Chapter 65: Connecting the Dots
It shifted nervously. The aberration that’s been trapped inside the jar since the trouble began started off as a perfect reflection of what they were facing: Dark, evil, vile, malevolent, eldritch horror. Now though, it was hardly recognizable: It was now greyer than anything, and it was hardly showing any form of aggression, but definitely signs of fear and concern. And right now, the latter stemmed from a trio of towering forms looking town of it, and their eyes mercilessly judging it… And then a loud snoring sound diverted the gaze of one of the eyes, making them depart.
“So, it changed again then?” Starlight asked, levitating the glass around.
“Pretty much,” Twilight confirmed, then walking off and putting a blanket over Spike, who fell asleep on one of the chairs. “It never left Zecora’s side. And when she and Applejack were in the place where the fragment originally fell and King Grover faced it, it came into contact with something he left behind.”
“And that forced the change. Same as what you mentioned happened in the Frozen North,” Star Swirl stated. “I’m beginning to see a pattern here, Twilight. One that I’m all too familiar with.”
“You mean last time you spoke about how you uncovered the spark of light?”
He nodded. “As I mentioned, when I uncovered it after burying Turmoil’s remains, I fed it the only thing I could: My magic. As I said, it required nourishment to grow, and virtue was that nourishment. I and others – Rockhoof, Mistmane, Mage Meadowbrook, Flash Magnus, and Somnambula, each gave a part of ourselves. Our virtues of sorcery, strength, beauty, healing, bravery, and hope helped the spark grow into a seed that eventually grew into the Tree of Harmony, from which the Elements of Harmony came - your Elements of magic, honesty, generosity, kindness, loyalty, and laughter, which, despite it being gone, you have inherited, as did the six students. And now, the spirit, even while enveloped in Turmoil’s essence, continues to absorb virtue and grow stronger. At first, it was the clarity from Radiant Hope, and now peace from King Grover. Despite things seeming to be grim, there is positive development happening.”
“Yes, but I fear that we’re at a disadvantage regardless of how you look at it. And while we’re on the subject of Radiant Hope, there is another thing that I discovered after you revealed the recent…” the alicorn paused, “unpleasantness of your past, the one that Starlight called “a tell”.”
The wizard gave her a calm, yet serious look, glancing at the headmare who was looking at the jar up close, before turning back. “My tell?”
“The one that distracted you when I mentioned an alicorn princess and a dragon holding another pony. And now I know one was Radiant Bliss, and the other Mother of Dragons, holding Brown Mane – it’s simply too close to be a coincidence. The spirit of Clarity showed us that Fear revealed to Radiant Hope that THIS was the act that ultimately awakened Turmoil, that it felt pain and tried to stop it before it was destroyed.”
“Twilight, what you’re saying makes no sense,” he retorted. “I don’t know why it felt pain, but I don’t see any relation in it trying to destroy all ponykind. Turmoil is a manifestation of evil, of pure darkness that hates everything that is opposite of it and will seek to destroy it.”
“I wonder about that…” the pink mare spoke, the other two looking at her.
“What do you mean, Starlight?” the Element of Magic inquired, only to have the jar brought to their faces.
“This has been confusing me for a while now. The spawn of Turmoil’s essence consumed the spirit of the Tree of Harmony, but it didn’t destroy it. And in the same vein, even though the spirit has become stronger, which by all accounts should mean that the blob that devoured it should’ve been purged because of its very nature, and yet look at it.” She turned the jar around. “Not only is it not the color I remember it being at the start, but its attitude is also completely unrecognizable. It’s almost like Harmony…”
“Changed it?” the old stallion interjected. “That may be, but what are you trying to say, Starlight?”
“Think about it. What if there’s another way around this? What if we don’t have to directly fight Turmoil and we can-”
“Talk to it? Is that what you were going to say?” he interrupted.
“Star Swirl, remember what happened last time when we went through this? When you, the other Pillars, and the Pony of Shadows were released from Limbo? I stated, based on past experience, that the map always guided everypony on a mission to fix a friendship problem. It led us to Hollow Shades where we banished the Pony of Shadows and freed its host. So, the fact that the first thing that the map showed when it reactivated after all these years, was the darkness that lurks just outside, wouldn’t that mean that there is something else to be done?”
The old unicorn sighed. “While I see your point, that is entirely debatable. You’d also have to explain why all the other signs appeared, which happened soon after Turmoil’s servants used its fragment’s powers. Furthermore, when the map had called, it always displayed the cutie marks of those involved in the problem’s resolution. It never showed the usage of power. But what I have to absolutely refuse is the notion that this evil can be reasoned in any way.”
“But you thought the same about Stygian-”
“IT’S NOT THE SAME!” shouted, his voice echoing, and making the sleeping dragon jump from shock. “Stygian was a pony, one of us, and was led astray. What we speak of is an unstoppable force of nature that will not cease until all of us are gone! Do NOT even for a moment try to convince or guilt me into thinking that all-consuming darkness could be reasoned with after my own student sacrificed himself so that we all could live!!!”
Deathly silence fell on the room, Starlight freezing in place with a grimace, a reaction from the unexpected outburst.
“Star Swirl,” Twilight finally broke it, “who are you talking about? Which student?”
After not responding for a bit, he inhaled and exhaled. “Never mind. But to make it a point that I’m right, Twilight, tell me, when you encountered Turmoil’s fragments, have you tried to reason with them in any way?”
“Well… Truth be told, we only ever spoke to Fear, and it wasn’t very eager. All it talked about was wanting for “the pain” to stop before the Storm King freed it.”
The headmare finally unfroze. “Star Swirl, try thinking very hard, have you ever talked or interacted with Turmoil, before when you first saw it?”
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Starlight, that is an oxymoron. But to give a clear answer, no - I never saw Turmoil before it attacked for the first time.”
“But surely there has to be a reason that it apparently hates ponykind? What’s this “pain” that is being referenced?”
He shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, I fear.”
“Ugh, all the shouting will be the end of me,” Spike moaned.
“Sorry about that, Spike,” his elder sibling apologized. “We had a moment of tension.”
“I warn you: Awaking an angry dragon is something you don’t want to see… even if I’m not fully grown yet.” He turned, rolling up in his blanket.
Twilight rolled her eyes at her companion’s attempt to act scary when he was half asleep. She wished she could’ve cracked light-hearted jokes at times like this. It just came up so weird and silly talking about being angry and awake… Suddenly, something came to her mind. She quickly reached for a quill and a piece of parchment.
The former student noticed. “Twilight, what are you up to?”
“Establishing a timetable,” she answered, scribbling more, before finally showing her and the elder brackets. “Okay, here’s the deal: What was mentioned in the afternoon made it clear that the sinister signs on the Cutie Map weren’t a response to Chrysalis or any of her allies using their powers, as the timing of the events simply doesn’t add up, nor do multiple signs of the same type show up. So, what if it’s possible that it’s related to something else that’s happening at the same time? The fire around Griffinstone appeared on the map while it was almost morning, meanwhile, there, it was still nighttime, and that’s purely due to the time difference. The thunderclouds above the Crystal Empire pretty much match up with the timing. Which only leaves the first sign – the dark cloud above the Everfree Forest. Starlight, this is very important, so please try to remember it clearly: At what time did the Cutie Map reactivate to show the image?”
“Me and Sunburst came back to the castle after school, and Trixie found it before us.”
“Yes, but that’s her finding it. But when did it activate?”
“Truth be told, Twilight, I don’t know,” the pink unicorn confessed. “We rarely went into that room on a daily basis. Last we were in it was when we caught Trixie playing pretend that she’s the Queen of Equestria on one of the crystal chairs, and that was a day before.”
Twilight gave her a confused look. “Ooooookay… That weirdness aside, that means we cannot exclude the possibility that the map could’ve been reactivated during the night while you were all asleep. Zecora told me that she was ambushed by Chrysalis in her own home at the time when the sun had already set, in which case it matched up with the timeline.”
“Okay, but what does any of this means, Twilight? What are you getting at?”
“Awakening,” she answered.
“Come again?”
“All the fragments have something in common, and that’s that they were trapped, sealed away in one form or another. Hatred was locked inside the Alicorn Amulet, Fear was locked away in a crystal of its own making, as well as splintering itself into umbrum, and they were locked away beneath the Crystal Empire, and Anger was locked inside the Idol of Boreas. And it’s possible that those signs on the map are actually showing the fragment’s liberation, an awakening.”
Star Swirl stroked his beard. “I think you may be onto something, Twilight.”
“It’s more than that!” Starlight jumped in. “In fact, I think she may have found a way for us to get ahead of Chrysalis and others!”
The alicorn gave her a confused look. “Wait, you got ahead of me on that one, Starlight. Explain.”
“The spirit of the Tree of Harmony and the map are connected, obviously. It’s somehow able to keep track of Turmoil’s “misadventure”. So, there’s a thought: What if it can track where the pieces that haven’t been found yet are?”
The alicorn went into deep thought. “That… that’s actually a brilliant idea, Starlight. But will it work?”
“I mean, what do we have to lose?”
The headmare handed the jar over to the princess, who looked at the elder unicorn, and they both nodded in agreement. She levitated it over the map, and once at the center of it, channeled a beam of magic at it, as did her senior. The Pillar of Sorcery and the Element of Magic channeled their respective powers into the spark that was trapped inside the sentient blob. It shrieked as the light from its prisoner enveloped it and then the said light shot at the map beneath it. When it dissipated, silence followed as if nothing had happened.
Twilight’s ears flopped in disappointment. “I really hoped that we could finally get ahead…”
The sorcerer tapped her. “Twilight, look.”
The map suddenly began to move, its contents beginning to distance away from the displayed borders.
“It’s shrinking…? No, wait. The scale is increasing… The map is expanding!” excitement in her rose.
Where the map previously only showed as far as Mount Aris, Dragon Lands, the Frozen North as far as Yakyakistan, as well as the western borders of Equestria, it was now expanding far beyond. The vast empty expanses of the Frozen North were now revealed completely, revealing a large circular crater, more of the Griffin Kingdom’s mountainous region, and the Dragon Lands became visible, including a set of strange floating chained islands further east. And on the southern front, on the eastern side, it revealed another separate landmass called Abyssinia, home of the cat people, while on the western side, the vast sea opened, and it didn’t seem to end. And then, a lone island came into view, almost all black, surrounded by thunderstorms that expanded far beyond its border.
“Oh no…” Twilight grimaced. “This is it! This is where the last fragment is! And we’re too late! If it spread this far already then Chrysalis and others won’t have a hard time getting to it. For all we know they’re probably already there!”
“Calm down, Twilight,” Star Swirl put his hoof on her shoulder. “I don’t think this is what we’re looking for.”
“How can you be so sure?” Starlight wondered.
“Look at the map – it’s still expanding. Besides, look at the details surrounding the island. This seems like a storm that’s part of the local weather pattern. It doesn’t look out of place like something that just sprung into existence.”
“But what kind of a place would have a constant storm full of thunder and lightning…” She thought for a moment. “Oh… I guess I just answered my own question. I guess we now know where the Storm King came from.”
“But we’re no closer to finding our goal. For some reason, the map is still expanding, which means we’re not there yet…”
And just as he said that the map’s growth ground to a halt. It didn’t take long for the alicorn’s wandering eyes to notice an abnormality. In the further southwestern corner of the map, past the sinister island, a land mass became visible, but only partially. What could be seen though, showed a land that seemed mostly covered by sand, yet there were clear signs of greenery on the far east, to the south, and to the west, where the land turned into a large system of waterways that eventually spilled out into the sea. Combined with the mountain ranges that bordered the land, it created an outline that almost gave it a form of a zebra. And in the place where its eye would fit, the Princess of Friendship finally spotted an irregularity: There was a small patch of greenery that was visible, but it was obscured by a large dark cloud that hung over it – a dark rain cloud with a constant downpour.
The two unicorns came to her side to observe the phenomenon. “This… This doesn’t seem right,” Star Swirl commented.
“Is this it?” the headmare inquired. “If the map expanded directly to this point I don’t see how there could be another-”
Suddenly, the doors of the great hall burst open, with Zecora standing in the doorway, short on breath.
“Twilight Sparkle, we have a problem at hand!” the shaman warned. “I know of the plot the Turmoil’s servants have and for which land!”
The three turned to her. “I think we have a pretty good idea ourselves, Zecora,” Starlight commented, after recent revelation.
Applejack was giant-sized and lounging about while grabbing trees and shaking them to get the apples in the nearby cart, Fluttershy relaxing while being pampered by her oversized animal friends, Rainbow Dash zapped around and created a hundred consecutive Sonic Rainbooms, Rarity desperately tried to escape a giant tidal wave of grey color that was trying to take over her mane, and Pinkie Pie guzzling while swimming in a giant lake of melted chocolate. These were the dreams that the Princess of the Night had to go through to get to the other Elements of Harmony and warn them of what had just happened, and she had to act quickly. Upon visiting the final member and getting her to get up and join at Twilight’s former castle, she exited the dream realm and found herself standing atop of the balcony overlooking Canterlot and Ponyville. She galloped back inside and through the hallways of the castle to get to her elder sibling. She too had to be warned.
She burst through the bedroom door. “Sister!” Celestia snapped awake to her call. “I found it! I caught the nightmare infiltrator in the act!”
“You caught it?” she wondered.
“Unfortunately, no. I managed to destroy its nightmare manifestation, but it managed to slip through the veil and escape.”
“And who did it attack this time?”
“That’s why I needed you to get up. We need to get to Twilight’s old castle right away.”
“Twilight’s…? Who got attacked, Luna?!”
Through the dark, the two former princesses flew across the sky. The younger sibling informed who the latest victim was and they needed to check up on things. Celestia wondered what the zebra knew that the enemy wanted. She could understand what happened to her former student and Discord – one was a deterrent and another artifact tracking. But her? What did she know? But her thoughts were interrupted as she glanced at her younger sibling who seemed to be not present while in flight.
“Luna, what’s wrong?” she grabbed her attention and she snapped out of her trance. “I can tell by the look on your face that something’s not right.”
She sighed. “I didn’t tell you earlier, sister, but there was a reason why I didn’t manage to catch it, as it wriggled out of the realm of dreams and left behind a dark residue that would’ve lingered.”
“You mean the residue that tried to mimic the voice of… your other side? Is that what made you pause?”
“No. I dealt with it before it manifested. It was its voice that distracted me.”
“Whose? That of the infiltrator? Why?”
“I don’t know, it’s just…” she paused. “This was the first time I’ve seen this creature, and yet its voice sounded… familiar in a way, but I can’t tell why.”
She was concerned, not just for Zecora, but now also for her little sister. What kind of creature did she encounter that gave her pause? But that question would have to wait, as they finally arrived at the castle’s doorstep, but they weren’t the only ones, though these arrivals were coming at a snail’s pace. It was in the middle of the night and the Elements of Harmony were all present, barely holding up, as they all got tossed out of bed. That was especially noticeable for the party planner and the wonderbolt who were leaning against one another, with their eyes shut. In the group though, there were some grateful for the wake-up call.
“Princess Luna, I cannot express enough how thankful I am for that timely intervention,” Rarity praised her, carrying a tinfoil bun on top of her head and rear end where her tail was.
“Speak for yerself, Rarity. Ah wish she didn’t,” Applejack complained.
“Compliments and critiques will have to wait,” she halted them, “we’ve got an urgency at hand.”
Meanwhile, Celestia traipsed forward and pushed open the main gate. Inside they could see the bright light coming from the slightly opened door of the great hall, and when they came through those as well, they saw four equines and a small dragon inside, with books flying all over the place.
The grey unicorn noticed their entry. “Ah, you’ve all managed to get here. Good. We have a lot to discuss.”
The blue pegasus yawned. “Couldn’t this have waited until morning? I thought we had a time-out.”
“That changed a few moments ago,” Starlight answered. “You better look at the map.”
They got closer and finally noticed Zecora sitting by the edge of the map, staring at it. They all did too when they saw a dark rain cloud hanging over the newly revealed landmass.
“The map expanded?” Fluttershy said in amazement.
Soon after, a zipping sound could be heard coming from the fanny pack around her neck. “Fluttershy, could you please keep it down a notch?”
“Oh sorry, Discord,” she apologized and then repeated in a whisper. “The map expanded?”
“It appears so, Fluttershy,” the fashionista answered. “But that is a long way from home…”
“What in tarnation is that far-off place?” the workhorse inquired.
“Farasi is the name of the land where the mark stands,” the zebra answered, “my homeland, enveloped by sands.”
They all looked at her. “Zecora, this is your home?” Rarity asked.
She nodded.
“So, wait. Do we actually already have a heading then? We don’t have to go through some elaborate hoop-jumping to find it?” Applejack eyed the map up close. “Great! We’re finally ahead of Chrysalis and the rest for a change!”
“I fear that’s not the case, Applejack,” Luna responded. “There’s a reason why I called everypony here.” She walked to the front so she would be in everybody’s sight. “Tonight, I finally encountered the invasive force that had infiltrated and tormented Twilight Sparkle and Discord. And I found it…” She turned her head towards the shaman. “In her dreams.”
“Zecora’s dreams?” The shy pegasus looked in surprise. “Did you manage to catch it?”
The mare of the night sadly shook her head. “No, unfortunately. It managed to wriggle out of the dreamscape before I had time to react, but not before I’ve seen its form – it was a shadow wisp with tiny green eyes.”
“Wait a second, did you say “a shadow wisp”?” Twilight further inquired, then thought back. “If that’s the case, back at the Jagged Ridge, Grogar was telling the truth. He also said that it had the ability to force doubt upon others.”
“It is the missing piece.”
She looked at the elder unicorn, who just spoke. “What do you mean, Star Swirl?”
“Back when we were in my repository and we planned the counter-action, Miss Pinkie Pie pointed out that one of the pieces was strangely missing when Turmoil’s body was severed and its fragments scattered. Furthermore, the fragments that you encountered so far – Hatred, Fear, and Anger; so it would fit that Doubt is one of them. It is the fifth missing piece.”
“You know,” Spike spoke as he carried one of the books, “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the reason that Chrysalis and the rest managed to be one step ahead of us. In fact, I’m certain of it, considering how many times we’ve seen her be seemingly talking to herself.”
“And recently we’ve seen others doing the same,” the Elements collectively agreed.
“Which finally brings us to the big question,” Starlight stepped in. “Princess Luna, what do you mean they know where the last piece is? I mean, they couldn’t have found out from the dream you visited unless-”
While the point-to-point discussion was happening, Discord was getting increasingly angrier by the snoring sound next to his fanny pack, as the pink and blue mare had fallen asleep, each using another’s rear ends as a pillow. He’s had enough of it, so he climbed out and jumped on the party planner’s backside, plucking a single horse hair from her tail.
“SHE KNOWS!” Pinkie Pie yelped from the sudden tug and bucked, sending the pegasus flying up and making her land on the chandelier.
They all got distracted for a moment by the unexpected outburst, but their thoughts quickly returned to what the headmare was saying, as they all directed their attention at the zebra.
The pink unicorn began asking the obvious. “Zecora, if you knew this whole time where the last fragment was, why didn’t you-?!”
“I wasn’t sure, that’s the truth,” the shaman answered. “True, I had encountered a shadowy force in my youth, but I didn’t think it and the darkness in this land would somehow end up going hand-in-hand.”
“But that still doesn’t make sense, Zecora! How did they even know where to look in the first place? What made them think you knew something?”
“I think I can guess how,” Luna spoke again. “The enemy couldn’t have drained the information out of the victim unless she was weakened first by something she dreads.”
“Did you see something like that inside the dream, Princess Luna?” asked the party planner, now fully awake, rubbing her read end.
The horn of the mare of the night began to glow and she conjured an image of a large water serpent with blue eyes, with tentacles sprouting from its body. “Have any of you seen this creature before?”
It didn’t take them long to respond. “Wait, Ah do recall this thing. We all do!”
“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie spoke out. “It was in the nightmare realm, after Sombra’s mom empowered him, this thing just sprung out of nowhere and we couldn’t figure out whose nightmare this was supposed to be… Then again, in hindsight, since we’ve all seen what everybody else’s nightmares look like several times over, this one should’ve been an obvious tip that it belonged to somepony that we didn’t see before… Or rather somezebra in this case.”
“But why does this creature frighten you, Zecora? What is it?” the wonderbolt asked.
“What you see before you is liquid despair, a creature with a truly terrifying glare,” she offered an answer. “I’ve laid my eyes on it as a filly, and since then, the memory of it makes me feel so chilly.”
“And because Fear saw it, it’s how they figured it out where to look for a trail.” Fluttershy put it together.
“Oh great,” the workhorse moaned. “That means they’re ahead of us AGAIN! For all we know they’re already on their way there with a good head start!”
“That’s not necessarily true, mind you,” Zecora retorted. “Although we are now on the same footing, they know they cannot just go in without foolproofing.”
The country pony gave her a confused look. “What do you mean?”
“The servants of Turmoil may have a heading, but first they have to make sure they don’t make their own bedding. Farasi is a place ruled by creatures of great power, of which each holds a kingdom, as impregnable as a tower. Were they to try and take them alone head-on, their end would’ve come.”
“Wow. Zecora that’s actually helpful,” Starlight praised her. “I wish our books could’ve done the same.”
“Well, what are we waiting for then?” Discord began urging them. “If we know where that thing is and we have the knowledge that those guys are going to be busy with preparations, then we need to go off and leave them in the dust. Come on, everypony! CHOP CHOP! Let’s get to this Far-asia or whatever it’s called again!”
“That’s the problem that I was going to follow up on, former Lord of Chaos,” Star Swirl intercepted. “We can’t.”
He stopped in mid-flight. “Come again?”
The books that were strewn all over the place or were flying suddenly lined themselves up and then began to spin around like a twister, eventually flying back into the bookshelves. Only two books remained floating about - a big and a small one.
Twilight levitated to her side the large book, the title of which read Equestrian World Encyclopedia, and opened it on a page dedicated to zebras, and it didn’t fill even half of it. “This is the only official information we have. Zebra’s homeland is so far away that we scarcely have any information on them. Look, even the information that we have, its source is a first-hand recount from somepony who was only there briefly.” She showed the page up closer, the written source pointing to a book titled The Golden Spires of Mansa. “And that’s what we got.” She shut the encyclopedia closed and put it away, bringing the aforementioned book, with a green background and sand-colored spires drawn on the cover. “The author of this book is a stallion named Seasaddle, an ordinary merchant ship captain. In this book he recounts how a storm sent his ship to a distant land inhabited by zebras, after which he was locked away by the local authorities because a parasprite apparently hid amongst his cargo and they nearly devoured all the food in the city after it multiplied; they held him responsible for bringing an invasive creature to their land. As a result, he spent about fifty moons locked away, until one of the locals helped him escape. After he got back to Equestria he retired from seafaring, and he wrote this book, detailing his experience.”
“Oh great… In other words, while Chrysalis and the rest of her goons know where to go but can’t because they’re not strong enough, we know where to go but can’t because we don’t even know HOW to get there…” Discord moaned.
A sense of dejection began to loom over the room from the impasse they just came across, yet it was dispersed the moment the shaman walked over to the floating book and turned it to her side.
“Perhaps things are not as grim as you may think. If we don’t know the way, then we need to find the one who can make the link.”
“Wait, you mean as in finding the author of the book?” Twilight asked.
“Actually, if you think about it, it does make sense,” Rainbow Dash joined. “Since he was the one who managed to get there and back, he obviously must know the way.”
“One problem though: Where are we supposed to find ONE pony in all of Equestria?” Starlight wondered.
“That is something Twilight and I can deal with,” Celestia finally spoke up. “If Seasaddle is still in Equestria we can find him wherever he went.”
“Finally,” Discord sighed in relief. “Things are finally going our way.”
“If that’s the case we’ll show ourselves out for the night and see you guys in the morning.” Rainbow Dash turned and was about to trot out.
“I fear despite the good tidings, I have to report unfortunate findings.”
The wonderbolt halted. “I knew there was gonna be a “but wait, there’s more”.”
“After the former Princess of the Night had freed me from the nightmare, I went to check how bad things were going to fare. I took a sip of concentrated evil brew, and through the vile eyes, I’ve seen things that might make us rue. In order to counter the forces of the land of such a distance, armies they will seek for their assistance. I do not know what they intend, but one of them, to the Peaks of Peril, was sent.”
The name of the place sounded familiar, and it was the workhorse and animal caretaker that quickly remembered the name. “Peaks of Peril…? Wait… But that’s the home of the kirin! Why would they go there?” the latter pointed out.
“I don’t know, but considering what they can do we have to get there before they do! We have to get to Peaks of peril before them!” Twilight dropped the book. “Everypony, we gather around!” she ordered. “We’ll use the royal airship to get there during the night. At this pace, they won’t be able to-”
KRAKOOOOM!
She went silent. That dreaded sound. She had hoped she wouldn’t have heard it right at this moment and yet she did. She dashed over to the window, still clinging to a sliver of hope that she was just hearing things, only to have it dashed away. Outside, she watched as a dark cloud began to emerge from the Everfree Forest, spreading across the star-covered night, obscuring the clear skies. Soon after, she saw a zap of lightning shooting from the forest where the clouds emerged, up into the clouds, and then watched as an obscured flashing form traveled across the sky and disappeared into the distant south.
“Dang nabbit!” Applejack cursed. “Don’t tell me that-”
“They knew we’ll be reacting to the revelation,” Star Swirl pointed out. “They’re trying to make sure they slow us down as much as possible.”
“And they succeeded. There’s no way we can fly the airship in this weather.” Twilight’s ears dropped.
“Well, what are we supposed to do now?” the Element of Harmony questioned.
“There’s nothing we can do to remedy this. The best we can do is hope that the storm clears by morning, and if not, we’ll have to take a train to Kirin’s home.”
“What do you mean, Twilight?” Fluttershy questioned her suggestion. “Can’t you just isolate the blimp just like you did back at Griffinstone in defense against Storm King’s attacks?”
“Yes, but that was only because I partly covered it. I can’t isolate the ship from a raging storm and have it move at the same time.”
“But the first train will leave in a few hours from now! We can’t wait that long!”
“I know, Fluttershy, but we really don’t have a choice.”
The shy pegasus hung her head in disappointment, to which the draconequus quickly flew up to her face to comfort her.
The Princess of Friendship tried to keep them positive. “But let’s do what we can. Celestia, Luna, and I with Spike will go to Canterlot and try to find whatever information we can about the author of this book. Everybody else should go back to bed.”
“If I may interject, Twilight,” the zebra spoke out, “the knowledge that bad things will happen to my homeland has left me in fright. For that I would offer my service, to make sure I don’t feel so nervous.”
“Very well then: The four of us and Zecora will go. The rest should go and rest up.”
“If we can,” Applejack said. “Ah’m more worried about what’ll happen to Autumn Blaze’s village.”
“Same here,” Fluttershy agreed.
“I know,” Twilight tried to comfort the, “I’m sure we’re all worried about the kirin but that’s not going to help us. Just try to get some rest and we’ll reconvene in the morning.”
“Star Swirl and I will stay here and keep an eye on the map in case something changes,” Starlight ensured her.
The princess nodded. “Until tomorrow, good night everypony.” She turned to her seniors. “Let’s go.”
Spike jumped on Twilight’s back, who walked over to the taller mares, joined by the shaman. Their horns began to glow. Soon after, a flash followed, and they disappeared. Silence lingered for a while, as they were filled with worries, the workhorse and the animal caretaker especially.
“Well… Ah guess we’ll see ya’ll in the mornin’,” the country pony said, as she made her way toward the front gate, with the rest following her.
And the moment they opened the door, they were met with a heavy downpour outside; it didn’t take long for the storm that the Storm King created to make things difficult even on the ground level.
“You know,” the wonderbolt commented, “it would’ve been easier if Luna had just relayed the situation in our dreams. Then we could still be back home and asleep instead of having to come all this way and having to get home drenched.”
“Don’t be so grumpy, Dashy.” The party planner petted her head. “If you’re afraid of the flood, I’ll send Gummy to fish you out.”
The blue pegasus rolled her eyes, then turned to the shy counterpart. “There’s no way I can get to my house in this weather. Looks like I’ll be crashing at your place again, Fluttershy.”
“We won’t have to go through what we did last time, will we?” Discord joked.
“Oh haha, so funny I forgot to laugh.”
“Alright, alright, enough you two,” Applejack tried to diffuse the argument, then turned to the two unicorns. “See ya tomorrow, Starlight.” She then faced forward and made sure her hat was tightly fastened on her head. “Good luck, girls.”
And she dashed out into the heavy rain in a gallop. Soon after, the two pegasi followed, with the shy one trying to use her wings as a cover. Lastly, the pink earth pony slowly hopped off toward her home, seemingly undeterred by the downpour. But there was one that didn’t move from the spot: The fashionista was standing still, seemingly paralyzed.
She slowly turned to the headmare. “Starlight, I think I may have to ask for accommodation for tonight.”
The pink mare raised an eyebrow. “Rarity, you’re not seriously afraid of getting a little wet, are you?”
“You call this little?!” she raised her voice, then shut her mouth, remembering that the students of the school were already sleeping. “And no, it’s not just because of the heavy rain, it’s the fact that I’ve finally had some respite and got the travesty on my mane fixed, and I don’t want to have it all go to waste AGAIN.”
Starlight rolled her eyes.
FLASH!
In front of the Canterlot castle, the four equines and the dragon materialized, right in front of the royal guard, who swiftly let them enter.
“Okay, we’ll check for the publishers first if they have any address of Seaspray,” Twilight planned things out as they walked down the hallway, “and if that doesn’t turn up any leads, we’ll ask the maritime offices around Equestria. Either of the two must know where he is. And after we locate him we-” She halted when they came to an intersection and realized that the dark mare went in a different direction than them. “Princess Luna? Where are you going?”
She halted. “I need to return to my duty.”
“But you stopped the invader in Zecora’s dreams, it’s all good now.”
“Yes… Now. But what about when it strikes again? For all we know, that… “Doubt” creature, if Star Swirl named it correctly, is already infiltrating another dream. I have to make sure that’s not the case.”
She proceeded to leave, but the Princess of Friendship stopped her. “Princess Luna, wait! Look, I know things have been hectic, especially for you. I’ve seen the state you were in after a night’s work, I understand that you feel guilty for what’s been happening, but you’ve got to stop for a moment and rest. This isn’t solely on you.”
She was quiet for a while, refusing to turn her back away from her. “When I came back from being Nightmare Moon, I believed that things could never change from how they were, that I would forever be forced to live in the shadow of my greatest failure. But the children… They began to believe that I was better, more so than I ever did. That’s why I worked extra hard to make sure they would be spared the torment of their own nightmares, and in time, that expanded to others. And after all the hard work I put into every day, I was tired – I wanted a change of scenery for a little bit, away from royal duties.” She went silent. “And look what happened in my absence… Without me, the sinister force, one for which my power exists to combat, managed to find hosts to afflict – you, Twilight, then Discord, and now Zecora. Had I kept watch over the dream realm even a little these things wouldn’t have happened in the first place. Everypony was finally beginning to show faith in me, and how did I repay them? With apathy and negligence. I have to make things right again. I’m the only one who can walk the dream world, and if I don’t… then who will?”
With those words, the mare of the night wandered away, leaving the group.
“Princess Luna…” Twilight whispered in a sad tone, feeling disheartened from the inability to help her.
Celestia put her hoof around her. “Come, Twilight. There’s nothing we can do for the moment.”
She turned away and followed her mentor, the zebra, and her companion.
Elsewhere, away from the heart of Equestria, further south, a vast forested area separated the heartlands from the barren desert, and the storm did not reach this far. Under the starry sky, a portal of dark light opened, and a massive goat-like monstrosity stumbled through, soon followed by a small blue ram. The giant monster addressed him with a grunting sound.
“No, Paramis,” Grogar answered. “If the boy is so confident in being able to do things on his own, then I’m not going to deny him his challenge. Besides, somebody else is making sure that he’s being kept on a leash, even if it can’t be seen.”
After closing the portal behind him he turned to observe the landscape before him, illuminated by the full moon. There was forest all around him, yes, but not from where he was standing. In front of him stood a range of towering spires, and atop the largest one sat a gargantuan skull with a single eye socket.
“So… this is where those you sired dwell?” he asked, and the arimaspi nodded his head in reply. “Very well then. Let us go and meet your extended family.”
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Is Starswirl aware about Spike's link too?
11650558
My point is the concept of "the main heroes fall and let someone else unexpected succeed for them"
Spike doesn't really save the day much compared to the Mane 6, so these moments could have been for him, but nope
Another example of this issue is season 6 finale, which did him worst
As for Just For Sidekicks, that episode was pretty shitty.
The writers made him bad for sake of plot(even if he was greedy, it was not done well) and "karma" was not done well. A prime example of how Spike did him bad, makes him fumble and/or things just go wrong because yes.
Heck, Princess Spike took what Just For Sidekicks did and done it worst.
Both having lasting damage
You put a "H" in "crystal"
I do wonder if anyone is going to point out the similarities between the Trio's fate and Turmoils.
Both were positioned for their downfall by a (supposedly) well meaning manipulator. Both were left for dead in a state of frozen agony.
If that's not a comparison begging to be mentioned, I don't know what is.
In fairness, by the time the Pony of Shadows appeared, they needed the elements to free him, and those weren't available in Starswirl's time.
By the time Stygian found the Darkness, there was probably nothing that could have been done.
Is it Starswirl? Is it?
There's a ghost in the machine eh? I bet I know whose.
Which makes me wonder incidentally if Turmoil is not in fact five genuinely separate beings (or their echoes) fused into one, as opposed to five pieces of the same guy.
Of course even if that was true, I'd still be missing the identities of at least one, if not two.
I think I know.
Titan. Were you not paying attention to the story Twilight?
She's a clever mare no doubt.
Good thinking Glim Glam! Someone's needs to put the pieces together.
I hate to be that guy buuut...
Don't you have a great big honking magic map to show you the way? One that's presumably already highlighting the location?
To poison them with eldritch fires of anger of course! Why else?
I don't know why they didn't all ask that to be honest.
You can be soaked and miserable in your own bed, or dry and warm in a guest room...
I know which one I would pick mere days before setting off on a epic globe trotting quest.
Poor Lulu. Always and forever distracted by her own inadequacies.
Finally the Storm King gets some autonomy!
Ah. So that's Grogar's army. I was kinda hoping for Bug Bears to be honest. How's he going to ferry all these dudes across the sea anyways?
The skull lair we saw in Season 9 is totally a flying ziggurat sky fortress isn't it?
11652675
I think he was too preoccupied in that specific moment to recall.
Either that or he doesn't know why, in the same vein as the spirit of Radiant Hope/Clarity.
11652682
Yes, you've talked about that before. In this case though, you just have to accept that "Spike isn't the hero of this story, the pets are".
11653237
Trio?
I hated Shadow Play. More specifically because the entire conflict between Stygian and the Pillars is contrived, and it's solely based on the fact that Stygian never even thought about ASKING the Pillars about "borrowing" their artifacts, and he basically just stole from those who considered him a friend, so it makes you wonder if he ever saw them as friends considering how insignificant he sees himself.
If only things were that simple.
Ghost in the machine? Which one?
Do you now?
I'm pretty sure you can't just travel to another side of the world just by looking at the globe, not without somebody with navigation expertise.
I mean, they all left their homes in a hurry, so who knows what they left undone behind when they did.
but considering that there are others now residing in the castle who normally aren't living there at this moment, I think she wouldn't want to get herself stuck into the bunch.
Now I will give you a point for pointing out the lazy one in the bunch
Rarity's the case here on account that she doesn't want to have a constant repeat of the same episode. Let's see how long that lasts.
She deserves to get a chance to shine.
You mean Tirek?
Gee, how can I put these creatures from Point A to Point B without even trying?
Skull lair from season 9? The arimaspi territory was already visible on the map in season 5.
11654350
The Teamwork Trio. Consisting of Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow.
It took me a while to get there, but I really soured on it, especially after the show's ending.
He's basically just a less murderous Syndrome if you really think about it. He was more obsessed with heroism and glory than actually being a friend to the Pillars. In the same way Syndrome only cared about Mr. Incredibles power as a hero, and never really respected him as a person.
Ah you see I was a lot more confident in this before I realized that Turmoil existed in it's current state at the time of Starswirl. I do know who the female members of Turmoil are, and I have a guess on two of the others, but it's just a guess at this point.
I know how it started at any rate.
If you know your position and the position of your location you can. And the Cutie Map is a magical artifact that can highlight both.
Hmm. Fair enough. If they're leaving the next day the probably should make arrangements. Although someone should really remind Rainbow Dash that Tank does in fact exist and will need some looking after.
Except that castle is like the Tardis in terms of space. Just look at some of those hallways, how long they are and how many doors they have. I guarantee you that Twilight has like twenty empty rooms by the end of the series.
Poor Mare. Always waiting in the wings.
That too, but this segment specifically refers to Storm King. And while I don't think he's going to get much more threating in the interlude, it's still a possibility that I would like to see. At the very least I'm interested in seeing what your take is on his home kingdom and relationships with his minions.
And if Gruber shows up, he can be used for an audience perspective/comedic foil, as opposed to Grogar dissing on the series villains all the time.
Teleporting is always an option, but sooner or later you'll have to address just how powerful Grogar is. Trying to warp across a whole ocean would realistically take something out of him.
Yes but the Skull lair is submerged in a swamp, meaning there may be more to it than what we've seen. Also, it isn't located across the sea, which if it has its own power reserves and can travel makes it far more useful for saving Grogar's energy than a cross global teleport.
11653395
That's what made that comic arc awful(though TWABA did it worse)
But also it made no sense if the pets are immune to the mind control, by that logic wouldn't Spike be immune too since he's not a pony?(I doubt its "pets are non sapient" since Equestrian critters KIND OF have some sentience, just not the same level as ponies and dragons)
So that comic arc is still canon here?
11654581
I mean, it's not exactly the same. They were frozen in time, meanwhile Turmoil was "technically alive".
I would say that the Cutie Map only shows a rough lay of the land. Besides, they can't really take it with them anyway. I mean they COULD but that would be counterproductive for the home team.
I'd say opening a doorway between 2 points in space is a lot easier than just rematerializing yourself. Besides, Grogar has Discord's magic locked inside his bell so he can't really go low on it.
Wait, you mean the ziggurat? They were there at the start of Anger arc.
Who or WHAT Turmoil is hinted in earlier chapters.
11656286
Depends on what you take on petrification is and how it works. Discord's line and the fact that it took him and both the sisters to confine the trio hints their still alive and conscious in there, although I will concede the "mostly dead" as a option.
Does the home team really need it? At this point it's just tracking Turmoil and if they lose this fragment, they're pretty well screwed. Seems like the group going after Turmoil should have it.
Depends on how the rules of magic work in your world.
Fair point. I only just went back and started rereading this and I had forgotten a lot of developments, like what happened to Discord.
Another thing I forgot. Although frankly the Legion Of Doom being a literal Legion Of Doom Lair is just too good to not wonder when someone will have the idea.
I know that Fear is the mare herself Radiant Bliss. I'm confident that Despair is in fact the Mother of All Dragons. I'm fairly sure that Doubt is Titan which explains why he has no essence if he died killing Turmoil. And I think that Hatred or Anger is the dragon lord who took off to save his mom.
The only other person I can think of that was involved though was Bliss's boyfriend and as far as I know he died peacefully offscreen having never meet Turmoil.
So, unless there's some extreme level of necromancy going on, I'm struggling to remember who else is there.
Bliss's child was Titan as far as I recall, so unless she had another that I'm not remembering?
11656445
I'm glad to know you haven't cracked to code yet. Means I'm doing something right.
11657001
Fair enough.
11657008
Good try on deduction though. As I said, there are clues in earlier chapters, that includes way early ones, but don't worry, more clues will come along as the story progresses though.
11658825
at the end, I said that Chrysalis, instead of covering the red-hot Tirek with slime, could transfer it with telekinesis. (Or order the Drone amia to teleport Tirek.)
Is it possible to get burned by moving a red-hot object with the help of magic?
11658849
Oh that. That was supposed to stabilize Tirek's current condition. I think I forgot to fix the text originally because I was on a tight schedule with chapter output so that one slipped past my radar.
11658918
I didn't even think it was meant. 🤔
11658992
Sorry about that one. Gonna fix it.
11659007
Do not need to apologizes. because there is a possibility that I could miss the details due to the language barrier.
11659030
Fixed.
I've seen the movie with the Storm King, but I notice you have the comics tagged too. I know most writers like to say "prior knowledge of X is not need to enjoy this fic to the fullest," but that isn't usually the case for me. So how much of the comic do i need to cover before diving into this?
11667840
For the Storm King's movie tie-in comic?
Well, it's only Issues 1 and 2 mostly, issue 4 if you want but it's not necessary.
in the series, we were shown that Twilight Castle is very roomy and has many rooms. Why wouldn't Twilight's friends decide to spend the night in a castle instead of walking home through the rain?
11678911
I mean, they all left their homes in a hurry, so who knows what they left undone behind when they did.
Rarity's the case here on account that she doesn't want to have a constant repeat of the same episode. Let's see how long that lasts.