerful and proud creature reduce to a pathetic heap on the ground was a sad scene. “You don’t need to return to the banishment. We will offer peace again to you. Order the soldiers stationed at Canterlot to retreat and take everything back to your homeland, sign a treaty that you will cease your attacks against Equestria and you can live with your people and your land.” Grogar cackled, even madder and crazed than ever. “I shall die as a warrior Twilight Sparkle. I will uphold my honor above all else, even about my people. That’s our destiny...” His red eyes focused on her. “Celestia must be proud. She found a brilliant mind, a genius researcher, a loyal subject and a strong magician. You could even surpass the Sun Goddess herself if you could grow wings and get strong hooves. Surpass the Goddess... she should really feel threatened by your existence, that must be why she keeps you so close.” The room fell silent for some instants. What he is talking about? Me, stronger than Princess Celestia? That’s impossible! She’s an immortal alicorn! She’s the ruler of all ponykind! “Focus, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash scolded her again, “you are dozing off too much today! What’s gotten into you?” “I’m sorry again Dash. No more dozing off!” The six Bearers closed the circle around Grogar. Twilight yelled at him, “This really is your final decision?” “That’s how I play this game Sparkle. Show me once more the Power of Harmony feared even in the deepest prison of Tartarus!” “So be it. Girls, get ready!” The crown representing the Element of Magic flared above Twilight’s head with a strong white light. Slowly, the necklaces begun to respond, each one giving off a different color. The strong magic power resounding lifted each one of the six to the air. A strong wind blew inside the room, making the torches flick in a mad dance of light and shadows. But this time, for the very first time in all the occasions where the elements were used, something was different... Their hearts started to beat faster, and faster, like a mad rollercoaster. The ponies felt something inexplicable, they could only compare it to fear. “Twilight what’s happening?” Rarity shouted in the middle of the chaotic storm “My heart.... It’s like something is... smashing it!” Fluttershy tried to catch breath. “My head is spinning!” Pinkie screamed, fear was evident on her voice. Twilight never heard any of her friends. The surge of magical energy was focused on her as always, but this time, the trance state that she normally enters when the spell is being channeled was deeper. “Twilight yah need to stop!” Applejack screamed trying to reach her friend, “there’s somethin’ wrong with tha Elements!” In the deepest part of her trance, the purple unicorn saw something... A cutie mark. A familiar one on top of that. It was her own cutie mark, and now, it was shattered. She felt the symbol being reduced to pieces, breaking like glass. It was painful, as if her cutie mark really was being torn apart. The strong shock of that vision made Twilight escape from the deep trance. And when her consciousness came back, she was received by sound of all her friends gasping in agony, trying desperately to catch breath. “Twilight! Stop the spell!” Rainbow Dash screamed. She despaired too, and her own heart felt as if it received a sudden punch. The same pressure shared by all the bearers hit the unicorn, all their pain at the same time. “I...can’t... the Elements are going haywire! I can’t control their powers anymore!” Her eyes opened, as if they were forced to, bathed in a blinding white light. Each Element shot a beam of a different color, and those smaller beams converged into the purple jewel atop her head, the entire crown became white like ivory, and shot a giant white beam of light against Grogar. Once it nailed the behemoth on the ground, a chalk-white blast wave engulfed the room and kept spreading, eating the whole castle, and finally the whole city in few seconds... From all of Equestria, the ponies observing the horizon could see a giant pillar of white light ascending to the skies, like a colossal tower. And as fast as it appeared, it vanished, leaving only the serene night sky and the perpetual silence hanging on the air.