COLD

by Shadow Spector

Episode 1: Recovery Part 1

Author's Note:

Recap (spoilers for Glow in the Dark): Glow in the Dark was the story of how Cozy Glow became the way she was.

Her parents were taken from her by a unicorn named Pent who tried to kidnap her and raise her as his own daughter. She escaped by stealing one of Pent's sharpened chess pieces, a rook. As she escaped, she fell unconscious before a pegasus named Troth helped her get to a community. When Cozy Glow woke up, her rook was missing from her. After Dr. Degree put Troth to look after Cozy, the salmon-filly's new goal became to find her rook.

Troth decided the first thing they would do would be to visit her best friend, Lenia, for lunch but to their shock, Lenia was there with her own friends, a griffon named Candid, a dragon named Opul, and a yak named Droll. During their uncomfortable introduction, Cozy learned that each of the non-ponies were missing an item just like her. Candid had his paddleball taken, Droll had his family picture confiscated, and Opul had her best friend, a pet rabbit, stolen from her when they each first arrived. With a forced partnership, Cozy decided that they all should sneak into the castle to steal back what's rightfully theirs.

After their failed mission which left one of Opul's wing and one of Droll's horns removed, Cozy got sent to the throneroom of the palace the next day to meet directly with the corrupt leader of the community, a unicorn who calls himself Emperor Contume. He was open with her about his treatment of his citizens, but it became apparent to Cozy on how much he mistreats the non-pony citizens. He even let slip that he ended the life of Opul's pet bunny shortly after taking him from her. After seeing how disturbed Cozy Glow was, Contume offered to let the filly take home a valuable from his oversized safe. It's there that she discovered her rook, but Contume denied her the weapon, letting her take Candid's paddleball instead before allowing her to leave. Afterwards, Cozy met with Troth and she showed Cozy Glow the library, Cozy discovered a research book on the magic of friendship, and she quickly learned on how she could utilize its power. From that point, she used Candid's item as leverage and decided that this very night, the six would break into the throneroom forcefully to stop Contume's rule and finally get all their items back

The six creatures sneaked through the palace but blocking the doorway were dozens of guards. Lenia was able to save them by declaring to the soldiers that her parents needed all the help they could get in the lower wing of the palace, and Cozy discovered that her parents were Radiance and Nightfall, the two second-in-commands of the community. With the way now clear, Cozy led the way into the throneroom where they had planned to stop Contume. With Contume winning the battle of manipulation, he turned the non-ponies against Cozy while her friends, Troth and Lenia, were lost in what their purpose was. With a last-ditch effort, Cozy revealed the fate of Opul's bunny, which allowed her to break free from Contume's mental grasp on her while Droll and Candid followed suit. Contume then used his magic to subdue the entire six before lifting Cozy up to try and crush her, but after thinking of the friendship she made with Troth and Lenia and how they helped her overcome her fear of unicorns, she was overcome with its power as Contume's magic no longer worked on her. She relieved Contume's magic from Lenia and Troth all while Candid, Opul, and Droll discovered how to use the magic in their own bubble. With the magic surrounding the two sets of friends, they unleashed a magical blast that could defeat the emperor.

With the moment of victory cut short, Cozy believed now that she was meant to be the ruler all along with how she could use the magic of friendship. The non-ponies said she's wrong and tried to stop her, but Cozy threw her rook at Candid to tip off a battle in the throneroom. Troth teamed up with Cozy to fight Opul when Candid and Droll find Lenia cowering at the edge of the throneroom. Lenia, unwilling to fight, threw herself through the window from the second-floor of the palace. The shattering of the glass alerted Troth who thought that Candid and Droll did that forcefully to the filly, and she attacked them, outmatching the two of them with her strength. After nearly getting killed, Candid hatched a last-ditch idea to trick Troth into going underneath the oversized safe, and with the help of Droll using the last of their energy, he was able to tip it over on her, crushing her to only let the top-half of her head see the light of day. This alone made Cozy stop fighting to rush to her deceased friend. With nothing more she could do for her, the salmon-filly picked up the remnants of her friend's skull. Cozy fled out of the window of the throneroom, leaving the three non-pony survivors at the mercy of the general's guards just outside the door. This is their story.

Candid was still breathing heavily as he stared out the opened window with his lone right eye, not knowing if he was more angry or sad. He couldn’t tell if the blood on his left cheek was from the pale pegasus or from his bleeding socket. Just two days before, his life had been fine, but it only took one pony to turn everything upside down.

From behind the griffon, the sound of hoof steps outside the room grew more intense, filling the hallway with echoes from the marching guards. They were almost loud enough to cover the heavy breathing of the orange non-pony by the time Opul fell over.

Candid quickly turned to face his friends. Droll had hit the safe head on but fell unconscious safely to the side, and Opul was all scratched up with red gashes all over, her blood matching the color of the pool beneath the safe from which Candid rested over.

Candid rushed over to his friend who was barely clinging to consciousness. “It’s okay, Opul. I’ve got you.” He held the dragon in his arms, watching as her eyelids fell shut. To the griffon’s relief, she was still breathing.

Finally the door busted open, revealing practically an army of earth pony guards led by one tall, golden stallion with a red mane. Candid couldn’t quite tell what the lead pony’s cutiemark was with all of the armor covering him. The guards filled the room, evenly distributing the place in volume and investigating all over the throneroom.

The stallion stared down at the pool of blood that was still growing in size, its height over the floor still decreasing from its volume. The yellow pony stared at it in disgust before looking up from the horrific sight to see the bloody griffon with the unconscious body in his arms.

Candid raised his head slowly, glaring up at the pony. “She needs help.”

A dark blue mare was quick to accompany the stallion, her cutiemark that of musical notes in a dark atmosphere. “Where’s the Emperor?

Candid directed his head to the window that had been blasted through, and immediately a dozen guards were on the case.

One guard held up a flashlight to aim through the opening, and he scanned the ground briefly before stopping at a location. “There!”

The orange non-pony’s breathing grew heavier as his adrenaline died down, and he began to feel just as woozy as before. He kept trying to maintain his consciousness, only interested in making sure that Opul was properly cared for.

The bright-colored stallion walked around the pool of blood that was now reaching the center of the carpet where the outline of an earth pony was drawn. He approached Candid carefully, his face full of calmed concern. “Where’s Lenia?”

Candid stiffened before his eye pooled again, looking passed the stallion to the other side of the throneroom where the small, freshly broken window was.

“Where’s Lenia?” the stallion repeated, getting more agitated.

Candid’s breath became audible, and he opened his mouth to give an answer before the darkness surrounded his right eye, causing him to pass out in the middle of the crime scene.

Droll awoke with the biggest headache. Everything was still a haze to him, but he remembered the general idea of what had happened. The only thing his mind was doing was loops though.

The synchronized pattern of beeps from the machine beside him focused his mind into one steady pattern. Finally, the yak opened his eyes to view his surroundings.

“Finally awake?” a voice asked.

Droll turned his attention to the white-vested doctor, but immediately when he turned his neck, his head sprained again. He reached his cloven hooves to the site of the pain only to feel the location bandaged with the cloth wrapping around his cranium. The non-pony steadied himself before looking at Dr. Degree, his head abnormally feeling balanced for the first time in a couple of days.

“I’m not supposed to be caring for non-ponies, but it’s the least I could do.” The doctor walked around the hospital bed Droll was in, making his way to a chair that stood beside him. “What happened back there?”

Droll’s head cricked in pain; he was momentarily unable to speak. He tried to remember the last thing that happened before he had passed out. Then maybe he could figure out what happened after, but nothing was coming to mind. The only thing that felt consistent in his head was the pain his jaw was in.

“My assistant was with you,” Degree continued. “I know that much, but you three were the only ones taken from the throneroom.”

The yak’s head rang in a final crunching sound that echoed through his ears, the last thing he had heard before stumbling into darkness. He remembered being attacked by the wild pegasus and realized that there was only one result the gut-wrenching sound could’ve come from.

“ . . . Yak don’t think she made it,” Droll guessed reluctantly.

Degree shifted uncomfortably. “What? But - just - what could’ve happened to her?”

Droll shrunk back uncomfortably in the gurney before choking up. “Yak didn’t mean to. Yak didn’t want to.”

“You did this?” Degree asked for clarification. “But how? Why? She always spoke of you. She liked you. How could you have done this?”

“Pegasus tried to kill Droll.”

The earth-pony doctor regressed. “No, no she wouldn’t.” He searched his thoughts for a moment, trying to convince himself that the young nurse wouldn’t be capable of the actions suggested. “She wouldn’t go that far again. I took her under my wing. She only had a weird way of presenting her affection . . .”

The brown non-pony sighed in regret before remembering what the surgeon said. “Three taken from room . . . Where yak friends?”

Degree regarded the creature in sadness, but helped him off the bed to escort him through the hospital.

“Your friends are only allowed to go on the second floor.”

“Why guards go through trouble of putting yak and friends here?”

“Ponies are more of a priority to rush to the emergency rooms here, so they go on the first floor.” The stallion appeared conflicted before continuing. “If you ask me, all creatures here should be prioritized. A life-threatening wound is scary. No one should have to be worried if ponies will acknowledge them in time.”

“Maybe with new leader, things be different,” Droll suggested, trying to sound hopeful.

“New leader? What are you talking about?”

The yak’s smile faded into fear. He had no idea how to save himself from what he said, so instead, he put his cloven-hoof to his head, faking his pain. “Yak head still hurt. How much longer ‘til yak and pony get to room?”

Degree stared in suspicion before continuing his brisk trot, stopping after a few seconds at a door. “I think I’ll stay outside for this one.”

Droll stared in thought for a moment before entering the room. Laying in the hospital bed wrapped in a blue silk blanket was the creature whose color matched that of the deceased pegasus.

“Opul,” Droll began, rushing over to the bed.

The pale dragon slowly turned her gaze to the yak, and she put on a soft smile. “Droll.” Her eyes traveled above the yak’s head, and the beam left her face.

Droll tilted his head in confusion without losing his balance. “What?”

“Um, it’s nothing,” Opul shook her head. “I like your new horn.”

“New what?” Droll reached up to touch his right horn; it still felt the same. He then reached over to where he expected his other horn to still be gone but, instead, he felt something cold and sturdy, causing a light TING to be heard.

“It looks good,” Opul continued, forcing a smile. “You can barely tell it’s different.”

Droll rushed to find his reflection, his eyes stopping on a mirror that he enthusiastically approached, ignoring his throbbing head.

There, placed just over the pale bandages stood the new addition to his outer appearance. Standing up high at the exact same level of his other horn stood the curved, metal horn, its silver appearance glistening in the light.

Droll stared in disappointment. “This - this not right. This not part of yak.”

“No, no,” Opul declined, sitting up more in her bed, letting her covers fall from around her torso. “It looks good. You can now have something linking you to the past and something bringing you to the future.”

Droll pondered the thought for a moment. Perhaps it wasn’t a good thing for him to just disown something that looks different at first glance. He focused on the horn, realizing that it did look very similar to the real calcium one. They both weighed the exact same, so he could just continue on like normal. Slowly, a smile was brought to the yak’s face, but through the reflection of the mirror he saw the red and white dragon behind him.

“Opul . . .,” Droll said, noticing the marks on her torso.

The seated non-pony looked away in shame, covering herself again.

Droll couldn’t think of the right words to say, but eventually thought of one question. “Permanent?”

Opul’s eyes returned to Droll in a scowl. “I don’t know. Maybe some of them will heal as new, but others will just be a constant reminder of what happened.” Opul shuddered, feeling her wing stub where the previous leader had claimed his prize. That alone was enough to make her tear up.

“Hey,” Droll intervened. “Not all bad. Make dragon stronger. Each been through something.”

“Some worse than others,” Opul muttered.

The yak frowned. “Yak injury still just as permanent.”

“No,” Opul launched back. “Nothing happened to you. You barely got away with this, Droll. Candid lost an eye. I lost my ability to fly, something that made me who I was! You just lost a horn, and it came back. You have no room to talk about what happened. So don’t think for a moment that what happened to us was equal.”

Droll regressed, his chest burning from the words, causing Opul's aggressive expression to immediately soften into remorse.

'Droll, I'm sorry. It's just, my whole life, I've had to figure out a way to survive, and with the way things have been recently, I'm not so sure that's possible anymore." Opul's teary eyes met Droll's in a shameful glance. "I know you lost something too. Someone important to especially you."

Droll opened his mouth to speak but Opul continued.

"I guess I'm still not used to being around other creatures." She turn away from her friend to face the wall. "I still need some time to myself."

Without anything to say to cheer his friend up, Droll turned towards back towards the door. He exited just in time to see Dr. Degree returning back to him with a distraught look.

“Emperor Contume is . . . dead.” He focused his eyes inquisitively on the yak. “How did you know?”

Droll just drooped his chin disappointingly. “Yak want to see griffon.”

“He’s close,” the stallion said as he led the way before stopping a couple doors down. “Hurry up with him. General Radiance wants the entirety of this community to attend the funeral that they’re setting up. It’s almost done so when you’re done with him, then you can pay and attend.”

Droll clenched his eyes in realization. “Yak no have bits to pay.”

Degree just nodded in understanding. “It’s okay. I’ll cover you and your friends.”

Droll gave an appreciative smile. Finally, he opened up the door as Degree accompanied him inside, the stallion waiting against the frame.

Droll approached the griffon who was already sitting out at the foot of the hospital bed with only the right side of his face showing. “Candid?”

The griffon moved nothing except his right eye to see the yak. Droll was expecting a brighter expression to come from the other non-pony but instead, Candid just returned his attention to the wall in front of him.

“Candid,” Droll repeated, inching closer to him. “All done. No threat now.”

“You should know that’s a lie, Droll,” Candid finally said without turning his attention to him. “What happened was only part one. Part two is going to take up the rest of our lives.”

“Griffon no believe that. Griffon bounce back like always.”

Candid finally turned his face towards Droll to reveal the gushy empty eye socket to the left of his right eye, startling Droll into backing up

“Hey!” Degree called out. “You’re not wearing your eyepatch!”

“Thanks for pointing out the obvious, genius,” Candid badmouthed.

“You need to keep that on to prevent infections and so you don’t gross anyone out.”

The griffon jumped down from the hospital bed to get in Degree’s face, standing on his back paws. “I hope I do gross them out. Let them share in my mental state.”

Droll arrived between the two creatures but couldn’t stop the standoff. Finally, the yak backed away to let it play out, nervous at what would happen.

“Okay,” Degree backed down. “If you don’t want to wear that eyepatch now or when you leave, you don’t have to. But for the emperor’s funeral today, you need to wear that out of respect.”

“I don’t respect that tyrant,” Candid said. “Besides, I’m not wasting my time over there.”

“You have to,” Degree spoke as if involuntary. “It’s written in the will that Emperor Contume wrote 6 years ago when he started this place. It’s been unchanged since. It says that in the event of his untimely demise, that he wants everypony, creatures included, to come see him off. This unfortunately includes ponies and creatures in the hospital, regardless of whether or not they are in dire condition or not. And we have a whole lot of citizens that want to see that enforced.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Candid glared at the stallion shamelessly before retreating back to his hospital bed, sitting on the side. “I’m staying right here.”

Degree turned toward the sympathetic yak. “I understand why he does this, but I don’t want him to get in trouble, Droll. Do you have anything that can convince him?”

Droll thought for a moment, getting an idea in his mind that he quickly shot down. “No, yak know nothing.”

“Please,” Degree pleaded. “If he doesn’t attend, General Radiance will have him brutally punished or worse. This will be treated as an act of treason against the community. Surely, you know something.”

Droll knit his eyebrows in reluctance, the original thought coming back to his mind. With a shaky breath and hard gulp, he proceeded to speak, walking over to his friend but keeping a safe distance from the unstable griffon. “C-Candid. Please come to event. If not, griffon be punished and that not what . . .”

Candid’s head snapped back at Droll, his single eye putting on a look of anger. He tilted his head slightly to put on a look of intimidation, causing Droll to speak in even more reluctance.

“Please,” Droll begged. “Think about . . .” He stopped, not allowing himself to even say her name.

He didn’t have to in order to set the griffon off. “Are you serious, Droll? Are you that heartless to use her against me? It hasn’t even been a day!”

Droll shrunk back in shame, his eyes tearing up, causing Candid’s anger to lighten up just a bit.

Finally, Candid took a deep breath before turning to Degree. “Okay fine. I’ll be there.”

The stallion pursed his lips, nodding before he uncomfortably left the room.

Candid blinked his eye sockets hard. “She was taken from us,” Candid said in a mix of anger and sadness. “I was always so rude with her while you always had the right idea of being gentle with her like she was to everyone else. She never deserved the way I treated her.”

The orange non-pony’s breathing grew heavier with rage. “How could I have let any of this happen?! First her, then . . .”

The loud crunch rang in Droll’s ears, causing him to flinch. “Candid . . . Pegasus dead too, right?”

“Which one?” Candid asked. “Both of them should have went instead of just the one.”

Droll’s eyes blinked in understanding at what had happened after he went unconscious. “Yak and griffon murderers . . .”

Candid’s head snapped back to Droll. “No, I’m not a murderer! I mean, we’re not murderers! We did what we had to do. No one would have blamed us. Not even Lenia.”

Droll could tell that Candid wasn’t quite sure about that, but decided not to pressure it. Finally, the yak sat down next to his friend to comfort him with his presence.

Eventually, Candid’s breathing steadied. “Droll . . .”

The brown creature turned to face the dark orange non-pony, his face putting on a look of innocence and sympathy.

“Did-,” Candid began, “Did you tell me to shut up back there before the throneroom?”

Droll was caught off guard for a moment before smiling. “Uh oh, where doc? Griffon crazy. Give sedative.”

Candid gave an airy chuckle before his closed talons finally opened up, revealing the black eyepatch given to him. “I guess it’s time to go honor someone dishonorable.”

Droll and Candid were waiting at the front door to the hospital when Opul finally arrived.

Opul’s face lit up at seeing the griffon again. “Candid, you look good.”

“And you look . . . better than I last saw you,” he replied.

Opul’s smile shrank into a nervous, self-conscious expression.

“But I still like it,” Candid added.

Opul’s face tightened in an awkward smile as she looked to the floor, noticing her red scars across her stomach again. “I look hideous . . .”

“No,” Candid disagreed. “You want to see hideous?” He reached up to his eyepatch. “This is-.”

“Uh, keep on,” Droll interrupted.

Candid sighed before looking back at the dragon. “No, you don’t look hideous. You look opulent.”

The pale non-pony widened her eyes before giggling. “We-we should probably get out there.”

The three non-ponies marched outside the hospital, heading straight for the town hall. Although they were never told specifically where the funeral would be held, it was obvious that would be the place to host the celebration.

The walk over to the landmark was a silent trip. Droll considered starting a conversation as to why Candid was now walking on his back paws instead of on all four limbs as he usually had done in the past, but the yak decided against it out of fear for Opul still being angry with him. Instead, he just stayed in his own path as they reached the giant building.

“I wonder if Radiance is as good of a speaker as Contume was,” Opul said.

Droll and Candid glanced at Opul in a confused manner.

“What?” Opul asked, getting defensive. “Just because he was evil doesn’t mean I didn’t like his rallies.”

Candid reached his talons to open the door to the town hall at the exact same time Opul did, resulting in both non-ponies immediately recoiling their arms.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Opul began. “I just thought-.”

“No, no it’s fine,” Candid reassured. “It’s that someone had to, you know. And waiting wouldn’t . . .”

“I know what you mean, but if both of us waited, then you can see how-.”

Droll huffed in annoyance as he reached for the door to hold it open, gesturing for his friends to walk through to which they did in an awkward manner.

The non-ponies traveled through the dark hallway to emerge into the light where the multiple equines sat in silence. The three friends knew the drill, and they continued walking around the countless ponies for minutes on end to find the seats reserved for them in the back.

It was when they took their seats together that they noticed the purple coffin in the center of the room. On a stand stood a picture of the blue unicorn except he didn't have his purple robe on. Instead, the picture focused on his full stature, and revealed his cutiemark which was shown to be a queen piece in chess.

“No wonder he wanted to cover that up,” Candid whispered. “That's embarrassing.”

Opul didn't hear him over the fear brought back to her from the reminder. Just the sight of the unicorn was enough to make her begin trembling.

Radiance and his wife, Nightfall, stood on each side of the purple coffin wearing dark clothes. The sight of the couple without a third member caused Opul to glance away in sadness for a moment before returning her eyes to the center of the grand room. The two earth ponies waited for a couple of minutes before Radiance finally spoke.

“We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of our dearly beloved . . . Oh, screw this formal crap." Radiance adjusted his stance. "Ponies died yesterday. The most important casualty though was-,” the stallion stopped himself. “This community has lost its emperor. While this may be devastating, this community will not cease to function. Nightfall and I will make sure of that. We will be taking control as of today to ensure this city’s continued survival. As former second-in-command, Nightfall and I will have a co-leadership over this community, and this place will continue to have a leader.

“With that addressed, Emperor Contume was killed last night by a pegasus pony. Our most trusted guards and I were only able to get a quick glimpse of her before she flew off. Be on the lookout for a pink filly with blue hair. If she is still here in the community, we’ll find her.”

Somehow, Radiance was able to locate the three non-ponies from the crowd in a matter of seconds, causing him to glare. “That concludes the funeral service for today.”

Nightfall looked over at him in confusion as if expecting it to be longer, but eventually just rolled her eyes in an absence of concern. She called a set of the guards over to carry the coffin out of the throne room as well as other guards to take care of the picture of the deceased emperor.

The ocean of creatures in the crowd began flooding out of the room, but Radiance glared at the three non-ponies and held up his hoof to stall them. Droll stiffened, but Candid simply returned the glare right back at the new leader. Opul just seemed concerned at the situation.

After all the community members left, Nightfall watched as her husband approached the yak, griffon and dragon, causing Droll to begin noticeably shaking.

It was when Radiance stopped in front of them that Droll lost it. “Yak and friends did nothing!”

Candid stood up taller on his hind paws, trying to reach higher than Radiance. “What do you want?”

Radiance directed his attention straight to the griffon. “You better show me some more respect as your new leader.”

Candid opened his mouth to say something, but Opul tapped him on the back in disapproval. Finally the griffon silenced himself.

Radiance redirected his attention to all three of them before continuing. “What you three did was unforgivable. If it wasn't for the filly we saw performing the official act, I'd have you three executed before the sun went down. You’re lucky I’m not locking each of you in the community dungeon for association.”

Droll’s heart began beating out of his chest. “Yak and griffon sorry . . .”

“Sorry won’t cut it. I doubt you even mean it anyway. You three are monsters for what you did, and this funeral here will be the only community event you’ll get to go to. I don’t want you anywhere around the others.”

Droll looked at his friends in concern. He felt as though they were being left off easily.

Radiance straightened his posture. “Do I make myself clear?”

The three non-ponies subtly nodded their heads.

“I want to hear you say it.”

Candid gave an annoyed look, but eventually, the three friends agreed in unison.

“Good.” Radiance raised his chin. “Now leave for the burial.”

“Did you really have to spit on his grave?” Opul asked as she marched away from the graveyard with her two friends.

“No one was looking so why not?” Candid replied.

Droll sighed. “Yak just want to go home."

“We can’t do that,” Candid said. “We need to wait. If the tyrant’s funeral was important enough to do today, then I can assure you that the new leader’s own daughter will be just as prioritized.”

Droll emotionally lowered his eyebrows. “No be here. Radiance say no.”

“I don’t care what Radiance says,” Candid said. “Lenia was our friend, and we are going to make sure that we see her off to the end. I won’t be moved.”

As if Fate felt disrespected, the herd of marching guards arrived on the scene again, led by Radiance and Nightfall. Over the herd of ponies, the white new coffin was carried over the center of the group, an odd color choice for the daughter of the community leaders according to Droll.

At first glance, Radiance halted, signaling for a dozen guards on each side to begin marching in the directions of the non-ponies, causing the yak and the dragon to begin regressing.

“Candid, come on,” Opul said. “I know you want to stay, but we can’t be doing this.”

Candid growled in frustration before joining his friends, leaving behind the second funeral service.

“Yak and friends won’t end this way,” Droll spoke up as the three marched down the community streets.

“It seems pretty ‘ended’ to me,” Candid offered.

“No, yak mean that Droll, Candid, and Opul will see Lenia off.”

“How?” asked Opul. “The moment we’re seen, we will be rushed out of the cemetery.”

“Yak and friends form own funeral.”

Droll marched in front of them, taking the lead. He continued on to the abandoned house of their friend, knowing that no one would be there from the event currently happening.

“What are we doing here?” the white non-pony asked.

“Doing least possible,” the yak answered. “Search flowers.”

“Lenia did like petunias,” Candid said.

Droll nodded before going to the back of the house of the new leaders. He began his search for the flowers, specifically looking for petunias. Opul and Candid helped out with him, piling the located flowers in a group at the corner of the backyard. After some time, they had developed a make-shift grave about the size of their friend.

The griffon took off his eyepatch out of respect, keeping his left eyelid shut.

Opul looked around at her two friends. “Does anyone want to say anything?”

The dark-orange griffon stepped forward. “I’m sorry I never treated you the way I should have. You deserved so much better.”

“I took you for granted, Lenia,” Opul began. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

Droll knelt down closer to the flower pile. “Earth pony closest to yak.” He stared in disbelief at the only way possible for him to be close to his friend once more. With a heavy arm, he gently placed his cloven-hoof over the petunias, blinking back his tears. “Droll miss you . . .”

Candid stared down in regret at the pile of flowers before he lifted up his head in an idea. “I’ll be right back.” The griffon retreated back to the nearby buildings, waiting until he was out of sight from Opul before he began flying away.

“We need to put something of hers over the grave,” Opul said.

“Dragon have item from Lenia?” Droll asked.

Opul stopped. “No . . .” She looked over at the building behind her. “We can’t just intrude on the house, but we also can’t just leave the flowerbed empty.”

“What about camera used by friend?”

“That’s in the throneroom still. I don’t think anyone took it out.”

“Yak and friends think of something.”

Just as quickly as he left, Candid returned, holding an item in his talons. He landed a bit of distance away from the makeshift grave before slowly walking the rest of the way, stopping at the foot of the grave.

“Here,” Candid said in a broken tone. He slowly set down his pink paddleball in the bed of flowers. “You were the only one who ever deserved to know.”

Droll slouched in sadness as Opul rested a claw on Candid’s back. The two friends had seen the item before but never wanted to say anything about it.

“Earth pony with pegasus now,” Droll lamented. “With own kind. Hope pony belongs now.”

The three non-ponies took a moment of silence that immediately became interrupted by a screeching siren in the distance.

“What the hay is that?” Candid asked in anger.

The three of them rushed back to the streets where a mob of ponies were rushing all around from place to place in disorganized chaos. Droll looked around, hoping to find answers, but the place was completely flooded as the siren increased in loudness every second.

Finally, Nightfall arrived on the scene. “Everypony, stay in doors! We will get to the bottom of what’s happening!”

“Everypony,” Candid repeated. “We’re fine then.”

The griffon marched through the wave of ponies as Droll and Opul rushed behind him. The three made their way through the grand city, trying to locate the source of the conflict. They finally did when they noticed the army of soldiers standing guard at the top of the community walls.

From the ground level, the golden leader galloped to the base of the walls. “What’s going on out there!”

“A giant creature is threatening to attack the community, sir!” A purple pony from above called back.

“Has Constellar returned so soon?”

“No, sir. Thankfully not yet. It’s a multi-headed beast making its way here quickly.”

Radiance rushed to the stairs, making his way up to the top of the walls in seconds. “Stand guard, everypony. Someone, gather the swords. We might need to go to battle again.”

“Emperor Radiance!” a pony announced from the bottom of the walls.

“Don’t call me that,” he called back down to the ground. “I don’t want to be labeled the same as he was.”

“I can help,” the young maroon pony called back up.

“No,” Radiance disagreed to the unicorn. “We won’t use your spells. Too dangerous. They can cause more harm than good.”

“If the creature is as big as it’s been described, then the harm done from my breweries will be the least damage to this place!”

“Let us handle this. That’s an order.”

The maroon unicorn groaned before turning to Candid and stopping in her tracks. For a moment she smiled in recognition before shaking her head from her trance and running out of the streets, getting lost in the crowd of ponies.

The ground began to lightly shake beneath as if an aftershock was in progress.

“What’s happening up there?” Opul asked.

“Do I look like I can see what’s going on?” Candid scolded.

Opul covered her mouth with her claw grotesquely before Candid realized his mistake, and he quickly put his eyepatch back on.

From above the walls, a group of ponies returned, carrying weapons and projectiles of all kinds, including a sword with an oversized blade to it.

The griffon grew impatient from waiting too long, causing him to spread his wings before freezing. He glanced at Opul for a moment before folding his wings back at his side, instead deciding to run up the stairs to the top of the community walls.

Candid stopped just a few steps away from the top, peeking over the side to see the multiple army ponies rushing around aimlessly. There were no unicorns among the stallions and mares, providing the realization that there would be no spells to aid the group in battle. The stairs began shaking even worse than the ground was. Finally, Candid emerged on top, standing on his paws to attempt to get a good view on what was happening.

“Hey, back off, Candid,” Radiance ordered. “Return to the main level at once.”

Candid shrugged off the authority without hesitating, looking passed the gold stallion to an unnerving sight. Standing twice as tall as the community walls was the brown, four-headed beast that was arriving to the community at a brisk pace.

The griffon’s jaw dropped. “Oh Celestia, it’s a hydra.”

COLD