The Equestrian Wind Mage: Season 2

by LordSiravant

Episode 17: The Regaining of Laughter Part 2

Episode 17: The Regaining of Laughter Part 2 – The Battle For Griffonstone

The air, already thick with tension, seemed to tighten further as the pegasus and Griffon recognized each other.

"What the buck are you doing here?!" Gilda demanded.

"We're here to help your feathery, ungrateful butts!" Rainbow retorted. "So how 'bout you lower your weapons and let us do that?!"

The ornately-armored Griffon glanced between Rainbow and Gilda. "Private, you know these people?"

Gilda scoffed. "Yeah. Some of 'em. At least I thought I did, till I got kicked to the curb cuz my best friend found better friends."

"You forced me to choose, Gilda!" Rainbow snapped. "And you'd been nothing but horrible to my other friends, especially Pinkie, who was just trying to be nice! What the heck was I supposed to do?!"

"Enough!" the armored Griffon shouted. "Settle down, Private Gilda! Alright, now it's time for you to explain yourselves."

Vaati glared at the Griffon, who was obviously a commander of some kind. "Lower your weapons and perhaps we will."

The commander matched the sorcerer's glare. "The last stranger that came here brought an army with her, murdered our king, and enslaved our people! We have every right to suspect you of being the Witch's servants!"

Vaati bared his teeth. "I assure you, Twinrova is no master of ours. We came here specifically to kill the old hag, as she happens to have one of the Elements of Harmony in her possession, which we need in order to defeat Twinrova's master, Ganon. So if you would be so kind as to point us in the direction of Griffonstone and step aside, we'll be on our way."

"The Witch is a Griffon matter," the commander coldly replied. "We do not need the help of strangers, much less that of Equestrians and their insufferable hero complexes. We can handle this ourselves."

Vaati sneered. "Really? Because you certainly handled it beautifully when she sacked your city and usurped your king, right? Phenomenal work."

The commander's eyes narrowed. "We were not expecting such an attack. But we're almost ready to strike back. Everygriffon who managed to escape imprisonment has fled here to regroup, and we're all going to take back Griffonstone or die trying!"

"With dying being the likelier outcome," Vaati scoffed derisively. "You underestimate her. Twinrova is actually the fused body of two sister witches, both of whom have been alive for centuries. Bloody Dark World, they're almost as old as I am! They were crafty from the start, and it was they who raised Ganon to become the tyrant he is. Trust me when I say she is likely prepared for whatever counterstrike you pull."

"How do you know so much about the Witch anyway, if you're not one of her henchmen?" Gilda demanded.

"Because she and the Moblins that serve her are all from the same world I come from, and Hyrule's pretty good at keeping track of its history," Vaati answered smugly. "Now, if you're all done asking questions, move aside. I will not ask again."

Twilight immediately detected the dangerous edge in Vaati's voice. If something wasn't done quickly, there could very likely be a fight, as Griffons were well-known for their hot tempers. Clearing her throat, she stepped forward and spoke up, "Um…if I may, gentlecolts?"

The commander turned towards her, and she forced herself not to be daunted by his distrusting glare. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm Princess Celestia's personal student, and also the bearer of the Element of Magic, and I can assure you that we only want to help you, as Twinrova is holding the Element of Laughter on Ganon's orders. I would go so far as to say she's expecting us, but what she might not expect is all of us working together. Please listen to us; we only want to help."

The commander was silent for several moments before he finally glanced at Gilda. "You said you used to know these ponies, Private. You think they're telling the truth?"

Gilda glared hard at all of them, focusing especially on Rainbow. Rainbow glared back, and deep down, she was worried that Gilda would go so far as to lie just to get them further into trouble.

Gilda suddenly sighed and closed her eyes. "Yeah, they probably are. Dash always likes playing 'hero'."

The Mane Six all released sighs of relief as the commander silently nodded, signaling his soldiers to lower their weapons, convinced now that these strangers were not a threat. The commander cleared his throat and said, "My name is Captain Grolm of the Royal Guard. Because King Galdoria is dead, Chancellor Geoffrey has been imprisoned, and Prince Garrett is too young to take charge himself, I am in command of the Griffon Kingdom's combat operations."

With the tension somewhat lifted, Vaati went about his own introductions. "I am Vaati the Wind Mage. These here are Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Daring Do, Ahuizotl, Rover, Zecora, and Chrysalis."

"QUEEN Chrysalis, dammit!" the irate Changeling queen fumed.

"As we've said, we're here to retrieve the Element of Laughter from Twinrova's grasp," Vaati continued. "Since both our respective parties have our own beefs with the witch, I suppose Twilight is right. We should work together. After all, Griffons in general lack the ability to harness magic, and Twinrova is a powerful sorceress. You could definitely use some magical firepower on your side. Plus, we have information about Twinrova and her minions that you don't that is certain to prove useful."

Grolm's eyes darted over every member of Vaati's group before he asked, "And the others with you…can they be trusted?"

Chrysalis glared at him. "The fact that I'm a Changeling in plain sight isn't proof enough for you?"

"Point taken," Grolm conceded.

"To answer your question about our presence here," Zecora said. "From us, you have absolutely nothing to fear. We came because Ganon threatens us all, and each of us has felt the sting of his thrall."

"He imprisoned my fellow Dogs in our own dungeons too," Rover added. "And filled our mines with monsters."

"He unleashed an infestation of monsters in my hive, and they almost devoured my people," Chrysalis spoke up. "While I will not say we are friends of the Equestrians, we are all united by a common enemy. And Ganon is your enemy too, for Twinrova is but one of many of his servants, and she is essentially ruling over your people on his behalf."

"A puppet dictator," Grolm clarified with disdain. "The king was overthrown by a bloody puppet dictator! That just adds insult to injury…"

His fellow Griffons all murmured in agreement. Grolm then refocused his attention on Vaati and said, "Come with us. We'll take you to our main headquarters."

XXXXXX

The headquarters in question was located in a large house that apparently belonged to the governor of Griffonshores. Numerous Griffons, some of which were wearing armor, looked up from whatever they were doing to salute their commander as he and his entourage passed by, throwing curious, and often suspicious glances at Vaati and his companions, which they pointedly ignored. The whole time, Gilda and Rainbow silently glared at each other.

Soon, they stopped at a door, after which Grolm turned towards his guests. "This is the room we're using to plan our strategy for retaking Griffonstone. I take it you're the leader of this group, right?"

Vaati nodded curtly. Behind him, Chrysalis glared daggers into his back for daring to suggest that he had any authority over her.

"Then you can join us in here, and we'll see what help you can actually offer us. In the meantime, your friends here can go and rest up. We have a few spare beds. Private, show them where."

Gilda looked like she wanted to protest, but thought better of it as she grudgingly replied, "Yessir."

Vaati shared a glance with the others before following Grolm into their strategy room, the doors slamming shut behind them. Gilda shot them all a foul look, especially towards Rainbow, as she said through gritted teeth, "This way."

All of them wordlessly followed the disgruntled Griffon youth over to the room in question. It turned out there were only seven beds, not enough for all of them. Before anyone could say anything, Chrysalis trotted past them and sprawled out over one of the empty beds. "I claim this bed in the name of the Changelings," she intoned.

Make that six beds.

All of them gave the petty Changeling queen a look, while Rainbow opted to mutter, "Really?"

"There's not enough beds for all of us," Rarity mused. "Either some of us sleep on the floor, or we share."

"I do not mind sleeping on the floor," Ahuizotl spoke up, glancing at Daring Do. "Besides, they are too small for me anyway."

"Whatever," Gilda sourly replied before turning away. "Not my problem anymore."

Without another word, the young Griffon stalked off. Rainbow glared daggers into her former friend's back until she was out of sight, and then slowly deflated with a heavy sigh. Daring had quietly been taking note of the entire exchange between the two, and quickly trotted up to her daughter's side and laid a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

"That could've gone better," Daring admitted.

Rainbow bowed her head and sighed again. "Yeah, I know. I just…sometimes I let my anger get the better of me. I knew she'd be sore about it still. I mean, Griffons can hold pretty strong grudges after all. Just like how they get really, really attached to people they care about. I…I betrayed her, Mom. The last time we saw one another, I let my anger get the better of me and I basically told her we weren't friends anymore. I know I could have handled it differently, but I didn't want to think about it because that would mean admitting I was too hasty."

Daring smirked despite herself. "When we get used to going fast, we sometimes forget that our brains work at a different pace than our bodies. I know I've had to learn that lesson a few times before it really stuck."

Rainbow finally turned towards Daring. "I-I'm not ready, Mom. I'm too ashamed to confront her, and maybe that's why I feel so angry. I'm mad at myself, not her."

"My advice, kid? Don't rush things. I know that's a hard thing to say to the fastest pony in the world, but…"

The two pegasi shared a laugh in spite of themselves. After it subsided, Daring said, "All that aside, what I'm saying is, give her some time to think about what's happening. She obviously never expected to see you again. I'm positive that, given enough time, she may become more approachable, or better yet, she might approach you. Real friendships don't get broken so easily, and I can tell you and she were really close."

Rainbow scoffed to herself. "Look at me; Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty. I've tussled with dragons, monsters, gods, and the freaking undead, and yet I'm scared of trying to reconcile with a friend I turned my back on."

"Nobody's perfect, Dash."

Rainbow couldn't help herself. "But I'm so darn close it scares me."

Daring chuckled and ruffled her daughter's hair.

XXXXXX

Meanwhile, Gilda's mind whirled as she stumbled aimlessly through the Griffon base.

Why? Why did she have to come here?!

She leaned against a wall, ignoring the stares sent her way by passersby. I was so close to getting over her! And now she comes back and I can't bucking think straight!

The young Griffon gritted her teeth. It's not fair! First she dumps me for those stupid new friends of hers, and then she comes back just to rub it in my face!

She needed fresh air. The hallways were just too stifling for her. Wordlessly, Gilda stomped through the base until she reached the balcony, looking out over the horizon of a sun that wasn't even theirs. Stupid ponies, and their bucking hero complexes! We don't need them! I don't need her! I don't! I don't! I…

That was what she had been trying to remind herself for years. She had lied constantly to herself until she had actually started to believe it. And then in one moment, her self-deception had unraveled. She still missed Dash; the scars of her betrayal ran far deeper than she had wanted to acknowledge, and Gilda was unable to make any new friends to heal that lonely ache in her chest.

Gilda saw her vision blur, and she hissed to herself, "S-stop it, you baby! Don't let 'em s-see you cry…"

That was what her Grampa Gruff always told her. But the pain was too much. Gilda's only relief was that no one was around to hear the long, low whine that escaped her throat as she leaned her head against the guardrail, unable to stop the flowing tears that stained her feathered cheeks.

XXXXXX

Inside the strategy room…

Vaati watched as Grolm unraveled a large map and laid it down on the table that sat in the middle of the room. "This is a map of Griffonstone," Grolm informed the Hylian mage. "Unfortunately, we haven't been able to gather much intel about key enemy positions because every time somegriffon gets close…"

Grolm trailed off, and after a moment, Vaati impatiently asked, "Well, what happens when they get close?"

Grolm responded by pointing at several points on the map, all of which were situated on the borders of the Griffon capital. "The enemy has constructed numerous ballistae in key spots all across the city borders. Nogriffon can get close because they're forced to pull back if they aren't shot down first. We lost a lot of good warriors in our last few sorties."

Regarding the positions of the ballistae the commander had indicated with a critical eye, Vaati said, "You let me take care of those. I know how I can disable them before they can endanger your forces."

Grolm's eyebrows furrowed. "How?"

"You'll see," Vaati replied dismissively. "Now, here's what I'm suggesting we do. I don't know whether or not Twinrova is expecting us to work together, but I can tell you that I suspect she is unaware of the full extent of my magical capabilities. So, you let me take care of the ballistae. Immediately after they fall, you start your attack. Moblins aren't terribly smart, so they'll be at a loss for what to do for several moments. Our priority is to reach the castle and defeat Twinrova. You leave her to us and focus on securing your city. You know it better than we do."

Grolm mulled over this proposal for a few minutes before he finally admitted, "Alright, I think it's an acceptable course of action. I think we should pull this off at nighttime, when it's harder for them to see us."

"Indeed," Vaati acknowledged. "Another weakness of the Moblins is that their eyesight isn't all that great either. When do you plan on attacking?"

"Tonight, if you and your friends are up for it," Grolm answered matter-of-factly.

Vaati smirked. "Good; I'm a rather impatient man."

XXXXXX

Once the meeting between Vaati and Grolm concluded, word traveled quickly about the impending attack that would take place that night. Countless Griffon soldiers hurriedly strapped on their armor and checked their weapons. This wasn't another sortie; this was it. The battle that would decide the fate of Griffonstone and all of Griffonkind.

Chrysalis in particular was rather annoyed that she would not get to enjoy the nice bed she had commandeered, but grudgingly got up nevertheless. As Vaati found his companions, he was immediately bombarded with questions from the Mane Six.

"Vaati, what's going on?" Twilight asked worriedly.

"Everyone looks like they're readying for war!" Rarity exclaimed. "Is the base about to be attacked?!"

"Are we gonna go fight Twinrova now?" Rainbow demanded.

Vaati held up an exasperated hand to quiet them. "We're attacking Griffonstone tonight. After I deal with some ballistae, the Griffons will move in and draw the Moblins' attention away from us as much as they can. We will make for the palace and confront Twinrova there. Hopefully, once she's defeated, the Blins will be smart enough to stand down."

"How do you plan on dealing with the ballistae?" Daring asked.

Vaati smirked knowingly. "Eye Sentries, of course."

XXXXXX

Griffonstone, that evening…

A lone Moblin slowly paced the outer wall of Griffonstone, peering out into the darkness of the night. Though a torch burned nearby, it wasn't enough to penetrate the shadows. Nearby, a pair of Bokoblins manned a rather crude ballista, always ready to strike. None of them could see the invisible Eyebat as it flittered towards the ballista with devious intent. The Bokoblin tasked with aiming the ballista didn't see the tiny demon decloak until it was too late. The silent night was ruptured by an explosion that reduced the ballista to splinters. Before anyone could even comprehend what had just happened, all the other ballistae, one by one, spontaneously exploded in a similar fashion. Moblins shouted in their guttural tongue as they tried to make sense of the sudden events.

And then, to the sound of hundreds of beating wings, a horde of Griffon warriors emerged from the darkness, screeching and cawing battle cries as they attacked the still-recovering Moblins, killing many before they could even reach their weapons. Eventually, however, the remaining Blins seized their weapons, and the battle for Griffonstone began in earnest.

From their vantage point, Vaati, in his demon form, and his allies watched the battle unfold in the city. Unfurling his many wings, Vaati declared, "Now!"

The motley crew of ponies and non-ponies followed the giant winged eye into the city. Once they were inside the wall, Pinkie whipped her head around, taking in the state of the buildings around her. "Did Griffonstone always look like this?" she wondered out loud.

"Does it really matter?" Vaati snapped irritably.

Twilight looked around as well. "I don't know…I remember reading about Griffons after Gilda's, um…visit, a couple of years ago, and the book said that Griffonstone was the jewel of the Griffon Kingdom thanks to something called the Idol of Boreas. But the way it looks now…I don't know if all this disrepair was caused by the Moblins. A lot of this damage looks old."

"Can we contemplate this another time?!" Vaati demanded. "We've got an evil witch to slay!"

"Yeah!" Rainbow added. "I just wanna get this all over with already!"

"Vaati's right," Twilight said. "Let's do this!"

With a rousing cry, they all charged towards the palace in the center of the city, passing by numerous houses situated on trees as well as on the ground. Occasionally a Moblin or two would see them and attack, but these were easily dealt with without even breaking stride.

When they reached the palace, they stopped.

The "palace" was a crumbling ruin, and the throne room was exposed to the entirety of the city. Spiderwebs and fungus covered the ancient wood, showing its poor condition. Six statues of horned warriors were arranged in a line on either side of the throne. And sitting in the old throne was the sorceress of fire and ice herself, Twinrova.

The Gerudo witch lounged on her ill-gotten throne, flashing them all a smug, utterly confident grin. Her mascara-lined eyes regarded them all with a predatory glint that reminded them all too much of a cat that had just caught the canary.

"Well, well, well," Twinrova greeted. "I was waiting for you and your entourage to make a dramatic entrance. And you didn't disappoint."

"It's over, you old hag," Vaati announced boldly. "You're outnumbered and outclassed. Make it easier on yourself and hand the Element of Laughter over."

Twinrova laughed as though Vaati had just told her a hilarious joke. "That's why I brought these, fool."

Suddenly the statues collectively shuddered, surprising the heroes. After a few moments, Vaati cursed under his breath.

"Bloody Armos Knights…"

Twinrova leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand, that smug grin never leaving her face. "Did you really expect me not to prepare accordingly for our little confrontation? I knew very well I wouldn't be a match for all of you on my own. So I brought a few friends of my own."

The very word "Armos" brought feelings of anger and annoyance to the Wind Mage, for Armos were originally Minish-built statues built to serve as guardians of the Palace of Winds. It had taken him weeks to remove the cursed things from the Palace so they wouldn't threaten his monsters, as they were surprisingly resilient. And then others went on to build their own versions of the damned things, improving upon them and creating veritable juggernauts. Vaati had no doubts that these Armos Knights would be even more annoying that the Armos he had dealt with centuries ago.

Twinrova stood from her throne, and she towered over all of them, standing a full two heads taller than Ganondorf. "While my pets deal with your friends, you, sorcerer, will have the honor of dying by my hand personally," Twinrova sneered as two wands appeared in her hands, one radiating fire magic, the other ice. "You will suffer for getting in my son's way, wretch. You had better pray your death is…"

"Wow! So you're Ganon's mom?!" Pinkie Pie abruptly chirped as she spontaneously appeared over Twinrova's shoulder, startling the sorceress. "No wonder he's so big! And he's got your big nose too, and…"

"GET OFF OF ME!" Twinrova shrieked angrily, whirling around to try and blast Pinkie in the face with a fireball.

"So what was raising the big bad King of Evil like?" Pinkie continued to ramble as she somehow reappeared right between Twinrova's legs. "Did he cry a lot? Did he play with a lot of toys? What was it like changing his diapers?"

Pinkie dove beneath Twinrova as she tried to freeze the pink mare solid, relying on her Pinkie Sense to outwit the frustrated witch. "Did he get into lots of trouble? I mean, I know that he's supposed to be the King of Evil and all that, so that must mean he got into a lot of trouble, but do you remember anything specific? Do you have any baby photos of him?" Pinkie suddenly emerged yet again on Twinrova's shoulder, this time on the opposite side. "I bet he was so adorable!"

Pinkie squeezed her cheeks together and made a duck face, complete with a 'squee' sound. Twinrova's eye twitched once before she screamed, "Enough talk, you noisy pack animal!"

But Pinkie effortlessly dodged again, but it was not Twinrova's attack she was trying to dodge. Before Twinrova could recover, she was hit full in the face with Vaati's eye beam attack, smashing her into the Griffon throne and causing a medium-sized explosion. Once the smoke cleared, they saw Twinrova lying amidst a pile of rubble in a daze. The aching sorceress shakily lifted a finger from where she lay and wheezed, "Get them…"

And then the Armos Knights activated themselves.

The six animated statues all rose into the air in formation. Vaati and his compatriots readied themselves as the Armos Knights struck. One tried to flatten Applejack, but she leapt aside, and the golem slammed into the ground where she had just been. Applejack bucked it as hard as she could, but aside from knocking it a few feet away from her, she didn't seem to cause it any damage. The Armos Knight was suddenly hit in the face with a magical beam courtesy of Twilight, but again, it had little effect on it.

Another Armos Knight tried to zero in on Chrysalis, but she blasted it away with a well-placed energy beam. She growled under her breath when she failed to do any damage. As she dodged another Armos Knight, Rainbow cried out, "They're not going down!"

She failed to see the Armos Knight hovering directly over her head before it came down.

"NO!"

Rainbow was suddenly pushed out of the way before the golem could crush her. With shocked surprise, Rainbow recognized her savior.

"Gilda?!"

The young Griffon rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Who'd ya think, doofus, King Grover?"

Gilda whipped her head around towards the Armos she had just saved Rainbow from, and noticed something rather peculiar. Situated in the Armos Knight's back was a glowing red stone that disappeared as the Armos Knight turned around. "Didja see that?" Gilda asked.

"See what?" Rainbow asked, still reeling from how her former friend had saved her.

"Of course ya didn't," Gilda sighed. "Look, those things got a weakness, some kinda glowing stone in their backs! Distract this bozo so I got a clear shot at him!"

Deciding not to question it, Rainbow nodded before turning her attention towards the Armos Knight. "HEY, UGLY! Over here!" she declared, waving her hoof.

As the Armos Knight barreled towards her, Gilda flew behind it and drew back her bow, aiming for the Armos Knight's weak point. She then let her arrow fly, and her aim was true, the arrow piercing the orb and cracking it. Suddenly the golem began spinning rapidly as it hopped randomly about before exploding, sending chunks of rock flying everywhere.

Vaati, seeing this, cried out, "Everyone! Their weakness is the stone on their backs! Aim for those!"

Right after he said this, the giant eye suddenly felt an explosion of pain in his forehead as an Armos Knight stomped down on him, knocking him to the ground in a heap. "Ugh," Vaati groaned, momentarily dazed.

Ahuizotl used all three of his hands to hold one Armos Knight in place while Chrysalis blasted the stone on its back to smithereens, destroying a second one. Another Armos Knight was taken down by the combined efforts of Zecora with her potions and Rover with his mace. A fourth met its end courtesy of Twilight magically pinning it in place while Fluttershy shot a bolt into its back. The fifth golem was undone by Rarity's throwing gems while Daring Do had distracted it.

Twinrova groaned, her body throbbing with pain as she willed herself to begin moving. The explosions she was hearing told her that her Armos Knights weren't faring very well without her. Gritting her teeth, the Gerudo sorceress grunted as she began to force herself into a sitting position.

"So what was Ganon like as a kid?" she heard as a familiar horrendously-pink equine face obscured her vision. "Was he a huge brat like Diamond Tiara used to be? Or didya have to teach him how to be evil? And on that note, why would you teach your kid to be a bad guy? That doesn't sound like good parenting at all!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" Twinrova screeched, readying a fireball and an ice spell at the same time.

Pinkie's tail abruptly twitched, causing her to shrug. "Suit yourself!" she chirped a little too cheerfully, removing herself from Twinrova's sight.

And replacing it with the view of the bottom of an Armos Knight right before it slammed down on her head, missing its original target.

Everyone winced at the particularly gruesome crunch as the Armos Knight crushed Twinrova's skull like a melon. The witch's body promptly went limp, and it seemed the Armos Knight was about as shocked as an animated statue could get, for it didn't move for several moments, enough time for Gilda to finish it off with a well-placed arrow. The resulting explosion disintegrated Twinrova's body, and immediately afterwards, the Element of Laughter reappeared around Pinkie's neck.

XXXXXX

After Twinrova's defeat, the rest of the battle passed in a blur. The Moblins fought to the last, but Griffonstone was eventually recaptured by the Griffons, and their imprisoned brethren freed. Later in the evening, Vaati and the others returned to Griffonshores to spend the night, as the housing at Griffonstone was in even poorer shape.

Vaati relaxed on one of the spare beds, massaging his still-sore head, when someone abruptly entered the room, revealing themselves to be a middle-aged Griffon in official-looking attire.

"I greet you, Wind Sorcerer Vaati," the Griffon spoke. "My name is Chancellor Geoffrey, and I'd like to thank you on behalf of the Griffon Kingdom for what you did for us."

Vaati wordlessly nodded in acknowledgment, silently wishing the obvious bureaucrat would just leave. Din's Fire, how he loathed and despised bureaucrats. But Geoffrey was not done, it seemed, for the Griffon paused to gather himself before saying, "During your time here, you may have noticed that Griffonstone is…well, not in the best condition. The damage you saw preceded the invasion by quite some time, admittedly."

"So you don't deny that it's a total dump?" Vaati asked.

Geoffrey shook his head. "Let's just say that the Griffon Kingdom has fallen on hard times in recent years, both economically and in terms of our people's morale. However, King Galdoria didn't want Princess Celestia to know about the financial situation we were in, because he knew she would try to send help, and…I do not mean to speak ill of the dead, but Galdoria hated the Equestrians. He felt that any aid provided by Equestria would indebt him to the Princesses, thus giving them some form of influence over Griffon politics. He wanted us to solve this problem ourselves, and…well, look at where that's got us."

"Your king was a bloody paranoid idiot," Vaati huffed. "If he couldn't suck up his pride to ask for help with bringing his nation out of a perpetual state of poverty, then he had no right to rule."

Geoffrey sighed. "While I was loyal to the king, I did often find myself questioning his reasoning. And you're right. I freely admit that. Which is why I do not intend to make the same mistake he did."

"What do you mean?" Vaati demanded, impatient for this conversation to end.

"Queen Gwendolyn died in childbirth, and with King Galdoria also gone now, the only one left to take the throne is Prince Garrett. The only problem is, the prince is too young to lead the kingdom, especially in the impoverished state it's in. Thus, I have to assume command until he's of age, and rule as a regent. I intend to make the most of that time, particularly by reestablishing ties between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom."

Geoffrey, given his position, was relatively good at reading people, and he could tell Vaati just wanted him gone so he could rest. Having said his piece, Geoffrey sighed. "Well, I'll leave you to your rest then, Master Sorcerer. Thank you again."

With a respectful bow, Geoffrey turned and left.

XXXXXX

Gilda stood alone on the balcony, looking out at the moon. She did not seem to hear the soft clopping of hooves behind her until she heard someone speak.

"Hey, doofus."

Gilda closed her eyes so she couldn't see her one-time friend trot over to her side. "Hey, Dash."

"Listen…" Rainbow hesitantly began. "I…I wanna thank you. For what you did back there, and…"

"Don't bother!" Gilda snapped, more harshly than she had intended, but her emotional wounds were still so raw. "So I saved your stupid flank. It doesn't mean I'm your friend!"

Rainbow bit back the urge to snap back; she knew very well what Gilda was going through. "Gilda, if you really thought that, you wouldn't have tried to save me in the first place."

Gilda looked away. "Don't gimme that bull! We're not friends! You proved that to me when you ditched me for those lame new friends of yours!"

Gilda braced herself for Rainbow's inevitable retort, that Gilda had brought it on herself, but the response she got was something she hadn't expected at all.

"I'm sorry."

Surprised, Gilda finally looked down at her old friend, and she could see tears cascading down Rainbow's cheeks that glistened in the moonlight. "When you came, I was so excited," Rainbow said. "The first friend I ever made was gonna meet all my new ones, and I was so stoked to see how it all turned out. But…it didn't turn out the way I wanted. Pinkie didn't know you or what was going on, so she tried to shoehorn herself into our activities, and I didn't stop to think about the fact that you didn't have any friends other than me, and that you didn't know how to, well, share me, I guess."

Gilda wanted to say something, but she just couldn't think of anything, and just let Dash continue, spellbound by her words.

"I didn't know that Pinkie had been bothering you as much as she had, otherwise I wouldn't have set up all those pranks at the party. But when you blew up in front of everypony, I…I got so mad I couldn't think straight, and when you're the fastest pony in the world, sometimes you forget to think things through, and I should have. There's a million ways I could have handled it better, but I didn't."

Rainbow sniffed before glancing towards the moon. "I never wanted you to stop being my friend, but…I was, deep down, kind of ashamed of myself for turning my back on you, especially after everything we've been through together. I could have sent you a letter asking if we could meet up again and try to sort things out, but I was too scared to." She scoffed bitterly. "Some Element of Loyalty I am, huh?"

Gilda said nothing for a good long while, taking in everything she had just been told. Rainbow just stood there, gazing pensively at Luna's moon with a sad, faraway look. Gilda mulled it all over in her head.

Yeah…there's a million ways I could've handled it better too.

And then a thought occurred to her. Normally such a thought would leave her with an exasperated frown, but not this time.

"Hey Dash."

"Yeah?" Rainbow replied without looking away.

"I know what'll cheer ya up. It always has."

Rainbow turned towards her, and as understanding hit her, her eyes lit up with unrestrained glee.

And together they proclaimed;

"Junior Speedsters are our lives!

Skybound soars and daring dives!

Junior Speedsters, it's our quest,

To someday be the very best!"

By the time they were done, both of them had tearful smiles on their faces. And then they embraced, all animosity between them forgotten.

"I missed you so much, Dash," Gilda whispered.

Rainbow smiled. "It's good to have ya back, Gilda."

Unbeknownst to either of them, Daring Do stood in the shadows, secretly watching the exchange. Seeing them hug, the adventurer smiled before heading off to bed.

XXXXXX

Pinkie Pie stood in the middle of Ponyville's town square, with all her friends looking at her expectantly. It was time for her big joke.

"Okie doki loki!" she cried. "I am about to tell you the most super-duper funniest joke you'll ever hear, and I guarantee you'll die laughing!"

Her friends all smiled and waited for her to continue.

"Okay! So, there was this minotaur magician who did shows on a cruise ship, and the captain of the cruise ship had a parrot who liked to watch the magician's shows. The problem was, the parrot would keep spoiling the tricks for everyone! 'He's putting it in his sock, braawwk!' 'He's putting it in his sleeve, brawwwk!' 'It's in his hat, braawk!' And the magician just hated this bird, and one night the magician decides he can't take it anymore and tries to blow him up with a minotaur hand cannon. Well, the bird ducks, and the ball hits a propane tank instead and blows the cruise ship into a bajillion pieces. The only survivors are the parrot and the magician, and as they're floating out in the middle of the ocean on two little pieces of wood, the parrot turns to the magician and says, 'Alright, I give up. Where's the dang ship?'"

The rest of the Mane Six exploded into uncontrollable fits of laughter, with Rainbow Dash and Applejack rolling on the ground. Pinkie laughed with them, always happy to make others smile. The laughter went on and on until Pinkie couldn't take it anymore. Yet, as she calmed down, she noticed that everypony was still laughing, and she quirked an eyebrow at this. Nobody ever managed to laugh at something longer than she did. This was weird.

They weren't stopping. In fact, they weren't even stopping to breathe.

Their eyes collectively shot open as they desperately tried to catch their breath, but they couldn't. Stop. Laughing.

"I-hi-hi-hi ca-ha-ha-ha-han't brea-hee-hee-heethe!" Rainbow managed to gasp as she grasped at her throat.

Pinkie's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets as she realized what was happening. Unbidden, her very words rang in her head over and over again.

You'll die laughing.

You'll die laughing.

You'll die laughing!

Pinkie began to panic as, one by one, her friends' hearts gave out as they suffocated, going limp on the ground. Their eyes stared emptily up at the sky, still wide with terror, while their lips were forever frozen in a manic smile.

"Wow, look at that. That joke's positively killing."

Pinkie whirled around at the unexpected and very unwelcome voice and gasped in horror.

She was staring at a mirror image of herself. However, there were some differences between Pinkie and the doppelganger standing before her. While Pinkie's hair was poofy and unkempt, this one's mane and tail were flat, faded, and lifeless. Secondly, the smile on her face was nothing like the way Pinkie smiled; it was cold and cruel. Her glaring eyes were like ice, piercing, devoid of soul. Pinkie stepped back in fear; she knew who this was.

This was Pinkamena Diane Pie, the embodiment of everything Pinkie feared and hated about herself; the dark side she had tried to contain within herself for years. She had hid this shadow behind walls of smiles and laughter, walls that were always teetering on the brink, far more fragile than they looked.

Pinkamena cocked her head in mock innocence. "What's the matter, Pinkie? You don't look happy to see me. It's been forever since we last talked."

"Go away," Pinkie meekly demanded, taking another step back.

"Away?" Pinkamena sneered. "There is no 'away'. I am you! And the more you ignore me and try to hide, the stronger I'll get. And one day, you won't be able to hide me anymore. You can't bottle me up forever; eventually you'll snap from all the strain, and you'll cut loose on everypony you know and love. You're a ticking time bomb, Pinkie, and when you blow, you'll end up right back where you started. No parties, no smiles…and no friends."

Pinkie put her hooves over her ears. "NO! I'm not listening! Not listening!"

Pinkie promptly turned tail and ran as fast as she could, past the motionless corpses of her friends. And then Pinkamena was right up in her face again, that cold smirk ever present as Pinkie was forced to skid to a halt. "No matter how far you run, you'll never escape from who you really are. You'll always be alone, and in the end, you'll only have me!"

Pinkie ran past her, trying to find somewhere to hide. But Pinkamena blocked her way yet again. "Why are you running? I thought you always said to giggle at the ghosties! So come on! I wanna hear you laugh! Go ahead, joker! LAUGH!"

Pinkie began nervously laughing, hoping that, just maybe, her granny's advice would hold true. But her dark side just laughed sarcastically over her, leaning her head closer to Pinkie and causing her to back up, a wild look in the doppelganger's eyes. Finally Pinkamena backed up, and this time she let out a creepy giggle. "Well, would ya look at that? I think Dashie voided her bowels!"

Pinkie, crying in terror and sadness, turned and ran off in another direction, leaving Ponyville behind. And yet she clearly heard the voice of her darker half laughing insanely. "RUN! RUN TILL YOU'RE WELL-DONE, HONEY BUN! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Pinkie wasn't paying attention to where she was going and suddenly found herself running right off the edge of a cliff. And as she fell, she saw the unwelcoming sight of her parents' rock farm rising up to meet her, ready to claim her again as it had claimed her family, sucking out all semblance of happiness from their souls. No love. No bonding. No parties. No smiles.

Only rocks. Cold, lifeless rocks.

Lifeless like Pinkamena.

XXXXXX

Pinkie let out a huge gasp as she catapulted awake, sitting bolt upright in her bed. She clutched at her chest, trying to calm her furiously-pounding heart. Tears welled up her eyes as the memory of that horrible nightmare washed over her, and she curled into a fetal position and began rocking herself back and forth, trying to will away the deep sadness eating away at her.

In a quiet, shaky voice, Pinkie began to sing to herself, a song she hoped would cheer her up.

"My name is Pinkie Pie, and I am here to say,

I'm gonna m-make you smile and I will b-brighten up your day.

It doesn't m-matter now if you are s-sad or blue,

C-cuz cheering up my friends is just what Pinkie's here t-to do.

'Cause I love t-to make you s-smile, smile, s-s-smile…"

But she wasn't smiling. She still felt the hot tears sliding down her face, felt the gnawing pain in her chest that she had become so good at concealing. Her hair slowly deflated until it looked exactly like Pinkamena's mane style.

There was a reason she always found something to smile about. There was a reason that she would use any and all excuses she could think of to throw parties, even if she had just thrown one yesterday. Pinkie Pie, party planner extraordinaire, was absolutely terrified of loneliness. And she had turned in early; everypony else was still awake and off doing their own thing.

Which meant she was alone.

"Hey, Pinkie. Are you alright?"

Or was she?

Pinkie blinked away her tears as she saw Twilight enter the room, a concerned smile on her face. "I heard you had gone to bed early, and I figured you'd be having…it right about now. Are you gonna be okay?"

Pinkie sniffed and she nodded wordlessly. Twilight nodded as well and turned towards the door. However, before she could step out, she stopped. Looking over her shoulder, Twilight said, "Sometimes, when things get rough, we start to feel alone in the world. Like everything's out of control and we're helpless to keep our own lives in order. Everypony feels like that sometimes. Even I have. I just want you to know, Pinkie; you are not alone. You will never be alone, because the six of us will always be here for each other. Because that's what friends are for."

Twilight then took her leave. She wasn't there to watch as Pinkie smiled, her hair slowly regaining its trademark poofiness. And again she began to sing to herself, but this time there was a definite cheerful tone in her voice.

"My name is Pinkie Pie, and I am here to say,

I'm gonna make you smile and I will brighten up your day!"

XXXXXX

It was done.

Dethl had invaded the dreams of all six of the Element Bearers and learned all it could of their abilities, hopes, and fears. It unfortunately had had to target Twilight Sparkle early, as it appeared that Ganon had no intention of letting the Element of Magic out of his grasp.

So the bullheaded pig could learn after all.

As it left Pinkie's dreamscape, Dethl mulled over everything it had witnessed over the past few weeks.

Applejack embodied Honesty, and thus valued the truth over all other things. She was extraordinarily strong, even for an Earth pony, and her Element apparently augmented that strength. However, her weakness lay in her insane devotion to her family. Dethl had no doubts it could easily deal with her by threatening one of her family members. The sister, perhaps; Majora had expressed a special loathing towards her due to her involvement in his failure to break Scootaloo.

Rainbow Dash was loyal and brave to a fault. She was also reckless, arrogant, and had a habit of jumping into situations without thinking them through. The kind of person that could easily fall into the right trap.

Fluttershy's kindness allowed her to communicate with the fiercest animals, and indeed her Element seemed to help her exert some form of influence over them. But she was one of the biggest cowards Dethl had ever seen; the weakling was afraid of her own shadow! She didn't have a spine for the Nightmare King to even break!

Pinkie Pie…Dethl was surprised by what it had found with Pinkie. It had expected her to resist in her own random, roundabout way. But it had been remarkably easy for the Demon King to pick its way through her happy exterior to get at the more succulent meats; her secret fears. It didn't even have to do a whole lot with her; it had actually let "Pinkamena" do most of the work. That was fascinating to watch. However, Dethl did not like the abilities that her link to the Element of Laughter provided. Her uncanny ability to predict danger, her tendency to randomly teleport when no one was looking in her direction, and her ability to "see beyond the wall". The last one like that had been an insufferable creature that called himself Tingle; it had taken the Church years and significant resources to finally get rid of him once and for all, and Dethl didn't like the idea of devoting similar resources just to take out one stupid pony.

Rarity was an amusing case. She represented Generosity, but at the same time, she didn't make much of a secret of her own vanity and her love of fine jewelry. There was also a degree of greed to her. All of these were things Dethl could capitalize on in the future. Ironically, Majora despised the concept of greed; one could not worship their gods if they were too busy worshipping gold, after all.

And Twilight…Twilight was a bit of a wild card. While Dethl had gained a lot of insight into her personality, it had little understanding of the extent of her magical prowess. Dethl had no doubts that it was impressive for a unicorn, but it did not know how far those abilities extended, or exactly what role she played amongst the Elements.

But in the end, Dethl had gotten what it came for. The Elements and the Wind Sorcerer were preparing to confront Ganondorf, and Dethl knew that they would defeat him. But it also knew they would do more than defeat him; if only it could stay and watch the show. But it had more pressing matters to attend to back in the Dark World. Battle plans had to be made, and the preparations for the ritual that would free Majora had to be set into motion. Dethl did not have a lot of confidence in that spineless idiot, Cole, to do what needed to be done without the King there to watch his every move.

A pity, really; Dethl was really looking forward to confronting Vaati at last. Now was not the time for the Demon King to reveal itself. The time would come soon enough, and then…

Vaati would know the truth of his existence.

XXXXXX

The next morning…

"Are you sure you wanna come with us?" Rainbow asked as she and the others all stood together on the streets of Griffonshores.

"Positive," Gilda replied, fingering her bow. "Can't let you have all the fun, now that I know about what the Tartarus's been going on lately. Besides, we still got a lotta catchin' up to do."

Vaati grunted as he heard this. That was one more passenger he had to account for in this spell. "Alright, all of you listen closely," Vaati commanded. "Twilight, Chrysalis, and I…"

"QUEEN CHRYSALIS!"

"The three of us," Vaati pointedly continued, ignoring the fuming Changeling, "are going to perform a mass teleport straight over to the Crystal Empire's doorstep. We don't have any more time to wait; Ganon might have already taken the city. I pray that he hasn't yet. Alright, you two, get ready!"

Vaati's hands glowed, followed by Twilight and Chrysalis's horns. The wind began to whip around them as the magic intensified. "When we get there," Vaati hollered over the noise, "we may find ourselves in the middle of a massive battle. Our priority is to reach the Crystal Palace and hopefully stop Ganon from murdering the Princesses. Understand?"

The rest of them collectively nodded, bracing themselves for the battle ahead. Whatever happened, their showdown with Ganondorf was near at hand. When their magical auras were at their brightest, Vaati cried out, "Everyone get close to us!"

The whole group clustered together, and Vaati yelled, "Do it!"

The three magical auras blended together, washing over the gathering of ponies and non-ponies. A bright flash of light engulfed the whole group, and they were gone.

XXXXXX

Crystal Fields…

Vaati and his companions appeared before a scene none of them had expected.

Monsters, ponies, Everfree beasts, Diamond Dogs, Changelings, and Buffalo were all over the Crystal Fields. But they weren't fighting each other; instead, they were collectively driving off another host of monsters bearing Ganon's symbol.

They couldn't believe it. Against impossible odds, Ganon's army had been defeated.

"Lord Vaati!"

Vaati whipped his head towards the voice and grinned as he saw a familiar Darknut running up to them.

"Maulgrim!" Vaati greeted. "Aren't you a welcome sight!"

Maulgrim grinned in response. "Aye, as are you, sir! We rode to the Empire's aid and caught Ganon's buggers completely by surprise!"

"Where are the Princesses?" Vaati asked.

Maulgrim's face fell. "Last I saw, Princess Luna was headed towards the Palace. Ganon had already reached it by then."

Vaati's heart nearly stopped. "How long ago?"

"A few minutes, at the very least," Maulgrim answered. "We may have won the battle here, but I don't think Ganon's given up yet!"

Instantly Vaati transformed into the giant flying eye. "Make safe the city! All of you, follow me!"

Maulgrim stepped aside as Vaati and his entourage flew past him, making a beeline straight for the Crystal Palace. The Mane Six forced themselves to ignore the numerous bodies of ponies as they passed them by, reaching the Palace within five minutes. The castle was completely empty, so nothing was there to stop them from reaching the throne room. They maneuvered around a still-smoking hole in the floor right outside the door. And with his mighty arms, Vaati thrust the throne room doors open.

Comments

[Thunder Quill]

Goddess damnit... More fucking waiting...

On a side note, will Vaati's Little Crusaders be updated with new stuff now that they have their cutie marks?

[Cracked Egg]

CLIFFHANGER!

[ShujiWakahisaa]

YOU RETURNED ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!! :3

[HB_DS2013]

So... Pinkie literally annoyed Twinrova to death? Cool.

[GMZ_Casper]

Pinkie owning Twinrova by simply talking to her and distracting her...wow, and she was such a pain in the games. Also, interesting route you are going with her. Now to get to the next chapter, hopefully if I can before bedtime (while taking small breaks to play Hyrule Warriors).

C&Cs:
"QUEEN Chrysalis, dammit!" the irate Changeling queen fumed.
All of them gave the petty Changeling queen a look...
> Capitalize ‘queen’. If you don't want to change it, that is fine.

[Snow123]

6565015 Well, those were legit questions! XD

[Dirty Bit]

Things are coming together...

[Orion Light]

"Okie doki loki!" she cried. "I am about to tell you the most super-duper funniest joke you'll ever hear, and I guarantee you'll die laughing!"

Bad choice of words, Pinkie, especially with him around.

Then again, she practically asked for it.

[Kenshinryuu]

I'm a little disappointed, Twinrova went down much faster than I expected, I would have liked to see more of a magical duel between her and Twilight and Vati, but oh well.

[Jninja15]

" QUEEN Chrysalis, dammit!" the irate Changeling queen fumed.

"CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow!"

[Sonic Boom]

I know I'm VERY late to say this, but didn't they give that sea captain a week to return? He'll be there forever, waiting for adventurers that will never return....

Nah, I'm sure he'll figure it they're dead or teleported and he'll be off on his next delivery.