“I’ll see you after school!” Surprise called to her little sister as she and Apple Seed walked to the schoolhouse. Alongside Surprise was Sour Apple and other elder siblings and parents dropping their little ones off at the school. Due to the dragon threat, a strict curfew had been set in place for all foals preventing them from leaving their homes unattended. For Cherry Pie and Apple Seed, this was borderline torture. They were the leaders of the local chapter of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and spent most of their free time searching for their special talents. In their minds, spending all day indoors was a type of punishment, not protection from invading dragons.
“Okay, Sis,” Cherry Pie called back half-heartedly. Despite all of the children’s mopey moods, Cheerilee welcomed her students with a bright smile.
“Ah’ll be here too, Apple Seed,” Sour Apple reminded his little sister.
“Ah know,” Apple Seed sighed. Once the foals were safely inside the school, Surprise and Sour Apple headed back into town, the Earth Pony walking while the Pegasus fluttered next to him.
“So, how are you holding up?” Surprise asked.
“Fine,” he told her. Even though he had opened up more since last year, Sour Apple still wasn’t the most talkative of ponies. The two had been dating for a few months now and had been friends for all of their lives, so Surprise knew by his tone and body language that he actually meant to say, “I’m fine as much I can be with the imminent destruction of Equestria looming over our heads and our mothers trying to stop it.”
“It’ll be okay. Your mom is with Rainbow Dash and Twilight. If any three ponies can handle themselves, it’s those three,” she reassured him.
“Hm,” he grunted (translation: “And what about your mom? She’s in the Everfree Forest.”)
“My mom’s with Spike and Fluttershy. Fluttershy can use the Stare on any animals they may come across, and Spike will scare off anything else. Besides, I don’t think anything can hurt my mom,” she laughed. Sour Apple smirked, agreeing with her. Pinkie Pie could possibly be indestructible.
“But that’s not what I’m asking about. I’m asking about the other day. You know… Manehattan,” Surprise said to her coltfriend with concern. An upset frown formed on his lips and he looked away. “Did you see him?”
Sour Apple snorted and shook his head (translation: “No, and I never want to ever again.”) Surprise stopped flying and landed beside the large green stallion, nuzzling his side comfortingly as they walked.
“You know, we should be out there helping them,” Surprise said. “More exciting than sitting here doing nothing.”
“Maybe,” he thoughtful stated (translation: “Maybe, but don’t forget our ‘adventure’ from last year. That didn’t go so well for us.”)
“It wasn’t our fault we got kidnapped by changelings,” Surprise protested. “Beside, everything turned okay, didn’t it?”
Sour raised his eyebrows and gave her a wry smile. “By okay you mean that Spike ended up roastin’ Queen Chrysalis while Evenin’ Star busted us out of prison?”
His sudden lengthy quip caught her off guard, causing her to snort with laughter. Her infectious laughter caused him to start chuckling. She playfully pushed against his side and the two walked into town laughing.
*****
In the heart of the Everfree Forest, two ponies and a dragon made their way through the heavy foliage and the dense fog. Spike used his wings to push low hanging branches out of the way, allowing Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to enter into a clearing. Taking advantage of the moment, the three stopped to take a break while they got their bearings.
Fluttershy picked the burs from her coat and brushed the leaves from her long mane and tail. Pinkie Pie’s poofy mane was filled with twigs and such. She shook herself, sending sticks, leaves, acorns, and even a bird flying from the mass of dark pink hair. Once free of the debris, she pulled out a map from her bag and took a look.
“Let’s see... We passed the tree that looked like a Unicorn… crossed the river… made it through the bramble patch…” Pinkie listed off.
“You got that right,” Spike muttered as he scrapped the thorns off of the unarmored membrane of his wings.
“According to the map, we should be almost there!” Pinkie Pie cheered.
“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked nervously, looking around the grove of trees. All she could see was the thorny, twisted vines covering the dark trees, and all she could hear were the sounds of creatures she couldn’t identify. The forest’s thick canopy block much of the sun’s rays, barely giving them enough light to see. “This grove looks just like the others we’ve passed.”
“What do I look like, a puddinghead? I know how to read a map,” Pinkie Pie claimed in defense of her map reading skills.
“Well, we better find this flute soon. I’m getting tired of tripping over tree roots and getting smacked in the face with branches,” Spike complained.
“What does the map say?” Fluttershy asked, still trying to pick the burs from her light pink tail.
“It says the flute is located by hot springs,” Pinkie read from the map.
“I don’t see any hot springs around here. All I can see is this fog,” Spike stated as he tried to look through the haze that filled the grove.
“Yeah, and all this humidity is making my mane frizz,” Pinkie added, pointing to her mane that was going out of control.
“Is it me, or is the forest getting warmer?” Fluttershy asked, starting to sweat.
“Wait a minute. Fog. Humidity. Warmer. That means we must be getting close to the hot springs!” Spike declared excitedly.
“You’re right! Let’s get moving!” Pinkie cheered, bouncing to her hooves. “If we follow the fog, we’ll find the springs! We’ll have that flute before you can say, ‘Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?’.”
Spike and Fluttershy looked at each other, confused by Pinkie’s choice of words. Regardless, they followed the pink mare, secretly trying to say the tongue twister under their breaths. As they pressed onward into the forest, the fog became thicker and the air became warmer. Soon, the steamy fog had completely enveloped them, obscuring the path.
“Wow, this fog is as thick as pea soup,” Pinkie exclaimed as they wandered through the dense haze. “Good thing I brought my spoon.”
The pink pony the pulled a spoon out of nowhere and started to scoop away at the fog, gobbling down the white mist in large chucks. Spike and Fluttershy were both amazed by Pinkie’s antics and hopeful to have her clear the path. Unfortunately, the fog reformed just as fast as Pinkie could eat it. Seeing that there was no useless, Pinkie put her spoon away.
“So, how was it?” Spike asked.
“Meh, I had better. It’s no rock soup,” Pinkie causally answered.
Spike squinted his eyes and tried to see past the mist, but barely could make out the gray outlines of nearby trees. They could spend hours wandering aimlessly through the fog and not find the hot springs.
“Stick close. We don’t want to lose each other in the fog,” Spike told Pinkie and Fluttershy, who nodded and walked closer to him. The bushes surrounding the trail started to rustle, causing the three to halt.
“Huh, what?! What’s that?!” Fluttershy panickedly asked. More and more bushes started to shake, surrounding the ponies and the dragon.
“Get behind me,” Spike told Pinkie and Fluttershy, flaring his wings defensively. Spike began to build up his fire in his throat, ready to fight whatever was about to jump out of the bushes. Pinkie Pie curiously peeked out from behind Spike while Fluttershy covered her eyes. Out from one of the bushes, something quickly jumped out in front of Spike. He opened his maw to roar, but stopped when it registered in his mind what he was looking at; a little blue blob with googly eyes and a goofy grin was standing in the middle of the path.
“It’s okay,” Spike told the mares, retracting his flared wings. Then more little blobs of all colors jumped out from the bushes. Seeing Spike relax, Pinkie nudged Fluttershy, who tentatively peeked out from under her hooves. Seeing the adorable creatures in their way, the two mares stepped out from behind Spike and rushed over to fawn over them.
“D’awwww! They’re soooo cute!” Fluttershy cooed as she picked up the blue blob and nuzzled it, it gurgling in delight. Four blobs jumped in Pinkie’s mane and tail and nestled into the pink tufts of fluff. Their gelatinous bodies began to wiggle as they purred in comfort.
“Teehee! That tickles!” Pinkie giggled as the slimes continued to wiggle. She then looked over to Spike and laughed when she saw that the remaining dozen had jumped onto his back, playfully hopping up and down.
“You know, these guys are kinda cute,” Spike agreed as one of the slimes perched itself on the end of his nose. He snorted, sending the blob floating in the air before it landed back down on his nose again, wiggling in laughter. Spike repeated the process a few more times, eliciting a laugh from the blob each time.
“Excuse me, but we were looking for the hot springs. Do you happen to know where it is?” Fluttershy asked the blue blob she was holding. It gurgled in the affirmative and hopped down from her embrace. “You do? Could you show us the way?”
The remaining slimes hopped off of Pinkie Pie and Spike and started bouncing in a line through the fog.
“I think they want us to follow them,” Fluttershy said before they all followed the slimes down the misty trail. Though the fog continued to thicken, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were able to follow the bouncing blobs. Soon enough, they began to hear to the sound of water bubbling, indicating that they were near the hot springs. But there was another sound that surprised them. It was the sound of someone laughing, and not just anyone.
“Is that Discord?” Fluttershy asked. Sure enough, they saw the Draconequus through the fog. He was soaking in a steaming pool, laughing as he held a cool drink in his lion paw. The slimes lined up in front of the hot spring and gurgled.
“Hm? What’s this? We have visitors?” Discord asked the slimes, then looking behind them to see the ponies and the dragon. Seeing them, he quickly covered himself and chuckled in surprise, “Oh, goodness me! I’m not wearing clothes! Oh, that’s right. I don’t normally wear clothes.”
As Discord laughed at his own joke, Fluttershy approached the edge of the hot spring. “What are you doing here, Discord?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked while snapping his eagle talon, disappearing and reappearing out of the water in a flash wearing a towel around his waist. “I’m on vacation.”
“How can you be on vacation at a time like this? Don’t you know that Equestria is under attack?!” Spike asked, frustrated by Discord’s apparent lack of concern.
“And that’s why I took a vacation. Do you really think I want to mess with the Dragon King?” Discord asked back.
“But you’re the Spirit of Chaos! You could be helping us! The Dragon King has Rarity!”
“Hey, hey, hey! Calm down! Who said I wouldn’t help you?”
“So, you’ll come with us to fight the Dragon King?” Pinkie Pie asked.
Discord laughed hysterically, like Pinkie had just told the best joke ever. He then became serious and said flatly, “No. I’m chaotic neutral, not chaotic stupid. I’ll leave the world saving to you. Besides, I’m spending time with some friends.”
“You mean these guys?” Pinkie asked, looking down at the slimes. The colorful blobs giggled and jumped up and down at her mentioning them.
“What are these adorable little critters anyway?” Fluttershy asked.
“Oh, them? They tagged along with the folks. Where are they anyway?” Discord stopped to reach into the hot springs and pulled out two large blobs of ooze from the water, one lime green and the other magenta. After he placed them on the ground, they recognized the green blob. “You remember the Smooze, don’t you?”
“Smoozey!” Pinkie happily cried as she tackled the green ooze with a hug before sinking into his viscous body. He wiggled affectionately, causing Pinkie to giggle.
“And meet Mrs. Smooze,” Discord motioned to the magenta blob, a pink bow rising from “her” body onto the top of “her” head. Other than the bow, there was no other was to distinguish their genders.
“You got married?” Pinkie asked from within the Smooze, her words warbled by his liquidy mass. She then burst out of his body and latched onto Mrs. Smooze. “Congratulations!” A thought occurred to Pinkie and she released the ooze and pouted. “Aaawww, you didn’t invite me!”
“It was a private ceremony, officiated by yours truly,” Discord explained, a minister’s vestment briefly materializing on him.
“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Smooze,” Fluttershy politely told them before turning to Discord. “You said you would help us. We’re looking for the Fairy Flute. It’s supposed to be located near here.”
“Ah, yes. It’s buried four steps to the south,” Discord pointed off to the side. When the three looked over to where he indicated, they saw him already over there standing beside a large “X” on the ground.
“Why would the flute be buried there?” Fluttershy asked as they walked up to the mark on the ground.
“Well, duh! Where else is supposed to be?” Pinkie Pie asked. Fluttershy didn’t even try to comprehend her friends’ logic and just went along with it. Spike stepped forward and dug at the ground with his claws. After a few quick scoops of dirt, Discord’s equine head and long body popped out of the ground holding a chest bearing Erdrick’s seal. Spike lurched back from Discord’s quick movement, but opened the chest to see a simple flute inside.
“That’s it? Looks so simple to be a magical flute,” Spike remarked as he picked up the wooden instrument.
“Well, you have what you came for. Now, I can get back to my vacation,” Discord said with a another snap of his claw, teleporting back into the hot spring.
“Are sure you won’t come with us?” Fluttershy pleadingly asked.
“Don’t worry, you got this,” he reassured them, the Smooze couple slipping in alongside him.
“Oh, okay. Thank you anyway, Discord,” she said as she and her friends turned back to the trail. Before they could go too far, they heard Discord calling to them.
“Oh. There is just one more thing I can do to help,” he told them. Curious, they turned back around to face him. “Vague premonitions about the future may be Celestia’s thing, but I have a little tip for you. When you’re sneaking around in the dragon lands, follow red to blue and you’ll find your way inside the castle.”
“Follow red to blue?” Pinkie Pie asked, scratching her head. “What does that mean?”
“You’ll just have to see. Ta-ta for now!” Discord then materialized his drink back to his paw and sipped on the straw, waving goodbye to them. Seeing the Draconequus wave farewell, the Smoozes extended tendrils from their bodies and waved as well as their the blob offspring bounced. Seeing that they weren’t going to get anything else from the Spirit of Chaos, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Spike waved back and then returned to Ponyville. “Bye bye, ponies. Have fun storming the castle.”
*****
In a flash of red teleporting magic, Hargon returned to the Temple of Malroth atop of Rhone. Upon his return, his followers stood at attention and saluted. He grinned as he made his way to his throne, pleased with himself. As Hargon reveled in the advancement of his plans, the beige Unicorn mare that was Mayor Skinflint’s aide approached the throne. She was no longer wearing her blazer, but instead was wearing the robes of the cult.
“Welcome back, my lord,” the mare greeted with a bow.
“Ah, Sister Nightingale,” Hargon acknowledged one of his most trusted agents. “Just in time. I have already met with the Dragon King. He was less than pleased to hear that the dragons were arrested.” Hargon chuckled at how easily manipulating the Dragon King had been, Nightingale laughing along in agreement. Mayor Skinflint had also been easy to trick. “He should already be on his way to Fillydelphia. And when he arrives, he’ll be so enraged that 'Celestia' has ordered the imprisonment of his subjects that he’ll certainly burn the city to the ground. Have you heard from Live Wire?”
“Yes, we have. Cider Barrel has arrived and they are awaiting your signal,” Nightingale confirmed. “With the distraction provided by the dragons, no one will notice their actions until it’s too late.”
“More importantly, the attack on the city will cause enough destructive energy to enable us to summon the Great Malroth and his generals to this world.” A thoughtful look came upon Hargon’s face and he stated, “Twilight Sparkle and her friends are on the move, undoubtedly trying to find a way to stop the Dragon King.”
“My lord, they no longer have the Elements. It’s unlikely they’ll be able to find another way to stop him in time,” Nightingale tried to reassure her master.
“I know, but they have a knack for coming up with last minute solutions.” Summoning a crystal ball to his side, Hargon used his magic to scry the image of Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. Looking at the image of the three mares in the crystal ball, Hargon grinned as an sinister idea came to him. “Right now, Princess Twilight is searching for the Silver Harp of Garin Silverharp in the catacombs beneath Canterlot. Let’s see if we can’t make her search more interesting.”
*****
Applejack wasn’t afraid. If she was, Rainbow Dash would never let her hear the end of it. But there was nothing to be afraid of. They were only wandering under the city of Canterlot in a dark and dusty tunnel, the only sources of light was a lantern Applejack was carrying and the glow of Twilight’s horn as she studied the map. The air was stale, nopony having been down this far into the catacombs in decades, maybe even centuries.
As the three of them stood in the junction of two corridors, Applejack slowly looked around at her surroundings. The same as before, the only thing she could see were the slots in the walls, each one having the skeletal remains of a pony resting inside. The farm pony grimaced and turned away, looking at Rainbow Dash instead. Like herself, she could tell the Pegasus was trying to convince herself that she wasn’t afraid.
The only one who seemed unfazed by the bunch of bones surrounding them on all sides was Twilight. Applejack and Rainbow Dash thought that out of three of them she would have the hardest time dealing with the spooky environment. Afterall, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were supposed to be the most daring of ponies in Ponyville. However, Twilight was too caught up in trying to navigate the ancient grave to notice the skeletons. To her, this was more of a puzzle and she loved solving puzzles.
“Hhhmmm… Okay, I think I got it,” Twilight stated as she read over the map. Pointing to the map with her hoof, she explained, “We’re right here, and the tombs are straight ahead and to the left at the next junction. Garin’s tomb will be the the second from the end on the right.”
“Are ya sure, Twilight?” Applejack asked, looking around at the carved walls of the catacombs. “All of these tunnels look the same to me.”
“I’m sure. We went left, right, second right, through the door and to the right, went down the stairs, took two rights, down more stairs, went left then immediately right, down even more stairs, went up a different set of stairs, and now we’re here,” Twilight explained, the list of complex directions causing Applejack’s head to spin.
“If you say so,” Rainbow Dash said unsurely, sharing Applejack’s doubt.
“Trust me, girls. I know where I’m going,” Twilight reassured them as she headed straight through the junction, the map still floating in front of her just in case. Her friends shared a concerned look, but both of them trusted Twilight and followed after her.
Just as Twilight said, they came to another junction, this time they took a left and saw a corridor lined with the opening of tombs. According to the map, the harp they needed would be in the second to the last on the right. As they walked, the light of the lantern would shine through the open doorways and into the tombs, allowing Applejack to see the multiple sarcophaguses in each one. This reminded her of the fact that they were going to have rob somepony’s grave. It didn’t feel right, but Applejack knew it was to save Rarity and the rest of Equestria. It would be a sacrifice for the greater good. Besides, these ponies were dead and weren’t about to complain any time soon.
The corridor was long, long enough to not be able to see the end even with the aid of the lantern and Twilight’s horn. The only sounds they could hear was the clip clop of their hooves. But then Applejack’s ears perked up, stopping midway through the corridor to glance behind her.
“Something wrong?” Rainbow Dash called from ahead when she and Twilight noticed that their friend had fallen behind.
“Ah thought Ah heard something,” Applejack told them, waiting to see if she could hear whatever it was again. She wait for a minute, but the catacombs remained silent. “Ah guess it was nothing.”
The three ponies continued onward, none of them noticing the faint flash of red light coming from the tombs behind them with their backs turned. Within the tombs, the lids of the sarcophaguses were slowly pulled away, creating the low rumble of stone scraping against stone. Within the empty eye sockets of the sarcophaguses’ occupants, red lights began to glow.
Twilight and company came to stop at the end of the corridor, only seeing two tombs remaining on the right side. Above the doorway of the second to last tomb was the engraving of a harp. Seeing the promising mark and that the map had been accurate, Twilight proclaimed, “This has to be it.”
Wasting no time, they entered the tomb and saw that it was empty aside from one sarcophagus. At least they didn’t have to desecrate multiple graves in search of one harp. Approaching the stone casket, Twilight rolled up the map and placed it in her saddlebag while Applejack brought the lantern closer. The symbol of the harp, which they assumed must have been Garin’s cutie mark, was also engraved on the lid. Using her magic, Twilight removed the lid, causing a cloud of dust to plume out from the sarcophagus. The mares coughed, but as the dust settled, they saw the remains of Garin Silverharp. The skeleton wore the fancy clothes of the Classical Era, but they had deteriorated considerably over the centuries. Most importantly, a shiny, silver harp was being clutched by his bony limbs. Remarkably, the silver instrument hadn’t tarnished in all of that time.
“Looks like we found it,” Twilight stated triumphantly.
“Let’s just get it and go,” Applejack requested. The sooner they grabbed the harp, the sooner they could leave this place of death.
“Sorry, buddy. But we need this more than you do,” Rainbow Dash told the corpse as she went for the harp. She grabbed it and pulled but was met with resistance. The skeleton’s limbs seemed to be locked around the harp. Frowning, Rainbow Dash doubled her efforts and pulled at it again, but skeletal Pegasus refused to relinquish its treasure. Getting frustrated, the blue Pegasus flew up and stood on the casket to get more leverage as she pulled again. “Hey, let go!”
The harp lifted from the casket in a tug-o-war between the living and the dead ponies. Rainbow Dash grunted as she strained to pry the harp away, but yelped in surprise as she was pulled into the casket along with the harp and landed on top of Garin. She gasped in disgust and scrambled to raise herself off of the dead pony. As she looked down at the skeleton’s face beneath her, her breath caught in her throat as she saw a red light glowing within the sockets.
“Holy guacamole!” Rainbow Dash shouted in surprise as she immediately darted off of the skeleton as is let out a raspy moan, Applejack and Twilight backing away in fright as well. The skeleton rose from its casket and rasped at them menacingly, the harp still in its grasp.
“This… This doesn’t make sense!” Twilight shouted as the undead pony approached them. “The catacombs isn’t supposed to be cursed!”
“Well, tell that to them!” Twilight heard Applejack say from behind her. Turning around, she saw that more skeletons were entering through the tomb’s doorway, surrounding the living ponies. Like Garin’s corpse, the other skeleton were all wearing tunics, robes, and ruffles of the Classical Era.
“What are we going to do? What are we going to do?” Twilight panickedly asked, she and her friends standing back to back. She was unable to think of a solution for she was too afraid for any rational thought.
“Ah don’t know!” Applejack told her. As they tried to look in all directions at once, a bony hoof touched Applejack’s flank, causing her to scream. “Aaahhhh! Don’t touch me!”
Out of reflex, Applejack bucked the skeleton with her powerful back legs, shattering it. The mares turned to see the crumpled pile of bones, dust, and clothes on the floor, staring at it speechlessly. Even the skeletons seemed to stop to stare at their fallen comrade. They watched and waited, but the bones didn’t reassemble like they half-expected them to.
“Wait a second,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked from the bones to one of the other skeletons. She flew up to it and shoved it hard. The skeleton fell over and collapsed into a pile of bones just like the first. She grinned and chuckled, “Hey! These guys are just bones! They can’t hurt us!”
Her fear completely gone, Applejack looked around to see that her friend was right. As she did, a skeleton snuck up to her a unleashed a raspy roar into her ear. After flinching from the noise, Applejack turned and scowled at the skeleton. “Aw, you hush up!”
She then reached up and removed the skull from the rest of the skeleton. The glowing eyes of the skull suddenly looked surprised and the body started to wander around blindly. Seeing the headless skeleton stumbling about caused the mares to laugh, and the remaining skeleton looked nervous. One walked up to Twilight and feebly tried to scare her with a weak roar.
“Not going to work this time,” the Alicorn told it as she shook her head dismissively. She then stepped forward, causing the skeletons to back away. She marched up to Garin’s skeleton, who was holding onto its harp fearfully. “We’ll be taking the harp now.”
Garin’s skeleton looked to the others as to ask them what it should do, and they all nodded to it nervously. The skeleton hung its head in defeat and handed the harp over to the princess, who took it in her magical grip.
“Thank you.” Twilight then used her magic to reassemble the skeletons that Applejack and Rainbow Dash had knock down, their eye sockets glowing magenta with her magic. She then analyzed the situation, looking between the skeletons. Reaching out with her magic, she discovered that the corpses were reanimated by an outside force. Using her Alicorn magic, she overrode the enchantment and took control of the skeletons herself, causing their eye sockets to glow magenta like the other two. “Now, you all go back to tombs and go back to sleep.”
Wordlessly, the skeletons exited the tomb save for Garin's, who walked to the casket in the center of the room. He crawled back inside, let out a raspy yawn, and pulled the lid back over the sarcophagus. Once the skeleton was at rest, the magic glow in its sockets faded. With the skeletons returned to their graves and the harp in their possession, their mission had been accomplished.
“That was… weird,” Rainbow Dash commented.
“I know. Who could have enchanted the skeletons to attack us like that?” Twilight asked.
“Ah don’t know, but Ah rather we discuss this somewhere else. Ah’ve had enough of underground graves for one day,” Applejack told Twilight.
“Ditto,” Rainbow Dash agreed.
“Okay, gather around,” Twilight told her friends. They did as she instructed, and Twilight activated her magic. In a flash, the three teleported out of the catacombs and back to Ponyville with the Silver Harp of Garin Silverharp.