Epic Unicorn History: The Beards of Harmony

by PresentPerfect

Epic Kindness

Epic Unicorn History: The Beards of Harmony
by Present Perfect

Epic Kindness

"It yet gaineth ground upon us!" Star Swirl shouted, daring a glance back.

All that lay behind them was the whirling, gnashing, bone-white teeth of the great worm. It churned and roiled through the tunnels, gouging out chunks of cave rock with a mouth large enough to swallow two ponies whole.

"Och, shet yer gob an' keep runnin'!" Applebeard headbutted Pinkbeard's rear, the latter picking up his pace, though his energy flagged visibly.

"Move!" Hushbeard roared. "Take heart, or we're worm food!"

Prancebeard gave a pained shout as he tripped on a rock. The glow of his magic faded, and Rainbowbeard slipped from Hushbeard's back, giving his own weak cry of alarm before returning to unconsciousness.

Star Swirl caught him, bathing the tunnels in darkness, and slid him back onto Hushbeard. "Got you!"

Shaking himself, Prancebeard galloped to catch up with the group, kindling a light with his horn. He gave Star Swirl a knowing look, which was returned with a nod.

"Hold together," Star Swirl said mostly to himself, leaping a low rise of rock.

Both Pinkbeard and Applebeard cried out as they collided with it, and the group had to slow to help them both back to their hooves. Star Swirl chanced one more look at their pursuer. The worm was nearly upon them.

"How did we get into this awful mess?" Pinkbeard cried.

Star Swirl grit his teeth. "Funny you should ask that..."

Falling from a considerable height to land on solid stone was, in Star Swirl's estimation, the second worst feeling in the world. The worst was, of course, waking up to feel what such a fall did to one's wellbeing. Every inch of him was stiff, sore, and begging him to go back to sleep. He could fight off the lethargy and pain, if barely, though when he tried to speak, he broke into a fit of coughing.

"Easy." Hushbeard loomed over him, pressing a cool cloth to Star Swirl's forehead. Water trickled over Star Swirl's lips, and he drank greedily. "You're the last to wake besides Rainbowbeard. Given your age, I'd feared the worst."

Star Swirl coughed. "You're talking to the stallion who bested Grogar in hoof-to-hoof combat on the obsidian shores of Fowl's Creche," he muttered through cracked lips. "While the volcano was erupting." He inhaled sharply, only to start coughing again. "Agh! I'm too old for these horseapples."

"And yet the rarest wit has shown you through," said Pinkbeard, standing behind Hushbeard, a smile on his face. A bandage around his head obscured one eye. "It does me good to see you are awake."

"Aye." Star Swirl blinked until his eyelids no longer felt made of sand, then carefully sat up to survey the others.

Prancebeard nursed a leg swathed in bandages. Applebeard seemed none the worse for wear physically, but sat to one side, alone, quiet and sullen. Star Swirl didn't want to think about Hushbeard for the moment.

That left the heap of color and armor marking where Rainbowbeard lay.

His back was turned to Star Swirl, his breathing shallow. Numerous scars crisscrossed his coat. His cutie mark depicted lightning bolts in red, yellow and blue arrayed in a trigram, with purple, green and orange where the wide ends intersected.

"Will he..."

Hushbeard made a low noise in his throat. "I saved him from the fall, but he hath borne the brunt of it more than any of us. I fear, with his wings broken, he may not wish recovery."

The words stuck in Star Swirl's mind like daggers. "What do you mean?"

"How might you feel," Hushbeard said with a slow shake of his head, "were you to lose your magic?"

Star Swirl's mouth went dry. He turned away. Hushbeard heaved a long sigh.

"Would that I had a full stock of medical equipment, to say nothing of proper shelter."

"Star Swirl," Prancebeard said.

When Star Swirl turned to see what he was pointing at, his breath caught in his throat. A changeling drone lay to his left, partially entombed in a pile of large stones. Gashes across its carapace leaked green blood. It was breathing shallowly and, though it was obviously in no shape to fight, bared its fangs when Star Swirl spoke.

"You saved it?" he asked, eyes fixed upon it.

"I tried," Hushbeard said, moving toward the changeling, who cringed as he swapped the blood-soaked cloth on its forehead for a fresher one. "I know nothing of its physiology, and it seems unwilling to do aught but sulk and sneer."

The changeling tried to snap at Hushbeard, but was held back by obvious pain.

"How strangely like a pony 'tis," Star Swirl mumbled to himself. Louder, he said, "Hast thou a name, changer?"

The changeling turned those fangs toward him, hissing. The hiss became a series of rasping coughs, green flowing from its wounds each time it convulsed.

"As though I would tell you!" it finally managed to say, words clipped.

"Need I remind thee," intoned Hushbeard, "how Applebeard the Stalwart showed thee and thy brethren mercy at the campsite not three days ago?"

The changeling shuddered, a motion Applebeard copied. He turned further from it, head low.

"What would you have me do?" it asked. "Give up my people to you ponies? I would rather die."

"Die thou shalt," Hushbeard said, taking the cloth over to a pail of water and wringing it out. "Even if thou toldst me thy secrets, I fear the world quickly darkeneth for thee."

The changeling said nothing, only swivelling its ears as they conversed.

"Our main desire," Hushbeard continued, "is escape. My comrade is wounded--" he lifted a poultice and brought it to Rainbowbeard-- "and our medical supplies are low. Can you not tell us of this worm? I will see to it thy final moments are spent in comfort."

The changeling gave a harsh laugh, which turned into another coughing fit. When it stilled, Star Swirl gave Hushbeard a concerned look, but the larger pony merely shook his head.

"The worm, eh?" said the changeling quietly. "It is our king's greatest weapon. If he has unleashed it upon you, you are all doomed." It chuckled. "A pity I shall not be alive to witness your destruction."

"What is it?" Hushbeard stepped closer. "Where did it come from?"

The changeling seemed to consider for a moment. "It was here, in these tunnels, when we came to them. In one wing--" it motioned to the right with its head-- "was a monumental worm, a blind beast of rage and hunger, just waiting for our mighty King to wake it. In the other slumbered a great bear, a vile creature our wise King saw no use for."

"A bear?" Prancebeard sat bolt upright. "Thou meanest an Ursa sleepeth here?"

The changeling grinned. "An Ursa Major."

With a soft cry, Prancebeard fainted.

The changeling wheezed, lying back on its cradle of rocks. "Our king sealed it in its cave, and there it remains asleep." It took a deep breath. "I will say no more. If you aim to end me, ponies, then do so now."

Hushbeard placed a fresh poultice on the changeling's brow as its breathing grew more and more ragged. "An thou toldst the truth or nay, still I would treat thee thusly."

He tended to Rainbowbeard, in no apparent hurry. Star Swirl watched as the changeling's chest rose and fell, each breath taking a little longer than the last. When Hushbeard was done with their comrade, he lumbered over to the changeling, laying beside it and placing one foreleg over its chest.

Then, burying his face in the rock fall, Hushbeard began to hum a long, low note. It coursed through the rocks below them, through Star Swirl's own bones. The note rose and fell, strong yet mournful, reverberating in the chamber all around them as though the stones themselves were weeping.

The changeling closed its eyes. And as it breathed its last, Star Swirl saw what he thought were tears tracking down its cheeks.

It was Hushbeard who erected the cairn over where the changeling lay.

"...Because I'm more concerned with how we'll get out of it!" Star Swirl finished, ducking past a low stalactite. "Hath anypony ideas?"

"I spy a hole ahead in which we'll fit!" Pinkbeard shouted, dancing to the side and motioning with his lute. The other four charged past him toward the narrow fissure in the rock. It lead downward, and in the dim glow of their horn lights, a space was visible behind it.

"Applebeard!" roared Star Swirl.

Comprehension dawned on Applebeard's face a second later. He ran to Star Swirl's side, and reached out to let his earth magic flow through the unicorn. Star Swirl lit his horn, and a moment later, the fissure widened enough to let Hushbeard and Rainbowbeard through without effort.

A moment later, the rest of them charged through.

A moment later, the fissure sealed shut behind them.

A moment later, the worm crashed past, following the outer curve of the tunnel. All five shared a heavy sigh.

"We should be safe from the worm for the moment," Star Swirl said, lighting his horn once more.

The fissure had led them to a small cave with a much smaller tunnel leading out. Even Pinkbeard, the smallest of their number, would have to crouch to fit through. But Star Swirl's light showed the tunnel did continue on. With the rumbling of the dreaded worm filling the tunnels outside, it seemed their only path was forward. Prancebeard and Applebeard scouted ahead -- "T' have a wee keek," as the latter put it -- while the others took the respite to tend to Rainbowbeard.

"Wuzz all 'at racket?" he moaned. "Wha'ss th' fuss?"

Hushbeard knelt, peeling the poultice from his wing, only to have his hoof slapped away.

"Be off," Rainbowbeard said, as though he were merely sleeping off a night of drinking instead of a near fatal fall. "I can' stand the smell of ya, let alone the sight."

Frowning, Star Swirl used his magic to hold the pegasus's limbs down. "Rainbowbeard, this is hardly the time for petty recriminations. We are running for our lives, and you quite nearly lost yours. The least you could do is show some respect to the stallion who saved it!"

Rainbowbeard glared at Star Swirl for a long moment, until his eyes unfocused. "Feh. Not the first time."

Taken aback, Star Swirl glanced at Hushbeard. "What does he mean?"

Hushbeard merely shook his head and returned to his patient. Star Swirl scowled, but looked up as Prancebeard and Applebeard returned to the cave.

"There's an exit farther ahead," said Prancebeard. "But I fear something sleepeth within. Though not as strong as what we encountered in Grundle Gorge, there yet come the winds of some great beast."

"Sure an' it gae us th' willies," Applebeard added.

Pinkbeard pouted. "Now let us hope 'tis not that worm, or worse!"

Taking a long look at Hushbeard and Rainbowbeard, Star Swirl hmm'd. "Worm or no, 'tis our only way now. Come. We must make haste for the upper caverns if we are to drive the changelings out and end the threat of monsters in Equestria. We shall follow it to the end."

The others watched him as he moved behind Hushbeard and placed a hoof on his shoulder. The large pegasus stiffened.

"Back with the changeling," he said lowly, "you performed an earth pony rite. Yet in the cavern of the Grundle King, I could not use your earth magic, for you had none. I should have realized it then, but we had more pressing matters to attend."

Hushbeard tried unsuccessfully to shrug the hoof off. "What should you be realizing?"

"The best kept secret is told to a quiet stallion." Star Swirl's eyes hardened. "You are a kind and gentle pony, with care in abundance for all things living, but you are dark with secrets, and I will not take one step more with you until we've had the truth. Who are you, Hushbeard? Who are you truly?"

With a great sigh that all but sucked the air from the cave, Hushbeard turned and gazed at his companions with the look of one at the end of a long and tiring journey.

"Deception," he said slowly, "is something learned by rote." He bobbed his head. "I am sorry, my friends, for keeping my identity a secret. I am merely so in the habit of living as an earth pony that I often forget my wings."

Of the other stallions, Applebeard looked most discomfited, but they all nodded and murmured forgiveness. Star Swirl pointed to Rainbowbeard.

"That's as well, then. Now, what is he to you, that you take his jibes and insults yet remain dutifully at his side? He said you've tended to him before, yes?"

"Aye."

After a moment, Prancebeard cleared his throat. "I believe he desireth elaboration."

Hushbeard deflated. In a low voice, barely more than a mumble, he managed to force the words out.

"He is my brother."

Gasps rang out around the chamber. Pinkbeard's face lit up in wonder.

"Then surely you and he should not be foes! A party must I throw for you, at once!"

"It is not so simple as that," Hushbeard said, and Pinkbeard's ebullience collapsed.

"I note no family resemblance," Star Swirl opined as Hushbeard set about bundling Rainbowbeard up.

"I shall tell you our tale," he said simply, hoisting the other pegasus onto his back, "as we make our way through the caves to Prancebeard's beast."

Without another word, he made for the small recess where the tunnel out lay. The others glanced at each other but fell in step behind him, Star Swirl widening the tunnel as Hushbeard spoke.

Once upon a time, there were two brothers.

They were not brothers of blood, born of the same mother or raised by the same father. Rather, they were highborn pegasi who had shared the milk of the same nursemaid. In this was their life bond forged.

The younger milk-brother was bold and sleek, with a coat the color of the summer sky and mane struck through with the hues of a rainbow. His elder was larger than he, round and soft where he was edged, painted with the pastels of a meadow of spring wildflowers.

The pair were inseparable. When the elder brother was teased for his softness, the younger brother would avenge the slight with hoof and tooth. When he had difficulty flying, his junior would teach what he knew and bolster him with encouraging words. When the younger brother cowered beneath his bed during thunderstorms, the elder would whisper those encouraging words back to him, and soothe him with legends of brave pegasus heroes.

Over time, the younger brother grew into a masterful flier and fearsome warrior. His elder took to the healing arts. Together, they joined the Pegasopolitan army, not only out of the duty beholden to all young pegasi, but because they both of them wished to seek the glory of ages past. Yes, even the softer elder brother loved the stories of pegasus heroes, and often wished he could be as bold and fearless as they were. And so he made a promise to see his brother return alive from any battle.

One day, they were called upon to join the front lines of the pegasus army and fight against the oncoming unicorn horde. The younger brother fought bravely, though to recount how many he slew that day would not be prudent in this age.

The elder brother waited behind the lines with the other medical ponies, tending to the wounded as they returned from the fight bearing the scars of unicorn magic. So continued the battle until, all at once, a terrible blizzard came over both armies, fighting in an already snowbound valley. The great pegasus cloudmasters could do nothing to abate the storm, and warrior after pegasus warrior was thrown groundward or bashed against cliffs. The unicorns, rich in wisdom and valor, retreated.

So it was that the elder brother saw his junior tossed about in the gale, his powerful wings unable to stand in the face of magical weather. He saw him plummet toward the ground, and, shouting his name, dove after him, though he had no hope of flying any better.

The pair landed in the snow, and the younger brother took the brunt of the impact. When he had regained his senses, the elder saw his brother was dying. The storm had battered him within an inch of his life; the fall had nearly killed him. So the elder did the only thing he could to save his brother.

He scooped him upon his back and trudged through the snow, down the mountainside to where a pegasus ground station lay. All through the night, he carried his brother, keeping him warm with his own armor. By dawn, the blizzard had not slackened, but by some miracle, they at last collapsed in the shelter. Both brothers came within inches of death that night, yet both were saved.

It was the last battle the unicorns and pegasi would ever fight.

When harmony called ponies to Equestria, the two brothers bickered. The elder wished to live out his days in peace, far from these strange ground-bound ponies, though he would learn to admire their traditions, rituals, and skill with healing. The younger brother still longed for days of glory, and so he joined the guard of the King he had once sworn an oath to defeat.

Thus, the brothers did not speak for three years, until--

"We are here."

The narrow tunnel widened suddenly, revealing an impossibly large cavern. It shouldn't have fit in the underground catacombs. Hushbeard ceased both his story and his movement so quickly that his companions collided with his rear and then each other. He didn't notice.

"Owoww!" Pinkbeard rubbed his head. "I want to hear the end--"

Applebeard shoved a hoof in his mouth. "Shh!"

Even in the dim light of the two unicorns' horns, it was obvious that the cave was not empty. A tremendous shape took up most of the space, clearly the source of the winds Prancebeard had spoken of.

"Is it the Ursa?" Star Swirl whispered. "Perhaps we can sneak around. Surely to something so massive, we will not be so easy to notice."

They all jumped as Rainbowbeard's armor hit the ground. Hushbeard was striding away from the group, toward the giant thing that slumbered in the middle of the cave. The others clumped together, waving their hooves wildly.

"What are you doing?"

"Are you mad?"

"Ye'll ge' us killt!"

But no amount of shushing or whispered entreaties stayed Hushbeard's hooves.

The stallions watched, horrified, as Hushbeard slowly circled the massive beast, as though looking for something. When he found it, he nodded once, set his hooves, flared his wings, and bellowed,

"WAKE UP!"

His voice did not just echo off the rocks, it pulsed through them. Stones and rubble poured from the ceiling, and the four companions gibbered, trying to clamber over one another to safety, lest they be crushed.

Everything stopped when the eyes appeared.

Two enormous yellow eyes opened above Hushbeard's head, each as big as the pony himself. Alone, their angry lights lit half the cavern. The rest was suffused by a cold glow as the bulk of the mammoth creature came to life like a night sky, dotted with countless stars, in the shape of a bear. It gazed at Hushbeard, unamused.

The Ursa did not speak the words so much as the cavern spoke for it. Pinkbeard pulled his cap down over his eyes.

"He's dead! He's dead! He's bound to die this day, and how his story ends, I'll never know!"

"O great Ursa," Hushbeard intoned, bowing low. "We bold travelers have run afoul of the great worm, thy longtime foe. We would entreaty thy aid in vanquishing it, that the world might be rid of its foulness."

Hushbeard rose and gazed into the Ursa's eye. "Long have you slept, mighty Ursa Major. In that time, these caves have become infested with creatures that drive thy fellow forest dwellers from their rightful homes. The changelings have become a bane to ponies as well, as thy kinfolk bring conflict to our homes. This is why we trespass now upon thy domain. If thou canst hold the worm at bay, we shall infiltrate the upper caves and rid the Forest Ever Free of the changeling threat, once and for all."

The Ursa's head bobbed as though it were fighting to remain awake. This continued for long enough that nervousness overtook the ponies' fear. One by one, they crept from the mouth of the small tunnel and lined up, putting on their bravest faces. At the Ursa's glance, they all scrambled for cover once more.

"'Tis the thought which counts," Star Swirl muttered.

"I thank thee," Hushbeard said and bowed again.

The Ursa rose, its every movement reverberating through the walls and floor of the chamber. With earth-shattering steps, it approached a spot on the wall no different than any other in the cave which held it. The stone peeled apart, and the Ursa passed through.

The stone sealed up behind it, and the cavern was plunged into darkness once more.

Horns newly aglow, Star Swirl and Prancebeard led the other two out to Hushbeard. He loosed a great sigh, slumping as they clapped him on his back and cheered.

"A mair dighted gamble I've ne'er seen, laddie!"

"I dare say you have beaten my record for stallionly deeds, Hushbeard!"

"Thank you," said Hushbeard, cheeks reddening as he smiled just a little. "But we should go."

"Aye," said Star Swirl, and levitated the still-comatose Rainbowbeard onto Hushbeard's back. "Let us not waste this opportunity."

Pinkbeard watched them closely as they trekked toward the back of the cave. "Would that he had seen thy deed most brave," he said at length. "I do not think that brothers ought to fight."

"Spoken like a pony who never had a brother," Prancebeard muttered.

As they approached an incline, Star Swirl gave Hushbeard a small smile. "You did not mention the changelings had sent us down here. I am glad you have faith in our abilities for a second fight."

"I am many things," said Hushbeard, not looking back at them. "But stupid is not one of them."

They did not stop until the tunnel wall fell away to a view of the caverns below, where the Ursa had found and engaged with the worm. The struggle of the two titans filled the ponies with fear, awe and determination for their own fight ahead.

Though far above the conflict, the ponies could all feel the cave shake beneath the juggernauts, locked in mortal combat, matched size for size and power for power. Each blow loosed stalactites to crash into the earth, as far across the caverns as they could see. They gouged huge blocks from the walls and floor as they crashed and tussled across the cave. And while neither seemed anywhere near giving up, the worm could do nothing to surpass the Ursa's greater strength and reach, while the Ursa looked to be enjoying itself.

After a few minutes, the ponies turned as one and continued onward, secure in the belief that this battle would end in their favor.

Further up, the tunnel flattened out and narrowed. Star Swirl motioned to the walls as they moved: hexagonal holes appeared here and there.

"We must be getting close," he murmured, and the others nodded their agreement.

By the time the shaking floor had become a memory, Hushbeard shouted, "Get down!" and thrust out his foreleg, catching an onrushing changeling square in the snout.

All at once, the walls came alive with a frenzy of buzzing wings as changelings appeared out of holes from every direction.

Applebeard struck out at the one nearest him, and Star Swirl lifted two, using them as clubs to fend off more. Prancebeard and Pinkbeard took positions to assist.

"We five shall have to fight as six!" Star Swirl shouted.

Hushbeard slammed his hooves into the ground, shaking all present, and bellowed, "Stoooop!"

Everyone, pony and changeling, stopped.

"We haven't time for pointless fighting," he said quickly. "If you wish to live, you'll take us to speak with your king."

The changelings exchanged fearful glances, and the ponies, confused ones.

"Now."

The changelings jumped. One drew in a deep breath and spit a green wad onto Prancebeard's horn.

"Get if off!" Prancebeard shrieked. "Get it off, it's disgusting!"

The other changelings acted swiftly, coughing and hacking in chorus. In short order, Star Swirl's horn was gooped, as were Hushbeard and Rainbowbeard's wings, sticking them together. The six ponies looked at each other uneasily, but made no effort to retaliate.

"Now you see king," said the first changeling, pointing up the tunnel.

"Why aren't you dead?"

King Carapace stalked across the length of his throne room as though trying to carve holes in its floor. He scowled at the goo-covered ponies, seething, snarling and grinding his teeth. Even the plates of his own hide clacked together in irritation.

"Why aren't they dead?" he demanded of his nearest guard.

"Don't know, King," the changeling said, backing away.

The King turned his scowl to another changeling, who scratched the back of its head and said, "Ponies bounce?"

The changeling was summarily thrown screaming over the edge of the cliff by a glow of green magic. It reemerged a few seconds later, hovering sheepishly.

"Yer army's weak, Yer 'Ighness." Applebeard snorted. "An' yer beloved worm fights fer its worthless life below against the Ursa."

Carapace drew back. His left eye twitched. "You... You woke the Ursa?"

"Aye," rumbled Hushbeard. "And we would that you and yours leave the forest, lest its wrath fall upon you next."

For a moment, it seemed the king might be considering the option. His lip curled.

"Fie! I subdued the worm myself. I will do the same to the Ursa should it be necessary!"

"Listen to reason, Your Majesty," said Prancebeard, giving him a level stare. "A second chance at mercy is unlikely."

"Mercy?" The king barked a short laugh. "Why speak you of mercy when it is you six who are at my mercy?"

Pinkbeard twanged a lute, which should have been covered in green goo. "I think that is no longer quite the case!"

"What?" The king stumbled back as the stallions freed themselves from the last of the holding goop. "How? How could you escape?"

Star Swirl flicked his horn. "This mess is easy enough to break once you've seen it once. 'Tis foal's play for a powerful wizard such as myself!" He smirked.

The six of them lined up, backs straight, chests forward, grins wide.

"We're wise t'yer tricks, Yer Majesty," said Applebeard.

"You've made a poor decision," rumbled Hushbeard.

"You'll not best us a second time," added Prancebeard.

"You needn't fear an Ursa or a worm," Pinkbeard said.

"Just six little ponies," finished Star Swirl.

"Surrender or fall!" shouted Rainbowbeard.

The other five blinked for a few moments.

"Wait," said Prancebeard as they all turned to look at him. "Weren't you unconscious?"

Applebeard made a face. "Aye, an' shouldn't ye be, I dunno, tryin' not t' undo all yer brother's hard work fixin' yer sorry arse?"

Rainbowbeard snorted. "Went and told them, did you? Rotter."

Hushbeard said nothing.

"In all seriousness," said Star Swirl, striding forth to examine him, "you really shouldn't tax yourself after the beating you've taken. Your wings were broken, for pony's sake!"

"Fah." Rainbowbeard waved his hoof. "Leave off, you old nag, my wings are fine. I've had a nice nap, and now there's to be battle. You expect me to miss out on that?"

"Enough!"

The King threw himself forward, slamming his hooves into the floor. Chips of stone flew everywhere.

"I will not leave!" His eyes blazed with green fire and his wings buzzed like miniature tornados. "This is our home now! We will not give it up! Fight us if you dare! The changeling race is strong. We will prevail!"

"Yeah, yeah, heard it before." Rainbowbeard rolled his neck. "I'm ready to kick you clear out of the Ever Free now, if you don't mind."

Carapace snarled. "You will die first!" He stepped back onto his throne and shrilled a high-pitched note.

The room came alive with the buzzing of wings and clicking of chitin as every changeling drone present -- enough to match each mare, stallion and foal in Canterlot one for one -- descended on them like locusts.

Star Swirl's horn glowed with multiple auras. He released a telekinetic blast, scattering the bulk of the onrushing changelings. It didn't break their ranks entirely, but it did give him enough time to cast spells at his companions.

"Now, a few tricks of my own! First, Rainbowbeard! Something to salve your wounds!"

"Whoo-hoo!" Rainbowbeard charged into the fray, grinning. "Leaves and poultices don't do a body as good as this!"

"It but numbs the pain, don't overdo it!" Star Swirl yelled after him. He rolled his eyes. "Next, Hushbeard, a blunt field to scatter the changelings to the winds!"

A cone of force shimmered over Hushbeard's body. He sighed. "So, it's come to this..." He shook his head. Then, bellowing a pegasus war cry, he launched himself at the changelings, knocking them effortlessly aside.

"Pinkbeard, hup!"

Pinkbeard hupped, tossing his lute in the air, where Star Swirl's magic suffused it.

"A little something to shock your enemy!" he said with a grin and a wink.

Whirling, Pinkbeard caught his lute and swung it smoothly into the nearest changeling, catching it under the chin. There was an explosion like thunder, and the changeling rocketed into the ceiling.

"Oh-ho!" Pinkbeard cried, hopping excitedly. "Me likes this fancy, sparky lute!"

The lute howled in agreement.

"Prancebeard!" Star Swirl sang, and his spell hit home, Prancebeard's armor growing and contorting until it encased him wholly. "If 'tis good enough for Ursas, 'tis good enough for this lot!"

Prancebeard charged off into the melee, cackling. "Oh-ho-ho, wah-ha-ha-ha!"

"Savin' the best fer last, eh, Star Swirl?" Applebeard asked, coming up beside him.

Star Swirl jumped. "Oh, um... Yes, of course!"

Applebeard grinned at him, expectant. "What'll it be, then? Wings? Growin' bully huge? Beams o' death from me ochs?"

"Ah, um..." Star Swirl cleared his throat, zapping Applebeard with one last spell. "There you are, good fellow, 'twill make you nigh invincible."

Whooping and hollering, Applebeard dashed off to join the others.

"Ah, youth," Star Swirl said to himself.

With Hushbeard leading the charge, they slowly carved a path through the roiling, teeming mass of changelings toward the throne and the king upon it. Prancebeard surged through the dazed and disoriented changelings left in Hushbeard's wake, body-checking them into one another and slashing left and right with his horn. Applebeard swept low, knocking them into the air in two and threes, only for Rainbowbeard to knock them back into the floor. Then a crack of thunder would split the air and another group of stunned changelings would be sent sailing into the walls or over the cliff.

King Carapace looked more and more worried by the second. Star Swirl kept his eyes locked on the king's as wave after relentless wave of changelings came at them, but no matter what order the king gave, it was not enough. The ponies were gaining on him. His eyes hardened.

"I must finish this myself," he hissed.

Stepping off his throne, Carapace summoned green magic to his horn. A dozen thunderous cracks filled the cavern as the obsidian throne separated into a mass of whirling chunks of stone, each half as big as a pony. They spun through the air, gleaming darkly, bounding off Prancebeard's armor, harrying Rainbowbeard, and driving Hushbeard and Pinkbeard back lest the stones' sharp edges cut their flesh.

Carapace gave a merciless laugh as the stones surrounded him. They ground and meshed like gears, impacting his chitinous hide and locking with it to form a suit of armor so black as to be near invisible in the dim underground light. The king now stood a full head taller than before, towering over even Hushbeard, every inch of him protected by the thick, black stones, only his horn and eyes visible. For a long moment, the sounds of combat stilled as every eye locked, transfixed, upon him.

"That was earth magic!" Star Swirl shouted, taking a step back. "How can you wield it with such skill?"

"We changelings are not so limited as you simple ponies!" the king bellowed. "Gaze upon the engine of your destruction! I am Carapace, Lord of the Ever Free!"

Hushbeard was the first to regain his senses. He charged, and the sounds of melee filled the cavern once more.

Ducking low, the king caught Hushbeard's magical force cone with the back of his head, lifting and throwing his adversary off balance and into the air. Hushbeard recovered, spreading his wings, and Prancebeard charged in next. He body-checked the king, but rebounded off the armor with a loud clang. A single kick, and he was sent flying into the changeling horde.

Pinkbeard ran to the fore, swinging his lute, but it discharged harmlessly against the stones. The king regarded him with an unamused eye. Rainbowbeard, laughing, flew in from above as Applebeard attacked from the side. With a snort, the king snatched Rainbowbeard out of the air and used him as a cudgel, swiping Applebeard into Pinkbeard. All three skidded out into the fray, and Carapace laughed.

"I am unstoppable!"

The ground shook as Carapace strode forward, armor rumbling like thunder. The changelings swarmed in over them all.

That was when Star Swirl gritted his teeth and stepped up, loosing bolts of lightning and flame at the creatures, directing them into easy-to-fight columns. Carapace countered with shards of ice and stone, matching Star Swirl spell for spell.

"I must admit," Star Swirl huffed, "you are considerably more skilled with magic than I would have expected."

"Enough talking!" the king snarled, throwing more stones. "Just die!"

As the two spellcasters maneuvered slowly toward one another, Hushbeard wheeled around on shaky wings, looking for an opening or any way to help. He noticed Rainbowbeard being quickly overwhelmed and barrelled into the black bodies, scattering them. Rainbowbeard gave him a grudging half-smile, then yelped as he was lifted into the air.

"Help Star Swirl!" Hushbeard shouted, dropping him next to the unicorn.

Rainbowbeard did just that, knocking changelings left and right as they approached the wizard. They were soon joined by Pinkbeard on the other side, and Applebeard behind. Together, they formed a ball of magic blasts and ricocheting changelings as Star Swirl duelled the king.

Hushbeard dove at Carapace once more and was once more easily rebuffed by the solid, durable armor.

"Cover me," Star Swirl shouted, "while I uncover him!"

Hushbeard landed beside him, Rainbowbeard moving to the fore, while Prancebeard, untouchable, continued to rampage somewhere in the fracas, his place marked only by changelings lifting into the air. Star Swirl's horn lit, and the slabs of stone armor glowed as he pried them, one by one, from the king's hide.

Carapace tried his best to keep his defenses together, but for every flung stone he caught in his own magic, he lost two more. After a few moments of a battle he was quickly losing, he snarled, and the armor chunks blasted forth in a shockwave that scattered changelings and ponies alike.

"Enough!" he shouted, horn charging with furious green light.

Rainbowbeard, the only one of the five who had not been stunned by a stone shard, regained his hooves and charged. The king grinned and lowered his head. "This time, you'll suffer more than a fall!"

The spell released. Rainbowbeard flinched.

But the stream of bright green energy didn't hit him. Instead, it poured against a shield, cast in tandem by Star Swirl and Prancebeard. The latter stood over Rainbowbeard, panting in his magically enhanced armor.

Sweat rolled down both unicorns' brows as they strained against the onslaught of pure killing magic.

Rainbowbeard lay, transfixed as his magically-deadened pain returned.

Applebeard and Pinkbeard clung to each other, teeth chattering.

Hushbeard screamed his brother's name.

The king roared.

The magic flared.

The shield shattered with a tremendous crack.

And then the throne room went deathly silent as the beam of energy winked out. For in the instant the shield gave, the king, pressing his advantage, had tipped forward onto Prancebeard.

It was Prancebeard's horn that now protruded from the back of the king's neck.

As soon as he realized what had happened, Prancebeard backpedaled, green ichor spilling down his armor. The same green blood bubbled up out of King Carapace's mouth, and he fell to the ground, lifeless.

"I..." Prancebeard swallowed, his magically-enhanced armor melting away. "I didn't..."

King is dead, sang the changelings in susurrus. They backed away from the ponies and their fallen king alike, brokering no further resistance.

King is dead.

As the ponies gathered themselves, the final spells fizzling out, a shriek pierced the still underground air.

"Daddy!"

Tiny hooves clicked against the stone as a changeling half the size of any that had been fighting galloped out from somewhere behind where the throne had stood. She rushed toward the fallen king, tears spilling from her eyes.

Rainbowbeard sprang forward, snatching her up. "No you don't!"

"Let me go!" she screamed.

Kicking and struggling, she bit down on his fetlock, her fangs barely long enough to pierce his flesh. With a cry, Rainbowbeard dropped her, then began to drop himself as the young changeling princess's poison coursed through his veins.

Hushbeard, Star Swirl, Pinkbeard and Applebeard moved into a semicircle around the fallen king, bearing witness as his daughter cried over his body.

"Why?" she sobbed. "Why did you have to die?"

Queen, hissed the changelings clinging to the walls. King is dead... Queen...

Hushbeard gave his companions a look, and they each took a step back. Then he bowed, staying that way until the little changeling spoke.

"Why... are you doing that?"

"I am showing respect proper to thy station, Your Majesty." He looked at her, but did not rise. "What is thy name?"

She wiped at her eyes. "C-Chrysalis."

"Queen Chrysalis," said Hushbeard, standing to tower over her, "thy father died because he did not heed the voice of reason. He would not see his own destruction before him. He stood in the face of annihilation and refused to move."

He swept his gaze across the changelings, addressing all if he were addressing one.

"I would see no more changeling blood spilt upon this day! If you agree with me, you will leave the Forest Ever Free now and find a new home! Perhaps one day, your kind and ours will be able to live in harmony, but until that time comes, you must leave and never return!

"So I decree it." Hushbeard looked back down to the queen, who shied away from him.

"Young Queen," he said, "I know thy ascension has come suddenly, but I beg thee, think of thy people. Think like the leader that thou now art, and end this needless bloodshed." He shivered as he spoke his next words. "Make thy father's death meaningful, I beg of thee."

"Where will we go?" she asked in a small voice.

"I do not know," he said. "But again, I beg thee, leave this place. Let the beasts of this forest return to their homes. It is the only kindness we can offer one another."

Chrysalis looked down at the fallen body of her father for a long, long time. She seemed to grow, just a little, as the lines of her face hardened.

"My changelings!" she shouted, her voice barely echoing off the walls. "We have lost this day, and we have lost our king, but our race is strong! We will seek our fortunes elsewhere, and build a new home, until the day comes that we may return."

She gave Hushbeard a pointed look, which he returned with a stricken one. "And we will always remember this."

The changelings entombed the king in a coffin of green spittle and carried his body away with them. The five ponies, led by Hushbeard, hummed the rite of mourning as they watched the changelings scatter like black leaves through the tunnels of what was once their home.

It wasn't until after they left that Rainbowbeard finally came to.

"Sun and moon, not this again."

"Arrh, ye've 'ad worse," said Applebeard, thumping him on the shoulder.

Star Swirl nodded. "The young Queen's poison isn't as strong as a full-grown changeling's."

Rainbowbeard groaned and tried to stand, but toppled to the side as soon as he was upright. Hushbeard was beside him immediately, propping him up and getting his head under him to lift him onto his back.

"Nahhhh," Rainbowbeard grumbled, still woozy. "I'm sick o' you draggin' my arse around, you lumpheaded son of a turkey, you..."

"Be off!" Star Swirl snapped. "He's only trying to help!"

"Aye-aye," said Pinkbeard, frowning mightily. "You've never shown him aught but words of rage and scorn. Your brother! I ask, why?"

"'S not really my brother," Rainbowbeard moaned.

"You needn't do this," Hushbeard said warily.

"Put me down, you rotten half-feathered numbskull."

"The poison may be weak, but 'tis still in your blood..."

"I said put me down!"

The others backed off as Hushbeard gingerly lowered Rainbowbeard to the ground. He fell over again, but didn't seem to mind, thrusting two legs at Hushbeard.

"You wanna know why I don't approve of this one? Just look at 'im!" He growled. "Lives on the ground like a common mud pony, takin' care of animals and mixin' poultices and... horseapples."

Applebeard bristled at the slur. Star Swirl held him back, shaking his head.

"We was proud pegasi warriors, we was!" Rainbowbeard's head lolled back. "And now look at us! He's dragged me down to 'is level, gallivantin' around who-knows-where to do who-knows-what with a bunch of addle-pated yahoos, servin' a soft, dunderheaded king who wouldn't know honor or glory if it bit him in the flank!"

It was Applebeard's turn to hold Star Swirl back.

Rainbowbeard tried to spit, but it just came out as a raspberry. He thrust his rear leg in Hushbeard's direction again. "He's a disgrace. A pegasus who can't fly, who doesn't even want to? A complete disgrace..."

He went silent for a long moment. Star Swirl, Applebeard and Pinkbeard exchanged confused looks when he started weeping. They looked to Hushbeard for answers, but he seemed equally at a loss.

"An' ya dragged me down t'your level, you lunk'ead," Rainbowbeard said, his voice quaking. "I'm a disgrace, too, and it's all your fault."

"What do you mean?" Star Swirl asked.

When no answer was forthcoming, Hushbeard rumbled, "He dared love--"

"Don't!" Rainbowbeard sat up, shaking, his beard marred with tears and snot. "Don't you say it! Don't you dare tell them!"

Eyes narrowing, Hushbeard finished. "A princess."

The others gasped.

"A unicorn!" Rainbowbeard wailed, curling into a ball. "I've betrayed my people. I'm a dirty hornswoggler now, and it never would've happened if it weren't for you!"

Star Swirl had enough decency to blush at the epithet. He cleared his throat three times before he could speak.

"And does she love you back?"

Rainbowbeard sniffed. "How should I know?"

"You could try asking her when we return."

Pinkbeard nodded. "The story of a knight and liege in love has long the stuff of songs been duly sung!"

Star Swirl thought of Clover, Smart Cookie and Pansy. No doubt they were doing everything they could to hold off the chaos invading Equestria. Did they have help? Or were they alone standing against the beast they had heretofore seen as only a great shadow?

Whatever they were doing, he thought wryly, they were most likely succeeding, because they were doing it together.

"I think," he said softly, with a pointed look at Hushbeard, "that as our three peoples grow closer together in our Equestria, a case such as yours will cease to be rare. Earth pony will love pegasus will love unicorn. Therefore, upon our return, friend Rainbowbeard, tell Platinum, and until then, turn your thoughts to her. They will give you something to look forward to when our quest seems at its bleakest."

"Do you mean it?" Rainbowbeard sat up with Hushbeard's help, wiping his nose on an offered wad of bandages. "You'd not think less of me for my... proclivities?"

"O' course not, ye great sky turd!" Applebeard grinned.

"I'd rather tie my hooves around a tree!" cried Pinkbeard, leaping into the air.

"I know a pony or two with whom you can commiserate," Star Swirl added, helping Rainbowbeard to his hooves. "You are not alone."

With a sharp laugh, Rainbowbeard shook his head. "You are all truly the best friends a stallion could ask for. I hardly deserve you." He grinned at them, then at Hushbeard. "And thank you... brother. For not leaving my sorry arse to rot along the way."

Hushbeard held his gaze for a moment before looking pointedly away. "'Tis nothing you'd not have done for me, were our places reversed."

"Let me also apologize, friend Rainbowbeard," Star Swirl said soberly. "I have treated you rather poorly these past few days."

"Pfft." Rainbowbeard waved his hoof. "Nothing to apologize for. Most likely deserved it, knowing me!" He stretched his wings and winced. "Ahh, well, that'll have to work itself out. But enough of feelings and apologies, this is mares' talk! What comes next upon our grand quest, my friends?"

"What comes next indeed?"

The voice made them all jump. It was the first thing Prancebeard had said since the fight, and the others had all but forgotten him. He sat on a chunk of the dead king's armor, his rear legs dangling over the cliff, staring into the dark nothingness below.

"He had a daughter..."

"Art thou troubled, friend Prancebeard?" Hushbeard asked, stepping toward him.

Prancebeard stood slowly, as though shaking off a great stiffness, and gathered the armor piled at his side. He moved back to them, paying none of them any heed.

"I am well enough, I suppose." His words came slow and heavy. He looked at each of them in turn. "Is it true, though? Is all this, all that we've done... Is it all for naught?"

Star Swirl shook his head. "Nay, says I. Though it cost a heavy toll, we are closer to the end of our quest than ever before." He nodded to the cliff side.

"Not only that," said Hushbeard, "but we also rid the forest of the plague which has haunted it for so long. The changelings have fled, and I suspect the Ursa Major will have plenty of worm meat to feast upon before returning to its long sleep."

As though in confirmation, a distant roar sounded from far below.

Prancebeard nodded a few times. "I suppose so. The beasts can return to the forest where they belong and leave our home alone."

There was consummate agreement. Then Star Swirl's face fell.

"We'd best get to the castle on the double, then, or we'll still be in the bloody forest when they return!"

None hesitated as they hoofed it for the surface.