Episode 22: "The Reluctant Dragons"
...
In the effort to better prepare her nation for battling Grogar, Twilight had been attempting to rally Equestria's allies in the war against him and his minions. While some creatures (such as the changelings and the hippogriffs) were eager to do their part, others were not as forthcoming. So now Twilight found herself resorting to a desperate measure as she sat in her quarters in Canterlot one night. "Spike," She sighed while turning her attention away from her paperwork to her little brother and royal advisor, who was sitting in his small bed and reading a comic book. "Spike!"
"Oh, uh, sorry Twilight," The dragon stammered, dropping the comic book. "I just got engaged in this latest comic and didn't hear you."
"I figured as much," Twilight sighed as Spike left his bed and flew over to her. "I've been doing a lot of thinking about who we've managed to persuade. It's not enough if Grogar tries anything and we don't have the Maximals to rely on for backup."
"Well, you know how some of the other creatures are, Twilight," Spike remarked. "The yaks are stubborn, the griffons… well, they're preoccupied with trying to restore their homeland to its former glory. And don't even get me started on the dragons."
"But you're the Equestrian ambassador to the dragon lands, Spike," Twilight sighed, dropping a quill that had been held in her aura on her desk. "If there's anycreature who they'd listen to, it's you."
"I suppose you have a point," Spike realized. "But Ember has tried over and over again to get them to understand our situation, to no avail. Smolder and Garble are the only other exceptions."
"That's because Ember probably isn't being as tough on them as she should be. This is one of those occasions where strong leadership is needed," Twilight muttered to herself. "Spike, I need you to help Ember in the negotiations. If it makes you feel better, I can have Smolder go with you."
"Three heads are better than one," Spike declared while flying back to his bed. "But uh, doesn't Smolder have school?"
"I can have Starlight give her a free pass for the occasion, provided Smolder makes up all the homework she misses," Twilight replied. "This is a war we're fighting and every single creature must play their part."
Suddenly, Spike came to a realization. "Unless," He spoke with his eyes widening. "The dragons think this is all about fighting strictly. There's more to this war than just fighting, though."
"You're right, Spike," Twilight nodded. "And you and Smolder are going to help Ember make them realize that."
Taking in what was being spoken to him, Spike went back to reading his comic book while Twilight began drafting a note to Starlight Glimmer.
…
…
The next morning, Smolder knocked on the door of Starlight Glimmer's office, wondering why she was being summoned. "Um, Headmare Starlight?" She asked while peeking into the office. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes, Smolder, come in," Starlight beckoned, gesturing the young dragon into her office. "Princess Twilight gave me this note this morning regarding the dragon lands. Are you aware that the dragons are reluctant to fight in this war?"
"Well, not every dragon is reluctant," Smolder replied as Starlight hoofed her the note. "I mean…I can fight just as well as any of those Maximals if necessary!"
"Y-yes, I'm… sure you could," Starlight stammered, not wanting to picture one of her students fighting in the war. "But that's beside the point. The fact is that every creature has to participate if we are to have any chance of winning this war. I mean, you remember what happened in the Crystal Empire and Mount Aris, right?"
"I remember hearing about it after the fact," Smolder replied. "So, what? Does Princess Twilight want me to go and convince my fellow dragons to fight against some metal monsters?"
"You won't be going alone." Starlight smiled as the door opened to reveal Spike on the other side.
"That's right, Smolder. You're helping me." Spike declared. The young female dragon was happy to see that she was going to be helping Spike, but could only wonder if her fellow dragons were actually going to listen when she spoke to them.
…
Meanwhile, up on the moon, Megatron was summoned to Grogar's throne room where important news awaited him. "Bow to me!" Grogar commanded as Megatron stood in front of him in disgust. "You will bow to me, servant! You have no choice."
Groaning, Megatron bowed down to Grogar in mock respect. However, he remained to focus on why he had been summoned. "You summoned me for a reason, Grogar," Megatron bitterly remarked. "What is it of great importance that you wish to share with me and me alone?"
Rising from his throne, Grogar stepped down, looking up at the disgraced Predacon leader. "I come with a proposition," Grogar explained, sneering at Megatron. "Because it seems to me that there isn't enough room in this castle for the both of us."
"What do you plan for me, 'master'?" Megatron coldly hissed.
"I propose that if we manage to defeat King Vorak," Grogar replied while circling around Megatron like a vulture. "You and your Predacons will need to have a place to call your own. I can provide that, for a price."
But Megatron didn't believe Grogar. "How do I know you aren't planning to stab me in the back?! You've already stolen the Predacons from me! You might as well destroy me now and be done with it!"
"Why would I do that?" Grogar snickered while going back up to his throne and sitting down, stroking Scarface on the head with his hoof. "Then I wouldn't have someone to report to me their findings in Equestria. Your enemies are already there."
"Of course they're down there!" Megatron snapped with a look of anger on his face. "Optimus and those Maximals are probably planning their next move right now. And instead of confronting them, you have me stuck up here on the moon like a fool!"
Despite Megatron's anger, Grogar remained steadfast in his confidence. "Like I said, servant, you won't have to be here forever. I'll be out of your circuits soon enough."
Just then, the doors to the throne room opened and Lieutenant Bray came racing in! "What do you want, Lieutenant?" Grogar cried.
"Sire," Lieutenant Bray panted while trying to catch his breath. "A stasis pod has just been spotted!"
This made Grogar turn his attention away from Megatron, walking past him. "Where?" Grogar asked the donkey.
"It's been spotted…in dragon territory." Bray reported while still panting.
Sensing an opportunity, Megatron tried to convince Grogar to let him go. "Let me recover it!" He pleaded.
Grogar was unconvinced. "No," He firmly answered. "I want you kept in reserve!"
"But..." Megatron protested.
"THAT'S AN ORDER!" Grogar yelled, getting into Megatron's face before turning back to Lieutenant Bray. "Never question me again, servant! Have Rampage and Dinobot II recover the pod and bring it to me."
"Of course, your excellency." Lieutenant Bray saluted, bowing to Grogar before turning to leave the throne room.
"You need to learn your place, servant," Grogar grunted at the Predacon leader. "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind about your new place!"
Insulted and embarrassed, Megatron transformed back into a dragon and flew out of the throne room. He was growing to like Grogar less and less with each passing day.
…
Meanwhile, Spike and Smolder left the School of Friendship, and soon they found themselves arriving towards the dragon lands where they were greeted by a forlorn Ember.
Ember was looking down from a crag at her dragon subjects with an equally forlorn expression on her face.
"Hey…Ember," Spike greeted as he and Smolder landed beside the dragon lady. "What's up?"
"Oh, hey there…uh, Spike," Ember acknowledged while turning around to face the two dragons. "And Smolder too. What are you both doing here? Shouldn't Smolder be in school?"
"You're not my mom, I don't need you to tell me what to do!" Smolder pointed out. "I came here with Spike to help you convince the dragons to fight in the war."
"Look, you both just might be wasting your time coming here now," Ember sighed. "I've tried everything I can think of to get the dragons to fight. But look at them, they don't even care!"
As Ember spoke, a random dragon jumped into a lava pool while screaming at the top of his lungs. "It makes me wonder if I'm even worthy of being dragon lord in the first place."
"Don't say such things! Perhaps you just don't have enough backup," Spike pleaded. "As Princess Twilight's royal advisor and ambassador to the dragon lands, they will listen to you if I'm by your side."
"Not all the dragons will respect you, Spike." Ember pointed out.
"What do you mean, Ember?" Smolder questioned. "My brother already knows how to respect Spike. You saw him. And he used to be one of the worst dragons out there."
"Your brother may have changed his ways, but not all the other dragons have," Ember sighed again. "There's just got to be something that'll get them to realize that this war affects the dragon lands as well."
Suddenly, she noticed smoke coming from one of the nearby caves and right away, who it was that was making the smoke. It was her father, Torch.
"Maybe your dad can help us," Spike suggested only for Ember to shake her head in protest. "What's wrong? Why wouldn't he wanna lift a claw to help you?"
"He won't listen to me even if I begged him to," Ember sighed. "When I took over the position of dragon lord, he explained to me that I had to not rely on him for help at all. That's how it's supposed to work with the dragon lord, even if you take over peacefully instead of by force like what usually happens."
Both Spike and Smolder felt their hearts sink in solidarity with the dragon lord. In a situation like this, someone as commanding in presence as Torch would be greatly appreciated.
…
…
Approaching a large cave with Spike and Smolder, Ember took a deep breath knowing that she was about to once again ask for the advice of her father. "Dad?" She called into the cave. "Dad? You in here? Please tell me you're okay."
"What is it, Ember? I can hear you plain as day," Torch cried out. "Is it about that stupid…?"
"-Dad, you know how important this war is!" Ember interrupted while flying into the cave. "It's not just for the sake of Equestria that I'm doing this. I've been preaching to every dragon that this war concerns you just as much as the next dragon. If Grogar and his forces aren't stopped now, what's to stop them from invading the dragon lands after they're finished with Equestria?"
All soon came across Torch lying down on his stomach with a look of impatience on his face, smoke billowing out of his mouth. "Ember, must we go through this again?" Torch sighed. "This so-called 'war' is only for ponies and those mechanical monstrosities they've allied themselves with. Why do you want us risking our lives for something that we don't associate with? You think we can't handle a bunch of sentient tin cans?"
"Grogar is a dangerous enemy to Equestria and to an extent us, and those 'tin cans' of his are a force to be reckoned with!" Ember protested as Torch then turned his attention to Smolder and Spike. "Dad, are you even listening to me?!"
"Tell me something, Smolder," Torch asked the teenage dragon. "Would you want to risk your life fighting against something that doesn't concern you? You don't owe Equestria anything, let the ponies fight their own battles."
"No disrespect, Torch," Smolder remarked. "But Ember has a point. At the School of Friendship we've been learning about Grogar and all his past actions. The ponies couldn't even defeat him, they had to deprive him of his source of bower and have him banished."
Torch then turned over to Spike, his giant frame casting a shadow over the royal advisor to Twilight and her friends. "Hmm, I see you have achieved a rank of importance, small one. And you've gained your wings as well," Torch remarked, the smoke from his nostrils coming down hard on Spike. "Ember says you're now royal advisor to the new ruler of Equestria, is that true?"
"Rulers of Equestria," Spike corrected. "Remember there are five other rulers besides Twilight, even if she was the first officially designated successor."
"And six rulers are much better than one," Smolder declared. "They've done wonders in their short time on the throne!"
But Torch didn't believe the truth. Grunting, he stretched out his wings and sighed deeply, determined to remain in solidarity in his retirement. "Well good for them. Seems to me like they've got all the help they need. Grogar's their problem, let them deal with him."
"Dad, either way you're going to have to face the truth," Ember protested. "As dragon lord, keep in mind that I might have to force you and all the other dragons to fight in this war should it come to that."
"Force me to fight?!" Torch remarked with a snort. "Ember please, if I was still dragon lord, I would be willing to fight this Grogar. But, I'm not dragon lord now, so leave me be. We dragons won't be dragged into something that doesn't affect us personally. We've already given everything Equestria asks of us, we won't give any more."
Exasperated, Ember left the cave in disgust.
…
Meanwhile, at the edges of the dragon lands, Grogar's teleportation beam had brought both Rampage and Dinobot II down for the sole purpose of recovering the stasis pod.
"Seek out the pod," Dinobot II said to his half-brother. "And destroy anyone who gets in your way! Grogar commands it."
"Hmm, whatever you say, feeble half-brother of mine," Rampage muttered, still disgusted at the fact that half of his spark was inside Dinobot II. And he said to himself. "Mark my words: One of these days I'll rip your spark out and place it back in me! Then I'll be whole!"
Navigating the rocky surface of the dragon lands, Dinobot II sniffed around for any sign of the pod. Finally, he began to smell a strange presence near one of the lava pools. Transforming from beast to robot mode, Dinobot II used his laser eye to pick up the location of the pod. He eventually came across a series of tracks down in the dirt. "It has to be here!" Dinobot II growled, using his laser vision to follow the drag trail of the pod. "My sensors are picking it up!"
Sure enough at that moment, Garble and several of his dragon friends were inspecting the stasis pod closely.
"What do you think it could be?" One of the dragons asked as Garble attempted to open the pod. "It looks like a pony coffin."
"It doesn't look pony to me," Garble replied. "But it does give me an idea for a poem I've been thinking of doing."
This caused the other dragons to laugh loudly! "Come on, guys! I'm serious!" Garble cried. "I mean, this…whatever this thing is, it is something worthy of a story being told. I just need to know what it is."
Looking closely at the pod, Garble placed his head at the small window at the head of the pod, seeing the face of a protoform inside. "Trapped in a bind such as I," He whispered to himself. "I look into the world that I should be living in."
"What's that supposed to mean, Garble?" Another dragon scoffed.
"It's a free verse poem," Garble replied. "Yeah, I know it doesn't rhyme but it's a form of expression."
But the dragons weren't interested. Garble sighed at the disinterest his fellow dragons were showing. "One of these days you'll show an appreciation for what I do," Garble groaned as the dragons laughed and flew off.
All Garble could do then was sit with the pod, longing for the respect he sought after as an artist and poet. "Trapped in a bind such as I," He said to himself, while tapping his claws on the pod. "I look into the world that I should be living in. I live in this confining world…"
The more he reflected, the more inspired that the red scaled dragon became. His creativity was flowing. "Hey, this is something here!" But his creativity was interrupted as he suddenly began to hear a low growling. "What was that?" He asked himself, looking around his space. "Who's there?! If you guys are looking to…" But suddenly and without warning, Garble found himself attacked by a skeletal velociraptor!
…
Back outside Torch's cave, an exasperated Ember sat down on a rock in frustration. "Dad is such a hardhead!" Ember groaned as Smolder and Spike sat next to her. "Imagine my own father, not being supportive of his only daughter! I mean, is it so hard to ask to get help from someone you care about?!"
"There have to be some dragons who are willing to help fight this war besides just you and my brother," Smolder suggested. "Like me for example."
"You are an exception, Smolder," Ember unhappily sighed. "You go to a school with other creatures who know about this war more than anyone. But one dragon isn't enough."
"Why do you think there's so much hesitancy?" Spike asked. "Could it be that the dragons really have better things to do than face off with Grogar and his goons? It affects everycreature! Perhaps something needs to happen here, something that can get you all to understand what's at stake here!"
"What do you mean?" Ember asked, looking over at Spike.
"I mean something major needs to happen to shock the dragons into realizing how vulnerable they really are," Spike suggested. "Like an attack from Grogar or one of his goons."
Suddenly, the three dragons were treated to the sounds of a screeching roar followed by the sounds of equally loud screams of pain!
Right away, Smolder recognized the screams! "Garble!" She cried in dismay! "He's in trouble!" And Smolder took to the skies, following the sounds of her brother's screams.
"Smolder! Wait!" Spike as he and Ember took off as well!
Flying as fast as her wings could carry her, Smolder came across her brother, lying down on the ground beaten and bruised by Dinobot II.
"The pod," Dinobot II demanded in a quiet and tense voice. "Now! I won't ask a second time."
Coughing, Garble struggled to get to his feet, but was unable to do so. He tried to speak, but he couldn't.
"Too bad for you. Now you see how foolish it is to stand in my way," Dinobot II remarked, once again transforming from beast to robot mode and swinging his tail at Garble, hitting the dragon in the chest and turning him over on his back. With Garble still down, Dinobot II activated his commlink. "Rampage, on my position. We have the pod. Let us depart."
Turning his attention back to the pod, Dinobot II prepared to claim it only to hear the sounds of Smolder calling out to her brother!
Flying as fast as she could, Smolder tried to get to her brother! But before she could reach him a small rocket fired, hitting Smolder and knocking her to the ground, much to Spike and Ember's horror! "SMOLDER!" They both cried and they saw Rampage cackling wildly after striking Smolder down.
Horrified, Spike and Ember made their way down to the injured Smolder, her left wing badly injured while cuts and bruises covered her body. All Ember could do was look pn in shock and anger
Shocked at what was going on, Ember and Spike were left to tend to the injured Smolder while also needing to help out Garble.
"What should we do?!" Spike asked Ember.
"Go help Garble!" Ember ordered, much to Spike's shock. "I'll help Smolder! We've got to get them out of here!"
Not wanting to pick a fight with the dragon lord, Spike raced towards Garble only to discover Dinobot II still trying to get the pod away from Garble. "Hey you!" Spike shouted, catching Dinobot II's attention. "Leave him alone, you overgrown pile of scrap metal!"
Opening his eyes weakly, Garble couldn't believe that the pony loving dragon he'd always picked on was trying to help him out.
Agitated, Dinobot II fired his laser eye at Spike. But the young dragon flew out of the way and darted towards Dinobot II, headbutting him in the chest and up against a rock. Snarling, Dinobot II reverted to his beast mode and proceeded to jump onto Spike, but the young dragon flew out of the way.
Taking a deep breath, Spike fired a blast of fire at Dinobot II, hitting the skeletal dragon in the chest! But Dinobot II still had what he'd come for and grabbed the stasis pod with his tail.
"Hey! Come back here!" Spike shouted only for a missile fired from Rampage to back him away. "You're gonna pay for hurting my friends!"
Meanwhile, up on the moon, Grogar could see that the pod was in their possession and immediately brought the two Predacons back up.
Rampage laughed as Grogar's beam brought them back up to the safety of the moon. "Long live Grogar!"
…
With the Predacons gone, Spike flew over to Garble's side and looked over his wounds. "You're badly hurt, Garble. You're lucky to be alive," Spike sighed. "We need to get you to a hospital right away."
"A…pony hospital?" Garble asked while groaning slightly. "Just when I thought that…" But Garble couldn't speak any longer and fell unconscious due to his wounds.
Just then the sounds of heavy wings flapping were heard, and towering over a surprised Spike was Torch.
"Torch?" Spike asked, his face filled with shock and surprise.
Opening their eyes a short time later, both Smolder and Garble heard the sounds of a heart monitor attached to both of them while discovering that they were now in hospital beds being tended to by ponies.
"Where…where am I?" Smolder groggily asked. "These…these aren't the dragon lands."
"Of…course they're not," Garble replied while trying to look over at his little sister. "Hey, little sis."
"Hey, Gar-Gar." Smolder weakly smiled, looking over to see all of the bandages that covered her brother's wounds.
Just then, Ember, Spike and Twilight entered the room followed by Doctor Stable.
"Good to see you're both alive," Twilight sighed in relief. "We weren't sure if you'd survive."
"Wha…what happened?" Garble asked while looking all around. "The strange box…where? Where is it?"
"You mean the stasis pod?" Twilight corrected and hung her head. "It's gone. I'm sorry."
Groaning, Garble became dismayed over the fact that his source of inspiration had been taken from him.
"Garble, you should be lucky that you're alive and in one piece," Ember declared. "That strange creature beat you up pretty badly."
"It…it all happened so fast," Garble groaned. "There I was, with a thing that I could write a story from. Then this strange dude comes along and just…attacks me for it. I had inspiration in my claws!"
"There will be others, Gar-Gar," Smolder winced, feeling the pain in her wing as she tried to look over at her brother. "I fared no worse than you, you know."
"You both should consider yourselves lucky to be alive," Doctor Stable declared as he adjusted his glasses. "When you were brought in, you both had very severe injuries that could have killed you both. And that's despite your thick dragon scales that would normally protect you."
This caused Garble to groan more.
"I'm serious," Doctor Stable continued. "I've decided to keep you both in here for several days for observation. You might also need physical therapy to recover from the damage inflicted upon you."
Both Smolder and Garble were not thrilled with the decision that was made for them. Both of them had plans that were now ruined thanks to the two Predacons.
"So, what happens now?" Spike wondered as he left Smolder and Garble's hospital room. "Grogar finally brought the war to the dragon lands."
"If anything, this was probably the wake up call that we all need in the dragon lands," Ember unhappily sighed. "I've come to the realization that we can't hide from the truth. This serves as a warning to just that."
"We're all in this together, Ember!" Spike promised.
"Yeah, we are." Ember nodded. "At least I won't be alone in getting the truth out there to the dragons any longer."
Looking out the window, Ember saw her father take to the air and headed back towards the dragon lands. In her mind, Torch was now able to back his daughter up in rallying the dragons to fight Grogar.
…
Back on the moon, Rampage and Dinobot II carried the stasis pod into Grogar's throne room, much to the ram's delight and to Megatron's irritation and embarrassment.
"Well done, my Predacons," Grogar remarked with a smile of evil on his face as he inspected the pod. "You've brought another possible warrior to add to our ranks. Was there any resistance?"
"Negative, all resistance was defeated." Dinobot II replied.
"Although there was this one creature," Rampage started to explain, only for Dinobot II to crush down on his spark, sending Rampage to his knees briefly. "What? It's true! There was one creature…"
This caused Dinobot II to press on the spark more, causing Rampage to scream loudly in pain. "We had no resistance!"
"Good, my loyal warrior," Grogar chuckled, stroking Dinobot II's face. "I can see that you will prove yourself to be quite worthy in this conquest. Take this pod to the caves of deception."
"The caves of deception?" Rampage asked, recovering from the tension in his spark caused by Dinobot II pressing on it.
"Apparently, someone within our ranks obtained access to the storage rooms where the pods are kept," Grogar explained. "I need them to be kept under tighter security until I can convert them. Is that clear?!"
"Yes, master. As you wish." Dinobot II acknowledged and left the throne room along with Rampage, the pod in tow.
Once they were gone, Grogar then turned his attention to Megatron, a look of suspicion deep in his face.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Megatron nervously remarked as he backed up.
"I don't like backstabbing servants," Grogar warned, his horns glowing gold. "If you're trying to betray me at all…"
"I am not trying to backstab you, no!" Megatron protested.
"See that you don't," Grogar hissed. "Or else your existence will come to an end! Now leave me!"
Doing as he was told, Megatron bowed to Grogar and left the throne room. As he was left alone, Grogar began to get a suspicion that someone within his ranks was planning to betray him. He didn't know who, but whoever it was would soon suffer his wrath!
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Oh fiddlesticks! Grogar realizes that someone in his ranks is working against him. He does not suspect "Lockdown" yet, but still...
On the plus side, Torch is now fully in this, and it can be assumed that many other dragons will too. If they fight alongside the Maximals, yaks, changelings, griffins, hippogriffs, and ponies, and if Celestia, Luna, their parents, Cadence, Discord, Starlight, and the Pillars all fight together at the same time, Equestria will have a good shot. This is a situation where Equestria and their allies have to "throw everything but the kitchen sink". If they do, they will stand a good chance.
Splendid job on the latest chapter. Greatly adored the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Good explanation for why Ember had so much trouble getting the other dragons' cooperation as well as the reason for the attack on the Dragon Lands. On the down side, the Legion got the pod. On the upside, the dragons are now fully in this war. And, yeah, I DID really like Spike managing to get in a couple of good shots in on Dinobot II.
Very definitely looking forward to more of this.
Aside from that bit of them basically saying the Mane 6 are doing much better ruling in a short amount of time than how Celestia and Luna(sadly the era is mostly its Celestia's rule due to Luna lost a 1000 years of ruling) did in a 1000 years or so just bothering me so much..
I like this chapter a bunch I say.
Really liked the bit of Spike managing to deal in some blows and not swatted aside. Wonder if he would get some training since he pretty much has some combat potential.
Wondering if the Royal Sisters might undergo training too? With how they did in the rescue mission in the season 10 finale, they did pretty good despite I don't think they ever got to train in combat yet(since their skills might be rusty). Imagine how well would they do if they do managed to train for combat to polish off those skills. Probably be able to take down a bunch of strong bad guys without needing back up.
Is Lightning Dust going to have an episode?
10376509 Not this season, but likely in Season 12.
10376509 10377905 Probably something dealing with the fallout from her trying to recruit a child to join a dangerous stunt group with no formal training and without permission or consent.
10378043
Lighting Dust happens to have a boyfriend that was a bully to Rainbow Dash, yes?
Most likely with happened in the episode he appeared in, he might end up breaking up with Lightning Dust sometime afterwards and she would most likely end up blaming Rainbow Dash for that. Grogar is going to have a field day with her if he decides to take advantage of ponies(and other creatures) that harbors great resentment towards any of the Mane 6 for what any of the Mane 6 had caused to them.
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I don't think LD would be willing to betray Equestria just to get back at RD. She's a jerk but she's not evil. Neither is Suri Polomare. People almost always have at least one standard they will not cross. Even Grogar's actual allies, for the most part, are not completely evil. People can do both good and bad things. Even Mother Teresa and Hitler were not 100% good or evil. The only ones who may be pure evil are Squirt, Megatron, and Grogar himself. the "Mean 3", as some call them, have the potential to be redeemed. If Cozy's parents get to meet up with her, and Scorpan with Tirek, they could possibly talk some sense into them, and Chrysalis cares about Tirek and to a lesser extent Cozy, and she showed sympathy toward Sombra upon learning his backstory. Tirek has also shown a care for animals by catching a bird in his hands and releasing it unharmed, and he has recently shown regret for what he and his teammates nearly did to Spike. Tirek may actually be the most redeemable of the current villains. While I'm pretty sure Sombra and Lavan are beyond redemption, they at least cared for someone. The Daazzlings, who we already know are going to be joining the villains in season 12, might be capable of redeeming themselves when they realize just how murderous Grogar is. That, coupled with guilt from turning against Pinkie, might give them a wake up call.
I don't know anything about Arabus since we haven't gotten to him yet, but the point is that at least some of the villains are a bit more misguided than evil. I can see at least some of them being redeemed, realizing they went about things the wrong ways, though they at least have enough personality flaws that they would be willing to ally with Grogar in the first place. I don't think Suri or LD have enough personality flaws to make such a big mistake. Suri is a greedy, lazy fashion designer who copies others, and LD is a reckless daredevil who will endanger lives for thrills but has never shown an outright malicious desire to intentionally hurt someone. I don't think either one of them is capable of murder.
Anyway, now that the dragons are in this thing, Twilight should make sure they are present for the battle at Vorak's kingdom. Vorak is very stubborn and will need someone to try and hold him back before his boldness gets him killed. Pinkie and RD should also try and rally the yaks and griffins. Pinkie is friends with the yaks, and RD is friends with Gilda. If ALL of the allies (dragons, griffins, Kirin, yaks, changelings, and hippogriffs) all come together, and they bring ponies from towns across all over Equestria, the good guys could easily outnumber the villains. The villains have the edge in power, but there are a lot more heroes than villains. If they can assemble an army of over a thousand and bring ALL of their heavy hitters such as Discord and the alicorns, they might have a good shot.
10379390
Lightning Dust might end up being too consumed in anger and Grogar would end up using that to manipulate here.
I mean, she got booted out of the Wonderbolts technically due to Rainbow Dash(yes, she tries to cope with making the Washouts but most likely that got botched up later one or starting to due to RD), her losing her boyfriend due to Rainbow Dash and others would probably not leave Lightning Dust in a good state of mind.
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But she's not a murderer. Why would see partake in the killing and enslavement of others just to get back at RD? The only way I could see her or Suri joining his forces is if they were driven insane or corrupted to the point they were no longer themselves.
10380270
Anger and hatred can cause one to go off the deep end pretty much and cloud one's judgement.
Especially if someone gives off a certain push.
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You both make some pretty good points here. Yeah, in their more rational states, Lightning and Suri would not betray Equestria or indulge in (deliberate) mass murder, not even because of their respective hatred of Rainbow and Rarity (primarily because they know Equestrian law enforcement would look much harder for them if they had large scale murder and high treason on their rap sheets). However, Grogar would be smart enough to figure out ways around that if he thought they could be useful (and I could see him at least thinking Lightning could be useful).
Especially if Grogar were to find the Alicorn Amulet and duplicate it (since he would realistically feel that upgrading Suri would be the ONLY way she would be ANY use to him [and maybe he could get sadistic pleasure out of watching "Mean Six" Fluttershy playing Bullying Big Sister/Drill Sergeant Nasty with Suri's three Flutter-clones]). The Amulets would, of course, upgrade the natural magic of their native species (Pegasus in Lightning's case, Earth pony in Suri's) while also eroding whatever standards they have. So, yeah, Lightning being able to fly at literally Mach 30 (three times Sonic Rainboom-level speed), shoot lightning bolts out of her forehooves and mentally manipulate the elements of air and water within her immediate area would DEFINITELY be an incredibly formidable foe, as would a super-strong, nigh-invulnerable Earth pony with a telepathic link with plants and animals and the ability to mentally manipulate the earth element.
Plus, of course, it would be MUCH harder to trick these two into removing the Amulets than it was with Trixie when SHE was wearing the Amulet.
Sorry about that. Got carried away with my thoughts.
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As far as we know, the AA only works for unicorns. It amplifies their magic. Earth Ponies don't have magic that I'm aware of, and the only magical thing about pegasi is their cloud walking ability. Unless I'm forgetting something.
Also, even if the built in magical lock can only be opened by the current wearer, that does not mean the amulet itself is indestructible. A good guy could just walk up to them and break it while it's still around their neck. Actually, why didn't they do that with Trixie, or destroy the amulet afterward?
Anyway, I think I should post my thoughts on which villains are beyond redemption:
* Storm King: Well, the author already confirmed he'd be killed off. Not really a surprise. He's one of the most bland and generic of the villains. We learn nothing about his backstory either in canon or in this story (at least up to this point), we don't even know his actual name. He's just an evil conqueror bent on world domination. He has no redeeming features. He might not be as evil as some others, but nobody really cares about him. He's the Jar Jar of the MLP villains.
* Lavan: The only other villain at this point we have no backstory for. From what little we do know though, it seems that he and Zeb were not really interested in conquering Equestria so much as burning and melting everything and anyone they came in contact with For The Evulz. We may get a backstory for him later (I'm very interested in him), but as of now, he'd be pure evil if not for his genuine care for Zeb. Unless he's given a ''very'' sympathetic backstory later on, I don't see him being redeemable.
* Squirk: He has no real redeeming qualities. He just got mad his proposal was rejected and now he's throwing a tantrum and trying to conquer the world to make himself feel better. Big baby. At this point, he's taken too much life to be redeemed in my opinion.
* Sombra: Despite his love for his son, he has proven himself a monster and become the antithesis of what his son wanted for the empire. He's cruel, sadistic, power hungry, and willing to threaten foals. If his son could see him now, he'd be so disappointed. I do not condone trying to "help" him or saying he is suffering at all, I mean, just because Hitler loved his mother doesn't mean he was any less of a dictator. Society cannot progress unless all evil rulers are treated as heinous, regardless of loved ones, past good deeds, or their past tribulations.
Grogar: From what we've seen, he's pure evil. His only possible redeeming quality would be care for Scarface, and even that may just be him treating him well so the bear remains loyal.
The Mean 6 and Arabus, I don't know about.
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Also, isn't LD still recovering from the injuries she suffered from that stunt incident? Last time we saw her she was still in a wheelchair. Now that I think about it though, Grogar could certainly magically heal her, and doesn't Grogar's bell have mind altering powers in this fic (whereas in canon the only things it was shown to be capable of were magic absorption and portal creation)? I suppose he could use his bell or natural magic to tamper with their minds to the point they weren't themselves anymore. I can't see either of them doing anything murderous unless they were corrupted to the point they were no longer themselves.