Chapter 33: Setting the Final Pieces
The foreboding atmosphere surrounded them, it felt almost as if the darkness surrounded this very place, pulled to whatever was locked underneath the giant lid. Flurry Heart unlocked the way to a place she’s never seen before in the castle, but whatever it was, it seemed to have drawn her in. There was a strange sensation in the air, gentle whispers calling her in, tempting her to approach. The little filly did so without even realizing, and just as her hooves were about to touch one of the four statues that were holding down the lid…
“STOP!” a voice echoed around the room, snapping the little princess back to awareness, turning her head, only to notice the elder ram standing on the other end of the doorway. “Child, listen and do exactly as I say… step away, walk back through the door.”
“But Grandpa Gar-“
“NOW!” his voice echoed again.
The little filly was frightened and confused. Why was he acting so angry and aggressive all of a sudden? She heeded him regardless as she slowly made her way back to the doorway, and the moment she passed the threshold, the grizzled ram promptly shut them closed. The slam resonated all around them, frightening the light bugs, causing them to skitter about. When the calm finally fell, the elder banged his head on the door and exhaled.
“Grandpa Gar, what was it?” Flurry Heart wondered. “Why did you do that?”
The Grizzled ram turned his head, giving her a serious look. “We may have just made a grave mistake, child… I had assumed the umbrum was about, threatening us, but instead it tried to trick us. You opened a doorway, not to where it could be trapped, but to a place where IT IS trapped. Had you gone further into that room and did something you could’ve unleashed it on to the world.” He came closer, putting his hooves on the little filly. “Listen to me carefully, child. Nobody must know we were here, do you understand? Not only would your mother be angry if she found out you’ve been in places you were never supposed to go, but should anyone with ill intent find out about this place, they would try to use whatever is within that sealed vault for their personal gain. Our actions would doom the world. Nobody must know. Am I clear?”
Flurry Heart didn’t say a word, she was too threatened by the burden of thoughts that were just thrust upon her mind. All she could do was nod in agreement.
“Good…” he sighed in relief. “Let’s get out of here before anyone else finds us… not to mention my niece is waiting.”
He turned to leave, making his way towards to stairs, only to be halted by the little princess’ voice. “Grandpa Gar… will you finish the story?”
“Excuse me?” he stopped after the first step.
“Last night you told me a story, and you said you’ll finish it next time. Please tell me the story before you go,” she pleaded.
The grizzled ram sighed. “Oh, very well, I suppose it’s fitting that I finish what I started, it’s only fair. Just not here; topside.”
After some time, the duo finally reached the top of the stairs. It wouldn’t take long before the filly was ordered to quickly go behind the throne to “trigger the switch”, and while she was doing it, Grogar quickly acted to dispel what he cast on the throne’s crystal which revealed the secret chasm, after which it disappeared once again.
After a few moments, the little princess squeezed out of the passage with fervor. “Now tell me the story, Grandpa Gar!”
“Alright, little girl. Plant your rump on the cushion,” he ordered.
The filly quickly scurried to the throne and sat down, while the elder walked to her side and sat on the ground.
He stroked his beard. “Now, where did we leave off?”
“Some creatures kidnapped the baby sheep’s mama, and he went after her-“ the filly uttered what she remembered, before grizzled ram finished in her place, “- and met a couple of Cabras, and asked them to teach him how to be strong. Yes, I recall now”.
It was not an easy task to accomplish for the little runt. For a long time, Cabras would put him in constant danger, to put as much physical exertion on him as possible. Yet despite all that, the runt would persevere, and over time, as the moons went by, he would slowly grow, and they would let him roam alongside them. And as they would travel, he would continue to search for that which had been taken from him, yet no matter where he went, every time he would end up not finding it. And at the end of every day, the group would return to their lair, the cave where they would rest. The Cabras have made it their home for a very long time, and he was free to stay. He was, however, forbidden to venture further into the deeper parts of their home, never explaining why. And because the curiosity killed the cat-
“Who did what to kitty?!” the filly broke the moment.
The elder sighed. “It’s just an expression, child. It means that being curious can get you into trouble. Then again, that’s a fitting description for what followed.”
Curiosity eventually got the better of the “not-so-runt-anymore”, and he would venture into the depths of the cave that the Cabras called home while they were asleep. Needless to say, he stumbled onto something that rocked him to his very core – a boneyard; mountains upon mountains of remains littered the place, remnants of those who had fallen prey to some unsavory creatures. He had never seen anything more terrifying. But that was nothing compared to what he found next. He found his mother. Do you know what became of her?
“W… what happened to her, Grandpa Gar?” Flurry Heart meekly asked.
Before the old ram could speak, he felt a twitch; something was moving under his cloak and it soon came out. A little glowing insect, one of many that had grown in the depths of the umbrum prison, crawled out of the cloak and began skittering about him, it seemed that it managed to crawl up the ram’s leg when the doors were opened. The elder extended his leg and the insect eventually crawled over it and stopped at the very tip of his hooves. He brought it closer to his face, observing it for a moment. Without any warning, he suddenly opened his mouth, sucking the crawler right in! A crunch followed… and a swallow.
“EWWW!” the filly cringed loudly. “Grandpa Gar, that’s gross!”
He chuckled. “Maybe… but that’s precisely what the creatures did.”
Among the remnants he found an item that seemed very familiar: a red collar… the same red collar that his mother used to wear… who was taken away by the creatures in the dark, to save him. And the final piece of the puzzle finally fell into place: the Cabras were the creatures in the dark, the monsters that he was told they skulk the night… and it was they who had taken that which he was looking for, what he so desperately wanted to retrieve. And they knew it. They knew the whole time who he was, and they thought they’d delight in his torment, yet he would continue to prove them otherwise in his determination to become like them, to a point that the Cabras began seeing him in a trustful manner. But something… broke inside of him at that moment. There was a storm of so many emotions brewing; the anger, the hatred, the sorrow… and the feeling of deceit. Whatever feelings they had for him now, that didn’t matter to the “not-so-runt-anymore”; they were the culprits, the source of all that ached him. Yet despite that knowledge, he had grown enough now to be smart, to know that he was not yet ready to face them alone. So, he decided to wait, bottling up all those emotions, letting them stew in seething anger and hatred… until the moment was right.
Seasons changed, and time passed by, and by the end, the runt was no longer a runt, for he had changed as well: he became tall, his horns have grown to be strong as metal, his hooves have become harder than a rock, but most of all, he feared nothing. The Cabras have put him through many hardships, so they began seeing him as one of them as a… friend, kin even. They trusted him that what they did next, he will act unquestionably. They traveled to a faraway land, the land of rolling hills, pastures as far as the eye could see, where a village stood. The “no-longer-runt” recognized it, the memories of this place were all too familiar. And under the cover of night, they attacked. He charged at the first house in sight, and without a struggle broke down its door with his horns. In it, a family of sheep huddled in fear, moaning in terror by the sight of the creature that almost looked like them, who had invaded their home, as well as the sinister companions that would enter and prepared themselves to feast. But the “no-longer-runt” remembered what drove him. He knew the horrible truth that his “friends” had hidden from him, he knew the truth this whole time, and all the anger and hatred he had bottled up for so long would finally have an outlet.
The elder paused, looking at the listener, who was still sitting on the throne, but now she was holding the cushion in her hooves, hugging it tightly, visibly trembling from fear.
“…what happened then, Grandpa Gar?” she asked.
The grizzled ram sighed. “To tell you in detail what followed next would be too much for your delicate little ears, child. But to put it bluntly…”
He destroyed them. All of that rage that had been building up in him this entire time had finally been unchained; in a place where it started, he would finish it. His enemies lay broken before him, and he succeeded in protecting his home, something nobody else he knew had the courage to do. But did he get anything out of it in the end? Was everybody cheering for their savior who had saved them from the terrors in the dark?
The little filly said nothing.
No. The rest of the villagers finally emerged when the sound of battle died down, only to take cover back in their homes after what they saw. This creature, this… thing, that had saved them, it was neither a sheep, even though it looked like one, and it wasn’t a beast either, for they do things they do to survive. No… before them stood something far, far worse… a monster. But the “no-longer-runt” did not care, for when he looked upon the faces of those who were once his family, he remembered two things – weakness and cowardice, things that he had learned to spite. He knew he no longer had a place among these creatures, and so he left, willingly… but not before something stopped his passage. A large green rock that stood outside his former home… the anger that flared up upon seeing it; this was what it all began. And in a single charge and thrash with his horns, the rock flew over the air, until it landed in the next field. He felt nothing. He had finally become stronger than anyone… and yet he felt nothing, the price he paid to become strong had taken everything from him, and the only thing he had as a reminder… was the red collar belonging to someone that was once precious to him. He would wander off, to be alone and forgotten… forever…
The elder sighed in relief, having finally brought his tale to a close, but the listener on the other hand… her face was practically overflowing with tears. “That’s the saddest story I ever heard, Grandpa Gar. Was he really all alone forever?”
The answer that followed, however, surprised Flurry Heart. “No. Actually, I tell a lie. There were… some… who saw what had happened and were in awe. Runts themselves, they too desired to be strong, something they could never achieve as they were, and despite their parent’s protests they ran away, following their “hero”, he didn’t care what they did anyway.”
“But why, Grandpa Gar? Why would they run away from home?” the little princess inquired.
A low chuckled escaped him. “Because power is many things, child. Just as the stars gather around the moon, so too will the weak ALWAYS be drawn to power, or more specifically, the one who holds it. And they followed him, for they understood, much like he did, that no matter how generous, kind or compassionate one is, it will never mean anything unless one has power, the strength to back it up. In the end, the only thing that truly matters is POWER.”
“But that can’t be true, Grandpa Gar!” the filly protested. “How can you even say something like that?”
Silence fell on the throne room, and after a while, the grizzled ram finally spoke again. “Little girl, allow this old one to depart some wisdom onto you.” He rose. “Once you’ve lived for as long as I have, you will discover how futile is it to try and change those around you, to have them see the truths that you’ve seen, because in the end, in this world, wherever you see light, you will always find darkness under it, for the same reason both “good” and “evil” also exist. It is the facet of reality that we live in.”
The filly tilted her head. “I… I don’t understand, Grandpa Gar.”
He sighed again. “Let me put it this way: let’s say, you have friends, who are in danger, and you are the only one who can help them, you have the power to do it. What do you do?”
“I help them, of course!” she instantly spoke.
“Yes, you could do that,” he said. “But in exchange, you will be badly hurt, something you may not be able to recover from. On the other hand, you could also choose NOT to intervene, and you will remain intact, power and all.”
“But then your friends will get hurt!”
The elder nodded. “And that is my point, child. For every action, there’s going to be a reaction, and we can never have what we truly want without suffering for our choices. The good, the bad; one, without another, cannot exist. And in the same vein, just as wishing to bring or preserve peace initiates wars, so too is hatred born out of the desire… to protect love.”
What was just said didn’t sit well with Flurry Heart. “Grandpa Gar, that’s not true! My mama’s the Princess of Love! Everypony loves her, and she’s able to love everpony else! She can’t hate!”
“Is that so?” It felt suddenly as if the temperature in the room dropped as he said that. “Tell me, child, have you ever seen your mother angry? And I don’t mean mad because you’ve stolen a cookie, I mean fuming in unbridled rage for something that was done, something absolutely inexcusable that cannot be forgiven?”
She didn’t speak. The little princess’ thoughts were playing through events as far back as she could remember, yet she couldn’t scrape anything up. Truth be told, she didn’t recall any events which would warrant anger in a way that the elder one was talking. She shook her head.
The grizzled ram spoke in finality. “Little girl, I want you to remember this for when the time comes one day: nobody is free from one’s inner turmoils; we may try to bottle them up, but in the end, they will always win out. And when that happens, when we are at our worst... it shows us for what we really are.” Silence lingered for a moment, before he turned, slowly walking away from the throne. “In any case, I fear our time has run out. I must leave before my niece gets anxious.”
This immediately garnered Flurry Heart’s attention. “Wait, you... you’re leaving?”
“Yes,” he bluntly answered.
The filly jumped off her seat and ran after him. “Can’t you stay just a little bit longer?”
“No,” he responded just as bluntly.
“Please?”
“No.”
“Pretty please?”
And the same request was spoken several times on the way across the room, and each time, the refusal would be the same. Yet just as the elder finally reached the door and opened them, the little alicorn finally clung to his front leg.
He stood still, not reacting to the situation, and waiting for her to respond instead. “Grandpa Gar… will I ever see you again?”
His head turned to face her, with huge begging eyes on full display, and a simple smile formed on his face. “I promise you, child… Some day.” He slipped his hoof out of her grasp, then walk past the threshold of the door. “Goodbye,” he said as he slowly closed them shut.
A strange sound, as if something was flashing, could be heard on the other end, and Flurry Heart didn’t wait a moment longer. “Grandpa Gar!” she yelled as she rushed through the door after him.
He was gone. He just disappeared into thin air. It was only then that she heard groaning sounds, and noticed somebody else was nearby. Several guards were standing in many places throughout the corridor, looking rather groggy.
“Miss Flurry Heart, what are you doing in the throne room?” one of the guards close by addressed her.
Her eyes zoomed left and right before finally speaking. “Playing?”
A loud buzzing sound could be heard in the air, as a giant mass of changelings moved across the plains south of the Crystal Empire. Right on their tail, the Princess of Love followed, advancing on them at increased speed, and as she predicted, the changeling swarm made its way to another forest thicket that stood out in the open, just like last time.
Another set of wings could be heard flapping by her side, as the orange member of the guard finally caught up to her. “It’s all set, Your Majesty! The ground and air units have fortified all the borders, as well as the palace, and the unicorns will be here in a few moments.” She didn’t respond, almost as if she hadn’t noticed he was there. “Your Majesty?”
Her attention was finally grasped. “Huh? Right, good, well done, Flash.”
“Your Majesty, I can clearly see you’re not well. Maybe you should go back to the city and wait-“
“No,” the princess cut him off without being able to finish. “I know you mean well, but my mind will not be at ease as long as that THING is still out there. And this time I’ll personally make sure she gets caught.”
The sound of stampede could be heard from below as the army of unicorns were close by, following the two, winged equines. But one of them would only accelerate, as she saw the black cloud slowly descend into the forest thicket.
Just before she could get away, however, somebody was tugging on her tail. “Your Majesty, wait! The password!” The princess slowed down for the stallion to reach her head and whisper. “For love and family… we’re prepared to go to any length.”
And with only a nod, she brushed past him, leaving him in the dust. She had to make sure the queen and her swarm didn’t escape this time, and she was lucky to arrive just as the last changeling disappeared into the treetops. Cadence descended into the forest and began scouting for the fiends, trying not to make a sound. In the end, her perseverance paid off.
“What do you mean it’s not ready?!”
She recognized the tone of anger, and it was close. She snuck through the bushes and the overgrowth, and finally took a peek from one of the bushes. The gathering of changelings was streaming into a hole that was dug out of the side of a hill, and as they did, the Queen towered over one of her drones with a frustrated expression.
“You know what, never mind, we don’t have much time for this,” she groaned. “We’ll have to improvise.”
She waited some time until the final changeling disappeared into the hole before she went inside, yet she didn’t disappear completely, instead, her horn stuck out of the hole and began to glow in a green aura. The hill into which the hole was dug shook, and finally, rocks and dirt crumbled and fell over the opening, covering it up completely.
The Princess of Love finally jumped out of hiding. She knew their exact location now and had to notify her entourage. Her horn lit up in a purple aura and shot a bolt into the air. It passed the treetops, and once it was high in the sky it erupted into a bright flare. The young captain of the guard saw it, and without delay directed the soldiers below. Eventually, the army arrived at the location from where the flare came, only to find their princess standing over a mountain of rubble.
“They’re here!” she told them. “Their entrance is under the mound of the earth! They collapsed it to try to cover their tracks! Quick, we need to dig it up!”
None of the guards responded, they just stood still, looking awkwardly at each other, until Flash Sentry slowly approached his monarch, before stopping at the leg’s length. “For love and family…”
“We’re prepared to go to any length!” she quickly answered. “Now go already!”
The unicorns quickly got to work, using their magic to lift the mountain of soil. In a few moments, the hole opened before them, and without delay, the alicorn jumped in right away.
“Your Majesty, wait!” the captain called, but his words went unheard. “Guards! Double file, frontal split at each intersection! Go!”
He jumped right in, and the rest followed. They descended into the underground tunnel, and as expected, just like last time, it was littered with side tunnels. As soon as the first intersection came up, the captain and two of the guards split from the group into the side passage, yet they would not get far, as it was only a few feet deep. Reaching the dead end, the group quickly turned and continued their way on the main tunnel. And as they proceeded further, it became apparent that the same was the case with other side passages, as guards kept popping up after a matter of moments, yet the deeper they went, the longer it took for them to return, as it seemed that only the lower parts of the complex were mostly finished.
Meanwhile, ahead of everybody else, Princess Cadence continued to rush down the primary tunnel, without even considering taking side access', the desperation, the fear, drove her into tunnel-vision. She suddenly stopped, as she discovered that the tunnel had come to an end. She was thinking of taking one of the side passages at that point, yet something was nagging her at the back of her mind, only to notice that the dirt seemed rearranged as if the passage was blocked off only recently. She then pressed her head against the wall and heard a muffled voice on the other end. Her horn lit up, and an explosion followed, as the block was blown away. Cadence stumbled through, coughing and covered in dust, and when her vision cleared, she froze in place at what she was seeing. A large chamber opened before her at the bottom of the hideout, a handful of changelings she saw were scurrying through a portal of dark light that stood open, with their queen standing by and prodding them to move… or at least she was until she heard the sound of the blast, her sight turning to the hole, through which an alicorn came wobbling out, and after her sight cleared, both of their eyes locked. They were staring at each other for a few moments, until a voice could be heard coming from the tunnel, catching the princess off guard as her head turned, and while distracted, she heard the sound of hooves digging in. Turning her head again, she saw the Queen of Changeling run through the portal of dark light. She grimaced and quickly dashed for it in desperation, going as far as leaping for it, but just as she was about to reach the magical doorway, it dispersed, and the princess landed on the dirt, dragging for a few hooves before the pile slowed her down. The guard’s captain finally came through, spotting the monarch on the ground, moaning.
He slowly approached and stopped by her side. “For love and-“
“We’re prepared to go to any length,” she cut him off before he could finish.
He helped her get back on her feet. “Your Majesty, I’m so sorry. I came as fast as I could. What’s happened?”
“Flash,” she addressed him, “call off the search. We’re returning immediately to the Crystal Empire.”
She quickly walked off, yet the captain followed her close, confused. “Y… your Majesty, why? What’s just happened?”
She glanced at him. “We’ve been tricked. For all we know, Chrysalis and her changelings have been inside the Crystal empire this entire time, right under our noses. We’re putting the entire city on lockdown, search any abandoned or vacant houses. If anyone tries to leave they’re to be treated under immediate suspicion.”
A flash happened, as a portal of dark light suddenly opened inside the abandoned house, and a cloaked figure walked through, before promptly closing it. Grogar finally dispersed his cloak, he’s done his part, he wouldn’t need it anymore. All he had to do now was for his cohort to finish up on her end, but she didn’t seem to be back yet. The house was quiet, as there was nobody in sight, except for another portal of dark light that was still open on the far end of the living room. All of a sudden, a changeling ran through the doorway, followed by another, and another… soon, an entire army poured through, beginning to fill the entire room in a matter of seconds; they were expanding so fast that the house would likely burst if the entire swarm were to gather here. Before they piled on the grizzled old ram, his horns began to glow, and a bright light enveloped everything.
Things seemed to have quieted down, only for Chrysalis to charge out of the opening, tumbling as she came through, screaming on top of her lungs. “GROGAR! GRO-!”
Before she could call for him again, a tape made of dark light got slapped on her mouth, silencing her. The aforementioned sorcerer stood above her, his horns alit, holding what appeared to be a small sack made of pure magic.
“Be quiet,” he calmly said, as he directed his focus on the portal, closing it, “we’ll get exposed if you make such a noise.”
The “duct tape” over Changeling Queen’s mouth came off, but she would not remain silent. “We might as well now! We’ve been exposed!”
He raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”
“We repeated what we did the last two times,” she explained, “but with the small time frame we had, my changelings weren’t able to fully complete the distraction and…”
“And?”
“She saw me, Grogar! The princess of the Crystal Empire saw the portal and my changelings moving through! Our cover’s been blown! Please tell me you’ve managed to unleash the umbrum in the meantime!”
“No,” he gave her a blunt response.
“Wait... don’t tell me, you were unable to convince the brat to do her thing?”
“Oh no, it worked perfectly,” he smiled. “She gave me access to the prison. And I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
There was this strange frustration beginning to build up in Chrysalis. “Wait… you got all that you needed… and then did nothing? I sacrificed myself to buy you time! Any moment now Cadence’s gonna come back and search the whole city for us! And you’re telling me it was all for NOTHING?!”
Silence lingered in the air for a while, the Changeling Queen’s spite was so strong at this moment that it could almost be heard. However, Grogar sighed in disappointment.
“I find your lack of faith disturbing” he mused. “If you’re afraid of being caught, we’ll just be moving to a new place.”
“To where?! There's no place in the Crystal Empire that they won’t find us now!”
He chuckled. “Queen of Changelings, have you forgotten already? The doors may be closed…” He turned his head towards the wall, a beam shot from his glowing horns, opening a portal made from dark light. “… but I, am the skeleton key.”
The grizzled ram traipsed calmly through the doorway, leaving Chrysalis standing confused in the middle of the room all alone. She couldn’t figure it out; where could they go now that they won’t be found now? Without much of a choice, she followed him through the portal.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the complete darkness that surrounded her, as the only dim light source was coming from Grogar’s horns since the portal closed soon after she came through.
“Wait, I need to retrieve my changelings!” she protested.
The magical sack the sheep was holding up was tossed at her, and she caught it. She gave him a suspicious look, before opening it. All of a sudden, an army of changelings poured out of the sack, avalanching on the top of their queen, burying her completely, while the ram was already a considerable distance away to avoid her mishap. She finally climbed out of the pile, and with her eyes fully adjusted now, she beheld an unexpected sight. They were inside a large underground crystal cavern, a set of four large horse head statues were set up in a square formation, a large round lid was bolted to the ground, and long iron poles were running from it to the statues, designed as a bridle. She only saw it once, but she recognized the sight which she saw drawn in the enchanted message that Grogar revealed.
“The umbrum’s prison…” she gave him a confused look. “But… but I thought you said only a Crystal Princess can gain access to it!”
“Correction, only a Crystal Princess could open the doorway that led to where it was located. But this place isn’t isolated against magic, anyone who uses it can either teleport or open a gateway to it if they already know of its location and what it looks like.”
A sudden burden was lifted off the Pillar of Hatred, as she sighed in relief. “Good… I hope you’ve done some unmentionable things to the brat after she served her usefulness.”
He glanced at her. “I thought you were complaining earlier about not being able to cover your tracks, that hardly seems productive.”
“Pity…” she sighed. “Well, what are you waiting for then? Open the seal and release them! I want the princess to be in for a big surprise when she gets home.”
“I fear that’s not an option, Queen of Changelings,” Grogar said and pulled out the large enchanted piece of paper. “According to this, the seal is keeping the umbrum locked up, but opening the way itself won’t do a thing, as long as that which suppressed them in the first place remains active. In other words, before we can release the umbrum from their prison, we must first stop Amore’s weapon.”
Queen Chrysalis understood where he was going with this. “The Crystal Heart.”
Rainbow Dash yawned. The little prolonged nap had done well enough for her, as it did for all of them. With the brief break they took to recuperate a bit, they finally got up and left the ruins of Soiliana and returned to the great crossroad cavern with a gaping pit in the middle. They already had another destination set in their sight, the one place they knew that their missing companions could be found. It took them a while to reach the next corridor, but once they did, they immediately began their descent into the tunnel leading to what they were anticipating to be Ptolemeya.
Yet as they slowly trotted to avoid slipping on ice, Twilight again noticed that one of them lagged in the back, a certain broken unicorn was staring out into the cavern. “Tempest?” She didn’t respond, so she approached her and tapped her on the shoulder, finally garnering her attention. “Tempest, what’s wrong?”
“Earlier I thought I was just hearing things,” she answered, “but this time I know I’m not. We’re being followed.”
“By who?” the princess asked, only to be shushed.
They remained silent, and heard something: it was a very low thud, followed by the sound of tiny rocks getting crunched.
“I don’t know… but whatever it is, it’s big and heavy,” Tempest said, her horn beginning to flicker.
She immediately charged in the direction of the sound, her broken horn beginning to conjure lightning, and just as she came around the corner she thought the sound was coming from, she stopped.
“Tempest, wait!” the princess caught up to her, only to behold the same sight as she did.
Nothing. Whatever was making the heavy sound was not here, and nothing out of the ordinary stood out except for a large black glistening boulder.
“Maybe it was just a distant echo of rocks crashing,” Twilight suggested.
“Maybe…”
They stood by for a while longer waiting in anticipation that the sound would return, but instead, a voice called to them.
“Twilight! Tempest!” the party planner’s voice echoed.
“Coming!” she called back. “Let’s go, Tempest, the others are waiting.”
The former lieutenant wasn’t as sure about the alicorn’s assumption, but whatever was making that noise had gone silent. Her horn stopped flickering, and they quickly made their way back to the rest of the group.
Back together again, the group made its way through the tunnel, but they quickly discovered something was different about this one. A strong draft was pulling through, making the cold all the more intense.
“What’s with the sudden COLD?!” the blue pegasus moaned.
She would soon get her answer. They stopped at a large opening in solid ice that seemed to have been broken into.
“It’s just like Radiant Hope’s journal mentioned,” Applejack spoke. “She broke in through the solid ice. An’ since it’s so cold, the draft keeps going through.”
“I have to agree with Rainbow Dash though,” Rarity spoke, trying to not get her hat blown off, “this wind is really unbearable.”
“If we’re to find our missing friend, this threat we must face to the end,” Zecora spoke.
The pink earth pony jumped in front of the group. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, Spike, and Discord! We’re coming!” she yelled, yet as she tried to run through the opening, a combination of slippery ground and pink magical aura holding her tail held her in place.
“Hold on, Pinkie,” Twilight said, making her final stop, while the princess went in front of her before the opening, slowly reaching out with her hoof through it, and just then, a torrent of shadow slipped past them, making the illusion visible. “I had feared it would come to this… the nightmare veil is extending across the entire area.”
“I’m just gonna take a stab in the black here, but considering Fluttershy was never the first to laugh in the face of anything frightful, so...” the rainbow-maned pegasus said, only to be shoved by the orange earth pony. “Ah, look, I’m just saying they’re likely all trapped in it considering how big this thing is, but considering we don’t know what’s tormenting her; it could be just a small insignificant thing that we can deal with in a jiffy…”
“Or maybe it’s something big, and since nightmares are now one-hundred percent real, it means big trouble for us,” the fashionista pointed out.
“It don’ matter whose nightmare we encounter, we’ll have to help them deal with it,” Applejack said, stepping next to Twilight. “Ah’m ready, Twi.”
The alicorn nodded in acknowledgment, then turned her head to the rest of the group. “What about you guys?”
And they followed suit, stepping to the side of the two mares in a line. They all looked at the princess with approving glances.
“Okay. Go.” And with those words, the team passed through the nightmare veil.
A familiar cottage, that’s where they ended up. The sun shined through the window, the sound of birds singing could be heard through the open half of the door, the atmosphere was altogether pleasant, yet the house’s owner was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, a thumping sound came up, and a little bunny came in through the doorway of the kitchen.
“Oh look, it’s Angel Bunny!” Applejack noticed him, only to watch him hop past the entire group and stopped at Pinkie Pie, gently rubbing against her legs.
“Awww, you want belly rubs?” the party planner asked, and began rubbing his tummy, making him squeak.
The birds flew in through the open windows, sitting on their perches, singing a melody. Heavy stomping followed, as a bear stuck his head out the open half of the door, and let out a pleasant low growl.
“Okay, if this was some kind of a haunted mansion-looking place, I’d understand, but this?” Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “This is Fluttershy’s nightmare?”
“You guys sure that your friend isn’t a brood with dark thoughts?” Tempest asked. “Because all this bright sunshine being a nightmare could explain it.”
“No, Tempest darling, we can assure you that Fluttershy is anything but that,” Rarity refuted.
Don’t disturb them…
Twilight’s ears twitched. “Shhh, did you hear that?”
“Don’t disturb them…” the voice became more noticeable.
They turned their heads to the opposite end of the room and noticed a long pink mane sticking out from around the corner.
“Fluttershy? Is that you?” the country pony asked.
“Yes…” she answered. “But please, whatever you do, don’t do anything that will make the animals feel unpleasant.”
“What?” the party planner wondered, taking her hooves away from the bunny. “Why is that a problem?”
“EEEEEEEK!” the shy pegasus’ voice screamed and the flock of hair disappeared behind the corner.
“Fluttershy darling, what’s wrong?” the fashionista inquired.
“It’s Angel! Pinkie Pie just stopped rubbing him after he begged her to do it!”
The pink earth pony’s head tilted. “Errr… why is that bad?”
A shriek followed, garnering everybody’s attention. The little bunny was standing up now, with an angry look on his face, his eyes glowing red, and snow-white coat suddenly turning black as night, finally releasing a sinister roar. Rarity was so startled she back into the perch for birds, knocking down all the food that had been set up. The birds suddenly stopped singing and began to screech, their eyes turning red as their colorful feather turned charcoal color. It caused Applejack to stagger backward and accidentally slammed the opened half-door right in the bear’s face. He roared in anger, his eyes lit up in crimson while his fur turned as dark as ash. All of a sudden, the atmosphere changed, as it became dark outside, and the timberwolf howls could be heard in the distance.
“Oooookay, now it looks like Fluttershy’s nightmare,” the rainbow-maned pegasus quipped at the least appropriate moment.
“Errrr… Fluttershy, what do we do to calm them down now?” Pinkie Pie asked as she and the rest of the mares slowly backpaddled into the opposite direction, as the savage creatures of the night slowly approached them.
“There’s nothing that can be done! EVERYPONY RUUUUN!” she screamed and ran up the stairs.
The rest of the group didn’t bother thinking of an alternative to the situation. They immediately bolted after the shy pegasus.
“Quick! Get in!” she urged, as she held the door to her room open, letting her friends inside, before shutting them close, and began to pile up the furniture against the door.
Twilight’s horn glowed, enveloping the large objects throughout the room and pushing them against the door. “There, will that hold them out?”
“It will,” the yellow pegasus nodded. “For about ten seconds!”
“WHAT?” her friends yelled.
Soon the bashing against the door began, the bear’s sharp claws tore through the wood with ease, and through the hole in the blockade, the sinister eyes could be seen.
“We’re trapped!” Rarity screamed. “We’ve got ourselves stuck in a dead-end!”
Tempest walked in front of the group. “We can always go down fighting,” she said, her horn beginning to flicker.
“NO!” Fluttershy protested. “They’re innocent creatures! You can’t hurt them!”
“Well, what are we supposed to do then?! Wait for the end?!” the blue pegasus made an angry remark.
The princess looked around the room and soon got an idea. “Everypony, stick together, quick!”
They all looked at each other in confusion for a moment, but then huddled together in the end. The alicorn’s horn lit up, and everybody got enveloped by a magical aura. She turned and dashed for the window, pulling the group with her.
CRASH!
Twilight and her friends flew out of the house and up into the sky.
“Hey! Why does everything look like it’s Nightmare Night?” Pinkie Pie asked.
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And so we are a few moments away from the powder keg that is the Umbrum about to blow up.
So is Spike last? For some reason i am hoping(?) he's last for something. I don't know.
It really depends on how its handled due to well.. what I already mentioned before.
11020640
Have you decided now?
God damn. Grogar's past is dark, tragic, and filled with revenge. The runt of the litter became the Head Ram but feared by his flock. Such a sorrowful ending with a strong moral. Also really Fluttershy? I thought your fear for that holiday was over.
11087360
No, not really. All I know is that the Crystal Empire arc will be over soon.
11087353
If things go as planned you'll get your answer soon.
11087698
Ok then.
Felt really nervous honestly.
11087403
You'd have to wonder who were those crazy enough to go with him.
rainbow's cryophobia is still haunting her
11096768
Ye, fresh trauma is something that doesn't go away that quickly.
I like Grogar's backstory. This changes his status from "boring evil for the sake of evil" to "quite an interesting character with an interesting moral". His reflections involuntarily made me remember the quote "Without light, darkness will engulf the world, but without darkness, this world will go blind."
It would be interesting when it came to the destruction of the "crystal heart" in the duet of villains there would be a conflict. For it seems to me that for Chrysalis to destroy the source of a huge amount of love is contrary to her original interests.
11155566
She doesn't necessarily have to destroy the heart when she's got tools that work just fine on hampering its power.