Camaraderie is Sorcery

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 2:27.3 - The Second Son

Author's Note:

Translations

Chapter 2:27.3 – The Second Son

Braid’s armies marched westward across the hills of the Haeldmark, that semi-autonomous region that had been its own kingdom before the prince had managed to force acknowledgement of his overlordship upon it. The army that now followed the Prince of Stalliongrad in pursuit of the rebellious Vasil and his followers was much smaller than what had set out from Stalliongrad originally. Partly, that was because a large army was not needed anymore for this task and another force under his brother-in-law Hodd Andretokov had been split off to slow the bison rampage; mostly, however, it was due to the stunning conclusion of the Siege of Castle Garland. Many had been killed by falling marine life or the mountain that tore through the walls in the end, but more had simply fled in terror. Those that were left should be more than enough to deal with Vasil and the nobles still at his side, but it was still disheartening for those remaining to see the great army whittled down so significantly.

The Cant’r Laht embassy still marched with Prince Braid’s army. It was especially important for the Brave Companions now that they had irrefutable proof that the Discord-possessed pony was among the remaining rebels. Twilight Sparkle had hoped to catch them off guard, but her scrying had been unable to find them during their flight until they reached Galloping Gorge. The reason they were still with Braid’s army and hadn’t simply hopped straight to Galloping Gorge was because Twilight found she was unable to open a portal to it. While it was beyond frustrating, it didn’t take her long to figure out why. Yliiena the First was to blame again, in a way. Galloping Gorge was the result of her sorcerous battle with Tirek, the first Great One to be imprisoned in Tartarus. It had been carved by magic from both an alicorn and a Great One, causing it to inherently interfere with sorcery, including making the creation of portals to or from it and teleportation impossible. So, she would have to wait again for the army of Stalliongrad to bring her target within reach or for them to reveal themselves. She would also have to hope that, when the time came, the spell to extract Discord’s soul fragment would work.

“Halt!” yelled the commander leading the nearby column of troops.

“Um, Twilight,” Spike said, tugging at the sorceress’s mane from his spot on her back in order to draw her attention to the order.

She’d allowed her page to ride on her back during the march after he’d complained about not being able to keep up, but she was beginning to realize that this couldn’t go on forever. Spike was growing, and it wouldn’t be much longer before Twilight couldn’t carry him anymore, not without her becoming too fatigued. That was something that no sorceress could allow, since it would impede her ability to correctly cast spells. For now, though, she didn’t want to give up on being able to carry the dragon she’d raised from a hatchling. She could go on just a little longer.

The Brave Companions had been trotting alongside the columns of Stalliongrader soldiers that ranged over the hills, maintaining some distance between them so that they could go their own way, keep their own pace, and have their own conversations. The columns around them began to halt one by one and the front ranks spread out laconically into lines of defense. There must have been no immediate threat if they weren’t in a rush, or so Twilight hoped. Rainbow Dash launched into the air, abandoning the heated debate she’d been having with Rarity about armor, and Fluttershy followed with a slower ascent. The rest of the Brave Companions (as well as Ream and Baldavin, who’d been hanging back) rushed to the top of the hill they were traveling upslope on to see what was causing the commotion.

The hills descended and flattened out ahead as the Haeldic highlands transitioned completely into a pocket of the Moskyin Expanse, the vast plain that was mostly occupied by the Principality of Stalliongrad. Scouts galloped back toward the Stalliongrader army, their forms small but easy to pick out against the still countryside. Galloping Gorge was visible in the distance, a tremendous rent in the earth carved by no natural force. It was too far to make out details, but there was a dark patch on the near side of the gorge that stood out, glimmers coming from it from time to time as the sun peeked through the clouds overhead.

“Pinkamena, did you bring your telescope along?” Twilight asked.

“Of course I did,” Pinkamena said, producing her gift from Duchess Seaspray and passing it to Twilight.

The sorceress looked through the spyglass down at the edge of Galloping Gorge. It was still too far to make out many details, but it did give her a much better idea of what was down there. There was an army amassed at the edge of the gorge nearly twice the size of Prince Braid’s forces. Banners flapped here and there among the soldiers, denoting different nobles and their levies, but it was the shared highest banners that held Twilight’s attention. The standard was indecipherable, but the colors were easy enough to make out. Blue and gray—the Kingdom of Vanhuv’r’s colors.

***

Prince Braid’s army halted where it was atop the hills, before it had fully revealed itself to the Vanhuv’rite army; it wouldn’t do for them to know that they greatly outnumbered their opponents. Of course, if they had a sorceress among them with the ability to scry out her surroundings, then the Vanhuv’rites would already know. It never hurt to be prudent, though, and to avoid giving a potential enemy any information that you weren’t absolutely sure they already had.

When a messenger from the Vanhuv’rites galloped up the hills, Braid dispatched his own representative to meet them before they reached the camp. The message brought was from King Hyelliff, who was personally leading the army at Galloping Gorge. When two armies each led by monarchs met, it never ended well for anypony. It was not a declaration of war that the messenger brought from his king (not yet, anyway), but an invitation to meet the following morning on the ground between the two armies.

Braid agreed to the meeting, and he set off the next dawn with his entourage down from the hills in the midst of a thunderstorm. With him came his two loyal sons, an assortment of powerful vassals, and the Brave Companions. Twilight Sparkle was unsure why all six of them were invited to the meeting (and why Cadence, Shining Armor, Ream, Baldavin, and Spike were omitted), when she alone would be enough to explain the danger posed by the Discord-possessed, but Prince Braid insisted. He felt that all the Brave Companions together would have a stronger effect on King Hyelliff than a subset of them. And so, they accompanied the party down through the hills in the darkness, cloaks pulled tight around them and the torches carried by Braid’s guards struggling to stay alight illuminating their surroundings.

The Vanhuv’rites had arrived at the meeting spot first and set up a tent in King Hyelliff’s colors. The Stalliongrad delegation entered, soaking wet, to the sight of Hyelliff and his court sitting warm and dry, sipping tea. Twilight wondered how early they’d arrived, or if they’d been here all night, only to be seen comfortable here while the other party was miserable from their march. If King Hyelliff thought that something as trivial as discomfort would put Prince Braid off his game, he was sorely mistaken.

“Prince Braid III Stalanokov, Lord-Protector of Stalliongrad, Boyar of the Haeldmark, Crown-Protector of the Hordes, and Lord of the North!” Braid’s herald announced, breaking the silence that had fallen at the Stalliongraders’ entrance.

“Hyelliff of the House Vattern, King of Vanhuv’r, Prince of the Fellmark, Holy Guardian of St. Epaphrus’s Monastery, Baron of Galloping Gorge, and Warden of the Agate Ocean!” Hyelliff’s own herald announced of his seated sovereign, adding after Hyelliff gave him a pointed look, “And Lord of the North!”

Prince Braid frowned at the addition of that last title, to which he also laid claim; not that it mattered much, practically speaking. The North, or as it was more commonly known, the Frozen North, had been covered in perpetual blizzards for over a thousand years, and that wasn’t likely to change anytime soon. It was merely something to claim and something to provide a casus belli in case of war.

The Stalliongrad delegation took their seats at a table that had been set up between the two sets of chairs. Braid and Hyelliff faced each other, with Braid’s sons and vassals facing off against the King of Vanhuv’r’s courtiers across the table. The Brave Companions were not given seats at the table and sat in the second row with some of the less important Stalliongrader nobles. Accompanying King Hyelliff were many nobles that Twilight Sparkle did not recognize, but a few that she did. Among them was Duchess Flying Saddle of Tall Tale. She also recognized the Brave Companions and didn’t look happy to see them here. While more than a year had passed, she was still bitter about being tricked out of the dragon’s treasure at Mount Caradrhorse. Peculiarly, seated on one side of Hyelliff were two young colts in fine attire, one of them so small he could barely see over the edge of the table.

“I see you’ve brought your sons along—well, some of them,” Hyelliff goaded Braid about Vasil’s treachery, and the Stalliongrader prince’s face grew stormy, “I too have brought my offspring to show them how things are done. Borhold, Ostaff, say hello to your fellow prince.”

“Hello,” the elder of the two colts next to Hyelliff said as he stared at Braid uncertainly.

“If you seek to embarrass me because of my title by comparing me to foals, then you only display your own foolishness,” Prince Braid said as he stared at King Hyelliff, “It is true that you are a king and I am a prince, but I would rather be prince of the great fortress-city of Stalliongrad than king of that heap of fishing shacks you call Vanhuv’r. Standing only on your claim to the crown of a king doesn’t become you, Hyelliff; but what else could you stand on, your own merits? You, who lost the Westerlands to Queen Helianthus, against me, who brought the noble Haelds, whose land we are currently upon, under my command?”

As Prince Braid heaped insults on King Hyelliff and his realm, the king’s face grew increasingly stormy and livid. His courtiers objected audibly to Braid’s speech, especially where it disparaged the city of Vanhuv’r, but the king himself managed to keep himself from interrupting and embarrassing himself.

“Now that that is over, what are you doing in my realm with an army?” Prince Braid demanded before tempers had cooled.

“When I received word that a great army had left Stalliongrad and was marching west, with its own sovereign at the head, no less, what was I to think?” Hyelliff asked, his indignation at Braid’s previous comments only barely detectable in his voice, “I did the same thing you would have done had you received word about an army led by King Hadish. I marched out to defend my lands.”

“You are in the Haeldmark,” Braid objected, “These are my lands.”

“Galloping Gorge is not,” Hyelliff said firmly, “And I can’t very well defend it from the other side of the gorge, can I?”

“You know why I am here. A pretender to my throne hides out in the gorge,” Braid said sternly.

“Yes, your son Vasil, I am well aware,” Hyelliff said without pity, “I heard an interesting story, you know, that he really is the rightful Prince of Stalliongrad. It seems, Braid, that you may not be who you claim to be, but a shape-shifter.”

“You don’t want to go down this path, Hyelliff,” Braid said without emotion, “You were in Cant’r Laht as well and could have the same charge leveled against you. Allow me to retrieve my son, and I will forgive your trespass on my lands. There need be no quarrel between us.”

“That is where you’re wrong,” Hyelliff said, “I am Baron of Galloping Gorge, and as such, I cannot allow Stalliongrader soldiers or their prince to enter.”

“What about us?” Twilight Sparkle said as she stood up, and the rest of the Brave Companions hurried to follow her lead, “We travel with Prince Braid’s army, but we are not a part of it.”

“The Brave Companions. I had heard you had come north. To aid Prince Braid in dealing with his rebellion? Why?” Hyelliff asked.

“At first we came to give aid to the prince, but that is not why we are still here,” Twilight said as she trotted to the head of the table to be better seen, “There is a greater threat in Galloping Gorge than just a pretender to the throne of Stalliongrad. One-seventh of Discord’s soul possesses Vasil or one of his followers, and it has given them incredible chaos powers that could tear apart Equestria if they are not stopped.”

“As if we should believe in an ancient chaos god with the ability to split his soul,” Duchess Flying Saddle scoffed. Twilight was getting exceedingly annoyed with ponies who failed to believe that the disasters averted by her and her friends had really existed.

“Doubt at your own risk, Hyelliff. You have already had one Discord-possessed pony in your kingdom, and they hadn’t had the time this one has to get a grip on their powers. Confirm with Margrave Orion Star if you want,” Twilight said, and one of the nobles behind Hyelliff—likely Margrave Orion Star—looked confused, “Or, better yet, his steward Wettin. He was actually present at Comethold when it happened.”

“No. I cannot allow it,” Hyelliff said after thinking for a few seconds (or feigning to), “If you wish to reach Galloping Gorge, then we must be joined in battle. I cannot allow anypony unimpeded into my lands, not with an army at their backs. I shall not yield a league, a rod, nay, even a pastern of territory to an invading foe.”

“You remain here at your peril,” Braid said stiffly, “You cannot defend well or retreat with your back to the gorge. When battle is met, you would be driven over the edge. Consider, Hyelliff, is this where and why you wish to meet your end?”

“It will not be the end for me,” Hyelliff said confidently.

“We shall see,” Braid said as he rose to leave.

***

“Twilight Sparkle! Madam sorceress!” Grigor chased Twilight down once they’d returned to the Stalliongrader camp and started to go their separate ways.

“Yes, Grigor?” she asked, and the rest of the Brave Companions halted around her.

“I have a plan—or at least the beginnings of one—to reach Galloping Gorge, but I must beg your assistance … again,” Grigor said.

“What is the plan and how might I help?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

The display of chaos magic at Castle Garland had been shocking. To conjure up a storm of marine life and raise up entire mountain ranges with nothing more than a thought didn’t bode well for what the Discord-possessed pony would be capable of in the future were they not stopped. Twilight was willing to do nearly anything to reach them sooner rather than later and stop that progression.

“Actually, the one I have the most need of is her,” Grigor said as he pointed to Applejack.

“What d’ y’ need me for?” the stunned farmer asked before adding, “M’lord.”

“There must be another way into Galloping Gorge that would allow us to bypass King Hyelliff’s army, and if anypony would know of it, it would be the locals,” Grigor explained, “There’s a village not far from here—a Haeldic village, of course—and if I’m not mistaken, there is some Haeldic blood in you.”

“Aye, there is,” Applejack said.

The Apple family had once come from the land of the Haelds, fleeing interminable wars that had wracked the region when it had still been the independent Haeldom. Many of her family had returned to this land just before Prince Braid had conquered it with the hordes and even more had returned later, leaving just a few Apples left to tend the lands in the Equestry Valley.

“The Haeldmark recognizes my father as their boyar, but not gladly,” Grigor admitted, “I feel the Haelds would be receptive if one of their own brought the news instead of the son of the stallion who killed their kin at the Battle of Caignwall.”

“I see,” Applejack said gravely.

“We should all go along,” Twilight announced as Pinkamena produced her lute from somewhere and began to slink away, “If we find a way to Galloping Gorge, it may require all the Elements of Harmony to bring down this last shard of Discord’s soul, as strong as it’s become.”

“Of course,” Grigor said, “Come. Haralsonstead awaits!”

***

Haralsonstead was near enough that no portal was required in order to reach it before the day’s end. All around the village were fields and orchards, and the village itself was built atop a hill. A zigzagging path led up to the gates in the palisade that surrounded the village. A few ponies laboring in the fields stopped to watch the strange procession as it proceeded up the path, glances cast especially upon Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, as the sorceress, Hunter, and druidess would have stood out in most any crowd. There were also a fair number who watched Applejack, as if recognizing that her ancestors had come from this land as well, though how exactly they might be able to know that was a mystery.

“I’m not sure exactly what I’m s’posed t’ do, Twi’,” Applejack confided in her friend as they ascended, “I’m not exactly a diplomat.”

“You will do fine, Applejack, I am sure,” Twilight assured her, “All you need to do is speak to the mayor and explain our purpose here.”

“If y’ say so,” Applejack said uncertainly.

The village was abuzz with activity when they entered, ponies filling the streets. Chickens squawked and cattle lowed as they were led down the paths between the sturdy cottages. Gossip flew from the lips of everypony, whether they were simply visiting or conducting a trade in the long, narrow marketplace that ran down the village’s main street. The gossip tended to die down as the Brave Companions passed, ponies stopping to look at them before picking back up, and Twilight repeatedly noticed the words “Braid,” “Stalliongrad,” and “army.” It seemed word of their presence had preceded a formal visit to this village. That, or one of the scouts had been here already, but if that was the case, then Grigor hadn’t shared that fact with his companions. Others mentioned Hyelliff and Vanhuv’r, but evidently that was old news. I did help explain why the town was so packed, though, as ponies living in the surrounding countryside rushed to the safety of the town’s palisade from a nearby hostile army.

“Pardon me, where can I find th’ mayor?” Applejack asked a stallion standing by and munching on a turnip.

“Mayor Lodi be haudin’ court in th’ taun square,” the stallion replied with a Haeldic accent as thick as any Appleoosan, “Gaun doon straight that way an’ take a right at th’ tavern.”

These directions proved to be not quite as useful as the Brave Companions had originally thought, for there were many taverns in Haralsonstead. Eventually they located the right one, however, after following the main street all the way down, and found their way to the town square. The square was just as packed with horseflesh as the rest of the town, most of the ponies here facing the opposite side of the square where a wooden stage had been set up from which the mayor could “hold court.” The mayor of Haralsonstead was not like Mayor Mare, who fancied herself equal to any noble and tried to build an actual court for herself, so what the townspony who’d given them directions meant by saying Mayor Lodi was holding court was that she was dispensing justice.

“Duncan th’ Bastart an’ Fennel, son o’ Igni, ah hereby find ye guilty o’ theft. As these be yer third offenses, ye be sentenced tae be hanged by th’ neck ‘til ye die,” declared a golden-coated mare, the mayor, from behind the table set up on the stage.

Two stallions, one scraggly and one heavyset, were led away from the crowd that hurled insults at them and up to the gibbet set up next to the mayor’s stage. Nooses had been prepared for them in anticipation of the mayor’s judgement, and they were looped around the two thieves’ necks. A priestess offered them a last confession before the wood beneath their hooves fell away and their lives and their fall were cut short at once. It seemed little time passed between judgement’s proclamation and its execution in Haralsonstead.

While the hanging was going on, the mayor seated herself behind the table on her stage and took a swig from the tankard weighing down a stack of papers. It was a long table, with enough room to seat five ponies in a row, which it currently did. The others were all likely aldermares, come here to plead their constituencies’ case before the mayor and also to support her in her decisions where appropriate, such as in the hanging of criminals. If the mayor hadn’t initially been standing to pronounce her judgement, it would have been difficult to distinguish which of the five ponies was in charge. All were dressed very plainly in tartan (as was the custom in the Haeldmark), with no discernable symbols of office. After finishing her drink and pausing for a moment to look at one of the papers in front of her, the mayor waved for the next criminal to whom she would dispense justice to be brought forward. Before that happened, Applejack pushed forward through the crowd.

“Aunt Lodi?” she called, yelling to be heard over the boos from the crowd for the criminal being brought forward.

“Whae said that?” Mayor Lodi demanded as she stood and scanned the crowd, “Whae has th’ gall? If ah told ye once, ah told ye a hunned time; when ah be on th’ stand, ah be mayor, not aunt!”

“Aunt Lodi, ‘tis me, Applejack!” the farmer exclaimed as she made it through the crowd and appeared in the spot where the thieves now hanging nearby had previously stood to receive their judgement.

“Applejack!” Lodi exclaimed with recognition, and others in the crowd cried out as well, “Good ‘eavens, what bro’t ye ‘ere? No matter. We must celebrate! A true Apple family celebration! Cancel th’ rest o’ th’ day’s business! Fill th’ square wi’ tables an’ food! Bring oot th’ casks o’ ale!”

The criminals awaiting judgement looked pleased as they were led away, able to postpone their fates for another day. It wasn’t just they who experienced an improvement in mood, though. The whole town, it seemed, was overjoyed to welcome Applejack, so much so that she was thwarted from speaking to the mayor about why she had really come here. The Haralsonsteaders transformed the square in record time, raiding nearby taverns for tables and benches and soon filling the earthen clearing between buildings with them. Warm food and ale were brought out, and the Haelds found places for themselves where they could eat, drink, talk, and laugh. The only thing that could spoil the mood was the fact that two criminals still hanged nearby, but it didn’t seem to dampen the townsponies’ spirits. Grigor and the Brave Companions were questioned at first as to why they were here, but once it came out that they were with Applejack, they too were warmly welcomed.

“Aunt” Lodi, as it turned out, was not really Applejack’s aunt, though they were more closely related than the Apples of Ponieville and those of Appleoosa. Applejack, Lodi, and most of the town were part of the McIntosh branch of the Apple family. The McIntoshes here had answered the call from Haeldom when it was under threat from Prince Braid and returned to their homeland while Applejack’s family had stayed near Ponieville. That fact only slightly soured the townsponies’ spirits toward Grigor. He was not his father, after all, though some distrust would be inevitable.

The Brave Companions and Grigor had managed to be seated with Applejack, and therefore with the mayor, during the impromptu feast. Thus, they were present as the farmer explained why they had come to Haralsonstead. She did an admirable job of it, though she did rely on Twilight to give a better explanation of Discord and how he’d split his soul.

“Ah see,” Lodi said once everything had been laid out for her consideration, “Well, ah donnae ken ony way tae get ye tae Gallopin’ Gorge wi’out ye gettin’ caught by th’ Vanhuv’rites, unless ye traveled far tae th’ south an’ entered there.”

“What aboot Baldwin?” Red Gala, the Apple sitting beside Lodi asked, “He always be oot explorin’.”

“Call him o’er ‘ere,” Lodi commanded.

Quickly, Baldwin, a young stallion, was fetched from the midst of his revelry and brought to the mayor’s table.

“Baldwin, do ye ken a way intae Gallopin’ Gorge wi’out gettin’ caught by Hyelliff’s soldiers?” Lodi asked him.

“Well, if ye vow not tae get mad a’ me, Aunt Lodi …” Baldwin vacillated.

“Spit it out,” Lodi commanded.

“Sure ah ken a way. Ye can get there through th’ barrows if ye ken th’ path,” Baldwin admitted.

“Th’ barrows, eh?” Lodi said as she squinted at Baldwin, and the young stallion seemed to shrink back under her gaze, “‘Tis settled then. After th’ feast, Balwin will lead ye through th’ barrows.”

“Many thanks,” Grigor expressed his gratitude to the mayor.

“Who am I leading?” Baldwin asked worriedly, “Th’ barrows be a dangerous place, ‘specially after nightfall.”

“Not to worry,” Rainbow Dash assured him, flashing her Hunter medallion after slamming down a recently drained tankard, “We’ll be just fine.”

Baldwin didn’t look so sure, but whether he feared what was in the barrows, losing someone in the barrows, or facing his aunt/mayor was unclear.

***

The sun was dropping toward the horizon and clouds were beginning to garb the sky again in preparation for more storms by the time the feast was done. Baldwin and the town’s visitors did not venture out alone from Haralsonstead; several other Haelds also insisted on coming along to serve as protection. Ream and Baldavin tried not to take it as an insult that they weren’t considered adequate, but the latter also had to deal with answering mistakenly whenever somepony addressed Baldwin (and vice versa). The band of ponies had swelled to fourteen (and one dragonling); not exactly a stealthy number, but Baldwin was sure they could make it into Galloping Gorge without alerting the Vanhuv’rites. Evidently, he’d already done so, and even knew where in the gorge the Stalliongrader rebels were encamped.

The barrows that Baldwin had mentioned were less than an hour’s walk from the village and were lit from behind by the setting sun as the band arrived. They were marked by standing stones of pale white, those that hadn’t tumbled over cracked and broken, all markings upon them worn away by the ages and resembling jagged teeth protruding from the hills upon which they were erected. The adventurous Apple led the way straight to the entrance he’d discovered and used at times to explore the ancient tombs. Once the heath was cleared away, he revealed a gaping doorway set into the hill that opened upon stairs leading downward.

Torches were lit and the group descended into the barrows, letting Baldwin lead the way. Rainbow Dash carefully examined the claw marks on the doorframe before entering with the silver sword at her side partly unsheathed. There were creatures in these barrows that wouldn’t like to be disturbed, and as much as the group would try to avoid doing so, their numbers would make it difficult. When the Hunter asked Baldwin how he managed down here, he told her that he simply moved very carefully and ran when there was danger, but she seemed skeptical that that would be enough to save him from the monsters that dwelt here.

Twilight Sparkle tried to keep her mind focused on the task ahead of them, but she found herself enthralled by her surroundings. She’d been skeptical that the barrows could really lead all the way from where they’d entered to Galloping Gorge, but now that she saw how complex this system of tunnels and crypts was, she could believe it. The barrows were enormous and incredibly ancient. None of the Haralsonsteaders seemed to know exactly, as most of them avoided the barrows, but she had to guess that they’d been built sometime in the Age of the Earth Pony, before the Long Winter and Equestria’s unification. As they went deeper in, however, the tunnels grew even older in style, until Twilight Sparkle was sure they’d been built during the Age of Uncertainty, before the earth ponies invaded Equestria (as the unicorns had before them). These barrows had lasted for hundreds, if not thousands of years, with each generation expanding upon them and laying their dead to rest in new chambers. Where they’d entered was the most recent of the barrows, with the older ones starting at Galloping Gorge. Thinking about it now, it made sense to Twilight, considering there had once been a city built in Galloping Gorge after Yliiena and Tirek’s duel had carved it into the land. They had built these barrows, and those that had followed, including the ancient precursors of the Haelds, had expanded upon them.

“Stop,” Rainbow Dash commanded in a harsh whisper, and the column of ponies shuffled to a halt.

They spread out as the Hunter drew her sword, as the corridors of the crypt were not too wide, enough for three ponies to trot side by side only if they wanted to squeeze against the walls and each other. A ghastly wail echoed off the stone and earthen walls, making it difficult to determine its source. As a ghostly figure appeared down a side hall, one of the Haelds fired his crossbow. The ghost seemed to melt away as the silver bolt pierced it, and it gave an agonized cry as it fell to tatters and vanished.

“Good shot,” Rainbow Dash said, but swiftly went back to an alerted state as more wails came from all directions, “Let’s keep moving.”

Baldwin led the way, even more cautiously now, lest he come unprepared upon a ghost. Twilight Sparkle had a few spells in mind that might do harm to a spirit, but she’d never anticipated the need and wasn’t sure if they would work. It would be easier to simply toss a silver coin through them to dispel them; so long as they weren’t powerful wraiths, Rainbow Dash had assured the group that that would do the trick.

Baldwin had a silver amulet that he swung ahead of him like a sling when two specters appeared in front to block the path. As it swung through them, they melted away just like the first. He began to move more quickly now as other ghosts seemed drawn to the cries of their fallen fellow specters. The Haelds and their crossbows usually did the trick, but from time to time, one of the Brave Companions was required to defend themselves. Grigor had for himself a dagger with a siler-decorated hilt and used it to strike out at the ghosts by means of holding the sheathed blade in his teeth. It was awkward, but it did in a pinch. Spike found that his fiery breath also dispelled the wraiths and took joy after that discovery in torching as many as he could.

“The exit is just ahead,” Baldwin told the group as the smell of fresh air wafted down the corridor, a welcome change from the mustiness of the tomb.

The specters that were presently hovering around the group hissed and turned all in one direction before vanishing.

“That cannae be a good sign,” one of the Haelds observed.

“It’s not,” Rainbow Dash said.

Thumps came from a distance away in the barrows, but quickly grew closer. They slowed slightly just before the beast revealed itself, flying out one of the side passages to halt and stare down the ponies. The beast stood on all fours like a pony, but had long, gangly limbs more like an ape, and a face like one too. Its limbs ended in long claws splayed out on the ground. Its skin was without any hair or fur, and sickly white like a maggot, apart from around the gaping mouth full of needle-like teeth, where it was stained with embalming juices; a corpse-eater. Red eyes stared out from its head, which, although it was near the size of a pony’s, looked small on a body that was twice as large as even a stallion like Big Mac.

“A graveir, and a mighty big one too,” Rainbow Dash said, “Run.”

“But, Rainbow—” Fluttershy objected.

“I said run!” Rainbow Dash interrupted her foalhood friend, “I’ll hold this thing off and join you when I can!”

Baldwin resumed his guidance and the others followed, apart from Twilight Sparkle. She couldn’t leave her friend to face this thing all alone. The graveir bellowed at seeing lively food escape and lumbered toward Rainbow Dash on three limbs, keeping one at the ready to swipe her. The Hunter drew her sword, spread her wings, and jumped over the monster as it swiped, landing behind it and slashing at a hindleg. Twilight Sparkle tried to light the beast aflame, but her magic refused to obey her; she was too close to Galloping Gorge. The graveir seemed to notice her efforts, though, and swung wildly at her. Rainbow Dash jumped and jabbed her sword into the creature’s back before it could reach the sorceress, before yanking it back and pulling her sword free.

“What are you doing? Get out of here!” Rainbow Dash demanded of Twilight as the graveir was disoriented.

Twilight complied and followed after the others. Looking back behind her, Rainbow Dash did exactly what she’d planned a few seconds earlier. The Hunter threw a jar of oil at the monster, dousing it, before tossing down a bomb that threw out sparks and lit it on fire. That was all the sorceress saw before the fight disappeared behind a bend in the tunnel.

She soon caught up with the other ponies as they jogged through the crypts. She was relieved to see that somepony dropped a torch at every intersection where a turn was made so that Rainbow Dash would be able to find her way out. Although the Hunter would probably be able to find her own way without assistance, it would just take a little longer.

Abruptly, they reached the exit of the crypt and found themselves in Galloping Gorge. The huge, unnatural schism in the earth stretched away north and south as far as the eye could see, but it wasn’t all just rocky canyon walls. Many parts of the city that had once stood here still remained, foundations visible on the gorge’s floor, windows and doors on the walls. Many of the dwellings here had been carved out of the canyon sides and were still mostly intact. Turning around, Twilight saw that they’d emerged through a grand doorway carved out of the stone, like the rest of the crypt beyond. In its day, the city must have been quite impressive, but now it was a ghost town, even more so than Onon’r Laht, which at least had hordes of vagabonds to fill its crumbling edifices. Despite King Hyelliff claiming the title Baron of Galloping Gorge, nopony lived here. Not permanently, anyway.

Baldwin pointed to the north, where a glow could be seen reflecting off the walls of the gorge. It was obvious what he meant without words; the rebel camp was over there. To see it from this angle would be different from when Twilight Sparkle had scried it from above. Whether it was Galloping Gorge or chaos magic, she’d had a hard time of it, unable to see more than blurry images, only enough to know that the figures here matched those that had been seen fleeing Castle Garland. Now she’d be able to come face-to-face with the rebels and see which one was possessed by Discord.

“You didn’t have to wait for me,” Rainbow Dash said jokingly as she emerged from the crypt.

She looked a little beat-up and her tail was singed, but no serious harm had come to her. A couple of the graveir’s claws were hanging from her saddlebags. When asked about them, the Hunter shrugged and said she supposed somepony would probably pay a bounty for them.

The group made their way as stealthily as they could toward the camp. There was a fire and a few tents set up, but there were also signs that some of the rebels were in the nearby abandoned buildings. Twilight Sparkle quickly identified the owners of the tents, if not the actually ponies within, by the colored fabric and the house banners hanging pitifully from their peaks. Six nobles who’d backed Vasil had been unaccounted for after the Battle for Castle Garland, and at least four of them were here. If all six were present, that would match what Rainbow Dash had seen and Twilight Sparkle had scried. After the destruction of Castle Garland, the captured rebels had been more talkative about who had fled, though they still didn’t have anything to say about who might be possessed by Discord. Either they truly hadn’t known or the Discord-possessed had used their magic to affect their minds.

Provided they hadn’t acquired additional support or members in the last day, there were only eight rebels here. There was, of course, Vasil, their leader, as well as his servant and friend Lupin. His noble supporters were Boyars Peeg erich-Nalarkov and Burnished Gold, Count Radish and Countess Sephas, Baron Trya Valion, and Lord High Almoner Rund. Discord could be possessing any one of them, but the most likely would be Vasil, so that was who the intruders sought out first.

This collection of rebels had posted a guard, but these well-bred ponies were not used to the duties of their lessers, and the sentry was snoring over a low stone wall, a crude spear fallen beside them. The Haelds subdued Baron Trya, tying him up and gagging him before he could raise the alarm.

“Disgraceful,” Grigor whispered, that a Stalliongrader should shirk their duty, and a lord no less.

Twilight Sparkle examined the baron, checking his eyes for the distinctive discoloration that accompanied possession and delving into his mind to search for traces of Discord’s soul, but he was innocent in that regard; that narrowed the number they’d need to check. Across the doorway of one of the abandoned houses, a banner in the Stalanokov colors had been hung to provide some privacy, and Rainbow Dash pushed it aside as she led the way inside. The front room was empty apart from some baggage, but through another doorway she could see Vasil sleeping upon a bedroll. The group began to creep toward the traitorous stallion and a dark shape flew through the air, tackling Rainbow.

“Leave him be-e-e-e!” the goat yelled after stabbing a knife into Rainbow’s shoulder, taking advantage of a tear that had opened up during her fight with the graveir, “Vasil, awa-a-a-ake!”

Vasil’s eyes snapped open as the Brave Companions et al. tried to pile into the room and seize him. Grigor’s younger brother reached for the falchion beside his bedroll as his eyes flashed and Twilight felt a surge of chaos magic. Vines crashed through the walls, growing into a loose grid of obstacles between attackers and defender. Rainbow Dash managed to throw Lupin off of her and drew her sword to start hacking at the vines as they tried to entangle the attackers. Grigor drew a sword and charged toward Vasil’s last known position, hacking away at the vines and clearing a path for Twilight Sparkle. The gem set into the circlet on her head blazed, the Element of Sorcery reacting to the chaos magic all around.

Meanwhile, Lupin’s shout had awakened the camp, and the Haelds were trying to hold off the other rebels. They knew what was at stake and not to kill them, lest Discord’s soul escape, but that wasn’t an issue anymore. Twilight Sparkle knew who was the possessed now. Vasil was staring at them through the vines, sword at the ready, while the stone wall melted behind him like wax.

Grigor cut the last vine away and Twilight Sparkle plunged forward toward Vasil. She recalled at the last second that teleportation here was more likely to throw her through a wall than to her destination, and physically dodged Vasil’s sword, the blade still slicing off part of her saddlebags. The Element of Sorcery jumped off her head and onto Vasil’s. He gasped and dropped his sword and Twilight Sparkle rushed to his side, extracting a gem from her saddlebags to assist in her ritual.

“Elf ikrin tur rei siss, hy Ye broci noya!^[1]” she chanted, but nothing happened, no soul fragment was drawn out of Vasil’s head.

But that doesn’t make sense! He responded to the circlet being placed on his head, even if it didn’t cut off his chaos magic. It didn’t cut off the chaos magic. Who is possessed if not him?

“It’s not Vasil!” Fluttershy gasped as Twilight came to the same conclusion, though they were on opposite sides of the room.

Fluttershy was looking Lupin in the eye, and had noticed the goat’s red irises, not exactly an uncommon shade. Nopony would think it odd, especially if his yellowed sclera was invisible unless he opened his eyes extraordinarily wide. The goat smiled, looking in that moment disturbingly like Discord, especially with the beard, and a door that hadn’t been there before opened in the floor beneath Fluttershy, sending the druidess tumbling down the stairs.

“Oh dear, the jig is up, isn’t it?” Lupin said with a peculiar accent. The vines suddenly all turned to ice before melting and flooding the room.

“Ill’r majia acca Ye’r accael!^[2]” Twilight Sparkle incanted, forcing the water out of the house and keeping it from drowning Fluttershy.

Everypony was thrown suddenly toward the door. Except, as Twilight Sparkle struck the doorframe, she realized that that wasn’t what had happened at all. Lupin had changed gravity, altering the direction in which all things fell. The Brave Companions (except for Rainbow Dash) fell to the broken wall of another house, and all gazed up at the home above them where Vasil and Lupin were. The others outside the house had been affected as well, and were now standing on Galloping Gorge’s western wall. Fortunately, the gorge was narrow at the bottom at this point, and they hadn’t fallen far enough to do serious damage.

“Move!” Grigor ordered, sheathing his sword, as chips of stone fell and the house above them began to creak and crack.

The vines had torn through the walls, and the ancient structure broke free of the now-vertical ground, sending the home plummeting toward the ponies below. The Brave Companions scattered, Spike jumping onto Twilight’s back and clinging to her mane as she jumped across the gap to a short stone wall, her hooves nearly slipping off the edge as she landed. The house crashed down, not crushing anypony, and Vasil emerged coughing from the wreckage, still wearing Twilight’s Element on his head. Lupin confidently trotted down the ground, the air warping around him as he defied logic.

“So which part o’ Discord are y’ s’posed t’ be?” Applejack asked boldly.

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” Lupin asked condescendingly, his voice sounding more like Discord all the time, “I am the essence of Discord. I am his scheming mind! I am the one who sows dissent, the true embodiment of chaos! And, unlike the others, who you snuffed out in their infancy, I was allowed to live and realize myself. I. Am. Discord. Reborn!”

While the goat cackled to himself, the chaos magic increased so much that Twilight felt her head was going to split open. The whole world bent and twisted, reality melting and flowing and twisting into a spiral. In the midst of all this, Fluttershy poked her head out of the cellar that had sprung into existence just for her and peered out over the chaos. She quickly closed her eyes again and shuddered before peeking out. Everything was still mind-breakingly chaotic, but with it confined to a single sliver, it was almost manageable. Lupin was standing on the wall/ground just below her. Just maybe …

“Ach!” Lupin cried out as Fluttershy jumped on him and looped the Element of Compassion around his horns.

The world snapped back to something resembling reality, though gravity was still off, as he threw Fluttershy away and tried to disentangle the amulet from his horns. Rainbow Dash, recovering quickly using a method similar to Fluttershy to reduce the effect of the chaos, dove in with the Element of Allegiance, adding it to the goat’s ensemble. With a cry of rage, Lupin warped the world and an entire sphere of the canyon was yanked forcefully from its place.

The Brave Companions, rebels, Grigor, Haelds, and Lupin all reappeared high in the sky, with the ground, buildings, and bits of the canyon walls still around them as they rapidly began to fall. Pinkamena staggered forward doggedly toward Lupin, and the goat fled using no discernable means of conveyance, disintegrating the ground and fleeing through the cloud of dust that speedily dissipated. Before they were going too fast, Twilight took a look around. Galloping Gorge was visible by the light of the moon in the middle distance, as was King Hyelliff’s camp. In the other direction was Prince Braid’s camp. Both were small from this tremendous height, but easy to make out, and they were falling toward the middle ground between them. Testing her magic, Twilight discovered that she ought to be able to use all her spells properly again and put it into practice by teleporting Pinkamena behind Lupin. She looped the Element of Mirth around his horns and the goat cried out in rage, lightning streaking from his horns.

A snow-covered iceberg appeared below the falling ponies and pieces of Galloping Gorge, abruptly stopping their fall. The ponies were scattered, with Lupin on the other side of the iceberg’s peak from Twilight. Well, that wouldn’t do.

“Bei’r nof caen’r majia’i acca Ye’r accael!^[3]” Twilight Sparkle called, and a cyclone of fire appeared before her, drilling through the ice and sending streams of water plummeting over the edge of the floating glacier.

As the steam cleared, Twilight espied Lupin through the tunnel, steam rising from his cloven hooves as he tried to remove the Elements of Harmony. Applejack charged toward Lupin, Element of Trustworthiness in teeth, and a flower bloomed beneath her hooves and swallowed her. Rarity was coming from the other side, though, and while the goat was distracted with Applejack, she entangled the Element of Charity with the others.

The iceberg cracked in half and began to plummet, taking all the ponies with it. The fall once again halted as a gigantic coin appeared in the air. Everypony scrambled as soon as they’d landed in order to escape the falling chunks of ice and stone that rained down all around. This coin was not hovering like the iceberg had, but its surface area was slowing the overall plummet. Or, it would have if it remained balanced and didn’t flip over, which it nearly did. Ponies ran around dramatically, trying to balance the coin. Lupin stood apart from all others, including Applejack, who’d burst from the flower, eyes flashing devilishly. From being able to bend the very fabric of reality to holding a mountain of ice in the air, to maintaining an impossible object without holding it in place, his chaos powers were decreasing as more Elements of Harmony were affixed to him. Two remained, but the trouble was how to add them to the goat’s horns without unbalancing the coin and dooming everypony.

Spike showed Twilight a rough sketch he’d made quickly during the standoff, and she smiled. Brilliant, Spike. What would I do without you? Using the dragonling’s diagram as a guide, Twilight teleported four ponies (and some ice) simultaneously to new locations that would maintain the balance and also place Applejack right next to Lupin. The goat was so shocked by the sudden change in positions that he was unable to react before she looped the Element of Trustworthiness around his horns.

The coin turned to cloth, a massive circle of fabric that billowed up in the middle and bucked everypony off along the sides. They were picking up speed again, and still Discord’s soul fragment resided within Lupin. Twilight located the terrified Vasil and teleported over to him, snatching the Element of Sorcery off his head before teleporting to the chunk of stone that Lupin was standing on. He ceased trying to scrape the Elements off on an outcropping as he saw the sorceress approaching, but a few were hanging nearly free. We cannot start over again.

A crack opened in the stone beneath Twilight and attempted to swallow her up, but she sidestepped it and cantered toward Lupin. A hail of mirrors fell toward her, but she managed to avoid the bursting glass and metal as they fell in twisted heaps and neared the goat. Lupin lowered his head and charged with his horns, and Twilight ran past him. As she did, Spike grabbed one of the goat’s horns, yanking his head to the side and pulling him off Twilight’s back. As he fell, he grabbed the Element of Sorcery, and wedged it over the horns with the other Elements of Harmony. Skidding and nearly falling over the edge, Twilight hurried back to where Lupin had fallen. Spike tried to keep him down, but though he and the goat were both smaller than the average pony, the goat was larger.

“Elf ikrin tur rei siss, hy Ye broci noya!” Twilight incanted quickly and was relieved to see a thin mist rise reluctantly from between Lupin’s horns.

She’d lost the gem she’d originally brought to contain the soul fragment, so the shard of Discord’s soul was drawn to the nearest gemstone, a crystal set into the hilt of Vasil’s sword, which was twisting through the air nearby. It would have to do, and Twilight teleported the falchion to her as soon as the deed was done. Lupin collapsed from unconsciousness, looking incredibly weary, as the last of Discord’s soul was removed from his mind.

The battle with Discord was finished at last, eleven months after he’d broken free of his imprisonment, but not everything was over just yet. There were still twenty-one ponies, a goat, and a dragonling falling to their deaths. They were too spread out and too far from the ground yet for Twilight to be confident in teleporting them to safety. Besides, a sudden deceleration from this speed might kill everypony just as surely as hitting the ground would. No, she had to do something else. Steeling her mind for the grueling task ahead, Twilight reached out and teleported everypony close together. Hoping desperately that her calculations weren’t off, she opened a portal below them. It was a pinprick at first, but quickly grew, both from the descent and from its coming into being, expanding into the largest portal Twilight had conjured yet. All the falling beings sailed through, suddenly flying horizontally instead of plummeting, and much closer to the ground. They would still die if they hit the hills at this speed, so though Twilight was reaching her limit, she had to cast one more spell.

“Mrinessen’r paris sola!^[4]” Twilight Sparkle yelled, though her own words didn’t reach her ears.

A long blanket of snow appeared stretched out in front of the falling ponies. As they struck it, each one tumbled but didn’t suffer any serious injuries, mostly just snow burn. Some chunks of ice and stone had also made it through the portal and tumbled end over end, a piece of a house nearly crushing Grigor before bouncing over him. Twilight surveyed her surroundings as everypony (besides Lupin, who was still unconscious), popped out of the snow. Finally, it is over. The sorceress collapsed in the snow.

***

“Brave Companions, though you were not told to bring the rebels to me, you have done so, and done a great service for the Principality of Stalliongrad. Thank you for assisting my son and helping bring this rebellion to a swift end. You have my everlasting gratitude,” Prince Braid announced.

Though Braid wasn’t one much for grand ceremony and pomp, he had seen fit to hold court in order to wrap up Vasil’s rebellion. His pavilion had been expanded to allow something resembling a throne room to be erected, in which he had a chair (folding and practical) serve as his throne. Stalliongrad’s loyal nobility lined the sides of the tent, leaving an avenue for the Brave Companions to approach and stand before the prince. Grigor stood next to his father, looking understandably proud for having been instrumental in ending the rebellion, and glad that the Brave Companions had been around and willing to assist him in this noble task.

“Thank you, your Royal Highness,” Twilight Sparkle said, and she felt compelled to continue speaking, though her feelings were uncertain on the subject, “Will you not reconsider your decision? Discord was to blame for this rebellion.”

“The blame does not fall on one alone, though the judgement must most heavily fall on one, and it is not Discord,” Braid said, “I have heard that it was Discord, possessing the most loyal servant Lupin Alkios, that advised Vasil to rise in rebellion against me; however, the one who heeds bad council is just as guilty as one who gives it, perhaps more so, for he ought to have had the wisdom to reject such indecent proposals. No, Vasil led this rebellion of his own free will, and he shall be executed for it. There can be no exceptions. My word is final.”

“Yes, your Royal Highness,” Twilight Sparkle said before the Brave Companions turned and left the court.

There was still some business for the prince to attend to, but there was no need for them to be present for it. It was time to return to Ponieville and hopefully stay there a while. The possibility was on Twilight’s mind that something momentous would again befall on the summer solstice, which was only a month away.

“Madam sorceress!” Grigor called as he exited the tent behind them, and Twilight turned back to speak to him, “I just wanted to express my own gratitude again. I will not forget what you have done and who you truly are, whenever tales of the Brave Companions reach me, good or bad. One day, when I am Prince of Stalliongrad, I pray that you will remember me as well, especially you, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Me?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, I have no doubt that you will become an exceptionally powerful sorceress one day. Not to say that you are not currently formidable, for I have seen your magic, but I see you becoming even greater,” Grigor said, adding the second sentence quickly, “Celestia is building a kingdom, and she’s placed you in line for the throne. Have you considered that she’s preparing you to replace her one day, once she’s gone?”

“Celestia has lived for over a thousand years. She is not going to die, not in my lifetime anyway,” Twilight said, partially trying to convince herself.

“Perhaps, but nopony lives forever,” Grigor said morosely, “You are Celestia’s personal protégé, and her last apprentice is now an alicorn. I can see a future like that for you. If you do become Queen of Cant’r Laht one day, I hope you will remember the heir to the throne of Stalliongrad. That is all.”

Somewhat reluctantly, Grigor turned and headed back to the pavilion where the current Prince of Stalliongrad was handing out rewards for loyal service. Twilight rejoined her friends and they made their way toward the outskirts of the camp. Now that she’d recovered from the harrowing adventure the night before, she could summon up a portal anywhere, but it would be rude to do so within the camp itself.

“Well, he seemed awfully taken with you,” Rarity said jokingly, “The heir to the throne of Stalliongrad. I’m jealous.”

Except that Twilight realized it wasn’t really a joke. Grigor had been awfully familiar with her, and given her proximity to the crown of Cant’r Laht, a union between them made more political sense than Twilight liked to think of. Could this have been the real reason that Celestia had sent them to help Prince Braid? They were both unmarried, peculiar for ponies their age who stood so highly in the line of succession for their respective crowns. Celestia would never force somepony to marry (at least, Twilight didn’t think she would), but she could still nudge things in the direction she wanted. She’d managed to get Twilight out of the library and among friends simply by sending her to supervise the summer solstice ceremony, after all. Was this what she could expect now; Celestia arranging potential courtships for her in order to further the power and prestige of the Kingdom of Cant’r Laht? She wasn’t sure how to feel about that, or how to address it. Rainbow Dash had been right in her observation back at Castle Garland; in learning how to be a good friend in Ponieville, she’d nearly forgotten how to scheme and navigate the web of Cant’r Laht politics like the sorceress she was. That would have to change in order to keep her from being swept up in Celestia’s machinations, something she’d never thought to worry about before. Twilight Sparkle would have to change once again.

Comments

[TasermonsPartner]

An excellent chapter and a good climax to the Discord's-split-souls arc. The end paragraph, in particular, is telling and also foreshadows the possibilities and challenges ahead. I also liked the parts that Spike played in this chapter, as well as the hint of acknowledgement towards his growth.

Actually, with Cadence no longer a prisoner/exchange-hostage of the dragons, Spike is no longer bound to be with Twilight or in Equestria. Nopony really seems to bring this up. Not that he would want to leave, but one would think that Twilight would at least ask his thoughts on the subject. Or perhaps not. They have been so tightly bonded to each other that perhaps the notion of Spike ever not being there never entered her head. Or mayhaps she is too scared of the possible ramifications of him leaving (despite his pledge at the dragon migration), to ever bring the subject up?

You've done alot more with his character than the show did at this point in the series, but there's still much more room and possibility to grow his character and integrate him even further.

Ream and Baldavin tried not to take it as an insult that they weren’t considered adequate, but the latter also had to deal with answering mistakenly whenever somepony addressed Baldwin (and vice versa).

It's little things like this that make your story particularly enrapturing and show the thought and creativity you put into it.

Heh, I wonder what kind of celebration was held when Applejack and her kin made it back t the village?

For that matter, now that Casil is executed is executed, what happened to Lupin the goat? He incited the rebellion, but he was also under the direct influence of Discord while doing it (unlike Vasil), so was he spared?

[Xanderfox]

So far the story's basic structure has revolved around the shows plot but with additional events added to expand everything. We had the Canterlot wedding then this arch in Stalliongrad but I notice it's near the Crystal river but "something" stopped the founders of Stalliongrad from building next to the river? Like Maybe instinct told them something was already there, like something out of temporal phase thanks to a certain Unicorn King. And a LOT of Chaos magic was just released and chaos magic disrupts normal magic. The girls might be staying in the north for a bit longer and Stalliongrad might be getting a new neighbor if things keep slotting the events of the show into the story. After all why would Celestia plan for Twilight to inherit the throne like Girgor implyed if Cadance already her heir unless Cadance is going to have to renounce it to rule somewhere else?