Terror in Equestria 10: The Return of Tirek

by StormLuna

Information Sharing

After a whole day of studying, not even breaking for lunch, Colgate finally emerged from the archives around 1830 and was met by a concerned Dark Night, "Colgate, are you ok? It's not like you to skip meals!"

Colgate replied, "Dark Night, I need to speak with you and Lightning Storm after supper. I have found some information that will not only shock you, but all of Ponykind."

Both of them gave their leader curious looks but given that supper was coming up and that Colgate still didn't like to discuss business matters over meals, they knew that they would have to wait to hear what Colgate had to tell them.

After supper, the three headed to the throne room where Colgate got their attention. She began, "Alright generals, today I learned some information that will not only shock you, but it could aid tremendously in our effort to bring down the two centaurs that escaped from Tartarus.

Lightning Storm asked, "What is it? What is it that you learned?"

Colgate began, "Alright, first you may want to hold onto your wings because this will likely shock you." The two nodded causing Colgate to continue, "The first thing I learned is that Grogar was not always an enemy to ponies and Dream Valley. I learned that at one time he actually aided them in bringing down Tirac the first time he invaded Dream Valley" she then pointed to the Rainbow of Light which was still draped around her neck and continued, "prior to them having this."

Both generals gasped, "Really, Grogar helped them defeat Tirac?"

Colgate replied, "Yes. There must be something special about his magic because he was able to repel the Rainbow of Darkness with his magic and that has given me an idea. I am wondering if I was to be able to retrieve that collar of his, if I couldn't use the magic it gave him against Grogar."

Lightning Storm asked, "Seriously, you would risk corrupting yourself by using dark magic to defeat the two centaurs? Wouldn't using that locket around your neck be enough?"

Colgate replied, "Yes I would risk it but that isn't the only thing I learned while I was studying. According to the history book, they gave Grogar some knowledge in exchange for him to use his magic to resurrect those who fell in battle." She became more excited as she continued, "He knew magic to bring ponies back from the dead!"

Just like Colgate did when she first learned of this, her general's mouths dropped open. Dark Night asked, "Seriously? He brought ponies back from the dead?"

Colgate replied, "Yes he did and you know what this means, right?"

Lightning Storm asked, "I take it you are going to try to go to Tambelon, assuming he had a library, find it, duplicate it and then study the materials to see if he may have written it down?"

They knew about what happened with Tambelon when lightning struck the bell. Dark Night also asked, "I know you are likely planning on going out and planning on duplicating the library but how are you going to access it? Wouldn't you have to raise Tambelon from the depths?"

Colgate replied, "Yes and writing magic to do so will be tough but if I want to duplicate that library and resurrect Ruby, then I will have to." She then concluded the meeting, "Dismissed, I need to go and check on the world before turning in for the night."

As Colgate headed up to her chambers, the two generals gave one another nervous looks but Dark Night was visibly the most nervous. Lightning Storm asked, "Dark Night, you look downright terrified. Do you have really bad feelings about this?"

Dark Night replied, "Yes, I do. I remember what happened when Twilight used dark magic, it wound up turning her into a dark goddess and given that Colgate's magic is far, far more powerful, I could see her corrupting herself and becoming even worse!"

Lightning Storm suggested, "I know but she may have the power to resist the darkness. For all we know, she could turn the dark magic that Grogar used to revive Ruby into good magic. She has the smarts to do it and I know for a fact that she would never use dark magic on anything, especially when it comes to Ruby Heart."

Dark Night sighed, "Oh you're probably right. I just remember what Twilight did and my anxiety is likely getting the best of me."

Lightning Storm said, "Don't worry, Colgate isn't like Twilight." He then began to head towards the stairs and suggested, "How about we simply trust Colgate and get some rest."

Dark Night replied, "Very well, let's do that."

---

Once Colgate got into her chambers, she shut the door and the first thing she did was tap into the eye. That night she decided to scan the rest of the world prior to zeroing in on the Everfree Forest. As she started to monitor the world she said, "Everything looks fine in the Equine Empire, Neigh Zealand looks normal, nothing is going awry in Saddle Arabia, the Crystal Empire looks peaceful" she then zeroed in on Ponyville and Canterlot. There she saw Twilight and White Magick out at the cafe having a romantic dinner and sighed, "How far he has fallen, all the more reason for me to find out how to bring Ruby back." She then zeroed in on the Everfree Forest and noticed that the two centaurs were resting by a pond, drinking water and eating berries. She continued, "Well at least they aren't out trying to steal magic or turn ponies into beasts."

Once she was done scanning the world, she plopped down on her bed but rather than shutting off the light and trying to get to sleep, she began to go into a trance, thinking that perhaps she could figure out how to raise Tambelon from the depths. As she continued to lay there and go deeper into thought, she suddenly found herself out at the site where the city once was. She saw herself grabbing the ground in her aura, her eyes shining a deep blue, the skies darkening, the ground beginning to quake and freezing rain falling prior to her pulling it back to the surface. She also saw herself reciting the spell,

"For many, many millennia the city has been lost
For long time it was fine but now the absence may come with a cost,
For ages and ages, Grogar was the city's host
But with his absence the city can provide us with the most,

Now the ground is the city's disguise
But now from the depths it must rise,
The city holds secrets that must be mine
And with them all shall be fine!"

She remained in the trance for nearly an hour before coming out of it. Once she came out of the trance she immediately wrote the spell down, knowing that she would likely need to take it with her. She gave herself a smile, "Well Colgate, tomorrow could be the day, tomorrow could be the day that you learn how to bring Ruby back."

She then realized that if she was to do that the following day, that she would need plenty of rest so she shut her light off, got under her covers and fell asleep.