Horseshoe bay: 994 A.D.:
The castle was in flames, the only signs of ponies having once lived there being ruined little huts and the tattered remains of tents that had been set up for the refugees. Everything of value had been taken, even the smallest scraps of food. All that remained was rubble and fire.
Twilight picked up the broken remains of a discarded bow. She could sense an enchantment on it that caused the string to snap when pulled back. There were swords, axes, and even some armor that had similar spells cast upon them to makethem next to useless in a fight. Somepony had to have done this from within the keep. She clenched her claws into a balled fist tightly, to the point where her palms bled.
‘I will tear out this traitor’s throat!’ she screamed mentally.
“Twilight?”
The lavender Ponygoyle turned sharply on her heels, expecting to find the betrayer. Instead, she found the Ponygoyles she had sent to the rookery, plus the yellow one with the feathered wings, who had been the one who had spoken.
“What happened out here!?” The cyan, rainbow-maned one asked with a look of absolute rage.
“The castle was attacked...” Twilight explained. “The ponies were betrayed from within, and were most likely taken prisoner.” The Ponygoyles gasped in shock, the yellow fell to her knees and started to weep.
“What about the dragon?” The white one hesitantly asked.
“I couldn’t find him, for all we know they could have...” Twilight turned away from the rubble that had once been her brethren, refusing to finish. “W-were there any others in the rookery?” She asked, clinging to a small hope that more had survived.
“No… only us.” The pink one said as her mane deflated into a near-flat state.
“Th-the eggs are s-s-safe, though.” The yellow one said timidly between sobs while the rainbow-maned one hugged her.
The orange Ponygoyle stepped forward. “What’re we gonna do, Twilight?”
The leader of the Ponygoyles closed her eyes in thought, then growled angrily. When her eyes opened, they were glowing almost evilly. “We are going to find them.” She snarled as she slowly stood up. “We are going to rescue those ponies, and we will have our revenge!!” She roared.
The others nodded in agreement, and they climbed to the highest point in the castle, taking off to follow the trail left behind by their quarry. Their vengeance would soon be swift, but it will be anything but painless.
Back at the swamplands, the Gryphons and Diamond Dogs were holding a celebration over their latest victory.
Spirits were not so bright among the prisoners, however. Inside one of the cages, a Pegasus mare held onto her daughter tightly, tears trailing down her face.
“Don’t worry, Mother.” Scootaloo said. “The Ponygoyles will come to save us!”
“Nay, foal.” One of the imprisoned Royal Guards stated. “The Ponygoyles wouldn’t want to help us… not after the way we treated them...” Some of the prisoners shared a look, knowing he was right. After all, what reason did they have to come save them?
In a nearby cave, Starswirl sat by a by fire, Queen Celestia and Prince Blueblood glaring daggers at him from the other side of the cave, their hands cuffed and magic suppressors upon their horns. The Gryphon leade; Hakon, sat across from the old unicorn, munching on a large drumstick and occasionally laughing to himself as he inspected his plunder.
“Look at this crap!” Hakon said with a derisive laugh, holding up an old-looking book. He flipped through the pages with a talon. “I’m glad I can’t read so that I don’t waste my time with this nonsense.”
“You put that down, you barbarian!” Blueblood demanded. “That volume is very old and powerful! You have no idea-!”
“Bah!” Hakon growled. He tore out a random page and tossed it into the fire. Blueblood screamed bloody murder at the Gryphon, who only laughed contemptuously.
Celestia glared spitefully at Starswirl. That would’ve been enough alone to make the stallion feel ashamed, but he argued to himself that it was worth it. The Ponygoyles were safe at the castle. No harm could have befallen them. Everything had gone as smoothly as it could have.
An unholy roar pierced the air suddenly, startling the three ponies and the gryphon, the last of whom grabbed the nearest mace. Hakon and Starswirl made their way to the cave entrance, where Gryphons and Diamond Dogs alike were panicking and pointing to the sky.
“They’re coming!” A Diamond Dog cried out, pointing to the six figures who were shadowed by the moon’s light. It was clear from the sounds they made and the shapes of their wings; they were Ponygoyles.
Hakon sneered and glared at Starswirl. “I thought you said that they wouldn’t follow us!?”
“They shouldn’t have!” Starswirl said, baffled. “Unless… Hakon, what did you do!?”
The Gryphon leader ignored the unicorn and headed back into the cave, roughly grabbing Celestia by the ropes binding her. “Looks like your precious Ponygoyles are coming for you, pony!” He said with a scowl.
Celestia’s eyes widened at that revelation. “The Ponygoyles…” She glared at the Gryphon. “You’re a dead bird, Hakon.”
Hakon only smirked. “Perhaps.” He drew out a dagger. “But I won’t die before you!”
Blueblood gasped loudly and threw himself into Hakon’s stomach with renewed vigor, slamming him against the cave wall. This little triumph was short-lived however as Starswirl lifted him up and threw him across the cave, slamming him against the wall and knocking him out once more.
"Blueblood!" Celestia shouted, struggling against her bindings as Starswirl trapped her in his magic chains once more. “Release me at once!” Celestia screamed as she struggled against Starswirl’s grasp.
“We have to go, now!” He stated as Hakon got up.
"And what about him?" He snarled as he turned to Blueblood, a murderous gleam in his eyes.
Starswirl simply scoffed. "He'll only slow us down. Besides, the Queen is more valuable than him." Hakon scoffed as he and Starswirl quickly fled the cave with the Queen in tow.
As Blueblood slowly regained consciousness he noticed his reflection in a discarded shield right next to him, upon looking closely at the magic inhibitor collar around his horn he noticed that it had a small crack down the side. Smirking, he wormed his way around until he found a sharp blade and began scraping his horn against it...
The Ponygoyles wasted no time in swooping down upon the Gryphons and Diamond Dogs. The Gryphons didn’t even have time to take flight as Twilight blasted several of them away with a pulse of arcane power. The lavender Ponygoyle soon spotted what was clearly Queen Celestia being carried away by a Gryphon and a cloaked figure. She then noticed that the Queen was being carried by a magic aura, she snarled at the sight, knowing immediately that he was the traitor. She took off toward them as they headed for a cliff that overlooked what she knew to be a dangerous, monster-infested bog.
Meanwhile, the orange Ponygoyle landed and grabbed the wrist of a Diamond Dog trying to swing at her with a sword. Her grip was so strong, it shattered the bone in his wrist, and she brutally threw him to the ground before grabbing a Gryphon by the neck and twirling around to throw him into another Dog. The pony refugees watched in a mix of awe and fear as the Ponygoyles fought off the barbarians. The rainbow-maned one grabbed a boar that had been roasting over a fire before dodging a swipe from a Gryphon. She sidestepped a stab from the same opponent, then swung the boar at him, knocking him away with shocking strength.
The white Ponygoyle tossed her opponents away with her magic into the crowd of foes, adding a brutal magic blast to the attack. While she was busy the yellow one immediately flew to the cage where the rest of the ponies were being held and quickly unlocked them, The moment they got out they wasted no time helping her free the rest of the prisoners as well as removing their wing clamps and magic inhibitor rings. The Royal Guards wasted no time grabbing any axe, sword, or mace they could find before joining the fight, immediately turning the tide against their enemies.
Two Diamond Dogs attempted to flee into the woods, but stopped dead in their tracks as the pink Ponygoyle emerged from the shadows, her eyes glowing intensly like a terrifying demon out of Tartarus itself.
"ZUUL, MOTHERBUKERS, ZUUUUL!!" She screamed, the Diamond Dogs turned tail and ran as fast as they could as she chased after them, anger and rage clear in her eyes.
As the Ponygoyles and Royal Guards devastated the Gryphons and Diamond Dogs, many of the barbarians fled screaming for their lives. The orange filly pumped a fist into the air and hugged her mother. “I knew it! I told you they’d save us!” She shouted as the other refugees cheered.
As this happened however, Blueblood finally stumbled out of the cave, his spellbook in hand, just as the Ponygoyles, minus Twilight, all gathered in a group. A feeling of hatred and fury rose up in his stomach, and he growled in outrage. “You monsters, you fools! She’d still be alive if you hadn’t come!”
The Ponygoyles all looked up at the Prince, each with baffled looks. “Wh-what is he talking about?” The yellow one asked timidly.
“They would’ve simply ransomed us both!” Blueblood hollered as he held out his spellbook. “But then you invaded their camp, and now-!” He couldn't finish the sentence, but instead his horn glowed intensely as a large dome appeared around the Ponygoyles.
“What’s going on?!” The white Ponygoyle asked as the orange and rainbow-maned one relentlessly tried to break through the shield. “Where’s the Queen?!”
“Dead...” Blueblood growled, shocking the group. “And I will send you all to Tartarus for that!” He screamed and rage as the shield glowed and several bolts of lightning struck it's captives inside. The Ponygoyles could only scream in pain as the they were forced to the ground. The Prince opened his book to the spell he had found before. “...and this will end it!” He began chanting, speaking in some language that the nopony had never heard before. A fell wind began to blow as a dark mist rolled over the trapped Ponygoyles, who screamed as a light enveloped them.
“No!” Scootaloo shouted, struggling against her mother’s grasp. The light blinded everypony present...
Meanwhile, Queen Celestia struggled against Starswirl's magic grip as he and Hakon neared the cliffs, trying to free herself from her bindings. Suddenly, a shadow fell over them, and the three stopped as Twilight descended, an unrivaled glare piercing they're very souls. She landed and spread her wings, letting loose a powerful gust of wind, blowing Starswirl's hood over and revealing his face. The lavender Ponygoyle's eyes widened in shock. “Starswirl?” She exclaimed in surprise. “Y-You’re the traitor!?” She asked as tears threatened to leave her eyes, her voice doing nothing to hide how shocked and betrayed she felt. "Why... just... why would you do this?!"
The unicorn hung his head in shame and nodded. “Yes, Twilight. I’m sorry, but it was the best way to keep the Ponygoyles safe.”
"Safe? SAFE?!" Twilight shouted, her anger almost immediately overtaking her sorrow. “YOU LIAR!” Twilight roared, making Starswirl take a step back in shock. “I found them at the castle! They were all DEAD! Shattered as they slept! All but five others were killed!”
“Wh-what?” Starswirl was at a loss for words at Twilight’s revelation. “B-but I…” He glared at the Gryphon beside him. “Hakon! You promised to spare them!”
Hakon scoffed. “I haven’t survived this long by taking fool chances, Unicorn!” He held his dagger at the floating Celestia’s throat. “Now, you’ll both step aside and let me pass, lest the Queen’s blood be on your hands!”
“You won’t get away!” The Ponygoyle snarled. “Neither of you! You will join my brethren in death!” She stepped forward, and Hakon responded by pointing his dagger at her.
“Stay back, monster!” He cried. Starswirl suddenly grabbed the Gryphon’s arm, struggling with him to take the dagger away since he needed his magic to the Queen from falling off the cliff. He quickly used his other hand to grab Hakon’s wing.
Seeing an opening, Twilight immediately encased her own claws with magic before performing a wave-like motion with her left claw, creating a horizontal knife-like wave, and then launched it at the two with a swing of her right claw.
In one swift motion, the magic blade sliced through both Hakon’s wing and Starswirl's horn. Both of them screamed in agony as they fell to the ground clutching the area where their wings/horn was. However with no magic to hold her up, Celestia almost immediately dropped off the cliff.
"NO!" Twilight screamed as she quickly darted past the two and jumped over to the edge and reached down grabbing Celestia by the ropes that bound her arms to her sides.
The ground beneath them couldn’t take much more punishment, however, and it crumbled away, toppling them and Celestia.
"You traitorous bastard!" Hakon screamed as he fought through the pain of losing his wing and charged at the Unicorn. "I've lost a win because of you!" He screamed as he punched Starswirl in the face.
"We had deal to leave the Ponygoyles be! You're the one who broke it!!" The Unicorn growled as he recovered and slammed his foot into the Hakon's rib cage. "Everything that happened here is because of YOU!!" He screamed as he tackled Hakon, sadly he did not notice that they were too close to the cliffs edge and ended up sending them both flying off the cliff. Hakon was unable to fly with only one wing, and the unicorn was unable to save himself without his magic as they both fell into the darkness below.
Twilight lifted Celestia back onto sure footing, snapping the ropes on her arms and wrists, then looked down at the abyss where her enemy and former friend had fallen. “I’ve been denied everything…” She growled in anger. “Even my REVENGE!” She roared in fury to the heavens, falling to her knees and fighting off tears that were making themselves known.
Celestia knelt down next to Twilight, placing a hand on her shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself. What could she possibly say? She had no idea what it was like to lose what Twilight had lost. She couldn’t imagine what the violet Ponygoyle was going through.
“Twilight!” came a young filly’s voice. The orange filly with the purple mane came running up to them. “You have to help your friends!”
Celestia and Twilight looked to the filly, then to each other before following the child back to the camp. There, Twilight found something that made her blood run cold. Her friends, all five of them, stood in a circle, frozen in…
“Stone?” Twilight said with wide eyes. “At night? What sorcery is this!?”
It was then that Blueblood stepped forward, A smug and arrogant grin on his face. “Sorcery indeed.” He said as his horn began to glow. “And now, you will join them!” Twilight growled and readied herself for a fight, only Celestia to jump infront of her, hoping to shield her from any spell her nephew was about to attempt. Blueblood’s eyes went wide at the sight of his aunt. “Aunt Celestia?”
Celestia placed a hand on one of the frozen Ponygoyles next to her. “Oh Blueblood, what have you done?”
His book fell to the ground, opened where Hakon had torn out a page, and Blueblood fell to his knees, the weight of his deeds falling on him. “I… I thought you were dead… I went mad with grief!”
Twilight pushed past the Queen and unceremoniously grabbed the Unicorn by the color of his shirt, pulling him close and holding her free claws to his neck. “Reverse the spell!” She demanded. “Bring them back NOW!!”
“I-I-I c-c-can’t! The Gryphon tore out the page with the counterspell and burned it!” The Prince stuttered, pointing to his spellbook.
Twilight looked at Blueblood’s spellbook, seeing the torn page. She scowled and dropped the prince on the ground, turning to her friends and approaching them. She placed a hand upon the shoulder of the one she remembered being orange with a yellow mane. She dropped her hand and hung her head. “Now... I am truly alone...” She said somberly.
Celestia fought back a sob. These creatures -these Ponygoyles- had fought to defend her ponies. And she repaid them with spite and intolerance. Now this…
“You turned them to stone forever?” she asked Blueblood, who shook his head.
“The terms of the spell were that they would sleep… until the castle rises above the clouds.” The prince explained, guilt and remorse evident in his voice.
The both looked to Twilight, who didn’t look back. She only kept looking at her lost friends...
Later on, they all returned to the castle, and, with the help of the surviving guards and a few of the refugee ponies, they took the frozen Ponygoyles and placed them atop the tallest tower in the castle. Twilight was silent the entirety of the task, and was the one who placed her friends upon the tower as they were brought up. Celestia and Blueblood stood with her the entire time, offering their endless apologies and condolences.
“We’ve done you a great wrong, Twilight,” said Celestia, remorse in her voice.
Blueblood nodded solemnly. “I know no apology can be enough to atone for what I’ve done.” He said. “I just… I wish there was something I could do.”
Twilight silently nodded before turning to Celestia. “What will you do now, Your Highness?”
Celestia thought on it for a few moments. “I suppose I could take my people to my sister’s lands. It’s no longer safe for us here. She should be more than happy to take us in.”
Again, Twilight nodded. “I… I have two final request's to make.”
“You only have to name it.” The Queen said.
“The eggs in the rookery,” the last Ponygoyles said. “They’re going to hatch soon. Those children will need guidance.”
Celestia smiled. This was undoubtedly an opportunity to atone for the wrongs she and her people had committed against Twilight’s people. “Never fear, my friend. We will watch over them as though they were our own.”
Twilight gave a grateful nod before facing Blueblood. “There is something… something you can do, as well.”
“Anything.” Blueblood answered.
“Your spell. Cast it one more time.” Both Celestia and Blueblood stared at the Ponygoyle, mouths agape in shock at the statement. "If my brethren are to sleep forever, then I shall join them."
Later, as the ponies left the castle, Scootaloo looked up at the tower where the last of the Ponygoyles rested. At the highest point stood Twilight, frozen in stone, her claws and wings spread apart she gazed upon the horizon, as if waiting for the day that she and her brethren would be free...
Scootaloo sighed as she turned her attention to the eggs in the wagon beside her, specifically the two that were closest to her. One containing a female with white scales along with a grayish purple and light pink mane, and another with yellow scales and red mane.
"Don't worry Twilight." Scootaloo said she hugged one of the eggs. "I promise I'll help keep them safe...
Horseshoe Bay: 1000 Years Later:
In the old ruins of Horseshoe Bay, the old castle had fallen from grace over the years. Moss and cobwebs covered almost every inch of its many crumbling walls. Some of the towers had defied the tests time had given them, standing tall and proud.
“At last, Castle Horseshoe... Magnificent.” The figure said as he walked through the ruins, making his way towards the tallest tower. He was a Unicorn stallion with a light gray coat, a light azure mane & moustache, and he wore a black suit with a symbol of three golden crowns with purple jewels on left side of his chest. “Make the offer now, John.” He ordered.
Another stallion walked besides him. He had a dark brown coat and gray mane with a few while streaks & a matching goatee, and he wore a black suit like his boss. “May I say one last time Mr. Fancy, the costs of this venture will be beyond astronomical.” He stated as they made their way upstairs. Eventually the two they arrived at the top, where several statues awaited them. “Ah… here they are.” He said as he approached the largest one. “You’d better start hiring the crews.” Fancy ordered. “l want to begin as soon as possible.”
“You do know it will prove difficult to find the necessary manpower.” John stated. “This castle has a bad reputation. In fact, some of the locals believe that it’s haunted.”
“You know the answer to that, pay somepony enough, and they'll walk barefoot into Tartarus.” He said with a smirk as he turned to leave.
However before exiting the tower, he turned to his assistant. “Make sure that they know that, as professionals, they should handle these statues with care. There’d better not be a single scratch on them, understand?”
John nodded in affirmation, and pulled out his iphone to make the call. Soon the great movement began, several work crews converged on the castle and begin to disassemble it. Many barges and helicopters ferried and flew off with large pieces of the castle in tow. Among them, six helicopters each carried a large wooden box. Inside, six statues rested within a sea of foam balls for damage-proof purposes, silently… yet unknowingly, awaiting their freedom and salvation…
To Be Continued...