Part 4 - Chapter 1 (13): Back Where We Started
Previously on My Little Pony...
A week had passed since Twilight Sparkle and her friends' devastating defeat. Overnight, Equestria as they knew it was reduced to a desolate, fear-driven, hatred-soaked, winter war zone, and they were left on the run from the monstrous and zombified army of Grogar. Fortunately, Twilight, though horribly scarred and being gradually drained of her life force, woke up, but not before suffering a terrifying, prophetic nightmare.
"We're all leaving behind the Equestria we knew. Without you, it'll be the ideal we deserve."
Queen Chrysalis and her changeling loyalists feed off Thorax's love for his clan, and what's more: they have a new plan in store to take Grogar down and steal his Malice power. King Tirek has prepared a ceremonial carriage, a tradition in his clan, the Chariot of Midnight, to deliver his healing magic to other malefactors on a Present Run. Empress Aurora Eclipse has split the Pearl of Transformation to create an army of equally versatile, incredibly strong warriors, and give herself the choice of any form. Headmare Cozy Glow runs a new School of Friendship where the lessons given to the children and the admiration she gets are all forced through an unfair advantage.
Grogar called upon the four Horses of the Apocalypse to give them the news. The blinding light in Arimaspi's Eye could not be cleared, but he has tempered the merciless storm of the Windigos and completed a dark copy of Discord, named Havoc. Certain that his new Spirit of Destruction would soon capture the champions of friendship, he gave his subordinates the means to create monster children of their own.
"The sooner their cores are in the Phantom Zone, the better for Equestria's evolution."
When later asked about his most mysterious creation, the Phantom Zone, Grogar disclosed that it was a pocket dimension he built out of the light - potential for goodness - he expelled from his heart during his original reign millennia ago. Though he shows signs of being less than proud of the iron hoof he ruled with back then, he deems this makeshift realm, capable of inducing eternal mass-amnesia, the top essential tool in his grand plan.
Meanwhile, in the maze of a cave underneath Tambelon, Sunburst and the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally found their way to the prisoners, thanks to some phoenixes who found their way in there. In the midst of a reunion with Starlight Glimmer, they witnessed the fiery birds perform a magical technique not yet seen. They gave up their forms to bring the coreless Star Swirl the Bearded and Discord - the latter now unrecognizable - back to consciousness. Immediately after, the rescue effort fully commenced.
"Well, you freed me, so I guess you deserve to know all the details."
While Sandbar is trapped at Cozy Glow's warped school, his friends, Gallus, Yona, Ocellus, Smolder and Silverstream joined up at the ruined Griffonstone with their adult supervisors. All except for Gallus, who had yet to convince Grampa Gruff to come along for the Tree of Harmony mission. Backed up by encouragement from his fellow students, he tried one more time. This time, the grouchy, old historian inadvertently pinched a personal nerve that gave the young one the guts to talk him down. Grampa Gruff was amazed.
"I should've gotten more a long time ago, and our kind, considerate counselor gave it to me first, because you just wanted to get rid of me."
On the trail to who knew where, Twilight's group, accompanied by Princess Luna, seemed to be getting nowhere, until they ran into the most unexpected of creatures, and one most friendly: the long-lost gargoyle brother of Tirek, Scorpan. For more than a thousand years he stood and watched over his home, the Midnight Kingdom, which was now nothing more than a lifeless memoir of a proud kingdom damaged beyond recovery by violent strife.
"Honestly, it's not a force of nature, but a kingdom's folk that are their own worst enemies."
To their surprise, Scorpan had been keeping an artifact that belonged to one of the old Equestria leaders. It was the hat of the earth pony clan's Chancellor Puddinghead. They knew not if it could help in this trying time for ponykind, but it was trusted to Princess Luna in case that moment came before long. While they were at it, Spike managed to send a letter to one of their free allies, Trixie, to see if they could get helpful information. Their message was received and passed on.
Though Discord was completely guilt-ridden, near powerless and demoralized, he managed to pull a clever trick on Tirek to set the miraculously recharged Starlight, along with the six Pillars, Stygian and Shining Armor free. Back on the surface, the three pony clans gathered in Tambelon, drawn by reports of food appearing there. Grogar made his presence known and won them over, even when he revealed some dark details. Starlight, Sunburst and the others snuck away to find something to use against the ram sorcerer. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, after a failed plea to all the ponies, were sent off to work for Cozy Glow.
For Twilight and her friends, even as they struggled to fight off their savage pursuers, and had an extremely close call with Havoc that would've been their end if not for Scorpan's magic, it seemed their friendship was shattering. Twilight believed all they've ever done and accomplished had been meaningless; a years-long farce with "friends" who never truly understood her. The rest had tried to hide how dispirited they really were with a little illusion of optimism.
By a tremendous twist of fate, Star Swirl and his ancient allies found the crown of the unicorns' Princess Platinum in the Canterlot caves, and Gallus and Silverstream discovered the helmet of the Pegasi's Commander Hurricane after a deep dive into the Abysmal Abyss to rescue Prince Rutherford. Starlight's crew acquired Grogar's Tome and found spells for Twilight and company to use, a task that could sadly only be fulfilled by Stygian sacrificing his existence on the solid plane to the shadows.
With carefully chosen words, Apple Bloom persuaded Cozy Glow into conversing with Grogar and the other Horses of the Apocalypse for a history lesson on the villainous team's power and success, plus demonstrate how loved she was. Instead, she took a verbal beating and had her role trivialized, a scenario that, as much as she'd deny it, left her heartbroken. Cozy ran off to be alone, providing an opening for the CMC to join Trixie, Luna and Sandbar in a big liberation.
"Do you think we owe you a favour, child?"
"You can't accept that our union, while ultimately beneficial, is over."
"I brought the compromise, you ineffectually mediated."
"I never said the formation was your job, specifically."
"FRIENDSHIP ISN'T FORGED IN FIRE! IT'S FORGED LIKE A BLADE!"
Through realizations of recent, amateurish mistakes and comprehension of the warning sent subconsciously, Twilight and her friends reconciled and came to terms with their miserable situation. They're on the brink of a definitive defeat, none of them are confident, they have no plan, and as they quickly see, little of Equestria is left to save, but whether they win or lose, they, along with their new, rocky ally, are going out to make one, brave, final stand.
"So, Twilight, what are we gonna do this time?"
"The same thing we do every time, Pinkie. Try to save the world!"
♫ My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh...
I think I see a better way to be bad
Just put me in charge, make me queen, you'll be glad
No! Listen to me,
I'm the best of us three
Then you'll see a better way to be bad
Wait! This is my thing,
a better way to be bad
You shall do as I command,
I will rule this triad!
Hey! This is my song!
Sorry, not any longer!
A better way to be bad
Now you're making me mad
Won't the ponies be sad?
That would make me so glad
Now we've got a better way to be baaaaaad! ♫
They'd rather look away at something nondescript for minutes on end than gaze upon Equestria's icy condition, but all of them knew there was no turning back from their final destination.
"I don't remember any orders for a protective bubble this size." Pinkie commented, pressing her face against the enormous barrier. It fizzled out again for a moment, allowing an unexpected gale to break through the opening and knock her on her rump.
Applejack, quickly analyzing the situation, deducted "Whatever this is, it isn't set up to keep anycreature out, but to keep the snowstorm in."
"It seems to have been doing it for a while, too." Twilight grimly commented as she watched the barrier blink out and in again. "We better move while it still holds out."
"But how?" Rarity asked, registering what she heard as a tall order. "Not even the Elements of Harmony, or Spike's fire could get us through that!"
"Couldn't the Elements' power at least get rid of the Windigos?" Spike suggested.
"Theoretically, but as long as there is rampant fear, scorn and aggression between ponies everywhere, they'll come right back." Twilight regretfully answered.
"Yeah, you're right." Spke conceded. He turned to Scorpan, in hope, requesting "Please tell us you have an idea." He didn't give a response right away.
Scorpan gazed off into the distance and saw something in the distance, which was different from all the pony silhouettes. It looked like a figure standing on top of some kind of sleigh, pulled by dragons; he recognized it as his brother, Tirek, riding the Midnight Chariot. The centaur dropped a ball of blue magic on to some faraway settlement, and continued his flight. He seemed to be heading in the group's direction. Scorpan shifted his head towards the manticore, then snapped his fingers.
"I think luck has our answer." he said.
Up in the air, Tirek and Stratadon Squad contined their Present Run at Wonderbolt-worthy speed. He laughed with satisfaction at his job.
"Now that we've covered the Equestrian settlements, let's expand our horizons, boys!" Tirek ordered. "To Chrysalis' kingdom!" Straight to the west, they charged. They were uninterrupted for a short time, passing through the barrier, when all of a sudden...
The manticore flew up and jumped Stratadon himself. The surprise and the two monsters' scrap rocked the other dragons pulling the chariot, challenging Tirek's balance.
"Hey! Get off my Chariot dragger!" he shouted in aggravation. Furious at this interference, he pointed the palm of his hand at the manticore and telekinetically seized it. Under their noses, the tether around Stratadon magically snapped off. He had forgotten about his aerial support during the brief fight, and thus fell. "NO!" Tirek cried, dropping the manticore in his state of panic.
Below, Scorpan put all of his might into telekinetically lowering the manticore down. Rainbow Dash and Rarity came to their aid, the former as the carrier of the latter. A quick diamond shield spell gave the lion-scorpion beast a platform to make a safe landing. Next to them, Stratadon crashed.
"Land now! Land now!" Tirek barked at his unsteady chariot pullers, back up above.
"Phew! He didn't see us." Rarity sighed.
Rainbow looked at the downed Stratadon for a moment. "So, what's this "answer" we "luckily" got?"
"The scales are thick, and exceptionally warm." Scorpan analyzed out loud.
"Oh. I see what you're thinking." Rarity remarked astutely, miming the act of pulling up a sleeve.
Just a little bit later, Tirek did a kangaroo jump closer to the spot where the ponies and their gargoyle ally had been. He found Stratadon, looking like he lost a fair amount of his scales, but now conscious again. He wasn't in pain, but he certainly felt more chilly, going by how he crossed his forelegs and constantly rubbed them.
"What happened here?" Tirek imposingly questioned his minion. The draconic beast approached his ear and whispered. "So, they're back." the centaur said in response to one of his confirmations. The whispering continued, until one last spoken detail left Tirek's eyes widened to the threshold. He muttered "Im... possible."
"Wasn't that a little cold-hearted?" Spike opined, coated in the scales of Stratadon.
"I suppose so, but when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Rarity replied, beginning the trek alongside her friends and Scorpan through the winter-y wastes.
Applejack opened her mouth, tempted to correct Rarity on the definition of that phrase, but not one to complain about a stroke of good fortune, she kept shut and let her have that one.
Each of the ponies, and their dragon pal, were wearing coats with hoods, all made up of thick, warm, dark green scales taken off of Stratadon, then swiftly weaved into clothing by Rarity's elegant seamstress technique. It did a good job at protecting them from the vicious cold of the Windigos' blizzard. Scorpan carried Twilight and chose to go in with only the outfit already on his back, used to low temperatures from centuries as a lone, vigilant statue.
The students' group ran through the tunnel the harmony barrier made for them. They too noticed the flickering it recently started to do. This exertion of power had become taxing, even for something like the Tree of Harmony.
"Something's wrong with it." Ocellus worriedly state. "Very, very wrong."
"It's quite an eyesore when it does that." Silverstream whined.
"Don't get disoriented, gang!" Gallus demanded. "We haven't lost our directions yet!"
Around the barrier's tunnel, some ponies of the different clans, all in warm garb, took notice of the creatures. They quickly rushed up to them with interest.
"Hey dragons, come out of there and protect us from the pegasi and unicorns!" one of the earth ponies called out.
"Changelings, don't let the earth ponies and unicorns take our jobs!" a pegasus hollered.
"Hippogriffs, kick these earth ponies and pegasi to the moon!" a unicorn urged.
"Ugh, they're still nuts!" Ember groaned.
"Mind your own business, hornhead!" the earth pony growled, throwing a tomato mindlessly at the barrier, intending to hit their actual target.
"Mind yours, dirthoof!" the pegasus snarled.
"I saw them first, featherback!" the unicorn snapped.
"Arrogant fool!" from the pegasus to the unicorn.
"Blunderer!" from the earth pony to the pegasus.
"Useless little insect!" from the unicorn to the earth pony.
The barrier faded out and in again, allowing the angered ponies to break through and tackle each other, covering themselves up in a clouds of snow. Thankfully, they missed the students and their supervisors.
"Are you sure they're worth the trouble?" Grampa Gruff questioned Gallus pessimistically.
"They're confused!" Gallus asserted. "They aren't thinking straight right now, nor are they hopeless!"
"Ponies gone barbaric, and ponies say yaks brutes." said Prince Rutherford.
"I only hope Sandbar and the princesses are okay, wherever they are." Ocellus added, to which her friends simply responded worriedly with "Yeah."
Everyone continued, non-stop. Up ahead, they could see they were being directed towards what looked like a blanket of snow, covering the remains of a wilted forest.
Grogar hastily searched high and low around Tambelon for Starlight's group, from outside the entrance, to the marketplace. A bunch of zombies and cyclopes stood before him in reverence, as usual.
"Has anycreature seen Starlight and Star Swirl?" Grogar queried. They were sad to give him back and forth shakes of their heads. Scratching his beard for a few seconds, he pondered "If I know my former student, she turned herself and the Pillars invisible to analyze her situation with expectation until they found the window to escape. They must be across the wastes searching for help by now. Stay warm in here, children. I'll narrow it down and catch up to them myself."
Before he could make another move, Havoc popped in next to him. His appearance astonished the zombies and cyclopes.
"Havoc, you're back! You had me worried!" Grogar welcomed with a true tone of concern. Quickly, his eyebrow raised at his prince coming back emptyhanded. "Where are Princess Twilight and her false peacekeeper friends?"
Havoc regretfully communicated his failure with chaotic sign language, easily readable by everyone present. The cyclopes growled at their baby brother's apparent incompetence.
"You found them, but you needed to make sure you got all six?" Grogar assessed. "Why didn't you bring me one at a time?" the draconequus could only shrug. "And Luna was there, but you didn't take her?!" the Spirit of Destruction nodded trepidatiously. "Fluttershy's Stare?!"
The cyclopes wanted to hurt their little sibling, but even in their raging incredulity, they had to honour their father's wishes, by hoof motion, for them to ease up. Havoc turned away, ashamed, and vanished somewhere.
Grogar crouched with his pasterns together and said to himself "It seems that crafting a cosmic monster of Discord's miraculous magnitude on purpose is a faulty procedure. Too bad I have no time for discipline." He conjured up Arimaspi's Eye to get a view of Twilight Sparkle. Of course, the blinding light remained.
It seemed pointless for him to continue viewing what this magical power was not going to allow him to see. Twilight in the arms of a larger creature, along with her friends, could be slightly made out, but the location was unclear. That is, until it did something else. It flickered off for a moment, then another moment, and another moment.
"The Tree's obscuration, it's dying!" Grogar exclaimed in a rush of excitement. Quickly, he switched the ball's view to Starlight, Sunburst and Star Swirl's location, also hidden. He switched to an overhead map view as the flickering occurred again. "Still a bit fuzzy, but... I've got a new plan." He put a hoof on his head swiftly. "Havoc, head south to Starlight Glimmer's location!"
Havoc had gone into his father's bedroom inside the castle, sitting atop the cozy, wide mattress and looking resentfully at his upper body appendages as if they were mirrors. "Havoc?" the voice of Grogar called in his head. "I know you're there! Head to the south immediately!" the draconequus shadow listened, but wouldn't budge. Even without staying to hear what his father said about the faults in his first attempt at monster crafting with a hint of Chaos in the mix, Havoc felt insecure about his failure, especially after the severe disapproval of his brothers and sisters. He was but a large, unstable toddler.
"Alright then, take your time." Grogar sighed. "Now, what about one of my capture squads? Hello?" He tried hard to get some good news from his monsters. "Squads 10, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 86, do you read me?" An answer came from that one manticore. "You had them? Brought them as far you could? Good. Don't worry, I'll catch them." He checked Arimaspi's Eye again for the wide view of Starlight's location.
This time, something other than the dots representing her group came into view. Another, from the opposite direction.
"Ah, maybe that can solve the problem?" Grogar reckoned. The ram sorcerer ignited his horns to open a new portal, eager to get the job done.
A revolution was brewing. Trixie took Princess Luna, Sandbar and the Cutie Mark Crusaders through the School of Friendship, using a week's worth of layout knowledge, to reach the detention dungeon where the punished were locked up.
"Here they are!" Trixie yelled. "You've given me a lot of trouble, but the Great and Powerful Trixie always pays back!" several water ponies guarded the dark stone cage filled with students. Going on guard, they transformed their hooves into spiked clubs.
Trixie quickly acted to throw smoke bombs at them. Next, everyone used the all-too-brief smoke cover to move through, incapacitate the guards, grab the cage's key from them, and open it up to set the schoolchildren free. The young ponies and yaks cheered as they marched disorderly out of their prison.
"Thank you, Counselor Trixie!" Raspberry Dazzle could be heard expressing delightedly.
"You're the best, Sandbar!" Hyper Sonic shouted excitedly from the pack.
Sandbar scratched his head, glowing a bit red from the praise.
"Princess Luna, you've saved us all!" Patty Peppermint cried out in relief.
"Fillies, colts, little yaks, follow us!" Luna ordered.
"Hey, no thunder stealing!" Trixie snapped in petty annoyance. She took notice of the childrens' chaotic trotting, setting off her inner Student Counselor. "Single file, everypony! Single file!" She was sounding just like Starlight.
Like good, obedient dogs, everyone went up the stairs in a much more neat fashion with the CMC, Sandbar and the grown-ups. Still, so much walking out of their detention cell made noise that instantly reached the main hall. So, it wasn't long before an unwelcome, but predictable roadblock came up.
"Not so fast!" Cozy shrilled, showing her hoof like a crossing guard. The Chimera and Roc were right behind.
"Ugh! Why must you be such a nuisance, Super Headmare Extreme Queen I-Don't-Give-A-Feather?!" Trixie growled. Her frustration drove her to point a firework in the filly's direction. It was drastic, but she fancied the odds.
"That's two classrooms worth of students in detention that haven't done their time!" Cozy scolded.
"Two of them?" Sandbar gasped. "I knew you were punishing a lot of the student body, but you've been throwing a fourth of the school down there!"
"They alternate, you know." said Cozy, doing nothing for the tension.
"This school's not unlike Twilight's in appearance, but it's a void of heartless emptiness feebly filled by a shallow darkness that twisted it from the moment it manfiested in this world. Just like the pony who runs it."
"We, at the School of Friendship, value unity and compromise in the name of keeping budding companionship away from that lousy six-way street." Cozy asserted darkly.
"Show of hooves. Who's learned a valuable lesson since they first got here?" Apple Bloom called. There was dead silence from the crowd of little ones. Nobody felt compelled to speak about their class time or Cozy on any level of reverence.
"Oh yeah, too scared to admit something." Cozy said smugly. "Can't say, lest you tick off your rightful guide to camaraderie."
"Kid, we being too scared of you to do anything else is all that's happened." Trixie snarked.
Cozy kept wearing that smug smile for only one more moment, before her cheeks drooped and her wides eyened in a trance of contemplation. Those hurtful words from Grogar, Chrysalis, Tirek and Eclipse replayed from her memory to the sound of an imaginary ticking clock. Something caused a bit of pain in her head, like a literal, small explosion of the mind, to signal an epiphany.
She chuckled begrudgingly. "You ponies have a gift for driving me insane. I suppose we're definitely at an impasse this time."
"No, no, don't try the sweet, sugary facade again." Scootaloo objected.
"I'm a sociable pony, let's try scratching each other's back for a change." said Cozy.
"Uh-huh." Sweetie Belle uttered skeptically. "What's in it for you?" Cozy had no reason to, but she tittered at the familiarity of that question.
"See, there's something I could tell you, boys and girls..." the wicked filly began, approaching the CMC in as dignified a manner as possible.
Cozy spared no details in telling the story of how she, Eclipse and Chrysalis caused some damage to property and crops, left incriminating traces of pony activity on their neighbours' land, spread falsehoods and stoked the hottest flames, including self-preservation, territorial instinct, and blind pride, in each of the clans while using disguises.
"But, of course, I can't say that, for I am under no obligation to." Cozy ended off on. "I have no business over here, either. In fact, I'm in the closet across the hall." On capping that off, she faded away. Turns out the copy was sent as a messenger.
"Just like we suspected, a conspiracy!" Apple Bloom stated.
"You think if we can pass that on to the ponies back home, they'll finally listen?" Scootaloo asked.
"Let's find out for ourselves." said Luna, impatiently.
"Go, Princess Luna, and three remarkable fillies!" Trixie urged. "I will lead these students which I counsel to their freedom!"
"I'll come with you, your highness!" Sandbar requested. "We need to get to the Tree of Harmony!"
Luna simply responded, with a smile, "I know."
"Good luck out there, Counselor Trixie.” Sandbar wished for the magician.
“Don’t patronize me; Trixie’s got this.” Trixie lightheartedly shot back. She eyed the Chimera and Roc, both of whom were dumbfounded.
Luna, the CMC and Sandbar walked into the nearby closet to find the real Cozy Glow, next to a box of tissues. Their entrance prompted her head to turn, revealing her still-reddened eyes.
“This is awfully generous of you, Cozy.” Sweetie Belle noted.
“It’s purely a matter of chance.” Cozy lied.
“Your associates would destroy you for giving us a chance at winning.” Luna remarked.
Cozy scoffed and rebutted with “All I want is to see my “associates” humiliated. As if I’d like for Princess Twilight and the lame manes to win. You’re so naive.”
“Well, what right-minded pony doesn’t want to see villains like that Tirek varmint taken down a peg?” Apple Bloom mentioned. The implication wasn’t lost.
“You’d have an interesting theory there if we didn’t all know I’ve lived to be bad.” Cozy grumbled. As if a bug was on her chest, she pounded it while saying “Shut up!” through gritted teeth. She followed with “I’m happy this way, so leave me to cheer up.”
“We will, when you sleep.” said Luna, sounding very commanding and imposing.
“You know? This takes me back. Your attitude, your desperation, your embarassment.” Scootaloo began, nostalgia tickling her bones. “It reminds me of somepony who used to be our enemy, but we haven’t talked to in moons. For all of her harshness and bluster, this filly was good, for no reason, and couldn’t run away from that fact. Come to think of it, she may have been just the tutor for you.”
“And which little commoner from your dirty, happy-go-lucky, countryside town would that be?” Cozy inquired in half-interest.
“Her name... is Diamond Tiara.” Scootaloo answered. Cozy blankly stared with nary a clue.
Luna cast a spell that accelerated Cozy’s drowsiness until she was fully asleep and drifting away into her idea of a pleasant dream. The dream gateway was opened once again for the night princess to jump in, this time along with the CMC and Sandbar. The dream they stepped into looked quite like Cozy’s office, only with the terrible prodigy sitting on a throne before a servile, lovestruck colt groveling at her hind hooves. They all ran out to the dream hub, grossed out, as the colt recited that Hearts & Hooves poem.
“I feel a cozy spark. Will you be my glow in the dark?”
The earth ponies in their shelter had their moods perked up a bit by the arrival of the delicious food from Grogar’s market. That one mare still ranted in frustration at everyone treating the ram sorcerer as real, at least for a minute or two. It became clear to her that she was mistaken, since she knew that the other members of her clan were the only trustworthy ones, as she currently recognized, in this war.
Celestia had fallen back to sleep for the past few hours, too weak to move currently, or deal with the obnoxiously paranoid and hateful earth ponies. Rusty Bucket didn’t leave her side while she got well-needed rest, except to grab some of the grub the travellers brought back, like fruit and buttered bread. It was genuinely tasty and had no suspicious aftertaste.
The sun princess began to groan from a surprising sensation in her subconscious. “Luna?” she whispered. Rusty’s ear twitched at that name’s mention. He was growing worried that she was witnessing something unpleasant, concerning her sister. The opening of another dream portal, positioned above Celestia’s bed, made him jump, and everyone in the shelter had their attention drawn to it as well, but even moreso the arrival of Luna, the CMC and Sandbar from the supposed nightmare. The children's manes and tails had gotten messier on the trip.
"Don't make us go back in there!~ Sweetie Belle squealed. "I hate those bat things!"
“Hey, what is this place?” Sandbar asked, mystified.
“Apple Bloom, you’re okay!” Granny Smith called over not too far across the room. “Come to Granny and get away from Nightmare Moon!” Apple Bloom didn’t obey.
Luna didn’t pay any mind to the use of her former, villainous alias. She had turned around and sharply focused on the uneviable, tired state of her big sister. Once again, Celestia whispered “Luna.”, but then smiled and added “You’re... safe.” Though the sun princess didn’t have the strength to hug her, Luna tearfully kneeled over and gave a warm embrace, relieved beyond all belief that a miracle, one she didn’t know but didn’t care to, has given her family a chance to recover and live again. Not one word spoken.
“She’s the luckiest princess Equestria could’ve had as a ruler for over a thousand years.” Rusty commented. Luna looked at him and silently nodded, happy to see him watching over the poor alicorn-turned-unicorn.
“Get out of here, Nightmare Moon!” yelled Mayor Mare. The others joined her in jeering the night princess.
“She’s in good hooves, your majesty.” Rusty assured. “Whatever you need to do, you better go do it before they get worse.”
“I am eternally grateful, Mr. Bucket.” said Luna, bowing in respect. She charged straight for the shelter door with Sandbar and the CMC.
“Big Mac, grab Apple Bloom!” Granny Smith hollered.
“Eeyup!” Big MacIntosh acknowledged, his eyes flaring with determination, but not without a moment of hesitancy about, again, doing something that’d make his kid sister unhappy.
Every other earth pony in that bunker, save for the elderly Granny Smith and the infant Cake twins, trotted at Luna specifically. They had forgotten who they were trying to mess with: an alicorn who could move the moon like it was a small piece of styrofoam, meaning of great magical power. She demonstrated this by transforming into her incorporeal mist form, an old trick she last used years ago as, poetically enough, Nightmare Moon. Confusion conquered the earth ponies' senses when the mist drew images of the moon before them.
The night princess, Sandbar and the CMC busted their way through the bunker door, to ground level. The former two got their first look at what the filly trio saw on their ride over to Yakyakistan. They were hit with a double shock of Equestria's icy desolation and the glacial temperature, both compliments of the Windigos.
Thankfully, they were saved by the exact same tunnel of magic that was provided to Gallus' group, extending towards the bunker in recognition of Sandbar and Luna's arrival.
"What's this?" Apple Bloom asked.
"It looks like..." Luna wondered.
"I might have an idea." said Sandbar. Their protective barrier to safety flickered for a few seconds. He recognized that questions were for later. "Let's move!"
Starlight, Sunburst, Shining Armor, Discord and the Pillars had no luck as far as winter coats were concerned, but Starlight cast the sturdiest shield spell she could. Even though these energy fields weren't really meant for protection from freezing cold, the tough, crystalline structure of hers had to do for now. They managed to make it all the way to the ruined Ponyville, now only idenitifiable by the last thing standing in it: Twilight's Malice-poisoned castle.
"Oh, Twily." Shining Armor said under his breath, fretfully, looking at the tarnished structure of crystal. "Please... come back."
"I pray the same, Shining Armor." Star Swirl sympathetically stated. "Enough have been lost." Though he had only known Twilight for a shorter time than her brother, he knew that to lose a beloved family member was no different than to lose a friend, like Stygian. Shining Armor accepted the sentiment.
Starlight pointed over to something cutting through the devastated town. "Guys? You have any idea what that is?" She spotted the magical tunnel that had opened up for the everyone on the Tree of Harmony's mission. It flickered, and a bit more aggressively than before.
"It's a hope!" Somnambula jubilantly cried. "We must follow!" At her insistence, everyone ran towards the protective hall of magic they saw.
As they approached, it slightly changed it's appearance to create arrows, indicating the direction it needed for them to go.
"I see. Grogar's wicked magic has corrupted the Tree, but it's combating said corruption to help however it can." Star Swirl presumed. The Tree's power once again flickered rapidly.
"That'll give us a break from the cold." said Sunburst. One by one, they all began to jump into their safe, warm passageway and turn towards where they were needed.
"Just one Accelero, and I'll-" Starlight announced, but was shortly interrupted before her leap when a teal aura levitated her in a crushing grip. "Hey!" Like lightning, an energy beam suddenly struck, sending her flying and rolling across the ruins.
"NO!" Sunburst stopped to yelp.
Empress Aurora Eclipse appeared. With a flick of her hoof, she sprouted many wilted trees from the ground at Sunburst's and the Pillars' own. Shining Armor and Discord had gotten ahead of the trees, resulting in them and the coreless Cadance to be separated from the rest of the group. Then, Sunburst and the Pillars found themselves lifted, spun around, and wrapped in Eclipse's tether.
"Shining Armor, Discord, get to the Tree!" Star Swirl hollered, knowing he was giving their position away, but seeing no other way to communicate this message to them. The two heard and advanced into the dead Everfree Forest.
Eclipse pointed at the sky and manipulated the electrical storm clouds to hover over the forest, aiming at where Shining Armor was going to be. She smiled so devilishly, confident in her aim. At the precise moment of her attack, telekinesis roughly pulled her away. Swiftly, she flapped her wings to slow down and regain control. By the time she was collected, Starlight leapt over the echo alicorn, flipping through the air, and blasted her with a magical bolt, propelling herself forward while smashing her enemy into the ground.
"Starlight, are you hurt bad?" Sunburst worriedly asked. He and the Pillars were freed from their binds by Starlight's energy blade.
"I did well against an enhanced Chrysalis, so I think I can handle my villainous copy." Starlight boasted, winking.
"So that's the evil you I've heard of." Sunburst breathed out in surprise.
"Starlight, take this to Shining Armor." Rockhoof requested, holding out Princess Platinum's crown.
"Why?" Starlight replied in uncertainty.
"Follow your gut, lass, as we follow ours!" Rockhoof exclaimed. "For the Tree!"
Without further questioning or argument, understanding the simple point, Starlight closed her eyes in compliance. She zapped the crown with a teleportation spell, sending it away, with Shining Armor on her mind. Immediately after, an instinct kicked in. She turned around with a battle cry and blasted the snow before her with a large energy blast, causing an explosion of snowflakes. A moment of no noise beyond the cold Windigo wind passed before Eclipse teleported in behind her and seized Starlight. She took her into the air.
Sunburst acted fast and grabbed Eclipse with his magical tether, causing her to drop Starlight, but thankfully she landed on the back of Rockhoof.
Eclipse shook Sunburst off by generating electricity across his tether. She steered her view down to Starlight and the Pillars, and caught them just fast enough to see her good template shake up another snowflake cloud, having been inspired by the blast she did before, in order to create cover. Eclipse charged her horn and slammed down on that spot with a magical strike, widening the cloud to an insane degree. However, she didn't hit anything but snow this time. The group of heroes had been teleported some feet away.
"With or without magic, we'll help you bring this pony down, Starlight!" Flash Magnus declared.
"Weak as we are, we have to try." said Mistmane.
"Trust us, we are more than sorcery, flight and botanical connections." Somnambula optimistically affirmed.
"Try having all of the above!" Eclipse yelled, laughing. She leapt out of the snow and shot multiple energy balls at and around the group of heroes. They scrambled to take evasive action.
Starlight got a better look at the impostor, now that she wasn't flying around. She noticed Eclipse looked very different. Her coat of fur wasn't like a normal alicorn's, even for a dark one. It was thick like a yeti's. She was the only one present who wasn't feeling the cold of the blizzard in the slightest because of that.
"You couldn't defeat Chrysalis. What makes you think you can beat yourself, but stronger?!" Eclipse derided.
"You are not "myself!", and never will be!" Starlight barked. She was swatted aside with the other Pillars and Sunburst by a wind burst generated by the evil alicorn.
"I should've been, but you decided to buy easy forgiveness and use unearned hospitality as an excuse to hold no accountability for your cataclysmic act of spite!" Eclipse rebuked.
"Nocreature even cares anymore!" Starlight snapped. "I may have come close to relapsing once or twice, and it may have been some time before I could live it down, but that's water under the bridge these days! My past actions aren't causing any further damage, and I'm happier!" She reflexively generated a shield to protect herself from a big, dark blast. Still, it pushed her a few inches back.
"The past isn't something you pretend never happened, it's something you carry on your back forever!" Eclipse growled. "Why submit to Twilight's leniency rather than embrace the weight of a misdeed you shouldn't have been able to come back from?!" Sunburst and the Pillars tackled her and dragged her to the ground.
"Well, the way I see it, it was either let that horrible incident I caused define everything I did and would do, no matter how much I changed, and haunt me for the rest of my life... or, recongnize the chance Twilight and her friends gave me to be a better pony, believe in that chance, that I wasn't beyond it, and prove my ability, regardless of my future mistakes!" Starlight ranted.
"You chose such a path because you're confident in that!" Eclipse scoffed, blowing her grappling attackers away. "I want equality in a powerful kingdom because I'm confident in this!"
"You're a reminder I've long-since grown tired of hearing!" Starlight snarled, growing more and more impatient from the blizzard's chill. "Nothing will change the fact you happened, but as far as the world's concerned, my past is forevermore irrelevant to who I am today!" Something triggered within the reformed unicorn from her surge of emotion. A warm, fiery swell of energy. It passed on to everyone in her party, completely protecting them from the frosty fates that might've befallen them in another minute.
Eclipse didn't look worried in the slightest. She had already set up the clouds to strike lightning on Starlight's group. So, it struck. The blinding shock from above kicked up another cloud of snowflakes. All was completely silent. "The world's only got room for one, sweetheart." she belittled.
Her apparent victory was cut short when a light shined in her eyes, the suddenness making it sting them all the more. It was from Somnambula's glowpaz necklace, illuminating in the moderately low light conditions of Equestria. Mage Meadowbrook took this opening to throw a pouch of itching spores at the alicorn, the effect taking hold immediately. Sunburst grabbed her with his magical tether again and swung her around, releasing to throw her into a collision course with an incoming, giant snowball.
"Well aimed, Rockhoof!" Flash Magnus complimented. The big earth pony felt like an inner child sprung out of him for a moment.
Starlight used her heat magic to melt the snowball over Eclipse's body, and then reversed to freeze the resultant water into a sheet of ice. Hopefully, this would hold the villain. Her protective coat of flame would continue to cast over the others on the team, like a thermal blanket.
"What's our next move, Starlight?" Star Swirl asked.
"We find where the ponies are, and hope." Starlight answered. She didn't have the directions, but she was going to try anyway in these desperate times. Her first choice? "We could use the extra unicorn power."
"Stay strong!" Flash Magnus verbally wished. "Somnambula and I will seek out the pegasi!"
Gallus' group managed to make it to the area where the Treehouse of Harmony was located.
"This is it!" Gallus confirmed. "The Tree's been guiding us to it!"
There was only one problem: the bridge to the Treehouse was out.
"Great, but... only 8 out of 10 of us can fly." Grampa Gruff pointed out. "I am not lifting the yaks; it's been an exhausting day for an old griffon already."
The Tree, whether it heard Grampa Gruff or not, addressed his complaint by generating a magical bridge for everyone to cross.
"Oh. Well, that's better." he said in surprise.
Gallus began to take the first step onto the bridge, until the flickering happened yet again. It flickered so much, it seemed like, for a couple of seconds, it wouldn't cease to. It did, but this was getting worrying.
"Make a break for it!" Silverstream screeched. The fliers flew over the bridge, while the yaks put all of their strength into a mad dash.
They made it across, but unfortunately, the bridge had to flicker just before Yona fully set foot on the other side. She lost her footing on her hind hooves and clutched the ledge.
"Yona scared! Yona scared!" the little yak howled in a panic, trying so hard to not to slip off, but losing the struggle to the stone cracking up. Her friends gasped for her well-being. Help was there in no time, though. Rutherford and Pharynx lifted her up without trouble, leaving only a piece of stone to break off and fall. "Yona saved! Not scared anymore!"
"Changeling help yak, too?" Rutherford inquired of Pharynx.
He answered "Changeling help whomever.", mimicking yak speech. "No big deal, it's a love thing."
Moving on, they got a good look at the Treehouse of Harmony. Though it seemed like it's power was fading, from all the flickering it's magic was doing, and despite the yellow and black veins and electricity running around the exterior, it looked almost as beautiful as it did before this crisis began. The students looked highly relieved to see the Tree, which was like a dear friend to them at this point, still in fair condition.
"Tree?" Ocellus spoke up. "It's us. We brought them together. We gathered our guardians, and you recognized our bonds. Even mine with Pharynx, despite Thorax being whom you wanted."
"I guess it knows how close me and Thorax are." Pharynx opined.
"Sorry we're missing Sandbar and the pony princesses." Smolder added. "They've got tons of catching up to do, but I'm sure they'll pop up any minute."
The tree emanated a light from it's doorway, manifesting arrows made of magical particles, to suggest what it wanted next. In addition to this action, a sound could be heard loud and clear. It was the sound of a happy baby, echoing from inside.
"That's an interesting new feature." Silverstream remarked, getting a chill down her spine from the ghostly sound.
Back at where the bridge started, Shining Armor - the crown of Princess Platinum on his head and Cadance on his back - and Discord arrived through the tunnel. Also, at the same time, another tunnel converged with it. From that one, Luna, Sandbar and the CMC ran to meet them.
"Shining Armor!" Luna called.
"Princess Luna, how'd you find your way here?" Shining Armor queried pleasantly.
"It seems we both followed this safe and warm passageway." Luna commented.
"I knew it!" Sandbar exclaimed. "The Tree of Harmony! This was leading here! Oh, that must be my friends! Hey, guys! HEY! Over here!" Sadly, the wind drowned out his shouts for attention.
The Tree made another baby sound, this time forming a word. "Whammy!"
Shining Armor gasped. The word struck him like a punch in the chest. He shook, eyes slowing watering up. "I-i-i-it's her."
"I heard it, too." Luna confirmed. "Perhaps it calls to you."
"I-i-it has..." Shining Armor stammered. "It h-h-has to be a trick."
"I doubt it." Luna assured him. "The Tree bears your foal's voice for a reason. That I can't doubt."
Shining Armor considered it for a moment. He may have been playing a trick on himself, in his grief, but like earlier, he wanted to believe the best for the well-being of his only child. He nodded and agreed to press forward.
"That crown. Is that... the crown of Princess Platinum?" Luna noted.
"Yeah, from what I'm told." Shining Armor responded. "Me and the Pillars found it under Canterlot, or Tambelon, as Grogar's calling it now."
"The CMC told me all about Tambelon." said Luna. "But, what a fortuitous find; to think it was literally underneath me and my sister's noses all along. Coincidentally, Twilight, her friends and I found the hat of Chancellor Puddinghead over in the undiscovered beyond." She showed the hat, which she had been keeping tucked in her ethereal mane.
"Hmm... if you still have your magic, you should hold onto this crown." Shining Armor requested, handing over the headpiece with his hoof. "Tirek still has mine."
"Okay." Luna agreed, levitating the crown in her telekinetic grasp. "Where are the Pillars?"
"They were with me, and Starlight and Sunburst too, but they stayed behind to fight that Aurora Eclipse character while I transported the crown." Shining Armor explained.
"A valiant diversion. I pray it hasn't wound up a sacrifice." said Luna.
"Luna? Tell me... how is Fluttershy?" Discord questioned in worry, only now drawing notice.
"Discord." Luna simply said back, surprised at the former draconequus still moving. Once the astonishment wore off, she smiled in good faith. "Fluttershy is going to be perfectly fine, and she will be pleased to know of your health."
"Come on, there's a bridge, let's go!" Sandbar restlessly urged the adults and the CMC.
Luna telekinetically lifted all of the others as she flew over the bridge, easily passing through what was left of the Tree's tunnel. The rapid flickering occurred another time, and worse, this allowed a harsh blast of wind to break through. It threatened to break Luna's concentration and shift her off the flight path. She held it together well enough to hold onto the children, but Shining Armor, Discord and Cadance, unfortunately, slipped. Down they fell into the chasm, and Luna didn't realize it until after she and the four young ones crossed all the way. The two stallions screamed until they hit a mound of snow below.
Luna tried to dive down to fetch them and the coreless Crystal princess, but the wind was getting so bad around this area, she had no control. She had to give up and strain herself to get back to the Treehouse's entrance, before she was gone with the frigid wind.
"Sandbar!" Yona yipped at the sight of the earth pony student in the presence of the other students and their guardians. The sound of the baby giggling reverberated off the walls, seemingly as a sort of welcome.
"We did it, Tree." said Sandbar in a low, relieved voice. "We finally did it."
Shining Armor and Discord took a hard fall, but not the most damaging one, thanks to the snow cushioning it. That didn't change the fact of the cold air around them, though.
"Oh, geez!" Discord bellowed. "All this running's bad enough, I don't need to be reminded I can't float anymore!"
"Sure, don't ask how I am." Shining Armor dryly responded, emerging from his spot in the snow. "I'm fine." He looked around and found Cadance's body lying a few feet away. "Cadance!" he gasped, rushing to pick her up.
"Let's g-get in that cave over there a-and..." Discord suggested, shivering. He sneezed and muttered "Y-you know."
"Papa!" the baby voice shrieked from the cave entrance.
"Flurry Heart, I'm coming!" Shining Armor desperately called in a rush.
"I don't know, what if that is a trick, set up by my old ram?" Discord hypothesized, following the stallion out of concern, sneezing again on the way.
The stallions didn't take long to reach the end of the cave and see what was waiting there. They saw the bottom part of the Treehouse of Harmony, and what had become of it for the first time. It was exactly as Grogar left it, a giant hole like an earthly mouth spewing yellow and black energy on the bottom of the brilliant, crystalline structure. Still, it was fairly warmer in there.
"Well, this is a case of picking your poison." Discord complained. "Cold wastes, or poisonous root?"
"Mama!" the voice of Flurry Heart called out cheerfully.
"Flurry Heart! It's me, daddy!" Shining Armor yelled back. "I'm here! Where are you!?" He could hear his little girl laughing with joy. It became pretty clear now that the sound waves were emitting from the hole in the Tree.
"It's coming from the Tree's roots?" Discord said, unsettled.
"Please, dear. Come out and see me." Shining Armor pleaded. "Mommy's here, too."
The yellow and black mixture of energy in the hole began to glow with more pleasant colours, such as pink and cyan. It was followed by Flurry cheering, a sound that'd make any heart fuzzy with the nicest feelings. But then, to the stallions' shock, eight tendrils of light emerged from the hole, rocketing towards Shining Armor. All of them surrounded him, but he wasn't wrapped up by any of them. Their target, whom they wanted to grab, was Cadance.
"Mama!" Flurry called again as the tendrils pulled the coreless body of Shining Armor's wife in.
"Cadance, no!" Shining Armor howled. He jumped towards the hole, reaching out. "No, NO! NO!" He couldn't catch her. Cadance had been dragged under the Treehouse of Harmony, devoured by the Malice within. Yet, the voice of Flurry still sounded excited with joy.
"Show's over, we're out of here!" Discord frantically yelled through gritted teeth, yanking on Shining Armor towards the exit.
With all the corruption the Treehouse had suffered, unlike Twilight's castle it was perfectly safe to go into. The students and guardians all went upstairs and gathered in the centre of what looking like a meeting room. It was akin to a peaceful sanctuary with righteous beings watching from stained glass windows above.
"Yona like this floor best!" said the little yak.
"Aren't stairs the coolest?" Silverstream remarked to General Seaspray.
"They are certainly a splendid invention." he agreed.
One by one, they gathered around and circled a small table in the room, which was more than big enough to fit these visitors of varying sizes.
"This had better been worth it, or somecreature owes me bits as compensation." Grampa Gruff grumbled.
"Cool it, Grampa Gruff." Gallus recommended. "Bits will only be useful in a saved world, you know."
"Hey Gallus, what's with the helmet?" Sandbar asked, interest piqued.
"Oh, this?" Gallus noted. "I found it in the Abysmal Abyss among some war spoils."
"I know that helmet!" Luna announced. "That's Commander Hurricane's! He was in Griffonstone!?"
"Commander who-now?" Gallus mumbled in confusion.
"Commander Hurricane, the pegasus leader Rainbow Dash played in the Hearth's Warming pageant, the one about the legend of Equestria's founding!" Scootaloo chimed in to clarify.
"Huh. I had no idea it was so special, or Equestrian property." Gallus admitted. He took off the helmet and placed it on the table.
"That makes all three!" Luna took out the other ancient Equestrian headpieces and began counting. "Him..." she put down the old, dusty hat, "Chancellor Puddinghead...", then the rusty, aged crown, "...and Princess Platinum, the daughter of King Bullion."
"Wow!" Sweetie Belle whooped. "What are the odds we'd see the three treasures of the pre-Equestria hiearchies, in one place? The real ones?"
"What's the big deal? They're just museum pieces." Ember commented.
"No offense, but I don't think this old headwear's important right now." Pharynx seconded.
The Treehouse glowed brighter around them, and Flurry Heart giggled with jubilation from beyond the roots.
"That there ghost voice seems to disagree with ya'll." Apple Bloom stated.
"Yak come to meet other creatures, right?" Rutherford mentioned. "Clans meet, clans talk."
"I'm glad you found pieces of your history, Princess Luna, but I do believe this meeting needs to get underway." said Seaspray.
"If this is the start, it's not off to a good one." Grampa Gruff groused.
"Patience, my friends." Luna instructed. "Sandbar and friends, as students of Twilight Sparkle's School of Friendship, whom were entrusted by the Tree of Harmony to build this alliance, you shall speak first."
"By the way, wherever is Princess Celestia?" Seaspray pointed out curiously.
"She is indisposed. We'll be seeing her later." Luna instantly answered, still in lament of her sister's condition, but having more optimism after that stop at the earth pony bunker. Silently she permitted the talking to commence properly.
"Listen!" Yona started. "Tree know it, Yona's friends know it! All great! Ponies good to us! Yaks strong! Ponies strong! Yaks and ponies stronger! But yaks, ponies, dragons, changelings, hippogriffs and griffons strongest together! All must be good to each other, and be loyal to pony friends!"
"I know the whole helping creatures by being kind and generous thing sounds lame on the surface, and you may have only gotten a taste of it, but I've seen how powerful it can be!" Smolder added. "It's not weak to have pride and show the strength you have, nor is it to share that pride and strength with the world!"
"Playing together, singing together, even laughing together! It opens up a whole realm of possibilities to make us better than what we've strived to be for so long!" Gallus spoke. "We should never be afraid to extend our hooves, or claws, in peace and open up our hearts to unlock our greatest selves! That's what real heroes look like!"
"We never built the courage to face our fear of the Storm King, but let's be honest, none of us were truly happy by ourselves at the bottom of the ocean!" Silverstream continued the streak. "The ponies taught us the better way that Princess Skystar realized all the time! Then my friends taught me there's no better way to live than with many as one!"
"They've taught us how beautiful spreading love to friends and family was, and it saved our hive from the reign of Chrysalis!" Ocellus advanced the conversation. "We've been the ponies' friends for a long time now, and I believe we're starting to become friends of yours! So please, help us help them in their darkest hour! They need us most!"
"What I've learned in school, as Princess Twilight and our professors have spoken from experience, is that friendship is difficult, but it's worth the battle because what it represents in Equestria, heck, everywhere, is the very Fire of Friendship itself!" Sandbar began to wrap up. "It saved the founders of Equestria, they and their descendants worked to keep it lit, and if we fight with faith and trust, we can light it up again and put an end to the Windigos' evergrowing wrath!"
Such extensive speeches of motivational words left all of the non-pony adults in the room in awe. Each of them had always thought that these children should've been learning from them, but right now the expected mentor and student roles had been reversed. Luna suppressed a laugh she had at their expressions.
"Well, as I recall, we need not be friends if this is going to pan out, only gathered up in the same place." Grampa Gruff recollected.
"If you ask me, gramps, we've got a lot of friendly advice to pass on." said Ember. "I helped Pharynx's brother with his leadership troubles, and he helped me in return."
"Changeling, griffon, hippogriff and pony help yak. Single out nocreature." Rutherford pointed out. "Common friend in yak."
"Seems like this friendship stuff really has that much power behind it." Pharynx mused. "I transformed when I learned to give, and I believe Thorax would call this the next step."
"Queen Novo helped bring us back to our former glory to live in the light again." Seaspray mentioned. "That means the world's our oyster now, and we welcome all sorts."
"Your queen sounds like one me and the other changelings wish we had." Pharynx remarked.
"She has her moments indeed, my friend." said Seaspray said.
"And Ember? That was nice of you, to give my brother the strength to sort out the renegades." Pharynx thanked. "If only it actually worked on the ones besides me. Not that I second guess your-"
"Hey, I'm sure changing the one closest to him was reward enough." Ember interjected. "It's cool."
"What about old griffon?" Rutherford asked. "Old griffon uncertain?"
"Eh, the ponies and all of yours treated Gallus very well, and you kept us safe from that earthquake without asking for anything in return." Grampa Gruff listed off. He sharply switched to a look of dejection. "But we still don't have our Idol of Boreas!" Then he turned to Gallus. "Boy, tell me you saw it down there!"
"Yes, but it's-" Gallus replied, interrupted by Grampa Gruff's hard stare. "But tough tailfeathers! It's why Griffonstone's been such a sad place for so long, and every griffon's been healing from it's poison. We should show that."
Grampa Gruff relented on the little blue griffon, reminded of how little he has left to lose in his life. "I suppose we griffons haven't had much to be proud of recently, until Gilda took notes from a couple of ponies." Grampa Gruff pondered out loud. "We'd have even more pride if we proved ourselves. So, you know what? I accept every last one of your challenges! You shall have the aid, and witness the might, of the griffon army!"
"Dude, we're talking about saving the world, no need for a long-winded justification." said Ember.
"I think he needs his medicine." Smolder jokingly whispered to the Dragon Lord.
Grampa Gruff, Seaspray, Rutherford, Ember and Pharynx stretched their frontal appendages over the table, past the Equestrian headpieces, ready to complete their union and seal the alliance.
"We, the ponies of Equestria, are in your debt now, creatures of the lands beyond it." Luna proclaimed as she joined her hoof with the hooves and claws of the other adults.
A powerful rush of Harmony Magic, glowing pink and cyan, erupted through the room, up the Treehouse, in recognition of this worldwide bond. They all looked around in wonderment, until the non-pony creatures felt themselves being slightly lifted off the ground. Beneath their feet, five roads made out of rainbows extended from the Treehouse in differing directions. A new way, perhaps?
"Follow. It'll take you home." Luna surmised.
"So, what about these things, then?" Sandbar queried about the Equestrian headpieces. Before his eyes, the CMC picked up and lifted them, as if to put this set of old gear on.
"Leave that part to us." said Apple Bloom.
"Earth pony, pegasus and unicorn unified? No fight?" Rutherford questioned.
"Our magic differs, but our hearts are the same, like the founders and their trusted right-hoof ponies." Sweetie Belle stated.
"We just need the rest to learn that, all over again." Scootaloo added, glaring with fire in her eyes.
It was time to leave this sanctuary. Time to set all the kingdoms free. Time to find the ponies in hiding. Time for Grogar and the Horses of the Apocalypse to meet their match.
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