The Summer Sun Setback
It was a dark night in the Crystal Empire and almost everypony was asleep. The only ones who weren't asleep were some of the guards, all tirelessly patrolling the city. After what happened with Shroudheart, they refused to allow another incursion. They would protect the empire and its inhabitants, no matter what.
But it wasn't the city that was in danger at the moment. Instead, the biggest threat was outside in the crystal mountains. The Crystal Penitentiary held some of the most evil ponies in Equestria. They only place more secure was Tartarus, though much hard work had gone into making the Crystal Pen impossible to break out of.
But breaking in was a different issue. That was the thought Armalum had as he stood at the base of the snowy mountain, staring up the giant rock that held his prize. "Time to visit an old friend...and a few other convicts." His entire body exploded into shadow, flying through the snow with ease. And as he got close, he suddenly found himself crashing into something and getting a shock. "AUGH!"
A second later, he saw what he hit: A giant magical barrier. He prepared a teleportation spell next, but it also fizzled out. Growling at the sight, he tried pushing into it, only to get zapped again. "Yaugh! Damn it!" He hissed, flying away from the barrier before the sounds of the sparks caught somepony's attention. He flew back down to the base of the mountain and reformed. "A hatred smorgasbord is in there and I can't hope to get close enough to get a taste!"
He stared up at the mountain and sighed at this, knowing what the solution was. He would need help. Luckily, he had a trio of creatures willing to help him out in this regard. He just hoped they knew the best way to get in.
Several days later, at the Legion of Doom...
Grogar was stalking through the base, about to go to the exit, only for an annoying voice to clear its throat, "Where are ya goin'?" He spun around to see Cozy, who smiled at him while trying to look cute.
Grogar just glared back at her. "Since you three were unable to retrieve my Bewitching Bell, we need another source of great magical power to defeat Twilight and her friends."
Cozy kept wearing her grin as Grogar left, only for it to switch to a frown as he left the building. Counting to ten to make sure he was out of earshot, she zipped back into the building and sang, "He's gone!"
Moments later, Tirek and Chrysalis stepped out from hiding, the centaur crossing his arms. "I don't trust him."
"None of us do," Cozy countered.
Chrysalis nodded at this, "Which is why double-crossing him with his own bell will be so satisfying." She floated it into view, Tirek frowning at the sight.
"If we can figure out how to use it." Tirek hissed, all three glaring at the object now. "That Armalum pony said we will be defeated again. Perhaps we lose because we put all our faith in this thing, even when it doesn't have any magic."
"Oh, it has magic alright." The three jumped to attention at this, turning to see a shadowy cloud fly down and form into a familiar set of living armor, "Sorry about this, but I require some assistance."
"You want our help?" Cozy asked, "With what?"
"We're a little busy trying to unlock this bell's power," Chrysalis added, "Unless you know how to use it."
"I do not," Armalum stated, "But I'll be willing to help you find it, if you can help me."
"Then we repeat what the small pony said," Tirek replied, "With what?"
"The Crystal Penitentiary," Armalum responded, "I need you help to break into it."
The three went wide-eyed at this, "Why would you wanna break into a prison?" Cozy asked, the other two nodding in confusion.
"It's complicated. I require hatred. And not just any hatred, but hatred directed at one pony in particular: Flash Sentry. And the place with more hatred for him than anywhere else is that prison. But at my current level, I can't get through the defenses. That's why I'm hoping one of you knows the best way in."
"Interesting," Chrysalis hummed, "You wish to get into the Crystal Pen, and we wish to unlock the power of this bell. If you help us, we'll help you."
"You help me and I'll help you," Armalum countered, "We can spend all day arguing about who should help who, but let's be smart. You need to gather information, and there's only one place in Equestria you'll hope to find the knowledge you're seeking."
"There is?" Tirek asked as Cozy hummed to herself.
"Twilight Sparkle may be the worst, but she does know stuff. She once said the Archives in Canterlot has a restricted area."
Armalum nodded at this as the other two smiled. "Celestia and Luna love to hoard information for themselves," Tirek sighed, "If there's an answer, it's there."
"My triumphant return to Canterlot?" Chrysalis asked, "I like the sound of that."
"Oh, my gosh!" Cozy cheered, "Road trip!" The three smiled as Armalum chuckled.
"Guess you three aren't as useless as I assumed. But if you think you can just walk up to the archives without a fuss, you're sadly mistaken." The three glared at him, "However, if somepony was to cause a major incident. Like...say...breaking into a prison and causing havoc, wouldn't that distract them long enough for you to sneak in?"
"He makes a good point," Chrysalis nodded, "Very well, we'll help you get into the prison. How is just the question?"
"Oh, that's easy!" Cozy exclaimed while raising her hoof, the other three turning to her, "There's only one way into that prison. The Rune Gate."
"Rune Gate?" Armalum asked, the pegasus nodding. "Yes, I have a vague memory of that from Shroudheart. A rune created portal at links two places in space time."
"Exactly," Cozy shined a big grin, "Normally, one Rune Gate can link to any other, but if I remember right, the one in the Crystal Pen is only linked to a single other gate. That one's locked in a completely different part of the Crystal Empire and heavily guarded."
"I see," Armalum chuckled, "No big deal. I think I can figure out how to hijack my way into it. I just need to study one of these gates."
"You'll find them in all the really important places," Cozy added, "All the castles, a few of the allied kingdoms, and places that might host important events."
Armalum nodded, "Interesting. Alright then, we'll aim for the one in Canterlot. I'll sneak you three into this restricted section and then head to the one in the castle."
"Shouldn't be too difficult," Chrysalis giggled, "Canterlot isn't exactly the most secure place in the world." The others nodded and Armalum spread his shadowy wings, using them to enshroud the trio before flying the group out of the base and into the sky.
Sunset had arrived in the City of Canterlot. On most evenings, the city streets would be mostly empty with many of the citizens preparing to sleep. But tonight was a different story, due to the fact that it was the Summer Sun Celebration. Many ponies were a little on edge, due to big events like this being a magnet for trouble. The Summer Sun Celebration was no exception, having been the event that had led to Nightmare Moon's return, Celestia's kidnapping and the Mane Seven coming together in the first place. That was followed by the following year, when both Celestia and Luna had disappeared.
Luckily, the last few celebrations had gone off without any trouble and many ponies were hoping the same would be true for this year. But the more cautious ponies of the guard and other safety groups were still on the lookout for anything that could put Canterlot in danger. As this happened, up in one of the towers, Flash was in one of the rooms making sure Heart and Soul were fast asleep. The pair had been sent to bed early, since they would need to be up in the middle of the night to enjoy the celebration.
Once he was sure they were asleep, he stepped out of the room and headed back to the one he was sharing with Twilight. As he approached, he saw Celestia and Luna at the door. Celestia opened it up at this, "Sorry to interrupt. We know you're busy planning the Summer Sun Celebration as we requested. But..." Flash arrived as Luna showed a look of surprise.
"Oh! Things seem, uh, calmer than we would've expected."
Flash agreed with this. when Twilight was given a task, she would freak out about it being perfect and her room would be covered in graphs and charts. But to the sisters' surprise, there was only one chart on the wall that was rather neat and not covered in extra sticky notes.
"No complaints here," Spike joked from the bed. He was reading a comic, Flash moving over to join him as Twilight smiled at the pair.
"With the exception of the odd trivia night, I've made a lot of progress since the Royal Swanifying Ceremony." Flash laughed at this, remembering how that particular situation had turned out. Getting back from Applewood to hear how badly the girls had messed up, made his trip seem like a cakewalk. "You may not know this about me, but I occasionally freak out." The sisters raised an eyebrow at this, "That was a joke."
"Maybe leave those jokes to the professionals," Flash chuckled as Twilight rolled her eyes.
"I wanted to show you with the Summer Sun Celebration how much I've improved. So I focused on delegating and trusting others. It's been great!"
"That's...actually what we came to talk to you about," Luna chimed in, "This may be the last Summer Sun Celebration you'll need to plan."
That caught everyone's attention, Spike lowering his comic while Twilight frowned, "Did I do something wrong?"
"Of course not," Celestia shook her head, "It's just that the celebration has always been about us. My defeat of Luna..."
"...and, thanks to you and your friends, my reunion with my sister."
They nodded at this, Celestia adding, "Now that we're leaving, we don't see a need for the holiday any longer."
Twilight's eyes went wide at this. "Now that you're..." Luna held something up. It was a special talisman that Celestia and Luna had enchanted to allow any alicorn to raise and lower the sun and moon.
"My sister and I have decided: The time for us to retire is upon us. You and your friends have proven you are ready to lead Equestria. So let this be the last Summer Sun Celebration as Equestria leaves behind the old to embrace the new!" Luna gave the device to Twilight, the princess taking it in her magic and gulping as Flash stepped up next to her.
"You okay?" He asked, Twilight nodding.
"I'm fine. Just...wasn't expecting this." Celestia and Luna turned to leave, Flash moving over to shut the door once they were gone.
"Now how do you feel?" He asked, expecting her to break down as soon as the other alicorns were gone, only to see Twilight take a deep breath.
"I'm still fine," she assured him, "But I am gonna have to make some changes to today's plans. Can you get the others and tell them to meet me in the throne room?" Flash nodded and flew out, quickly gathering Rainbow, Rarity, Trixie, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy and asking them to head to the throne room.
They came in and saw the alicorn staring at the amulet, an unsure expression on her face. "What's up, Twilight?" Trixie asked.
Twilight quickly explained what had happened, the group shocked to hear this. "My goodness!" Rarity gasped, "How are you feeling about all this?"
Pinkie nodded, "Something like this could definitely send you into full freaky-outy mode!"
"I'm actually fine," Twilight admitted, "But if this is gonna be the last Summer Sun Celebration, I want to make sure it's the best Celebration ever!"
Rainbow gulped at this, whispering to herself, "Please-don't-give-us-more-work. Please-don't-give-us-more-work. Please-don't-give-us-more-work..."
"So, even though everything was done, I thought of a few last-minute changes I could use your help with."
Rainbow groaned, "I knew it!" As soon as she said that, another voice echoed throughout the hall.
"Oh, the end of a beloved holiday? Last-minute changes to a celebration?" With a poof, Discord appeared, "That sounds positively chaotic!"
"What are you doin' here?" Applejack growled, only to see Discord shine a toothy grin.
"I've known Celestia and Luna longer than any of you. I terrorized them, they turned me into stone..." His entire body turned rock-like and cracked apart, falling to the ground. "If this is the last Summer Sun Situation, I simply can't miss it." He popped back together and focused on Twilight, a smile on his face. "Well, I see I've arrived just in time for the 'Twilight gives her friends an impossibly long and overly detailed list' predicament."
Twilight smirked as she lifted a bunch of colored cards in front of her. "I guess some draconequus isn't the know-it-all he thinks he is." She floated each card to one of her friends, the group taking them with Discord finding there wasn't one for him.
"This is it?" Rainbow asked, Twilight raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
"We were kinda with Discord on this one," Rainbow added.
"Yeah," Trixie nodded, "Do these fold out or something?" She tried to make the card get bigger and reveal a bunch of extra stuff, but Twilight just giggled at this.
"No more crazy lists," she promised, "No more freaking out. With your help, I know we've got this."
Discord let out an annoyed groan. "Character growth is so boring. Do I at least get my own note card?" Twilight rolled her eyes and quickly squiggle a note to give to him.
"There. Now, I need to go rewrite my speech. But if you all look at your cards, you'll see-"
"Can't talk now," Discord interrupted, "Have so much to get done before sunrise." He snapped his fingers and everypony save Twilight vanished in a flash. The alicorn flinched at this, her chart falling to the ground as she rolled her eyes.
Outside...
Armalum had managed to get himself and his three accomplices into the city without setting off any alarms. They had expected the only ponies out at this time of night would be the knight guards, but were shocked to see the streets were packed with them. As such, he had to wisp them under a bridge full of barrels before letting them out of his shadows.
"Augh!" Cozy groaned, the three coughing as they got some of the shadow out of their mouth. "Warn us the next time you try that!"
"Why are so many ponies up in the middle of the night?" Tirek asked as Cozy sighed.
"It's that silly sun holiday." The others rolled their eyes.
"How many holidays do you ponies have?" Chrysalis grumbled, Cozy shrugging as Armalum stared up at the castle. "No matter. Getting into the castle won't be a problem."
"Are you sure about that?" Tirek asked, pointing to the roof. The others looked up and saw a bunch of super fast spinning fans, which none of them remembered seeing the last time they were in Canterlot. When a small green bird got too close, the wind from those fans caused it to be sent flying right at them, only for Tirek to catch it in his hands.
"Oh...those are new." Chrysalis grumbled before transforming into a purple pegasus guard, a smile on her face as she strutted out and headed for the gate.
"I don't think that'll work," Armalum chimed in, his eyes changing color before scanning the entire castle. "Some kind of magic is covering the place. Actually, I'd say it's some kind of anti-magic. Probably designed to prevent anypony from teleporting in. And I think it might deactivate Chrysalis' transformation when she steps inside."
Tirek and Cozy gulped at this, only to see no alarm go off. Instead, the same pegasus guard strode back to them with a frown on her face. "They've increased security into the castle," she changed back to her normal form. "This is going to be more challenging than I thought."
But as soon as she said that, a flash of light caught their attention. Glancing over to it, they saw Discord and most of the Mane Seven appear. As they did this, Rainbow glared at the spirit of chaos. "Could you not go popping us all over the place, please?!"
"Time is of the essence," the spirit of chaos announced before he morphed into a cheerleading getup. "Let's go, team!"
Fluttershy held up the card Twilight had given her. "We need to know what we're doing before we go and do it." They all nodded and looked at the card, Applejack speaking up.
"Pinkie, you and I are givin' Braeburn and the Appleloosan ponies some adjustments to the menu." Pinkie nodded, Rainbow reading hers with a smirk.
"Fluttershy and I are meeting the Pegasi from Cloudsdale to give them changes to the weather."
Flash checked his card, "Trixie and I need to get the guards to change up some of the restricted areas. Twilight wants to increase the number of ponies allowed to attend." Trixie nodded, though not sure how she could help with that.
"Spike," Rarity turned to the dragon, "We're going to update the Flaming Sky Firework Unicorn Troupe with Twilight's new vision." Spike nodded as Discord pulled his out, along with a pair of reading spectacles.
"And I'm supposed to...make sure Discord doesn't do anything 'Discord-y'?!" He slumped at this, "Well, that's annoyingly specific!" The four villains watched as they all headed off in different directions, luckily not seeing them.
Tirek sighed and shook his head, "Increased security on a crowded holiday with Twilight and her friends bumbling around? This is impossible."
"Oh, no. This is perfect. We need a distraction, and those ridiculous ponies just gave it to us." Chrysalis chimed in, "Now, do exactly as I tell you." She started whispering into their ears, the plan she had making them all smile.
They all split up and headed off in different directions, all chuckling as they thought about how much mayhem they were going to cause. They only wanted to get information, but if they had to ruin a party to get that, they were more than happy to do so. Armalum morphed into his smoke form, using it to move through the darkness of the night and perfectly blend in with the shadows. He followed Flash, wishing he could destroy him there and then, but he knew now was not the time. He had greater goals in mind and when the time came, he would leave Flash with nothing before finishing him off.
Flash arrived at the guard station, the royal guards all looking over a map of the city make sure the areas they needed to keep watch over wouldn't get overcrowded. "Alright boys!" The pony called out, only to hear coughs from some of the female guards. "And lovely ladies." They all blushed at this, "Princess Twilight has some new orders for you."
The head of the guards stepped forward. When Shining left to rule the Crystal Empire, his title as captain of the guard had been passed to a large Earth Pony named Steel Girder. "We await her command. What is it the princess needs us to do?"
"She wants to increase the number of ponies allowed to attend the festivities," Trixie replied, "She doesn't want a single pony in Canterlot to have to miss this event. Trust me, it'll be a special one."
Girder frowned. "Apologies, I don't want to argue with you, but that's just not possible," he pointed at the map and showed that that it had the stage area and the surrounding streets and houses. A bunch of red lines had been drawn through these streets, to show how far the crowd was allowed to go. "The pony sense can only reach so far. To increase the number of ponies allowed in would require us to do one of two things. We either extend the crowd's range and by doing that, we make it so anypony at the back of the crowd will be unable to hear and see what's happening."
"Okay," Flash nodded, "And the other?"
"Allow more ponies to be beyond this line," he pointed at the red lines, "But more ponies in this area means less room to move around. Too many and they'll be crushed. And if something happens that requires us to evacuate..."
"Mass stampede that'll end with somepony getting trampled," Trixie nodded, "Definitely don't want that."
"What to do?" Flash hummed at this.
Trixie stared at the map and realized all the houses around the area were flat topped and large enough to fit many ponies. "What if we let the ponies watch from the roofs?"
Girder grimaced at this, "Similar problem. If we need to evacuate, they'd be trapped and rushing to get away. Bottleneck situation."
Flash put a hoof to his chin, only for a bulb to go off, "I got it." He turned to Trixie and whispered in her ear, the mare gasping.
"That's brilliant! And we know just the pony to do it."
Flash nodded and turned back to Girder, "I want you to check the roofs and find out which ones have the best view of the stage and how many ponies they can hold without causing a problem. We'll solve the evacuation problem."
The pair shot off at this, the ponies wondering what they were up to while Armalum was also curious. He quickly gave chase and followed the pair through the city until they reached a particular house. Flash knocked and waited, Armalum seeing them were a little antsy. Eventually, the door opened and Solid Script appeared, "Flash? Trixie? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Sorry if we woke you up."
"Hardly. I was still awake looking through some ancient scrolls. Do you need something?"
Trixie spoke up at this, "How fast can you make a bunch of two-way mass teleport Rune Gates?"
Script blinked at this, "Pretty fast. Why?"
"Twilight wants more ponies to attend the Summer Sun Celebration. The only place to put 'em is the roofs of buildings, but the guards said I couldn't do that in case of an emergency. But if we had Rune Gates on the buildings..."
"The guests could easily evacuate to a different part of the city. Smart." Script finished, "I should be able to make a few before the festivities."
"Perfect!" Trixie cheered.
Flash nodded at this, "When they're done, take them to Steel Girder of the Royal Guard. He should be able to set them up." Script nodded and the pair returned to the castle, the unicorn heading back into his house and making his way to his work station. He grabbed a large sheet of paper and hung it up against a blank wall, Script picking up his brush and magic paint. And as he did this, he didn't notice the cloud of smoke moving into the room, Armalum sending a small fragment of his magical essence over to Script.
The smoke moved up Script's leg and around his body until it reached his head. And as soon as it got to his mouth and nose, he breathed it in, feeling a bit of dizzy for a moment. Shaking his head, he then slowed down with his brush before the shadow landed beside him.
"Now," the living armor whispered, "Tell me all of your secrets." And so, he began to learn how the Rune Gates worked and figured out the best way to disrupt them. A part of him wanted to have Script simply turn them into bombs that blow up anypony that stepped through them, but knew that couldn't be seen as a simple accident. This couldn't look like an all-out attack. He had to be smarter than that.
Flash and Trixie had instructed Girder about the Rune Gates, telling him that Script would be there and for him to station a unicorn guard at every Rune Gate. The plan was to set one of the two way gates in another part of the city and the other on the rooftops so that ponies arriving on the roofs wouldn't have to warp into a busy section of the city. The Guard Captain nodded and started making the arrangements, having found four buildings that overlooked the event and could hold a large number of ponies without issue.
With that done, the two headed back to the castle. As they walked, Flash turned to Trixie. "So, how you taking the whole Luna's gonna retire stuff?"
"It was a bit of a shock, at first. I thought I still had so much to learn. But Luna thinks I'm ready to step out on my own and forge my own path. I just have no idea what that path is yet."
"We'll if you ever need a place to find your next purpose in life, Ponyville's always a great place to soul search." Trixie nodded, looking like she was actually considering this. The pair then arrived at the throne room, finding the others were there after completing their tasks.
They all reported back to Twilight and Flash explained the plan to her, the princess smiling at the idea and thanking Flash for getting done. "It's all coming together," she excitedly cheered, "I really think this is gonna be the best Summer Sun Celebration ever!"
"You've done an outstanding job," Rarity added.
Twilight smiled as she reached around and pulled them all into a hug. "We've all done an outstanding job!" They all smiled, as Discord slithered up behind them.
"And what about me?" Taking out a pair of binoculars. "You'll be happy to know that I have been watching myself all night..." He looked through his binoculars and as he did, the ends of them somehow appeared behind him. "...and I have yet to do one Discord-y thing."
"Now, that truly is amazing," Luna laughed as she and Celestia stepped into the room.
Celestia shined a grin as she then focused on her former pupil. "Twilight, we know you had, uh, difficulties using the amulet to raise the sun and moon. We thought perhaps a practice session before the festivities might be in order."
Twilight blushed at this before nodding. "That's...a good idea." The princesses began to leave as Twilight turned back to her friends. "Thank you all so much." She followed the royal sisters, her friends all smiling as they watched her leave.
"I sure am proud o' her," Applejack stated once she was out of the room.
"Yeah!" Spike nodded as they all headed out. "She finally realizes things will turn out fine, even when she isn't micromanaging every little detail." They all nodded, but before they could celebrate, someone rushed into the room looking like they were about to collapse.
"Braeburn?" Applejack gasped at the sight of her weakened cousin, "W-what's wrong?"
Braeburn barely had the strength to stand, the earth pony looking like walking to the throne room had sapped all the energy he had. "Earth ponies...sick. Food missin'. Can't...bake...anythin'..." He fell to the ground, the ponies about to rush to his side, only for a guard to fly in.
"Something is wrong with the weather!" He cried, "Storms, hurricanes, fog, you name it! It's a disaster out there!" They gulped, only to then see a unicorn known as Fire Flare and her troupe of unicorn performers walking in.
"Rarity!" She exclaimed, "Please inform her highness that we will not be performing! A simple fireworks show is beneath us! We're better than that!" The troupe turned to leave, the eight organizers all staring in shock at what had just happened.
"What the-" Applejack scratched her head as Fluttershy moved to the window. "Everything was fine a minute ago!"
"Apparently, a lot can change in a minute." They all followed Fluttershy to the window and looked down at the gardens, where a bunch of earth ponies were laying around unwell. At the same time, rain began to pour upon them as the pegasi lost control of the weather clouds.
"It's total chaos out there!" Rainbow screamed, that particular word causing them to all turn toward one of them.
Discord blinked and looked offended. "Don't look at me."
"Really?!" Trixie growled, only for Discord to shine a halo over his head.
"I'm innocent, honest!"
"What are we gonna do?" Fluttershy asked, only for a voice to speak up behind them.
"Do about what?" They spun around and saw Twilight. Grimacing at this, Discord making Braeburn and the guard invisible while Spike let out a nervous laugh before speaking up.
"What are you doing here?"
"I forgot these," Twilight showed them her speech cards. "You all okay?"
Applejack, honest as she was, stepped forward. "Twilight, w-we're sorry, but-" Rainbow jumped in before she could finish that sentence.
"But uh, we don't know what to do now that everything's all ready!" She forced a laugh, the others smiling.
"Yeah," Flash nodded, "Heart and Soul won't be up for a while. And you know me. Don't like to be idle."
They all nodded as Twilight smiled at them, "I guess I was too organized." She looked gleeful at that statement, "I'll try to come up with a few last-minute errands for you before sunrise."
"Well," Rainbow replied stiltedly, "that's a relief!" Twilight headed out of the room at this, Applejack turning to the others.
"Explain to me why we didn't tell her the truth?!"
"Oh, you know why darling!" Rarity instantly replied, "Twilight is finally learning not to let her stress get the better of her. If she finds out everything went wrong, it could be devastating!"
"Oh dear," Fluttershy added, "She would be so upset."
"She'll totally freak out!" Rainbow continued.
"I don't like keeping this stuff from her either," Flash finished, "But I feel like this could be a turning point. If this event goes off without a hitch, I'm sure it'll cement her new ability to delegate tasks instead of doing everything herself. Although, without a hitch might be a little...impossible, at this point."
"Well, what do y'all suggest?" Applejack growled with crossed hooves.
"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Pinkie waved her hoof, "Let's just fix it all before she notices. No lying necessary."
Applejack glared at them all, only for Flash to step in front of her, "We'll tell her what happened after the celebrations ends. If she sees other ponies are able to handle unexpected obstacles, she'll see she can still trust us with helping."
"I guess," Applejack nodded as Trixie turned to the window.
"So...how exactly do we fix all this?"
"We'd need a miracle," Spike stated as a bolt of lightning blasted a pegasi.
"We have a miracle!" Rainbow announced, only to turn to the others. "Don't we?" In that moment, a poof of smoke filled the roo as Discord rose from it dressed like an angel.
"I suppose I could fix everything," he pointed out, "But isn't the real miracle here the miracle of teamwork and character growth?" He strummed his harp before vanishing in a poof of smoke, the others sighing.
"OH, COME ON!" Rainbow yelled as Flash called out for him to get back there.
"Discord is right," Fluttershy pointed out, "Twilight needs us. Whatever happened, we can fix this." But a blast of thunder and lightning made them look outside, seeing the absolute mayhem that was going on.
"What did happen?" Spike asked.
And as the dragon asked this, Cozy flew over the city, giggling at the sight. "Best...road trip...ever!" They waited for the heroes to rush out and try to get things fixed, Flash and Rainbow running off to get the Wonderbolts, Applejack and Pinkie trying to salvage the food situation while Rarity, Trixie and Spike ran off to try and convince the performers not to leave yet. And as Fluttershy went to comfort the now panicking head weather pony, Armalum, Cozy, Tirek and Chrysalis all headed for the front door.
With all the chaos that was going on, they found that there was now only one pony left guarding the gate. "What's the plan?" Cozy asked, "He'll blab if we knock him out."
"We'll drain him of magic and love," Chrysalis replied, "That kind of trauma on the body is bound to make him forget the few seconds he'll see us."
"You sure that's smart?" Tirek asked, "What if he does remember us? The ponies will know Cozy and I are free."
"Relax," Armalum chuckled, "I can handle that. My magic can erase a day's worth of memories without issue." The others three smiled as Cozy went first, ready to distract the guard. He saw the little filly, seeing her look worried and lost, then smiled at him as he walked over. But as he did this, a presence behind him made him spin around, only for Tirek and Chrysalis to instantly drain him. As he fell, Armalum hit him with his magic, making the pony's mind go blank as Chrysalis took a star badge off his armor and used it to unlock the door.
As they headed inside, Armalum's whole body burst into shadows. "This is where we part. You three find what you're looking for and I'll get what I'm after." They nodded and Armalum flew off while the three villains headed to find the Royal Archives.
Flash and the Wonderbolts were hard at work trying to gain control of the weather. But as they struggled to control the destructive storm clouds, Flash noticed a bright light suddenly flash from a nearby rooftop. "At least the Rune Gate's up and running." But in that moment, a scream filled the air and he looked down to see a unicorn guard that had walked out of the gate...was now red with pink and yellow polka dots, terrifying him as he tried to rub it off.
Flash flew down at this, only to see more Rune Gates activate and guards step out to find themselves a myriad of different colors and spots. "Oh geez," he gulped before asking them where the Rune Gate entrances were. The guards explained and he rushed off, soon finding the gate still active as more guards prepared to go through.
Script was also there, yawning as he stepped up to the gate.
"Don't go through that!" He yelled, surprising them all as he flew down. "Script, what the heck happened?" The pony looked confused as Flash noticed his tired looking eyes. "All the Rune Gates just turned the ponies that went through it different colors. They got polka dots too!"
The guards all gasped and stepped away from the gates, Script blinking at him as his brain caught up, "What?" He used his magic to deactivate the gates and started looking over the matrix he had designed. "No! How could I make such a blunder!?" He yet out another yawn, Flash having a feeling he knew the answer. "I think I can fix it." He yawned again, Flash frowning.
"In your state, you're clearly not up to fixing these. You should get some sleep."
Script shook his head, "I don't understand. I took a nap earlier this afternoon. Why," he yawned, "Am I so tired?"
"Doesn't matter. Let's get you some rest." Flash replied as he helped Script stay standing, letting out a long sigh, "What other bad thing could happen right now?"
Armalum smiled as he arrived at his destination, seeing no guards in sight. "Upping security and they fail to address the easiest way into the castle." He chuckled as his eyes changed color, allowing him to see magic on the door. "Hmm...maybe not."
His horn glowed before unleashing a burst of magic, allowing him to get a better understanding of the enchantment on the door. The entire room had been magically charmed to let out an alert if anypony was inside of it. But while the spell was quite well made, it was also an easy thing to deactivate.
"And...done," he laughed as the spell was shut down. "There. Just need to remember to turn it back on when I leave." He threw the doors open walked in, now seeing the fabled Rune Gate. His eyes glowed to study the magic that made it up. "I see. Not bad. Alright..."
His horn glowed as he worked to infiltrate the Rune Gate's magical system. While the Rune Gate inside the penitentiary wasn't connected to this one, they were all connected to the same magical system. "Easy." He cackled as he made a connection through this system.
And after only a few minutes of work, he had what he needed. Charging the portal with his magic, the circle activated and unleashed a bright light, Armalum making sure to close the door behind him, keeping the light from signaling anypony. And once it was fully charged, he stepped on through.
At the Crystal Pen, the guards working there were expecting a quiet night of patrol. Ever since Shade's attack on the pen, everything had rather peaceful. The prisoners were all in their cells, locked up and not trying to cause any problems. It seemed like it would be another easy night.
But as this happened, everypony in the pen was awakened by an alarm going off. An alarm that signaled the Rune Gate's activation. The guards quickly rushed to the room with the gate, and when they opened the door, they glanced inside and saw nothing. The room was completely empty, making the ponies frown as they stepped inside.
There was no trace that anypony had been in there, the Rune Gate's light slowly fading. But they knew the activation couldn't have been an accident, only for one to look up and see something in a dark corner of the room.
"What's that?" He asked, the others looking up, only to see a dark cloud suddenly explode out and attack them.
Swift Wing had been asleep when the alarm sounded, causing him to wake up. He licked his lips before letting out a yawn, soon drifting over to the door, only to hear screams fill the air. This made him wake up, a smile about to form on his face since the last time something like this had happened, he had almost been able to escape.
That is, till dark mist suddenly started making its way through the gaps of his cell, Swift backpedaling and covering his mouth with his wings. Something about this smoke seemed familiar. The fog filled the room and took pony-shape, Swift raising an eyebrow as somepony stepped out of the smoke. "Storm Blade," the figure chuckled, "It's good to see you again."
Swift squinted his eyes at this, "Do I know you? I'm afraid my memory isn't what it used to be."
"Is that so?" Armalum asked, "Then let me help with that." His horn unleashed a burst of purple energy that slammed into Swift, making him cry out as it lifted him into the air. His entire body was on fire as his brain felt like someone was driving a sword right through it. "Don't fight it. If the memories of who you are are still in there, this should release them."
Swift kept screaming, feeling greater agony than he could possibly remember. His headset fell off of him, his damaged eyes slammed shut to prevent more pain. And as he was moments away from blacking out, it happened.
It was like he was living an entire other life in fast forward, thousands of memories from his past now flooding back. And when they did, Swift realized who he was and what had been done to him. "There, that should do it." Armalum cut the power to his spell and Swift fell to the floor, slamming and groaning at the impact. "Now, how to you feel?"
Swift was motionless for a moment, then began to move. He let out a moan as he opened his eyes, flinching at the light and grabbing his headset to put back on his head. And as he did, the feelings Armalum asked for flew through him. "I feel hatred. Hatred at all those that wronged me. At Faust, for stealing my memories. And at Sentry, for defeating master Shadow."
"That's what I wanted to hear," Armalum chuckled, "Don't worry. I'll make him pay for what he did."
"Good," Swift cricked his back as he fully stood up, "Let's get out of here and find the rest of our team. If you could restore my memories, you can restore theirs'."
"You know where they are?"
"We were all sent to the same place. They seemed pretty adamant about staying, so they should all still be there." He told Armalum the exact coordinate of their team and the living armor nodded, "Let's go. I need to get my Celestic Gear back and make the ones who put me here pay."
"Oh, there seems to be some misunderstanding." Swift tilted his head, "I didn't come to break you out."
"What? But what about avenging master Shadow?"
"That is my goal, but you are not part of it." Armalum chuckled, "You see, I need more power. And your hatred of Flash Sentry will give me that." His shadow wings exploded out of his back. "You and everypony else who hates Flash Sentry. They'll all become fuel for my fire. And with it, I will avenge my master."
Swift Wing stepped back until he reached the wall, "Wait...wait, hang on. WAIT!" But Armalum lunged and Swift Wing's screams soon filled the prison. And those would only be the first screams of the night.
Back in Canterlot...
Twilight had woken Heart and Soul up and taken them outside along with the Royal Sisters. She smiled at the sisters as they made their way to the stage. "You two just enjoy the festivities. I have a few surprises in store for-" She stopped when she saw the spirit of chaos float up next to them. "Yes, Discord?"
"Oh, well, don't mind me." He flew over to a picnic table and poofed up a bag of popcorn. "I'm just here for the chaos." A flash of lightning made the ponies look up as he laughed. "And here we go!"
Somepony zoomed past at high speed, Twilight instantly recognizing them. "What is Rainbow Dash doing?" She flew after her, but stopped when she found Pinkie pushing a large pot of soup toward the food area. "Pinkie?" The mare gasped as she tried to hide the yak-sized pot behind her back, "Is this soup?"
"Yes!" Pinkie looked terrified, "I...was really hungry?" Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, only to then hear Rarity's voice and looked to see her and Spike on the stage talking to a bunch of ponies.
"Nopony understands wanting to take pride in your work more than I do!"
One of the unicorns pointed at her, "You could do more with your magic than make frilly dresses!"
"Oh, pffft!" Rarity looked insulted, "Nopony makes frills anymore. This season's actually all about simplicity-"
"Not the point, Rarity!" Spike pointed out as Trixie walked over.
"Trust me, I know how you feel. I used to be a performer who used her magic to make the audience adore me. But trust me, acting like you're better than anypony else doesn't make you feel great. It makes you feel hollow."
"Easy for you to say that," one of them stated, "You're the student of a princess! The world's your oyster because you've already impressed somepony into giving you a position of power."
Trixie frowned as this as Twilight stared at the sight, "Princess!" She spun around and found the head weather pony fly up to her, "I beg your forgiveness!" He fell to his knees, groveling. "It's entirely my fault!"
"What is?" She asked, only for a crash of thunder and lightning to explode overhead.
"THAT!" He cried before he started bawling his eyes out, Fluttershy flying over.
"Oh, um, just a slight hiccup in the weather." She let out a nervous chuckle, Twilight squinting her eyes at him before hearing Flash's voice.
"Come on!" She turned to see the defender was next to Script, making him chug an entire pot full of coffee as the unicorn appeared to be working on something. "We don't have much time. You gotta fix the Rune Gate before-" He stopped as he saw Twilight fly down, "Oh."
Twilight glared at him before turning to the one pony she knew would answer her honestly. "Applejack, what is going on?" The pony was pulling a cart of food and when she saw Twilight and all the insanity happening around them, she let out a loud groan.
"I told y'all this was a bad idea! But nopony ever listens to me!"
"That's it!" Twilight flew up and circled the area, using her magic to grab her friends and lift them all into the air. Once she had them all, she flew back down and dropped them, "I thought everything was fine! What is going on?!"
Her friends all looked a little sheepish. "Everythin' was goin' fine," Applejack started.
"Until it totally wasn't," Pinkie sighed.
Fluttershy nodded, "We tried to fix it ourselves."
"But..." Flash scratched his head, "You can see how that all went.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Twilight yelled.
"We didn't want you to freak out," Rainbow tapped her hooves together.
"And you thought not telling me everything was a total disaster would avoid a freak-out?!" Her voice was getting more and more unhinged.
Spike gave her a nervous smile, "When you say it like that, it does sound like a really bad plan."
They all watched as Twilight took a deep breath, all expecting her to go absolutely insane...only to say, "I know how I used to react, but I really have changed." She smiled at them at this, "Panicking won't solve anything." She walked up with a determined look on her face. "But we can handle whatever problems come our way as long as we handle them together!"
"Spoken like a true leader," Celestia giggled as she appeared beside them, "How can we help?"
Twilight shined a big grin, "I love a good to-do list." She took out a scroll and quill, "So tell me exactly what happened so we can figure out exactly what to do to fix it."
They quickly explained everything and Twilight nodded, soon realizing they had their work cut out for them. She asked Celestia and Fluttershy to handle caring for the ailing ponies while Luna, Rainbow and Flash helped the others fix the weather. Twilight went over to Script and helped him fix the Rune Gates while also curing the guards that had been colored by the gates and restoring them to normal.
Heart and Soul helped as well, Soul using her magic to give the earth ponies new strength. It wasn't enough to cure them, but it stopped them from feeling worst while Heart used his fire to burn away the storm clouds while Discord helped in his own unique sort of way. And once Twilight had the Rune Gate fixed, she spoke to the performers and convinced them that using their magic for a performance like this was the best thing any unicorn could possibly do.
Soon enough, the last of the bad weather was taken care of and everything was set up so the celebration could finally begin. Ponies began to file in and watch, many using the Rune Gates to travel to the rooftops and watch. The unicorns unleashed a bunch of magical fireworks with the help of Trixie and Pinkie, and even created a shape in the air that mimicked an image on the moon that showed a pony on it.
The Royal Sisters saw this and both smiled, Celestia even tearing up before they flew up to the stage. As they did this, the trumpets began to play and Twilight step forward. Using the amulet, Twilight was able to get the sun and moon to lower perfectly and everypony watched in amazement as the light of the sun flowed over them. They cheered as Twilight began her speech.
"This Celebration has always been a reminder to not fear the night, for there is always a new day to look forward to. But as we look towards Equestria's future, I am sad to say today will be the last Summer Sun Celebration." The ponies gasped at this, "Because there is something even more important to celebrate."
Celestia and Luna appeared shocked this time as Twilight turned to smile at them both.
"There are two ponies who have watched over us night and day for as long as we can remember. We will no longer commemorate their battle or their reunion. Instead, we will take this day to celebrate how much they mean to all of us. From this day forward, today will be known as the Festival of the Two Sisters!"
The crowd exploded into cheers as Celestia put a hoof to her face, "We don't know what to say." She looked ready to start crying as she pulled Twilight into a hug. And once they pulled apart, Twilight headed off stage as Pinkie bounced up and let out a cheer.
"A brand new holiday?! You're my kind of princess!"
Twilight nodded. "I'm just glad we pulled it off."
The others nodded, all sharing a look before Applejack took off her hat, "About that...we just wanted to say we're real sorry."
Rarity nodded again, "You did tell us you'd changed."
Fluttershy sighed, "As your friends, we should've trusted you."
"Yeah," Flash added, "You really have grown into a pony who can handle these kinds of situations." Twilight smiled as Rainbow flew up and elbowed her in the side.
"Next time you say you're not gonna freak out, we'll believe you."
"Good," Twilight jumped off the stage. "Because I'm sure there's gonna be plenty of things I'll need my best friends' help with." All but Pinkie hugged her, the party pony leaping off the stage and tackling them. This knocked the ponies rolling until they came to a stop, all laughing and ready to enjoy the rest of the Summer Sun Celebration.
But before any of them could think about having fun, a scroll suddenly appeared in front of them in a flash of magic. "What's this?" Twilight took the scroll and unraveled it, only to gasp a second later. She then showed them a giant frown, "Somepony's broken into the Crystal Pen! Cadance needs us to get over there right now!"
The trip to the Crystal Empire was a stressful one since Cadance's letter didn't give any specifics about what happened. When they arrived, they learned Cadance and Shining were at the prison and rushed over to the Rune Gate, soon seeing the guards protecting the gate were very on edge, needing to take DNA samples to test and make sure they were who they said they were.
When they finally arrived, the group found Cadance, Shining and Ruby showing looks of despair, "Cadance," Twilight gulped, "What happened? Who escaped?"
"Nopony," Cadance whispered, "The prisoners are all present and accounted for." This made everyone lean back, only for the princess to add, "We weren't even made aware of the break-in until early his morning, when the shift changed happened."
"So what did happen?" Flash asked, Shining gesturing for them to follow.
He led them to the prison's medical bay, only to show a room with a bunch of guards laid out. "They were all found this morning. Unconscious, badly beaten up, and with no memory of anything that happened last night."
"So nopony knows who did this?" Rainbow asked, Shining nodding before gesturing them to another room.
"This is what really worries us," Shining opened another door, only for everyone to gasp at the next sight.
There was Big Score and his cronies, Electra, Banshee, Shocker, Doom Raizer and his two remaining minions all laid out on beds. Every serious villain Flash and his friends had faced and defeated that wasn't a world ending threat. They were all there, including a few two-bit crooks Flash had taken down without any issue. Each were unconscious and had breathing masks on their faces.
Flash flapped his wings as he glided over them, seeing they all looked thinner, as if they hadn't eaten anything in weeks. Their coats and manes were duller, and they appeared to have aged several years, the wrinkles on those too young for them. It was as if all the life had been sucked out. Flash then saw Swift Wing on the end bed, looking just as bad as the others did. While they were criminals that had caused him no end of grief, seeing them all like this was a little worrying. "What...what happened to them?"
"We don't know," Cadance sighed, "None of the guards are like this. When the new shift came in and found the guards, they rushed to make sure all the prisoners were secure. And when they did, they found them all in this state."
"This is horrible," Rarity muttered as Twilight opened Electra's eye to look into them. "And you have no idea what could have caused this?"
Shining shook his head. "No. All we know is that they've been drained of magical energy and their life signs are dangerously low. They won't wake up no matter what we do. And when we asked the other prisoners what happened, none of them knew. They heard stuff, but whatever did this didn't do it to them."
"I don't like this." Flash commented as he landed beside his friends, "Just...what happened here?"
Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom...
Grogar had finally returned, only to find his subordinates in the main lounge. Cozy shot up at this and shined a cheeky grin, "Sooooo, did you find what you're looking for?"
Grogar growled at her before walking past her, "Once again, I've found success where you all find failure. I have located what I sought, and tomorrow I will set out to retrieve it. When I return, Equestria will finally be ours for the taking."
With that, he left the room and passed a sulking Tirek.
"Oh," Chrysalis told him, "Stop pouting."
"You knew you couldn't stay that buff," Cozy flew into his lap. "You had to return all the life force to those Earth ponies so Grogar doesn't suspect anything."
"I don't have to like it," Tirek pushed her off his lap as the pegasus flopped to the ground.
"Well," she sat up, "I don't like that we worked so hard to destroy their party and they still pulled it off! But you don't see me complaining!"
"Our goal wasn't to destroy," Chrysalis reminded them, "It was to distract." She took out a book, something they had found inside the royal archives. "And now we have exactly what we need."
"And no time to waste," Tirek added, "We have to master the Bell before Grogar returns."
"What about Armalum?" Cozy asked, "How do you think his mission went?"
The other two hummed at this, only for a cough to ring out, making them look up to see the armored figure sitting in one of the windows. "It went quite well," he responded, "I see you managed to get what you were after, so we're all one step closer to our goals."
"So what are you planning on doing next?"
"I have some ponies I need to find," Armalum replied. "But I'll need to sneak into Twilight's castle before I can." The three frowned at this, only for him to add, "Don't worry. I can do this on my own. You three focus on mastering that bell. I'll be back once I have what I need. And when I do, we'll be ready to lay waste to this land."
With that, he exploded into smoke and vanished. The other three nodded as Chrysalis looked back the book. "We've managed to stay one step ahead of everypony so far. Once Grogar's out of the picture, we'll be unstoppable."
"You know," Cozy giggled, "It really was super easy to get all those earth ponies and pegasi and unicorns to turn on each other."
"It was, wasn't it?" Chrysalis cackled, "Now that is something to think about..." They all began laughing at this, anxious to get their revenge and rip apart the world those fools thought they could protect. Soon, everything would be theirs for the taking.
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A very good adaptation as always, I love this chapter because it shows the development of Twilight to the fullest, too bad that Armalum becomes more powerful over time.
Excited cause were so close to Dragon Dropped.
Is that a grammar mistake, Dhe? Or She?
I knew you would do this chapter since not only it was important but it was due to Legion of Doom's involvement.
We finally learned what happened to those who got consume by Armalum and oh boy! They got fate worse than death!
Sure, Flash's enemies are assholes but the way Armalum did to them is a lot worse than we thought.
It seems what the future vision is telling Flash is that he actually won't be fighting all of his past enemies at all, he actually fighting Armalum who is fueled by the hatred from his enemies.
Through I wonder if Armalum would go after former members of Cult of Shadow? They didn't appear in the future vision of Flash when Clair shows him.
Speaking of future vision, Flash would probably be in the doghouse when he have to tell Twilight and others about his future vision, especially he only kept it due to not wanting Twilight to freak out… oh boy! She won't be happy with him.
Here's high
Ha! He thought he could go inside!
Although, considered how Legion of Doom were succeeded in getting the instruction regarding the bell, I had a feeling Armalum would ends up succeeding in getting what he want.
Is that supposed to be a reference to Travis Scott where everyone got trampled by stampede in his concert?
Oh… no!
Oh no! Not that asshole again!
Whoa!
That's what happened to them!
Until 3 parter finale (Yes, I considered The Last Problem along with The Ending of The End), don't expect them coming back since they are too sick and on the verge of dying thank to Armalum.
Oh boy, things will not turn out so well if they don't do something.
A very critical episode as the Legion of Doom wreck havok behind the scenes, not to mention Junkpile growing with more scummy moves (in more ways than one
) Also we finally got a glimpse of what happens to those *taken* by Junkpile shadow-eating cloud......yikes!
Highlights for this one are :
lol what you thought they were gonna let you in so easy Junkpile?
*looks at the little card given by Twilight* ok what's the trick in seeing the hidden list here Twilight?
And just when we think Junkpile can't get any lower/scummier we are proven wrong!
And bogus knight just sold the rest of the shadow team, hope this move bites him in the rear!
Huh, that was quick!
Oooooh boy, really hope some members of Shadow team can escape this fate, especially Wingull!
The stakes are getting higher for our Mane 7 crew & their allies, looking forward to more Banshee!
I knew you had to adapt this episode! It is too important to be left out, since it is another Legion of Doom episode that serves as buildup to the finale.
I liked how Armalum played another major role in this chapter. He had his own goals but ended up assisting the Legion much more directly since they intertwined briefly. I like how Armalum just teleported them all to Canterlot, which gives a fun explanation of how they all got there so fast.
We also got a look at what exactly happens to the creatures Armalum drains hatred from. It certainly isn't pretty. I was assuming this was the case ever since "Frenemies", but now I am positive that the vision Flash saw wasn't warning him about all his old enemies specifically, but Armalum gaining their hatred for him. I guess that Armalum really is going to be the final boss for Flash instead of Shadow. He is certainly more dangerous than ever now that he has drained Storm Blade, Doom Raizer, and every other villain that was locked up because of Flash.
I am really worried for Wingill and the other ex-cults though. When we last saw them they all finally seemed happy, without their memories and Shadow in their lives. It would be such a shame for Armalum to show up and ruin it all by restoring their memories just to drain their hatred. If their memories are restored would they be able to lose them all over again so they can keep living in peace? I was hoping they would show up on the good guys' side during the final battle.
I am glad you skipped that episode. It not only portrays Twilight in a bad light, but pretty much everyone else too. Just enforces what I already believed: that trivia games bring out the worst in everyone (I speak from personal experience).
I really enjoyed this chapter, especially all the stuff you added with Armalum. It really shows how dangerous he’s becoming. I’m disappointed we didn’t get to see more interaction between Trixie and Solid Script, if you know what I mean
, but it was great to see them again after so long. I also wonder how Grand Hoof and Lightning Blitz will react to what happened to Doom Raizer. Highlights below:
Well, look who’s stepping up. Good for you guys
You accidentally wrote “they’ instead of “the”
I like this new story detail
Did you mean to say “that” instead of “at”?
And you jinxed it
🎇DOUBLE CONTINUITY!🎇
Yay! Trixie’s back!
I think you forgot to add a “to” between “city” and “make”
Nice recovery
Did you mean to say “they” instead of “them”
Yay! Another returning character
SCRIPT NO!!!
You forgot the “m” in “room”
You added an extra “s” on “other”
I know I shouldn’t but HAHAH
YOU NEVER SAY THAT! DAMN IT!
You forgot the “been” between “everything” and “had”
NO! You better not hurt them! They deserve to be redeemed!
You accidentally spelled “worst” instead of “worse”
And the other horseshoe has dropped
What’s so important that he needs from her castle?
Overall another great chapter and I can’t wait to see how this will all play out in the end
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I hope that’s a future chapter because that would be a great storyline to explore.
11628615
I think that when Armalum gives them back their memories they won’t feel hatred but regret and remorse. Because unlike Storm Breaker they had tragic backstories that lead them down the path of villainy
Tune in next week. Same pony time, same pony channel.
11628648
Don’t worry there’s still hope for them
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It would be most likely The Ending of The End when Discord reveals he was Grogar which would potentially lead to Flash telling others that he knew about future vision but didn't tell them as he didn't want to freak Twilight out.
the shadows grow more
I'm really hoping that living in peace for all that time ends up helping the former cult see the error of their ways and cut ties with Armalum, but I doubt things will turn out that simple.