Chapter 58: Breaker of Boundries
Happy anniversary everybody, as today's year 2 of the release of Turmoil Rising. 
“Zecora… Zecora…” The country pony gently shook the sleeping zebra.
She groaned. “Applejack, what-“
The orange pony’s hoof came over her mouth and shut her. “Don’t speak. Somethin’ real strange is happenin’ Zecora. Ya better come see.”
She dragged the shaman away, over to the edge of their cover, to see what was happening. From the hole where they had fallen through, dragons were coming in one after another dipping rocks into the pool of glowing green substance and then flying off.
“They’ve been doin’ this for who knows how long now, they just keep coming going doing the same shtick,” the country pony explained.
The shaman rubbed her head and looked about. “How long was I out? Shouldn’t our archeologist’s friends be here and help about?”
“That’s the thing - Ah think Miss Windsdale disappeared, Zecora. I looked for her when the dragons started coming up and I couldn’t find her. Ya don’ think they did something to her, do ya?”
She honestly couldn’t tell. The unicorn mare seemed earnest enough when they first met her, and her reactions didn’t seem very out of place. What seemed out of place, or rather, what caught her attention, was what the dragons were making: The strange bright rocks that they were dipping into the green substance transformed into a jagged black formation. She’s seen this happen before!
“Applejack, my friend, I fear trouble awaits. Those may not be dragons, which means we'll be in dire straits.”
“Huh? What are you talking about, Zecora?”
“Do you recall not long ago, when the Princess told you of the night we had to forego?”
“The experiments you mean? What about them?”
“Of the night before, what the dragons are doing is the fruit that they bore.”
“Wait, you mean the rocks transformed into whatever they’re handling? But why would you say they’re not dragons?”
“The rocks are designed to negate magic, except for one. Who do you think would benefit from leaving the rest with none, while they have all the fun?”
Applejack thought for a moment, finally gasping with realization. “The changelings…”
Zecora nodded. “Now that we know of that fact, could that explain Windsdale’s vanishing act?”
“Wait… you don’t mean that she was really-?!”
“The Changeling Queen? Up until now, it would have been unforeseen.”
“But… if that’s the case, it still doesn’t explain who she was talkin’ to. Mah vision may have been a bit foggy, but Ah swear Ah saw nopony around when she was talking in the thin air.”
Zecora thought for a bit, then reached for her saddlebags and pulled out a small bottle containing black liquid, the pony knowing fully well what it was.
“Wait, Zecora, what are ya gonna do with that?” the country mare asked.
“My mind has been dealing with the problem of thought, one that I simply could not have forgot. Back at the Jagger Ridge when you were freed, you said Grogar mentioned a shadow wisp, indeed. Since then, each time I imbibe this broth, I think as I stare into the froth: Through whose eyes I've gazed? Not razed by sleep or lack of rest, nor the world which might put it to the test, the source of this sight was granted to me, by a seed plucked from Turmoil’s tree.”
“Ya mean to tell me that whatever Miss Windsda- I mean Chrysalis, was talking to was… whatever you’re seeing though when you drink this potion?”
The shaman nodded. “If it's true, the shadow I must follow, and keep in view. The Queen will likely then appear anew.”
“Wait, Zecora, considerin’ the company that’s not far from here, don’cya think we might attract attention?”
The zebra rummaged through her saddlebag and pulled out a chalk, drawing circles on the ground. “It may be true, but alas we must follow through.”
She sat down in the center and calmed herself, preparing for the unpleasantness she knew would soon follow. She opened the bottle and took a sip of the vile brew. The feeling of regurgitation came up and trying to keep it down, blackness began to bubble up in front of her eyes, and finally, all her senses went dark.
The bright light of the sun suddenly blinded her. She was by Torch’s mountain, where the airship landed. No, not on the ground, in the air, she was overlooking the whole place from high above the mountain’s peak. And she saw it happen as she looked around: The dragons were swarming the mountain, placing large black rocks all around it, so many there were that the mountain itself was starting to turn black in places. They were all coming from the base of a cliffside not far from it, yet they flew past it, toward the giant volcano-shaped mountain with a face, only to come back out and gather around the Broken Hollow. She understood now where the dragons were coming from, but what were they trying to achieve?
Suddenly she could hear a loud buzzing sound in the air, drawing closer. That’s when she suddenly spotted a black shape flying closer - the Queen of Changelings finally came beside her.
“It’s done,” she said. “I tried to salvage as much as I could, but the rest have imbued the pumice with lifeblood. Princess Twilight and her friends will be stuck inside the cave for a while, and with Dragon Lord’s dad indisposed, it should buy us enough time.”
“Well done, Broodmother,” Zecora’s distorted voice spoke. “It's unfortunate this beneficial venture had to come to an end, but sometimes, great sacrifices have to be made.”
“I’m not bothered about a few rocks, Doubt.” The bug creature stared below.
“And yet, something troubles you?”
“To leave so many changelings behind… This is the third time that happened - first Canterlot, then Crystal Empire, and now this.” There was a noticeable sober tone in her voice.
“Another needed sacrifice. Besides, you’re the Broodmother, you can always make more of them to serve us-“
“They’re MY children!” she erupted right in its face. “And nobody gets to command my changelings but ME! UNDERSTAND?!”
The tension lingered in the air after that outburst, yet it soon dispersed as her voice spoke again. “Point taken. Now, lets us go north.”
With that, the gaze turned away from the events playing out below and flew in the aforementioned direction at high speed, the buzzing sound not far, indicating that the changeling queen was close by.
“Still, this doesn’t make sense,” the queen questioned, “how did the fragment end up in Griffinstone when you said that it was in Dragon Lands this whole time?”
“It was moved, that’s how,” the voice elaborated. “Anger is an unstoppable force of destruction. There is no way it could’ve been just pacified unless somebody was aware of lifeblood’s unique property. That explains why the “Ol’ Rager” was empty, and the double bottom that separated the pool. And your confirmation of feathers found in the layer is proof that the griffin had something to do with it.”
“In other words, the ponies were close to figuring it out as well, so we had to slow them down because they’ll likely be able to get there before us. Am I following this?”
The vision jiggled up and down in acknowledgment. “But even if we find it, there’s still a problem…”
“What?”
“The Devourer…” There was a noticeable tone of anger in the vision’s owner now. “We may be able to find the object in which Anger is contained, but without him, we can’t liberate it…
“Great…” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “All because he got too greedy. He could be on the other side of the world now of all we know. What do we do?”
“One thing at a time, Broodmother. One thing at a time…” And with those words, the vision began to blur, until it all went dark.
“Zecora… Zecora… ZECORA!” the county pony called out to her as she was holding her up with her hooves as she regained consciousness. “There ya are. Ya feelin’ okay?” The shaman nodded in response. “Good. Tell me, what did ya see?”
The zebra rubbed her head. “‘There is too much to process in one sitting. The truth is, Princess Twilight’s situation, and ours, is fitting.”
“Come again?” Applejack raised her eyebrow. “She’s trapped?”
Zecora nodded. “What the so-called dragons are doing, is taking their product to the mountain for reviewing. The Queen will get away without anyone pursuing.”
“What about Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy? Where were they?” the pony asked, to which she shook her head. “Oh, that’s just lovely… Chrysalis is out there doing whatever bad thing she’s planning, and none of us can stop her – those three are at the beach, too far away to see what’s going on, while Twilight’s group and the two of us are trapped here…” She sat down and pulled her hat over her head.
“Dear Applejack, do not rue, the latter is not entirely true,” Zecora corrected her.
The other mare gave her a confused look. “What are ya talkin’ about? We got no way out of here, especially not with those dragons over yonder.”
The zebra went back to rummage through her saddlebag again, eventually pulling out a completely red bottle. “Do you recall when you first encountered the horde, and to find a way home you implored?”
“Yeah, actually I wondered about that. You got us out but you were all weird and… ghostly-like. What was with you?”
“There is a potion that I was taught to make, that makes the user’s physical boundaries break. One cannot interact with the world around, but absolute freedom to go anywhere is abound. The only flaw it has is that you leave a piece of yourself behind, so you return to the place where body and mind were twined. And in the position we’re in, a ruckus will make our troubles begin.”
“Then let's use it, and while I keep the changelings distracted, ya can go and find a way to get Twilight out.”
“The problem is, this last bottle is all there is,” the shaman dashed her idea. “Whoever is left behind, guard duty will be assigned, lest the halves are not ever realigned.”
“I see… In that case, you better start drinking.”
“Me?” Zecora was surprised. “But the rest of the Elements-“
“Look Zecora, ya already used this potion before so you know already how to make it work around it, not to mention, after what you just saw you already have a basic idea of what’s going on out there, so you’re best equipped to go out there instead of me.”
“‘I must protest,” she argued, “I’ll have no rest if the changelings’ wrath catches up to the rest!”
“And who’s gonna keep ya from harm in either case?” Applejack countered. “I’ll stay behind. There’re so many tunnels underground here that I can avoid them. I’ll keep an eye on ya. Just make sure to get Twilight out, okay?”
Zecora smiled and nodded. “I’m thankful for your trust in me, I’ll see to it your life will return, I guarantee.”
She dropped the bottle and it crashed on the ground. Bright blue vapors erupted from it, completely enveloping the shaman. Just as that happened, the country pony heard the sounds coming from not far; it seemed that the “dragons” took notice of a sudden sound of breaking glass, and they decided to go investigate it. A cold sweat washed over her as she didn’t know what to do, she couldn’t just bolt and leave Zecora behind, but she also didn’t know what she was supposed to do about her at the moment. Just then, a stream shot out of the cloud – it was the zebra, in the aforementioned spectral form, lighting up the surroundings. She turned to the Element of Honesty, gave her a wink, and then dashed off in the direction of the incoming disturbance. She came in view of the imitating dragons, and at the first sight of her they tried to snap at her, yet she managed to get past them without success as she moved too swiftly. They all went after her, trying to get her, and by the time she finally got out of the giant maw of the Ol’ Rager, they all gave up, leaving the equine specter to do as she pleased. Back in the cave, Applejack sighed in relief, as Zecora’s departure diverted everybody’s attention. Now she had a chance to find a more secluded place until she got back, but she still had to take care of what she left behind: Her saddlebags and a collection of glimmering light outlining her original shape. She touched it, discovering it felt sort of warm and squishy, yet tangible enough to grasp. She grabbed hold of the shaman’s outline and dragged her away from her current position, relocating into a nearby tunnel.
“Good luck, Zecora.”
“Please, turn it down a bit, dearies!” the fashionista complained. “It’s so hot I’m sweating like a pig!”
“We don’t have time for one of your moments, Rarity!” Ember yelled. “Spike, blow harder!”
Trapped within the Broken Hollow, the two ponies and dragons were well aware of their predicament and what was at stake. With the entire mountain surrounded by the changeling’s magic-negation rocks, neither the two Elements of Harmony were unable to use their abilities, and as such, the task of escaping fell upon the princess’ companion and the Dragon Lord. The two dragons blew their fire at the spikey rocks that were blocking the only exit, they have been for a while, and yet their progress was close to nothing: It took them a while to break even one rock, while several more blocked their way, and even then, they could still hear the sound of even more rocks being piled up.
“Ah… I… I da… I don’t think I ca… can do it anymore…” Spike gasped for breath, coughing as he tried to blow one more time, before collapsing on his back.
“I still can’t believe was prepared for this,” the blue dragon paused. “This whole time Chrysalis was operating in my domain, and I didn’t notice anything.”
“I’m more concerned as to how far she’s prepared to take all of this,” the purple mare said.
“Wh… wha… what do you me… mean, Twilight…?” Spike inquired.
“As we speak, Queen Chrysalis is on her way to Griffinstone, and she left her soldiers to keep us trapped here. Just like it happened at the Crystal Empire, she’s sacrificing them all to her ends,” she elaborated. “You’d think after her grand speech she’d be more reserved, and yet she’s doing this? How many more is she willing to sacrifice to get what she wants?”
“Well, those sacrifices of hers are certainly doing their job,” Rarity stated. “Who knows how long will it take before somecreature out there saves us.”
“Considering that they can basically just turn into dragons, it may be a while,” the Dragon Lord responded. “Nobody but you guys and dad know we’re here…” She halted herself after saying that. “It’s strange though… With all the racket that the changelings are making out there, you’d think dad would’ve already heard the commotion and come to save us.”
Ember’s words were true: Nobody could’ve been able to just ignore the noise, not this close to home; they could still hear it and they were under a pile of rocks now. But that same noise started to get louder all of a sudden, and little by little they could see light from the outside breaking through the cracks.
“Aha! Speak of the dragon!” Ember grinned. “Dad!”
The rocks that were blocking the exit were being moved away, until finally one of the frontal ones was moved, creating a ray of light that broke through the darkness. And from the blinding light of the setting sun, a silhouette could be seen. No, not of former Dragon Lord Torch. It was small and had a long mane.
“Oh dear, is everypony okay?”
The princess recognized the voice. “Fluttershy?!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaand frieeeeeeeends!”
More silhouettes popped up, one belonging to the screaming party planner, the second to the wonderbolt, and the third… they couldn’t tell. They didn’t wait around, as the two dragons quickly flew out of the opening and then helped the two ponies out. And in the skies above the mountain, they saw dragons fighting dragons, some of them getting swatted out of the sky and crashing to the ground before reverting to their original changeling forms.
“Don’t worry, we’re dealing with the sussy ones. From here, to Ol’ Rager, and all the way to their hideout, they’re not gonna be up in the air for much longer,” the voice spoke, one that belonged to the red dragon that was standing with the other three ponies.
“Garble?” Spike reacted. “Didn’t expect you here.”
“Trust me, you weren’t the only one,” Rainbow Dash made a snarky comment.
Rarity grimaced in disgust. “What’s HE doing here?”
“We met him,” the shy pegasus explained. “Without his help, we’d be caught by the changelings, and he was the one that called the dragons to get rid of them. He helped us a lot, right Rainbow Dash?” She was waiting for the reply and then noticed that the blue flier was trying to hold back and sort of excitement. “Dash!”
She groaned. “Yeah…”
“That can wait!” Twilight jumped in. “Everypony, I’m glad you came to our rescues, but we’ve got an even bigger problem!”
“Hold up!” Ember interrupted. “Where’s former Dragon Lord Torch?”
Garble shrugged. “I dunno. Shouldn’t he be in his cave on the mountaintop?”
“With this much racket outside, next to his home? He’d have heard something was off and come running and then wonder why dragons were putting rocks on his house and over the Broken Hollow. I’m going to check up on him.” The Dragon Lord opened her wings and flew upwards.
“Anyway, before I got interrupted,” Twilight resumed, “we’ve got a problem.”
“You mean the one where Queen Chrysalis found out that you discovered that Turmoil’s missing piece is in Griffinstone, so she sent all of her undercover workers to lock you up to buy time to get there before everypony else?” Pinkie Pie blurted everything out. “Yeah, we know about it already.”
Both the princess and the fashionista’s expressions turned to surprise, yet only the latter responded. “You… you do? But… but how?”
“Let’s just say somepony else was already aware of it,” the shy pegasus answered.
“Look at them swarm,” Pinkie Pie said as she looked in the distance with her binoculars.
She, Rainbow dash, Fluttershy, and their dragon companion Garble were standing outside the rocky tent not far from Torch’s mountain, and the former could see the dragons flying about the mountain, depositing large black rocks around it.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Fluttershy asked. “Twilight, Ember, and Spike are probably trapped inside.”
“Fat much we can do, considering the progress they’ve already made.” Discord slouched on the edge of his fanny pack.
“And as much as I’d want to take on all those dragon-changelings all by myself, I don’t think I’m fit just yet,” Rainbow Dash commented before noticing that the red dragon next to them was trying to nibble on the crystal they had found. “Garble, no!”
He grumbled, putting it away.
“I think I’m seeing something other than dragons coming this way,” the party planner pointed out.
Pinkie Pie could see a long streak of flying beasts traveling in a triangular direction from the hideout, to the distant mountain face, to Torch’s home and once again back to the hideout to resupply. Now though she saw an oddity: A bright light was approaching the direction of the Ol’ Rager, and when it got to the Broken Hollow it tried to get through the main entrance, which was now blocked off by the black rocks, and it just bounced off them.
“What is that thing?” the wonderbolt asked.
“It looks like a glow-in-the-dark zebra,” Pinkie Pie commented.
“A zebra?!” both pegasi reacted.
But the red dragon was clueless. “What’s a zebra?”
“We need to get her attention!” the draconequus suggested.
“Way ahead of you!” the pink pony said, pulling out her party cannon, and shooting fireworks in the sky, making the flashing lights turn into an arrow and pointing downwards, saying “WE ARE HERE!” with her face on it.
“You know, that’s a pretty good way to blow our cover,” Garble said.
“But it worked! Look!”
The light that was in the distance began approaching. The Element of Laughter spoke the truth, as they saw her in this form once before.
The shaman’s ethereal form stopped several hooves away. “I had nearly given up hope. I’m glad I do not have to mope.”
Pinkie Pie smiled. “You’re looking as light-footed as ever, Zecora.”
“I could go for a mile if my message was not so hostile,” she gave a serious response.
“Are we to assume it has something to do with the dragon triangle?” Discord asked.
“Is that thing a zebra?” the red dragon interrupted them.
“Yes, Garble, now shush!” the wonderbolt shot him down. “Zecora, all these dragons are changelings! They’ve been gathering ocean rock that they’re now taking to where you and AJ went, only to then deliver it to where Twilight, Ember, and Spike are!”
“Then just like me, through the rouse, you’ve seen. They’ve been commanded to act as a deterrent by the changeling queen.”
“We know!” all five of them said in unison.
“I see…" the shaman was taken aback for a moment. "Then you’re on the same page as me.”
“Except we’ve no idea where she’s gone now," Fluttershy spoke
“That, to me is not unknown. She's gone towards Griffinstone.”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Griffinstone? Why would she go there?”
“It's too long a tale to proclaim, but the short answer is, she knows where her prize to claim.”
“Wait… The students from Twilight’s school are in Griffinstone right now!” the wonderbolt came to the realization.
“And we’ve no way to want Trixie and Sunburst!”
The blue pegasus groaned. “Curse my condition. Could’ve been there and back already.”
“Miss Rainbow Dash, if that’s the case, let me take your place,” Zecora said.
“You? But you’re not a flier, what can you do?”
“Currently, I'm not bound by physical limitation. I'll get there and back, without hesitation. You make sure to free the princess and the rest, and grab Applejack at the cave, I suggest.”
“She left for Griffinstone?! On her own?!” the alicorn panicked.
“Chill, Twilight,” the blue pegasus calmed her. “As it was said, she’s just going to warn Trixie and Sunburst. To make sure the students are protected.”
“That reminds me, Rainbow Dash, what about that mare over there?” Rarity inquired.
Not far away, leaning against a large rock was a dark purple teal-maned unicorn with glasses, holding her head as if she had a migraine.
“One of Chrysalis’ victims,” Fluttershy explained when all of a sudden Discord popped out of his fanny pack. “We found her where she had her rocks stored and we freed her. The zebra mentioned that it’s probably because she used the cover to excavate for clues over by the “mouth volcano” so if a dragon came snooping about she’d have an excuse. I’m a bit doubtful about that.”
“Why?” the carrier asked.
“She could’ve just turned into a dragon and none would be the wiser. Why change into a pony from a high-profile expedition and risk her cover being blown if somebody started asking questions?”
Speaking of the said expedition, it came their way. A group of ponies was approaching, with an elderly greying unicorn stallion at the head of them.
“Good to see you came this way,” the wonderbolt said.
“When I heard that one of my expedition members went missing I had to go and check it out, this never happened before.” The old unicorn went closer to the much younger mare. “Miss Windsdale, are you alright? What happened?”
“I… I’m not sure, Proctor Nightbliss,” she tried to recall. “All I remember was that I went to take a break after the meteor examination sometime in the afternoon… and after that, it goes blank.”
“Do you recall which examination it was?” the senior asked.
“I think it was… number 35.”
“35?” Nightbliss rubbed his chin. “Considering we just finished with examination number 44 and we take examinations five times daily… Miss Windsdale, you’ve been gone for nearly two days!”
“But Proctor Nightbliss, that’s not possible,” one of the other expedition members protested. “Windsdale was with me during the examination yesterday.”
“Same here,” another answered.
“Me as well,” spoke the third. “I only didn’t notice her during the last one we had and she should’ve been there.” He took a purple heat-resistant suit out of his saddlebag. “I found this behind one of the pillars, not far away from the base camp and the excavation site – it belongs to her, it’s been custom designed since she loves purple color. I know she is tidy, so I assumed something must’ve happened to her if it was just laying around.”
“Are you sure that suit belongs to this one?”
Everybody presents turned their gaze in the direction of the voice. Garble was the one who uttered.
“Garble, what do you mean?” Twilight wondered.
“Well… it’s just that, some time ago when I went to check on the weirdo dragons that were partying on the beach, I flew past the meteor excavation, and I saw the pony wearing this suit. But the one who wore it definitely wasn’t her.” He pointed at the other purple mare.
“Really?” the expedition leader wondered. “What did this pony look like?”
“Let’s see… erm, she was a horned one, she was white, and she had green hair… that’s about all I remember.”
“Well, nopony from our expedition has those features. See for yourselves.”
The proctor spoke the truth. Out of all the ponies present, none of them matched the description he mentioned.
Then the princess stepped closer to him, with a serious expression on her face. “Garble, tell me something and I need you to be certain of it: Did that unicorn have a pink streak in her mane?”
“Y… yeah, I think she did. Why?”
The dread on the alicorn’s face became noticeable, and as she turned her head to the rest of the group, so did the realization of everybody in the group present, but especially draconequus. “She… she was here?”
“Princess Twilight, do you know this mare that was described?” proctor Nightbliss inquired.
The situation became unpleasant. Yes, they knew the mare in question, but they didn’t tell anyone about her. They had hoped to encounter her again when they met Grogar again, but they didn’t expect that she would go out in the open to do the sorcerer ram’s deed. And now they were put in an awkward position where they would have to explain who she was…
“DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!”
The sudden cry of terror echoed across the sky and it garnered everybody’s attention. Under her breath, Twilight sighed in relief that things got derailed at the last moment, yet it puzzled her to whom it belonged.
“It’s Ember!” Spike yelled. “Something’s happened!”
“Everypony, get to the airship, quick!” Twilight ordered, before turning back to the institute members. “I’m sorry for cutting it short like this, but I fear duty calls. I’ll leave miss Windsdale in your capable hands.” And she dashed off, leaving proctor Nightbliss to look after his missing member.
The group quickly got back to the airship, now fully patched, with a noticeably improved blimp design, as the rainbow colors spun to the side, eventually coming together at the very tip.
“Looking great there, Rarity,” Pinkie Pie complimented her work.
“Thank you, Pinkie. I just need to add one last finishing touch on-“
“No time! We have to go!” Rainbow Dash bumped in.
“What?! No! My design’s not finished!” the fashionista whined.
“Ember’s in trouble, Rarity! Priorities!” the alicorn urged.
The unicorn’s lip wobbled as she reluctantly climbed onboard. The engines rumbled and soon the vessel took off moving higher toward the peak where the former Dragon Lord’s lair was.
It was late afternoon in the griffin capital, though nobody could tell from the storm clouds that surrounded the mountain peaks. Gilda just pulled some freshly baked scones out of the oven, thinking that perhaps, despite all that was happening, somebody was bound to be hungry.
“I’ve got a fresh batch if anyone wants.”
The atmosphere in her living room could only be described as depressing, the way the two faculty members of Twilight’s School of Friendship, and two of its students were acting. And for a good reason: Not only was the Storm King outside raining bolts on anybody that was trying to get away from his ear drum-destroying music, not only did Grogar bring the arimaspi that was responsible for the town’s decline back to life, and not only did Lord Tirek return but also because four out of six of the exchange students had disappeared.
Gabby was the only one that showed any enthusiasm. “I’ll have one.” She reached out for it.
The other griffin offered one to the school’s staff, and surprisingly, the stallion wasn’t so far off as to decline the offer as he levitated his scone closer to take a bite. “You want a bit?” he offered to the mare next to him.
“The Great and Powerful School Consular Trixie does not have the stomach for it right now,” she answered with her face buried in her hooves.
“Yona does not have the stomach for it either,” the yak said in a downed tone, as the younger pony leaned against her.
“Trixie, you haven’t eaten anything since we got up in the morning,” the scruffy-maned pony urged. “Moping about it won’t change our situation. Even if we can’t get out of Griffinstone, I’m sure somepony or somecreature will eventually discover something’s off and they’ll come to our rescue.”
“That’s what worries me most, Sunburst,” the blue unicorn finally gave him a look of despair. “Because things will turn ugly the moment it’s discovered we just lost more than half of our students. Because if Starlight doesn’t kill us for it, other kingdoms will! She told me that the last time the students disappeared it nearly started a war!”
“Yeah… Yona sorry about that,” the yak apologized.
“But it all ended up fixing itself,” Sandbar pointed out.
“Well this won’t fix itself, Sandbar,” the older pony darted her eyes at him. “The only way for us to actually try and find Grandpa Gruff and Gallus was taken for us by the three students that can fly, and I wonder if they’ll even survive the descent into Abysmal Abyss. We’ve no hope!”
“Surely there’s got to be somecreatue that can help us.”
“Unlikely. Because unless that creature is as swift as the wind and immune to lightning, that’s not going to happen.” Trixie slumped back on the armchair.
“Swift as the wind and untouched by the lightning rain? It’s a good thing I came through to see you’re in pain.”
They all suddenly realized that that voice belonged to none of them and it came right out the doorway. They all noticed a strange spectral-like being that resembled a familiar striped non-pony equine.
“Zecora?!” Sunburst dropped his scone.
“What are you doing here?!” Trixie inquired. “And why do you look like that…? Oh no… Don’t tell me you were on the way to Griffinstone on foot and got struck by lightning and now you’re a ghost?!”
The two students screamed and quickly hid behind the sofa.
“I assure you,” the zebra put an end to that idea quickly, “I'm well and hale. I came this way to warn you of a perilous detail, lest harm on Princess Twilight prevail.”
“Wait… Twilight? Twilight’s coming this way?!” Sunburst jumped on his hooves.
The shaman nodded. “Although the storm outside I did not foresee, and why is its King striking at you all with glee?”
The ship stopped by the mouth of the entrance and they quickly disembarked, as they heard pleading cries coming from within, but they didn’t have to get far to see the drama playing out.
The bloodstone scepter lay on the ground, while its owner was flying about the significantly bigger dragon’s head, desperately trying to get him to respond. “Dad! Dad, please say something! It’s me! Ember!” She heard the sound of hooves behind her and took notice of them. “Twilight, something’s wrong with my dad! He’s just sitting there and not moving! I punched him, kicked him, belched fire in his face, and he just won’t react! What’s with him?!”
Twilight took off and flew closer, looking about for abnormalities, only to find none on Torch’s body. As he got to the head though, she noticed a strangely blank expression on his face, along with green eyes, and she was sure that he didn’t have them before. She recognized the symptoms, there was only one creature she knew that could’ve caused this affliction.
“Ember, I fear Chrysalis may have gotten hold of your father,” she answered.
“What?! What does that mean?!” the blue dragon desperately wanted to know.
“I know these symptoms,” the alicorn elaborated. “Chrysalis has the power to manipulate one’s love and desire, putting his victim under mind control. I know this because she did it to my brother when he was going to wed Princess Cadence. She kidnapped her and then disguised herself as the bride, taking complete control over Shining Armor.”
“Then do something!” Ember urged. “Use your magic to cure him!”
“I’m sorry, Ember, but it’s not that easy.” She shook her head. “Queen Chrysalis’ magic is really powerful, and I’m not well equipped in dealing with love-related spells; that’s Cadence’s field of expertise… and sadly, she’s at Crystal Empire, dealing with her own problems.”
“But we can’t just leave my dad like this!” the dragon protested.
“Well, the only other option I can think of would be to get Chrysalis to remove the spell herself.”
When she made the following suggestion, the Dragon Lord quickly lept off the bigger dragon’s face and picked up the bloodstone scepter again. “Then we have all the more reason to go after the giant bug thing! We’re gonna catch her and bring her back to undo what she did!”
“You heard the Dragon Lord! Everybody back on board!” the red dragon commanded.
“You’re not going anywhere, Garble,” the blue one stopped him.
“What? Why?”
“This is a dangerous mission and I don’t want any more participants than we already do.”
“But-“
“That’s an ORDER, Garble!” She pushed past him onto the airship. “Now, let’s go! The longer we take, the further that oversized bug thing will get!”
“Ember, we can’t go after her yet,” Rainbow Dash halted her.
“Why not?”
“There’s still three-quarters of a pair that we need to collect,” Pinkie Pie informed her.
Across the cloudy sky, the imagery of the zebra ran undeterred. She did what she could. She only hoped that her preemptive warning would help prevent even further misfortune that nobody had expected. There was a sudden buzzing sound, it was fast approaching her way, and for a split second, Zecora swore that she saw a black shape at her side, only to have the sound slowly die down as she continued to travel. It was her! The Queen of Changelings! They nearly collided, but it appeared that, much like her, she was in a hurry. Hopefully, she didn’t notice her. She resumed her trail and she began seeing Dragon Lands in the distance. She had to get back to the Ol’ Rager and return to her physical form, however, she quickly realized a strange force pulling her. That’s when she spotted the pony airship fast approaching her, only for the pull to grow stronger. She realized now that the Elements of Harmony managed to get together again, meaning she was there as well. She dashed for the vessel and squeezed through the keyhole to the room where everybody was gathered.
“Zecora!” they all yelled in surprise at seeing her.
Noticing Applejack was still holding onto her leftover, she quickly dashed off to its spot and rematerialized.
“There’s mah zebra parent!” the country mare hugged her. “Told ya I’d take good care of ya.”
“I’m glad to be back in my frame,” shaman expressed her gratitude before her expression turned serious, “alas, I bring dire news I must now proclaim.”
“What? What is it, Zecora? What did you see on your journey?” Rarity inquired.
Twilight leaned back on the comfy armchair, rubbing her head. “Let me get this straight: Griffinstone is under siege by the Storm King, who has turned into a giant talking cloud, and to top it off, Tirek apparently joined the gang, and he and Grogar are there as well, and the latter resurrected the arimaspi that destroyed the city to do his bidding. So now, not only do we have to worry about Chrysalis getting there and putting the residents in danger, she won’t have to do a thing because EVERYCREATUE there is already in danger! And to top it off, more the half of the students from my school went missing! Not to mention that Gusty was apparently in Dragon Lands, doing whatever her “partner” ordered her to do. I mean, is there anything else that could possibly go wrong today?!” Nobody dared to say a word… and yet the pink puffy one was raising her hoof, waving it. “What, Pinkie Pie?”
“I know the elephant never forgets, but I forgot what the elephant remembered.”
And an awkward silence followed.
“Pinkie, what’s the point that you were trying to make?” Rainbow Dash wondered.
“I know there was something important but I can’t remember what it was. Does anyone else think there was something extra important? It’s like on the tip of my tongue.” She grabbed her tongue and pulled it out of her mouth to take a close look at it. “Nof, nof fere.”
“While miss Pie looks for the missing thought, there is one thing that I would not have forgot,” Zecora spoke again.
She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out the jar containing the living grey ooze.
“Oh yeah, that thing,” the Element of Honesty remembered, “with all, that’s been happening Ah forgot that this was a low priority so it kinda slipped my mind. When we fell into the giant green pool inside the Ol’ Rager we discovered some feather’s that were stuck between the layers of the false bottom. That thing that Zecora and Dash said happened way back at the Frozen North occurred and the blob went weird. Ah think it absorbed one of the feathers.”
“Wait, you mean like what happened when we found what was left of Radiant Hope?” the blue pegasus wondered.
“Probably. It changed color again and then went still. And when we revived it using the green water it came back to life.”
Fluttershy looked at it up close, seeing the amalgamation containing a single spark of light turning about, letting out a rather noticeable whining noise. “It seems so… helpless… so vulnerable.”
“Trust me, Fluttershy, it’s anything but that. When it came back to life it acted all passive, and then all of a sudden it charged at miss Windsdale, and acted all whiny when we put it back in the jar.” Suddenly Applejack went quiet, thinking really hard as if she’s come to a sudden realization. “Ya know, now that I think about it, considerin’ that Windsdale that we met was actually Chrysalis this whole time it would explain why it was so desperate to get to it. It knew it was her this whole time.”
“Chrysalis…” an angry snarl escaped from Ember, as well as a puff of flame.
“Calm down, Ember darling, no need for you to start getting aggravated at the moment like this,” the fashionista tried to calm her, before turning her attention to the discussion. “Anyway, that still doesn’t explain why this… thing, had such a reaction. I mean, to whom did those feathers belong anyway?”
“I can make a good guess, Rarity,” Twilight quickly answered. “There’s only ONE feathered creature that was in Dragon Lands, and we know for sure that he went to where the Turmoil’s missing fragment was.”
“You mean King Grover?” Spike answered with a question.
“Exactly. From our extensive look at the memory crystals, we know now that King Grover and Dragon Lord Obsidian were friends. Grover somehow managed to stop the fragment and imprisoned it inside the Idol of Boreas, and we know he didn’t get out of it unscathed. Those feathers you and Zecora found, Applejack, were probably his.”
“But why did that happen?” Fluttershy asked. “Why did the blob absorb one of his feathers? Why did it turn non-violent after that?”
That was a question they didn’t know. Throughout the entire discussion, the only one that was completely absent from it was the party planner. She was desperately trying to recall something important, and yet she couldn’t concentrate from the constant talking about blobs, griffins, Dragon Lords, and memory crystals…
“I KNOW WHAT THE ELEPHANT REMEMBERED!” she raised her voice, grabbing everybody’s attention.
“Pinkie, what are you talking about?” The wonderbolt raised her eyebrow.
The pink pony simply trot across the room to a closet and opened it. A pile of clothing instantly tumbled out, only for it to suddenly start moving. A moment later a red-scaled dragon crawled out, giving everybody an awkward toothy smile.
“Garble?! How did you get here? We thought we left you back in Dragon Lands,” Rarity questioned, only for Applejack to butt in. “How did you even get back on the ship?”
The Element of Laughter raised her hoof. “Guilty. I snuck him on while nopony was looking. He said he could get me rock candy to give back to Smolder. I thought it would be fitting, considering the circumstances.”
“What circumstances?!” Ember raged. “Grable, I gave you a direct order to stay behind!”
“My little sis is in danger!” he countered, raising back on his feet. “No way am I sitting out of this and letting that oversize bug thing do something to her! Besides you want to get her too, don’t you, Ember?”
“Well we can’t turn back now,” Twilight pointed out. “We’re already behind as is and turning the ship back would take even longer. And considering that things are way worse in Griffinstone than we thought earlier, we’ll have to stay the course.”
The Dragon Lord groaned. “Fine, you can stay. But I’m not taking responsibility if something goes wrong.”
Garble crossed his arms in satisfaction, knowing that he’s outplayed his superior. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Hand it over, Garble,” Pinkie ordered.
He frowned. “What?”
“You know what I’m talking about. You were told to keep it safe and not even think about nibbling on it.”
The red dragon rolled his eyes and reached into the pile of clothing, pulling a dark purple crystal out of it. The moment it came into view it got pulled out of its grip. Surrounded by the princess’ aura she levitated it to her face, examining it up close.
“But that’s… Garble, where did you find this?” she asked, scarcely able to believe what she was holding.
“Oh yeah, funny story about that one,” Rainbow dash chuckled. “When we were fleeing the changelings, we took refuge inside the remains of what looked like a stone tent that’s been covered by rubble. We only discovered it because the REAL miss Windsdale, who was with us at the time, accidentally sat on it. We saw what it looked like and we thought you three would be able to find something about it, Twilight.”
“But why would this memory crystal be hidden outside the Broken Hollow?” the little purple dragon wanted to know.
The alicorn shrugged. “Guess we’re about to find out. Ember.”
Ember picked up the bloodstone scepter that lay nearby and slowly approached, but not before darting her gaze at Garble, making him flinch. “I swear, if I find even one chip on it, I swear I’m gonna-!”
“Relax, Ember,” the princess immediately diffused the situation, “there’s not a crack on it, it’s whole.”
“Alright then. Let’s see what our last Dragon Lord had to say.” The blue dragon reached out with her scepter and touched the crystal, making it light up.
It was raining, and the raindrops could clearly be seen. The image of Dragon Lord Obsidian was present, clutching onto the memory crystal, lying in a fetal position inside a makeshift tent made of two large slabs of stone, one that was too small for him to fit in the whole. He was crying.
“Mother… I failed you… You were right… Without guidance, the whelps would succumb to our nature… I couldn’t act to the disaster fast enough… After the calamity was removed I tried so hard to find all the hatchlings that have become orphaned… And I was too late… Little Scales… Sweet, innocent little Scales… I had given her all the kindness and love I could… And she betrayed that kindness… In front of everybody she struck at me and took the bloodstone scepter for herself, declaring herself the new Dragon Lord… It’s all coming apart now… Other younger dragons are beginning to wonder. Wonder if being strong is all that takes to become the Dragon Lord… They’re going to strike at her, Mother… They’re going to do to her what she did to me to take power for themselves, and then the cycle will continue…” After prolonged sobbing, he finally went quiet, getting a serious look. “Mother… I may have failed as the Dragon Lord, but you… The love and care that you had given us, taught us to nurture... That knowledge must not be forgotten. Your legacy must not end with me. I swear… I will do what needs to be done… For your love for us…”
And the vision ended. Deathly silence hung in the room. Nobody could find proper words to speak after witnessing what they did. The only sound they could hear was the rumbling of thunder in the distance – one that would soon grow louder.
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So the tale Smolder told at that Hearthwarming episode was true.
Dang. I was really hoping that Tirek was Gluttony.
11522885
I mean I didn't see the reason why wouldn't it be, otherwise where did the story come from?
11522949
Why Gluttony?
11524525
The Devourer? It sums up his character pretty succulently if you weren't going to use Chrysalis who also has a appetite.
It's also more prevalent than anger in Tirek, which doesn't show up as much in comparison.
Plus it allows Cozy Glow to be Anger and few things characterize her more than the contempt she has for others.
Some of her best lines are just her insulting other people, and it would be great to have that be related to her element.
I understand that this time Chrysalis left all the changelings that she had to fend for herself?
Of course, we as readers can assume that she cares about their fate, but now on the changeling side, they have valid reasons to turn their backs on their queen. It's a shame, probably, to go through the repeated loss of subjects.
11526001
Well, most of those that were in Dragon Lands. There are still those skulking in the Everfree Forest keeping an eye on things, and those that fled back with rocks.
And these are changelings that weren't produced in her artificial hive, she birthed them again after several hundred years, thanks to Turmoil remaking her.
11524540
Problem with Cozy Glow is the same as Storm King's, and it's the fact that not enough screen time was given for proper development. The former is infuriating because she was part of the main series and she exists basically as a SURPRISE!!!!! villain, as was the trend of the last decade. Because when you ask "why does she want all that power? to what end" you will get the same response as for the latter.
Besides, I think Cozy has a lot more than anger going on and that's why I don't see it fit when Tirek has a lot more baggage behind him. We never get an explanation for why she is the way she is, for all we know she's a born sociopathic child.
11526825
True, but that's what fan fiction and head cannon is for.
Yeah, it was a fad there for a while.
I don't mind evil villains who are evil for the sake of power or whatever because that's pretty true to real life and you're a lot more likely to make believable characters that way.
I wouldn't have made the literal child be the driving thrust of that movement after nearly a decade of retroactively making all the series villains woobies, but it is what it is.
Possibly, but I wouldn't sum up her character with Gluttony. That seems to fit less than anger, pride, or fear.
When examining what works with aviators, I generally find that it pays to link them as close to the ball park as possible. That's down to personal taste admittedly, but it's just how I see it.
It wouldn't necessarily rule out her being angry though.