Chapter XX
The last stars were just barely visible in the pre-morning sky, as Starlight desperately scanned the castle’s ruins for any sign of movement. Where were they? Were her friends, her teacher…
“Look!” Spike shouted, pointing upward.
A brilliant light pierced the heavens, and Starlight had to avert her eyes. Its pure core was ringed by a coruscating rainbow shimmer. “What… what is that?” she murmured, transfixed.
The newborn star floated down, glowing all the while. Finally, it alighted on the ground, flashing even brighter, so bright she had to close her eyes. Then, the silhouettes of six ponies became visible.
“Girls?” Starlight asked, her heart beating furiously.
They hunched close to the ground, before standing--and spreading their new wings, or raising their new horns!
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Rarity and of course Twilight--now, all six of them were alicorns!
Spike flew forward and hugged Twilight tight. “I knew you’d be okay!” Twilight returned the hug, gripping Spike tight in her wing.
“You’re all alicorns!” Starlight sputtered. “So where are my wings?” she asked, a cheeky smile on her face.
“Maybe hold on just a smidgen before rushin’ into that,” Applejack admonished with a smile. “But… what does it mean, Twilight? Like, we’ve got wings now, but…?”
“I believe that I can answer that,” Celestia replied softly. “Over the years, I’ve watched you all grow. Twilight, my faithful student, you’ve learned so much. I’m so proud of you.” She swept forward, spreading her own wing across Twilight’s back. “Your friends becoming alicorns means my sister and I misjudged something. The six of you are true friends, and it’s only fitting for you to share the challenge of leadership together as well.”
“Oh, me? A PRINCESS?” Rarity gasped, her eyes going wide. “Oh, I’ve dreamed of this day for ages!”
“Princess Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow asked with a snort. “Nahhh… that’ll totally ruin my image. Can I call myself Commander or Dream Master or something? That’s WAY cooler.”
“I’m sure you can call yourself whatever you want,” Fluttershy answered, giggling gently.
“Awww yeah! Pincess Par-tay!” Pinkie cheered. Indeed, the only alicorn who seemed unhappy was Twilight.
“What’s wrong?” Luna asked, slipping a wing under her chin. “Are you not happy you can share the burden of rulership with your closest friends?”
“I am,” Twilight replied, meeting her gaze, “but I don’t want to give up having you there with me too.” She pleadingly looked up at Celestia, tiny tears pooling in her eyes. “You’ve always been there for me--and I’m not ready to give that up!”
Celestia glanced to Luna, who gave a hint of a nod. “Well… I have been thinking,” Celestia began. “I was not expecting five more alicorns to appear on Equestria, and so perhaps we may have misjudged some other things as well. If you’d like, I’m sure we could cancel our retirement.”
“The exhaustion of running half a kingdom would be fear easier to manage with six more ponies by our side,” Luna agreed. “Besides,” she added with a sly grin, “I’ve only been on the throne for about six years since my return,un like sister dear who’s had to run it for a millennium!”
Twilight rushed forward, embracing them both. Spike gasped for air as he was squished between three alicorns. “Oh, thank you thank you thankyouthankyouthankyou! Because I was REALLY not ready to lose you.”
After a long hug, Applejack lightly poked Twilight’s back. “Don’t mean to ruin the moment, but we do have a certain other problem to address.” Twilight followed her hoof straight to the Legion of Doom. Their five members stood warily in a small circle, watching the new alicorns like vultures.
“Ah, yes,” Twilight sighed. “What SHOULD we do with them, Celestia?”
“Do with us?” Chrysalis replied, her voice haughty. “Even with your new wings and horns, are you so sure you can beat us?”
“We’ve learned as well,” Sombra added gloatingly. “Working together DOES make us a far stronger team--and one the likes of which you may have never seen before!”
Tirek stepped in front of Cozy, shielding her with a quick bubble. “We’ve held up our end of the deal--dealing with Grogar and his forces. But if you want to oppose us now… so be it.”
“Indeed. And your victory, while certainly possible, seems too costly and risky a measure to be well-advised.” Midnight gazed coolly into Twilight’s eyes. “Is it worth it after such an exhausting battle?”
“There is one other thing to consider,” Cozy commented with a saccharine lilt. “It sure would be unbecoming for the Element of Loyalty to betray her allies. Or the Element of Kindness to cruelly attack some creatures who did so much to help her…”
An uneasy silence hung over the masonry and rubble. Twilight glanced to Starlight, and then to Celestia. Behind the villains, Cadance and Shining gave her apprehensive looks. The assorted creatures of Equestria looked on in subdued optimism; was a celebration about to begin, or yet another conflict?
“Actually…” Starlight began. “Girls, a moment?” She waved over the six Elements, and leaned in.
Tirek shifted his weight from front to back, uneasily watching the Elements confer. Although he was dubious they could defeat him and his allies, he’d rather not risk it--especially with someone as fragile and vulnerable as Cozy around.
After several long, agonizing moments, the Elements and Starlight turned back towards them. “Cozy, Sombra, Chrysalis, and Tirek,” Twilight began, “you’ve each placed our world in dire danger. Less than a day ago you were trying to overthrow us and seize Equestria. Normally, we’d put you back in Tartarus at the very least.” She glanced to her duplicate, who was pensively scanning her. “But because you just helped save Equestria…”
“We ain’t doing that,” Applejack finished.
“Every one of you showed bravery and even heroism today,” Rainbow agreed. She met Tirek’s eyes unflinchingly. “And it wouldn’t be right to betray you now. But we do want to take care of one thing, while you’re here. C’mon.”
Sombra narrowed his eyes. “Don’t worry,” Fluttershy said, giving him a reassuring smile. “You’ll like this.”
Tirek shot Chrysalis a quizzical look. She gave a slight tilt of her head, an ambivalent confirmation. “So be it,” she hissed, and stalked after the ponies. Tirek trotted just behind her, as Cozy reclined on his withers and lower back.
“So, you know what this calls for?” Pinkie asked, a sly tone in her voice.
“A relaxing period of inactivity to recuperate?” Midnight groaned as she rubbed her eyes.
“Nope!” Pinkie giggled. “A party!”
Celestia watched with a faint smile as the six young alicorns spoke wtih the quintet of evildoers. Twilight had really grown into her own, and now her friends were doing the same. It’d be a pleasure to work with them, leading Equestria together.
She was jolted out of her thoughts by Luna’s approach. Luna looked at her with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Sister, aren’t you forgetting something?” she lightly teased. “A friend of ours, a former villain himself, may need our help.”
Celestia nodded ever so slightly, her smile taking on a wry caste. “Ah, of course, We’d better see to that, then?” She raised her voice a bit, and called out, “Cadance, could you assist us on something?”
The Princess of Love rose from attending to her husband, and slipped towards Celestia and Luna. “What is it?” Cadance asked, tilting her head to the right.
“Our old friend Discord is still missing,” Luna explained. “Grogar, well, disintegrated him. But I have a hunch we can reconstitute him, with a bit of alicorn magic.”
Cadance rolled her eyes. “I bet he’s doing just fine, probably having a good laugh with the Smooze right now. But let’s do it anyway; at the very least, it’ll let us check in with him.”
“The first place to check, of course, is his native dimension. Sister, niece, join your magic with mine.” Luna raised her horn, and fiercely swung it in a rough oval. It left behind a jagged hole in reality, where the swirling colors of unborn dreams shone brilliantly. Celestia and Cadance sent their own yellow and cyan telekinesis into the portal, stabilizing and reinforcing it. With a satisfied nod, Luna stepped through, and vanished from sight.
Starlight sipped some punch on the crystalline ballroom floor. With Canterlot gone, she, Twilight, Starswirl, and Midnight had set up a giant portal back to Twilight’s castle. Now, everycreature was eating, reuniting, and sharing stories. Vinyl played uplifting music from her mixboard.
She scanned the crowd, and her heart leapt. Sunburst was back! She rushed forward and pulled him into a tight hug. “Sunburst! It feels like it’s been ages!”
He laughed awkwardly, and returned the hug. “I-I missed you too, Starlight. I’m glad you’re okay. Since you would be facing Grogar directly, I was worried…”
“Shhhh.” She gave him a pat on the back. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie greatly appreciates your concern for her,” another voice muttered sarcastically.
Starlight blushed. “Sorry, Trixie. I was just…”
“No, no, it’s fine.” She gave Starlight a hug too. “I get it. Don’t worry.” Starlight met her eyes, and a silent conversation was exchanged in an instant. “So, what’s the plan with those five?” Trixie pointed to the Legion of Doom.
“Well, they’ve all started to understand the meaning and the value of friendship. But there’s so much lingering ill will, I don’t think we’re the ponies to help them. We have some ideas on who could, at least. We’re going to see if we can find them all. Pharynx is probably the easiest; is he here?”
Sunburst pointed over her shoulder. “Yep, he’s right there!”
Starlight let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding in. “Okay. Let’s see how this works.”
Rhythmic, loud beats dropped from the mixtable, as two mares played music for the whole crowd. Ponies were dancing, friends were chatting, and hugs and smiles were traded all around. Creatures from all over the world were here, as if leaping from one of Princess Twilight’s lectures on the virtues of friendship.
Chrysalis surveyed the party, not even bothering to hide the disgust on her face. It was better than Tartarus, obviously, but it was sickening how joyful it was. And she couldn’t even have a snack of love!
Tirek met her eyes. He looked mildly annoyed, but not infuriated. His resigned calm was both annoying, when he didn’t react as strongly as he should, but also something of an anchor. She’d come to rely on him to be her reality check, even if she’d never admit so to anyone.
A disgusting, new-formed changeling walked past. It still made her sick to think that that usurper had gotten away with everything. Why couldn’t she just overthrow him and set things back to the way they were supposed to be!?
Cozy flapped her little feathery wings and flew forward to hover over her shoulder. She seemed delighted, though how much of that was manipulation, and how much sincere, was anycreature’s guess. “Get rid of that scowl, Chrysalis. We’re heroes! We saved the world and Princess Twilight didn’t even make us go to friendship school!”
“Heroes?” Sombra echoed dubiously. “While it’s a wonderfully ironic title for the Legion of Doom, let’s be realistic. We’re simply being let off the hook this once. I have little doubt that next time they’ll plop us all back in Tartarus--or worse.” His insinuation was obvious.
“Heroes, villains, I don’t care,” Midnight grumbled. “I am exhausted and my vision is going foggy. What is this phenomenon?”
Tirek stared at her a moment. “It’s called being tired, Midnight. You just need some sleep.”
“Ugh. I had hoped I wouldn’t,” Midnight said with a sigh. “Sleep means less time to research.”
“But it does mean you can take part in something great: sleepovers!” Cozy hovered behind Midnight’s head and gave her a playful tug on the ear. Midnight rolled her eyes, but her eyes twinkled with the light of suppressed smile.
“I am not engaging in sleepovers,” Chrysalis droned under her breath. “There are some depths I won’t sink to.”
“You used to say that about working with non-changelings, and look at you now,” a gruff male voice interjected. His voice was familiar, but it couldn’t be--could it?
Chrysalis whirled on her hooves and came face-to-face with another changeling. This one, like all the rest, was colorful instead of black, but his colors were a subdued teal instead of the garish pastels so typical of his kind. He had small antlers next to his horn, quite similar to so-called King Thorax’s. A cocky smile sliced his face into two parts.
“You dare address your Queen that way!?” Chrysalis demanded.
“Yeah, I tend to dare a lot of things,” he retorted. “It’s something I learned from you, when you trained me as head of patrols.”
Chrysalis stared at him for a few long, long seconds. She licked her lips, swallowed, and opened her mouth before closing it again. Finally, she asked, “Ph… Pharynx?”
“Yep, that’s me.” He grinned.
“You--you fiend!” she roared. “Thorax, how DARE you shapeshift into my head of patrols? Do you have no shame at all in your cotton-candy heart?”
“No, it’s really me,” the bug who surely couldn’t be Pharynx insisted. “But you’re not gonna believe me, huh?”
She just glared at him. If it weren’t for the presence of all these annoyingly powerful ponies, she’d slam him into the wall for his disrespect!
“Alright, how about this.” He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “Before the invasion of Canterlot, you gave me a special order--and instructed me to tell no one of it. In the event the invasion was completely crushed and you were unable to lead, I was to assume emergency power and ensure the Hive’s survival.”
Chrysalis felt chills run along her exoskeleton. It couldn’t be… but how could he know?
“Why did you betray me?” she asked, finally.
Pharynx sighed. “I didn’t want to. But my duty is to the Hive, and to whoever leads it. You ran away without a designated heir, and Thorax was chosen as the new king. I spent more time with my brother, and, well… eventually, I decided to share love too. But I haven’t gone soft, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He raised his spear for emphasis. “It’s just really nice, not being starving all the time. I still prefer my old looks, but I don’t want to be hungry again. And… if you’d want to come back, I’m sure he’d welcome you.” He snorted. “Thorax is kind of a wimp, honestly.”
Chrysalis’s soul roiled. Here was one of her most trusted lieutenants, who had been forced into Thorax’s treason, and yet was inviting her back to her throne. What do I do? It could be a trap, but it doesn’t feel like one. Are they just being naive idiots, or have I missed something?
Finally, Chrysalis grumbled, “…I’ll think about it.”
To her surprise, Pharynx looked satisfied. “Well, if you make up your mind, you know where to find me. And don’t worry about running into trouble; most of the Hive would rather talk than fight these days.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. They really had gone soft-shelled! But like it or not, they were still her Hive, and thus her responsibility. Perhaps she would head back after all. “Until next time, Captain.”
Pharynx saluted her, and walked off towards his brother. Chrysalis could feel her friend--allies so eager to talk, they were practically breathing down her neck.
As he left, Cozy landed on her back. Chrysalis resisted the urge to shake her off. “Soooo, Chrysalis, what do you think?” she inquired.
“He’s a disappointment,” she answered bitterly, but in truth she couldn’t bring herself to see him that way. “All that strength and loyalty, and he’s embraced Thorax’s stupidity!”
“Wouldn’t you want to never be hungry again?” Sombra asked. “I thought changelings were driven by constant, never-ending starvation?”
“Our hunger gives us strength!” Chrysalis retorted. “It drives us to fight and take, to deceive and infiltrate, to be changelings!”
“Ocellus seems to be doing just fine as a changeling,” Cozy commented. Sure enough, the errant bug was socializing with her friends, amusing them by shapeshifting into one form after another.
Chrysalis tried to come up with a scathing reply, but her arguments were failing her. Pharynx was just as strong as he’d ever been, despite his awful color scheme. Maybe… maybe Thorax really was onto something?
“NO!” she howled, slamming her hoof into the ground. “Never!”
Eyes all over the room turned towards her as the music blared on, but Chrysalis stared them down. If they were going to taunt her into becoming like Thorax, she could very well look angry!
“Heh-heh, don’t mind Chrysalis,” Cozy lilted awkwardly. “She’s just having a hard day. Come on, Chrysalis, let’s go sit down…”
Chrysalis wanted to bare her fangs, to provoke a fight, to do something! But while it could restore her own honor, the risk was too high. The odds were now squarely against her and her four fellows. And even if they were annoying, stupid, and generally a terrible hassle, they were the closest thing to her hive she had. With a sigh, she let herself be led over to a table.
Sombra flashed his horn, conjuring a seat of black crystal. Tirek examined the seat for a moment, and eventually just folded his legs and sat on the floor. Midnight slid into a seat of her own, and with an eyeroll Chrysalis did the same. Cozy gave her an encouraging smile, and buzzed off.
Cozy examined the ice cream selection. Although there were plenty of flavors, she zeroed in on the peanut butter chocolate. She scooped up three big scoops in a waffle cone, and flew back to the table.
“Aren’t you guys going to eat too?” she asked her four teammates. “Gotta keep up your strength!”
“Unless you’re volunteering yourself, Cozy, I doubt anyone here would let me have a snack.” Chrysalis crossed her forelegs. “I can’t wait to leave.”
“Cheer up, Chrysalis,” Sombra chided with a grin. “It’s a celebration in honor of us! Everyone here knows that without us the world would be Grogar’s.”
“That’s a first,” Tirek snorted. “The King of Shadows telling someone to look on the bright side.”
Cozy shrugged, and took a bite out of the ice cream. The peanut butter swirled around in her mouth, mixing with the chocolate in perfect harmony.
“Is it good?” Midnight asked, leaning in. “I’ve never had ice cream. Or food, for that matter.”
“It’s really good!” she said between bites. “You’ve got to try it!”
“Then I will.” Midnight opened her wings and soared towards the snack bar.
As Cozy crunched down the cone, the clip-clop of small hooves jolted her ears upright. “Heya, Cozy Glow. Nice ta see yer okay.” She checked over her shoulder, and sure enough, there stood Apple Bloom, flanked by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. “Mind if I take a seat?” a filly’s voice requested.
“Go ahead, but this one’s taken,” Cozy said, pointing to Midnight’s.
Another pink filly, this one wearing a crown, sat down beside Cozy. “My name is Diamond Tiara. I’ve heard a lot about you, Cozy. Do you have a bit to talk?”
Cozy hid a smile. She knew all about Diamond Tiara from Princess Twilight’s journal. The selfish, mean filly who liked to use her wealth and charisma to push others around. Of course, she had no dreams beyond being the most popular kid in school. She had none of the grand vision that Cozy possessed.
“Of course I have a bit, Diamond Tiara. What did you want to talk about?”
Diamond tapped her hoof on the crystal floor. “Well, it’s really a pretty simple topic. Are you happy, Cozy?”
Cozy raised an eyebrow. “Well, yeah. We just saved the world!”
“No, no. I mean, in general. Does manipulating others feel good?” Diamond Tiara pointed to herself. “I used to be a lot like you. I used my popularity and influence to bully and control others, and I only cared about more power. But eventually I learned that friends--real friends--are more valuable than that.” She turned her hoof towards Cozy. “Can you say you have them?”
Ah. She’s trying that tactic. Well then! “Golly, of course I do,” Cozy lied effortlessly. “These four--they’re my best friends in the whole world. We’ve saved each others’ backs, and we trust each other enough to turn them. And it’s not just a business relationship either--I invited Midnight to a sleepover only a few minutes ago!”
Cozy could feel Chrysalis tense up beside her, but the Queen held her calm. Sombra sent Cozy a sardonic smile.
Diamond curled her hoof under her chin. “Oh, you are? That’s actually… really good to hear. I wasn’t expecting that.” She looked over the table to the other four. “Hang on to each other, okay? Real friends are a rarity.” She stood up, and walked away.
Well, that went nicely. No long, preaching rant. Lies really can solve just about everything, can’t they?
It definitely was a lie, of course. She was only engaging in a professional relationship for mutual benefit. It wasn’t like friendship at all.
Nope.
Midnight scanned the food desk. Words she barely knew, from cupcakes to hayburgers to cookies to pretzels, flashed through her mind. Twilight sure loved her snack food, she reflected dryly. Let’s see… that smells tasty. She swooped forward to get a parchment-colored elongated disk with spots of dark brown irregularly set into it. She bit down, and the flavor exploded in her mouth. “Mmmmm-mmmmmmm!” she reacted almost instinctively. With a surreptitious glance around, she grabbed eight more in her telekinesis, and headed for one of the side rooms.
This room was small, a bit dusty, and quiet. It was dominated by a couch against the far wall, and a knee-height table in front of the couch. She sat down, stuffing another oblate spheroid into her mouth, and sent a current of magic up her horn. Even tired and drained, she still had more magic than most unicorns.
The eccentric old mage named Starswirl propped up his head via a leg on the table.. He was draped in his omnipresent grey-and-white robe, and a genial smile stretched over his features. “Ah, Midnight! I was hoping you’d show up. Twilight thought you’d be interested in what I had to say.”
“Ghoh ohn,” she answered through a mouthful of brown-parchment-oblate-spheroid.
“Well, you’re very interested in magic, just like me. In fact, if you’re anything like me, it’s sort of your whole world.” He chuckled. “Or rather, if you’re anything like I was. Magic is still as important as ever to me, but it’s no longer the only thing I care about.”
“Lhet meh ghuessh--fhriendship ish nhow ahlso ihmporhtant?”
“Hah, you got me! But, really, magic and friendship aren’t enemies. They’re more like… soul-bonded companions, or spells in harmony. If you have friends, you have ponies to help you with your magic, and if you have magic, you can use it to help your friends. That’s what it meant by the truism ‘friendship is magic’: friendship and magic continually enrich each other, always drawing out more beauty in each other.”
Midnight puzzled this over. It was true that Chrysalis, Tirek, and Sombra all had superb masteries of magic, and their work in their fields of expertise was frankly awe-inspiring. But Cozy didn’t have any magic, and yet they had formed a strange bond. Something like a Perpetual Closeness spell. Hrrrrrmmmm.
She took a long drink of water, and swallowed. “You seem to be correct. However, I am under the impression that friendship is a two-way bond. And my companions here aren’t interested in friendship.”
Starswirl’s eyes twinkled like he’d just a created a fireball. “Are you sure?”
“Yep, pretty sure!” Chrysalis answered instantly.
“Heh, the Changeling Queen is right,” Sombra agreed. “After all, friendship vaporized me no less than three times. It’s only fair that I take a turn vaporizing it!” And yet his normally-confident flamboyant tone had shifted away, in favor of a more uneasy, unsettled one.
“I mean, I’m happy to make friends. I love making friends!” Cozy batted her eyes in the most adorable way. Midnight felt a strange, irrational compulsion to pull her into a hug.
“I don’t really think it’s worth my time, but I’m not opposed to it,” Tirek replied.
“It sounds like you’ve got at least one potential friendship, Midnight,” Starswirl gently prodded. “If you want, you could pursue it.”
Midnight inclined her head towards the filly opposite her. “Would you like to be my friend, Cozy?”
“Sure thing, Midnight!” Cozy zipped ahead and pulled Midnight into a hug. It felt surprisingly nice. Midnight’s lower back tingled comfortably, and her mind’s fog shifted in nature. The whole experience was something like being tired, but in a good way instead of a bad.
“Thank you for your insight, Starswirl. Is there anything else?” Midnight picked up another spheroid and bit into it.
“No, that’s all. Good luck in your studies, Midnight.” He extended a hoof towards her. She stared at it a moment, before he chuckled and placed it in hers to shake them both. “Until we meet again.” She nodded, and he trotted away.
Cozy landed on Midnight’s back and whispered in her ear, “Great job, Midnight! You really fooled him!”
“Fooled him? On what?”
“You made him think you were interested in friendship!” she sputtered, grinning. “You almost had me fooled!”
Midnight frowned. “The way he explained it, friendship seemed a net benefit for all involved parties. Why wouldn’t I want to take part in such a relationship?”
“Okay, it’s pretty obvious what they’re doing here,” Chrysalis hissed. “Remember, friendship is like a disease. The Elements of Harmony are trying to infect us! They’re sending the types of ponies they think will be able to persuade us to all become nice friends! They’re trying to defeat us without firing a shot! And worst of all, it’s working!”
Sombra shifted uncomfortably, and opened his mouth, but then closed it. He glanced to Tirek, who shrugged his shoulders.
Cozy gave Chrysalis a reassuring pat. “Don’t worry. It’s not working, and it won’t. We’re just, uhhh, co-conspirators! Yeah!”
Chrysalis crossed her forelegs and pouted. “Hmph. If you’re sure.”
As Cozy and Midnight made small talk, Sombra let his mind wander. As if drawn by a magnet, it rushed back to his foalhood, and to his best friend, Radiant Hope. She was so amazing, in so many ways.
His friendship with her hadn’t been mind-control, had it? No, that was crazy; he really valued her, and she him. Even leaving aside the romantic undertones later in their relationship, they had been best friends as far back as he could remember. And wasn’t it better like that? Her presence brightened his life, and he still missed her.
Could this be something not just inherent to her, but in friendship in general? Certainly, the Elements seemed to have a similar bond, and it seemed to bring them no small amount of joy.
He bit his lip. Chrysalis was right. The ponies are infecting us with friendship. Oh well. It’s not as if it’ll come to anything--I’ll never find anyone to replace Hope.
Sombra was dragged back to reality by a shifting in the air a few paces off, as if the world were being torn in half. A jagged hole was sliced Through stepped Luna, Celestia, Cadance, and Discord!
“Well, that was a relaxing break,” Discord commented. “Back to boring old baseline reality.”
“Discord!” Fluttershy called, as she rushed forward and embraced him. “You’re alright!”
He returned the hug, his mismatched limbs holding her tight. “Well, of course. My dad just gave me a time-out. I’ve been through worse.”
“Your dad!?” the Elements asked in unison.
“Well, obviously. What, did you think the title ‘Father of Monsters’ was figurative?” He snorted. “Honestly, Twilight, you should know better by now. Nothing’s ever figurative in pony myths.” Discord looked over them, and then towards Sombra and his friend--associates. “Well, who would have seen this coming? Looks like the redemption machine strikes again!”
“Not yet,” Starlight amended, “but we’re hopeful.”
Discord plucked his eyes out, rolled them, and then slunk his face down to absorb them back. “Ugh, yes, fine, very well, let me know when you succeed. I’ve got lots of important chaos business to attend to!”
“Oh, before you go,” Rarity requested. “I have a favor to ask of you, Discord.”
Discord glanced to Fluttershy, who nodded slightly, and then back to Rarity. “And that is?”
Rarity leaned up to whisper into his ear. Discord snorted, but nodded, and snapped his paw. He passed something to Rarity, though Sombra couldn’t see what.
“Arrivederci!” he exclaimed, and vanished in a swirl of light.
Twilight paced back and forth. Her friends’ plan seemed to be working well, but they still didn’t have the full set--they still lacked both Sombra’s hopeful friend, and Tirek’s. And without a full set, they might be unable to redeem them after all.
She looked over to where the four villains, and one part-timer, were seated. Chrysalis still looked as bitter as ever, but was that a hint of softness in Cozy’s eyes? An uncertain, hesitant frown on Midnight?
Twilight blinked. A faint, slight smile crept across her. She spread her wings, and dashed over to her sister-in-law. “Cadance, do you have a minute? There’s something I want to try.”
“Of course, Twilight,” she replied. “What did you have in mind?”
“You have a deep connection to the Crystal Heart, right?” Twilight asked. As Cadance nodded, she continued, “And it has a connection to the Crystal Ponies. I need you to use it to locate one in particular.”
Cadance frowned. “I don’t know if that’s possible. I’m willing to try, of course, but don’t get your hopes up.”
“We can at least give it a shot.” Twilight flicked her head towards Sombra. “And if we succeed, it’ll be a great accomplishment.”
“Well, we’ll never know if we don’t,” Cadance agreed, a smile flashing across her face. “Let’s do it.”
Sombra felt dozens of uneasy eyes on him. It was only natural, he reflected, that those weaker than him should fear him. It felt good, to know that others feared you. But it also felt good to know that others admired you, and trusted you. Real allies were a rarity in the villain business.
Cadance and Twilight began to glow pale blue, the color of the Crystal Heart’s magic. Sombra recoiled reflexively. He knew that glow too well. Of course they’d try to destroy me in the end, he reflected. What a fool I was to think otherwise.
Sombra charged his horn up, ready to unleash a blast of fear magic. But something stayed his spell. Maybe it was a lingering doubt that there could be another meaning to this, or maybe it was fear of getting his comrades in harm’s way. Whatever the case, he kept his spell ready to fire but did not unleash it.
Suddenly, Twilight disappeared in a blink of rose-colored light. “What’s going on over there?” he asked Midnight under his breath.
“It appears my better half and the other alicorn are attempting to locate somepony,” she replied. “With a very powerful magical artifact as their focus.”
Sombra frowned. What are they doing over there?
A long, agonizingly uncertain moment went by, as he waited for some kind of sign. Finally, Twilight returned--and with her, a pony he never thought he’d see again.
Radiant Hope, with a lean, shimmering mauve body and a sweeping, sky-blue mane, stood before him.
“S-Sombra?” she choked out, the words barely able to escape her mouth.
“Radiant?” he whispered, feeling tears starting to pool at his eye’s edges.
Sombra let the magic flow back down. “It’s--why--I thought--what? How can this be?”
“That mare Twilight found me,” she explained, a huge smile spread across her beautiful face. “And she told me that you were alright… so I had to come see you! She brought me here… and here we are.”
Sombra leapt up from his chair and embraced her. Hope. She was alive. She was okay. She was here, with him. And he didn’t know of a pony he’d rather spend time with. He didn’t even see Twilight slip back to Cadance’s side and grin giddily--he was far too giddy himself to pay attention to something like that.
“What does this mean?” he asked, his voice uneasy. “I… I never thought I’d see you again.”
“It’s a second chance,” Radiant answered, hugging him tighter. “Whatever happens, this time, we’ll be together.”
Sombra let his joy break. He wept openly, hugging his first and best friend like he would never let go.
Twilight wiped away a tear from her own eye. Even with all that Sombra had done, it still touched her heart to see him so happy. Not at someone else’s expense, but just himself.
“That gives me an idea,” Rarity murmured. “What do we know about Tirek’s past?”
“Well, he was betrayed by his brother Scorpan,” Twilight said. “He called him worthless, but… maybe he’d be open to reconciling?”
“Let’s go find him,” Rainbow agreed. “Here’s hoping it doesn’t make things worse…”
The six alicorns vanished in a sparkle of light.
Tirek tapped his fingers on the table. This party was so saccharine. How did ponies survive on a lifestyle of nothing but sugar and joy?
He was jolted out of his reflection by the beating of approaching wings. “Hey, Tirek,” a familiar voice called out quietly. “It’s been a while.”
Tirek whirled to face its owner, his treacherous brother. He was much older than when Tirek had seen him last, with a white beard and a walking-stick. “So, you finally deigned to come visit. Are you here at the demand of Twilight?”
“Not quite. She said that you were doing well, and that if I wanted to come see you, I could.” Scorpan gestured to the other members of the Legion. “Are these your friends?”
“No,” Tirek said a little too quickly. “They’re my fellow cabal-members.”
“Still seeking power after all these years? I had hoped otherwise.” Scorpan sighed. “Look, I didn’t come here to talk about that. Mom misses you. Dad doesn’t want to admit it, but he does too. I guess after a thousand years, even the oldest feuds start to fade.”
“What are you saying?” Tirek scowled, but something was shifting in his chest. My father misses me?
“If you want to visit home again… you can.”
Home.
Scorpan looked down to the ground. “I didn’t… I wasn’t trying to get you locked up in Tartarus, Tirek. I hoped they’d talk you down, or just exile you back home. I’m sorry.”
“Hrmph. Good, you should be.” But Tirek found his words had less venom than he’d hoped. What’s wrong with me? Am I going soft?
“Well, I just wanted to say that. You’re welcome home anytime. Goodbye, Tirek.” Scorpan turned to leave.
Tirek felt the eyes of his partners-in-crime on him. As his brother flew away, he forced out, “I might do that sometime, Scorpan.”
Chrysalis sat in her chair with her forehooves crossed. Everyone was going soft-shelled! They were losing their edge! The disease of friendship was infecting them all! And her friends--allies were falling for the pony tricks!
“Want a cupcake?” Cozy asks, breaking her out of her bleak thoughts.
“…Yes,” Chrysalis admitted, dripping the word like venom.
“So, what do you think we should do next?” Sombra asked opposite her. “After this party, I mean.”
“Wherever you go, I’ll be there by your side,” Radiant reassured Sombra, slipping a hoof around his shoulders. “I’m never leaving you again.”
“I’d rather like to try out that ‘sleep-over’ concept Cozy proposed,” Midnight admitted. “It sounds exciting and enjoyable!”
“I suppose,” Tirek huffed, “it wouldn’t be the worst.”
“A camping trip of doom!” Cozy giggled with a diabolical-yet-silly grin.
“Very well,” Chrysalis groaned. “But I get my own tent! I am still a Queen, after all!”
"So," Twilight interjected, approaching the six of them, "are you ready to try to be reformed?"
A long, uneasy moment passed, and then Chrysalis cackled. "HAH! As if, princess! We might be friends now, but that hardly means we're giving up all our glorious schemes! We'll just work together to see them through instead of struggling against each other! Midnight, get us out of here!"
With a blast of dark magic, the villains and Radiant disappeared.
Rainbow sighed. "Well, we tried."
"We made real progress," Fluttershy admonished. "They've grown to care about each other selflessly. We just need to give them time. Chrysalis is still touchy about what happened to her hive, and the others are all skeptical of us."
"Fluttershy's right," Starlight agreed. "I know it took me a while to become a better pony. But I think they will, eventually. It might take a while, but we'll see improvement."
Twilight reached out her wings, and pulled the others into a big, group hug. Little could she know that her dark duplicate was doing the exact same far from there.
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Man, I’ve been eagerly awaiting this chapter! Your continuation didn’t disappoint. The gradual reforming of the Legion of Doom was handled well. They didn’t fully jump into friendship, but they made strong steps in that direction. Discord being a creation of Grogar’s made sense, too. I wish the actual finale had touched on these bits.
I hope the alicorn-ification of the other Mane 6 gets some eventual focus. It isn’t really brought up even though it would have a massive impact of them (Fluttershy would live longer with Discord, Pinkie Pie might have even more chaotic magic at her disposal, etc).
not bad
methinks Chrysalis and Cozy are going to be the tough nuts to crack here
Cozy because it's literally her talent to be manipulative, and Chrysalis because a. she's set in her ways after literal DECADES of doing things her way; and b. she's afraid she'll lose who she is if she changes herself
Sombra's got Hope to steer him right, Tirek's already on shaky ground and willing to take any path that'll let him be more certain, and Midnight's a cold and logical sort who's learning the practical benefits of friendship
Awww, friends!
You're not fooling anypony, Cozy.
I'm not the biggest fan of the Man Six becoming alicorns, but we haven't discussed the full implications yet, so maybe you can change my mind.
He snorted. “Thorax is kind of a wimp, honestly.”
And yet pharynx you still care for him and very loyal to him
But the thing is how she even alive did it happen in a thousand years ago when the Crystal Empire disappeared I mean don't get me wrong I'm glad she's alive but still how is she different from the other crystal ponies or something
I almost forgot about does she still have the mind of Twilight and her likes of slumber party like in that episode look before you sleep
Hey very nice to see the story again so after the dust clears up Starlight and the others try to find the other mane 6 but it looks like they didn't have to look but somehow the other five have became alicorns which I should have saw that coming to be honest with you and after the battle it looks like the legions of Doom are still not liking this whole friendship thing pharynx propose to chrysalis that she still welcome back even though she still doesn't like to change cozy got a nice chat with diamond tiara even though cozy was pretending which that's unfortunate and midnight starting to feel a little bit comfortable with the other Legions of Doom even with a talk with Star Swirl and this was a very nice reunions between radiant hope and King Sombra and it looks like Tirek got the chance to see his brother even though that's still not a good term with each other especially his family but somehow it's a working progress but of course they left sometimes it takes time to let them change their mind but someday they will come around I wonder what's going to happen next guess we'll find out next time
It would be interesting to see the rest of the Main 6 train to be proper rulers and its nice to have more development for the LOD. Once again, they are very fun characters.
Of course they would.
Would Diamond Tiara's exploits be in the friendship journal?
I always thought that everyone was blissfully unaware of how bad Diamond was back then.
Totally something Cozy Glow would think. Technically true, and very much a way for her to enrich herself, while minimizing a potential enemy.
Honestly I always thought that was how Cozy did define friendship (with the possible exception of it being a professional relationship).
Be careful, Midnight. She's cute but treacherous. Don't turn your back on this one.
Probably. It beats having to trust others implicitly, that's for sure.
This bit here is incomplete.
There's a extra 'I' and ellipses that shouldn't be here.
Interesting conclusion to this series. Twilight feels like she did in earlier seasons, which is nice.
Pharnx's bluntness feels very appropriate too.
I think you captured Chrysalis's in show anger and sturborness perfectly, and Cozy Glow feels pretty much in character for the most part.
I like how neither one of them turns around particularly quickly.
Only thing I would say, is that you wrap up a lot of character arcs here, and there's not a whole lot of actual development here.
Regardless, it's a nice little chapter. Looking forward to the next installment.
Also, what happened to Grogar? Did he get disintegrated, or what?
Great to see you and your story again! I wonder how many chapters are left? Is Grogar truly defeated? Will there be a sequel? I'm looking forward to what's next!
Keep up the great work!
11001112
The alicorn-ification might get some more focus in the epilogue, but I'm not sure.
11001128
Mhm. Though maybe "not quite as evil" will suffice instead of a "full reformation".
11001219
M6 becoming alicorns was because I felt they should be immortal together. Twilight should have ascended with her friends, not above them.
11001506
I think they found out later.
Yep!
What I wanted to get at here was that Diamond is probably happier than Cozy right now, even though Cozy's vastly more powerful.
D'oh!
Thank you! This means a lot!
Next will be the epilogue.
11001649
Banished.
11003012
holy shit, this
also, you seem to have forgotten part of your response to me
11003087
Fixed, derp.
My main point of contention with making all the Mane-6 into alicorns is that it doesn’t really fix the problem it’s trying to solve. Which is to say, okay, Twilight won’t outlive those five friends now that they’re alicorns…but she’ll still outlive Trixie, or Starlight, or Thorax, or even eventually Spike. She’s still eventually going to have to reconcile her immortality against everyone else’s mortality. All it does is designate the Mane-6 as special enough to live forever but everyone else still has to get in the bag.
Unless she’s not actually immortal, of course, nor are alicorns ordinarily immortal. I’m actually okay with that, but at the same time I’m still just not a fan of everypony becoming an alicorn. It just feels wrong. It’s not really something any of them would seem to want, nor is it a natural progression of their characters.
11004734
I get that. But it felt like it was this or make Twilight a unicorn again, and that felt even weirder.
11003019
It just didn't seem like the kind of thing Diamond Tiara would volunteer, given her past.
And it doesn't seem like the kind of thing that Twilight would bother to write down, unless she was made aware of it at the time.
For one thing, ponies generally don't seem to remember or recount past deeds of villainy with any frequency, as a general rule.
For another, Twilight's friendship journal was written very episodically, without the kind of context that would allow for aditional material.
It could be a revised version of course, and maybe Diamond Tiara is the type to volunteer that kind of information.
(Her character does a 180 in the show, so it's hard to be sure.)
Still, given what happened the last time they shared those kinds of details, I can't imagine Twilight putting Diamond under that kind of scrutiny. (At least pre-season 8)
At the very least, it's a conversation that is worthy of a story itself.
Mostly likely true.
The point that I was making, was that it's implied that Cozy Glow has a host of other social and emotional issues, which would keep her from playing well with others.
So just because she stops lying, doesn't mean she's going to get happier, not without addressing other issues.
I don't know if I can say I enjoy the rest of the Legion as much, but it's been so long, I've honestly forget what their arcs were in this story.
It doesn't hurt that while Midnight is characterized warmer than I would expect from her, her motivation is pretty much the same.
Sombra in general tends to be treated as a blank slate, and his character has always been given wildly more sympathetic motivation then he had in show, so it's difficult to say with clarity why it's a problem for me now.
Tirek is a difficult character to nail down in general, so it's hard to say for sure how to believably reform him either, and I'm not convinced that this couldn't work. It's just not the most believable for me personally.
But like I said, I love what you did with Cozy and Chrysalis in this arc, and if the follow up is as good, it will be worth the wait.
I leapt for joy when I saw this chapter, I can't thank you enough for posting it
So, is this the end of their adventures?
11006250
Nope! There's still an epilogue left.
Should be up soon (actually soon).
11006498
I'll be waiting with much excitement!
Reformation? Maybe. It's possible for some. Others like Cozy and Chrysalis will require work, but it will take them time when left to their devices.
Otherwise, it's a satisfying ending after the near impossible fight against Grogar.
This story was good until the mane six turned into alicorns.
11003012
11005420
You know the release dates of your chapters are public, right? Do you seriously expect us to believe you worked a whole year on this chapter and it never occurred to you that maybe Twilight Sparkle can keep her powers and being an alicorn while still being mortal?
To quote 11004734 in this.
11030027
It really didn't. I'm sorry I let you down.
HA! HA! SHE SAID IT!
These are great plot thread resolutions.
Uh, nopony is freaked out by the fact that Pinkie Pie now has alicorn magic?
I have only read one other story that fixed Grogars return but this is definitely the better one of the two.
I’m not sure how I feel about all of the Mane 6 becoming alicorns, and Starlight still remaining a unicorn. I love everything else here, but that seems like a stretch.