The Elements of Disharmony: A Queen's Revenge

by Italibaso

5. The six trials of Harmony

Smolder opened her eyes as soon as the dark aura had finally faded away. She looked at her surroundings and almost immediately recognized where she was. The many mountains around her, the lava pools in the distance. She was without a doubt back in the Dragonlands. Only this time it seemed much more abandoned than she remembered, since there was not a single dragon in sight.

''How did I end up back here?'' Smolder asked herself while scratching the side of her head.

When Smolder looked down at the ground she noticed that something white had appeared around her body. She examined herself and quickly realized that she was wearing a familiar looking princess dress for some reason.

Smolder gasped, widened her eyes in fear and immediately attempted to take off the dress. She grabbed the white thing with her claws and tried to rip it from her body with all her might. But no matter how hard she pulled, the dress remained intact. She started to panic and decided to spew fire over the dress, but that didn't seem to do anything either. It was as if the dress was magically stuck to her body.

Smolder took a deep breath to calm herself down, ''Don't worry, as long as no dragon sees me like this, It's fine.'' She said to herself calmly.

Smolder began to explore the seemingly desolated Dragonlands on foot, still under the suspicion that some dragons might still be around.

''Hey, you!''

Smolder's heart started beating faster as soon as she heard the voice shouting. She looked around herself in a panicky manner to see who had spotted her. Much to her surprise however, there seemed to be no dragon in sight. Smolder eventually calmed down and sighed in relief, assuming that the voice was probably referring to someone else.

Smolder was about to continue on, but stopped when she heard what sounded like hard punches being thrown at someone.

''You're not getting away from us that easily!'' Smolder heard the same voice shouting again. It seemed to come from behind a mountain a few meters away from her.

Smolder quickly let her curiosity get the best of her. She flew to where she heard the voice coming from and peeked her head from behind the corner of a mountain.

A big crowd of other dragons, who all stood together in a giant group circle could be seen in the distance. Smolder flew a bit higher up and landed on the tip of the mountain to get a better look. In the middle of the group circle were what seemed like five different creatures, all of them laying on the ground unconscious while having many wounds all over their bodies. Smolder eventually recognized the five creatures and felt a feeling of shock and terror going through her body.

Sandbar, Yona, Silverstream, Gallus and Ocellus all groaned in pain as they had trouble getting up from the ground.

''What's wrong?! Aren't you gonna fight back with the power of fwiendship?!'' One of the dragons in the crowd shouted at the five wounded creatures. All the other dragons started laughing at his remark.

Smolder gasped and widened her eyes when she saw another red dragon emerge from the group circle.

''I think it's about time we put an end to them,'' The red dragon said while cracking his knuckles, ''Starting with the little pony.''

''Garble?'' Smolder whispered to herself in disbelief.

''I'll show you just what happens when you set foot in the Dragonlands.'' Garble said as he slowly approached Sandbar with an intimidating look.

Sandbar watched with fear in his eyes how Garble got closer and closer. He tried his best to move out of the away, but his body felt too weak to do anything.

Smolder was ready to head in there and stop the dragons, but hesitated when she took another look at the white dress she was still wearing. The orange dragon got lost in thought about what the dragons would think to her if they saw her like this, all the mockery and humiliation that would come from it.

Smolder snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of someone getting punched.

''Sandbar!'' Smolder heard Yona's voice shouting in a weak sounding voice.

Smolder looked back at the situation and saw how Garble kept beating up Sandbar with his fists. She didn't hesitate anymore and rushed to her friends as fast as she could with the dress still on.

Just as Garble was about to land another punch on Sandbar, Smolder landed right in front of the red dragon and blocked his punch with her claw.

''Leave my friends alone!'' Smolder shouted as loud as she could. Her voice echoed throughout the Dragonlands.

Garble returned his fist and backed away from Smolder, who was standing in front of her friends with her arms spread.

Garble had to do his best to hold back his laughter when he took a good look as Smolder's white dress. It only took a few more seconds before he and the rest of the dragons quickly bursted out into laughter anyway. Some of them even got tears in their eyes while others were laying on the ground.

''What are you supposed to be wearing, Smolder?!'' Garble asked as he kept on laughing with tears still in his eyes.

Smolder's face turned completely red, ''T-That's not important! Right now all I want to know is why you are attacking my friends!''

''Friends,'' Garble asked while looking flabbergasted, ''These puny creatures are your friends?!'

''Yeah! Got a problem with that?!'' Smolder asked Garble sternly, trying her best to look intimidating in the white dress.

''Did you come here to have a pretty pony tea-party with your new fwiends or something?!'' One of the dragons in the crowd shouted. The other dragons all started laughing even harder.

Smolder looked around her as all the dragons continued to laugh at her. She clenched her fists together while showing an angry look on her face.

''I don't care what any of you dragons think of me!'' Smolder shouted as tears started to appear in her eyes.

Most of the dragons stopped laughing immediately as Smolder's words kept echoing throughout the Dragonlands for a few seconds.

''What did you say?'' Garble asked, looking very surprised after seeing Smolder's reaction.

''Yes, it's true! I like cute and silly things,'' Smolder continued with tears still under her eyes, ''I love wearing dresses and having tea parties! You can make fun of me all you want and say whatever you want about it! But I will NOT let you hurt my friends!''

Suddenly a bright red light appeared from the center of Smolder's chest, which got so bright that she was forced to quickly cover her eyes.

A few seconds passed and Smolder noticed that the bright red light seemed to have disappeared. She uncovered her eyes, wiped her tears away and looked at her surroundings.

Smolder looked at the crystal roots that littered the area, which all seemed to have turned back to normal, since the black glow that came from the roots before was completely gone. She soon realized that she had ended up back under the catacombs of the School of Friendship. She also noticed that the white dress she was wearing had disappeared.

Smolder sighed to herself in relief, ''Looks like I did it,'' She said to herself, ''And the Tree of Harmony sure wasn't kidding''

Smolder took notice of the multiple tunnels in the area. She took a good look at each of them, but none of them seemed any different from the other.

''Well, that's just great,'' Smolder said with an unamused look, ''Whatever, let's just pick one and hope for the best.'' She flapped her wings and flew straight into the tunnel in front of her.

---

No matter where Silverstream looked, a series of vertical black lines kept filling her view. From what she could see between those lines, it seemed that she had somehow ended up back in Mount Aris. She rubbed her eyes, hoping it would make the lines go away, but they were still there.

Silverstream eventually decided to walk into the Hippogriff Kingdom. The more steps she took, the bigger the black lines in her eyes got. Suddenly she felt something hard hitting her forehead and stopped moving. The young hippogriff rubbed the wound on her forehead and looked around. She soon realized that the black lines were actually bars from a giant, round shaped cage that she had somehow ended up in.

Silverstream looked down and gasped when she saw a familiar looking symbol carved on the floor of the cage. It didn't take long for her to realize that it was without a doubt the Storm King's symbol.

''No.'' Silverstream said to herself in shock.

When the young hippogriff decided to looked through the bars, her heart sank. All of the homes in the Hippogriff Kingdom were in ruins and motionless bodies of other hippogriffs layed all over the place.

''Do you like your cage, little bird?'' A rough, loud voice said from behind Silverstream.

It was a voice that had haunted Silverstream's nightmares for months. She turned around nervously and there he was. The Storm King, along with his giant staff and the same goofy crown on his head. He had lowered himself to her level and looked at her with his blue glowing eyes.

Silverstream could feel her heart beating like crazy as she looked at the Storm King, staring at her with eyes that she could tell were filled with complete madness. She wanted to scream for help from her friends or any of the Hippogriffs, but all she could do was look at the giant creature with fear in her eyes.

"Awww, you don't like your little cage?" The Storm King asked in an overly sappy tone, ''.....GOOD!!'' He showed a menacing grin before letting out a crazy laugh.

''This......This is not real,'' Silverstream said in a shaky voice as she could feel her legs shaking uncontrollably, ''You are not real.''

''Oh, so you think I'm not real?'' The Storm King asked in a mocking tone before pointing the tip of his staff at Silverstream, ''Then perhaps you could use some convincing.''

Silverstream gulped, ''You're not going to get away with this, Mister Storm King,'' She said, trying her best to sound as brave as she could, ''Princess Twilight and her friends will stop you, just like they did last time.''

The Storm King bursted out into laughter, ''Those six ridiculous ponies with their puny necklaces?! I hate to break it to you, but they are as good as dead.''

Silverstream looked shocked as her heart sank again from the Storm King's words.

''You're lying!'' Silverstream shouted, trying to fight back her tears, ''They're still out there, I know it!''

''Is that so?'' The Storm King responded, ''Then you might wanna take a look at this first.'' He stood up and took a few stepes to his left and pointed behind him with his giant hand.

Silverstream grabbed two of the bars, looked through the gap and gasped when she saw what was behind the Storm King this whole time.

A few meters away from them Silverstream could see the bodies of Twilight Sparkle and her five friends, laying on the ground wounded and motionless while still wearing the Elements of Harmony. She could no longer hold it back and felt the tears forming under her eyes.

''No,'' Silverstream said, sounding like she was about to cry, ''This can't be.''

''Awww, look on the bright side, little bird,'' The Storm King said in an overly sappy tone, ''With a little help from my magic staff, I made sure that their deaths were quick and painless. So it's not all bad.''

Silverstream tried her best to stay strong, but she eventually let it all out and started crying as the tears started rolling down her cheeks.

''How could you do this?'' Silverstream said in a weak, defeated voice. She kept sniffing as her tears dropped on the floor of the cage.

''Because I'm the king,'' The Storm King answered casually, ignoring all of Silverstream's crying, ''Which means I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. Duh! ''

Silverstream looked down and began to hold onto to the bars very tight with her claws.

''Looks like there's no creature left to save you now, little bird.'' The Storm King said as the big creature pointed his staff straight at Silverstream once again.

''You're wrong.'' Silverstream said while she was still looking down.

''Say what?'' The Storm King said in surprise as he lowered his staff.

Silverstream looked back up at the Storm king with rage filled in her eyes while holding the bars very tight with her claws.

''I said you're wrong!'' Silverstream said in anger, ''You may have defeated Twilight and her friends, but my friends are still out there!''

The Storm King stared at Silverstream for a few seconds before he bursted out into laughter again.

''And what exactly can six pathetic creatures like you do to stop someone like me?!'' The Storm king asked with a threatening smile.

''You can laugh all you want, you big bully,'' Silverstream continued on, ''But I believe in my friends. They will look for me, they will find me, and together we will stop you! No matter what you say or show to me, I know that somehow me and my friends will find a way to stop you, once and for all!''

Suddenly a bright blue light started glowing from the center of Silverstream's chest. A few seconds later the light became so bright that it forced her to cover her eyes.

Silverstream noticed that the light had eventually faded away and opened her eyes again. She looked around and saw that she was back in the catacombs under the School of Friendship. But this time, the crystal roots around her seemed to have returned back to their brightly lit selves.

''Woohoo!'' Silverstream shouted as she jumped into the air, ''I did it! I passed my test!'' She then headed into one of the many tunnels in the area, hoping that it would lead back to her friends.

---

The blizzard kept blurring most of Yona's vision. The cold didn't bother her, but when it came to seeing where she was going, that was a whole other story. It took her what felt like ten solid minutes of walking through the snow before she finally saw something else besides mountains and big piles of snow. In the distance there was a silhouette of what looked like a tall gate. A big smile appeared on Yona's face as she got closer. The tall gate turned out to be made of wood and on both sides were two big wooden statues holding a giant torch and shield.

''Yona home!'' Yona shouted happily. She smashed right through the left side of the gate and ran into Yakyakistan.

After doing some exploring around Yakyakistan, Yona quickly noticed that something was a bit off. All of the huts she passed by were quiet and empty, which was very unusual for her culture. Yona kept looking around and eventually her eyes caught sight of a giant group of yaks a few meters away from her. It seemed as if every yak that lived there, even the younger, smaller ones, had come together and formed a giant crowd. The only exception being Prince Rutherford, who stood on a big sturdy, wooden crate in front of the crowd.

Prince Rutherford cleared his throat and got ready to give a speech to the yaks.

''Big day has finally come,'' Prince Rutherford announced, ''Yaks ready to go to war against Equestria?!''

The yaks all started cheering while stomping on the ground, causing all of the huts in Yakyakistan to shake as if it was an earthquake.

Yona had heard everything Rutherford said and ran over to the giant crowd as fast as she could. She did her best to keep her balance as the ground kept shaking from all the stomping. The small yak stopped right behind the group of yaks.

''Yaks STOP!!'' Yona shouted at the top of her lungs. Her voice echoed throughout Yakyakistan.

All the Yaks slowly stopped stomping on the ground and turned their attention to Yona, who had a desperate look on her face.

''Why Yaks going to war against Equestria?!'' Yona asked them.

''Other cultures nothing like Yak culture,'' Prince Rutherford explained, ''That's why other creature's cultures should be just like Yak's culture!''

''Why Prince Rutherford think that?!'' Yona asked.

''Because Yak culture is only special culture,'' Prince Rutherford said, ''Other creature's cultures inferior, BECAUSE they nothing like Yak culture!''

The other yaks started cheering once again while nodding and smiling to each other.

''That not true!'' Yona shouted, causing the yaks to stop cheering once again.

''What Yona say?'' Prince Rutherford asked.

''Other creature's cultures just as special as yak culture, BECAUSE they all different!'' Yona explained determinedly.

''What small yak mean by that?!'' One of the yaks in the crowd asked curiously.

Yona took a deep breath, ''Yona love Yak culture, Yona always have. but Yona learned at School of Friendship that other creature's cultures just as amazing in their own way. No creature good at everything, all have own strengths and weaknesses.''

''That ridiculous!'' Prince Rutherford shouted, ''Yaks not have weaknesses, Yaks perfect!''

''Nothing perfect,'' Yona said back to Prince Rutherford, ''Yona learn that from Purple Princess pony. Yona seen just how great getting to know other creature's cultures can be. None of that possible if it weren't for School of Friendship.''

''Prince Rutherford confused,'' Prince Rutherford said, ''What Yona trying to say?!''

''What Yona trying to say is....'' She said before taking another deep breath, ''.....Yona think that yak is NOT best!''

The yaks let out a very loud collective gasp that echoed throughout Yakyakistan. All of their eyes were set on Yona with looks of shock and disbelief on their faces.

Yona soon noticed something glowing on the center of her chest. It was a bright orange light, which began to shine so bright that it almost blinded her and was forced to close her eyes.

Yona opened her eyes again after the orange light had faded away. It took her less than five seconds of checking her surroundings to realize that she had ended up back in the catacombs under the School of Friendship. Another thing she noticed was that the dark glow around the crystals roots from before had completely vanished.

''Looks like Yona passed test.'' Yona said to herself with a happy smile.

The small yak headed to the tunnel she saw in front of her, hoping to find the way out of the catacombs and reunite with her friends.

---

It was beyond anything that Sandbar could have ever imagined. The once very peaceful and colorful Canterlot had turned into a grey, dreary ghost city. Filthy furniture littered the streets, most of the ground was covered with bricks and shards of broken glass. And the most horrifying thing of them all, the bodies of many ponies from Canterlot laid on the ground motionless with their eyes closed.

''What in the name of Celestia happened here?'' Sandbar asked himself as he kept looking around with a look of fear on his face.

After a few more minutes of walking through the destroyed city, the eerie silence finally got interrupted by the sound of some kind of explosion.

"There they are!"

Sandbar's eyes widened when he heard the familiar voice coming from somewhere in the distance. He quickly went futher into Canterlot. Eventually the young pony stopped in his tracks when he ran into a situation that shocked him to the bone.

Right in front of the main entrance to the Canterlot castle stood Twilight Sparkle, with her five friends standing along side her. They seemed to be getting ready to fight five other opposing creatures standing a few meters away from them. It didn't take long for Sandbar to see that those five creatures were none other than Gallus, Yona, Ocellus, Smolder and Silverstream, all of whom seemed to be ready to start a fight as well.

Sandbar showed a look of disbelief on his face, having trouble trying to comprehend the whole situation that was happening in front of him.

''Enough!'' Twilight shouted angrily, ''It's time we put an end to this once and for all!'' Her horn started to glow while little sparks emerged from it.

''We're not going to let you traitors get away with this!'' Smolder shouted.

''The only traitors I'm seeing are standing right in front of us!'' Rainbow Dash shouted back.

''It's time for you to pay!'' Twilight said as the glow on her horn got brighter and brighter.

Sandbar realized what Twilight was about to do and widened his eyes in shock. He ran around the battlefield and over to Twilight and her friends as fast as he could. He reached the purple alicorn just in time and tackled her from behind right before she had the chance to fire her magic at his friends. The two ponies fell to the ground while Twilight's magic beam got shot high up into the sky.

''What do you think you're doing?!'' Sandbar asked Twilight.

''Get off me!'' Twilight shouted as she levitated Sandbar off of herself using her magic. She tossed the young pony in the middle of the battlefield and got up from the ground.

Sandbar quickly stood up from the ground and ran back to Twilight when he noticed her getting ready to fire her magic at his friends once again.

''Stop it!'' Sandbar said as he stopped right in front of Twilight, ''What's gotten into all of you?!''

''Move aside, Sandbar,'' Twilight said sternly, ''They are the cause of all this!''

''What are you talking about?!'' Sandbar asked.

''Don't listen to them, Sandbar!'' Gallus shouted to him, ''They're the ones with the Elements of Harmony! They're using them to destroy everything in Equestria!''

Sandbar quickly turned around and looked at the blue griffin, ''Gallus, stop it! Twilight and her friends would never do something that horrible!'' He said in a desperate manner.

''Are you saying I'm a liar?!'' Gallus asked.

''Don't let them fool ya, Sandbar!'' Applejack shouted to Sandbar, ''They are the ones responsible for this! And that's the honest truth!''

''I don't believe you!'' Sandbar said in frustration.

''Are you really doubting us?!'' Rarity asked sternly, ''The ponies you've always been looking up to your whole life?!''

Sandbar became unsure and stressed from the whole situation as he kept looking back and forth at the two opposing sides. He just couldn't find it in his heart to believe that either of them would want to do something like this.

''Well, Sandbar?'' Twilight said, ''Who's side are you on?!''

''Enough!'' Sandbar shouted from the top of his lungs.

Both sides were immediately silenced by Sandbar's sudden outburst.

''I don't know what's going on here, but I refuse to believe that any of you would wanna do this!'' Sandbar explained as small tears appeared in his eyes.

''That doesn't answer my question!'' Twilight said.

''I don't wanna pick a side!'' Sandbar continued as tears were rollin down his cheeks, ''I just want my best friends and the six most amazing ponies in all of Equestria to stop fighting and fix this situation together!''

Suddenly Sandbar saw that the center of his chest started glowing a bright, pink light. So bright in fact that he had to cover his eyes to prevent himself from becoming blind.

When he noticed the light had faded, he uncovered his eyes and saw that he was back in the catacombs under the School of Friendship. And he quickly noticed that the crystal roots no longer had a dark glow around them.

Sandbar let out a big sigh of relief, ''That was intense. I better go find the others.'' He said before entering one of the many tunnles in the area.

---

When looking at her surroundings, she came to a horrifying realisation. The constant shape shifting walls she saw everywhere, the small green eggs hanging around on the ceilings, the misshaped stairs and the rocks filled with holes. There was no doubt about it, Ocellus was somehow back in Chrysalis's hive, but before the time Starlight and her friends came along and reformed the changelings.

Ocellus looked down and gasped at the sudden sight of her black front legs. She examined her own body and realized she had turned back into a corrupted changeling for some reason. Ocellus quickly tried to change herself back to normal, but her appearance remained the same. She kept on trying multiple times, but it made no difference.

''Attention, my subjects!''

Ocellus looked shocked when she heard the voice talking and even more shocked when a whole crowd of corrupted changelings surrounded her all of the sudden. The changelings were looking up at a cliff. Ocellus did the same and caught sight of the ex queen of the changelings herself, looking down upon her and the other changelings from the tip of the cliff.

"Our time has finally come," Chrysalis announced, "Today we will conquer Equestria and consume as much love as we desire!"

All the changelings started cheering and hoof bumping each other. Their sounds echoed throughout the hive.

''What's going on?'' Ocellus asked herself quietly.

''And our first target shall be Canterlot!'' Chrysalis said loudly.

Ocellus eyes widened when she heard the word Canterlot. She finally realized what was happening and knew that she'd been in this situation before.

''Here's the plan!'' Chrysalis said.

Chrysalis began to explain the exact same plan that Ocellus had heard from her years ago. She felt like going up there and stopping her, but it was obvious to her that she wouldn't stand a chance. As Ocellus listened to Chrysalis explaining the rest of her plan, unpleasant memories between her and the ex queen of the changelings came back to haunt her. Everything she once thought of Chrysalis, everthing she once did for her. Ocellus would have loved nothing more than to undo all of it.

Eventually Ocellus heard Chrysalis's final words of her plan and all of the changelings started cheering again.

Ocellus took a very deep breath and flew up to Chrysalis, who still stood on the tip of the cliff with a menacing smile on her face. She quickly took notice of Ocellus flying towards her.

''What do you think you're doing?!'' Chrysalis asked, ''Get back down there this instant!'' Ocellus ignored her demand and kept flying towards her until she was hovering right in front of the tall changeling queen.

''No, I won't!'' Ocellus said out loud, trying her best to sound tough.

Ocellus could hear a loud gasp coming from the changeling crowd below her. Most of them stared at Ocellus in shock while others started mumbling amongst each other.

''Excuse me?!'' Chrysalis said as she flew up close to Ocellus.

''I'm not going to listen to anything you say,'' Ocellus said before looking down at the other changelings, ''And neither should all of you!''

''Wait, I know that voice,'' Chrysalis said before giving Ocellus a sly smile, ''Ah, you're Ocellus, aren't you?''

''Yes, I am.'' Ocellus answered back, not trying to show any of the fear that she was clearly feeling.

''Whatever happened to all those times you looked up to me?'' Chrysalis asked, showing a fake smile while talking in a motherly tone.

''I'll never look up to a monster like you ever again,'' Ocellus said sternly as tears appeared under in her eyes, ''Maybe I once did, but I've seen you for who you really are. Everything you told me and the rest of my family was nothing but a lie!''

Chrysalis gasped, ''What are you talking about?'' She asked in an overly sappy tone, ''I only want what's best for my subjects.'' She reached her hoof out to Ocellus and began to pet her on the head.

''No!'' Ocellus shouted as she slapped away Chrysalis's hoof, ''You only want what's best for yourself!

All of the starving changelings down below kept on watching their heated conversation while looking confused.

Ocellus looked down at the changeling crowd, ''But I want what's best for all of you,'' She said to them out loud as her voice echoed through the hive, ''You all work very hard and do whatever is necessary to please Chrysalis, but she will never do anything back for us! It's true that I've always wanted to be like her when I was young, because I thought she always had our best interests at heart. But a pony named Starlight Glimmer and our real changeling leader named Thorax have helped me see Chrysalis for who she really is! She only wants to keep us in her clutches. We don't need to feed off of the love from other creatures, we need to share it!''

Ocellus catched her breath and was ready for whatever Chrysalis's reaction would be, but instead a dark purple light started glowing from the center of her chest. The light became so bright that she was eventually forced to close her eyes.

The light had eventually faded away. Ocellus uncovered her eyes and looked at her surroundings. The area around her had completely changed. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was back in the catacombs under the school. She looked happy when she noticed that the crystal roots no longer had a dark glow around them. She took a look at her own reflection in one of the crystal roots and saw that she had changed back to normal.

Ocellus sighed in relief, ''I can't believe I actually said all of that.'' She headed into the tunnel in front of her, hoping that it would lead to her friends or at least the exit of the catacombs.

---

''What is this place?'' Gallus asked himself as he explored the messy town.

He walked in the middle of the street, watching how most of the houses he walked past by had many holes and cracks on their roofs. The doors were either missing or broken and he couldn't take two steps without seeing hay and wooden sticks being littered everywhere.

Gallus continued exploring the town and eventually felt something rumbling in his stomach.

''Oh o, I know that sound,'' Gallus said as he rubbed his belly with his claw, ''I better get something to eat.''

''Anygriff up for some Griffonscones?!''

The raspy sounding voice seemed to come from the left side of the town. Gallus walked over to the messy house on his left and peeked from around the corner.

A few meters ahead he saw a female griffon standing next to a wagon with many little scones on them. The griffon's upper body was covered in white while her lower body was covered in brown. She held up some small scones in her yellow claw and shouted the same sentence from before. Gallus could feel his stomach growling as he kept looking at the many scones that layed on the wagon behind her. He stepped from around the corner and approached the female griffon.

''I would like some!'' Gallus said happily as he approached her.

The female griffon took notice of him and quickly placed the scone back on the tray of her wagon.

''Don't even think about it!'' The griffon said after she blocked the wagon's view with her body.

''Did I say something wrong?'' Gallus asked, taken back by her sudden attitude.

''You can't fool me, Gallus,'' The griffon said while giving him a look of suspicion, ''I know exactly what you're up to.''

''What are you talking about?'' Gallus asked while looking confused.

''Come on, we've been through this like ten times,'' the female griffon explained, ''You're gonna try to distract me and then steal all of my scones.''

''What?! I would never steal!'' Gallus said back defensively.

''Yeah right,'' The griffon said while rolling her eyes, ''And I suppose every other griffon who has caught you stealing their food around here are just a bunch of liars, right?''

''Huh?'' Gallus said, looking utterly confused, "Who even are you?"

''Name's Gilda,' The female griffon said, ''And you are nothing but a filthy, little street rat, in case you needed a reminder of that too.''

''A street rat?'' Gallus said, still having the same confused look on his face as he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

''Yeah, it means that you're homeless and have no family, you little thief.'' Gilda explained.

''I'm not a thief!'' Gallus said, trying not to sound weak.

''Sure, keep lying to yourself,'' Gilda said, ''You steal my scones, scam other griffons, make up sappy stories to get others to do what you want. And did I forget to mention STEALING MY SCONES?!''

''....Is that all really true?'' Gallus asked as he looked down with a slightly sad look on his face.

''Is that all really true?'' Gilda imitated in an overly mocking tone, ''Stop being in denial, Gallus. Everygriff here knows that you are nothing but a worthless street rat. Your life started as a street rat, your life will end as a street rat. And only parasprites will morn you.''

Tears started forming under Gallus's eyes after Gilda had stopped talking.

''That's not true.'' Gallus eventually said.

''What?'' Gilda said.

Gallus looked back up at Gilda, still having tears under his eyes while showing a look of anger.

''I'm not worthless.'' Gallus said, trying to sound tough.

''Oh, Gallus,'' Gilda said, shaking her head, ''Do I have to spell it out for you? No one cares about you.''

''You're wrong,'' Gallus said in desperation before he wiped his tears, ''I have friends who care about me now.''

Gilda bursted out into laughter, ''Yeah, right,'' She said with a sly smile, ''And do you honestly think any of those friends would actually care about you if they knew about your past?'' Gilda asked.

Gallus looked down and thought about what Gilda just said. What would his friends think of him if he told them about his past? Was it even his real past? Or was Gilda just lying to him? His friends did seem to really care about him, even if he doesn't remember anything about them.

''Well?'' Gilda said impatiently.

Gallus looked back at Gilda, ''I do.'' He said determinedly.

Out of nowhere, in the center of Gallus's chest, a bright, purple light started glowing. It eventually shined so bright, he was forced to cover his eyes.

A few seconds later, the bright light had faded away. Gallus uncovered his eyes and noticed that he had ended up back in the catacombs under the School of Friendship.

''What just happened?'' Gallus asked himself, ''Whatever, I better get out of here and find my friends.''

Gallus looked around at the many tunnels in the area. He shrugged and just entered the one in front of him, hoping for the best.

---

Gallus finally exited the long tunnel. A look of pure relief appeared on his face when he saw the rest of his friends, who all seemed to be waiting for him on a giant crystal root in front of the hatch.

''You're all still here?'' Gallus asked as he walked up to his friends.

''Of course,'' Smolder answered, ''You didn't think we were just gonna leave behind, did you?''

''Exactly,'' Silverstream added, ''No matter what happens, we will never leave you behind.''

A little smile appeared on Gallus's face, ''Thanks.''

Suddenly a bright, white light flashed from behind Gallus. He turned around and saw the Tree of Harmony, once again in the form of Twilight Sparkle, standing right behind him.

''Well done, everycreature,'' The Tree of Harmony said, talking again in her normal monotone voice, ''Your noble efforts have managed to save my roots from being corrupted. But I'm afraid it was not enough to fully restore me back to normal.''

''What? Why not?'' Sandbar asked.

''The magic you carry inside is powerful, but it is not enough to fight off the dark magic that has gotten into my roots.'' The Tree of Harmony explained.

''But then how can we stop it?!'' Ocellus asked.

''The six bearers of the Elements of Harmony might have the power to vanquish the dark magic and save me.'' The Tree of Harmony explained again.

''You mean Twilight Sparkle and her friends?'' Sandbar asked.

The Tree of Harmony nodded, ''You all must hurry. I have a strong feeling that the fate of Equestria rests upon your shoulders.''

The Tree of Harmony dissappeared in a bright flash of light right in front of their eyes. After she was gone, the crystal roots that blocked the hatch slowly got out of the way.

''Someone is really gonna have to fill me in on what's going on.'' Gallus said while looking flabbergasted.

''Don't worry, Gally,'' Silverstream said, ''Counselor Starlight should have that memory spell ready right about now.''

''I hope so,'' Gallus said, ''Cause I am feeling so lost right now.''

Smolder flew to the hatch of the catacombs, pushed it open with her claws and then looked back at her friends.

''Come on! Who knows how much time the Tree of Harmony has left.'' Smolder said before she flew through the open hatch.

''Smolder right. Let's go!'' Yona said before she and her friends followed Smolder through the hatch and exited the catacombs one by one.

---

Comments

[Yoshifan30]

''Woohoo!'' Silverstream shouted as she jumped in the air, ''I did it! I passed my test!'' Silverstream said to herself before she headed into one of the tunnels, hoping that it would lead back towards the exit.

Yes you did silverstream that was amazing girl

[Yoshifan30]

''Name's Gilda,' The griffin said, ''And you are nothing but a filthy, little street rat in case you needed a reminder of that too.''

''A street rat?'' Gallus said, looking confused at Gilda.

''Did I really do all of that?'' Gilda said back in a mocking tone, ''Stop being in denial, Gallus. Everygriff here knows that you are a worthless street rat. You started your life as a street rat, your life will end as a street rat. And only parasprites would morn you.''

Oh my god poor gallus

[Yoshifan30]

So basically the tree is trying to test them once more To see how strong their friendship is Which of course they passed With flying colors And most of them did pretty well for themselves this time since the last time Which I'm sure it's really hard for them to experience this again Specially their worst fear But somehow they will brave enough to get through this Specially Gallas Which still has no memory of his past still thanks to that crazy pony who Erase his mind Seriously she's gonna pay for it But somehow he did it And I'm proud of him 😊 But now they need to figure out how to save the tree and get their artifacts back And where that evil pony went I guess we'll find out next time

[Yoshifan30]

Eventyally Ocellus heard Chrysalis's final words of her plan and all of the changelings started cheering again.

Eventually