Chapter 45: New Beginnings
The blistering sun shined high in the skies, as a breeze blew through his tiny hands.
My son… on the day you were born, the winds of Nether Lands carried your name across our barren kingdom…
The image of his hands holding a strange materialized energy emerged.
I watched you when you awakened a gift that was rare to your kind.
He walked to the end of the balcony, looking upon the vast reaches of the desolate wasteland below.
And I am certain, that when the time finally comes, you will use your power for the greater good of our kingdom.
The light in the throne room was dim, its source coming from the setting sun as a large quadruped figure towered over him.
Unworthy. He is unworthy to sit upon my throne.
Shackles. His arms were locked in chains. Before him stood a pair of tall radiant equine figures, and beside them, a sulking lowly creature.
Lord Tirek! For the crime of conspiring against Equestria, by our sovereign right, we hereby sentence you to ETERNITY in the depths of Tartarus!
He wandered through the dark streets. He was hungry, he needed to quench his thirst for magic. Seeing an unsuspecting little pony, he reached out for him, and then he turned, revealing a familiar smug face.
Tirek, I presume?
Power. He felt unimaginable power coursing through his body. He used it, yet his enemy wouldn’t fall.
I may have given you my Alicorn magic, but I carry within me the most powerful magic of all!
Gone. He felt incredible power not a moment ago and it was gone. And now, the two tall radiant mares and a patchwork of parts stood before him, when he was at his weakest.
There isn't a punishment worthy of all you've done!
May I help? Please?
He was losing the feeling in his body and could do nothing but cringe, the darkness took him… and then, a green light flashed before his eyes.
“Welcome back to the waking world, Lord Tirek.”
That echoing voice… he recognized it, but couldn’t see the form that was making it, as his eyes had not yet adjusted. But after a moment, the dim light finally made the shapes visible.
“What is this decrepit old half-horse mutant supposed to be?”
Another voice spoke, though this one was unknown to him.
“Weren’t you paying attention, rug rat? It’s a centaur.”
That voice… he’s heard it before, but the first thing that came to him was deceit. His sight finally cleared and three figures stood before him: The first one was familiar to him, although she looked different somehow, and the second was unknown to him as it looked like an inanimate object that has come to life, however, when his eyes finally set on the third figure present…
“DISCORD!” he yelled, as his legs scrambled, trying to back up and rise at the same time, after seeing an elderly ram, failing badly.
The memory was still fresh, of the draconequus who had freed him from eternal imprisonment in order to act as a pawn in his game, under the guise of one of the darkest beings in Equestria's history; he and his cohorts stripped him of the illusion, revealing the truth – there was no real Father of Monsters, it was all a lie. And now he was in front of him again, posing as that same lie once more. He was drained of strength, but he certainly wouldn't go down without a fight, not like last time. He desperately tried to summon what little magic he had, yet the moment it was about to materialize, it dispersed. He tried again, and the same thing repeated.
“Do not waste your energy, Lord Tirek,” the Changeling Queen answered. “In my domain, anyone else’s magic will be nullified.”
The centaur’s gaze turned to his former comrade. “Chrysalis, what is the meaning of this?! Why have you sided with that filthy backstabbing Lord of Chaos?! And what’s with the giant walking paperweight?!”
He would regret those words. The construct reached for him and grabbed him by his scrawny neck, lifting him off the ground, and up to his face.
“Listen here, you cringing wildebeest! I’m the St-!” he stopped, rethinking his words, speaking them through gritted teeth. “I’m the Scourgelord! I dunno what special powers you’re supposed to possess to warrant releasing you from petrification, but in here I outrank you by a mile, so you better watch your tone, or things are gonna get ugly, capiche?!”
He tried desperately to get loose from his grip but it was a fool’s struggle; he was simply too weak and literal rocks were crushing his larynx.
“Rug rat,” the familiar voice came from the blue ram, “let the boy go. He’ll be of no use if you crush him.”
The stone made a grunting sound and opened his hand, releasing the centaur, making him drop to the ground. Soon though he felt the ground under his hooves vanish, as a green aura enveloped him, levitating him over to the caster.
“Do try to make nice, Lord Tirek,” the Queen of Changelings said in a rather patronizing tone. “The tall and shiny over there, as he said already, is formerly known as the Storm King. And the other… well, I think you’re already familiar with Grogar from second-hand experience.”
He gave her a confused look. “Wait… you’re telling me he’s the real deal? Not Discord in disguise? How? And why are you following him?”
She shook her head. “I’m not. We’re all working on the equal level here… on demand.”
“What?! On whose demand?!”
“Well… THEIRS,” she said and turned him around.
The moment of aggravated anger quickly subsided. Tirek looked upon the strange abominations that towered over him next to the giant foreboding tree, their dark forms rising out of the strange green glowing pond. One had teal eyes, with icy spray seeping out of its barely closed jaw, while the other taller one, had multiple yellow eyes lining up down its face. There was an unsettling dread radiating from them.
“Chrysalis… what have you dragged us into?”
“Captain!” one of the unicorn royal guards called out.
Through the hallways of the Crystal Castle, workers were going about, trying to work diligently to fix the damage that was done the other day. Past them, the shaman and the pegasus guard leader walked, as they excused themselves from the rebounding jubilation. That’s when a member of the unit arrived and saluted.
“Report,” Flash Sentry said.
“We’ve managed to round up and pacify the changelings that have been left behind in the city. What do we do with them?”
“By Her Majesty’s order they’re to be delivered to the Changeling Kingdom and be left in King Thorax’s care,” he commanded. “Anything else?”
“There’s another thing, captain,” he continued. “While we were dealing with the changelings that Mistmane was able to pacify we… came across a problem.”
“What do you mean "a problem"?” the pegasus wondered.
A pair of unicorns turned up in the hallway behind the reporting guard, pulling with them a giant bag, dragging it all over the floor.
“Why are you pulling this with you? The castle is in need of repair, don’t make things worse for repairponies, just use magic to carry it,” he said.
“That’s the thing, captain. We can’t…”
Flash gave him a confused look, then approached the bag. He opened it and inside found dark, spikey, yet familiar-looking armor. He grabbed hold of one and tried to lift it, only for him to collapse under its weight.
“Need some help?”
The voice came from behind them. The Elements of Harmony, accompanied by Princess Cadence with Flurry Heart sitting on her back, have finally left the throne room and made their way in the same direction it seemed. Twilight Sparkle was at the front of them, and she started to focus her magic, its aura trailing in Flash’s direction and then… it dispersed. She was confused, unsure of what’s happened. She tried again, and once more the spell just vanished.
“What’s going on?” the smaller alicorn wondered. “Why is my magic vanishing?”
“It’s the armor, Princess Twilight,” one of the guards answered. “The changelings that were protecting the stolen Crystal Heart wore it. We had to remove it from each of them individually because our magic was being nullified by it.”
The guards proceeded to remove the weight off of their captain, after which the Element of Magic went to inspect it further.
“We saw them, Twilight,” the blue pegasus concurred. “We were there with Mistmane when we went to liberate the Crystal Heart. They all wore it, so that’s likely what was hampering it. But I didn’t think it was this heavy.”
“And that’s just one piece,” the workhorse added as she weighted it. “If an ordinary pony has difficulty wearing this, how strong do then these new changelings have to be to wear this metal in flight…”
The alicorn banged her hoof against the armor, and it quickly put her off. “I don’t think this is even metal, Applejack. It’s rock!”
“Rock?!” they all reacted in unison.
“Well, this certainly sounds very familiar,” the former Lord of Chaos said, as he was poking his head out of the fanny pack around the shy pegasus. “Changelings and a rock that can negate magic? I don’t see that as a coincidence.”
“We can’t be sure of anything yet,” Twilight said. “We need to examine this before we can determine what it is.”
“Uh uh uh! I know what to do!” The party planner hopped. “We’ve got a rock expert right here! Come on, everypony!” She grabbed onto the ropes holding the giant bag in an attempt to drag them along, only for the immovable object to make her flop on the back. “A little help here?”
They made their way back to the room that was used as an infirmary, where the two childhood friends and the couple were still present, the former talking, while with the latter, the mare was still looking over her sleeping stallion. The expert was given a request on the matter of identifying what this strange substance was, but alas…
“I have no idea what this is,” she calmly said.
“What?!” her younger sister yelped. “But Maud, you’re the expert here! You’ve never had problems identifying rocks!”
“This is the first time I’ve seen this type of rock, Pinkie,” the deadpan mare said.
“But Maud, surely it’s got to be related to something,” Twilight argued. “What about obsidian? The Storm King’s body was made of it, and the fact that he’s working alongside Queen Chrysalis it can only point to it.”
“It’s not obsidian,” she refuted in a monotone voice. “It possesses several characteristics that are closer to pumice, but it’s not; it’s too heavy, and it’s not supposed to have magical properties.”
“So I am right,” Discord said. “It can’t be a coincidence, considering what happened a few days ago while you were away from the castle, Twilight. Whatever is warding off the Everfree Forest from being affected by magic now, must also be the same thing that this changeling armor is made off.”
“But even so, Discord, if this rock is the same as the one that Chrysalis had in the Changeling Kingdom, we still don’t know how did she manage to acquire it,” Rarity pointed at the issue. “It was destroyed, and its fragments were used to isolate the Canterlot’s castle from being able to teleport inside.”
“Great…” Applejack sighed. “Seems like the more we uncover, we’re only given more unanswered questions in turn.”
“I suppose we’ve no other choice but to do some research,” Twilight said. “Luckily, there’s a wise old unicorn and a smart headmare that are waiting for us back in Ponyville. They can assist us with that.” She opened her hooves, awaiting the deadpan mare to hand her back the black stone armor, remembering too late how strong Maud actually was as she was holding it with ease, leaving her crushed under the rock’s weight once she handed it to her. “Help…”
The country pony and the party planner assisted in taking the heavy weight off their friend and moved it back to where the full sack was. As they stuffed it inside though, something fell off from the top, as it seemed another much smaller bag was sitting on it previously.
“Huh, what’s this?” Pinkie Pie reached for it.
“That saddlebag was found among the rubble by the cleaning crew,” one of the guards spoke. “We’ve no idea who it belongs to.”
The pink pony, however, turned it about and found one telling sight: a picture of a stick, stuck in the mud. “Hey! Mudbriar, this is your bag!” she said, and the aforementioned stallion shifted in bed.
She opened it and started pulling things out. “You got lucky. With all that’s happened none of the things you got for the party got crushed. Let’s see, we got crystal chalices, we got crystal chocolate hearts, crystal sticks, crystal rocks, crystal crystals, and… Hold on, what’s this?” She pulled out a small box that was stashed among all the things and quickly opened it, her eyes widening as a luster shined from the contents inside. “Oooooooooooh, shiny.”
The fashionista approached her. “Now you got me curious, Pinkie. Not often do you make such statements and pull a face like that unless it’s something really-“ She froze as the gazed inside the box, her eyes expanding just like the party planner. “It’s… Pinkie, it’s absolutely dazzling.” Soon curiosity got to the other mares present and they tried to see inside themselves. “For whoever this masterpiece of a craft is, must be one very lucky pony.”
Mudbriar started to wake up, slowly looking about the room, noticing his significant other by his side, and not far from his bed, her sister and her friends, looking at… His eyes shot open and he grimaced when he saw them handling the box.
“DON’T TOUCH THAT!” he yelled and leaped out of bed at them.
In shock, Pinkie Pie raised her hooves, and the box she was holding flew into the air. They all watched with a grim expression as it slowly descended, fearing that whatever was inside will break if nothing was done to stop it. Twilight quickly reacted, using her magic to stop the box in midair… upside down, causing the contents of the box to fall out of it, and landed straight in Maud’s hoof that she stretched out at the last moment. A collective sigh followed, seeing that the crisis was averted, but the tall lanky stallion didn’t share that thought, in fact, he was making even more of a grimace, in the direction of his mare.
Maud looked closely at what she was holding: It was a flower, unlike any she had seen before, as its center was made of a pink gemstone, its vitreous luster shining brightly while surrounding it were numerous small triangular gems that were connected to form petals.
“Maud, I’ve never seen a flower like this before,” Pinkie commented.
“It’s not an actual flower, Pinkie,” she bluntly stated. “It’s a pink sapphire with pink tourmaline, all of them interconnected to form an imitation of fauna.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a rare natural occurrence, Maud,” Rarity added.
“It’s not natural. Whatever this is, it was likely made by the use of magic. There’s a theme behind it though – both of these two minerals… symbolize love.”
A surprised gasp could be heard after what was said, but they missed where it came from. Flurry Heart knew, after all, she was right on top of the head of the one who did it. Cadence suddenly connected the dots: Days ago, when she went to visit Mistmane, she saw her talking to a young stallion who apparently asked her to craft a special jewel for him, and then the elder mare told her that she should’ve done the delivery because she was the Princess of Love. She knew now who the mysterious pony was.
The stick-in-a-mud stallion sighed. “Well, there goes the main event.” He reached for the saddlebags that were lying nearby and pulled out a long scroll. "I have prepared a speech to commemorate the occasion and have it led into the following part..." He then crumbled the paper and threw it away. "But since the cat is already out of the proverbial bag at this point, I'll just go straight to the point."
He reached for the gem flower that his chosen mare was holding and took it in his hooves, before presenting it to her. "Maudileena Daisy Pie... would you give me the honor of joining me in the sacred matrimony?"
And then, deathly silence followed, not a peep could be heard, as not a single person present dared to interfere in the tense atmosphere, except for one…
"Applejack,” the pink earth pony whispered into her ear. “What did he just say?"
She whispered back. "He just asked Maud to marry him."
Quickly, the party planner clamped her mouth shut, desperately holding on to her breath, so she would not burst from excitement. The deathly silence continued, and they all watched as the rock mare was just sitting there, looking at the gift being offered to her, while her opposite also sat immovable on his bed.
Then Maud’s mouth slowly began to move, a word finally coming out. “No…”
All of a sudden, when the word was heard, Pinkie let out a loud prolonged gasp that grabbed everybody's attention, as she couldn’t believe what had just happened.
"Pinkie,” her older sister spoke, “I'm not done yet."
And just as quickly as it came, Pinkie Pie clamped her mouth shut again, trying to hold it in.
The rock mare faced her stallion again. "No one... has gone to all this trouble for my sake. You got me this rock… and I'll roll with you until our final days."
With those words, Maud jumped off her chair, walked over to Mudbriar, and pressed herself against his neck, rubbing her head under his chin.
At first, none of them were sure whether or not she actually said yes or no, but a few moments passed and the realization finally came to them what the answer was. Suddenly, a tremor followed. No, it wasn’t an earthquake, in fact, it was nearby. It didn’t take them long to spot the Element of Laughter shaking uncontrollably, the excitement going way over what she could contain, and it was about to be unleashed.
“Everypony hit the deck!” Fluttershy screamed. “She’s gonna blow!”
But it was already too late. Outside on the city’s streets, ponies were going about, still clearing up the rubble from the day before, although the physical damage wasn’t as bad as the mental one that the residents had to suffer from being under the influence of the umbrum. What followed, however, was something completely else. It started off as a high-pitched noise that only those near the castle could hear, yet by the second it kept growing louder, so much that by the end, the whole of Crystal Empire was aware of it, but its residents were baffled by what it was.
"MY SISTER'S GETTING HITCHED!!!" Pinkie Pie squealed, lept into bed, on top of the couple, and squeezed them both in her embrace. “I’m so happy for your both! When will the event take place?! I could handle the planning for the after-wedding party!”
“Technically,” Mudbriar interrupted her, “this was just a proposal. The announcement must still be delivered to your parents and see whether or not they will accept it.”
“And we still have to pass the Choosing Stone,” Maud's monotone voice interjected. “Nothing’s set in stone yet, Pinkie.”
“Who cares!” she yelled. “You’re both gonna pass with flying colors! Oh! I’ll help you fill out the invitations!” She pulled out a tablet and grabbed a pencil with the tip of her puffy hair. “Let’s see: We’ve got the Apple family, Rarity’s family, Twilight’s family, Rainbow’s family, Starlight and her dad, Sunburst and his mom-!”
“Pinkie.”
This time the voice came from the rest of the group, and the party planner quickly got the gist to let it go. “You know… maybe later then.” She tossed it all to the side. “I guess we’re kind of on the clock what with the whole “world-ending scenario” happening right now. Oh! That also reminds me, girls, when’s the next train back to Ponyville leaving?”
The train was waiting at the station on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. It was going to be departure time soon, and with what happened the other day the conductor didn’t expect things have improved, especially with the strange sound that he heard coming from the city not long ago. He was about to blow his whistle when he spotted shapes coming from over the hill, and a few moments later they became discernable.
“Hold the train!” he called. “The princess is coming!”
Twilight and her group, accompanied by Cadence with Flurry Heart riding on her head, Tempest Shadow, and a pair of crystal guards along with their captain, pulling a large bag with them, was fast approaching. The latter unloaded the cargo onto the train cart, while the passengers went to say their goodbyes.
“You want us to keep you up to date?” Fluttershy wondered by the broken unicorn’s request.
“Yes. I’m gonna stay here for now and help fix the mess. But when you get the idea where the Storm King’s gonna strike again, I need you to notify me, and I’ll come running.”
“Tempest darling, there’s really no need for you to frustrate yourself with it,” the fashionista interjected. “If something happens I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it. You don’t need to burden yourself.”
“No, Rarity,” Tempest refused, “he was right by what he said. I was the one who brought him to Equestria in the first place. When he was destroyed I still wanted to make up for all the bad things I did in his name. Now he’s back, and if he ever tries to fulfill his promise for a change… I have to finish what I started, only then will my consciousness be clear.”
“We’ll let you know if something happens, Tempest,” Applejack said.
Tempest nodded before the party planner squeezed her in an embrace. “Goodbye, Fizzy! We’re gonna miss you!”
“Pinkie… that’s too close… literally and figuratively…” the purple unicorn struggled to talk before she was finally let go.
Meanwhile, the Crystal Princess and her in-law had their own way of seeing each other off.
“We didn’t have the chance when you first got here Twilight, considering how serious things were. Sooooo…” Cadence said before both she and Twilight started prancing.
Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!
Laughter followed, including from the little curly ball that sat on her mother's head before she got picked up and the purple alicorn smothered her with kisses.
“Be good, Flurry Heart, okay?” she said to her little niece
“Okay, Aunt Twily!" the little filly happily said as she was nestled back on top of her taller alicorn's head.
“Bye-bye!” the mares said in unison as they all boarded the train, however…
“Zecora,” Cadence said just before the zebra stepped on the train. “Can you come over for a moment?”
The shaman was unsure what the Princess of the Crystal Empire could possibly want from her at this point. As she turned and approached the much taller equine, the moment she got within the hooves range, she extended them, pulling her into a hug, leaving her confused.
“I’m sorry… There are no words big enough for me to express my gratitude for what you did for me and Flurry Heart but… Thank you.”
She smiled. “‘To see a patient well, a dutiful healer all manner of disease must quell. It’s up to them, however, to ensure they’re cured with personal endeavor.”
“Even so, without you being there-“ Cadence said before her filly interrupted her. “Will you visit again, Miss Kora?”
“Perhaps, if the circumstances are willing-”
Suddenly the train conductor blew his whistle. “The train for Canterlot is departing now!”
“Zecora, come on!” Rainbow Dash popped her head through the door.
“But for now, I must say my bidding,” she finished her rhyme, then stepped on the train.
“Your work will never not be welcome, Zecora,” the alicorn said one last time, as she and her child waved goodbye.
“Your acknowledgment I appreciate…” the zebra said with a smile as she bowed, yet as the train doors closed shut, the tone in her voice turned somber, “… though I wish my doubts I could alleviate…”
The train started moving, and through the window, the Elements of Harmony waved the two alicorns and their entourage goodbye, disappearing into the distance.
“Are you serious…?” Tirek questioned.
His former companion had just finished relating to him the tale of her escape, of her empowerment, the return of the Father of Monsters and the Storm King, boasting of the magnificent power they had obtained in the progress.
“How can I know that you’re on the level?”
She gave the centaur a frown. “Really? Look around you and tell me what you think is more likely?”
The answer was pretty much staring him in the face, not just the three figures before him, but also the two giant towering manifestations of darkness. “Okay, let’s say that I trust what I’m seeing, but what’s the catch?”
“If you get the power that you desire, do you even care?” the living obsidian construct next to him asked.
The centaur pondered for a moment. “No, I suppose not.”
“So, are you in then?” the Queen of Changelings asked.
“And what other option do I have? If I decide to leave, with the whole of Equestria on high alert thanks to the ruckus you’ve caused, the only thing that’s gonna happen is getting turned back into a lawn ornament. Of course, I’m in! I want my strength back!”
She smiled and turned to the weaselly vapor that floated next to her. “See, Doubt? It wasn’t so hard to convince him.”
“Chrysalis, who are you talking to?” the centaur lord inquired.
She realized that he couldn’t see the manifestation. After all, he hadn’t been touched by Turmoil’s essence.
“Never mind. You’ll see eventually who I’m talking to.”
“Are you sure that power hadn’t just gone to your head?” he made a quip.
She quickly picked up on it. “Don’t test your luck, “Lord” Tirek. You should think twice before making snide remarks in the heart of the Changeling Queen’s domain, where you’re powerless.”
“True… I can’t use magic, but that doesn’t mean I can’t absorb it. And I feel famished.” He rubbed his belly. “I haven’t eaten anything in more than three years. I could go for a feast right now, and I can sense powerful magic radiating out of you. And it feels…” He licked his lips. “Tasty…”
Her horn suddenly lit up and she slowly traipsed in his direction. “I dare you to try…”
Despite his weakened state, the centaur lord tauntingly waved his hands, signaling her to come closer. The situation was growing tense, and in the middle of it all, the satyr started jumping up and down, making loud noises.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!” he screamed.
THUD!
The Queen of Changelings stopped her advance at the sudden sound, a leg’s reach away from the scheming centaur. That stomp, she knew to whom it belonged. The grizzled ram stood there, with a rather displeased look on his face, almost as if he was trying to signal that time is being wasted on petty childish grievances.
She looked back at Tirek and then promptly rose her nose at him with a humph, before walking away. “You’re not worth it.”
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?!” the centaur started to rage. “Get back here right now and-!”
“Be quiet, boy,” Grogar said as Chrysalis passed him. “We haven’t the time to listen to your temper tantrums because you haven’t got any toys.” He looked at the satyr. “Rug rat, bring him over.”
“Listen here, you! Don’t call me a-!”
He wouldn’t able to finish his sentence, as the Pillar of Fear grabbed the centaur around his equine abdomen and lifted him off the ground with one arm. “Consider yourself lucky, cringing wildebeest. You got promoted to a kid, meanwhile, I’m still locked on an infant status!”
“Hey, put me down!” he complained as he was carried towards the tree. “I’m not gonna be treated like a-!”
Once more he was cut off, as a strip of sickly green magic flew in his direction and shut his mouth, reducing him to mumbling.
“I swear, I’ll have to use this more often if he’s gonna be moody like this,” the Queen of Changelings said as her horn stopped glowing, before turning her attention to the pool where the benefactors loomed. “What needs to be done?”
The manifestations of Hatred and Fear dipped their hands into the green pool and raised it together, creating a small platform made of green substance. It began to morph, changing shape to resemble to lay of the land, and in the middle of it, a twisted form that resembled the Tree of Turmoil arose.
With everybody now present before the map that was formed, Doubt proceeded. “A long time ago, after the Sundering took place, Turmoil’s broken form was hidden away from the eyes of the waking world, while its fragments were scattered in the process, trapped in the accessories that the one who broke it wore. I alone managed to preserve my own existence by severing myself from Turmoil, but in doing so I’ve also resigned myself to the weakest possible form. I have no grasp over the material world, but at the same time, I was no longer restrained by it. I already knew that the unicorn wizard had taken Hatred with him, but the others were scattered across the world.” It flew to the point of the map that showed the western shores of Equestria. “I had trailed one of them westward but by the time I reached the open seas I could no longer sense it… meaning something had already suppressed it.” It then flew to the mountainous north. “Then I traveled north, where I could still feel Fear’s presence, but then, I felt it vanishing, as it split itself into fragments that were then locked away under the Crystal Empire… save one.” It finally flew east, off the coast of Equestria and into the landmass opposite of it, south of another that was close by. “But this one… This one I could still feel for a long time at a fixed location. Its presence BURNED like a thousand suns, unending, unquenching… until it suddenly went cold and quiet. And that is the next fragment that we must retrieve, but first, we must find out what’s become of it.”
The grizzled ram stepped forth and looked at the map up close. “The Griffon Kingdom.”
“What?” Chrysalis looked at him, confused.
“I’ve dealt with their kind before,” he answered. “They’re as greedy as they are tenacious. When my creations pushed them out of the mainland, they then tried to cross the sea to the east, to the territory they lived in. It was a war of attrition that was simply wasting too many resources than it was worth. I would’ve dealt with them eventually if I had space for ground support to knock them out of the sky, but that wasn’t going to happen soon, so I decided to work my way westward instead. If we’re planning to assault this world power, nothing short of an army will do.”
Chrysalis was still giving him the look of confusion, before finally speaking. “Grogar, those are the Dragon Lands, not the Griffin Kingdom. I think we’re more at risk of getting burned alive there than getting clawed by a bunch of bird-cat hybrids. And besides, even if that were the case, I don’t think the griffins could possibly pose any danger, considering how fractured they’ve been ever since the arimaspi stole that sacred idol of theirs.”
The satyr bent over the map, with the gagged centaur still in his grip. “So what? We go over to the dragons and look for a needle in a hay-“
“Wait…” the Father of Monsters cut him off, before turning his head at the Pillar of Hatred. “What did you just say?”
“That the griffins lost their idol?”
“No. That name you used.”
“The arimaspi?”
The old ram went quiet for a moment, wandering away from the group. “After all this time… that he had actually survived…”
“No, I don’t think he did,” she answered. “As far as it’s known, the arimaspi fell to his doom along with the idol he stole.”
“Hey, Freckles,” the Scourgelord tried to grab her attention. “What’s an arimaspi?”
She gave him an annoyed look, and with a flash of green she shapeshifted. A grinding sound escaped the construct’s jaw, trying to simulate a gulping sound, as a creature towered over him, resembling a grey goat, with a stocky torso and with opposable hands, its back and arms were covered in thick hair, all the way to its head, and a single giant orange-yellow eye with a horizontal slit sat in the middle of its face, its body adorned with accessories made from gold.
Afterward, she changed back to normal in a flash. “Does that answer your question?”
“Ooooooooh,” he responded. “That explains what those weird goat people were when I saw them all those years ago.”
“Wait… you’ve seen MORE of them?!” the sorcerer raised his voice.
“Errrr…. yeah?”
Silence followed again, the ram’s pondering was noticeable to all. “To think… that he had sired offspring… I didn’t think it was possible…”
The two Pillars looked at each other. “Grogar, you’re acting really weird,” the first one said before the second one resumed. “Yeah, you’re acting like a dad that’s just discovered that he’s become a grandpa.”
The ram grumbled. “I will suffer that jab... only because it isn't far from the truth…” He finally faced them again. “The arimaspi is one of my creations… my FIRST creation. And I have endowed him with gifts that separate him from my other works. He is… was, my eyes and ears, an agent of my will; where he went, I was there.” He sighed. “It is unfortunate that his eyes can’t be put to use.”
“Eyes?” Chrysalis tilted her head. “Last I checked an arimaspi has AN eye, not more.”
“That’s not entirely true, Queen of Changelings,” he answered. “Before he became what I made him, he had a set like any other being. It was a price he had to pay in exchange for uplifting him, something he did gladly. Infused with magic, his eyes were given a rare and unique ability – they’re connected, being able to see into the realms beyond, and to see, divine even, magical energies and artifacts that would be difficult to find otherwise.”
“If such a thing even exists, I would’ve likely found it by now,” the satyr said. “Either that or it looks so weird that it can’t be recognized.”
“It looks as what it is, rug rat: It’s literally his eye – the Eye of Arimaspi.”
Suddenly, the centaur under the satyr’s arms started to mumble loudly under the magical restraint, so much that it was becoming annoying. Grogar looked at Chrysalis and nodded to her to make him stop. She groaned, knowing how much screeching will likely follow.
“YOUCH!” he screamed as the magical strip came off his mouth. “You just did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Quit whining, boy,” the grizzled ram asserted himself. “Now tell me what you wanted to say.”
“Not to you, Grogar, to her,” he motioned to the Queen of Changelings before turning to her. “Doesn’t that sound like that weird goat eye-looking orb that Discord was using while he was posing as him?”
The cavern was left quiet. She didn’t say anything, she was too preoccupied with looking nervously at the elder ram, whose gaze kept slowly shifting between her and the centaur.
“Wisp,” he finally spoke again, his voice calm, “I believe we are ready to depart. However, we will be taking a slight detour on the way to our destination. I assume that won’t be an issue?”
“Huh?” The young lord gave him a confused look. “Who are you talking to? Are you off the deep end just like Chrysalis over there?” The old sorcerer ignored him.
The weaselly shade glanced at the towering monstrosities that held up the map, before looking back at the group. “No.”
At the drop of the word, the Manifestations of Hatred and Fear collapsed, sinking back into the lake, leaving nothing but quiet behind. Doubt flew off in the direction of a tunnel, with Grogar following it, along with the Changeling Queen.
“Come on, cringing wildebeest. Time to get to work,” the construct said as he carried the centaur with them.
“I’m a CENTAUR, you dimwitted piled of pebbles!” he yelled at him.
“I told you already, I’m the St-!” he stopped himself again, forcing the word through gritted teeth. “Scourgelord. And I don’t need to listen to another frail old grandpa. I already have to deal with one.”
“Rug rat.” The satyr froze on the spot after hearing Grogar addressing him in a calm tone. “Put the boy down. Let him carry his own yoke.”
He glanced at Tirek, and opened his arms, dropping the centaur to the ground. “Fine by me,” he said in a jovial tone and then happily marched forward.
“Hey,” the frail half equine said as he barely picked himself up, “wait for me!” And he slowly limped after them.
They came outside on a mountain ledge. From it, they could see all of the Everfree Forest and a small settlement in the distance, and a castle nestled in the mountainside even further away. The Rambling Rock Ridge was bountiful in rare gemstones, and as such, home to Diamond Dogs, but it seemed that the newborn changelings had made sure that they would be kept away when they dug out the tunnel. However, the only path down was a very narrow one that was leading by the side to the ledge they had just come out on. They lined up, with the weaselly vapor flying ahead, the ram sorcerer leading the way, the Queen of Changelings simply flew, while at the back, the centaur and the satyr clashed.
“I’m going first, glazed pebble,” Tirek said as he got ahead of him.
“For the third time, cringing wildebeest, I’m the St-!” he stopped himself once more, trying to force the word through gritted teeth, but couldn’t. “No! No, I’m sorry, I just…! I just can’t, okay?!”
The group stopped. “Now what’s eating you?” Queen Chrysalis gave him an annoyed look.
“What’s eating me?! I’d be happy if I’d even be able to eat!” the satyr responded. “I can’t get over it that I‘m still… well, THIS! And because of it, I can’t use the name Storm King even though by all accounts it fits my brand, and yet at the same time being forced to use the word Scourgelord just feels wrong! I can’t take it!” He walked over to the mountainside and smashed his head into it. “I need a rebrand…” he groaned.
Grogar finally turned and frowned at him. “What?”
“I need time to think,” the satyr said, raising his hand at them and waving away. “Just… Let me brood for a bit…”
“Listen, Storm King - Scourgelord or whatever you’re aiming to call yourself, I’m not about to have you waste our time because you have an existential crisis,” the Changeling Queen raised her voice.
“Leave him…” They all looked surprised at what the grizzled ram had just said.
“You’d just let him go? You trust him that much?”
“I trust him to know he’s not going to try and do something stupid. After all, he knows how bad things will happen if he… disobeys.” A chuckle escaped the ram. “And even so, if he’ll need time to catch up, our little friend here will surely show him the way.” He nodded at Doubt. “Besides… I need you TWO far more than I need him. Now come.”
For the first time, the two former allies looked at each other; there was a sense of concern growing in them. Without a word they descended the side of the mountain, leaving the obsidian construct to his own devices.
It tormented him; the clash of two identities was frustrating to no end, he just couldn’t put it out of his mind. In one moment, he shot a lightning bolt in the air and dark clouds began to gather. He was STILL the Storm King, now more than ever, yet that name represented somebody he was in the past, and Fear showed him that part is long gone. Yet even though he hated it, the name Scourgelord was also true to what he is, what he always was. Yet the two names couldn’t exist at the same time… Or could they?
He looked at the hand that contained the Staff of Sacanas and started to focus. Lightning began to flicker and a bolt shot out of it, but instead of going up in the sky, it stopped, beginning to bend until it ran the length of his other hand, going back and further between the two points multiple times, until several lightning bolts were lined up together, looking like guitar strings. He raised his left hand in the air, and then promptly brought it down on the strings.
KRAKOOM!
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So I'm betting that voice is Tirek's father, talking about how his son become his disgrace. Also I've been wondering about that orb that Discord used to as Grogar. Also congratulation for Mudbriar & Maud
Wonder what mess will happen now.
Curious on the lore about the dragonlands too
11264419
I think you're gonna love the Dragon Lands arc. =)
11264691
Cool
Since "doubts" can work both ways, I'm surprised that now only Tirek has asked the question of how reasonable it is to do what these dark beings require. (We don’t take Grogar into account, since from the very beginning I thought that he had his own plan of action.)
an engagement proposal in the midst of these unsettling events nicely slows down the pace of the story.
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
I love this Lich King reference ;)
11264386
Tirek's father is only shown in the throne room part, the first few whoever is his mom talking.
And ye, funny how Discord seems to be using it in Season 9 and then it's just tossed aside by Tirek when he got uncovered.
11265720
If nothing else, Tirek is cunning and calculative, always trying to work around a problem and exploit it for his own benefit. That streak however ends when his own anger gets the better of him.
And ye, the Maud-Mudbriar thing has been slowly built up as far back as the start of the Fear arc (chapter 20). =)
I'm surprised you noticed the Lich King part. =P
11269714
Got it. I was just confused by the "We've not" part, since that seems like something Rarity would say.
I really hope the mockery ends when they come into their own.
It's going to be hard to take these villains seriously if they keep being cut down for the sake of comedy.
I shudder at what deeming jabs have been prepared for poor fluffles.
I mean, hasn't the poor thing suffered enough?!
Golly! Why are the writers so mean to me?!
11274828
Poor fluffles?
11274427
I see Cozy Glow as FEAR if I am honest.
She's used lies and strategy to bolster her position, avoids direct conflict, will cower to anyone to stay unharmed, and always keeps her plans a secret unless she feels absolutely secure.
She's also paranoid about never revealing any true feelings to anybody. She's much more naturally cowardly than the Storm King was, and I say that even though she's my favorite villian.
Cozy Glow is also the kind of psychological sadist that would get a lot of enjoyment out of being able to manipulate someone's fears, if that's a thing that happens in your universe.
Still probably the weirdest thing in these past few chapters has been watching The Storm King awkwardly fumble around and fly into a panic when dealing with anyone more powerful than him. He's just not the type.
I get that these are Lovecraft horrors from before the nation was formed, but none of these villains are weaklings either.
The Storm King conquered most of the known world even without magic. Tirek conquered Equestria and went hoof to hoof with both Alicorn princesses and Starswirl.
Chrysalis is a being of utter recklessness that challenged the most powerful beings in Equestria without a prayer of success.
Cozy Glow attempted much the same, and got farther than any normal child should reasonably be able to, and having lost still threw insults at one of the reigning princess face.
None of them should be losing control of their facilities at the first sight of a eldritch nightmare.
Minor nitpicks aside though, it's nice to see a classic long form adventure/drama story for once, and you do balance character dynamics fairly well.
11274868
The edited version should make it apparent who I'm talking about.
11274427
Honestly while I still don't get the fear thing, I'm not terribly attached to the cold climate for him.
I do think that (given the proximity of ice flows to the southern border) the idea that he came from a icy continent further south still fits though.
(Like Antarctica for example.)
11274893
Did you really read through all the chapters in the last 12 hours?
11274876
Sadly Cozy Glow is such an underwritten character it makes the Storm King look better in comparison, and that comes solely from the fact that Seasons 8 and 9, in general, are poorly written. For being a cardboard cutout villain that he was in the movie, at least he was given a prequel comic to flesh him out a bit more. Can't say the same for Miss "Golly-Gosh" over there. The only thing we did learn about her is that she's a self-absorbed sociopathic narcissist, that's about it. The only thing she got going on for herself is pride.
The whole deal with Storm King being twitchy up to this point in the story is that he's basically experienced dying, and he doesn't want to go through it again. Continous fear is a better drive than a situational one.
You could say all the pillars have an emotional drive.
11274907
Yep. I'm a pretty good speed reader if something grabs my interest, and this was way too good to pass up. Plus reading it on online and having a day off made it easy.
Eh. So she's the cuter version of Discord then.
But in all honesty, you can read a lot into a character whose main impetus is 'do villain thing here' if you're willing to spend the time thinking about it.
11274907
Honestly I see Cozy Glow as being continuously afraid. She's a pony, a species most known for for running away as their major defense.
She herself is a child, small, week, and vulnerable, growing up in one of the most dangerous times in Equestria.
Getting rid of magic practically reeks of desperation, and she only seems really happy when she's influencing people on a grand or powerful scale.
That's just how I see it though. The 'feels death thing' is a nice touch, I just don't buy the Storm King having such a sever reaction.
The story's still good, even if the pillars are a bit too easy to intimidate for my liking.
Any chance you are building up to Discord as the pillar of doubt?
11275150
I dunno... Cozy's drive seems to be "power for the sake of power alone", with no other motivation. It seems like vanity's the ONLY thing that drives her, but again, the last 2 seasons are poorly done, as we know literally next to nothing about her, as she exists purely for the sake of "subverting expectations". Even Tirek who's power-hungry (literally) has a reason to be so.
The Pillars exist for the purpose of delivering scattered Turmoil's fragments. As Doubt explained, it severed itself from Turmoil before it was destroyed, hence it's not trapped like other of its pieces. It's free, but because of that, it doesn't have a corporeal form. So Doubt does not need a Pillar. That being said, Discord is yet to play his part.
11275212
She's a bit of a mess in some episodes, but her subservience and cowering is pretty well mapped out in her background appearances.
Plus there's enough in her dialogue and how she co-ops people to elk out a motivation (mainly that what she really wants is respect).
There's certainly more to build on than Discord's orginal appearance, when he was just there.
If people can infer a elaborate tragic past because of the one time Discord looked sad, then characters like Starlight Glimmer and Cozy Glow can definitely be developed after seasons of interactions.
Even the Storm King is ripe for character development, if only because he never hides who he is onscreen, and had to work to achieve what he did. His handwork speaks for itself.
So is Turmoil not going to need one either? That will make things awkward when he's reformed.
11275223
Hold on to that thought for the next... 20-some chapters.
I'm starting to see the genuis of Turmoil.
The psychological manipulation being used on the pillars one by one, in order to build pressure for the next individual to join is quite brilliant.
Not all the aspects work as well as they could, but especially with Chrysalis (and now Tirek) you really feel it's influence at work.
It's used Chrysalis as the only free and independent being to obtain the power necessary to begin it's restoration.
All before giving her a new hive and making everything dependant on it's use of the source, so she couldn't just leave.
Once they had a physical form in the midst of her new hive no less, it used that to threaten her into bringing back Grogar.
Then it used the magic absorbing stone to guarantee that he would listen to her spiel.
It used the Storm King as the most easily lead villain as the next easiest target (even if I still don't agree with how).
Then it used the crowd to pressure Tirek into joining them, at least temporarily.
I imagine it will use the threat of the adults to get Cozy Glow to play along long enough to get addicted to the power of the aspects.
Wait, then who cast the magic to power the elemental attack on Canterlot?
These bastards better not do anything that would hurt Smoldy or her people.
The Storm Lord or Scorch King perhaps?
11280477
You pretty much got it down to the point.
Though to be more specific, Turmoil's aspects draw out their "victims" base turmoils that torment them, breaking them in the process, and then have them embrace it.
Chrysalis is content now, but eventually, she'll discover how truly free she actually is.
As long as the rest of Turmoil's essences aren't returned, Doubt will remain incorporeal. However, he's still able to use Turmoil's husk to manipulate what's within the Everfree Forest, but in its weakened state, it takes a very long time.
Smolder is currently at Griffinstone, so she's gonna be spared whatever happens in Dragon Lands... That being said, she's not gonna be exactly safe.
Take Storm King and Scourgelord, and think of a rock band name. XD