The Young Six are preparing for the finals, but things quickly take a turn for the worse after a visit to the Castle of the Two Sisters
The finals of the School of Friendship are on the way and the Young Six are doing whatever they can to prepare for it. A few days before the finals they encounter a young pony named Cosette, who quickly seems to befriend the Young Six. But things start to take a turn for the worse after Gallus makes the decision to visit the Castle of the Two Sisters along with his friends and the young pony.
It was total chaos in the halls of the School of Friendship. Students kept bumping into each other by accident, their school bags were packed with more books than necessary and some even had trouble staying awake because of all the studying they've been doing every night.
Inside these crowded halls, six students were walking next to each other, trying their hardest to make their way through all the chaos. A light green pony named Sandbar, a light blue, reformed changeling named Ocellus, a blue griffon named Gallus, a light pink hippogriff named Silverstream, a yak named Yona and an orange dragon named Smolder. The six of them carried their school books with them, all while making sure not to run into anypony who nearly bumped into them.
''Are you sure there will still be enough room for us in the library, Ocellus?'' Smolder asked while looking at the many tired students walking around.
''I hope so,'' Ocellus answered while watching some students yawning with bags under their eyes, "We're gonna have to make every day count if we want to be ready for the finals.''
''I can't wait to see what our teachers have in store for us!'' Silverstream said excitedly with a big smile on her face, "I bet it's going to be super fun!"
Gallus smiled while rolling his eyes at the excited hippogriff, ''I just hope they will stop giving us homework after we pass.''
''Homework, no homework,'' Yona said, ''Yona not care, as long as Yona is with best friends in Equestria.''
Sandbar was the first one to reach the door that led to the Library. He placed his hoof on the door knob and slowly pushed the right side of the door open. Silverstream was already about to walk into the Library, but she stopped as soon as her eyes could see what was on the other side. Her friends soon joined her and together they all looked with wide eyes at the state of the library.
The place was even more crowded than the halls. All the tables and couches were already taken by other students, who kept their faces only millimeters away from their books. At every bookshelf on the bottom and the top floor were at least one or two students searching for books to read.
''Do you all think maybe we should find a less crowded place?'' Gallus asked as he kept looking with widened eyes.
They all sighed, exited the library and walked away from the open door with disappointed looks on their faces.
''Hey, don't worry,'' Silverstream said, trying to sound positive, ''We can always try again tomorrow.''
"I doubt that the library will be any less crowded the closer we get to the finals." Smolder said.
''Maybe we can go back to one of our living quarters and study there?'' Sandbar suggested to his friends.
''I'm not sure if that place is big enough for all six of us." Ocellus said.
''How about the Castle of the Two Sisters?'' Gallus suggested.
''Now there's an idea I can get behind,'' Smolder said with an optimistic smile, ''We could have the place all to ourselves.''
''Do you think our teachers will be okay with that?'' Ocellus asked with a worried look on her face.
''Of course they will,'' Gallus said confidently, ''If we can save Equestria from losing all of it's magic, then surely one little trip to a castle should be no big deal, right?''
''But what if we run into those pukwudgies again?'' Sandbar asked.
''We've become alot more experienced since then,'' Gallus reassured him, ''We can handle them now.''
''I still feel like we should at least let them know,'' Ocellus said, ''Just in case something might go wrong.''
''Relax,'' Gallus said with a confident smile, ''What's the worst that could-'' Suddenly somepony came from around the corner and ran into Gallus with full force, knocking him back and causing all of his books to fly out of his arms.
''Gallus!'' Smolder and the others all shouted at the same time.
Gallus's friends all quickly went to check on him. Smolder held his upper body in her arms while Silverstream, Yona, Ocellus and Sandbar all looked concerned at their friend. It didn't take long before they saw the blue griffin slowly opening his eyes.
''Are you okay?'' Sandbar asked him.
Gallus rubbed his head, ''Yeah, I'm fine.'' He said before standing back up.
His friends turned their attention over to the pony who ran into Gallus and saw that it was none other then their guidance counselor, Starlight Glimmer. But she wasn't alone, next to her on the floor layed another unicorn. She was about the same size as Sandbar, the color of her fur was light green, she had a semi-long, frizzy mane that was a mix of light and normal brown. And on her flank was a cutie mark that seemed to represent a ladybug.
''Counselor Pony okay?'' Yona asked while looking over to Starlight.
A few seconds later, Starlight opened her eyes, stood up and quickly shook her head back and forth.
''Ow, that hurt.'' Starlight said while rubbing the side of her head.
She looked around and quickly noticed that she had caught the attention of the students that were passing by.
Starlight let out a nervous chuckle, ''Don't worry, everypony,'' She said with an awkward smile. ''Your guidance counselor is doing just fine.''
The students all smiled at their guidance counselor and continued walking to their next classes. After most of them were gone, Starlight looked back at Gallus and his friends.
''I'm so sorry, Gallus.'' Starlight said while looking guilty, "I should really watch where I'm going next time."
''It's fine, Counselor Starlight,'' Gallus said before Ocellus gave him his school books back, ''But why are you in such a hurry?''
''And who is that pony with the funny mane?'' Silverstream asked as she pointed at the pony that was still laying on the floor close to Starlight.
''I don't know,'' Starlight said, ''But I'm not sure if she's doing well. I found her laying at the entrance of the school and I was about to take her to my office. That's why I was in such a hurry and-''
''Hello?'' Somepony said in a very soft voice.
They all looked over at the little pony, who had already woken up and was standing close to Starlight with a confused look on her face.
''Are you alright?'' Starlight asked her.
The young pony stayed quiet for a moment before she nodded.
''Good,'' Starlight said before reaching out her hoof to the young pony, ''Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Starlight Glimmer, I'm the guidance counselor of this school.''
The young pony stood there, looking doubtful at Starlight's hoof that was only a few inches away from her face. She eventually reached out and slowly shook her hoof with Starlight's.
''It's uh....nice to meet you, Starlight Glimmer.'' The young pony said, sounding like she had trouble getting the words out of her mouth.
''And what's your name?'' Starlight asked while giving her a warm smile.
''My name...is uh....Cosette.'' The young pony answered nervously.
''It's nice to meet you too, Cosette.'' Starlight said.
Cosette gave her an awkward looking smile before she stopped shaking her hoof with Starlight's.
''How did you end up in front of our school?'' Starlight asked her.
"I came here to meet Princess Twilight and her friends,'' Cosette said with an seemingly innocent smile on her face, ''But I must have fallen asleep while I was waiting for the school to open."
''Why do you want to see them?'' Starlight asked curiously.
''Well...It's just that I'm a really big fan of them,'' Cosette explained while sounding a bit nervous, "And I've always wanted to meet them myself."
Smolder looked over at Sandbar, ''Now who does that sound like?'' She asked with a smug grin on her face, to which Sandbar couldn't help but chuckle.
''Oh, I see,'' Starlight said, ''Sorry, but I'm afraid they got their hooves full with the finals right now.''
''Oh....'' Cosette said with a dissapointed tone in her voice, ''And just when I was really looking forward to finally meeting them.'' She sighed while having a very sad look on her face.
''Hey, it's okay,'' Starlight reassured the sad looking pony, ''You can stay with me in my office until they're available if you-''
''NO!!'' Cosette suddenly said out loud.
Starlight, Gallus and his friends all stared at Cosette with surprised looks on their faces.
''Why not?'' Starlight asked, still slighty taken aback by Cosette's reaction.
Cosette quickly regained her composure, ''I uh...I don't want to distract you from your job.'' She said, talking again in a calm and soft voice.
''Pfft, don't worry about that,'' Starlight said confidently, ''I got plenty of time to-''
''Does the line to Starlight's office seriously start all the way here?!'' Starlight heard somepony saying in a frustrated tone. She turned around and saw a long line of students standing in the hallway, all of them looking either bored or irritated.
Starlight looked back at Cosette and let out a nervous chuckle, ''I need to remember to put a break sign on my door next time.''
''So when can I talk to Princess Twilight and her friends?'' Cosette asked Starlight kindly.
''Probably in a few hours.'' Starlight answered.
Cosette sighed, ''I see.'' She said while sounding dissapointed.
''Maybe you can hang with us until then.'' Sandbar suddenly suggested.
''Really?'' Cosette asked him while sounding slighty confused.
'Sure," Sandbar answered casually, 'We don't have any classes today, so we got all the time in the world.''
''Thank you," Cosette answered with an innocent smile, "That's very kind of you.''
"Alright then, I'll see you in a few hours," Starlight said to Cosette, ''Now if you'll excuse me, I better go decrease the line in front of my office.''
Sandbar and his friends watched as Starlight lit up her horn and closed her eyes before she disappeared in a flash of blue light. Once the unicorn was gone, they turned their attention back to Cosette, who was still standing there looking very puzzled.
''Ooohh! Roll call time!'' Silverstream said excitedly.
''I'll go first,'' Sandbar said to Cosette, ''I'm Sandbar.''
''I'm Ocellus.'' The blue changeling said with a shy smile.
''Yona!'' The small yak said with a happy smile.
''Name's Smolder.'' The orange dragon said while giving Cosette a thumbs up.
''I'm Gallus.'' The blue griffin said.
''And I'm Silverstream!'' The young hippogriff said to the little green pony with a bright smile.
''It's uh, nice to meet you all.'' Cosette said nervously.
''Alright, roll call is over,'' Gallus said, ''Can we head to the Castle of the Two Sisters now?''
''The what?'' Cosette asked.
''The Castle of the Two Sisters,'' Ocellus repeated, ''It used to be the home of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna over a thousand years ago. But the place kinda got left behind after their confrontation.''
''What is in that castle?'' Cosette asked with an intrigued look on her face.
''Lots of things according to Headmare Twilight,'' Sandbar answered, ''Like a giant library. And even many secret rooms and passages.''
Cosette's eyes widened, ''Did you say giant library?''
Silverstream nodded, ''Probably ten times bigger than the one in this school. Amazing, right?!''
''Well if that's the case, then I'm coming too.'' Cosette said happily.
''Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!'' Gallus said to his friends with great enthusiasm.
''Don't forget that we have to be back in time for Cosette, okay?'' Ocellus said to Gallus with a concerned look.
''I know, Ocellus,'' Gallus said confidently, ''Stop worrying so much, we'll be fine.''
Ocellus sighed, ''Okay, sorry.''
''Um, are we going or what?'' Cosette asked, seemingly ignoring Ocellus's reaction.
''Oh, right. Let's go, everyone.'' Gallus said. They all made their way to the entrance of the school. Cosette kept her distance a little bit as she followed them.
After taking the safest route through the Everfree Forest they could think of, the bridge that hung above the giant ravine close to the Castle of the Two Sisters was finally in their sight. Cosette watched the castle with a confused look on her face as she and the others got closer to the ravine. It was laying mostly in ruins and even the roof was completely gone. It looked as if it wasn't even half-finished. They walked out of the forest before Cosette stopped right in front of the bridge.
''That's the castle?'' Cosette asked, sounding very unimpressed, ''It looks kinda....messy.''
''Well, It is over a thousand years old.'' Smolder said.
''Hey guys,'' Gallus said, who was already walking over the bridge, ''Are you coming or what?!''
Gallus's friends all followed him across the bridge, which quickly started shaking more and more with each step they took.
While making their way across, Cosette got distracted by something sparkly when she looked down into the ravine. It looked like some kind of crystal tree with five brances attached to it. Cosette eagerly kept her eyes glued to the shining tree until she finally reached the end of the bridge.
Cosette eventually reached the entrance of the castle and entered through the broken door. She could already see Ocellus and the others waiting for her in the main hall.
''What took you so long?'' Gallus asked.
''I uh.....get nervous when walking over a bridge.'' Cosette answered as she walked over to the six creatures.
''Why didn't you tell us?'' Sandbar asked, ''We could have helped you.''
''It's fine,'' Cosette quickly responded, ''Let's just keep going.''
''I remember the way to the library, follow me.'' Ocellus said. She flew over to the flight of stairs at the end of the main hall. Her friends and Cosette quickly followed her up the steps.
As Ocellus led her friends through a hallway, she noticed a familiar open door on the left side in the distance.
''There it is!'' Ocellus said as she quickly flew over to the open door. Her friends soon joined her and looked on the other side.
''Now this is more like it.'' Gallus said. He and his friends all entered the gigantic library, looking at the many tall, book filled shelves that surrounded them.
''This place perfect for studying!'' Yona said.
''I agree. Now we can definitely prepare ourselves for the finals.'' Sandbar said.
''We are totally gonna get A pluses!'' Silverstream said in excitement.
''And you actually had your doubts about going here.'' Gallus said to Ocellus with a smug look on his face. Ocellus looked down at the ground somewhat somberly.
Everyone except for Cosette took a seat at one of the wooden tables in the middle of the library. They placed their school books on the wooden board and were about to start reading in deep concentration.
''I'm gonna take a look around the Library, if that's okay.'' Cosette said to the others.
''Sure. Just be back in time, okay?'' Ocellus said.
''I will!'' Cosette said with a happy smile before she walked further into the library, ''Good luck with studying!''
For the next hour, Ocellus and her friends were all able to study for the finals in peace. Eventually they realized it was time for them to leave. They all started packing their school books in their bags.
''Say, what are you all going to do after we finish school?'' Sandbar asked while still packing his books.
''I'm just gonna head back home, I guess,'' Smolder answered, ''How about you, Yona?''
''Yona gonna tell Yakyakistan about how great School of Friendship is.'' Yona answered happily
''Me too!'' Silverstream said, ''I can't wait to tell my family about everything that I've learned!''
''Well, I'm just happy I got to learn so much about friendship from the six most amazing ponies in Equestria,'' Sandbar said, ''And from my five best friends, of course.''
''So am I,'' Ocellus added before looking over at Gallus, ''What about you, Gallus?''
Gallus waited awhile before answering, ''To be honest, I just wanna stay with-''
Before Gallus could finish, a loud, high-pitched scream started echoing throughout one of the parts in the library.
''That sounds like Cosette!'' Sandbar said with a surprised look.
"Come on!" Smolder quickly said to the others.
They all ran off to where they heard the scream and ended up in a small, round shaped room, where all of the walls were filled with books.
''I could have sworn I heard her scream coming from here.'' Smolder said as she looked around the room.
They all started searching around the room for clues before they noticed a small hole in the ground. They looked inside the hole and saw a descending flight of stairs, leading to what seemed like a pitch black underground cave.
Yona gulped, ''Did green pony fall into spooky cave?'' She asked nervously.
''I guess there's only one way to find out.'' Smolder said determinedly before she headed down into the cave.
''Come on, everyone.'' Sandbar said before following Smolder into the hole.
Ocellus, Gallus, Silverstream and eventually Yona followed the two into the hole. They descended down the stairs and walked into the cave as they began the search for their missing friend.
The further they descended down into the cave, the darker it got. It got to the point where Smolder had to keep breathing small bursts of fire every few seconds just so they could have an easier time seeing where they were going. From what the fire could show, they were walking through a rock tunnel passage. The walls were decorated with what seemed like small, dark crystals, which unlike the normal crystals they were used to, didn't shine whatsoever.
After a few more minutes of walking, Gallus noticed that the tunnel they've been walking through had suddenly gotten a lot smaller compared to when they first entered the hole. He kept looking around nervously as the tunnel seemed only twice as big as himself. Gallus started sweating while slowly breathing in- and out and tried his best to make his way through the tunnel as calmly as he could.
''Does anyone else get the feeling that the walls are slowly closing in on us?'' Gallus asked nervously.
''I don't think so,'' Sandbar said while looking at the walls, ''The tunnel has just gotten a little smaller, that's all.''
Smolder groaned, ''How long is this tunnel? We've been walking for five minutes now.''
''I just hope nothing bad happened to Cosette,'' Ocellus said as she looked worried at her friends, ''You all heard how loud she screamed, right?''
''Cosette!'' Silverstream suddenly shouted, ''Where are you?!''
Silverstream's voice kept echoing through the tunnel before eventually fading away. Once it got quiet again, they waited for a response, but instead they were met with utter silence. They all tried a few more times before finally giving up.
''Maybe she's just playing hide and seek with us.'' Silverstream said while giving a hopeful smile.
''In a dark, spooky underground cave?'' Smolder said, ''Yeah, I doubt that.''
Yona gulped as she walked with the others, "Yona not like dark, spooky caves."
''Try to stay calm, everyone,'' Sandbar said, ''We have to keep moving. Headmare Twilight and her friends won't be happy if we don't come back to school in time.''
They walked further through the tunnel until Smolder eventually began to notice what seemed like a small glimpse of dark purple light burning a few meters away from them.
''Look,'' Smolder said before she pointed to where the light was, ''I think I see something.''
The others stopped in their tracks, looked to where she was pointing and saw the dark purple light moving in the distance.
''Why purple light glowing in cave?'' Yona asked.
''Let's go find out. Anything is better than this narrow tunnel.'' Gallus said before he and the others walking in the direction of the light.
After half a minute of walking they reached the dark purple light. They could finally see where they were again without the help of Smolder's fire and took the time to check their surroundings.
The small tunnel they were walking through had opened up into a large, round area. The first thing that caught their attention were the many torches with purple flames hanging around on the walls. Ocellus saw them and watched how the beautiful flames on the torches kept burning. It was almost hypnotizing and she had a hard time looking away from them.
''Wow,'' Silverstream said as she flew closer to get a better look at the purple fire, ''I had no idea that fire could come in different colors.''
''I'm not even sure if that's regular fire.'' Smolder said as she flew next to Silverstream while taking a closer look at the purple fire.
''Hey, guys!'' Sandbar said, ''Come look at this.''
Smolder and Silverstream stopped looking at the torches, flew back to their friends and landed next to Sandbar. They looked at what was in front of them and saw a giant entrance to a passageway leading further into the dark cave. The entrance was decorated with the same dark crystals they saw back in the small tunnel, with one giant crystal in the middle on top. Beyond the entrance it was pitch black. Not even Smolder's fire would be enough to illuminate their way through there.
''Do you think Cosette went in there?'' Silverstream asked with a concerned look.
''She had to, we didn't encounter any other paths.'' Gallus said.
Yona gulped as she stared into the pitch black passageway, ''How Yona and friends gonna walk through this?''
''Hold on.'' Smolder said before flying to one of the torches on the walls. She grabbed it from the torch holder and flew back to her friends.
''Nice thinking, Smolder.'' Silverstream said.
''Thanks,'' Smolder responded, ''At least now I can finally stop breathing fire every five seconds.''
"Something tells me we shouldn't go in there." Ocellus said while looking at the pitch black darkness in front of her.
''But we can't just leave Cosette behind.'' Sandbar said.
''I know, but what if we encounter some kind of dangerous monster in there?'' Ocellus said.
''If any dangerous monster comes in our path, then it's just gonna have to deal with me,'' Smolder said confidently, ''Come on, let's go.'' She casually started walking into the passageway with the purple torch in her claws.
The purple fire was able to illuminate the passageway just enough for them to see where they were going. But just as Smolder was about to walk further in, the giant crystal above the entrance started glowing with what seemed like dark purple magic. A few seconds later, the magic shot out of the crystal and down towards Smolder.
Gallus was the first one to notice the magic and quickly jumped into action.
''Smolder, look out!'' Gallus shouted as he pushed her to the side just in time before the magic beam was able to hit her. His friends all gasped in horror and looked in shock when they saw that the magic beam hit Gallus on the head instead.
''Gallus!'' Silverstream shouted before she went to check on her friend. She grabbed the blue griffon by his face and looked straight into his eyes. To her shock, the white part of Gallus's eyes were glowing green while his blue pupils had turned blood red.
''Gallus, are you okay?'' Silverstream asked while looking worried. Gallus didn't say a word and kept standing completely still with his green and red glowing eyes.
Before Silverstream could ask him another question, she noticed Gallus slowly starting to move again.
''Headmare Twilight? What am I doing here?'' Gallus asked while giving Silverstream a confused look.
''Gallus?'' Yona said while sounding concerned.
''Huh? What are you talking about?'' Gallus asked, still giving Silverstream the same confused look.
Silverstream began to look concerned, ''Gallus, why are-''
Suddenly Gallus's expression changed from confused to horrified, ''No!'' He shouted in agony. The blue griffin pushed Silverstream to the ground and looked around himself in fear.
''Gallus, calm down,'' Silverstream said as she began to look a little scared, ''It's just me.''
''Please don't do this!'' Gallus begged as tears began to appear under his eyes, ''Just give me another chance! I promise I will never do it again!
Smolder rushed over to Gallus, placed her claws on his shoulder and looked him directly in the eyes. ''Gallus! Snap out of it!'' She shouted while shaking his body wildly.
Suddenly the green and red glow in Gallus's eyes slowly dissappeared. He looked around while panting steadily and wiped the tears from his eyes.
''W...What happened?'' Gallus asked in a shaky voice.
''You got hit by some dark looking magic from that dark crystal.'' Smolder explained as she pointed at the crystal above the entrance.
''And your eyes turned green and you called me Headmare Twilight.'' Silverstream added.
''And then you started shouting and begging for another chance.'' Ocellus said.
''What even was that?'' Sandbar asked while looking at the crystal.
''I have no idea,'' Ocellus answered him, ''Maybe that magic caused him to see some kind of vision?''
''What exactly did you see, Gallus?'' Smolder asked.
''I.....'' Gallus answered, sounding a bit unsure.
''Of course, if it's too much to talk about, we understand.'' Sandbar quickly said.
''Yeah, I'd rather not,'' Gallus answered nervously, ''In fact, just forget about whatever I said, okay?''
Silverstream embraced Gallus into a big hug, ''You sure had us worried for a moment there, Gallus.''
Gallus chuckled nervously, ''Yeah. But uh, I'm okay now.'' He said before Silverstream stopped hugging him.
Yona smiled before looking back up at the crystal, ''So what Yona and friends gonna do now?''
Smolder rubbed her chin for a moment before she looked over at Yona with a playful smirk.
''We'll use your head.'' Smolder suggested.
''Huh?'' Yona said while raising her eyebrow.
''I mean literally use your head to smash the crystal,'' Smolder explained, ''You do love smashing things, don't you?''
''Nothing make yaks more happy than smashing things!'' Yona said with a proud smile while stomping her hoof against the ground.
''Good idea, Smolder.'' Silverstream said.
''I agree,'' Ocellus said, ''But we must hurry, who knows how deep this passageway goes.''
''Right. Gallus, Silverstream. Help me pick her up.'' Smolder said as she grabbed Yona's back with her arms. Gallus and Silverstream joined in and grabbed the right and left side of Yona's body.
''Ready, Yona?'' Gallus asked as they started lifting the small yak off the ground.
''Yona ready to smash.'' Yona said with a determined smile on her face.
Smolder, Gallus and Silverstream didn't waste any more time and immediately rushed Yona towards the crystal. Yona's head hit the thing with a loud smash as the sound of shattering crystals echoed throughout the cave. The tiny pieces fell on the ground and in front of the passageway.
''I knew that would work.'' Smolder said proudly.
''Are you okay, Yona?'' Silverstream asked when she noticed the small stars circling around Yona's head.
''Never better,'' Yona said with a smile as her pupils kept circling around in her eyes, ''Smashy....Smashy....Smash....''
''You should probably get her down.'' Sandbar suggested with a concerned look.
The three gently placed the dizzy yak on the ground. Yona quickly shook her head back and forth to make the stars around her head disappear.
''Crystal not as easy to smash as Yona thought.'' Yona said while rubbing her forehead.
''That was some nice thinking, Smolder.'' Ocellus said.
Smolder picked up the torch from the ground that she had dropped earlier, ''Don't mention it. Now let's go find Cosette.''
Smolder was the first to walk into the passageway with the torch in her claws, which helped to illuminate the darkness alot better than they expected. Her friends soon followed her as they continued their journey through the cave.
Only less than a minute later, the light of the torch revealed a large, wooden door at the end of the passageway. On the wooden door was a giant, grey coloured, heart shaped symbol carved in the middle.
''Could she be in there?'' Sandbar asked.
''Let's hope so.'' Gallus said.
Gallus flew up to the door handle, grabbed it with his claws and began to pull it. With a little bit of effort, the door slowly opened. Ocellus noticed a green light flashing through the small opening of the door for a split second
''Who goes there?'' A familiar soft spoken voice said from behind the door.
''Cosette?'' Sandbar said, ''It's us, your friends.''
The door was finally open enough for them all to enter the room. They wasted no time and went inside. The first thing they saw was Cosette standing in the middle of a giant room with a big wooden desk behind her.
''Cosette!'' Ocellus said with a relieved smile.
''It's you?'' Cosette said with a surprised look.
''Green pony alright!'' Yona shouted happily. She rushed over to Cosette and embraced her into a tight hug.
The others took their time to take a look around. The room was decorated with the same torches with the same purple fire like they saw before. It looked almost exactly the same as the rest of the cave, only with even more dark crystals decorated on the walls. On the wooden desk behind Cossete were many pieces of paper, as well as lots of feather quills that were placed in a small inkpot.
''How did you find me here?'' Cosette asked as she tried to escape from Yona's hug.
''We heard your scream from the library,'' Silverstream explained, ''Then found a hidden passage in one of the rooms. So we went in and followed the path through the cave until we found you here.''
''Wait a minute,'' Gallus said in a confused tone, ''How did you get past that crystal?''
''What crystal?'' Cosette asked after she released herself from Yona's hug.
''The one hanging above the entrance back there.'' Gallus answered her.
Cosette widened her eyes for a moment, ''Oh....I uh....I don't know,'' she said, sounding slighty confused, ''Last thing I remember was losing my consciousness. And when I woke up, I somehow ended up in here.''
''So you're saying that someone or something took you here?'' Smolder asked.
''Could be,'' Cosette answered innocently, ''But it doesn't matter. At least you found me now, right?''
''But that doesn't make any sense,'' Smolder said, ''We didn't encounter anything else in the cave. And there were no other paths in the cave as far as we know.''
While the others kept talking and thinking about the mystery of the situation, Ocellus took her time to examine the things she saw laying on the desk. The whole thing was incredibly dusty, the papers were all torn and very old looking. Down on the left side of the desk were a series of drawers. Ocellus decided to open and check them all out of curiosity. None of them seemed to contain anything interesting, that is until she got to the final drawer. In there she looked at a big, sinister looking book with the same heart symbol she saw carved on the wooden door.
Just as Ocellus was about to grab the book out of the drawer, she felt something grabbing her by the shoulders and got pulled away from the desk.
''Wait!'' Ocellus heard Cosette say out loud from behind her. She looked back and saw that the small green pony was the one who had pulled her away from the wooden desk. The others had heard her and looked over at Ocellus and Cosette in surprise.
"What is it, Cosette?" Ocellus asked with a slightly shocked look on her face.
"I uh, just remembered something,'' Cosette said nervously to Ocellus and her friends, ''Didn't you all say that we were supposed to be back at school in time before I left?"
Ocellus gasped and placed her hoof on her mouth, ''You're right! We should have been back by now!''
''Come on, let's get out of here!'' Smolder said before she and the others quickly exited the room and made their way back to the exit of the dark cave.
It took quite a few minutes of running through the same small, claustrophobic tunnel until they finally reached the stairs that led them into the cave, all with the help of Smolder's purple torch that she was holding in her claw. The first thing that caught their attention when looking through the hole was the lack of any light shining through.
''Oh no,'' Ocellus said in a worried tone, ''That could only mean one thing.''
Smolder dropped her torch on the ground and together with her friends she walked up the stairs. All of them sighed in relief when they finally got out of the dark cave. Smolder led everyone out of the round shaped room and headed towards the entrance of the castle.
''Thank you all very much.'' Cosette said with a seemingly friendly smile.
''Aw, don't mention it,'' Smolder said as they walked down the stairs in the hallway, ''Let's just hope that-''
''There you are!'' A familiar voice said out loud. Everyone looked over to the entrance of the castle and saw Starlight Glimmer heading their way along with Spike and Twilight.
''What in the name of Equestria are you all doing here so late at night?!'' Twilight asked while looking worried.
''We can explain, Headmare Twilight,'' Ocellus said, ''You see-''
''It is my fault, Princess Twilight!'' Cosette said out of nowhere before Ocellus could finish her sentence.
''What do you mean?'' Twilight asked, slightly surprised by Cosette's reaction.
''Well you see, I came to the school because I really wanted to meet you and your friends,'' Cosette began to explain, ''But since you weren't available, I went with my new friends to the castle. And while they were all busy studying, I got so caught up sightseeing that I ended up getting lost. That's when my friends had to spend the rest of the day looking for me.''
Ocellus and her friends couldn't help but look at each other in confusion and disbelief after Cosette had finished explaining everything to Twilight.
''So please, Headmare Twilight,'' Cosette said with a sad look on her face, ''Don't punish them, it's not their fault.''
"But that not what-"
"I appreciate it, Yona," Cosette quickly said, interrupting Yona mid-sentance. "But you don't have to take the blame for me."
''Listen, I don't care who's fault it was,'' Twilight said before giving Cosette and her new friends a quick hug, ''I'm just glad you're all okay. Everypony at the school is worried sick about you.''
''They are?'' Gallus asked.
''Of course,'' Spike said, ''You didn't think that the disappearance of six creatures who saved Equestria from all of it's magic being sucked away by an evil filly pegasus would go unnoticed, did you?''
Cosette gave Spike a confused look, ''What is he talking about?''
''I'll explain it to you on the way back.'' Sandbar said.
"Just promise that you'll tell us next time if you ever decide to go here again, okay?" Starlight said.
''Told ya so.'' Ocellus said to Gallus in a playful tone.
Gallus responded to the blue changeling with an eye roll, ''Yup, you did.''
"We Pinkie Promise, Counselor Starlight!" Silverstream said with a smile as she placed her right claw on her right eye.
''Good,'' Twilight said, ''Now let's go, it's already way past your bed time.''
Twilight, Spike and Starlight led the others out of the castle and began to make their way back to the School of Friendship.
While walking back to the school, Sandbar told Cosette about the events that happened when he and his friends saved the School of Friendship and Equestria from Cozy Glow.
''Wow,'' Cosette said after Sandbar was done explaining the story, ''That certainly is an interesting story.''
''Yeah. I don't think my friends and I will ever experience anything as intense as that again.'' Sandbar said.
''Where did she get those six magical artifacts from anyway?'' Cosette asked curiously.
''Princess Celestia gave them to us.'' Sandbar answered.
''I see,'' Cosette said, ''Where are they now?''
''In our school, but I'm not exactly sure where though,'' Sandbar said, ''Why do you want to know?''
''I just uh, wanted to see what they look like.'' Cosette quickly answered back with a shy smile.
''Well, maybe Twilight can show you,'' Sandbar said, ''Only she knows where they are.''
''Oh, okay,'' Cosette said, ''Can I see her again tomorrow?"
''Sure," Sandbar said, ''Oh, wait. No, you can't.''
"Because tomorrow is Hearts and Hooves day," Sandbar said, ''That's when our school is closed for a day.''
Cosette looked confused, "What is Hearts and Hooves day?" She asked curiously.
"It's a holiday where every couple in Ponyville celebrates the love they have for each other," Sandbar explained.
Cosette's eyes widened for a second before her face showed a seemingly endearing smile.
"Wow, that sounds very lovely.'' Cosette said.
''I know right?'' Sandbar said, ''But like I said, the school is closed on that day.''
''Oh, that's alright.'' Cosette said happily, ''I'll probably just come back some other time.''
''But what about Twilight and her friends?'' Sandbar asked, ''I thought you really wanted to meet them.''
''I do, but I can wait for another day,'' Cosette answered with an innocent smile, ''And besides, I don't wanna distract them when they're gonna be busy with the finals.''
''Wow. That's very considerate of you, Cosette.'' Sandbar said.
Cosette giggled innocently, ''I try.''
"Hey, Sandbar!" Sandbar heard Yona shouting a few meters away. He looked over at the entrance of the school and saw the small yak standing there as she waved at him.
''I'm coming, Yona!'' Sandbar said with his right hoof next to his mouth.
''I probably should go home. It's getting late.'' Cosette said.
''Okay. It was nice meeting you, Cosette,'' Sandbar said, ''Until next time.'' He walked away from her and headed towards the school while waving at the small green pony.
''Goodbye, Sandbar!" Cosette said with a bright smile while waving back at him. She watched Sandbar entering the School of Friendship along with Yona before they closed the door behind them.
When Cosette was finally alone, the bright smile on the small pony's face got replaced by a sly looking grin. She then turned around and walked away while quietly giggling to herself.
There was nothing but utter silence in the library of the School of Friendship. Gallus sat all by himself at the same table where he and his friends would always meet each other every morning. He kept looking and reading through all of his school books, hoping that it would help keep his mind off of what happened during their visit to the Castle of the Two Sisters. A few days had passed since then, but during that time Gallus just couldn't stop thinking about what he saw when he got hit by the crystal's magic. Just the mere thought of it becoming a reality was enough to almost get him a little teary eyed.
Suddenly Gallus heard the sound of a door opening and quickly wiped the small tears from his eyes. The blue griffin looked over at the door and saw Sandbar walking over to him from the library's entrance.
''Gallus?'' Sandbar said, sounding a bit tired, ''Why are you up so early in the morning?'' He took a seat on the cushion next to Gallus at the table.
''I could ask you the same question.'' Gallus replied to him.
''I had trouble sleeping,'' Sandbar said while rubbing his eye, ''I just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the finals are tomorrow. Time sure flies, doesn't it?''
Gallus looked down for a moment, ''Yeah, it really does.'' He said in a slightly somber tone.
Their conversation got interrupted by the sound of the door opening once again. Gallus and Sandbar both looked back at the door where they saw the rest of their friends walking into the library while carrying their school bags with them.
"Well, would you look at that," Smolder said while showing a somewhat tired looking smile, "I guess you two couldn't sleep either, huh?"
"You got that right." Sandbar said before the others joined him and Gallus at the round table.
"I don't blame you,'' Ocellus said with a smile, ''Tomorrow is a very important day, after all.''
''You know it!'' Silverstream said happily. ''It's going to be the most exciting day ever!''
"Just like every other day for you, right?" Smolder remarked.
Yona giggled, "Yona can't wait to show ponies how much Yona learned at School of Friendship!''
''And once we all pass, we'll finally be done with school,'' Smolder said, ''And I think I already know who's looking forward to that the most.'' She smirked while looking at Gallus.
Gallus's eyes widened before looking at Smolder, ''What? Done with school?'' He asked while sounding a bit shocked.
''Uh, yeah,'' Ocellus said, ''Headmare Twilight told us that a week ago. Weren't you listening during her Equestrain history class?''
''Of course I did,'' Gallus quickly said nervously, ''But uh, I thought she was just joking.''
''Nope, she meant it one hundred percent,'' Silverstream said, ''But isn't that great?! Now you'll never have to worry about homework anymore!''
''Yup,'' Gallus said with an awkward smile, ''That's really great.''
Smolder gave Gallus a slightly confused look.
''Anyway, what's our next class, Ocellus?'' Gallus asked as he quickly looked over to the light blue changeling.
Ocellus grabbed her own selfmade agenda from her school bag, ''if I remember correctly, we're going to play buckball in Applejack's class next.'' She answered Gallus as she looked through the agenda.
''Nice!'' Smolder said in excitement.
''Yona love buckball!'' Yona said.
''Me too!'' Silverstream added, ''Oh, I know! Let's form our teams before class!''
''Good idea.'' Sandbar said.
''Attention, everycreature!'' They suddenly heard Twilight's voice coming from the school speakers in the library, ''I'm afraid to inform you that Applejack's class has been cancelled for today. Anyone who was supposed to attend to her class has to come to Headmare Twilight's class instead.''
''Oh, come on!'' Smolder shouted at the loudspeaker as she got up from her cushion. ''They better have a good reason for cancelling the school's most awesome activity.''
''But why would it be cancelled?'' Ocellus asked curiously.
''No idea,'' Sandbar answered, ''But we can ask Headmare Twilight once we're in her class. Come on.'' Sandbar and his friends all stood up from their cushions, walked away from the table and left the library.
One by one the students all entered Headmare Twilight's classroom. They went to their tables, layed their saddle backs on the floor next to their table and took a seat. Gallus and his friends were the last ones to enter.
''Good morning, students.'' Twilight announced, ''I'm sorry about the sudden change of plans, but I'm afraid Applejack is not gonna teach any more of her classes for the time being.''
''So no more buckball?!'' Smolder asked. Twilight shook her head in response.
Smolder looked down and crossed her arms with a grumpy pout on her face.
''What happened, Headmare Twilight?'' Sandbar asked as he raised his hoof in the air, ''She's not sick, is she?''
''No,'' Twilight answered, ''But I heard that her brother, Big McIntosh, has been getting many headaches ever since Hearts and Hooves Day ended. So Applejack had to take a few days off to take care of him.''
''Yona hope Applejack's big brother get better soon.'' Yona said.
''That's very nice of you to say, Yona.'' Twilight said with a warm smile.
Gallus sat quietly on his chair, having his elbow placed on the table. He stared down on the table with a slightly somber look on his face and couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he had with his friends in the library.
''Now then, where was I?'' Twilight said to herself before looking back at the students, ''Oh, right. So as you all know, tomorrow is going to be a very important day for a lot of you. You have all come such a long, long way ever since the first day me and my friends opened this school. And I can't tell you all enough how proud I am, cause tomorrow will be your final test to show me how much you've all learned about friendship. And if you pass, then you will have proven to me that you have learned enough about friendship to leave the school.''
Gallus looked around, still with a somewhat somber look on his face as he saw all of the students surrounding him cheering after Twilight had finished her speech.
Twilight giggled to herself, ''Alright, everyone. Class dismissed. If I were you I would study extra hard before tomorrow.'' The students got up from their chairs, walked to the door and exited Twilight's classroom. Gallus was the last student to slowly leave the room.
Gallus was the last one to enter the School's library after his friends had already entered the quiet room. He joined them at the round table, took a seat on his floor cushion, placed his school books on the table and started reading through them.
''Looks like the finals are still going to be a surprise.'' Sandbar said to his friends.
''That's okay, I love surprises!'' Silverstream said happily.
''Yona can't wait for surprise,'' Yona said, ''Yona and friends gonna pass for sure!''
''I've been studying very hard almost every day,'' Ocellus said proudly, ''So there's no way I'm going to fail.''
''Me neither,'' Smolder said, ''Still a bummer that we didn't get to play buckball one last time, though.''
''Hey, don't worry, Smolder,'' Silverstream said, ''After we pass, we can play buckball with each other as much as we want. Right Gallus?''
''Huh, what?'' Gallus said as he moved his head away from his book and looked up at Silverstream.
''Aren't you excited about tomorrow?'' Silverstream asked.
Gallus stayed silent for a few seconds, ''O-Of course I am,'' He said with an awkward smile, ''Why wouldn't I be?''
''Because you don't really sound too excited.'' Smolder answered him.
Gallus sighed, ''Look, I'm just a bit nervous. You all are too, right?''
''Not really,'' Sandbar answered casually, ''After all the hard work and studying we've been doing at this school, I don't see how any of us could fail.''
''Me neither.'' Ocellus said with a smile.
''Uh huh!'' Yona added while nodding happily.
Gallus looked down with a conflicted look on his face, ''I think I'm gonna go to bed.'' He said before he stood up.
''Already?'' Smolder asked while raising her eyebrow.
''Yeah,'' Gallus answered, ''Gotta get enough sleep before the finals, am I right?''
''Good point. It's just like Headmare Twilight once said in class,'' Ocellus said before taking the form of Twilight with the help of her changeling magic, ''It is always important for your brain to get at least 8 hours of sleep.'' She said as Twilight before changing back. Her friends all laughed at her impression.
''Exactly,'' Gallus said with a seemingly friendly smile, ''Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow.'' He walked away from the table and headed towards the exit of the library.
''Sleep well, Gallus!'' Silverstream said while waving at him.
Gallus looked at his friends, showed a little smile and waved back at them before exiting through the door of the library. He closed the door behind him and sighed deeply to himself before heading to his living quarter.
At the students quarters, in the middle of the night, Gallus carefully and quietly opened the door of his living quarter. He peaked his head out and looked both ways of the corridor. Once he saw that the coast was clear, he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him as quietly as he could. He sneaked over to the door at the end of the hallway while trying to make as little noise as possible. He opened the door, got out of the corridor and made his way into the main part of the school.
Luckily there was no one patrolling around the school late at night, making it alot easier for Gallus to sneak around the halls. It took him a few minutes of searching before he finally found the giant, wooden door that led to Headmare Twilight's office. But as soon as he actually saw the door itself, his heart sank. A big, magical looking lock was placed on the middle of the door. Multiple magical chains were coming from the lock.
Gallus quickly tried to pull himself together and walked over to the door. He looked at his own claw and then back at the lock, which gave him an idea. He flew up slightly and carefully aimed one of his fingers at the lock. But the moment he tried to make contact with the lock itself, it passed right through. Gallus groaned and punched the door out of frustration before descending back to the ground.
''What do I do now?'' Gallus whispered to himself angrily.
''Hello?'' A soft voice suddenly whispered, which nearly gave Gallus a heart attack.
He slowly turned to his right and saw a familiar small, green pony with a semi-long mane standing right next to him.
''Cosette?'' Gallus whispered with a surprised look, ''What are you doing here so late at night?''
''I was going to ask you the same thing.'' Cosette said back.
''I was just uh, sleepwalking,'' Gallus quickly said, ''Why are you here?''
''I just wanted to have a look around the school.'' Cosette said with a nervous smile.
''At night?'' Gallus asked suspiciously.
''I'm so sorry,'' Cosette suddenly said in a sad tone, ''I know it's wrong, but I'm just too shy to openly ask Twilight and her friends to give me a tour around the school. Promise me you won't tell them I was here, please?''
''Okay, okay. I won't,'' Gallus said, ''But you have to promise me not to tell anyone that I was here too, okay?''
''I promise. Thank you, Gallus,'' Cosette said before giving him a quick hug, ''I'll never forget this.'' She gave Gallus a quick wink and continued further down the hallway.
Gallus looked at the big lock one more time before looking back at Cosette again.
''Cosette.'' Gallus called out to her quietly. The small pony stopped in her tracks and turned herself around.
''What is it now?'' Cosette asked in a slighty irritated manner.
''Do you think you can help me with this door?'' Gallus asked as he pointed at the giant lock, ''I have to get in there.''
Cosette walked over to Gallus, stopped right next to him and took a good look at the wooden door with the big lock on it.
''What's in there?'' Cosette asked Gallus curiously.
''It's Twilight's office.'' Gallus answered.
Cosette widened her eyes in surprise, ''Why do you need to go in there?
''That doesn't matter,'' Gallus answered quickly, ''Just please, help me get in. It's really important.''
''Come on, just tell me,'' Cosette said, ''Like I said, I promise I won't tell anyone you were here. Just like how you promised me not to tell Twilight and her friends about me, okay?''
Gallus sighed, ''Fair enough,'' He said before taking a deep breath, ''I need to get in there to find the answers to the test for the finals tomorrow.''
''Oh, so you're going to cheat?'' Cosette asked him in surprise.
''It's not like that,'' Gallus quickly said in a desperate tone, ''Listen, If I don't do this, I will never see my friends again. And they are the closest thing to a family I got.''
Cosette looked down at the ground and rubbed her chin a little before looking back at Gallus.
''Okay, I'll help you.'' Cosette responded with a endearing smile.
''Oh, thank you.'' Gallus said relieved.
Cosette giggled quietly, ''You're welcome.'' She said.
The green pony shot her green magic at the giant lock on the door, making the thing melt before it disappeared into thin air.
''That was easier than I thought it would be.'' Gallus said with a surprised look.
''I'm really good with magic.'' Cosette said to Gallus with a friendly smile.
Gallus grabbed the door knob with his claw and gently pushed the door open. He enterted Twilight's office along with Cosette and together they took their time to observe their surroundings.
The office itself was big and round. On each side of the walls were shelves filled with many books, potion bottles and many other things. In the middle of the room stood Headmare Twilight's desk, which was littered with stacks of paper, quilles and ink pots. In the back of the office were two very tall doors on each side.
''Wow, so this is Twilight's office?'' Cosette asked in wonder.
''No time to waste,'' Gallus said, ''Let's find what I'm looking for and get out of here.''
''Okay.'' Cosette said back.
''I'll search the desk, you look at what's behind each of those doors.'' Gallus commanded before he walked over to Twilight's desk.
''I'm on it.'' Cosette said. She headed towards the tall door on the left first.
Gallus reached the desk and started searching every drawer, hoping to find something that could help him. Each drawer was filled with lots of papers and student files, but he couldn't find anything having to do with the finals for tomorrow. He kept looking through each drawer over and over again, but still found nothing useful.
''Come on, there's gotta be something in here.'' Gallus whispered to himself in a panicky tone. He looked over to Cosette, who used her green magic to open the tall door.
Cosette was surprised when she saw that behind the door was actually a giant closet. The first thing that caught her eye was the big, wooden chest laying in front of her. She used her magic again to unlock the chest and opened it carefully. Her eyes widened when she found six different artifacts inside the chest.
''Did you find anything?'' Cosette suddenly heard Gallus say from behind her. She turned around to see the blue griffin standing right in front of her.
''What are these?'' Cosette asked him while pointing at the open chest.
Gallus looked surprised when he saw what the small pony was pointing at.
''Hey! Those are the legendary six magical artifacts that Cozy Glow used to suck the magic from Equestria.'' Gallus said when he looked inside the wooden chest in the closet.
Cosette's eyes widened again as she took another look at the artifacts, ''Is that so?'' She asked slighty curious.
''Yeah,'' Gallus said, ''I've always wondered where Headmare Twilight kept them ever since my friends and I saved Equestria.''
''I see,'' Cosette said, still having her eyes on the six artifacts, ''Have you found what you were looking for?''
''Not yet,'' Gallus said slighty dissapointed, ''Have you?''
Cosette shook her head, ''Sorry.''
''Let's keep looking,'' Gallus said, ''I'm not leaving until I've searched this entire office.''
''Okay. I'll go search the shelves.'' Gallus said before he flew off to one of the shelves.
A gleeful smile appeared on Cosette's face as she looked at the six magical artifacts. She levitated them out of the closet with her green magic, closed the chest and shut the door as quietly as she could. The small pony peeked over to Gallus, who was still focused on searching and looking through every shelf on the walls. Cosette sneaked towards the exit of the office while taking the magical artifacts with her.
''Hey!'' Cosette suddenly heard Gallus say from behind her. She immediately stopped, dropped the artifacts on the ground and turned around to see the blue griffin staring at her with an angry look on his face.
''Where do you think you're going with those artifacts?'' Gallus asked sternly.
''I'm sorry,'' Cosette quickly said, ''This is not what it looks like, I swear.''
"Did you come here just to take those artifacts for yourself?" Gallus asked accusingly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
''Then what were you trying to do?!'' Gallus asked, interrupting Cosette as he started to sound very angry.
Cosette stood completely still, looking worried for a few seconds before tears began to appear under her eyes. Suddenly she sat down and started crying.
Gallus's angry expression slowly disappeared from his face, ''What's wrong?'' He asked in slight confusion.
''I'm so sorry,'' Cosette said while sniffing, ''Your friend Sandbar told me about these artifacts and how Cozy Glow once used them to suck the magic out of Equestria. That's why I wanted to protect these artifacts from anyone who would want to use them for their own evil purposes.''
''Really?'' Gallus asked, surprised at how genuine she sounded.
Cosette nodded slowly while tears still rolled down her face, ''I see now that it was a stupid idea. Can you please forgive me? I promise that I'll never do something like this ever again.''
''Well, I-''
''And don't tell anyone about this,'' Cosette continued before Gallus could finish, ''I beg you. Twilight and her friends will hate me forever if they find out.'' She continued to cry.
Gallus walked over to Cosette, placed his claw on her chin and raised her head up so that she looked right into his eyes.
''Listen, It's okay,'' Gallus said calmly, ''I forgive you.''
Cosette looked back into Gallus's eyes, ''Really?'' She asked, still with a few tears under her eyes.
Gallus nodded with a comforting smile, ''You had good intentions, and that's what matters most.''
A little smile appeared on Cosette's face before she wiped the tears from her eyes with her hoof.
''Thank you.'' Cosette said innocently.
''No problem,'' Gallus said before letting out a small sigh, ''But I still found nothing about the answers for the finals tomorrow. What am I gonna do?''
Suddenly Cosette let out a slightly unsettling giggle, ''Don't worry about that,'' she said as she looked down with an unusual smile, ''I got you covered.''
''How so?'' Gallus asked, sounding a bit confused after hearing Cosette's unusual giggle.
A sinister smile slowly began to form on Cosette's face as she lit up her horn.
''Sleep.'' Cosette said quietly, suddenly in a completely different sounding voice from before. She quickly shot a green magical beam at Gallus's forehead.
Before Gallus could say anything, he noticed that his vision was getting more blury. He could feel his eyes growing very tired with each passing second. His limbs grew weaker and weaker until his body finally gave up and collapsed on the floor. He felt the memories of the night slipping away from his mind as he layed on the floor. He noticed a green light flashing next to him for a split second. The last thing he saw through his blury vision was the silhouette of what seemed to be an tall alicorn with a misshaped horn. Gallus felt his eyes slowly closing on their own and fell asleep right before he could figure out what was happening.
Gallus finally felt like he had the strength to move his body again. As he tried to get up, he noticed a light blue blanket laying over his body. The ground below him felt very soft when he used his claws to raise himself. The blue griffin looked down and soon realized that he was laying on a giant bed. He rubbed his eyes, yawned, removed the blanket from his body and slowly got out of bed.
"Where am I?" Gallus asked himself before he curiously checked his surroundings.
The walls around him were painted in a way that made it look as if he was high up in the sky. In front of him was a wooden desk with books, blue feather quills and many pieces of paper.
"What is this place?" Gallus asked himself again.
Suddenly Gallus heard the door of the room bursting open from behind him. He immediately turned around and saw a purple pony with wings and a horn standing at the open door. She had an angry look on her face and slowly walked towards him.
"Here you are," Twilight said to him sternly, ''We need to talk.''
"Okay," Gallus said to her with a confused look, "Maybe you could start by telling me who you are."
''Don't try to play dumb with me, Gallus!'' Twilight said. She levitated a dark blue griffin feather in front of him with her magic.
''A feather?'' Gallus said with a clueless look.
''I found it in my office close to the chest containing the magical artifacts,'' Twilight explained, ''And I know that you're the only griffin with feathers like this, so don't deny it!''
''What are you talking about?'' Gallus asked, slightly intimidated by the alicorn's attitude.
Twilight groaned in frustration, ''No more jokes, Gallus! Tell me what happened to the artifacts or else I will-''
''Twilight!''
Twilight heard a familiar voice calling from behind her. The purple alicorn looked back to where she heard the voice and saw Spike standing at the open door.
''Princess Celestia is here,'' Spike said, ''She needs to see you and your friends for an emergency.''
Twilight looked back at Gallus, ''Stay here. We'll talk about this later.'' She said sternly before she walked out of the room along with Spike.
Gallus watched how they left the room before Twilight used her purple magic to close the door behind her.
''What in griffin's name is going on here?'' Gallus asked himself. He was about to head over to the door and exit the room, but stopped as soon as he heard something knocking on the very same door.
''Gallus?'' He heard a voice saying from behind the door, ''Is everything okay in there?''
''Is that supposed to be my name?'' Gallus asked himself quietly. He heard another knock coming from the door, this time sounding a lot louder compared to the last knock.
''Hello?!" He heard another voice saying from behind the door, only this time slightly louder, ''Are you in there?!''
Gallus got lost in thought for a bit and tried to make sense of the situaiton, but a third knock on the door quickly snapped him back into reality.
''Uh, come in!'' Gallus said quickly. The door slowly opened to reveal five different creatures on the other side.
''Did you not hear us knocking on the door, Gallus?'' Smolder asked in a slightly irritated manner.
''Why does everyone keep calling me that?'' Gallus asked confusedly.
''Uh, because that's your name.'' Smolder answered him in a slightly confused tone.
''It is?'' Gallus asked again, still sounding very confused.
''Gallus,'' Sandbar asked, sounding a bit concerend, ''Is everything okay?''
Yona giggled playfully, ''It okay. Gallus probably just teasing us again.''
''No, I'm not,'' Gallus said, sounding slightly irritated, ''Now can any of you please explain to me what I'm doing here?''
''You really don't remember who we are, Gallus?'' Ocellus asked, reacting surprised at Gallus's reaction.
''I...'' Gallus said as I tried to his best to remember. Suddenly he felt a slight migraine in his head. He flinched a little and placed his claw on the side of his head.
''What's wrong?'' Sandbar asked.
''Gallus having a headache?'' Yona asked concernedly.
''It's nothing,'' Gallus answered as he felt his migraine slowly go away, ''I'm fine.''
''Gallus,'' Silverstream asked, ''You really don't remember who I am?''
Gallus shook his head, ''I'm sorry. I really don't.''
''But.....why not?'' Silverstream asked again with a slightly sad tone in her voice.
''Okay, Gallus, '' Smolder said unamused, ''You can drop the act now. This isn't funny."
''I don't think it's an act, Smolder,'' Sandbar said, ''Something tells me he really doesn't remember anything.''
''But that makes no sense,'' Smolder said to his friends, ''Everything was fine with him yesterday.''
''Then this has to be a case of amnesia.'' Ocellus explained.
''That certainly would explain alot.'' Gallus commented.
''Fair enough,'' Smolder said to Ocellus, ''But how did he even get amnesia?''
''I don't know, it could be anything.'' Ocellus answered.
''Maybe he just hit his head really hard last night.'' Silverstream explained, ''I remember back in Seaquestria when a seapony got amnesia after he accidently smacked his head really hard against a rock under water.''
''That does seem like the best explanation so far.'' Ocellus said.
''Gallus, I want you to answer me honestly,'' Smolder said to him, ''Do you remember anything that happened to you last night?''
''You can ask me that kind of question as many times as you like,'' Gallus said in the same irritated manner as before, ''But my answer is always going to be no.''
''Okay. Then I believe you,'' Smolder said, ''For now.''
''So, what yona and friends do now?'' Yona asked.
''We have to get to Twilight,'' Sandbar suggested, ''She'll know what to do.''
Gallus widened his eyes in surprise a little bit as soon as he heard that name. His mind quickly thought back to a few minutes ago as he began to remember that name being said by the small green dragon from before. He slowly began to think about the words that Twilight said to him earlier.
''What is it, Gallus?'' Silverstream asked when she noticed Gallus's suprised face.
''....It's nothing.'' Gallus said, trying his best not to sound suspicious, ''Let's just get to whoever this Twilight is.''
''Then let's go.'' Smolder said before she and his friends exited the living quarter. Gallus stayed behind for a few seconds and looked around the room one more time before following the five creatures.
‘’We’re here, Princess Celestia!’’ Twilight said as she and the rest of her friends ran over to the tall alicorn, who was waiting for them at the front door of the school with a stoic look on her face. Spike and Starlight watched the six ponies stopping in front of them.
‘’What’s the emergency, your highness?!’’ Rarity asked.
‘’I need you to come with me to the Tree of Harmony at once.’’ Celestia answered,
‘’Why? Did something bad happen?’’ Fluttershy asked worriedly.
‘’I’ll explain on the way,’’ Celestia quickly answered, ‘’We have to go.’’
‘’Why can’t you tell us about-’’
‘’I said that I will explain on the way,’’ Celestia said, interrupting Rainbow Dash’s sentence in a slightly irritated manner, ‘’Now, follow me.’’
As Twilight watched Princess Celestia walk out of the front door of the school, she suddenly remembered her conversation with Gallus.
‘’What did I just say, Twilight?!’’ Celestia asked strictly after she turned her head towards Twilight, ‘’There’s no time for this right now. Let’s go.’’
Twilight looked slightly shocked after hearing Celestia’s strict tone in her voice. She watched the white alicorn walk out of the school before looking back at her friends, who all looked at each other with the same shocked look on their faces.
‘’Whatever the situation is, it must be really serious.’’ Spike said to Twilight and her friends.
‘’Then we better go, and fast.’’ Twilight said before she quickly followed Celestia out of the school. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash all stayed close behind Twilight and exited the school as well.
‘’Don’t worry, we’ll look after the school!’’ Starlight said as she and Spike watched Twilight and her friends following Celestia to the Everfree Forest. She closed the door after they were almost out of their sight.
Suddenly Discord teleported behind Spike and Starlight, much to their surprise.
‘’Oh o. Looks like you’re gonna need some substitutes.’’ Discord said with a confident smile.
''Counselor pony!'' Starlight, Spike and Discord looked over to where the voice came from and saw Yona and her friends walking over to them.
''Yona?'' Starlight said, looking surprised as the small yak and her friends approached her, ''What's wrong?''
''Have you seen Headmare Twilight?'' Sandbar asked.
''She and her friends just left with Celestia for some emergency.'' Starlight explained.
''What kind of emergency?'' Smolder asked.
''She didn't say,'' Spike answered, ''But from the way she acted, it must be something very important.''
''Hold on,'' Ocellus said, ''But if they're gone, who's going to be teaching our classes?''
''Why none other than me, of course.'' Discord said before he snapped his fingers to dress himself like a teacher, complete with glasses and a necktie.
''You're kidding, right?'' Smolder said to Discord while looking unamused.
''Now now, I know what you're thinking,'' Discord said, ''But I promise you, that's all in the past now.''
''It better be,'' Smolder said, ''Because your chaos is the last thing we need right now.''
''Who is that misshapen creature?'' Gallus asked Smolder.
''Excuse me?'' Discord said to Gallus with an annoyed look, ''You're not seriously telling me you've already forgotten who I am, are you?''
''That's not it, Discord,'' Sandbar said quickly, ''You see, Gallus has amnesia.''
''Amnesia?'' Starlight said in surprise, ''What happened?
''We're not sure,'' Ocellus answered, ''But we think he might have hit his head against something really hard last night.''
Discord sighed in relief, "You almost had me convinced that it would actually be possible for someone to forget who I am. And in such a short time, no less.''
Starlight rolled her eyes at Discord, "I remember Twilight telling me that she once used some kind of memory spell on her friends, back when Discord turned their elements against them.''
''Aaahh,'' Discord said, sounding a little daydreamy, ''Those were the days.''
''Don't you mean YOUR days?'' Spike remarked to Discord in a sarcastic manner.
''Anyway,'' Starlight said, sounding a little annoyed, ''That spell showed her friends memories of their past. I'm sure Twilight can use that same spell on Gallus once she gets back.''
''Why can't you do it?'' Sandbar suggested.
''Because it just so happens to be one of the few spells that I don't quite know how to perform,'' Starlight answered, ''Although, there might be a book somewhere in Twilight's library that can help.''
''That would be great,'' Gallus said, ''Cause the more I try to understand any of this, the more my head hurts.''
''I'll do whatever I can, Gallus,'' Starlight said reassuringly, ''In the meantime, just stay with the others.''
''But what about the finals, Starlight?'' Ocellus said.
''Those will have to wait until Twilight gets back.'' Starlight explained.
Ocellus sighed in disappointment, ''Okay then.''
''Hey, look on the bright side,'' Silverstream said, ''At least that gives us more time to prepare for the finals, right?''
"Well said, Silverstream,'' Starlight said with a smile on her face, ''Now if you'll excuse me, I got a spell to master.'' She opened the front entrance of the school with her magic and walked out before closing the door behind her.
''I guess that's going to make me a temporary guidance counselor for awhile, huh?'' Spike said while rubbing the back of his head.
''Good luck, everycreature,'' Discord said before he snapped his fingers, which caused multiple copies of himself to appear right next to him, all of them dressed in the same teacher outfit.
Gallus looked flabbergasted, ''How does he do that?''
''That's Discord for ya,'' Sandbar said, ''He can do pretty much anything with one snap of his fingers.''
''Even bring back my memories?'' Gallus asked Discord curiously.
''Well, I uh....'' Discord said nervously as his own copies all stared at him in anticipation.
''Oh, I see,'' Spike said with a smug grin on his face, ''Looks like even the lord of chaos has his limits.''
The real Discord gave Spike an annoyed look, ''Only if you want to get incredibly specific.'' He said defensively.
Spike chuckled, ''Easy, Discord. I'm sure Starlight will figure it out on her own anyway.''
Discord rolled his eyes, ''Whatever, we got classes to teach.'' He snapped his fingers and made himself along with his copies disappear in a flash of light.
Spike smiled and looked back at Gallus and the others, ''I better go to Starlight's office. Good luck preparing for the finals.'' He flew off and dissapeared into the left hallway.
''I hope Starlight finds that spell for me fast.'' Gallus said.
''Don't worry, Gallus,'' Silverstream said to him as she placed her arm over his shoulders, ''In the meantime, we can go to the library. We can tell you everything we know about you there.''
''Wow.....Thanks,'' Gallus said in a uncertain tone, ''Why are you so nice to me?''
''Because you're our best friend, of course.'' Silverstream said happily before giving Gallus a hug.
''Friend?'' Gallus said, sounding a little surprised, ''I have friends?''
''Gallus not just have any friends,'' Yona said before she joined in on their hug, ''Gallus have best friends in Equestria.''
''I couldn't have said it better myself.'' Sandbar said before he, Smolder and Ocellus all joined in on the group hug.
For some reason, Gallus almost felt like he was about to shed a tear as all of his friends were hugging him. He could have sworn that he felt something like this before. A few seconds later they all stopped hugging each other and headed to the school library.
It didn't take long for Gallus and the others to reach the empty library. They walked to their friendship table and took a seat on the floor cushions.
Once the six creatures all sat at the table, they each started explaining everything to Gallus about their adventures and time they spend together at the School of Friendship. From the time when they first met and all the way to when they stopped the evil filly pegasus named Cozy Glow from taking over the school.
''Wow,'' Gallus said with his eyes widened, ''That sure is a lot to take in all at once. And did you say something about learning a friendship lesson from a tree?''
''It's uh, kind of a long story.'' Smolder said with a light blush on her face.
''Okay,'' Gallus said while raising his eyebrow in confusion, ''If you say so.''
''Maybe I can find you a book about Equestria's history,'' Ocellus suggested, ''That could help refresh your mind a little. You know, just in case Starlight might not master her spell in time before the finals.''
''Sure. As long as the book is not too thick,'' Gallus said, ''I may have amnesia, but I still know that I'm not a big fan of reading. ''
''Don't worry, we'll start with something small and simple,'' Ocellus said with a smile, ''I'm sure I can find something for you in the back.'' She then headed the northwest part of the library.
Ocellus reached the history section of the library and began searching for the right book. While looking through the shelf she noticed a blue light glowing down to her right. Ocellus looked down and saw that the light came from the hatch on the floor that led to the school's catacombs.
''Help me,'' Ocellus heard a familiar monotone voice talking from the hatch, ''I don't have much time. Get your friends and come to me.'' She eventually recognized the voice and widened her eyes in shock.
''What's taking her so long?'' Smolder asked as she turned her head over to the section where Ocellus went.
''Guys!'' Smolder heard Ocellus saying in an urgent manner. The blue changeling appeared from behind the shelf and flew towards her.
''Ocellus?'' Smolder said with a surprised look, ''What's the matter?''
''The Tree of Harmony is in danger! It needs our help!'' Ocellus said quickly.
''What?!'' All of Ocellus's friends said at the same time.
''What happened?!'' Gallus asked.
''We don't have much time! Come on!'' Ocellus said before she immediately headed back to the history section. Her friends all quickly stood up from the table and followed Ocellus to the hatch.
Smolder was the first to reach the glowing hatch and opened it with her claws. The others all went into the catacombs one by one as Smolder held the hatch open for them. She then entered the hatch herself before closing it behind her.
Once inside the catacombs, the six creatures checked their surroundings and noticed that the crystal roots looked slightly different from how they remembered. While some of them had still remained the same, most of them seemed to have a much darker glow to them compared to the rest.
''Good. You have arrived.'' A slighty demonic voice said. Suddenly some of the dark roots of the tree grew over the hatch, blocking their way out.
Gallus and his friends all quickly looked in front of them and saw that the Tree of Harmony had taken the form of their headmare once again. Except his time her body wasn't just sparkling in white, but in black as well.
''Wait a minute,'' Gallus said while looking suprised, ''Aren't you....''
''There's not much time left,'' The sparkling alicorn said before Gallus could continue to talk, ''I need your help.''
''Uh, why tree sound so scary now?'' Yona asked the Tree of Harmony in a slightly frightened voice.
''An unknown and powerful dark magic has somehow found it's way into my roots.'' The Tree of Harmony answered as the pupils in her eyes kept flickering from purple to black.
''Dark magic?!'' Sandbar asked, sounding very concerned.
''What kind of dark magic?!'' Ocellus asked.
''This magic is beyond my knowledge, but somehow feels familiar,'' The Tree of Harmony explained calmly, ''If this situation is not dealt with as soon as possible, then I sense grave danger will spread itself all over Equestria.''
The six creatures all gasped in horror.
''What are we going to do, Tree of Harmony?!'' Silverstream asked the Tree of Harmony with great concern.
''You all must complete another test,'' The Tree of Harmony began to explain, ''Once you do, the magic inside you will spread across my roots. Only then may the dark magic perish for good.''
''You got it!'' Sandbar said with a confident smile.
''We won't let you down!'' Silverstream said determinedly.
''Yona ready!'' Yona added.
''But I must warn you,'' the Tree of Harmony said, ''These tests will not be as easy as the ones before. You're gonna have to face your deepest and darkest fears.''
Ocellus gulped and looked a bit unsure after the Tree of Harmony finished her last sentence.
''Bring it on then!'' Smolder said confidently, ''I'm not afraid of anything!''
''Good luck.'' The Tree of Harmony said calmly before a black aura started glowing around her horn.
A dark aura started glowing around the bodies of the six creatures as they got ready for whatever test they were about to face. One by one they all disappeared into nothingness thanks to the slightly dark magic.
Smolder opened her eyes as soon as the dark aura had finally faded away. She looked at her surroundings and almost immediately recognized where she was. The many mountains around her, the lava pools in the distance. She was without a doubt back in the Dragonlands. Only this time it seemed much more abandoned than she remembered, since there was not a single dragon in sight.
''How did I end up back here?'' Smolder asked herself while scratching the side of her head.
When Smolder looked down at the ground she noticed that something white had appeared around her body. She examined herself and quickly realized that she was wearing a familiar looking princess dress for some reason.
Smolder gasped, widened her eyes in fear and immediately attempted to take off the dress. She grabbed the white thing with her claws and tried to rip it from her body with all her might. But no matter how hard she pulled, the dress remained intact. She started to panic and decided to spew fire over the dress, but that didn't seem to do anything either. It was as if the dress was magically stuck to her body.
Smolder took a deep breath to calm herself down, ''Don't worry, as long as no dragon sees me like this, It's fine.'' She said to herself calmly.
Smolder began to explore the seemingly desolated Dragonlands on foot, still under the suspicion that some dragons might still be around.
''Hey, you!''
Smolder's heart started beating faster as soon as she heard the voice shouting. She looked around herself in a panicky manner to see who had spotted her. Much to her surprise however, there seemed to be no dragon in sight. Smolder eventually calmed down and sighed in relief, assuming that the voice was probably referring to someone else.
Smolder was about to continue on, but stopped when she heard what sounded like hard punches being thrown at someone.
''You're not getting away from us that easily!'' Smolder heard the same voice shouting again. It seemed to come from behind a mountain a few meters away from her.
Smolder quickly let her curiosity get the best of her. She flew to where she heard the voice coming from and peeked her head from behind the corner of a mountain.
A big crowd of other dragons, who all stood together in a giant group circle could be seen in the distance. Smolder flew a bit higher up and landed on the tip of the mountain to get a better look. In the middle of the group circle were what seemed like five different creatures, all of them laying on the ground unconscious while having many wounds all over their bodies. Smolder eventually recognized the five creatures and felt a feeling of shock and terror going through her body.
Sandbar, Yona, Silverstream, Gallus and Ocellus all groaned in pain as they had trouble getting up from the ground.
''What's wrong?! Aren't you gonna fight back with the power of fwiendship?!'' One of the dragons in the crowd shouted at the five wounded creatures. All the other dragons started laughing at his remark.
Smolder gasped and widened her eyes when she saw another red dragon emerge from the group circle.
''I think it's about time we put an end to them,'' The red dragon said while cracking his knuckles, ''Starting with the little pony.''
''Garble?'' Smolder whispered to herself in disbelief.
''I'll show you just what happens when you set foot in the Dragonlands.'' Garble said as he slowly approached Sandbar with an intimidating look.
Sandbar watched with fear in his eyes how Garble got closer and closer. He tried his best to move out of the away, but his body felt too weak to do anything.
Smolder was ready to head in there and stop the dragons, but hesitated when she took another look at the white dress she was still wearing. The orange dragon got lost in thought about what the dragons would think to her if they saw her like this, all the mockery and humiliation that would come from it.
Smolder snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of someone getting punched.
''Sandbar!'' Smolder heard Yona's voice shouting in a weak sounding voice.
Smolder looked back at the situation and saw how Garble kept beating up Sandbar with his fists. She didn't hesitate anymore and rushed to her friends as fast as she could with the dress still on.
Just as Garble was about to land another punch on Sandbar, Smolder landed right in front of the red dragon and blocked his punch with her claw.
''Leave my friends alone!'' Smolder shouted as loud as she could. Her voice echoed throughout the Dragonlands.
Garble returned his fist and backed away from Smolder, who was standing in front of her friends with her arms spread.
Garble had to do his best to hold back his laughter when he took a good look as Smolder's white dress. It only took a few more seconds before he and the rest of the dragons quickly bursted out into laughter anyway. Some of them even got tears in their eyes while others were laying on the ground.
''What are you supposed to be wearing, Smolder?!'' Garble asked as he kept on laughing with tears still in his eyes.
Smolder's face turned completely red, ''T-That's not important! Right now all I want to know is why you are attacking my friends!''
''Friends,'' Garble asked while looking flabbergasted, ''These puny creatures are your friends?!'
''Yeah! Got a problem with that?!'' Smolder asked Garble sternly, trying her best to look intimidating in the white dress.
''Did you come here to have a pretty pony tea-party with your new fwiends or something?!'' One of the dragons in the crowd shouted. The other dragons all started laughing even harder.
Smolder looked around her as all the dragons continued to laugh at her. She clenched her fists together while showing an angry look on her face.
''I don't care what any of you dragons think of me!'' Smolder shouted as tears started to appear in her eyes.
Most of the dragons stopped laughing immediately as Smolder's words kept echoing throughout the Dragonlands for a few seconds.
''What did you say?'' Garble asked, looking very surprised after seeing Smolder's reaction.
''Yes, it's true! I like cute and silly things,'' Smolder continued with tears still under her eyes, ''I love wearing dresses and having tea parties! You can make fun of me all you want and say whatever you want about it! But I will NOT let you hurt my friends!''
Suddenly a bright red light appeared from the center of Smolder's chest, which got so bright that she was forced to quickly cover her eyes.
A few seconds passed and Smolder noticed that the bright red light seemed to have disappeared. She uncovered her eyes, wiped her tears away and looked at her surroundings.
Smolder looked at the crystal roots that littered the area, which all seemed to have turned back to normal, since the black glow that came from the roots before was completely gone. She soon realized that she had ended up back under the catacombs of the School of Friendship. She also noticed that the white dress she was wearing had disappeared.
Smolder sighed to herself in relief, ''Looks like I did it,'' She said to herself, ''And the Tree of Harmony sure wasn't kidding''
Smolder took notice of the multiple tunnels in the area. She took a good look at each of them, but none of them seemed any different from the other.
''Well, that's just great,'' Smolder said with an unamused look, ''Whatever, let's just pick one and hope for the best.'' She flapped her wings and flew straight into the tunnel in front of her.
No matter where Silverstream looked, a series of vertical black lines kept filling her view. From what she could see between those lines, it seemed that she had somehow ended up back in Mount Aris. She rubbed her eyes, hoping it would make the lines go away, but they were still there.
Silverstream eventually decided to walk into the Hippogriff Kingdom. The more steps she took, the bigger the black lines in her eyes got. Suddenly she felt something hard hitting her forehead and stopped moving. The young hippogriff rubbed the wound on her forehead and looked around. She soon realized that the black lines were actually bars from a giant, round shaped cage that she had somehow ended up in.
Silverstream looked down and gasped when she saw a familiar looking symbol carved on the floor of the cage. It didn't take long for her to realize that it was without a doubt the Storm King's symbol.
''No.'' Silverstream said to herself in shock.
When the young hippogriff decided to looked through the bars, her heart sank. All of the homes in the Hippogriff Kingdom were in ruins and motionless bodies of other hippogriffs layed all over the place.
''Do you like your cage, little bird?'' A rough, loud voice said from behind Silverstream.
It was a voice that had haunted Silverstream's nightmares for months. She turned around nervously and there he was. The Storm King, along with his giant staff and the same goofy crown on his head. He had lowered himself to her level and looked at her with his blue glowing eyes.
Silverstream could feel her heart beating like crazy as she looked at the Storm King, staring at her with eyes that she could tell were filled with complete madness. She wanted to scream for help from her friends or any of the Hippogriffs, but all she could do was look at the giant creature with fear in her eyes.
"Awww, you don't like your little cage?" The Storm King asked in an overly sappy tone, ''.....GOOD!!'' He showed a menacing grin before letting out a crazy laugh.
''This......This is not real,'' Silverstream said in a shaky voice as she could feel her legs shaking uncontrollably, ''You are not real.''
''Oh, so you think I'm not real?'' The Storm King asked in a mocking tone before pointing the tip of his staff at Silverstream, ''Then perhaps you could use some convincing.''
Silverstream gulped, ''You're not going to get away with this, Mister Storm King,'' She said, trying her best to sound as brave as she could, ''Princess Twilight and her friends will stop you, just like they did last time.''
The Storm King bursted out into laughter, ''Those six ridiculous ponies with their puny necklaces?! I hate to break it to you, but they are as good as dead.''
Silverstream looked shocked as her heart sank again from the Storm King's words.
''You're lying!'' Silverstream shouted, trying to fight back her tears, ''They're still out there, I know it!''
''Is that so?'' The Storm King responded, ''Then you might wanna take a look at this first.'' He stood up and took a few stepes to his left and pointed behind him with his giant hand.
Silverstream grabbed two of the bars, looked through the gap and gasped when she saw what was behind the Storm King this whole time.
A few meters away from them Silverstream could see the bodies of Twilight Sparkle and her five friends, laying on the ground wounded and motionless while still wearing the Elements of Harmony. She could no longer hold it back and felt the tears forming under her eyes.
''No,'' Silverstream said, sounding like she was about to cry, ''This can't be.''
''Awww, look on the bright side, little bird,'' The Storm King said in an overly sappy tone, ''With a little help from my magic staff, I made sure that their deaths were quick and painless. So it's not all bad.''
Silverstream tried her best to stay strong, but she eventually let it all out and started crying as the tears started rolling down her cheeks.
''How could you do this?'' Silverstream said in a weak, defeated voice. She kept sniffing as her tears dropped on the floor of the cage.
''Because I'm the king,'' The Storm King answered casually, ignoring all of Silverstream's crying, ''Which means I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. Duh! ''
Silverstream looked down and began to hold onto to the bars very tight with her claws.
''Looks like there's no creature left to save you now, little bird.'' The Storm King said as the big creature pointed his staff straight at Silverstream once again.
''You're wrong.'' Silverstream said while she was still looking down.
''Say what?'' The Storm King said in surprise as he lowered his staff.
Silverstream looked back up at the Storm king with rage filled in her eyes while holding the bars very tight with her claws.
''I said you're wrong!'' Silverstream said in anger, ''You may have defeated Twilight and her friends, but my friends are still out there!''
The Storm King stared at Silverstream for a few seconds before he bursted out into laughter again.
''And what exactly can six pathetic creatures like you do to stop someone like me?!'' The Storm king asked with a threatening smile.
''You can laugh all you want, you big bully,'' Silverstream continued on, ''But I believe in my friends. They will look for me, they will find me, and together we will stop you! No matter what you say or show to me, I know that somehow me and my friends will find a way to stop you, once and for all!''
Suddenly a bright blue light started glowing from the center of Silverstream's chest. A few seconds later the light became so bright that it forced her to cover her eyes.
Silverstream noticed that the light had eventually faded away and opened her eyes again. She looked around and saw that she was back in the catacombs under the School of Friendship. But this time, the crystal roots around her seemed to have returned back to their brightly lit selves.
''Woohoo!'' Silverstream shouted as she jumped into the air, ''I did it! I passed my test!'' She then headed into one of the many tunnels in the area, hoping that it would lead back to her friends.
The blizzard kept blurring most of Yona's vision. The cold didn't bother her, but when it came to seeing where she was going, that was a whole other story. It took her what felt like ten solid minutes of walking through the snow before she finally saw something else besides mountains and big piles of snow. In the distance there was a silhouette of what looked like a tall gate. A big smile appeared on Yona's face as she got closer. The tall gate turned out to be made of wood and on both sides were two big wooden statues holding a giant torch and shield.
''Yona home!'' Yona shouted happily. She smashed right through the left side of the gate and ran into Yakyakistan.
After doing some exploring around Yakyakistan, Yona quickly noticed that something was a bit off. All of the huts she passed by were quiet and empty, which was very unusual for her culture. Yona kept looking around and eventually her eyes caught sight of a giant group of yaks a few meters away from her. It seemed as if every yak that lived there, even the younger, smaller ones, had come together and formed a giant crowd. The only exception being Prince Rutherford, who stood on a big sturdy, wooden crate in front of the crowd.
Prince Rutherford cleared his throat and got ready to give a speech to the yaks.
''Big day has finally come,'' Prince Rutherford announced, ''Yaks ready to go to war against Equestria?!''
The yaks all started cheering while stomping on the ground, causing all of the huts in Yakyakistan to shake as if it was an earthquake.
Yona had heard everything Rutherford said and ran over to the giant crowd as fast as she could. She did her best to keep her balance as the ground kept shaking from all the stomping. The small yak stopped right behind the group of yaks.
''Yaks STOP!!'' Yona shouted at the top of her lungs. Her voice echoed throughout Yakyakistan.
All the Yaks slowly stopped stomping on the ground and turned their attention to Yona, who had a desperate look on her face.
''Why Yaks going to war against Equestria?!'' Yona asked them.
''Other cultures nothing like Yak culture,'' Prince Rutherford explained, ''That's why other creature's cultures should be just like Yak's culture!''
''Why Prince Rutherford think that?!'' Yona asked.
''Because Yak culture is only special culture,'' Prince Rutherford said, ''Other creature's cultures inferior, BECAUSE they nothing like Yak culture!''
The other yaks started cheering once again while nodding and smiling to each other.
''That not true!'' Yona shouted, causing the yaks to stop cheering once again.
''What Yona say?'' Prince Rutherford asked.
''Other creature's cultures just as special as yak culture, BECAUSE they all different!'' Yona explained determinedly.
''What small yak mean by that?!'' One of the yaks in the crowd asked curiously.
Yona took a deep breath, ''Yona love Yak culture, Yona always have. but Yona learned at School of Friendship that other creature's cultures just as amazing in their own way. No creature good at everything, all have own strengths and weaknesses.''
''That ridiculous!'' Prince Rutherford shouted, ''Yaks not have weaknesses, Yaks perfect!''
''Nothing perfect,'' Yona said back to Prince Rutherford, ''Yona learn that from Purple Princess pony. Yona seen just how great getting to know other creature's cultures can be. None of that possible if it weren't for School of Friendship.''
''Prince Rutherford confused,'' Prince Rutherford said, ''What Yona trying to say?!''
''What Yona trying to say is....'' She said before taking another deep breath, ''.....Yona think that yak is NOT best!''
The yaks let out a very loud collective gasp that echoed throughout Yakyakistan. All of their eyes were set on Yona with looks of shock and disbelief on their faces.
Yona soon noticed something glowing on the center of her chest. It was a bright orange light, which began to shine so bright that it almost blinded her and was forced to close her eyes.
Yona opened her eyes again after the orange light had faded away. It took her less than five seconds of checking her surroundings to realize that she had ended up back in the catacombs under the School of Friendship. Another thing she noticed was that the dark glow around the crystals roots from before had completely vanished.
''Looks like Yona passed test.'' Yona said to herself with a happy smile.
The small yak headed to the tunnel she saw in front of her, hoping to find the way out of the catacombs and reunite with her friends.
It was beyond anything that Sandbar could have ever imagined. The once very peaceful and colorful Canterlot had turned into a grey, dreary ghost city. Filthy furniture littered the streets, most of the ground was covered with bricks and shards of broken glass. And the most horrifying thing of them all, the bodies of many ponies from Canterlot laid on the ground motionless with their eyes closed.
''What in the name of Celestia happened here?'' Sandbar asked himself as he kept looking around with a look of fear on his face.
After a few more minutes of walking through the destroyed city, the eerie silence finally got interrupted by the sound of some kind of explosion.
"There they are!"
Sandbar's eyes widened when he heard the familiar voice coming from somewhere in the distance. He quickly went futher into Canterlot. Eventually the young pony stopped in his tracks when he ran into a situation that shocked him to the bone.
Right in front of the main entrance to the Canterlot castle stood Twilight Sparkle, with her five friends standing along side her. They seemed to be getting ready to fight five other opposing creatures standing a few meters away from them. It didn't take long for Sandbar to see that those five creatures were none other than Gallus, Yona, Ocellus, Smolder and Silverstream, all of whom seemed to be ready to start a fight as well.
Sandbar showed a look of disbelief on his face, having trouble trying to comprehend the whole situation that was happening in front of him.
''Enough!'' Twilight shouted angrily, ''It's time we put an end to this once and for all!'' Her horn started to glow while little sparks emerged from it.
''We're not going to let you traitors get away with this!'' Smolder shouted.
''The only traitors I'm seeing are standing right in front of us!'' Rainbow Dash shouted back.
''It's time for you to pay!'' Twilight said as the glow on her horn got brighter and brighter.
Sandbar realized what Twilight was about to do and widened his eyes in shock. He ran around the battlefield and over to Twilight and her friends as fast as he could. He reached the purple alicorn just in time and tackled her from behind right before she had the chance to fire her magic at his friends. The two ponies fell to the ground while Twilight's magic beam got shot high up into the sky.
''What do you think you're doing?!'' Sandbar asked Twilight.
''Get off me!'' Twilight shouted as she levitated Sandbar off of herself using her magic. She tossed the young pony in the middle of the battlefield and got up from the ground.
Sandbar quickly stood up from the ground and ran back to Twilight when he noticed her getting ready to fire her magic at his friends once again.
''Stop it!'' Sandbar said as he stopped right in front of Twilight, ''What's gotten into all of you?!''
''Move aside, Sandbar,'' Twilight said sternly, ''They are the cause of all this!''
''What are you talking about?!'' Sandbar asked.
''Don't listen to them, Sandbar!'' Gallus shouted to him, ''They're the ones with the Elements of Harmony! They're using them to destroy everything in Equestria!''
Sandbar quickly turned around and looked at the blue griffin, ''Gallus, stop it! Twilight and her friends would never do something that horrible!'' He said in a desperate manner.
''Are you saying I'm a liar?!'' Gallus asked.
''Don't let them fool ya, Sandbar!'' Applejack shouted to Sandbar, ''They are the ones responsible for this! And that's the honest truth!''
''I don't believe you!'' Sandbar said in frustration.
''Are you really doubting us?!'' Rarity asked sternly, ''The ponies you've always been looking up to your whole life?!''
Sandbar became unsure and stressed from the whole situation as he kept looking back and forth at the two opposing sides. He just couldn't find it in his heart to believe that either of them would want to do something like this.
''Well, Sandbar?'' Twilight said, ''Who's side are you on?!''
''Enough!'' Sandbar shouted from the top of his lungs.
Both sides were immediately silenced by Sandbar's sudden outburst.
''I don't know what's going on here, but I refuse to believe that any of you would wanna do this!'' Sandbar explained as small tears appeared in his eyes.
''That doesn't answer my question!'' Twilight said.
''I don't wanna pick a side!'' Sandbar continued as tears were rollin down his cheeks, ''I just want my best friends and the six most amazing ponies in all of Equestria to stop fighting and fix this situation together!''
Suddenly Sandbar saw that the center of his chest started glowing a bright, pink light. So bright in fact that he had to cover his eyes to prevent himself from becoming blind.
When he noticed the light had faded, he uncovered his eyes and saw that he was back in the catacombs under the School of Friendship. And he quickly noticed that the crystal roots no longer had a dark glow around them.
Sandbar let out a big sigh of relief, ''That was intense. I better go find the others.'' He said before entering one of the many tunnles in the area.
When looking at her surroundings, she came to a horrifying realisation. The constant shape shifting walls she saw everywhere, the small green eggs hanging around on the ceilings, the misshaped stairs and the rocks filled with holes. There was no doubt about it, Ocellus was somehow back in Chrysalis's hive, but before the time Starlight and her friends came along and reformed the changelings.
Ocellus looked down and gasped at the sudden sight of her black front legs. She examined her own body and realized she had turned back into a corrupted changeling for some reason. Ocellus quickly tried to change herself back to normal, but her appearance remained the same. She kept on trying multiple times, but it made no difference.
''Attention, my subjects!''
Ocellus looked shocked when she heard the voice talking and even more shocked when a whole crowd of corrupted changelings surrounded her all of the sudden. The changelings were looking up at a cliff. Ocellus did the same and caught sight of the ex queen of the changelings herself, looking down upon her and the other changelings from the tip of the cliff.
"Our time has finally come," Chrysalis announced, "Today we will conquer Equestria and consume as much love as we desire!"
All the changelings started cheering and hoof bumping each other. Their sounds echoed throughout the hive.
''And our first target shall be Canterlot!'' Chrysalis said loudly.
Ocellus eyes widened when she heard the word Canterlot. She finally realized what was happening and knew that she'd been in this situation before.
''Here's the plan!'' Chrysalis said.
Chrysalis began to explain the exact same plan that Ocellus had heard from her years ago. She felt like going up there and stopping her, but it was obvious to her that she wouldn't stand a chance. As Ocellus listened to Chrysalis explaining the rest of her plan, unpleasant memories between her and the ex queen of the changelings came back to haunt her. Everything she once thought of Chrysalis, everthing she once did for her. Ocellus would have loved nothing more than to undo all of it.
Eventually Ocellus heard Chrysalis's final words of her plan and all of the changelings started cheering again.
Ocellus took a very deep breath and flew up to Chrysalis, who still stood on the tip of the cliff with a menacing smile on her face. She quickly took notice of Ocellus flying towards her.
''What do you think you're doing?!'' Chrysalis asked, ''Get back down there this instant!'' Ocellus ignored her demand and kept flying towards her until she was hovering right in front of the tall changeling queen.
''No, I won't!'' Ocellus said out loud, trying her best to sound tough.
Ocellus could hear a loud gasp coming from the changeling crowd below her. Most of them stared at Ocellus in shock while others started mumbling amongst each other.
''Excuse me?!'' Chrysalis said as she flew up close to Ocellus.
''I'm not going to listen to anything you say,'' Ocellus said before looking down at the other changelings, ''And neither should all of you!''
''Wait, I know that voice,'' Chrysalis said before giving Ocellus a sly smile, ''Ah, you're Ocellus, aren't you?''
''Yes, I am.'' Ocellus answered back, not trying to show any of the fear that she was clearly feeling.
''Whatever happened to all those times you looked up to me?'' Chrysalis asked, showing a fake smile while talking in a motherly tone.
''I'll never look up to a monster like you ever again,'' Ocellus said sternly as tears appeared under in her eyes, ''Maybe I once did, but I've seen you for who you really are. Everything you told me and the rest of my family was nothing but a lie!''
Chrysalis gasped, ''What are you talking about?'' She asked in an overly sappy tone, ''I only want what's best for my subjects.'' She reached her hoof out to Ocellus and began to pet her on the head.
''No!'' Ocellus shouted as she slapped away Chrysalis's hoof, ''You only want what's best for yourself!
All of the starving changelings down below kept on watching their heated conversation while looking confused.
Ocellus looked down at the changeling crowd, ''But I want what's best for all of you,'' She said to them out loud as her voice echoed through the hive, ''You all work very hard and do whatever is necessary to please Chrysalis, but she will never do anything back for us! It's true that I've always wanted to be like her when I was young, because I thought she always had our best interests at heart. But a pony named Starlight Glimmer and our real changeling leader named Thorax have helped me see Chrysalis for who she really is! She only wants to keep us in her clutches. We don't need to feed off of the love from other creatures, we need to share it!''
Ocellus catched her breath and was ready for whatever Chrysalis's reaction would be, but instead a dark purple light started glowing from the center of her chest. The light became so bright that she was eventually forced to close her eyes.
The light had eventually faded away. Ocellus uncovered her eyes and looked at her surroundings. The area around her had completely changed. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was back in the catacombs under the school. She looked happy when she noticed that the crystal roots no longer had a dark glow around them. She took a look at her own reflection in one of the crystal roots and saw that she had changed back to normal.
Ocellus sighed in relief, ''I can't believe I actually said all of that.'' She headed into the tunnel in front of her, hoping that it would lead to her friends or at least the exit of the catacombs.
''What is this place?'' Gallus asked himself as he explored the messy town.
He walked in the middle of the street, watching how most of the houses he walked past by had many holes and cracks on their roofs. The doors were either missing or broken and he couldn't take two steps without seeing hay and wooden sticks being littered everywhere.
Gallus continued exploring the town and eventually felt something rumbling in his stomach.
''Oh o, I know that sound,'' Gallus said as he rubbed his belly with his claw, ''I better get something to eat.''
''Anygriff up for some Griffonscones?!''
The raspy sounding voice seemed to come from the left side of the town. Gallus walked over to the messy house on his left and peeked from around the corner.
A few meters ahead he saw a female griffon standing next to a wagon with many little scones on them. The griffon's upper body was covered in white while her lower body was covered in brown. She held up some small scones in her yellow claw and shouted the same sentence from before. Gallus could feel his stomach growling as he kept looking at the many scones that layed on the wagon behind her. He stepped from around the corner and approached the female griffon.
''I would like some!'' Gallus said happily as he approached her.
The female griffon took notice of him and quickly placed the scone back on the tray of her wagon.
''Don't even think about it!'' The griffon said after she blocked the wagon's view with her body.
''Did I say something wrong?'' Gallus asked, taken back by her sudden attitude.
''You can't fool me, Gallus,'' The griffon said while giving him a look of suspicion, ''I know exactly what you're up to.''
''What are you talking about?'' Gallus asked while looking confused.
''Come on, we've been through this like ten times,'' the female griffon explained, ''You're gonna try to distract me and then steal all of my scones.''
''What?! I would never steal!'' Gallus said back defensively.
''Yeah right,'' The griffon said while rolling her eyes, ''And I suppose every other griffon who has caught you stealing their food around here are just a bunch of liars, right?''
''Huh?'' Gallus said, looking utterly confused, "Who even are you?"
''Name's Gilda,' The female griffon said, ''And you are nothing but a filthy, little street rat, in case you needed a reminder of that too.''
''A street rat?'' Gallus said, still having the same confused look on his face as he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
''Yeah, it means that you're homeless and have no family, you little thief.'' Gilda explained.
''I'm not a thief!'' Gallus said, trying not to sound weak.
''Sure, keep lying to yourself,'' Gilda said, ''You steal my scones, scam other griffons, make up sappy stories to get others to do what you want. And did I forget to mention STEALING MY SCONES?!''
''....Is that all really true?'' Gallus asked as he looked down with a slightly sad look on his face.
''Is that all really true?'' Gilda imitated in an overly mocking tone, ''Stop being in denial, Gallus. Everygriff here knows that you are nothing but a worthless street rat. Your life started as a street rat, your life will end as a street rat. And only parasprites will morn you.''
Tears started forming under Gallus's eyes after Gilda had stopped talking.
''That's not true.'' Gallus eventually said.
''What?'' Gilda said.
Gallus looked back up at Gilda, still having tears under his eyes while showing a look of anger.
''I'm not worthless.'' Gallus said, trying to sound tough.
''Oh, Gallus,'' Gilda said, shaking her head, ''Do I have to spell it out for you? No one cares about you.''
''You're wrong,'' Gallus said in desperation before he wiped his tears, ''I have friends who care about me now.''
Gilda bursted out into laughter, ''Yeah, right,'' She said with a sly smile, ''And do you honestly think any of those friends would actually care about you if they knew about your past?'' Gilda asked.
Gallus looked down and thought about what Gilda just said. What would his friends think of him if he told them about his past? Was it even his real past? Or was Gilda just lying to him? His friends did seem to really care about him, even if he doesn't remember anything about them.
''Well?'' Gilda said impatiently.
Gallus looked back at Gilda, ''I do.'' He said determinedly.
Out of nowhere, in the center of Gallus's chest, a bright, purple light started glowing. It eventually shined so bright, he was forced to cover his eyes.
A few seconds later, the bright light had faded away. Gallus uncovered his eyes and noticed that he had ended up back in the catacombs under the School of Friendship.
''What just happened?'' Gallus asked himself, ''Whatever, I better get out of here and find my friends.''
Gallus looked around at the many tunnels in the area. He shrugged and just entered the one in front of him, hoping for the best.
Gallus finally exited the long tunnel. A look of pure relief appeared on his face when he saw the rest of his friends, who all seemed to be waiting for him on a giant crystal root in front of the hatch.
''You're all still here?'' Gallus asked as he walked up to his friends.
''Of course,'' Smolder answered, ''You didn't think we were just gonna leave behind, did you?''
''Exactly,'' Silverstream added, ''No matter what happens, we will never leave you behind.''
A little smile appeared on Gallus's face, ''Thanks.''
Suddenly a bright, white light flashed from behind Gallus. He turned around and saw the Tree of Harmony, once again in the form of Twilight Sparkle, standing right behind him.
''Well done, everycreature,'' The Tree of Harmony said, talking again in her normal monotone voice, ''Your noble efforts have managed to save my roots from being corrupted. But I'm afraid it was not enough to fully restore me back to normal.''
''What? Why not?'' Sandbar asked.
''The magic you carry inside is powerful, but it is not enough to fight off the dark magic that has gotten into my roots.'' The Tree of Harmony explained.
''But then how can we stop it?!'' Ocellus asked.
''The six bearers of the Elements of Harmony might have the power to vanquish the dark magic and save me.'' The Tree of Harmony explained again.
''You mean Twilight Sparkle and her friends?'' Sandbar asked.
The Tree of Harmony nodded, ''You all must hurry. I have a strong feeling that the fate of Equestria rests upon your shoulders.''
The Tree of Harmony dissappeared in a bright flash of light right in front of their eyes. After she was gone, the crystal roots that blocked the hatch slowly got out of the way.
''Someone is really gonna have to fill me in on what's going on.'' Gallus said while looking flabbergasted.
''Don't worry, Gally,'' Silverstream said, ''Counselor Starlight should have that memory spell ready right about now.''
''I hope so,'' Gallus said, ''Cause I am feeling so lost right now.''
Smolder flew to the hatch of the catacombs, pushed it open with her claws and then looked back at her friends.
''Come on! Who knows how much time the Tree of Harmony has left.'' Smolder said before she flew through the open hatch.
''Smolder right. Let's go!'' Yona said before she and her friends followed Smolder through the hatch and exited the catacombs one by one.
Smolder held the hatch open for her friends and watched them climb out one by one. The orange dragon closed the hatch right after Gallus was the last one to exit the catacombs. The first thing that caught their attention was the clear absence of any source of light in the school library.
''Is it nighttime already?'' Sandbar asked in surprise.
''We must have been down there for quite a while, huh?'' Smolder said.
''Aren't there any lights in this library?'' Gallus asked as he looked around at the dark ceiling.
''Of course there are,' Sandbar answered, ''But no one ever comes here at night, except for us. So that's when the lights are usually off.''
''I guess that makes sense.'' Gallus said.
''Come on,'' Smolder quickly said, ''We have to get to Twilight and her friends!''
''Smolder's right,'' Ocellus said, ''If things are as bad as the Tree of Harmony implied they are, then we must hurry.''
''Then what Yona and friends waiting for,'' Yona said as she was already walking away from the hatch, ''Time for Yona and friends to-''
Yona stopped mid-sentence when she suddenly felt something grabbing her around her leg. It pulled on her ankle, causing the small yak to lose her balance. She tripped and her face hit the ground with a loud smack.
''Yona!'' Sandbar said, sounding very concerned as he quickly went to check on the fallen yak, ''Are you alright?''
Sandbar watched over Yona with a worried look as small stars circled around her head. Yona eventually got up from the floor and shook her head wildly, causing the circling stars to disappear.
''Yona fine,'' Yona said before looking at her back leg, ''But what Yona trip over?'' She saw that some kind of long, dark green rope had been tied around her back hoof.
''It looks like a vine.'' Sandbar said as he took a closer look at Yona's ankle.
''A vine?'' Smolder said as she stood next to Sandbar before looking at the vine around Yona's ankle. Smolder grabbed the vine with her claws and untied it.
''Why would there be-''
Smolder stopped talking when she and her friends looked at what had become of the library.
The whole library looked like a giant mess. Books had fallen from their shelfs, their pages were torn and had scattered all over the place. The same dark green vines that had tied itself around Yona's leg could be seen crawling everywhere. Some of them were slowly moving through the shells while others came through the shattered window and into the library.
''Since when did the school turn into a jungle?'' Silverstream asked while looking flabbergasted at the moving vines.
''It must have something to do with the dark magic that's corrupting the Tree of Harmony right now.'' Ocellus explained.
''How do you know that?'' Gallus asked.
''Of course,'' Sandbar soon realized, ''Because the Tree of Harmony controls all the plant life in the Everfree Forest, right?''
''Exactly,'' Ocellus said, ''And that dark magic must have caused the Everfree Forest to grow out of control.''
''Then let's go find our teachers and tell them what we know.'' Smolder said before heading towards the exit. The others followed her while doing their best to avoid all the vines.
After making it out of the library, they all split up and searched the school for Twilight and her friends. Every classroom, every hall and every office that existed inside the building. But no matter which place they searched, each of them looked the same as the other. Empty, quiet, littered with torn books that had fallen out of school bags. And they could not take two steps without running into the same vines that they encountered in the library. There was not a single pony or creature to be seen, no voice or sound to be heard, aside from the vines and plants that were moving throughout the school.
After many minutes of looking through and double checking every place inside the school, the six creatures met back at the school's main entrance, which was blocked by even more vines and plants than they saw before.
''Where did everyone go?'' Gallus asked the others.
''Do you suppose our teachers evacuated the school because of this crazy plant infestation?'' Gallus asked.
''Could be,'' Ocellus answered, ''But if that's the case, then where would they all go?''
''I don't know,'' Sandbar said, ''The last time something like this happened, all of Ponyville was nearing uninhabitable.''
''Relax, I'm sure our teachers already went to solve the problem,'' Silverstream suggested, trying to sound positive, ''They've probably already figured it out on their own, like they always do.''
''There's only one way to find out.'' Smolder said before turning her attention over to the vines blocking the main entrance.
The orange dragon took a deep breath and breathed fire at the vines, causing them to slowly disintegrated before turning into a pile of ash.
''Nice one, Smolder!'' Silverstream said.
''No problem,'' Smolder said, ''Now let's go!''
Smolder and her friends approached the main entrance of the school and together they pushed each side of the big door wide open.
After crossing the pond in front of the School of Friendship, they saw that things didn't look much better outside. The school itself was completely covered in vines, it was almost unrecognizable. Their heads soon turned towards Ponyville and looked shocked when they saw the horrifying sight before them.
The once lively and peaceful Ponyville looked completely abandoned. The houses were full of cracks, windows were shattered and everything was even more overgrown with plant life than they could have imagined. There was not a single pony or creature to be seen. Sandbar quickly rushed over to Ponyville without saying a word, much to the suprise of his friends, who immediately followed him.
Once arriving in Ponyville, things began to look even bleaker than any of them could bear. Everyone of them looked around in horror while walking around the messy town, seeing plants and vines littered around at every corner of Ponyville. Most of houses they walked past were almost completely in ruins, barely having survived whatever it was that caused them to fall apart like that. And even worse, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were nowhere to be found.
''It's even worse than the last time this happened.'' Sandbar said while looking at the destruction around him.
''Who or what caused this?'' Yona asked with a worried look on her face.
''Did the plants do this?'' Smolder asked.
''I'm not sure,'' Ocellus said, ''I think it would take alot more than just some plants for Ponyville to end up like this.''
''This is all getting stranger and stranger by the minute,'' Gallus said while trying to process what he saw, ''And coming from me, that's saying alot.''
Sandbar looked in the distance and gasped when he saw a particular house completely in ruins.
''Oh no,'' Sandbar said in shock. He immediately ran over to the big pile of rubble.
''Sandbar?'' Smolder said before chasing after him, ''Where are you going?!''
Ocellus, Gallus, Yona and Silverstream all looked at each other for a second before following suit.
Sandbar stopped in front of the piles of rubble and watched in agony, ''It can't be,'' He said to himself quietly in a worried tone.
''Is that your home?'' Gallus asked Sandbar while looking concerned.
Sandbar slowly nodded and lowered his head, ''You don't suppose that my family is....'' He said, finding it hard to finish his sentence. He tried his best to hold back tears as he thought about what could have happened.
''Hey, it's okay,'' Silverstream said reassuringly, ''I'm sure your family is alright.''
Gallus looked down for a bit before placing his claw on Sandbar's shoulder, ''We'll find your family, Sandbar.'' He said determinedly.
Sandbar lifted his head up and looked at his friends, ''Thanks,'' He said while giving a warm smile, ''I don't know what I'd do without you.''
''So where are Twilight and friends now,'' Yona asked, ''Yona not know any other place they could be.''
''Maybe they're still at the Tree of Harmony in the Everfree Forest.'' Silverstream suggested.
''That would make the most sense for them to do.'' Ocellus said.
''It's our best bet.'' Sandbar said.
''The Everfree what now?'' Gallus asked curiously.
''You'll see,'' Smolder said to Gallus, ''Come on.'' She and her friends headed out of Ponyville and towards the Everfree Forest.
Sandbar and his friends all stood in front of the entrance of the Everfree Forest, where they were met with a big problem. The Forest was even more invested with vines and plants than Ponyville and the School of Friendship combined, if that was even possible. It looked even more dangerous than they've could ever imagined and blocked most of the entrance to the forest.
''Are you sure Twilight and her friends went in there?'' Gallus asked while taking in the sight of the dangerous forest.
''We should at least take a look.'' Ocellus said.
''Any ideas on how to get through the forest?'' Sandbar asked.
''Looks like Yona and friends have to fight way through forest.'' Yona said as she got ready to rush in.
''Or we can always just fly over it.'' Smolder said.
''But Yona and Sandbar not have wings.'' Yona said.
''No problem,'' Smolder said. ''The rest of us can just carry you.''
''That does seem like the safer option.'' Sandbar said while looking the plant infested forest.
''Then that's what we're going with,'' Smolder said determinedly, ''Silverstream, give me a claw.''
Silverstream and Smolder both grabbed Yona under her arms and lifted her up from the ground while Gallus did the same with Sandbar.
''I'll lead the way to the Tree of Harmony,'' Ocellus said as she flew up into the air with the others.
Ocellus flew over the Everfree forest with her friends following her. During their flight they all saw what had become of the Everfree Forest as they looked down. Everything had become much more dangerous than it seemed at the entrance. The whole forest was infested with dangerous looking plants, some of them even having mouths with razor sharp teeth.
''Maybe they should have called this the Forbidden Forest instead.'' Gallus said as he looked down.
''I may love me some adventure,'' Smolder said proudly, ''But that doesn't mean I wanna put my friends in unnecessary danger.''
''Huh?'' Ocellus said to herself when she noticed something green glowing down in the forest. In one of the small open spots she could see something shining close to a tree. The blue changeling stopped in midair and focused all of her attention to the green light source.,
''What is it, Ocellus?'' Smolder asked when she noticed Ocellus looking very focused at something in the forest.
''I see something glowing down there.'' Ocellus said while pointing at the open spot.
Silverstream looked down to where Ocellus was pointing, "Is it a green lantern?" She asked curiously while looking at the green light.
"I'm not sure," Ocellus said as she flew closer to where the light came from. When she saw the source of the green glowing light, she let out a small gasp.
''What's wrong?'' Gallus asked.
''It's a changeling cocoon,'' Ocellus answered while taking a closer look, ''And there's a pony inside!''
''Who is it?!'' Sandbar asked.
''I don't know,'' Ocellus answered. ''I've never seen her before.''
''Gallus, fly us closer to the cocoon.'' Sanbar said as he turned his head to Gallus.
''Got it.'' Gallus responded. The blue griffin did as he was told and lowered himself a bit closer to the cocoon for Sandbar. The young pony looked back down at the forest and widened his eyes in surprise when he saw a pink unicorn with a purple mane inside the green cocoon.
''It's Sugar Belle!'' Sandbar shouted.
''Who?'' Gallus asked while raising his eyebrow.
''She's Big Mac's marefriend.'' Sandbar answered him.
''Who's Big Mac?'' Gallus asked again.
''He's Applejack's brother.'' Sandbar answered him again.
''Who's Appleja-?''
''Explain it some other time,'' Smolder said, interruping Gallus, ''We have to get her out first.''
''Oh, right.'' Gallus said.
''But how can we reach her,'' Sandbar asked while looking at the flesh eating plants close to Sugar Belle's cocoon, ''If we get too close to the forest, those plants will surely attack us.''
''Maybe one of us can distract them so that the others can free Sugar Belle from the cocoon.'' Ocellus suggested.
''Leave the last part to me,'' Smolder said with a smirk on her face. ''I'll have her out of that slimy thing in 10 seconds flat.''
''But who's gonna be the distraction,'' Gallus asked, ''I mean, most of us kind of have our claws full.''
Ocellus showed a worried look on her face and sighed,'' It's gonna have to be me, isn't it?'' She said while sounding a little scared.
''Something the matter, Ocellus?'' Smolder asked her, noticing the tone in the blue changeling's voice.
Ocellus gulped when she looked down at the forest and saw the flesh eating plants maneuvering around Sugar Belle's cocoon.
''Hello?! Are you there?'' Smolder asked her.
Ocellus turned to Smolder with a sad look on her face, ''I don't know if I can do it.''
''You're not scared, are you?'' Smolder asked.
''I uh...'' Ocellus said stutteringly.
''I guess that's a yes,'' Gallus suddenly said before he sighed, ''.....Then I'll do it.''
Ocellus and the others all turned their eyes on Gallus and looked suprised.
''Really?'' Ocellus asked.
''Sure,'' Gallus said with a confident smile as he flew with Sandbar towards Ocellus, ''It's the least I can do for my friends.''
Ocellus giggled a little as a smile appeared on her face, ''Thank you.''
''Don't mention it,'' Gallus said reassuringly, ''But can you hold Sandbar for me in the meantime?''
''No problem.'' Ocellus said before she transformed herself into a giant bug.
Gallus looked a bit suprised at her transformation before carefully and gently handing the young pony over to Ocellus.
''Silverstream, think you can hold Yona all by yourself?'' Smolder asked.
''Of course,'' Silverstream said with a confident smile, ''Hippogriffs are stronger than you think.''
''If you say so,'' Smolder said. She removed her claws from under Yona's arms as Silverstream quickly placed both her arms under Yona's.
''See?'' Silverstream said while grunting a little with a nervous smile, ''Light as a feather.''
''Are you ready, Smolder?'' Gallus asked as he flew over to the orange dragon.
''Ready when you are, pal!'' Smolder answered confidently.
''Then let's do this.'' Gallus said before he and Smolder gave each other a fist bump.
Gallus didn't waste any time and flew down to the forest, ''Hey, stupid plants! Over here!'' He shouted in order to get the plants's attention.
It wasn't long before some of the flesh eating plants took notice of the blue griffin approaching them. They stretched their heads out from the forest and started chasing Gallus around in the air. While Gallus kept maneuvering around the plants as a distraction, Smolder took her chance and quickly flew down to Sugar Belle's cocoon. She aimed a small burst of her fire breath at the top of the cocoon, causing it to detach itself from the branch and fall to the ground. The cocoon hit the ground, bursted open and left behind a big pile of green slime around Sugar Belle, who was still unconscious. Smolder didn't waste another second and quickly flew over to Sugar Belle. She grabbed the pink unicorn under her arms, lifted her up from the pile of green slime and carried her out of the forest as fast as she could.
''I got her!'' Smolder shouted when she looked over to the blue griffin, who was still keeping the plants busy.
Silverstream kept grunting while sweat started dripping from her forehead, trying her best to keep Yona in the air. Eventually the young hippogriff started to descend down to the forest while still carrying Yona under her arms.
''Gallus, help!'' Silverstream shouted while flapping her wings as fast as she could, ''I can't hold on much longer!''
Gallus heard Silverstream's call, turned around and immediately flew over to her. Meanwhile, one of the flesh eating plants in the forest took notice of the two creatures slowly descending down towards him. The plant licked it's lips and opened it's mouth wide. Gallus saw what the plant was doing and decided to pick up the pace. Just as the plant was about to devour the two creatures, Gallus quickly placed his claws under Yona's arms along with Silverstream.
''Gotcha!'' Gallus said as he helped Silverstream lift Yona higher up into the air. The flesh eating plant missed them only by a few inches.
Silverstream could finally breathe normally again as Gallus helped her hold Yona in the air.
''Thanks, Gallus.'' Silverstream said while giving the blue hippogriff a relieved smile.
''Don't mention it,'' Gallus said before looking down at the flesh eating plants, ''That was too close.''
''That's the second time you've saved me.'' Silverstream said while looking at Gallus with a warm smile.
''When was the first time?'' Gallus asked as he looked back at Silverstream.
''Back when you helped me face my fears when the Tree of Harmony tested us for the first time,'' Silverstream explained, ''Don't you remember?''
Gallus answered Silverstream's question with a confused look.
''Oh, right,'' Silverstream said with a nervous smile, ''Sorry, guess I forgot to tell you about that.''
''Yona not mean to interrupt,'' Yona said, ''But Yona arms getting tired.''
''I was just about to say the same thing.'' Sandbar added.
''They're right, we better keep going.'' Ocellus said. She led the others to the giant ravine that she was able to see further in the distance.
It didn't take long until Ocellus and her friends reached the bridge that hung above the ravine close to the Castle of the Two Sisters. One by one they flew down to the front of the bridge. Smolder gently placed Sugar Belle on the ground while Ocellus put Sandbar down and transformed herself back to her original form. Gallus and Silverstream both placed Yona back on her feet. Yona quickly started kissing the ground below her as soon as she landed. The rest sighed in relief, happy to finally be away from the dangerous parts of the forest
''You have to admit,'' Smolder said confidently, ''I did pretty good back there.''
''Only because I distracted those plants for you.'' Gallus remaked with a smug grin.
''Maybe,'' Smolder said, ''But I still did the most important part.''
''Which was only possible thanks to me.'' Gallus said back.
''Fair point, but still-''
''I'd say you both were equally amazing.'' Silverstream said playfully, interrupting Smolder's sentence.
''I guess I can live with that too.'' Smolder said while shrugging.
Yona smiled at the two before looking over at Sugar Belle, ''Why was pretty pony in cocoon?'' She asked curiously.
''That must have been the work of Queen Chrysalis.'' Smolder answered her. Ocellus's head looked down at ground for a moment as soon as she heard that name.
''Who's Queen Chrysalis?'' Gallus asked, sounding slightly curious. Ocellus didn't respond and instead kept looking down an upset look on her face.
''Did I say something wrong?'' Gallus asked worriedly when looking at Ocellus.
''No,'' Ocellus said as her upset expression quickly got replaced by a face filled with guilt, ''I just......don't like talking about her.''
''What do you mean?'' Gallus asked, ''Do you know her?''
Ocellus took a deep breath, ''She was once queen of the changelings before Thorax took the throne,'' She explained calmly, ''I always used to look up to her when I was small, until she revealed herself to be nothing more than a lying, manipulative monster who only cares about her own interests.''
''Oh,'' Gallus said while looking down with a conflicted look, ''But what did she do?''
''I don't wanna talk about that.'' Ocellus answered him, sounding like she was about to cry.
''It's alright, Ocellus,'' Smolder said as she patted Ocellus's shoulder, ''You don't have to.''
Yona was still looking at Sugar Belle, who was laying on the ground. The pink unicorn barely moved and was still covered in some of the green goo. Yona placed her hoof on Sugar Belle's shoulder and gently shook her body.
''Pretty pony, wake up.'' Yona said. She waited for a response, but Sugar Belle still layed on the ground motionlessly with her eyes closed.
''How is she doing?'' Sandbar asked as he stood right next to Yona.
''Pretty pony barely moving.'' Yona answered.
Sandbar took a closer look at Sugar Belle and began to notice that the pink unicorn was still breathing calmly through her nostrils.
''She's still breathing,'' Sandbar explained to his friends, ''She's probably just asleep.''
''Then she must be a very heavy sleeper if she can sleep through all that.'' Smolder said while looking back into the Everfree Forest.
''Let's wake her up,'' Gallus suggested, ''Maybe she knows what happened to everyone.''
''Hey, Sugar Belle,'' Sandbar said a little louder, ''Wake up!'' They all waited a few seconds, but Sugar Belle still kept on sleeping.
''Yona tried that already.'' Yona said.
''Maybe she drank some kind of sleeping potion.'' Silverstream said while rubbing her chin.
Ocellus noticed something small glowing from under Sugar Belle's eyelids. She moved her head closer to the sleeping pony and could see a glimpse of green light glowing between the very tiny gaps of her eyelids.
''Hey, guys,'' Ocellus said, which got the attention of her friends, ''Take a look at this.''
Gallus and the others gathered around Ocellus and looked down at Sugar Belle. The blue changeling carefully placed her hoof slightly above Sugar Belle's right eyelid and carefully pulled it up. All of them gasped when they saw the bright, green light glowing from the right eye.
''I've seen this before,'' Ocellus explained, ''She's been put under a spell. And I think I already know by whom.''
''Chrysalis.'' Smolder answered, to which Ocellus nodded.
''She must have been up to something again.'' Ocellus said with slight concern.
''Like what?'' Silverstream asked, ''She can't do any harm without her changeling army, right?''
''Don't underestimate her, Silverstream,'' Ocellus said, ''She's not one to give up so easily. Believe me, I know what she's like.''
''Let's not worry about that for now,'' Sandbar said, ''We gotta stay focused on finding Twilight and her friends first.''
''I guess you're right.'' Ocellus said, still sounding a little worried.
''What about Pretty Pony?'' Yona asked.
''I'm sure Twilight and her friends will know what to do once we find them.'' Silverstream answered.
''IF we find them.'' Smolder said.
''Come on, Smolder,'' Silverstream said, ''Our teachers can handle anything, they'll be fine.''
''I guess,'' Smolder said, ''But still, I got a bad feeling about all this.''
Gallus noticed something when looking down into the ravine, ''Is that big, black crystal tree down there the Tree of Harmony by any chance?'' He asked as he pointed to where he saw the tree.
''What?!'' Gallus's friends shouted at the same time. They joined him in looking down into the ravine where the Tree of Harmony is supposed to be.
What was once the Tree of Harmony, now looked more like the Tree of Disharmony. Any resemblance of the beauty from the tree was almost completely gone. Instead it had turned into a black, dark, dreary looking tree that was mostly wrapped in the same black, thorned vines as the ones in the Everfree Forest. Many dark crystals that seemed to have appeared from the ground surrounded the area around the Tree of Harmony. A bit furhter away from the cave of the tree they saw a tall, oddly shaped statue that was covered in the same dark crystals.
''Sweet Celestia.'' Sandbar said while staring at the Tree of Harmony.
''Wait a minute,'' Gallus said when he took notice of the oddly shaped statue, ''That looks like.....''
Sandbar looked over to the statue that Gallus's eyes were aiming at. Two different horns, the long body and all of it's limbs that looked like they each came from a different animal. He gasped as he quickly recognize who the statue was.
''Discord!'' Sandbar said out loud.
''What happened to him?'' Gallus asked curiously.
''No idea,'' Smolder answered, ''Let's take a closer look.''
''We can take the stairs!'' Silverstream said, sounding overly excited as she pointed at the giant staircase leading down into the ravine.
Gallus gave Silverstream both a surprised and confused look, ''And what exactly is so special about that?''
''She gets excited very easily about the smallest things.'' Smolder explained to Gallus with a playful grin.
''You could say that again.'' Gallus said as he stared at Silverstream, who stared at the long flight of stairs in pure delight.
Yona placed Sugar Belle on her back and carefully walked down the giant stairs along with Sandbar, all while trying not to trip over any of the vines that decorated some parts of the stairs. Silverstream, Ocellus, Gallus and Smolder all flew close to them and made their way to the Tree of Harmony. Eventually they reached the bottom of the ravine and got a better look at the dark statue.
''It really is Discord!'' Sandbar said while looking at the statue with wide eyes.
''Has he been turned into stone again by the Elements of Harmony?'' Smolder asked curiously.
''No way,'' Ocellus said, ''Why would Twilight and her friends-''
''The elements!'' Sandbar shouted, interrupting Ocellus as he was already standing close to the Tree of Harmony, ''They're gone!'' His friends all looked and gasped when they saw that the Elements of Harmony were indeed no longer in the branches of the tree.
''That means Twilight and her friends must have been here,'' Ocellus said, ''No one else can wield the elements.''
''Is that why the Tree now looks like this?'' Gallus asked.
''No, that can't be,'' Sandbar said. ''The Tree of Harmony should still have magic inside it, even without the elements. It has to be the cause of that dark magic the Tree of Harmony was talking about.''
''But who else could have turned Discord back into stone?'' Smolder asked while looking over at the spiked Discord statue, ''I thought only the Elements of Harmony had that kind of power.''
''I'm not so sure,'' Sandbar said while looking at the statue, ''Discord's statue didn't look anything like this the first time Twilight and her friends defeated him. There's a good chance it could have been something else.''
''Something more powerful than Elements of Harmony?'' Yona asked with an anxious tone in her voice.
''It's still too early to say, but it is a possibility.'' Sandbar answered.
''If only Professor Rarity were here,'' Silverstream said, ''Her divine detective skills could solved this mystery in less than a day.''
''I have no idea what's going on anymore,'' Gallus said while placing his claw on his face, ''So I'm just gonna pretend this all makes sense.''
''Let's just keep on looking for Twilight and her friends,'' Sandbar suggested, ''There's nothing else we can do here.''
''Any suggestions on where they could be right now?'' Smolder asked.
Ocellus thought for a moment while rubbing her chin, ''Didn't Spike tell us that they left for some kind of emergency with Princess Celestia?''
''You're right,'' Silverstream said, ''So maybe they're in Canterlot right now.''
''It's our best bet,'' Sandbar said while rubbing his chin, ''I say that we head to the Ponyville Train station and travel to Canterlot!''
''Yona ready to go!'' Yona said before reaching out her hoof.
''Me too!'' Smolder said with great confidence as she placed her claw on Yona's hoof
''Count me in!'' Sandbar said while placing his hoof on top of Yona's.
''Let's do it.'' Ocellus said as placing her hoof on Sandbar's.
''It's time for another Friendship Adventure!'' Silverstream said excitedly before placing her claw on Ocellus's hoof.
''If you're all in,'' Gallus said before placing his claw on Silverstream's, ''Then so am I!''
They all got ready to leave the Everfree Forest. Ocellus transformed herself into a giant bug again, grabbed Sugar Belle from Yona's back, held her in her arms and flew up into the air. Meanwhile both Silverstream and Smolder grabbed Yona under her arms, lifted her up into the air and they got closer to Ocellus. Gallus grabbed Sandbar under both of his arms and did the same thing as the others.
''I can see the station over there.'' Sandbar said while pointing at the train station in the distance, which thankfully was still intact despite all of the destruction around Ponyville.
''Alrighty,'' Silverstream said, ''Canterlot, here we come!'' She and her friends flew above the Everfree Forest and headed to the Ponyville train station.
While making their way to Canterlot, they were very relieved to find out that the rest of Equestria seemed to have remained untouched. They didn't encounter any dangerous looking plants along the way and the dark crystals they saw at the Tree of Harmony were nowhere to be seen. A few hours had passed since their little adventure in the Everfree Forest, and it didn't take long for them to start yawning from exhaustion with bags under their eyes.
A few more minutes passed until they finally arrived at a narrow path, which was located on the side of a big rocky mountain. Sandbar and Yona both walked over the narrow path and made their way to the top of the hill while the rest of their friends flew close behind them.
''Don't worry, guys,'' Sandbar said, sounding a little tired. ''It should be over this hill.''
''It better be,'' Smolder said before rubbing her eye with her fist while letting out a big yawn, ''I can barely flap my wings anymore.''
Yona yawned softly while walking next to Sandbar, ''Yona wish we traveled by train instead.'' She said before looking at Sugar Belle, who she was still carrying on her back.
''I'm really sorry, everyone,'' Sandbar said, ''I thought the train would still be there, but I guess I was wrong. Sorry for getting your hopes up.''
''It alright,'' Yona said while smiling, ''Sandbar's heart was in right place.''
''Thanks, Yona.'' Sandbar said as he gave her a warm smile.
''At least we're almost there.'' Gallus said as he struggled to keep his eyes open, ''I could really use some sleep after today.''
''Me too,'' Ocellus said before letting out a quiet yawn, ''I can't wait to lay my head on a soft and comfy pillow.''
''Maybe we could have a slumber party in the castle.'' Silverstream suggested.
''I think I'll pass,'' Smolder said in a tired voice, ''I just wanna get some rest.''
''Yona too.'' Yona added before letting out another yawn.
Sandbar and Yona finally reached the top of the hill and got a good glimpse of Canterlot further in the distance. Much to their relief it seemed the outside of the big city had remained in one piece. Sandbar did notice however that some of the towers in Canterlot had a few small cracks in them, but he quickly shrugged it off. The city was a little old after all.
''We made it,'' Sandbar said when he looked back at his friends.
Ocellus and the others reached the top of the hill and finally got a good look at Canterlot as well.
''Wow,'' Yona said while staring at the city in wonder, ''Canterlot almost as big as Yakyakistan.''
''Just imagine all the amazing things we'll get to see there!'' Silverstream said with great enthusiasm.
''How are you still so full of energy?'' Gallus asked in a tired voice.
''I dunno.'' Silverstream said while shrugging with a smile on her face.
While everyone was admiring the size of Canterlot, Ocellus noticed two small green dots moving on the balcony from the tallest tower of the big city. She narrowed her eyes and tried to get a better look at the green dots in the distance. Before she had to chance to make out what they were, the two green dots quickly descended down into Canterlot and disappeared at the same time.
''What's wrong, Ocellus?'' Smolder asked when she noticed how concentrated the blue changeling seemed.
''I saw a pair of green dots glowing over there,'' Ocellus answered as she pointed at the tall tower, ''But I couldn't exactly make out what they were supposed to be.''
''It was probably just some Royal Guards using their horn as a green flashlight,'' Sandbar said, ''They usually patrol Canterlot at midnight.''
''I'm not sure if that's what it was.'' Ocellus said in a worried tone.
''Don't worry, Ocellus. I'm sure that-''
Sandbar stopped talking when he looked at the sky.
''What Sandbar looking at?'' Yona asked before she looked at the sky as well.
''I just noticed something,'' Sandbar said, ''Why hasn't the sun come up yet?''
''What do you mean?'' Gallus asked Sandbar.
''It was already nighttime when we exited the catacombs under the school,'' Sandbar explained, ''But it's been hours since then, shouldn't Princess Celestia have raised the sun by now?''
''That's a good point.'' Ocellus said while looking at the sky.
''She can raise the sun?'' Gallus asked curiously.
''Uh huh,'' Ocellus said, ''She and Princess Luna both use their magic to raise the sun and the moon every day and night.''
''So the princesses can make it night and day whenever they please?'' Gallus asked.
''That's right,'' Sandbar answered, ''But I don't understand, Celestia usually always raises the sun at the right time.''
''Let's go ask her.'' Gallus said as he got ready to fly to Canterlot.
''I'll race you there, Gallus,'' Smolder said with a smug grin before she started flying towards Canterlot, ''Whoever finishes last is a parasprite!''
''What's a parasprite?!'' Gallus asked before chasing after Smolder. The other four smiled while rolling their eyes before following them to the entrance of Canterlot.
Smolder landed in front of the entrance leading to Canterlot and looked back at Gallus with a smug grin, ''Looks like I won.'' She said confidently with her arms crossed.
''Only because you had a false start,'' Gallus said playfully before landing next to Smolder, ''If it were a fair race, I would have beaten you for sure.''
''Doubt that.'' Smolder said with a smirk on her face.
''Who goes there?!''
Smolder and Gallus both looked at the top of the walls that surrounded the big city where they hear the loud and rough voice coming from. That's where they saw a white stallion dressed in golden armor, who was carrying a long, giant spear in his right hoof. He watched them with a fierce look while pointing his spear down at the two creatures.
''It's okay,'' Sandbar said loudly as he and the other friends finally caught up with Smolder and Gallus, ''We're friendly! We are students from the School of Friendship!''
The Royal Guard lowered his spear while giving them a confused look, ''The what?!''
''The School of Friendship,'' Smolder said to the royal guard, loud enough for him to hear, ''You know, the school that Twilight Sparkle and her friends set up to teach other creatures about friendship?!''
The guard looked behind him into Canterlot for a second before answering, ''I'll be right back.'' He quickly flew back into the city of Canterlot.
The six creatures all waited in front of the closed drawbridge for a few minutes. Smolder stood there with her arms crossed while tapping her feet at the ground. Yona kept whistling a little tune to herself to pass the time while Silverstream kept admiring the many sights of Canterlot that she was still able to see from behind the walls.
''What is taking him so long?'' Gallus asked impatiently.
Suddenly they heard a sound coming from Canterlot. Their eyes all turned to the drawbridge, which was slowly being lowered in front of them. Two white royal guards dressed in yellow armor crossed the bridge when it had completely descended. They both approached the six creatures and stopped at the end of the drawbridge.
''Follow us.'' One of the guards said. Both of them turned around and walked over the bridge back into Canterlot. Sandbar was the first one to follow them. His friends all looked at each other for a second before eventually following the young pony.
Things in Canterlot were looking alot different from what they expected. The entire city looked almost completely desolated. Many of the buildings had cracks in them, piles of bricks were almost everywhere, most of the windows were shattered. Broken tables and chairs were laying all over the place. The six creatures all looked shocked at what had become of Canterlot while still following the guards deeper into the city.
''What in the name of Equestria happened here?'' Sandbar asked one of the guards. He waited for one of them to answer, but instead both kept on walking as if they didn't hear him.
''Um, hello,'' Smolder said in an irritated tone, ''Did you not-''
Suddenly both of the royal guards stopped in their tracks.
''What is it now?'' Smolder asked.
''Your highness,'' Both of the royal guards said at the same time before bowing, ''They're here.''
Soon a tall white alicorn slowly stepped from around the corner of a building. She saw the six creatures standing behind the two guards and gave them a surprised look.
''Princess Celestia.'' Sandbar said before he gave her a slow bow. His friends all looked at him before eventually doing the same thing.
Celestia approached the six creatures before stopping in front of them, ''How may I help you?'' She asked in a very regal tone.
Silverstream and the others all stood back up, ''Princess Celestia, something terrible has happend.''
''I'm listening.'' Celestia said calmly.
''Someone or something has corrupted the Tree with dark magic. And now all the plant life in the Everfree Forest has grown out of control.'' Ocellus explained to Princess Celestia in a panicky manner.
''Oh, that's not good.'' Celestia, sounding a little bit worried.
''And Yona and friends found Pretty Pony in cocoon.'' Yona said while showing Sugar Belle to Celestia.
''I see.'' Celestia said while seemingly looking concerned.
''And Princess Twilight and friends are nowhere to be found!'' Sandbar explained, ''Do you know where they-''
''Calm down,'' Princess Celestia said as she raised her hoof before placing it back on the ground again, ''It's alright, you don't have anything to worry about.''
''So you know where they are?'' Silverstream asked hopefully.
''Twilight and her friends are safe and sound inside the castle.'' Celestia said as she glanced behind her.
''Phew, thank Celestia,'' Sandbar said as the white alicorn gave him a confused look, ''By the way, I hope you don't mind me asking, Princess. But why haven't you raised the sun yet?''
''And why is it such a mess here?'' Smolder asked.
''And why Canterlot so empty?'' Yona added.
''Oh,'' Celestia said in surprise, ''Well uh...You see, there was a pretty wild party going on here before you arrived. And since it's still early in the morning, I wanted to raise the sun a bit later so that the ponies in Canterlot can rest a little bit longer.''
''That must have been a really wild party then.'' Gallus said while looking around him.
''Yup,'' Celestia said with a nervous smile on her face, ''But don't worry, I was just about to clean up the mess.''
''Yona just glad ponies are alright.'' Yona said in a tired manner before yawning loudly.
"You and your friends look tired," Celestia said while looking at Sugar Belle resting on Yona's back, ''I'll let my guards escort you to your beds.''
''But what about the Tree of Harmony?'' Smolder asked.
''Don't worry,'' Celestia reassured them with warm smile, ''Twilight and her friends will take care of everything. You just follow the guards and get some sleep.''
"Thanks, Princess Celestia," Smolder said before yawning while rubbing her right eye, ''I sorely needed it.''
"You're welcome." Celestia answered. She used her green magic to levitate Sugar Belle from Yona's back and handed her over to one of the Royal Guards. The stallion placed the pink unicorn on his back.
''Is she gonna be okay?'' Ocellus asked Celestia.
''Of course,'' Celestia answered her with a calm smile, ''No need to worry, little one.''
"Follow us,'' One of the guards said before both of them walked further into Canterlot, ''And don't wander off.''
''Goodnight, Princess Celestia.'' Sandbar said. He and his friends quickly followed the two royal guards further into the city.
''Tell Twilight and her friends we wish them good luck!'' Silverstream added.
''I will!'' Celestia said as she watched the six creatures walk away with the Royal Guards.
A sly smile slowly began to appear on Princess Celestia's face as soon as the six creatures were out of her sight.
''Sleep well, young creatures,'' Celestia whispered to herself, ''....Forever.''
The two royal guards led the six creatures further into the extremely quiet Canterlot for awhile. Just as Gallus was about to ask, they came across the narrow stone bridge, which seemed to lead to a black hole on the side of the giant mountain next to Canterlot.
''We're almost there'' One of the guards said before both of the armored stallions crossed the stone bridge.
''Um, where exactly are you taking us if I may ask?'' Smolder asked the guards suspiciously.
''Can't tell.'' One of the guards answered.
''Why not?'' Smolder asked again.
''Because our quee-''
The other guard quickly covered the other one's mouth before he could finish his sentence. He kept his mouth covered with his hoof and glared at him.
''What he meant to say was, our Princess has a special place for you in mind.'' The royal guard explained before removing his hoof from the other guard's mouth.
''Special place?'' Gallus said.
''That's right,'' The other guard said, ''And she ordered us to keep it a surprise for you.''
''Oh, I love surprises!'' Silverstream said.
Everyone stopped when they reached the end of the stone bridge. The two guards stepped aside to reveal the giant hole on the side of the mountain. On the other side of the hole it was pitch black.
''A cave?'' Yona said in a scared voice.
''Where does that lead to?'' Sandbar asked while sounding unsure.
''Just follow us.'' One of the guards said. Both the armoured stallions, one of them still carrying Sugar Belle on his back, jumped into the dark hole without hesitation.
''Hey, wait up!'' Sandbar said before he rushed to the hole and peeked his head inside. There was almost no light in the entire cave. The only things that illuminated the place were some shiny crystals that were littered throughout, which still only barely lit the cave. Sandbar kept looking around to see where the guards went, but they were nowhere to be seen.
''Can you see them?'' Gallus asked.
''No,'' Sandbar said after pulling his head out of the hole, ''It's too dark to see anything in there.''
Silverstream stared into the entrance before looking back at her friends, ''So, who's gonna go first?'' She asked nervously.
Yona gulped and hid behind Sandbar, ''Yona rather go last.'' She answered while her legs started shaking a little.
''I will go first.'' Smolder suggested, ''If anything goes wrong down there, I'll give you a shout.'' She carefully flew through the hole and descended herself into the cave.
''Do you see anything?!'' Ocellus asked worriedly.
''The coast is clear!'' Smolder's voice shouted, ''You can come down!''
Silverstream and Gallus grabbed Yona under her arms while Ocellus grabbed Sandbar under his and together they slowly descended down into the dark cave.
It was just as Sandbar had described. Aside from the shiny crystals, there was hardly any light that helped to illuminate their surroundings. From what they could make out, most parts of the cave was covered in crystals and pointy rocks.
''Hello?!'' Gallus shouted while looking around for the ponies in armor, ''Anyone here?''
''Royal Guards?! Where are you?!'' Sandbar asked out loud.
Before their questions could be answered, they heard Ocellus screaming at the top of her lungs, followed by the sound of something smacking against a crystal which echoed throughout the cave.
Silverstream, Yona, Smolder, Gallus and Sandbar all started to panic and looked around themselves to see what was happening. Eventually Sandbar saw Ocellus laying on the ground next to a pair of crystals. Close to her were two barely visible creatures with green glowing eyes staring back at him.
''Ocellus!'' Sandbar shouted. Before the young pony could rush over to help his friend, he felt something grabbing him by the neck, keeping him in place. Sandbar tried his best to struggle free from the grip, but soon he got thrown against a crystal that hit his body with a loud smack. He shrieked, fell to the ground and immediately lost consciousness.
''Sandbar!'' Yona shouted in despair. She shook her body as wildly as she could to get the creatures off of her and rushed over to the unconscious pony. Right before the small yak was able to reach him, she noticed a green light glowing next to her for a split second. Suddenly she felt something else smacking hard against the right side of her body and got knocked against another crystal, causing half of it to shattered into tiny pieces. Yona looked to her side and thought she saw another yak standing close to her. A few seconds later, she closed her eyes and eventually lost consciousness as well.
''Let go of me!'' Gallus said as he tried his best to fight off the creatures that were holding him. He soon managed to punch and kick the creatures away from him, but it didn't take long before something else prevented his claws and feet from moving any further. The blue griffin quickly looked down and saw that his legs had gotten stuck in some sort of green slime.
''What is this stuff?!'' Gallus asked out loud as he tried pulling his legs out of the slime. He pulled with all his might, but they still didn't come loose. Suddenly he felt a punch on the back of his head, causing him to fall on the ground before slowly closing his eyes.
''Gallus!'' Silverstream shouted in desperation as she saw Gallus being taken away by some of the creatures. She then felt something hitting the side of her head, fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
Smolder eventually managed to free herself from the creatures's grip and punched them to the ground.
''Who do you think you-'' Smolder said before she got punched on the back of her head. It didn't take long before she felt her consciousness slipping away as she fell to the ground. The last thing she saw before closing her eyelids were four green glowing eyes coming towards her.
The black creatures with green glowing eyes all smirked and snickered amongst themselves before carrying the six unconscious creatures further into the cave.
Smolder slowly regained her consciousness as she heard two very raspy, distorted voices talking to each other, but she couldn't quite make out what exactly they were saying. She eventually was able to open her eyes, but her vision was still incredibly blurry. All she could see were hunderds of big green dots as she was staring at the ceiling. After blinking with her eyes a few times, her vision started to become a little more clear.
Her heart stopped when she saw that the green dots in her eyes actually turned out to be changeling cocoons hanging on the ceiling, all of them containing the royal guards as well as ponies who were all dressed in fancy looking clothes. They all seemed to be resting and remained completely motionless inside their cocoons.
Smolder looked around at the ceiling in horror before noticing that one of the cocoons contained Sandbar. And in four other cocoons that formed a circle around him were Silverstream, Gallus, Ocellus and Yona.
''Alright, now just the dragon and we're all set.''
Smolder heard someone else talking in another distorted voice. She didn't want to waste another second and immediatly tried to stand up, only to realize that something prevented her from moving her limbs. Her eyes quickly turned to her claws and feet, all of which were stuck beneath piles of green, sticky slime. Smolder immediately attempted to free her claws by trying to pull them out of the slime with all her might, only for them to remain stuck.
''The dragon's awake!'' The same distorted voice from before shouted as it's ​voice echoed throughout the cave.
Smolder raised her head and looked in front of her to see two black creatures looking in her direction. She was able to see them more clearly thanks to the green light that came from the cocoons on the ceiling. Their eyes were glowing bright green, they all had fangs in their mouths, their limps were deformed and even had holes in them. They both had intimidating looks on their faces as they watched her from a distance. Smolder kept on trying to break loose from the slime, but the stuff proved to be stronger than she thought.
''She's trying to escape! Get her!'' One of the black creatures shouted. Both of them stretched out their wings, started flapping them, hovered high into the air and together they charged down at Smolder while surrounding themselves with some kind of green magical force.
Smolder quickly turned her head towards her right claw and spewed fire at the green slime surrounding it. The slime started to melt and soon her right claw was finally free again. She immediately went for her other claw and for her legs as fast as she could. Smolder jumped out of the way just in time before the black creatures could land a hit on her. The magic from both of the creatures hit the ground below them, which created a small hole where they landed. Smolder stood back up and turned around to see the two creatures looking back in her direction. Instead of charging at her again, they both got surrounded by a magical green beam that shot out of the ground in a circle. The beam dissappeared a second later and revealed that they had both taken the form of Smolder.
''What in the,'' Smolder said with a shocked look as she came to a sudden realization, ''Are you changelings?!'' Both changelings, still in Smolder's form, charged at her again without answering.
Smolder quickly swayed her body to the side right before they were able to land a punch on her. She grabbed one of the changelings by the arm and smacked him against the ground, causing him to shriek and transform back into it's original form. Smolder quickly looked over at the other changeling and saw him charging back at her with his foot. Smolder quickly blocked his kick with both of her claws, grabbed his foot, threw him over her shoulder and against one of the crystals close to them. The changeling shrieked and turned back into his normal self.
Having dealt with the changelings, Smolder catched her breath and flew up to the ceiling, where her friends were still hanging inside their cocoons. She aimed her fire breath at the thick green strings that hold the cocoons in place. One by one they detached from the ceiling, hit the ground and bursted open, causing green, gooey slime to splatter all over the place. Her friends all woke up at the same time in the green remains.
Smolder looked over at Yona, who seemed to having the most trouble getting out of the slime. The orange dragon flew over to the small yak and gently pulled her out of the remains of the cocoon.
''Are you okay, Yona?'' Smolder asked as she wiped the slime from Yona's body with her claws. The small yak slowly got up from the ground and stepped out of the green remains.
''Yona okay.'' Yona said, still sounding a little tired.
The rest all stood up and got themselves out of the slimy remains of the cocoons. Sandbar however, seemed to have trouble standing up, since he fell back into the gooey slime everytime he attempted to stand on his right leg. Silverstream saw him struggling and helped him out of the slimy remains.
''Thanks, Silverstream.'' Sandbar said as he finally stood up. He flinched when he attempted to take another step with his right leg and almost fell down before Silverstream caught him again.
''It's my right leg,'' Sandbar said while looking over at his right leg, ''I think I must have hurt it pretty bad during the ambush.''
Yona heard what Sandbar had said and walked over to him, ''Sandbar not worry, Yona will carry Sandbar.'' She said with a warm smile. The yak lowered herself a little for Sandbar as Silverstream placed the young pony on her back.
''Thanks, Yona. I appreciate it.'' Sandbar said.
Gallus flapped his wings and shook his body to get rid of all the remaining green smile off his fur. He looked shocked when he saw the many cocoons with ponies in them hanging on the ceiling.
''What is this place?'' Gallus asked.
''It must be some kind of changeling cave.'' Smolder answered said, looking worried as she watched the cocoons on the ceiling.
''That's impossble,'' Ocellus said, ''All the changelings have been reformed, remember?''
''Then why did I just get attacked by two of them?'' Smolder asked as she pointed to the two unconscious black changelings she knocked out earlier.
Ocellus looked over at where Smolder was pointing to and gasped when she saw the two black changelings.
''It can't be.'' Ocellus said with a surprised tone in her voice. Yona, Gallus and Silverstream all heard her and quickly headed towards Smolder and Ocellus.
''What is it?'' Gallus asked concernedly.
''Starving changelings,'' Ocellus said with wide eyes as she looked over the two black changelings laying on the ground, ''But I thought Thorax had reformed them all by now.''
''Starving changelings?'' Gallus asked Ocellus while he looked curiously as the two black changelings.
''That's a changeling who still feed off of love'' Ocellus explained, ''That's what we all used to be when Chrysalis was still our leader. But we were all freed from that way of life thanks to Starlight and Thorax.''
Gallus looked at Ocellus in confusion before placing his claw on his face.
''I want my memory back.'' Gallus said.
Suddenly Silverstream could hear the sound of someone or something flapping their wings deeper in the cave.
''Do you hear that?'' Silverstream asked. She moved a bit closer to where sound came from.
''Hear what?'' Ocellus said as she stood close to her and tried to make out what the sound was. She listened carefully and soon widened her eyes.
''What is it?'' Smolder asked when she noticed the expression on Ocellus's face.
''Quick, hide behind me!'' Ocellus said with a panicky tone in her voice.
Ocellus's friends watched how a circle of green magic emerged from the ground around her. The circle beam disappeared after half a second and revealed that the blue changeling had transformed herself into a big group of crystals. Her friends acted fast and hid behind the crystals just in time before a small group of black changelings arrived in their area. One of them flew closer to the ceiling and noticed the six empty spots amongst the rest of the cocoons.
''The six creatures have escaped!'' One of the changelings said, once again talking in a distorted voice.
''Search the cave! They couldn't have gone too far!'' One of the other changelings said. The small group of changelings saluted each other before splitting up into different directions.
When the sound of the changeling's wings flapping through the cave had finally died down, Smolder peeked her head from around the crystals and looked to see if all of them were really gone.
''The coast is clear.'' Smolder whispered to her friends. She and the others all stood up and the crystals they were hiding behind transformed back into Ocellus.
''Where did all these changelings come from?'' Sandbar asked.
''Chrysalis must have something to do with it.'' Smolder answered determinedly.
''But that doesn't make any sense,'' Ocellus said, ''It takes years for a changeling to fully grow up. How would Chrysalis be able to make an army of them in just two years?''
''Can we please discuss this some other time?'' Gallus asked, ''Those changeling things could come back any moment.''
''But what about all the ponies up there? We can't just leave them.'' Sandbar said, still laying on Yona's back as he pointed to the cocoons on the ceiling. While looking at them, Sandbar noticed that one of them contained a grey-armored pony carrying a small shield on his back.
''I'm sorry, Sandbar,'' Ocellus said, ''But Gallus is right, we have to save ourselves first. If the changelings find us here, we'll just end up back in those cocoons again.''
''I guess you're right.'' Sandbar said while looking disappointed, ''But we'll come back for them, right?''
''Of course we will,'' Smolder reassured him, ''We'll go get help as soon as we find our way out.''
''That's easier said than done.'' Gallus said while looking at the many paths that were present in the cave.
''Don't worry, Gallus,'' Silverstream said reassuringly. ''We just have find that hole we first came through before we got attacked. That shouldn't be too hard, right?''
''Guess we're about to find out,'' Ocellus said nervously, ''Follow me.'' She walked along one of the many paths in area. The others soon followed her and together they went deeper into the cave.
Luckily the light that came from the many crystals gave just enough illumination to guide their way through. On their journey through the cave, Sandbar spotted two rotten skeletons that layed on the floor close to a pair of crystals, both of which seemed to have belonged to two unicorns. Spiders and worms crawled out of their emtpy eye holes. Sandbar showed a face of horror and had to try his best not to throw up at the disgusting sight.
A few more minutes passed and they still had yet to find an area that looked any different from the other.
Gallus groaned, ''This place is like a maze.'' He said in a very irritated manner.
''But just like any maze, there's always an exit,'' Ocellus said reassuringly, ''Headmare Twilight told me that.''
''Then Yona hope we find exit soon.'' Yona said nervously.
''Hey guys, look!'' Silverstream said as she pointed to a railway in the distance, ''We must be close to a train station.'' She quickly flew over to the railway and took a closer look at it with an eager smile on her face
''I don't think these are meant for trains, Silverstream.'' Sandbar said as Yona carried him to the railway.
''Then what are they for?'' Silverstream asked curiously.
''It looks more like a railway for minecarts.'' Sandbar answered her.
''But Yona not see any minecart.'' Yona said.
''Someone must have already used it to travel further into the cave.'' Ocellus said.
''Let's follow it,'' Silverstream suggested, ''Maybe it will lead us to an exit.''
Silverstream and the others began to follow the railway. But it didn't even take a few steps before the rails eventually reached a giant cliff. Everyone looked down and saw the railway leading down the cliff into a downward spiral.
''Well, that's not a very safe railway, is it?'' Gallus said.
''We better keep following it,'' Ocellus said, "It might be our only chance to find our way out of here."
Gallus flew over to Yona and carried Sandbar off of her back. Smolder and Silverstream both grabbed Yona under her arms, flapped their wings and lifted the small yak a few inches up from the ground.
Once the six creatures were ready to move on, they carefully descended down the cliff in the middle of the spiral rails. It got darker and darker the further they went down. The spiral eventually stopped and soon led them to the end of the railway, which turned out to be a dead end as the rails stopped in mid-air. That's also where they encountered an empty minecart.
''Well, we just wasted our time.'' Smolder said with an unamused look as she and her friends looked at the empty minecart at the end of the rails.
''Who builds a railway that leads to a dead end?'' Gallus asked.
''No idea,'' Sandbar answered, ''I just hope that whoever rode this minecart didn't get hurt.''
''What Yona and friends do now?'' Yona asked worriedly.
Before Ocellus could think about what to do next, she saw something in the distance on the other side of the cave. It looked like a beam of white light shining through a hole.
''Look over there.'' Ocellus said as she pointed her hoof to the beam of light. Her friends all turned their heads to where the blue changeling was pointing.
''That looks like daylight!'' Sandbar said happily.
''Then it must be the exit!'' Smolder said.
''I guess it wasn't a waste of time after all.'' Gallus said to Smolder with a playful smirk.
Without a second thought they all headed towards the beam of light. But it's wasn't long before Ocellus spotted four glowing green dots close to the light shining through the hoe. As she had feared, the green dots turned out to be two pair of eyes from two corrupted changelings that were guarding the way out.
''Oh no.'' Ocellus said quietly. Her friends stopped immediately and stayed close behind her in the air.
''What is it?'' Smolder asked with the same volume in her voice as Ocellus.
''Two starving changelings up ahead.'' Ocellus whispered while poiting her hoof at the two black creatures, ''We gotta hide.''
''How about down there?'' Sandbar suggested as he pointed his hoof to a lower rocky platform located under them against a wall.
The others took notice of the rocky platform and immediately flew towards it. They landed themselves on piece of rock as Gallus placed Sandbar on Yona's back once again.
''How do we get past them?'' Smolder asked quietly.
''I think I already have a plan,'' Ocellus said before she transformed herself into a black changeling, ''Wait here. I'll lead them away from the exit.''
''Be careful, Ocellus.'' Smolder said. Ocellus gave her a quick nod and flew high up to where the changelings would be.
The disguised Ocellus kept going up until the starving changelings were in her sight. She calmly flew to the exit of the cave and approached the two creatures. They took notice of her and stayed on their guard as they watched Ocellus landing in front of them.
''Did you find any of those escaped creatures yet?'' One of the changelings asked in a very serious tone.
Ocellus nodded and pointed to her left, ''They're somewhere in that tunnel.'' she said while talking in a distorted voice.
''Are you sure?'' The other changeling asked.
''I saw them with my own eyes,'' Ocellus quickly answered, ''Tell the others in the cave to keep searching there until you find them.''
The opposing changelings saluted her and spread out wings before flying into the dark tunnel Ocellus pointed them to. Ocellus watched how the two changelings slowly dissappeared into the darkness of tunnel. She sighed to herself in relief and headed back to her friends, who were still waiting patiently at the rocky platform.
''Alright, they're gone.'' Ocellus reassured them before changing back into her normal self.
''Great thinking, Ocellus.'' Silverstream said.
''Yeah, even I'm impressed.'' Smolder said.
''Thanks,'' Ocellus said, ''But we better go before any of them show up again.''
Smolder and Silverstream both got ready and picked up Yona from under her arms while Gallus did the same with Sandbar. Together they flew up into the air and headed to the beam of light coming through the hole. Thankfully the light made it easier to navigate through the area and they were able to reach the exit with ease.
Ocellus was the first one to make it out of the cave. Luckily there weren't any changelings guarding the entrance on the stone bridge. Ocellus looked at the sky and was suprised to see that the sky hadn't changed a bit since before they entered the cave.
''It's still nighttime?'' Ocellus said in suprise.
''What?'' Sandbar asked as he too looked at the sky, ''But Celestia should have raised the sun by now.''
''It must have been moonlight that was shining through the hole.'' Ocellus said.
''How long were we sleeping in those cocoons?'' Silverstream asked curiously.
''It couldn't have been too long,'' Smolder asked, ''Since I woke up before I was cocooned by those changelings.''
''Then what happened to white Princess Pony?'' Yona asked.
''No idea,'' Ocellus answered with a worried look, ''first the changelings in the cave and now this. I have a feeling something very bad is going on here.''
''Then we better get to the castle and warn Princess Celestia about the changelings.'' Smolder said determinedly.
Smolder led her friends across the stone bridge and went back into Canterlot through a small alleyway. Just as she was about to get out on to the streets of Canterlot, a big group black changelings with green glowing eyes came marching past the alleyway as the light of the many lanterns on the sidewalks of the streets helped to illuminate their way. Smolder quickly spread her arms out in front of her friends, signaling them to stop. Her friends understood her immediately and stood completely still as they too saw the many changelings marching on the streets. They waited a full minute until all the changelings had walked past the alley.
''Where did they come from?'' Sandbar asked as quitely as he could.
''Oh no,'' Silverstream said, ''You don't suppose those changelings have taken over Canterlot, do you?''
''I hope not.'' Ocellus answered her quietly.
''Let's keep going before they come back.'' Smolder said. She and her friends all stepped out of the alley and onto the streets of Canterlot.
''Any idea how we're gonna get there?'' Gallus asked his friends, ''This place looks huge.''
''Don't worry, I know a shortcut to the castle.'' Sandbar said to his friends.
''You do?'' Ocellus asked, to which Sandbar nodded.
''I think it should be around here somewhere,'' Sandbar said, ''Yona, go that way.'' He pointed in the direction where the marching changelings came from. Yona carried Sandbar further into the streets as the others followed them.
While walking through the streets, they could see that Canterlot was still just as much of a mess as it was before. Silverstream looked in the distance to see a small group of green dots coming their way. She quickly realized what they were as they got closer.
''Changelings up ahead.'' Silverstream said in a panicky tone.
''Now would be a good time for that shortcut, Sandbar.' Gallus said.
Sandbar's eyes kept searching each side of the streets until he finally caught sight of a small, dark alleyway on the right sidewalk.
''Over there,'' Sandbar said while pointing to the dark alleyway, ''That's the one. Go in there, quick.''
All of them crossed the street as fast as they could and went into the alleyway just in time before the changeling group passed them a couple of seconds later.
''How Sandbar know about shortcut?'' Yona asked Sandbar, who layed on her back as he lead his friends through the dark alleyway.
''My family and I come to Canterlot almost every summer,'' Sandbar explained to them, ''And one time my parents allowed me and my little sister explore Canterlot together while they would go shopping. That's when me and my sister accidently ended up in this alleyway. We decided to follow it out of curiousity and ended up at the Canterlot castle.''
''Your parents allowed you to explore a big city by yourself?'' Ocellus asked with a surprised look, ''Thorax and my parents won't even let me go more than two feet away from the hive without their permission.''
''My parents aren't really that strict,'' Sandbar said, ''They're mostly pretty chill about everything I do.''
''I would love to have parents like that,'' Silverstream said, ''I mean, not that I don't love the ones I have right now, of course.'' She giggled awkwardly.
''Yeah,'' Gallus said while sounding slightly somber, ''So how much longer until we reach the castle?''
''We should be getting close now.'' Sandbar answered.
After a few more minutes of walking through the dark alley, they finally saw light at the end. They soon stepped out of the dark alleyway. Sandbar quickly recognized the green plain ground up ahead as the place where the entrance of the Canterlot Castle should be.
They cautiously made their way to the castle. But just as they had feared, that place was also crawling with black changelings.
Ocellus quickly led her friends to one of the buildings close to the castle. They hid behind the tower attached to the building and peekd around the corner, where they saw even more changelings guarding the castle's entrance. All of them patrolled the area with great caution, looking in every direction for possible intruders.
Ocellus gulped, ''They're even more of them than I thought.''
''Doesn't matter,'' Smolder whispered, ''We just gotta get into the castle.''
''You got a plan?'' Gallus asked her quietly.
''....Well, no,'' Smolder answered awkwardly, ''But there must be a way to get in without getting seen.''
''I'll try to think of something,'' Ocellus said, ''Just give me time.''
Suddenly they heard multiple loud knocks coming from the castle. They peaked over to the entrance of the castle and saw one of the changelings knocking on the door under the stairs. Both the doorknobs began to glow green and soon the door slowly opened by itself. At the open door stood a tall, black creature with a deformed horn, long green mane and a small black crown on her head.
Ocellus gasped quietly and widened her eyes as she recognized the tall creature instantly.
''What? Who is that?'' Gallus asked Ocellus quietly.
''It's Chrysalis.'' Ocellus said to the blue griffin quietly with a hint of fear in her voice.
''I knew it.'' Smolder said to herself with an angry look on her face.
Smolder and his friends watched the conversation between Chrysalis and the changeling from afar.
''What's going on here?!'' Chrysalis asked the changeling impatiently.
''The six creatures seemed to have escaped from the cave, your highness,'' The changeling explained to her calmly, ''We've searched everywhere and found nothing.''
''What?!'' Chrysalis responded in anger.
''Forgive us, your highness,'' The changeling said, sounding a bit more afraid this time, ''We're not gonna rest until we find them.''
Chrysalis gave the changeling an annoyed look. She then closed her eyes and sighed to calm herself down.
''It doesn't matter,'' Chrysalis said, sounding suprisingly calm and collected while showing an evil smile on her face, ''With Twilight Sparkle and her pathetic little friends in my clutches, and the princesses out of the way, nothing can stop me.''
''So what are your orders, your highness?'' The changeling asked.
''Just keep searching,'' Chrysalis said, ''They could still be around. Let me know when you find them.''
''Understood, your highness.' The changeling said while bowing before Chrysalis. She turned around, headed back into the castle and closed the door behind her with her magic.
''You heard her,'' The changeling announced to the others on the green plain, ''Stay alert and keep looking for those escaped creatures.'' The changelings saluted him and flew off into many different directions while others stayed behind to guard the area around the castle.
''So she really is behind all of this.'' Ocellus whispered, still hiding behind the tower with her friends.
''And she's captured the princesses as well as Twilight and her friends.''Silverstream added.
''That explains why the sun hasn't come up yet.'' Sandbar explained.
''But I don't understand,'' Ocellus said with a worried look, ''Where did she get so many changelings this fast?''
''I don't know,'' Smolder said quietly, ''But now we definitely have to find a way to get inside.''
''How? There's no way we'll make it inside without being spotted,'' Ocellus whispered as she watched the many changelings flying around the castle, ''We need to get out of here and get help.''
''And just leave the Princesses along with Twilight and her friends in the clutches of that monster?'' Smolder said, ''I don't think so.''
''Look at how many of them there are, Smolder,'' Gallus asked Smolder in a serious tone, ''If they see us, we'll get overwhelmed in seconds.''
Smolder took another look at the changelings guarding the castle, ''I guess you got a point.'' She said reluctantly, ''But then what's the other option?''
''Shining Armor and Princess Cadence,'' Ocellus answered, ''They defeated Chrysalis once before with the power of their love, maybe they can do it again.''
''Shining Armor and Princess Cadence?'' Gallus said with a confused look, ''Who are they?''
''They're rulers of the Crystal Empire.'' Ocellus explained.
''The Crystal Empire?'' Silverstream whispered in an excited manner, ''I've always wanted to go there ever since I heard about it in school.''
''Yona too.'' Yona added.
''Then it's settled,'' Smolder responded with a confident smile, ''We're going to the Cyrstal Empire.''
''But we still need to find a way out of here.'' Gallus explained.
''Don't worry, I know the way from here,'' Sandbar said, ''We just have to follow the road right in front of the castle and keep going straight ahead.''
''That's not going to be easy as long as those things are still around.'' Gallus said as he watched the many changelings patrolling in front of the castle.
''Don't worry, I got a plan.'' Ocellus suggested before her friends all looked over to her.
''We're listening.'' Gallus said curiously.
''I'll disguise myself again and find a way to lead them away from the castle,'' Ocellus explained, ''Once they're gone, we can head to the main gate and get out of here.'' Ocellus looked back at the many changelings and took a deep breath.
''Got it,'' Smolder said reassuringly as she placed her claw on Ocellus's shoulder, ''And if things go south, we'll step in and help.''
Ocellus gave Smolder a warm smile, ''Thanks.''
''Good luck, Ocellus.'' Sandbar said.
''We know you can do it.'' Silverstream added with a determined smile on her face.
Ocellus nodded, took another deep breath and transformed into a corrupted changeling with green glowing eyes. The others watched their friend walk to the entrance of the castle and how she blended in with the other changelings.
While walking amongst them, Ocellus could feel her heart beating really fast. She was quickly able to pull herself together and flew up into the air.
''I see them!'' Ocellus shouted in her disguised voice, ''They went that way!'' She pointed to a right path that led away from the castle.
All the changelings in the area quickly looked in the direction that Ocellus was pointing at. They immediately spread their wings and went into the city to find the six escaped creatures. Ocellus stayed behind without any of them noticing. Once all the changelings had left the castle, she looked over to her friends hiding behind the tower and gestured them to come out. Smolder and the others quickly got away from behind the tower and followed Ocellus, who was already heading to the exit of Canterlot. Eventually she transformed herself back to her original form and joined the rest of her friends below her.
''Let's hurry, we don't have much time.'' Ocellus said. She and her friends made their way through the streets of Canterlot as the lights of the lanterns on the streets helped to show the way.
Ocellus slowed down after a full minute of flying when she heard a familiar voice mumbling to itself somewhere. She looked to her left and could hear the voice coming from a dark alleyway. Ocellus took a closer look and widened her eyes when she heard the same voice mumbling something again.
''Thorax?'' Ocellus said to herself quietly. Her curiosity got the better of her and she flew into the dark alley without her friends noticing.
The familiar voice could be heard mumbling again and again just a few inches furhter in the alley. Soon she saw two green lights hovering in the shadows. A black changeling slowly emerged from it a few seconds later and looked straight at her.
''Who are you?'' The black changeling asked while getting into a defensive position.
Ocellus soon recognized the voice and looked at the changeling in surprise, unsure of what to think at the moment.
''Thorax? Is that really you?'' Ocellus asked concernedly.
''Are you with those six creatures?'' Thorax asked sternly.
''Huh? Of course I am,'' Ocellus said, looking worried as many conflicting thoughts went through her head, ''Thorax, we have to get out of here. My friends are already on there way out.''
Thorax widened his eyes, ''So you ARE with them!'' He shouted fiercely.
Suddenly Thorax jumped at Ocellus, pushed her against the ground and pressed his right arm tightly against her neck, keeping the blue changeling in place.
''I found one over here!'' Thorax shouted as loud as he could.
Thorax's voice started to echo all throughout Canterlot. All the changelings around the city of Canterlot heard the sound and quickly made their way to where the voice was coming from.
Smolder and the others were very close to reaching the main gate, but stopped when a voice echoed from behind them in the distance. They all turned around in shock and looked where the voice was coming from. Smolder was the first one to notice Ocellus's absence.
''Where's Ocellus?!'' Smolder asked to her friends.
''What?!'' Sandbar said as he looked around while laying on Yona's back.
''Oh no,'' Silverstream said with a worried look on her face, ''One of the changelings must have captured her while we weren't looking.''
''I'll go find her, you all head to the gate!'' Smolder said as she was about to fly back into Canterlot.
''Yona and friends not leave without Smolder!'' Yona said.
''Don't worry, I'll catch up with you when I find Ocellus! Now go!'' Smolder said determinedly. She quickly flew back into Canterlot. Her friends looked concerned at each other, but eventually did as they were told and continued making their way towards the main gate of Canterlot.
''Thorax,'' Ocellus said, having trouble breathing as she tried to push Thorax's arm away from her neck, ''It's me....Ocellus.''
Suddenly an orange foot came out of nowhere and kicked Thorax right in the face, knocking him into a garbage can. Ocellus coughed and tried to catch her breath. When she looked behind her she saw Smolder standing close to her.
''Are you okay?!'' Smolder asked as she helped Ocellus back on her hooves.
''I think so,'' Ocellus said, still trying to catch her breath. She looked back at Thorax, laying unconscious in the garbage can.
''Good, let's get out of here before more of them show up!'' Smolder said as she was ready to leave the alley.
Ocellus looked back at Smolder, ''Smolder, there's something I-''
''No time to talk,'' Smolder said, interrupting Ocellus, ''The changelings are already on their way.'' She spread her wings out and flew out of the alleyway. Ocellus looked back at Thorax for a second before following Smolder to the main gate.
''We're almost there!'' Gallus said when he recognized the lowered wooden drawbridge further in the distance.
Gallus, Silverstream, Yona and Sandbar got closer and closer to their way out of Canterlot. Yona was the first one to reach the entrance. But just as she was about to set hoof on the drawbridge, a changeling appeared from around the corner and was about to pounce the small yak.
''Watch out!'' Sandbar shouted. The young pony jumped from Yona's back and in front of the incoming changeling just in time before he was able to land a hit on Yona.
Sandbar and the changeling crashed into each other and hit the ground close to the drawbridge. The sudden appearance of the changeling had caused Yona to trip and fall towards the drawbridge. When she landed on the wood below her, she heard a loud crack and felt her leg slipping through the drawbridge. Yona quickly stood up and tried to pull her hoof out of the gap, but it remained stuck.
''Help!'' Yona shouted as she attempted to pull her leg out of the gap, ''Yona stuck!'' She tried to pull her hoof out of the gap again and again. With each pull, the cracks beneath her got bigger and began to spread under Yona without her notice.
''Come on, Silverstream!'' Gallus shouted.
Gallus and Silverstream were about to rush in and help their friends, only to be stopped by two other changelings, who tackled both of Gallus and Silverstream from behind and pinned them against the ground.
Sandbar layed on the ground and flinched as he felt a great pain in his right leg. The changeling that he knocked down before eventually got back up and set his eyes on the small pony. Not even a second later, the changeling charged at him. Sandbar looked at the black creature flying towards him and attempted to stand back up, but he quickly collapsed again when he felt the pain coming back in his right leg.
Yona looked behind her after multiple tries of pulling her hoof out of the gap. Her eyes looked shocked when she saw how Sandbar got captured by a changeling and carried back into Canterlot.
''No!'' Yona shouted in agony.
Suddenly the small gap where Yona's hoof got stuck in cracked open and she, along with some remains of the wooden bridge, fell into the water below her.
Gallus and Silverstream eventually managed to struggle free from the grip of two changelings and pushed themselves away from them. Together they flew to the gate and could hear Yona screaming for help. They arrived at the bridge and looked to their right to see Yona floating down the river, clearly struggling to keep her head above the water. Futher ahead they saw that the river led to a big waterfall. Neither of them wasted another second and headed over to their drowning friend.
''Gallus, take my claw!'' Silverstream said determinedly. She grabbed a hold of the necklace around her neck with her left claw while extending the right claw to Gallus.
''What are you-'' Gallus said right before Silverstream grabbed a hold of his right claw.
Gallus suddenly felt something very strange happening to his body as a magical light circled around both himself and Silverstream. The light around them disappeared as soon as he got dragged into the river by Silverstream. Gallus's first instinct when he got underwater was to hold his breath and keep his eyes shot for as long as he could. Out of curiousity, he decided to look at what had happened to his body. His eyes widened when he was clearly able to see that his legs had been replaced by a fish-like tail, his claws had turned into fins, his wings had become see-through and his beak was also alot rounder.
''It's alright,'' Gallus heard Silverstream say reassuringly, ''You're a seapony now, you can breath underwater.'' He turned himself around and saw Silverstream, who also had transformed herself into a seapony.
''What's happening?!'' Gallus asked with a panicked look on his face while looking at his body.
''Just follow me and swim how I swim!'' Silverstream said. She swam along with the stream of the river and went after Yona's lower body a few meters away from them.
Gallus watched the way Silverstream swam through the water and without thinking he immediately tried to imitate it. He seemed to be getting the hang of it after a few seconds and succeeded in catching up to Silverstream, who was already trying her best to keep Yona's head above the surface. Gallus quickly swam up, went above the surface and held onto the other side of Yona's body.
''We got you, Yona!'' Gallus shouted as he and Silverstream both did their best they could to keep Yona's head above the water. Yona coughed water out of her mouth before she noticed something further ahead.
''Waterfall!'' Yona shouted with panic in her eyes.
Gallus and Silverstream both looked in front of them and saw the river dissappearing in the distance. They tried swimming against the current of the stream. Their efforts slowed them down, but it wasn't enough as they were still approaching the waterfall slowly.
''Brace yourselves!'' Silverstream shouted. She and Gallus still held onto Yona tightly while trying to swim away from the waterfall with every ounce of strength left in their bodies.
Back over at the drawbridge, Smolder and Ocellus finally made it out of Canterlot and exited through the main gate.
''Where are the others?!'' Smolder asked while looking around for her friends. Ocellus looked to her right when she heard voices screaming for help at the end of the river.
''Over there!'' Ocellus said while pointing in the direction of the waterfall.
Smolder looked over to where Ocellus was pointing and saw Gallus, Silverstream and Yona swimming away from a waterfall. She and Ocellus quickly decided to rush into action.
Gallus and Silverstream were almost out of breath as the current combined with Yona's weight proved to be too much for them. The three of them soon reached the end of the river. Smolder and Ocellus were just about to flt in and grab their friends, but only barely missed them and accidently fell into the waterfall along with Yona, Gallus and Silverstream. Soon all five of them started screaming as they fell down and got dragged down by the strong current of the waterfall.
A big group of changelings showed up at the main gate of Canterlot, one of them having purple see-through wings and green glowing eyes. They began to searching the area around Canterlot.
''Dang it! They got away.'' The purple winged changeling said in a rough voice.
''Should we go after them, Pharynx?'' One of the changelings amongst the group asked him in a raspy, distorted voice.
''No,'' Pharynx answered, ''Queen Crhysalis gave us specific orders not to leave Canterlot unless she says otherwise.''
Suddenly a changeling emereged from the group and was carrying an unconscious Sandbar in his arms, who's hooves and mouth were all tied up in green slime.
''At least we got one of them,'' The changeling said with a gleeful smile, ''What shall we do with him, Pharynx?''
''We must bring him back to the Queen,'' Pharynx answered. He and the other changelings all started snickering and flew back into Canterlot.
The pressure of the waterfall kept dragging Yona and her friends down until they finally reached the bottom and fell into the lake close to Canterlot. Yona slowly sank to the bottom of the lake as she desperately tried to swin to the surface while holding her breath, but the strong current coming from the waterfall stopped her from going up. Silverstream and Gallus regained their composure and looked around underwater for their friends. Their eyes soon caught sight of a light blue seapony swimming their way.
''Go save Yona! I'll help Smolder!'' The light blue seapony said.
Gallus and Silverstream instantly recognized Ocellus's voice. They saw how she quickly swam away from them and towards Smolder, who was also having trouble swimming to the surface.
''Come on!'' Silverstream said before she quickly swam down towards Yona, who looked like she couldn't hold her breath for much longer.
Gallus immediately swam after her. They reached Yona in time and placed their fins under her arms. Together they swam to the surface with every ounce of strength they had. Eventually they managed to reach the surface and held Yona's head above the water, who immediately coughed the water out of her mouth as soon as she got above the water. Gallus and Silverstream swam with Yona towards a tiny beach close to the lake where she was finally able to walk on dryland again. Yona stepped on land with her fur completely soaked and slowly walked away with her head hung low.
Silverstream held onto her necklace, grabbed Gallus's fin and transformed them both back into their normal selves. Ocellus and Smolder soon arrived on the beach as well. The blue changeling transformed back into her normal form as soon as she felt that her tail was touching the sand below her.
''Is everyone okay?'' Ocellus asked.
''Don't worry, I'm fine,'' Smolder answered reassuringly, ''But next time, I think I'll stick to swimming in lava, thank you very much.'' She said in a joking manner. Ocellus gave her a playful smile.
Silverstream let out a sigh of relief, ''We made it.''
Yona shook her body widely to dry herself a little bit on the grass and walked off to the nearest tree.
''Where did you get that thing?'' Gallus asked Silverstream as he took a good look at the necklace around her neck. Silverstream looked down at the little piece of pearl on her necklace.
''Oh this?'' Silverstream said before showing it off to Gallus, ''it's a part of Queen Novo's magic pearl from back home. It allows any creature to transform into a seapony and back at will.''
''Can I have one of those?'' Gallus asked with an excited look.
''I'm sorry, we already used up all the pieces of the pearl.'' Silverstream answered with a disappointed look.
''Hey, it's alright,'' Gallus said back, ''I was just curious, that's all.''
''Hey, guys,'' Smolder said while looking around the beach and at the lake, ''Where's Sandbar?''
''I thought he was with Yona.'' Gallus answered.
Together they searched around the beach for Yona. Eventually they saw her sitting close under a tree. Her fur was slightly wet and she had her back turned on them while looking down at the ground. They all walked over to her.
''Yona?'' Silverstream said, placing her claw on Yona's shoulder.
''Yona sorry,'' Yona said, sounding like she was about to cry, ''This all Yona fault.''
''What do you mean?'' Smolder asked while looking concerned, ''Where's Sandbar?''
''Yona failed to protect Sandbar,'' Yona explained as tears were already appearing under her eyes, ''Yona and Sandbar got attacked by evil changeling. Yona tried to help, but got stuck on bridge. And now evil changeling captured Sandbar because of Yona.''
''What?!'' Yona's friends all said out loud.
''Yona sorry,'' Yona said in a sad tone as tears began to roll down their cheek, ''Yona worst friend ever.'' She started banging her head against the tree multiple times, causing the tree to shake wildly while leaves fell down from the branches.
A look of regret appeared on Ocellus's face as she thought back to the moment between her and Thorax back in Canterlot. Silverstream went over to Yona, sat next to her and gave the sad yak a comforting hug as she heard Yona sobbing.
''Actually Yona,'' Ocellus said, still having a look of regret on her face, ''This is all my fault.''
‘’Don’t say that,’’ Gallus said to Ocellus, ‘’You were captured by a changeling, remember? There was nothing you could do.’’
‘’I wasn’t captured,’’ Ocellus began to explain, ‘’....I wandered off on my own.’’
''You what?!'' Smolder asked with a furious look, ''Why would you do that?!''
''That's what I wanted to tell you before,'' Ocellus tried to explain, ''That changeling who attacked me in the alley back in Canterlot. That was actually Thorax. I heard his voice in an alley and went after him. I'm really sorry.''
''Thorax? The new leader of the changelings?'' Smolder asked in a confused tone, ''But he didn't look anything like-''
''I know,'' Ocellus answered Smolder, interrupting her sentence, ''But he had the exact same voice when I heard him speak. It has to be him.''
''But then why did he look like that?'' Smolder asked curiously, ''And why did he attack you?''
''Chrysalis,'' Ocellus answered her, ''She must have casted some kind of spell on him and the other changelings from my hive. That must be how she got her army and that's why their eyes were always glowing, there's no other explanation.''
''Oh,'' Smolder said with a guilty look, ''I...I'm sorry.''
''So, what now?'' Silverstream asked concernedly.
''I don't know,'' Ocellus said in a somber tone, ''But I don't wanna go up against my own family.''
''Well, one thing's for sure,'' Smolder said determinedly, ''We gotta go back and save Sandbar.'' She was already getting into position to fly back to Canterlot.
''Smolder, no!'' Ocellus said with a worried look as she stepped in front of the orange dragon, ''That's exactly what Chrysalis will expect us to do.''
''So what?'' Smolder asked, ''I'm not afraid of her!''
''Listen, Smolder,'' Gallus said, ''I wanna save Sandbar as much as you do, but you saw how many of those changelings there were, right?''
''But we can't just do nothing,'' Smolder said while sounding worried, ''He's our friend! And true friends never leave each other behind!''
''If we want to save him, then we'll have to stick to Ocellus's plan,'' Gallus said sternly, ''Without the help of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, we won't stand a chance!''
Smolder looked conflicted as she tried to think of what to say back. While she kept thinking, a small blue bird flew into some bushes close to a tree behind them without their notice. The orange dragon eventually took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
''I guess you have a point,'' Smolder said while sounding kind of somber, ''But.....What if Chrysalis will do something to him?''
''If I'm right, she'll probably just put Sandbar back into a cocoon again,'' Ocellus reassured her, ''He should be fine for now.''
''I hope you're right.'' Smolder said as he looked a bit conflicted.
''Let's not waste anymore time,'' Gallus said, ''We have to get to this Crystal Empire.''
''Did you hear that, Yona?'' Silverstream said while patting Yona's shoulder, ''Once we reach the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance will help us save Sandbar and teach that big meanie Chrysalis a lesson.''
Yona dried her tears, looked at Silverstream and gave her a warm smile. Soon she felt something touching her other shoulder. She look to her right and saw Gallus looking at him with a determined smile.
''We're gonna save him. That's a promise.'' Gallud said.
Yona's sad face slowly disappeared and began to show a reliefed smile.
''Thank you,'' Yona said before giving Silverstream and Gallus a big hug, ''Yona could not ask for better friends.''
''Does anyone know the way to the Crystal Empire?'' Gallus asked.
''It's somewhere over there, in the Frozen North.'' Ocellus said before she pointed her hoof to the big snowy mountains in the distance.
''Is everyone ready to go?!'' Smolder asked with a look of confidence.
''I'm in!'' Gallus answered.
''Me too!'' Ocellus said.
''Yona ready!'' Yona added.
''Count me in!'' Silverstream said with a confident look.
''Let's do it!'' Smolder said. She and the rest of her friends all walked around the lake and began to make their way to the Crystal Empire.
''Crystal Empire, here we come!'' Silverstream shouted.
As soon as they were all gone, the small blue bird came out from the bushes of the tree they were standing close to. The blue bird surrounded itself with green magic for a split second and revealed itself to be a black changeling with purple wings. Pharynx showed a gleeful smile on his face before he flew back up to Canterlot.
All of Canterlot was crawling with black changelings. Every building, shop and tower in the city was heavily guarded. Not a single place was safe from the sights of the black creatures.
Inside the castle of Canterlot, changelings were patrolling through the many dark hallways. They checked ever room and searched every corner of the giant building at least three times, making it nearly impossible for any creature to get in without being seen. The throne room in particular was the most heavily guarded of them all, since that's where Chrysalis was, sitting on one of the two thrones at the end of the room. The room was barely lit, with the only source of illumination being the moonlight that was shining through the many windows. At least three changelings guarded her throne while ten others kept guard of the rest of the throne room. Chrysalis looked over to her left side close to her throne, where a black statue resembling Princess Celestia stood. The statue was covered in many black, spiky crystals. She then looked over to her right to see another statue, this time resembling the Princess of the night, Princess Luna.
A green aura began to glow around Chrysalis's horn. A big book surrounded by the same green aura appeared from behind her throne. The book was a little torn and had a grey, heart-shaped symbol on the cover. She admired the book with a gleeful smile on her face.
Suddenly Chrysalis heard the door of the throne room opening and quickly hid the book back behind her throne. She turned her attention over to the open door and saw Pharynx walking towards her over the long red carpet. Chrysalis slowly stood up from her throne.
''Well?'' Chrysalis said in a calm voice, ''Did you find them?'' Pharynx stopped walking as soon as he got close to Chrysalis's throne.
''They're heading to a place called the Crystal Empire, your highness.'' Pharynx explained to her as he bowed before the tall changeling.
''The Crystal Empire, hm?'' Chrysalis said to herself before she showed a menacing smile and let out a sinister giggle, ''I think I already have a pretty good idea of what they're planning.''
''Should we go after them, your highness?'' Pharynx asked.
''No. I've already got a better plan,'' Chrysalis answered in a conniving manner, ''Besides, we've already captured their little ponyfriend. They wouldn't dare to oppose me if their little friend's life was on the line.''
''I'm listening.'' Pharynx said.
''I need you to follow those six creatures to the Crystal Empire. Alone,'' Chrysalis explained, ''There's a little baby alicorn over there who could be of good use to me. Bring her to me. And make sure that no one sees you.''
''How will I recognize the baby?'' Pharynx asked.
Chrysalis responded to him by using her magic to transform herself into small, pink baby alicorn with huge wings in a light blue diaper.
''Like this.'' Chrysalis said while still talking in her own voice. She quickly transformed back into her original form.
''I'm on it, your highness.'' Pharynx said while saluting her queen. He flew back to the open door and exited the throne room.
''The rest of you will stay here,'' Chrysalis commanded before a sly smile appeared on her face, ''We're going to prepare a little surprise party for our upcoming guests.''
Chrysalis giggled to herself and looked back on her right as the silhouettes of six ponies with green glowing eyes stepped out from behind the curtains. A black and grey colored source of magic was glowing around five of their necks while one of them was glowing close above it's head.
Gallus and his friends eventually reached two big snowy mountains after many minutes of following the train rails from Canterlot. They finally seemed to be getting somewhere and continued to follow the rails between the two mountains.
Another few minutes later, the tight space opened up into a large grassland surrounded by many more large snowy mountains. They got out of the narrow space and there they saw it, further up ahead in the middle of the grassland was a giant crystal looking castle, which was surrounded by many buildings made out of light blue and dark pink colored crystals with small windows in them.
''Finally,'' Gallus said before he looked back between the two snowy mountains, ''That place was giving me the creeps for some reason.''
''We made it!'' Silverstream said as she placed her claws on her squishy cheeks while admiring the sight of the Crystal Empire, ''Do you see all those crystal buildings and that giant crystal castle?! I bet it must be even more beautiful up close!''
Ocellus giggled, ''Yup, that much is....Crystal clear.'' She said in a playful tone. Her friends all rolled their eyes at her.
''Don't forget that we're here to get help and save our friend Sandbar along with Canterlot.'' Smolder explained.
''I know,'' Silverstream said, ''But it's just so exciting! This is the first time I've ever seen the Crystal Empire with my own eyes.''
''Me too,'' Ocellus said while taking in the beauty and size of the empire, ''And I can't believe we're also going to meet Princess Cadance and Shining Armor for the first time as well.''
Smolder sighed, ''Oh well, I guess I can't blame you for that.'' She said while shrugging as she showed a relaxed smile.
''Off to the Crystal Empire we go!'' Silverstream shouted. The excited hippogriff raced to the Crystal Empire. Her friends followed her immediately.
It didn't take long for them to get close to the entrance of the empire, which was located between two big crystal pillars. They eventually slowed down and were about to walk over the path leading to the empire.
Suddenly two purple ponies dressed in crystal armor showed up from behind the two pillars and stopped them in their tracks.
''Halt!'' Both of the crystal guards said out loud at the same time. They already had the tips of their long grey spears pointed close to Smolder's face.
''Wow! Cool it,'' Smolder said, looking surprised while backing away from the spears, ''We're just here to get help.''
''Sorry, but we're gonna need some form of identification before you can proceed.'' The crystal guard on the right demanded, still aiming his spear at Smolder.
''We are students from Headmare Twilight's School of Friendship.'' Ocellus explained.
''The ones who saved Equestria from a crazy little pegasus named Cozy Glow who tried to suck away all the magic.'' Silverstream added urgently.
''Yona and friends not dangerous,'' Yona said while looking worried, ''Yona promise!''
The guards both looked at each other for a few seconds and eventually nodded in agreement.
''Alright, you may proceed.'' The crystal guard on the left said before both of them stepped aside.
''Thank you, Mister crystal guard!'' Silverstream said with a happy smile.
''Let's go.'' Smolder said. She and her friends all stepped onto the path between the pillars and began to make their way towards the Crystal Empire. The guards watched the five creatures head to the empire until they were out of their sight.
Suddenly the two guards heard hoofsteps in the snow coming from behind them. A giant shadow soon began to lurk over them. Before they had the chance to turn around and look at what was behind them, a giant claw slashed both of them against their armor and got knocked out cold the moment their heads smacked against one of the crystal pillars. A flash of green light appeared close to the unconscious ponies for a split second and the shadow that was looming over them had shrunken down into what seemed like a pony with deformed limbs and fangs under his mouth.
Entering the Crystal Empire felt like a huge breath of fresh air for Gallus and his friends. They took their time taking in the warmth and comfort of their new surroundings. The place was filled with life and joy, the streets were crowded with ponies, walking and talking to each other in harmony. There were no dangers in sight and the empire itself looked just as gorgeous as they had imagined.
''Hey, I remember you!'' Scootaloo said with an excited smile.
''Aren't you the creatures who saved the School of Friendship?'' Sweetie Belle asked as Smolder and the others stopped at their table.
''Yup, that's us.'' Smolder said with a confident smile.
''It's good to see you all again.'' Ocellus said.
''It's good to see y'all too and....'' Apple Bloom said before she noticed something odd, ''Hold on. Where's Sandbar? Ain't he always with ya guys?''
A sad look appeared on Yona's face as soon as she heard Apple Bloom say Sandbar's name.
''He got captured by changelings in Canterlot.'' Smolder answered.
''What?!'' The Cutie Mark Crusaders all said at the same time.
''But aren't the changelings supposed to be reformed?'' Sweetie Belle asked with a worried look.
''They are,'' Ocellus explained, ''But Chrysalis used some kind of spell on them and now their back under her control. That's why we came here to seek help from Princess Cadance and Shining Armor.''
''Do you know where we can find them?'' Gallus asked.
''They should be in the castle along with Starlight Glimmer and Spike.'' Scootaloo answered.
''Counselor Pony here too?!'' Yona asked while looking surprised.
''Uh huh,'' Sweetie Belle said with a nod, ''We and the rest of Ponyville had to take the train to the Crystal Empire after the Everfree Forest grew out of control and destroyed our homes.''
''Wait, so everyone from Ponyville is here?'' Silverstream said with a hopeful smile.
''Yeah, It was the craziest thing I've ever seen,'' Scootaloo explained, ''There were huge plants with razor sharp teeth coming out of the Everfree Forest, along with many thorned vines trying to snatch everypony in it's path.''
Smolder sighed in relief, ''At least now we know why Ponyville was abandoned when we came out of the catacombs under the school.''
''Catacombs under the school?'' Apple Bloom said curiously.
''It's a long story.'' Ocellus said.
''But it's strange,'' Gallus said, ''It didn't seem that bad when we were there. If it was so bad that all of Ponyville had to be evacuated, then how come we were able to make it through just fine?''
''That could have something to do with when we got tested by the Tree of Harmony.'' Ocellus answered.
''What do you mean?'' Gallus asked.
''Well, remember when the Tree of Harmony said that the magic inside us helped it from becoming completely corrupted by the dark magic?'' Ocellus explained, ''Since the tree's magic helps to contain the Everfree Forest, then that means the forest calmed down and stopped growing out of control after we somehow spread our own magic into the Tree of Harmony.'' Her friends all stared at her in amazement.
''Wow! Not bad, Ocellus.'' Silverstream said with a smile.
''Yeah. We sure are lucky to have such a smart friend like you.'' Smolder said before giving Ocellus a small wink, which caused the small changeling to smile a little while blushing.
''Apple Bloom,'' Yona said to her before looking over at Big Mac, ''Who is big red pony?''
''This is my big brother, Big Mac.'' Apple Bloom answered while still trying to comfort the sad looking stallion, ''He's been like this ever since we lost Sugar Belle.''
''Sugar Belle?!'' Ocellus and her friends all said out loud at the same time.
The ponies that were walking past them stopped and turned their attention towards them. They all stayed quiet for a moment before they shrugged it off and continued walking.
''Did I say something wrong?'' Apple Bloom said, slighty confused at their reaction.
''We found her stuck in a changeling cocoon in the Everfree Forest.'' Smolder explained.
Big Mac instantly raised his head back up, wiped his tears and showed a big smile on his face.
''Ya have?!'' Big Mac asked out loud before he got up from his chair moved his head really close to Smolder's, ''Where is she now?!''
''We lost her in Canterlot after we temporarily got captured by the changelings.'' Ocellus explained with a dissapointed look.
Big Mac's smile slowly disappeared before he sat back down on his chair with the same sad look from before.
''But don't worry, Big Mac,'' Silverstream reassured him, ''Me and my friends are going to save her with the help of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor.''
''Ya are?!'' Apple Bloom asked eagerly.
''Absolutely!'' Smolder said with a confident look, ''That big bug queen will get what's coming to her!''
''Did ya hear that, big brother?!'' Apple Bloom asked Big Mac with an excited smile. Big Mac smiled back at her as he dried his eyes.
''Eeyup.'' Big Mac answered in a reliefed tone.
''Come on, everyone,'' Smolder said to her friends with a determined look, ''We've got a friend to save and a villain to defeat! Off to the castle!''
Smolder and her friends all ran back into the streets and headed to the middle of the Crystal Empire where the castle was.
''Good luck!'' The Cutie Mark Crusaders shouted while waving at them as they left.
They finally got themselves away from the crowded streets and walked into the center of the empire under the castle. In the middle of it hovered a giant crystal heart in between two pointy shining crystals. Under it was a huge snowflake symbol on the ground.
''It sure feels nice to finally be in a safe place again after all this time.'' Gallus said.
''Not to mention an incredibly beautiful place at that.'' Silverstream said with excitement as she admired the beauty of the castle.
''Indeed,'' Smolder said while looking around herself, ''But there's no time for sightseeing right now, come on.''
On one of the pillars that held the castle together they could see a door with a small flight of stairs under it. Four crystal armored guards stood in front of the stairs and guarded the door into the castle. The five creatures walked over to the pillar, but stopped when two of the four guards blocked the way to the stairs with their spears.
''Should have seen that one coming.'' Gallus remarked sarcastically.
''State your business.'' The guard on the left demanded with a fierce look.
''We're here to see Princess Cadance and Shining Armor,'' Ocellus explained, ''We need their help to save Canterlot from Chrysalis.''
The guards both looked at each other for a few seconds. They looked back at the two other guards behind them, gave them a nod and raised their spears back up.
''Our guards behind us will escort you to the throne room.'' The guard on the right explained. The two crystal guards standing behind them walked up the stairs and opened the door.
Ocellus and her friends followed the two crystal guards into the castle as the two other guards at the stairs closed the door.
Silverstream looked in awe at everything her eyes could see while she and her friends walked through the halls of the crystal castle. Every meter of the walls was decorated in bright crystal pillars, little gems glittered and shined through the hallways. Her friends, aside from Smolder, couldn't help but watch with the small hippogriff in amazement.
''Wow,'' Gallus said while looking flabbergasted, ''I've never seen anything like this before. I mean, as far as I can remember at least.''
''It's just like Headmare Twilight described it.'' Ocellus said eagerly.
''It's almost as beautiful as my home underwater.'' Silverstream said with great enthusiasm.
''Good for you,'' Smolder said unenthusiastically, ''All this place does is make me hungry. And I'm not even allowed to eat any of it.''
Gallus gave Smolder a confused look, ''What are you talking about?''
''Dragons love to eat gems and crystals.'' Smolder answered the blue griffin, ''So you can probably imagine how I'm feeling right now.''
Eventually the hallway split into two. The right hallway led to the balcony of the castle while the one on the left led to a tall door. The guards led the five creatures to the tall door on the left and stopped right in front of it.
''We're here.'' Both of the guards said.
Both the crystal armored ponies placed one of their hooves on each side of the door and gently pushed it open, slowly revealing a big room with a long purple carpet on the floor on the other side. The carpet led to a tall crystal throne at the back. Close to the throne they saw Starlight Glimmer along with Spike, who both seemed to be in a conversation with a big white stallion and a pink alicorn standing in front of the throne.
''Your highnesses.'' The guard on the left said.
A few seconds later Starlight, Spike and the two other ponies with them looked over to the open door where they saw Smolder and the others entering the throne room. The guards both stepped aside when the door had fully opened and positioned themselves on each side of the purple carpet.
''These five creatures wanted to see you.'' The guard on the right announced.
Starlight recognized the five creatures standing at the open door almost immediately and gasped in shock. Her shocked look soon got replaced by a smile filled with joy and relief. She ran towards Yona and her friends at full speed and embraced them all into a group hug.
''Thank Celestia, you're all alright!'' Starlight said happily.
''Yona so glad to see Counselor Pony!'' Yona said while hugging Starlight back very tight.
''I'm glad to see you all too, Yona.'' Starlight said before she and the others stopped hugging and let go of each other.
''Smolder!'' Spike said as he happily flew over to the orange dragon and gave her a big hug. Smolder gave a bit of an awkward look, but eventually smiled and hug him back.
''It's good to see you too, Spike.'' Smolder said before she stopped hugging him. Soon after the white stallion and pink alicorn approached them.
''You two must be Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, right?'' Ocellus asked them both with a little smile.
''That's right,'' Shining Armor answered her, ''And who are you, little changeling?''
''Sounds like it's time for another roll call.'' Silverstream said to her friends with a happy look on her face. They all rolled her eyes with a playful smile.
''I'm Ocellus.'' Ocellus said while bowing before them.
''Yona!'' Yona said with a endearing smile.
''Name's Smolder.'' Smolder said while winking with her thumb up
''I'm Gallus.'' Gallus said casually.
''And I'm Silverstream!'' Silverstream said enthusiastically.
''Hey, Twilight told us about you,'' Princess Cadance said, ''Aren't you the ones who saved Equestria from losing all of it's magic?''
''Uh huh,'' Ocellus said before she bowed before the pink alicorn, ''It's a real honor to finally meet you, Princess.''
Cadance giggled at the blue changeling, ''Thank you, Ocellus,'' She said while showing a warm smile, ''But you don't have to bow to me, you can treat me just like a normal pony.''
''Okay, Princess.'' Ocellus said before she stood back up with a shy smile.
''I still can't believe that you're all here,'' Starlight said, ''Now, can you......'' She stayed quiet and began to look worried when she noticed that a certain pony was missing.
''What's the matter?'' Gallus asked.
''Where's Sandbar?'' Starlight asked in a concerned manner. A sad look appeared on Yona's face once again as soon as Starlight brought up that name.
''......It's a long story.'' Smolder said while looking a bit down.
''I see,'' Starlight said, still looking worried, ''Can you start from the beginning?''
''It all started when we got tested again by the Tree of Harmony under the catacombs of the school.'' Silverstream began to explain.
Starlight, Spike, Cadance and Shining Armor all listened to the five creatures as they told them about everything they've been through. They explained to them about the Tree of Harmony almost being corrupted, how they found Discord as a statue in the Everfree forest, Chrysalis having taken over Canterlot and finally about Sandbar being captured by the changelings.
''Oh no,'' Starlight said with a frightened look, ''Looks like things are even worse than we thought.''
''At least now we know why Discord never came to help us, even after calling for him multiple times.'' Spike said.
''And that why Yona and friends need help from pink princess pony and white prince pony.'' Yona explained to Cadance and Shining Armor.
''I see,'' Cadance said, ''But what about Twilight and her friends? Can't they help too?''
''I'm afraid not,'' Ocellus explained, ''Chrysalis has captured them along with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.''
''What?!'' Shining Armor said out loud an angry look, ''Alright, that does it! Nopony messes with my Twily!''
''We'll help in any way we can.'' Cadance said determinedly.
''I'll go tell the crystal guards about the situation!'' Shining Armor said fiercely before running out of the throne room.
''And somepony's gonna have to watch over Flurry Heart for us.'''Cadance added.
''Don't worry, I can do that,'' Spike said, ''I am her uncle after all.''
''Thank you, Spike.'' Cadance said with a warm smile.
''I'll go with you to Canterlot,'' Starlight said to Cadance, ''If Chrysalis is back, then she most likely still wants take revenge on me.''
''We're gonna help too.'' Smolder said.
''I don't think so,'' Starlight said with a stern look, ''I know that you all saved Equestria from Cozy Glow, but this is far too dangerous for you.''
''Our friend Sandbar is there,'' Smolder said, ''So I'm not just gonna sit here and do nothing.''
''Yona neither!'' Yona said.
''Can we help, Counselor Starlight?'' Silverstream said while Starlight the puppy dog eyes, ''Please?''
''We're probably gonna need all the help we can get, Starlight,'' Cadance explained to her, ''Trust me, Chrysalis is not someone you want to underestimate.''
Starlight thought about it for a few seconds and then sighed, ''Alright, you can help,'' she said to them, ''However, I need you to promise me that you'll do exactly as I say. Got it?'' Silverstream and her friends all nodded to her.
''So, what's the plan?'' Spike asked curiously.
''That's exactly what we're going to discuss now and-'' Starlight stopped mid-sentence and widened her eyes a little.
''What is it, Starlight?'' Spike asked.
''I just remembered something,'' Starlight said before she looked over at Gallus, ''Gallus. Do you remember back at the school when I told you about a memorey spell?''
''Oh yeah,'' Gallus said, ''You mean you finally found it?!''
''No, not yet,'' Starlight answered, ''But I'm sure the library in the Crystal Empire might have a book on that. I'll be right back.'' Her horn glowed for a split second before she disappeared in a flash of blue light.
''What was she talking about?'' Cadance asked.
''Back at the school we found out that Gallus has amnesia.'' Silverstream explained.
''How did that happen?'' Cadance asked.
''I guess I'm about to find out.'' Gallus said.
Suddenly a magical blue light appeared in front of them for a split second before revealing Starlight Glimmer, who seemed to be carrying a small, glittering book in her right arm.
''I found it!'' Starlight said eagerly.
''Wow,'' Smolder said with a suprised look, ''That was fast.''
''She and Twilight have alot more in common than you think.'' Spike said in a joking manner.
''No kidding.'' Smolder said.
''Are you ready, Gallus?'' Starlight asked.
''You bet,'' Gallus answered happily, ''I can't wait until things will finally start to make sense again.''
''Everycreature, stand back.'' Starlight said before she opened the book with her magic.
They did as they were told and Starlight began to read the first words from the book in what sounded like some kind of unknown language.
''I don't know,'' Ocellus answered, ''But it sounds like old Ponish.''
As Starligth kept reading, a white magical glow appeared on the tip of her horn. Soon a white magic beam shot out from Starlight's horn and onto Gallus's forehead.
It was as if time had stopped when Gallus saw that everyone and everything stood completely still for a second. Soon everything around the blue griffin disappeared into nothingness before he ended up in a brightly lit, white area.
Inside the white area, hunderds of green glowing squares kept circling around Gallus. One by one each of the green squares flew past his face as a white, magical glow surrounded them and revealed many different moving images of what he assumed to be from his past. One of the first images that stood out involved a small blue griffon that looked just like him. He was making his way through the streets of Griffonstone while several other griffons either ignored him or gave him the stink eye. The imagine then changed to a slightly more grown up blue griffin going around stealing food and belongings from other griffins, followed by him being confronted by an older looking griffin wearing a small, dark red hat. The old griffin shook his head with a look of dissapointment on his face and led the blue griffin to his house.
Gallus felt a huge wave of emotions going through him as many other familiar images of himself in Griffonstone flew past him. The next image included seeing himself being stuck in a pit while a purple winged unicorn and five other creatures, who he suddenly remembered were none other than his friends and Twilight Sparkle, watched him from above with anger in their eyes. Gallus look at his past self in the image and could see the panic and fear in his own eyes as the walls around him inside the pit kept closing in on him. He could hear his own voice coming out of the image.
''Please don't do this!'' Gallus heard himself shouting inside the image in agony as he saw tears appearing under his eyes, ''Just give me another chance! I promise I won't do it again!''
It was after seeing that image and hearing those words that he finally remembered. This was exactly what happened to him when that purple magic from a dark crystal had struck him on his head, back when he and his friends explored a secret passage in the Castle of the Two Sisters. The image ended when he saw Smolder snapping him out of the illusion.
Other images went by with seemingly nothing much important happening in them. That was until one of them was about seeing himself breaking and entering into Twilight's office along with a small pony, who's name he began to remember as Cosette, walking next to him. They both searched every corner of the office before Cosette took six items out of a chest inside a tall closet. He saw himself stopping Cosette right before she reached the door. The small pony began to cry for a few seconds before shooting a green beam out of her horn and on Gallus's forehead, all while having a sinister smile on her face. His other self fell asleep on the floor and the small pony suddenly surrounded herself with green magic that shot out of the ground. When it disappeared a second later, the small pony had suddenly changed into a tall, black creature with a long green mane, disformed horn and a little crown on her head. The tall creature smiled sinisterly before carrying the six magical artifacts and the sleeping blue griffin out of Twilight's office. The image changed to the tall creature entering a small room and putting his own body on a bed.
Gallus slowly began to understand who the tall creature was and figured out Cosette's true identity. Many feelings of guilt, doubt and regret started to go through his mind after that image had faded away. Soon the white area around him became so bright that he was forced to close his eyes.
The blue griffin opened his eyes a few seconds later and saw that he was back in the Crystal Empire, where his friends along with Spike, Cadance and Starlight all looked at him in anticipation.
''Well? Did it work?!'' Silverstream asked, eagerly waiting for Gallus to answer her. Gallus remained silent as he watched his friends.
''I uh....'' Gallus said stutteringly.
''Yes?'' Silverstream said, still with an eager look on her face.
Gallus looked as if he was about to cry. He quickly turned around and ran out of the throne room without looking back.
''Hey, where are you going?!'' '' Smolder asked.
''Gallus, wait!'' Silverstream called out as she watched Gallus run into the hallway before disappearing around a corner.
Starlight, Spike, Cadance and Gallus's friends all looked at each other in confusion.
''What just happened?'' Ocellus asked.
''I have no idea.'' Smolder answered.
''Did the spell not work?'' Silverstream asked Starlight worriedly.
''You should go talk to him,'' Starlight suggested, ''Spike, Cadance and I will stay here and think of a plan on how to stop Chrysalis.''
''Got it,'' Smolder said, ''Come on, everyone.'' She ran out of the throne room along with her friends and began their search through the castle.
Gallus was sitting all by himself in a small room, which contained nothing more than a small bed with curtains. Close to the bed stood a small desk with a mirror in front.
The blue griffin sat on the bed with his head resting on his claws, staring down at the ground with a sad look on his face. All he could think about at that moment was the night before he lost his memory. What would his friends think of him if they ever found out? His mind kept on pondering about the situation, having no idea as to what he should do or say next.
Suddenly the sound of the door opening snapped him out of his thoughts. He raised his head up and aimed his eyes over at the open door, where he saw Silverstream along with the rest of his friends entering the room.
''Here you are,'' Silverstream said while approaching the blue griffin, ''We were worried about you, Gallus. Is everything okay?''
Gallus sighed to himself, ''I'm fine.'' He said very unenthusiastically.
''But you do have your memory back now, right?'' Ocellus asked worriedly.
Gallus nodded calmly while having a somber look on his face, ''Yes, I do.''
''Are you sure you're okay?'' Smolder asked him, ''Cause you sure don't sound like it.''
''And why Gallus look so sad?'' Yona asked as she and the others also approached the sad blue griffin.
''It's nothing.'' Gallus answered, sounding slighty annoyed as he turned away from his friends
''Then what's the problem?'' Smolder asked while looking confused.
''And why did you run off like that?'' Ocellus asked.
''I said, it's nothing!'' Gallus said, raising his voice a little to everyone's surprise, ''Now stop asking.''
''Why can't you just tell us what's wrong?'' Smolder asked as she started to get a little irritated, ''We're your friends, aren't we?''
''I told you to stop asking!'' Gallus answered back with a frustrating look on his face. Smolder and the others all kept looking worried at him.
''Sorry, Gallus,'' Silverstream said nervously, ''We're just worried about you.'' Gallus sighed to himself before looking down again with a sad look.
''Can you at least tell us how you lost your memory?'' Ocellus asked, ''If that's okay.'' She waited a few seconds for him to respond.
''It's not important.'' Gallus answered her.
''How is it not important?!'' Smolder said as she began to sound frustrated, ''Just tell us what happened! Is that so hard?!''
Gallus looked conflicted for a few seconds before sighing deeply, ''....I hit my head on the desk in my room that night right before I went to sleep.'' He explained reluctantly.
''....Is that it?'' Silverstream asked with a confused look.
''Are you sure that's what happened?'' Smolder asked suspiciously.
''Yes,'' Gallus said in an irritated manner, ''Are you happy now?''
''Why were you so afraid to tell us that?'' Ocellus asked.
''I don't know,'' Gallus answered her, still sounding irritated, ''I guess I was just afraid you would laugh at me or something.''
''Why would you think that?'' Silverstream asked.
''I DON'T KNOW!!'' Gallus shouted, ''The point is that I hit my head on the desk and lost my memory! End of story, okay?!''
''Alright, calm down! You don't have to shout,'' Smolder said when she noticed Ocellus getting a little scared, ''We just think it's a little weird that you were so reluctant to tell us about a little accident.''
''Yeah,'' Silverstream said, ''Did you really think we were gonna hate you over something that small?''
Gallus was just about to say something, but got interrupted when they heard the sound of many hoofsteps running on the crystal floor heading their way. Soon Cadance, Spike, Starlight and a Shining Armor dressed in armor all pushed the door of the room open.
"Flurry Heart has been kidnapped!" Starlight shouted.
''What?!'' Ocellus and her friends shouted at the same time.
''The crystal guards guarding her room told us that a black changeling had knocked them out and then took her away!'' Shining Armor explained in an urgent manner.
''Oh no,'' Ocellus said with a worried look, ''Chrysalis must have ordered one of the changelings to follow us here.''
''That ugly, disgusting witch,'' Cadance said in a cold voice filled with anger, ''I swear I'll make her pay for this.''
''Try to stay calm, Cadance,'' Starlight said, ''It's going to be okay. We'll just have to stick to our plan.''
''The crystal guards are all waiting outside and are ready to go.'' Shining Armor explained.
''Good job, Shining Armor.'' Starlight said to him.
''What is the plan exactly?'' Ocellus asked curiously.
''The crystal guards will fight the changelings as a distraction,'' Starlight began to explain, ''Shining Armor and Cadance will rescue Twilight and her friends along with the princesses while I deal with Chrysalis.''
''And what about us?'' Smolder asked.
''I'm not sure yet,'' Starlight asked, ''But we're gonna need you just in case something unexpected might happen.''
''Got it.'' Ocellus said with a determined look.
''So, you all got this under control then, huh?'' Gallus asked hopefully.
''As long as we work together and stick to the plan, definitely.'' Starlight answered determinedly.
Gallus quietly sighed to himself in relief.
''Is everycreature ready?'' Cadance asked.
''Ready!'' Smolder and her friends all shouted at the same time.
''Then let's not waste anymore time! Follow me!'' Shining Armor said. Everyone exited the small room together and made their way out of the castle to prepare for battle.
On top of the tallest tower, two yellow armored royal guards, one of them being a mare and the other being a stallion, kept watch over Canterlot from the balcony. As they looked down they could see that the city was filled with many fancy ponies walking across the streets. Big lantern poles on the side walks helped illuminate the city during the night. All the buildings in Canterlot were covered with party decorations as well as many light strings.
Eventually the stallion guard noticed a giant blue light flashing in the distance for a split second. He placed his right eye through the telescope next to him and took a better look over at the big hill far away from Canterlot. A big collection of small blue and yellow dots appeared from behind the hill and slowly revealed themselves to be a huge group of crystal armored ponies. Many of them were armed with giant silver spears. In front of the crystal guards walked three non armoured ponies and a small group of different creatures. Together they marched up the hill with determined looks on their faces.
The stallion guard looked over to the mare guard next to him, ''They're here.''
''Let's go.'' The mare guard said back. Both of them spread out their wings and flew back down into Canterlot.
Back at the hill, Princess Cadance, Starlight, Spike and Shining Armor all made their way down over the stone path leading to Canterlot. Smolder, her friends and the crystal guards all followed them over the long stone path, ready for what was awaiting for them in Canterlot. They all looked surprised when they got closer and saw the many party decorations hanging around the towers and buildings, as well as the many small lights that flickered everywhere.
''What in the name of Equestria did Chrysalis do to the place?'' Shining Armor asked himself.
They eventually reached the entrance with the drawbridge still closed and took their time taking in the surprisingly colorful sights. There was also not a single changeling guarding the place. Instead they only saw two royal guards, one a stallion and the other a mare, patrolling on the walls around Canterlot.
''That's strange,'' Silverstream said with a confused look while scratching the side of her head, ''I don't remember Canterlot looking like this the last time we were here.''
''Are they having some kind of party or something?'' Smolder asked, looking just as confused as Silverstream.
''Hey you!'' Shining Armor shouted, which got the attention of both the royal guards, ''What's going on here?!''
''Good to see you, captain,'' The stallion guard said with a happy smile, ''The party is just about to get started.''
''Party?!'' Shining Armor asked, still staring cautiously at the two guards, ''Where's Chrysalis?!''
''Don't worry, captain,'' The mare guard reassured him, ''Twilight and her friends have already taken care of everything.''
''What?!'' Cadance said in surprise.
''They've defeated Queen Chrysalis and her changeling army with the help from the Elements of Harmony,'' The mare guard guard explained to them, ''And to celebrate our victory, the Princesses have decided to throw a party for the occasion.''
''Really?!'' Silverstream asked excitedly.
''Prove it!'' Shining Armor said, still kind of suspicious about the situation.
The stallion guard looked back into the city for a moment. He then positioned himself in front one of the two levers on the wall while the mare guard went for the other. They both grabbed a hold of their lever, pulled it back and soon the drawbridge began lower itself slowly. Yona was suprised when she noticed that the big hole in the drawbridge that she got stuck in last time had disappeared. Eventually the drawbridge was finally lowered enough for them to enter Canterlot. Before they could proceed however, two tall alicorns stepped out of Canterlot and walked towards them over the drawbridge.
''We are very glad you all could come.'' Princess Celestia said with a comforting smile.
''Like the guards said, Twilight and her friends have already taken care of everything,' Princess Luna explained in a very regal voice, ''You all don't have anything to worry about anymore.''
''What about Flurry Heart?! Is she alright?'' Cadance asked concernedly.
''And where are the changelings?!'' Ocellus asked with a worried look.
''And Yona wanna see Sandbar!'' Yona added.
''Calm down,'' Celestia said reassuringly as he raised her hoof, ''They are all safe. Everypony of Canterlot is safe. And we have locked up Queen Chrysalis somewhere where she can do no more harm.''
''Well, what do ya know,'' Spike said with a satisfied smile, ''I guess Twilight and her friends had things under control all along.''
''See, Yona?'' Silverstream said to her with a happy smile on her face, ''I told you everything was going to be fine.'' Yona responded to her with a relieved smile.
''Well,'' Smolder said with a confident look, ''Guess our teachers are even more awesome than we thought.''
''So, everything's fine now?'' Gallus asked, ''Things have really gone back to normal?''
''That's right,'' Silverstream answered him, ''Isn't it great?!''
''You have NO idea.'' Gallus answered her with a relieved smile.
''Now then, how about we head inside,'' Luna suggested with a cheerful smile, ''I am sure that Twilight and her friends will be thrilled to see you.''
The two princesses turned around and walked back over the drawbridge. Everyone happily followed the princesses back into Canterlot.
Spike, Cadance, Shining Armor, Starlight, Ocellus and her friends kept following the princesses through the crowded streets of Canterlot and could not believe their eyes. All the changelings had disappeared, fancy looking ponies that were once in cocoons were back and going about their day, smiling and talking to each other in harmony. All the damaged buildings, smashed windows and piles of rumble that littered the place last time were gone as if nothing had ever happened. And the same party decorations that they saw on the outside of Canterlot were even more present throughout the streets.
While everyone else kept admiring the beautiful sights of the city, Ocellus noticed that some of the royal guards on the sidewalks kept watching her and the others rather suspiciously.
''Why are the royal guards on the sidewalks looking at us like that?'' Ocellus asked her friends quietly.
''Because they're guards, duh,'' Gallus answered casually, ''It's their job to be careful at all times.''
''Gallus does make good point.'' Yona said.
''And they're probably just a little on edge after everything that's happened.'' Silverstream added.
''Maybe, but I still feel uneasy for some reason.'' Ocellus said with a worried look.
''You're probably just exhausted, Ocellus,'' Gallus said confidently, ''Chrysalis is defeated, we're safe now. Just enjoy the party, okay?''
Ocellus sighed, ''Okay.''
''Unbelievable,'' Smolder said happily as she continued taking in the lively sights of Canterlot, ''It's almost as if nothing ever happened.''
''Wow, so this is what the real Canterlot looks like,'' Silverstream said excitingly while taking in the sights of Canterlot as well, ''It's more beautiful than I could ever imagine.''
''I'm glad you're enjoying yourself,'' Celestia said happily, ''We all did our best to restore Canterlot back to normal after Queen Chrysalis's defeat.''
''Princess Celestia,'' Ocellus said worriedly while looking over at the tall white alicorn, ''Where are the changelings?''
''Oh, well I'm afraid they have already returned to their hive.'' Celestia answered, ''But fear not, they are all doing just fine.''
''Why didn't they stay for the party?" Ocellus asked curiously.
''They were quite exhausted after we freed them from Queen Chrysalis's spell,'' Celestia explained, ''And they said they wanted to have some quiet relaxation back at their hive instead of at a loud party.''
''I guess I can understand that.'' Ocellus responded.
''Well, sounds like we're not really needed here anymore,'' Shining Armor said to the crystal guards standing behind them, ''You are free to go back to the Crystal Empire if you want.''
''Why not let them stay, Shining Armor?'' Celestia suggested with a friendly smile, ''I think your guards could use some time for themselves after so much hard work. And after all, the more ponies the merrier, right?''
''Wow. Thank you, your highness,'' Shining Armor said happily, ''Did you hear that, comrades?! You're free to do whatever you want today!''
The crystal guards cheered and smiled amongst each other. They all split up and began to explore around Canterlot.
Yona looked around for a moment and widened her eyes when she saw a familiar, small pony walking amongst the other citizens of Canterlot in the distance.
''Sandbar!'' Yona said out loud. The happy yak immediately ran to him as the stomps of her hooves could be heard throughout the street.
Sandbar turned his attention to the excited yak and looked surprised once he saw her coming towards him. Yona jumped into the air and flew at the young pony for a big hug. A look of shock appeared on Sandbar's face. He quickly stepped aside right before the happy yak could embrace her friend. Yona's face hit the ground with a loud smack.
''Watch it, will ya?!'' Sandbar said flabbergasted.
The young pony looked back over at his friends, who were all looking at him in confusion.
''What?'' Sandbar asked with a confused look on his face.
''Aren't you happy to see us?'' Smolder asked, confused at Sandbar's reaction.
''Oh, uh yeah. Of course I am.'' Sandbar said while showing a nervous smile. Yona got up from the ground, went over to Sandbar and gave him a tight hug.
''Yona so glad to see Sandbar safe.'' Yona said happily. Sandbar continued to smile nervously before eventually hugging her back.
''I'm uh....glad to see you too.'' Sandbar said, stuttering a little as he awkwardly hugged Yona.
''Is everything okay, Sandbar?'' Ocellus asked while looking slighty curious.
''Sure,'' Sandbar answered happily after Yona let him go from her tight hug, ''Why do you ask?''
''It's just that we excepted you to be a little more excited to see us again.'' Smolder explained.
''Sorry,'' Sandbar said while rubbing the back of his head, ''It's just been a rough day for me, you know.''
''That is true,'' Silverstream said, ''After all, we all have been through quite alot today, haven't we?''
''You could say that again.'' Gallus said while showing a slighty nervous smile.
''Sorry if I'm interrupting,'' Cadance said, ''But can we head to the castle now? I wanna see my Flurry Heart.''
''Me too,'' Shining Armor said, ''Our poor little girl must have been terrified while in the clutches of that monster.''
''Indeed,'' Celestia answered with a comforting smile, ''But she'll be alright once she sees you two again. Now, let's keep going to the castle.''
Celestia and Luna led the rest further into the street until they eventually reached the square of the Canterlot castle. Ocellus looked back and noticed some more of the royal guards looking in their direction, all of them having the same suspicious look as the ones from before.
Everyone was in awe when they saw how the castle itself was decorated in all sorts of garlands that came in many different colors. Above the main entrance hung a giant yellow banner that said 'Hooray for the heroes of Equestria' on it. The colors of the letters on the banner seemed to represent the same colors as the Elements of Harmony.
''Pretty amazing, huh?'' Sandbar said with a smile on his face, ''I still can't believe our teachers managed to stop Chrysalis.''
''I can,'' Spike said with a confident grin, ''After all, they've already saved Equestria plenty of times before.''
''Exactly,'' Silverstream said happily, ''There is no challenge or obstacle that our teachers can't overcome!''
''I couldn't have said it better myself,'' Shining Armor said to Cadance in a playful tone, ''But I guess it's to be expected from my little Twily and her friends at this point.'' He gave Cadance small wink, causing her to giggle cheerfully at her husband.
''Yeah, we sure are lucky to have them.'' Gallus said happily.
While the others kept talking, Ocellus looked back at the street they had just walked through one more time and saw a few more royal guards looking at them from a distance, all of them still having the same expressions on their faces. Ocellus looked back at Celestia, who was still happily talking with the others.
''Princess Celestia.'' Ocellus said softly with a shy smile.
Celestia stopped talking and looked over the blue changeling.
''Yes? What is it?'' Celestia said, sounding slightly annoyed.
''Can I see Chrysalis?'' Ocellus asked nervously. Her friends all looked over at her with suprised looks on their faces.
''Why would you of all creatures wanna see her? '' Smolder asked with a puzzled look.
''Yeah, I thought you hated her.'' Gallus said.
''Especially when you called her lying, manipulative monster back in the Everfree Forest.'' Silverstream added.
''I know, but uh...There are just some things I want to ask her,'' Ocellus answered nervously, ''I hope that's okay.'' She looked up at Celestia, who responded to the little changeling a friendly giggle.
''Why of course it is,'' Celestia answered with a warm smile, ''I'll let my guards escort you to her prison cell.''
Celestia looked over to the two royal guards on her left and signaled them to come towards her. The mare and stallion quickly responded and headed her way.
''Are you sure about this, Ocellus?'' Smolder asked with a worried look, ''I mean, this is Chrysalis we're talking about here. Maybe I should come along just in case that-''
''Let her go,'' Celestia said to Smolder before she could finish, ''I understand your concern, but I can assure you she's no longer a threat.''
''How so?'' Smolder asked while giving Celestia a curious look.
''She's been locked up in magical chains that restrain her powers,'' Celestia explained, ''She can't harm anyone anymore.''
''She's right,'' Sandbar said, ''I've seen it myself. Trust me, there's nothing to worry about.''
''Alright then,'' Smolder said reluctantly, ''We'll see you later, Ocellus.''
''I know.'' Ocellus said back with an uncertain look on her face.
The two guards gestured Ocellus to follow them. She walked after them and headed into the streets of Canterlot.
''I'll see you again in the castle!'' Ocellus said while waving at her friend, ''.....I hope.''
Celestia and the others all smiled back and waved at the blue changeling before she and the two guards disappeared into the crowded street.
''Well, what are we all waiting for?!'' Spike asked everyone with an excited look, ''Let's get in there and party!''
The green dragon and the others followed Celestia and Luna into the Canterlot castle through the main door at the top of the stairs and closed the door behind them.
After some time of walking through Canterlot, the two guards eventually led Ocellus through a small alleyway. At the end of the alleyway she saw a familiar stone bridge in the distance, which led to a big hole on the side of the mountain next to Canterlot.
''Is she locked up somewhere in that cave?'' Ocellus asked the guards in a slightly surprised tone.
''Yeah,'' The mare guard responded before staring back at her with a stern look, ''What about it?''
''Nothing,'' Ocellus answered nervously, ''I'm just wondering why.''
''Queen Chrysalis is a very manipulative and intelligent being,'' The stallion guard explained, ''We cannot take any risks with her.''
''I see,'' Ocellus said nervously, ''You know, I think I changed my mind.''
''What do you mean?'' The mare guard asked sternly.
''I think I'd rather just go back to the castle and party with the others.'' Ocellus answered with a shy smile.
''We can't let you do that.'' The stallion guard responded.
Ocellus raised her eyebrows in her surprise, ''Why not?''
''We've been orders to lead you to Chrysalis,'' The stallion guard explained to her sternly, ''And so we shall. Understood?''
Ocellus nodded slowly, ''Y-Yes.'' She said as she stared to get an uneasy feeling.
''Good,'' The mare guard said, also giving Ocellus the same stern look, ''Now follow us.'' She looked back in front of her before she and the stallion guard both entered through the hole on the side of the mountain.
''I knew something wasn't right.'' Ocellus said to herself quietly. She transformed herself into a blue mare guard wearing yellow armor and went after the two royal guards.
Finally they reached a tall white door on the left in the middle of a decorated hallway after a few minutes of walking through the castle.
''Here it is.'' Celestia said to the others before stopping in front of the tall white door.
Cadance and Shining Armor both used their magic together to slowly open the tall white door. Once it had been opened they all got a good look at the throne room on the other side.
The same decorations that were littered throughout the city and inside the castle were present in the throne room as well. Above Celestia and Luna's throne hung the same banner as the one they saw above the main entrance of the castle. The many light decorations hanging on the ceiling helped to illuminate what little light there was in the room. Close to the pillars on the walls stood at least twenty royal guards, some of them being armed with spears. They watched Celestia and Luna head into the throne room with the others. Another thing that stood out were two giant, white blankets located close on each side under the throne. From what they could make out, it seemed to be covering some kind of spiky statue.
''What's under those blankets?'' Starlight asked curiously.
''You'll see.'' Celestia answered.
''Where are Twilight and the others?'' Spike asked after taking a good look at his surroundings.
''And I still haven't seen Flurry Heart anywhere.'' Princess Cadance added.
''They'll be here soon.'' Luna said in a calm tone, ''They've prepared a special surprise for you.''
Silverstream gasped with an excited smile on her face, ''She said the S word.'' She whispered to her friends.
Luna and Celestia walked further into the throne room. Everyone watched the two alicorns walking across the long red carpet until they eventually went up the stairs leading to their thrones. Starlight and the rest all stopped close to the stairs.
''But first,'' Celestia said when she stopped in front of the two thrones. She turned around and sat down on the left throne while her sister sat down on the right one.
''There is something my sister would like to talk about.'' Luna explained in a regal tone.
''We're listening.'' Starlight responded.
Celestia looked over at Spike, ''Spike,'' She said with a calm smile, ''Do you remember when I called Twilight and her friends for an emergency at the School of Friendship?''
''Yes,'' Spike answered, ''What about it?''
''When we left I remember Twilight Sparkle mentioning something about finding a dark blue feather in her office that morning,'' Celestia explained, still having a calm smile on her face, ''And she also told me that she found it close to an empty chest that was supposed to contain the six legendary magical artifacts I gave her.''
Gallus's eyes widened as he felt himself entering into a state of shock.
''Dark blue feather?'' Smolder said with a surprised look. The orange dragon and the rest of Gallus's friends in the throne room all turned their eyes over to the anxious blue griffon. Soon everyone's eyes were on him.
''And she assumed that someone must have broken into her office that night.'' Celestia explained further as she kept her eyes on Gallus.
''I....don't know what you're talking about, your highness.'' Gallus said anxiously. His heart started beating faster and faster with each passing second.
''Oh really?'' Celestia asked, talking in a slightly intimidating tone while looking at Gallus, ''So you're saying I'm a liar?''
''What? No, of course not,'' Gallus quickly answered, ''It's just that....''
''I don't understand,'' Spike said, giving a concerned look at Gallus and his friends, ''What is she talking about?''
''Gallus,'' Silverstream said while looking concerned, ''Did you.....lie to us again?''
''No,'' Gallus quickly said in a nervous manner, ''Look, It's just......It's complicated, okay?''
Celestia gave the blue griffin a bit of a suprised look, ''But you do remember what happened?''
''What are you trying to hide from us?!'' Smolder asked Gallus, who was beginning to sound slightly furious.
''Everycreature, calm down,'' Starlight said before walking over at Gallus, ''Gallus, if there's anything you need to confess, just let it out. I promise I won't get mad, okay?''
A sad look appeared on Gallus's face before he took a deep breath.
''Alright, fine,'' Gallus began to explain in a sad tone as he tried to hold back his tears, ''I.....I did lie to you.''
Celestia showed a calm smile, ''Go on.''
Gallus sighed, ''Before I lost my memory, I did indeed break into Twilight's office that night. Along with-''
''Me!'' Celestia said out of nowhere in a completely different sounding voice.
''What?'' Gallus said while looking confused.
Suddenly every royal guard in the throne room charged at them before anyone had a chance to react. The guards began to restrain Gallus, Silverstream, Smolder and Yona before spitting green slime out of their mouth and onto their paws, feet and hooves, keeping them all stuck on the ground. Out of shock they attempted to pull their legs from the green slime with all their might, but the stickiness of the slime combined with the royal guards restraining them kept them from going anywhere.
Starlight immediately charged up her horn and got ready to use one of her spells, ''What in the-''
Before Starlight could finish her sentence, one of the royal guards slashed the side of her horn with the tip of his spear, causing the aura around the horn to disappear and leave behind a scar on the side of her horn. Starlight let out a scream of pain and got knocked to the ground by the other royal guards. They gathered around the unicorn, picked her up, spat their green slime onto her and trapped her inside a giant green cocoon.
''Hey! What is-'' Spike said before Sandbar used his back legs to kick him into one of the pillars at the walls. The small dragon hit his head against the pillar with a loud smack. Spike fell down to the ground close to the riverstream and lost his consciousness. Sandbar smirked at the puple dragon and casually walked up to the throne to Celestia and Luna.
''Spike!'' Smolder shouted when she saw the small purple dragon laying unconscious.
Smolder quickly lowered her head to her legs and breathed fire on the green slime around her feet, making it melt and freeing herself in the process. She kicked the guards away from her, but before she could even make her next move, more guards showed up and grabbed her by every part of her body. Soon they all pushed Smolder against the ground and restrained her.
''Let me go!'' Smolder shouted as she kept struggling.
Shining Armor and Cadance both got ready to use their magic to stop the fighting. But right before they could even cast a single spell, a green aura appeared around their bodies. They tried to ignore it and attempted to perform a levitating spell on everyone in the throne room, only for nothing to happen.
''What's happening?!'' Cadance shouted in panic. She and Shining Armor looked at their foreheads and noticed a green aura around their horns, which prevented them from using any more magic.
Suddenly Shining Armor and Cadance heard a maniacal laughter coming from behind them. They both got turned around against their will and saw that Princess Celestia was the one who had used her green magic to keep them in place. Sandbar and Luna stood next to her and watched them with evil grins on their faces.
''Celestia, what's going on here?!'' Shining Armor asked.
''Wait a minute,'' Cadance said when she noticed the color of the aura around Celestia's horn, ''You're not-!''
''It's time been a long time, hasn't it, Cadance?'' Celestia answered in a different yet familiar voice.
Celestia, Luna and Sandbar got surrounded by a green magical beam circle that shot out of the ground. The magic hit the party decorations above them, causing them to catch on green fire. The fire spead itself across the rest of the decorations in the throne room before it all burned to ash. The same familiar voice from before could be heard laughing sinisterly as the magic was still shooting out of the ground. Eventually the green magic circle disappeared and revealed Chrysalis, Pharynx and Thorax. Everyone's attention in the throne room was aimed towards the two thrones where Chrysalis was standing with a evil smile on her face, still keeping Shining Armor and Cadance in place with her magic.
''Chrysalis!'' Shining Armor said with a fierce look. He still tried to struggle free, but the magical grip prevented him from moving a single muscle.
''Looks like you all fell right into my trap,'' Chrysalis said with a confident grin, ''Did you really think that Twilight Sparkle and her puny little friends could defeat me so easily?!''
All the royal guards in the throne room who kept restraining the five creatures surrounded themselves with the same green magic from before and revealed themselves to be corrupted changelings, all of them with their green glowing eyes aimed at Gallus and his friends.
''Let us go!'' Cadance said furiously.
''Or what?'' Chryaslis asked with a smug grin on her face, ''You're gonna defeat with the power of love?''
''That's right!'' Shining Armor responded.
Chrysalis let out a maniacal laugh, ''I am afraid that things won't be so easy this time.''
Two changelings flew over to the two giant white blankets in the throne room. They both spilt up and grabbed one of the blankets with their fangs. They threw the blankets to the side and tossed them aside, revealing two dark statues that were decorated in dark crystals, one of them looking like Princess Celestia and the other resembling Princess Luna.
A loud gasp could be heard from everyone inside the throne room.
''What did you do to them?!'' Smolder asked while the changelings kept restraining her.
''I've had some help from my six new servants.'' Chrysalis answered with a confident smile.
''Who are these six servants?!'' Shining Armor asked, ''Tell us!''
Chrysalis giggled, ''If you insist,'' She said, still smiling confidently before looked back to her right at the tall curtain behind her, ''Come on out, my little slaves!''
Six ponies slowly walked through the curtain and revealed themselves to be none other than Twilight Sparkle, Applejack. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity. They all had a dark magical aura glowing around their necks where the Elements of Harmony were supposed to be, with Twilight being the exception since her dark magical aura glowed right above her head. All of their eyes were glowing green the same way as the changelings's eyes. The six ponies positioned themselves close to Chrysalis.
''Twily?!'' Shining Armor said out loud, ''What happened to you?!''
''Don't bother reasoning with her, you fool,'' Chryaslis said mockingly, ''She and her puny friends are under my total control now. And with that, I also control the Elements of Harmony! Or as I prefer to call them, Elements of DISharmony.''
''We'll make you pay for this, Chrysalis!'' Cadance shouted.
''Oh, really? But aren't you more concerned about....'' Chrysalis said before levitating an unconscious and tired-looking baby alicorn from behind the throne, ''....THIS?!''
''Flurry Heart!'' Shining Armor shouted in shock.
''What have you done to her?!'' Cadance asked fiercely.
''Aw, I'm sowwy, Cadance,'' Chrysalis said mockingly, ''But your little baby alicorn had such an tremendous amount of love inside of her. And I couldn't just let it all go to waste.''
''Give me back my daughter, you monster!'' Cadance shouted in a voice filled with anger and hatred.
''Monster, am I?'' Chrysalis said with a sly smirk. She made a magical green blade appear from her horn and pointed it close to Flurry Heart's throat.
''No!'' Cadance shouted in agony, ''Please, don't hurt her!''
''That's better.'' Chrysalis said calmly before the magical blade around her horn disappeared.
''How did you do all this?!'' Silverstream asked.
''If you really want to know.'' Chrysalis said after giving Gallus a satisfied smirk. She used her magic to levitate a slighty torn book with a grey, heart-shaped symbol on the front cover from behind the thrones.
''What is that?'' Smolder asked.
''King Sombra's spell book,'' Chrysalis answered, ''I found it at the Castle of the Two Sisters when you and your puny friends took me there. But I'm sure you already know about that.''
''What are you talking about?'' Smolder asked with an angry and confused look, ''I've never even met you before.''
''On the contrary, I think we have.'' Chrysalis said with a smug look.
''Really?'' Silverstream said with a confused look, ''I don't remember that.''
''Ooohhh, I see,'' Chrysalis said with a pleased look before she turned her attention to Gallus, ''You haven't actually told your friends about what really happened, have you?''
''What Bug Pony saying?'' Yona asked worriedly.
''I was the one who wiped Gallus's memory that night, when he helped me break into Twilight's office.'' Chrysalis explained with a satisfying smile.
''What?!'' Gallus's friends all shouted at the same time.
Smolder looked at Gallus with an angry look, ''Why didn't you tell us about this?!'' She said furiously to the blue griffin, who already had a guilty look on his face.
''It's not what-'' The changelings that were still restraining Gallus quickly covererd his beak with their hooves to prevent him from finishing his sentence.
''It was thanks to him that I found the six artifacts I needed for my master plan,'' Chrysalis continued to explain while still holding the torn book in her right arm, ''After that I disguised myself as Princess Celestia and led Twilight and her friends to the Tree of Harmony. And with the help of this book and the six artifacts I was able to cast a dark magical spell on Twilight Sparkle and her pathetic little friends. And the results you can already see for yourselves.''
''Stop lying to us!'' Silverstream said with a desperate look on her face, ''Gallus would never do something like that!''
''Didn't he just admit himself that he broke into Twilight's office that night?'' Chrysalis said with a smug grin, ''If it's not true, then why would he say it?''
Gallus eventually struggled his beak free from the changelings's hooves.
''Silverstream, I can explai-'' Gallus shouted before the changelings restrained him and covered his mouth once again by shooting green slime onto his beak, preventing him from speaking all together. He muffled under the green slime as he attempted to struggle free from the changelings.
''I think we're heard enough of your pathetic little lies,'' Chrysalis said to the blue griffin with a menacing smile, ''It's time for you and your friends go back to sleep......in your cocoons!''
Chrysalis's horn started glowing a little brighter than before as she let out another maniacal laugh. The changelings that still surrounded Gallus and his friends quickly stepped back when green flames bursted out from the ground below them. The green fire formed a circle around Gallus and his friends, each of them looking in fear as the green flames surrounded them. Soon they all got trapped inside a green sphere that slowly dragged them into the ground. The green flames extinguished themselves after the green spheres had disappeared.
''Now then, where was I?'' Chrysalis said before looking over at Cadance and Shining Armor, ''Ah, yes. Revenge on the two ponies who foiled my plans years ago.''
''Just give Flurry Heart back to us, please!'' Shining Armor pleaded.
''Aw, don't worry,'' Chrysalis said with fake friendly smile, ''Of course I'll give her back to you. And this time, you will all be together.......forever!'' She threw Flurry Heart in their direction and released the green aura from Cadance and Shining Armor.
''Now!'' Chrysalis said as she turned her attention to the mind controled Twilight and her friends.
A black and greyish magic source started to glow from the Elements of Disharmony. Soon that magic fired from the center of the elements and towards Cadence and Shining Armor. Just as they caught Flurry Heart in their arms, the dark magic from the Elements of Disharmony hit all three of them and ended up inside a big, dark magical sphere. The sphere eventually disappeared and revealed that Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart had been turned into statues that were covered in dark crystals, just like Celestia, Luna and Discord.
Chrysalis let out a maniacal laugh, ''Oh, how long I have been waiting for this!''
The changeling queen looked over at the cocoon that Starlight was in, still being held by the changelings.
''Put her down.'' Chrysalis commanded. The changelings did as they were told and carefully placed the cocoon on the red carpet. A green aura appeared around Chryaslis's horn and soon the same magical aura appeared around Starlight's cocoon, causing it to slowly melt until the cocoon was nothing more than a pile of green goo.
''What must we do, your highness?'' Pharynx asked as he got ready to fly over the pink unicorn.
''Leave her to me,'' Chrysalis commanded, ''And do not interfere, no matter what happens. I want to enjoy every single moment of this.''
Starlight Glimmer slowly woke up in the pile of green goo. She widened her eyes, stood up and shook the remains of green goo off of her body. The pink unicorn looked shocked when she saw the many changelings surrounding her in the throne room.
''Wakey wakey, Starlight Glimmer.'' Chrysalis said in a sinister voice.
Starlight turned her eyes to Chrysalis standing in front of the throne with the corrupted Twilight and her friends close to her.
''Chrysalis?!'' Starlight said as she tried to take in what she saw before her, ''What did you do this time?!''
''I'd love to tell you,'' Chrysalis said with a smug look on her face, ''But it'd be much more fun to just kill you right now.''
''Chrysalis, this has to stop!'' Starlight said desperately, ''I know that getting revenge can feel good, I've been there before! But eventually it's only going to bring you nothing but misery!''
''Oh, really?'' Chryaslis asked with a confident grin, ''Why don't we find out then?''
Chrysalis fired a big green magic laser from her horn as it headed towards Starlight, who quickly tried to defend herself by shooting her own magic against Chrysalis's.
Starlight felt an awful amount of pain in her horn as the two beams clashed. The pressure of their magic made the entire throne room shake as if it was an earthquake. It got so intense that it even caused some of the windows inside the room to shatter into a million pieces. The longer the beam struggle when on, the harder it got for Starlight to push back Chrysalis's magic as the pain in her horn only got worse and worse, to the point where tears began to appear under her eyes.
Eventually Chrysalis's magic slowly began to push back Starlight's. The pink unicorn felt her magic weakening with each passing second as she noticed the big green laser approaching her horn faster and faster. The green magic eventually hit her on the horn and caused a small magical explosion that knocked her back. She flew back a few meters and fell on the red carpet at the entrance of the throne room. Starlight slowly lost her consciousness while having a burn mark on the tip of her horn.
Chrysalis's maniacal laugh echoed throughout the throne room, ''Oh, this is just too much fun!'' She said out loud with a psychotic smile on her face. She flew down from her throne and landed close to the unconscious Starlight.
''It's time to finally end this,'' Chrysalis said while smilining down evilly at Starlight while charging up the magic around her horn once again, ''Farewell, Starli-''
''No!'' Chrysalis heard a familiar voice shouting from her left side.
Chryaslis noticed a giant shadow lurking over her for a second. She looked to her left and saw a giant, green bug rushing towards her. Before Chrysalis was able react, the giant bug raised her yellow claw and smacked the tall changling queen into one of the pillars close to the broken windows. The giant green bug quickly flew over to Starlight, picked up the injured unicorn in her arms and carried her to one of the broken many windows. The changelings all stood by and watched as they saw both of them escape from the castle.
Eventually Chrysalis got up from the floor, shook her head and looked around for Starlight and the giant bug. It only took her a few seconds to realize what had happened. She flew towards the corrupted Twilight and her friends with a look of anger in her eyes.
''Where did they go?!'' Chrysalis asked sternly while stomping her hoof on the ground.
''The giant bug took her away, your highness.'' Applejack answered in a monotone and slighty distorted voice.
''Why didn't any of you stop them?!'' Chrysalis asked furiously.
''Because you ordered us not to interfere, your highness.'' Pinkie Pie answered her in the same distorted, monotone voice.
Chrysalis smacked her hoof hard against her face and groaned.
''Your highness!''
Chrysalis heard the disorted voice coming from behind her. She turned around and saw two corrupted changelings entering the room.
''That blue creature we were supposed to put into a cocoon has dissappeared.'' One of the changelings explained nervously.
''We brought her to the cave,'' The other changeling continued to explain, ''But when we entered, she was gone.''
Chrysalis realized what this meant and growled while grinding her teeth together, ''That little runt!'' She said furiously.
The tall changeling queen screamed in anger as green lighting sparks shot out of her horn and scattered throughout the throne room. The changelings all panicked and dodged most of the lighting. The sparks eventually stopped shooting from Chrysalis's horn. She took a deep breath and regained her composure.
''Whatever,'' Chrysalis said to herself, ''They can run, but they can never hide. Not anymore.''
Chrysalis positioned herself in the middle of the throne room and turned her attention to Twilight and her friends.
''Get over here!'' Chrysalis demanded fiercely.
Twilight bowed to the changeling queen before using her magic to teleport herself and her friends in a circle around Chrysalis.
''I'll show them what happens when you mess with Queen Chrysalis!'' Chrysalis said.
The book behind her throne levitated towards Chrysalis with the use of her magic. She opened the book and looked through the many pages before eventually finding the right spell for the situation.
Chrysalis smiled to herself and giggled sinisterly, "Perfect."
Chrysalis started to read the words from her book out loud. She was only halfway through reading the spell and already green and purple colored magic started glowing from her horn. Soon a magic beam shot out of her horn and onto the ceiling of the castle.
Twilight and her friends soon joined in and together they fired a dark laser out of their Elements of Disharmony that aimed itself towards Chrysalis's magic. The series of magical beams collided with each other and formed into a giant black sphere that hovered close to the ceiling.
''From now on,'' Chrysalis said out loud as the sphere grew bigger and bigger, ''My kingdom shall be the only safe place in Equestria!"
The black sphere eventually shrank down for a quick second before causing a dark magical explosion inside the throne room. The dark magic consumed the whole castle, slowly spread itself over Canterlot and eventually all over Equestria.
Ocellus, still in her giant green bug form, carried Starlight in her four arms and flew away from Canterlot as fast as she could, knowing that the threat was far too big to handle on her own. She looked down at the unconscious unicorn and noticed the burn mark on the tip of her horn as well as the big scar on the left side.
''I'm sorry.'' Ocellus said to herself, trying her best to fight back her tears. She continued heading to the Frozen North, but looked back over her shoulder when she heard something coming from behind her.
A look of shock and terror appeared on Ocellus's face when she saw the big, dark magical sphere consuming all of Canterlot. The thing grew bigger and bigger and soon headed her way, consuming everything that it touched. Ocellus looked back in front of her, flapped her wings as hard as she could and tried to outfly the dark sphere. It seemed to work for a few seconds, but eventually the giant sphere slowly began to catch up to her. Ocellus looked back one more time to see that the dark sphere was only a few inches away from both her and Starlight. She wanted to flap her wings even harder, but soon felt her wings getting more and more tired.
Eventually Ocellus felt the dark sphere touching the back of her body. She quickly covered her eyes and held Starlight close against her body, awaiting whatever terrible fate was about to be bestowed upon them as the sphere consumed both of them. Everything around Ocellus quickly turned to complete darkness.
A full minute passed and Ocellus felt nothing happening to her. She opened her eyes again and was surprised to find out that both her and Starlight were completely unharmed. Sadly the same could not be said for what she saw below her. The once beautiful nature of Equestria had turned into a nightmarish wasteland. The trees were barren, all plant life was dead, rivers had dried up, a heavy wind was blowing down over the wasteland and dark crystals had emerged from the ground everywhere.
Ocellus watched from above in shock and disbelief. Thunderous sounds coming from the sky caused her to look up in the air, where she saw many black clouds floating away from Cloudsdale. The rainbow waterfall that poured down from the cloud city had lost all of it's color. The black clouds that kept floating away from the place began to cover most of the dark red sky as lightning struck from many of the clouds. Eventually some of the clouds moved over to the mountain of Canterlot. When Ocellus's eyes looked over to where Canterlot was supposed be, she gasped with a shocked look on her face. The city of Canterlot had changed into a gigantic stone fortress on the side of the mountain. The place consisted of many pointy rocks, all of them covered in holes just like how it was in the old changeling hive. Many green flame torches were decorated on the walls around the fortress.
Ocellus watched with a look of despair on her face, ''What has she done?' She said to herself while having trouble taking in what has happened to Equestria.
Ocellus took a very deep breath and tried to regain her composure. She turned around and continued flying in the direction to the Frozen North until she reached the big mountains surrounding the Crystal Empire. Ocellus flew over the mountains and finally got a better look of the empire itself in the distance.
Unfortunately it seemed that the Crystal Empire had suffered the same fate as the rest of Equestria. The place was littered with the same dark crystals like the ones she saw everywhere else in Equestria. The brightly lit crystal castle in the middle of the empire had become a dark, dreary looking castle made out of the same crystals as the ones littered throughout the empire. As she approached the place, the sound of ponies screaming in fear could be heard from far away. Many crystal ponies could be seen running around the Crystal Empire in panic and fear as more dark crystals sprang out of the ground, nearly hitting some of the ponies that were desperately trying to look for a safe place. Under the castle of the Crystal Empire she noticed three unicorns standing close to a grey Crystal Heart, also covered in the same dark crystals. One of them was a light blue mare wearing a purple wizard hat and cloak, the second one being a orange stallion with glasses wearing a dark blue cloak with stars on it. He seemed to be holding some kind of spell book in his arm. And finally there was a slightly taller and elderly looking mare. She had a long horn and a light and dark blue flowing mane. She wore a shirt with the same color as her mane and had a light pink flower on her chest.
''Oh no.'' Ocellus said to herself when she noticed the state of the Crystal Heart. She quickly made her way down to the three unicorns standing under the dreary looking castle.
Sunburst, Trixie and Mistmane all stood around the corrupted Crystal Heart, charged up their horns and casted their magic on the dreary looking heart, causing it to slowly spin around as a light began to shine from the center. For a moment it seemed that the Crystal Heart was about to be restored back to normal, but it only took a few seconds before it slowly changed back to it's corrupted state.
''I don't understand,'' Sunburst said before looking back into the book he was carrying with him, ''That Relic Restoration spell should have done the trick!'' He kept looking through the pages of the book, searching for another spell that could help them.
''This kind of dark magic is beyond anything I've ever seen.'' Mistmane said while looking at the heart in despair.
''Trixie may call herself great and powerful,'' Trixie said with a worried look, ''But even Trixie has to admit that she has no idea how to fix this.''
Mistmane looked behind her to see all the chaos going on in the Crystal Empire. The ponies kept running around while screaming in fear from all the dark crystals. She looked up when she noticed a big creature hovering up in the sky. The creature soon revealed itself to be a giant green bug who carried a light purple unicorn in her four arms. The giant bug seemed to be heading in their direction.
''Something's heading our way!'' Mistmane said while still watching the giant bug coming closer.
Sunburst and Trixie both turned their attention to Mistmane before looking up and seeing the giant flying bug creature approaching them. Sunburst narrowed his eyes and looked shocked when he noticed a familiar light purple unicorn laying unconscious in the giant bug's arms.
''Starlight?!'' Sunburst said worriedly. The giant green bug came closer and closer before it landed close in front of the three unicorns.
An angry look appeared on Trixie's face, ''What did you do to Starlight, you big ugly bug?!'' She asked furiously as she was already charging up her horn.
''No, wait!'' Ocellus quickly said in a panicky tone, ''It's me!''
Sunburst looked surprised when he heard the giant bug speak.
''Trixie, don't!'' Sunburst quickly said after placing his arm in front of the blue mare, ''That's Ocellus. She's the blue changeling who we saw leave with the others to Canterlot, remember?''
''That's right.'' Ocellus said, still sounding a little on edge. She gently placed Starlight on the ground in front of the three unicorns and transformed back into her blue changeling form.
''Wait a minute,'' Sunburst asked before his head started looking around, ''Where are the others?!''
''Chrysalis and the rest of the changelings have captured everyone,'' Ocellus began to explain with a guilty look, ''And it's all my fault.''
''What?! How did that happen?!'' Sunburst asked while looking concerned.
''Chrysalis and the other changelings disguised themselves as the citizens of Equestria, to make us think that she had already been defeated,'' Ocellus explained, ''I wanted to go warn everyone when I found out it was all a trap, but I was too late. If only I had realized it sooner, maybe I could have saved them.''
''But what about Starlight?'' Trixie asked while checking on the unconscious pink unicorn.
''That's Chrysalis's doing,'' Ocellus answered before turning her attention to Starlight with sad look on her face, ''She was about to finish Starlight off, but I saved her just in time.''
''Say what?!'' Trixie said with an angry expression as little sparks appeared from her horn, ''Nopony hurts Starlight Glimmer and gets away with it! The Great and Powerful Trixie is going to teach that love sucking bug queen a lesson!''
''It's not going to be that simple, Trixie.'' Ocellus said while looking disappointed.
''I don't care!'' Trixie answered, still with an angry look on her face, ''Trixie's not gonna let some puny changelings and their stupid queen stand in her way!''
''It's not just the changelings,'' Ocellus explained, still having the same dissapointed look on her face, ''Chrysalis has corrupted the Elements of Harmony somehow. And she's put Twilight and her friends under her control.''
''What?!'' Sunburst said out loud with a shocked look, ''How is that possible?!''
''I don't know,'' Ocellus answered, ''But she must have used the corrupted Elements of Harmony to create that giant dark sphere that consumed all of Equestria earlier.''
''That would explain why the Relic Restoration spell didn't work,'' Sunburst said, ''Corrupted or not, the power of the elements is way beyond our magical capabilities.''
''Then we must find another way to stop this.'' Mistmane said with a concerned look.
''But what else can we do?'' Trixie asked with a worried look, ''Twilight and her friends are the only ones who carry the magic of the elements.''
''Not exactly,'' Ocellus answered before looking over at Mistmane, ''Mistmane and the other Pillars are also connected to the Elements of Harmony, maybe their magic can restore the elements back to normal.''
''Great thinking, Ocellus!'' Sunburst said with an excited smile, ''But how are we going to get them all here in time?!''
''I know a spell that can help with that.'' Mistmane answered.
''You do?!'' Ocellus asked Mistmane with a hopeful tone in her voice.
Mistmane nodded, ''But this spell requires deep concentration, so you must not let anything disturb me while I perform it.''
''We understand, Mistmane.'' Ocellus said.
Mistmane took a deep breath, closed her eyes and lit up her horn. A stream of light-blue magic appeared from the ground and surrounded her in a circle. A big snake dragon that seemed to be made out of water emerged from the stream of magic. The water dragon flew up into the sky and away from the Crystal Empire.
''Wow, fascinating,'' Sunburst said loudly as he watched the dragon fly away from the empire, ''I haven't seen spells that unique in forever!''
Trixie gave Sunburst an annoyed look, ''What did she just say?''
''Oh, right,'' Sunburst said as he showed a nervous smile, ''Deep concentration. My bad.''
Sunburst, Trixie and Ocellus looked back at Mistmane, who much to their relief was still in deep concentration with her eyes closed and a magic aura glowing around her long horn. They all stood by and watched Mistmane for what felt like a whole two minutes, still keeping her eyes closed while the magic aura around her horn remained there.
''Is it working yet?'' Trixie whispered to the others impatiently.
''We need your help, Starswirl,'' Mistmane suddenly said in a calm voice while still remaining in her concentrated state, ''Find the rest of the Pillars and come to the Crystal Empire as soon as you can.'' The aura around Mistmane's horn disappeared and she opened her eyes again.
''What kind of spell was that?'' Sunburst asked while looking curious.
''It's a spell that I learend many years ago before I gave up my beauty,'' Mistmane explained with a calm smile, ''Now it will only be a matter of time before Starswirl and the rest of my friends will show up.''
''Interesting,'' Sunburst said, ''I'd love to hear more about it.......Um, when this is all over, of course.''
Ocellus looked down and sighed to herself with her head hung low. Mistmane noticed the sad looking changeling and walked over to her.
''Is there something bothering you, child?'' Mistmane asked curiously as she looked at Ocellus.
''I just can't stop thinking about what happened in Canterlot,'' Ocellus explained in a weak voice as tears appeared under her eyes, ''I should have realized sooner that something was off. Maybe then I could have done something to save everyone from Chrysalis, but I didn't. And now all of my friends are captured because of me.''
Mistmane slowly raised Ocellus's chin and looked into her watery eyes, ''Don't blame it all on yourself,'' She said while giving her a comforting smile, ''Nopony always has the answer to every situation, not even Starswirl the Bearded. What matters is that you tried.''
''But,'' Ocellus said while sniffing with tears rolling down her face, ''But I-'' Mistmane then gently embraced Ocellus into a hug before she could finish her sentence.
''There there, sweet child,'' Mistmane said in a comforting tone while gently patting Ocellus's back, ''There's no need to be so hard on yourself. From what you told me, I think what you did was very brave. I don't know many creatures out there who have that same courage.''
The blue changeling gently hugged her back with tears still rolling down her cheeks. Eventually Ocellus stopped hugging her and dried up her tears.
''Thank you,'' Ocellus said, still in a weak voice, ''But I just wish I could have done more.''
Suddenly a giant white light flashed behind Ocellus and the four unicorns for a split second. They all looked back and saw Starswirl the Bearded with a magically locked journal on his back. Close behind the old wizard stood Mage Meadowbrook, a dark blue earth pony who wore a bird-like mask on her face. Rockhoof, a big light blue stallion carrying a shovel on his back and finally Somnambula, an orange pegasus wearing a blindfold around her neck.
''Mistmane,'' Starswirl the Bearded said with a look of relief before he and the other pillars approached her, ''Thank Celestia, you're also alright. Everything in Equestria has gone out of control!''
''Ay! Heavy winds and dark stormy clouds are now everywhere in Equestria!'' Rockhoof said, ''And I've also heard something about the Dragonlands being overflood with big amounts of lava.''
''My village has been caught in a huge sandstorm,'' Somnambula explained, ''It is now nearly impossible for anypony to make their way through without any sort of magical protection.''
''And the plants in the forest grew out of control and forced me to abandon my home,'' Mage Meadowbrook said before lifting up her mask and showing off her saddle bags, ''But thankfully I managed to take some of my potions with me before I left. You never know.''
Mage Meadowbrook took notice of Starlight's unconscious body laying on the ground. Her eyes widened when she saw the burn mark on the tip of her horn, as well as the small scar.
''My goodness,'' Mage Meadowbrook said while looking concerned at the wounded light purple unicorn, ''What happened to her?'' Ocellus and the others all turned their attention to Starlight Glimmer.
''Chrysalis did that to her,'' Ocellus explained, ''I wanted to save her in time, but-''
''It's alright, little changeling,'' Mage Meadowbrook said before she started searching through her saddle bags, ''I think I might have just the thing that could heal her wounds.''
''It's always nice to have somepony as resourceful as you with us, Mage Meadowbrook.'' Rockhoof said with a happy smile.
''No problem, Rockhoof,'' Mage Meadowbrook said, ''You never know when somepony might need some healing, so I never leave home without at least some of my potions.''
After a few more seconds of searching she finally got two small round bottles out of her right saddle bag. One of them being a green bottle filled with blue liquid while the other was a blue bottle filled with white cream.
''What is in those bottles?'' Ocellus asked curiously.
''Some healing cream for her horn and a regular healing potion to give her body some energy,'' Mage Meadowbrook explained, ''That should be enough to get your friend back on her hooves.''
''Thank you, Meadow Magebrook.'' Trixie said with a look of relief. She then heard Ocellus giggling to herself.
''What's so funny?'' Trixie said while giving the blue changeling a confused look.
''Her name is actually Mage Meadowbrook, Trixie.'' Sunburst said, trying his best not to laugh.
''Um, yeah,'' Trixie replied, ''That's what I said.''
Mage Meadowbrook couldn't help but giggle a little as well, ''No need to thank me.'' She said to Trixie with a friendly smile.
Mage Meadowbrook walked over to Starlight while removing the cork from the blue bottle with her mouth. She spat it out and poured some of the white cream onto her hoof.
''This might sting a little.'' Mage Meadowbrook said to the unconscious unicorn.
She gently smeared the white cream over the burn mark and the scar on Starlight's horn. The pink unicorn flinched as soon as the cream made contact with her horn, but calmed down after a few seconds when the cream started to take effect. The cream slowly vanished into her horn, causing the scar and the burn mark to slowly disappear.
''Wow, nice work, Mage Meadowbrook!'' Ocellus said in amazement.
''Aw, thank you, sweetie,'' Mage Meadowbrook said with an endearing smile, ''Now just the healing potion and she'll back to normal very soon.'' She opened the other bottle with her mouth.
She placed her hoof right on Starlight's upper lip, gently lifted it up to open her mouth and poured the blue liquid from the bottle into the unicorn's mouth. Starlight gently and quietly swallowed the blue liquid. It only took a few seconds for the pink unicorn to slowly open her eyes and stand back up on her hooves.
''It worked!'' Trixie said happily. She immediately rushed over to Starlight and embraced her into a tight hug.
''Trixie?'' Starlight said when she noticed who was hugging her, ''Where am I?''
''You're safe and sound in the Crystal Empire,'' Trixie answered happily. She eventually stopped hugging Starlight and stepped back a little.
''Wait, what?!'' Starlight said with a surprised look, ''How did I get here?!''
''Ocellus brought you here.'' Sunburst answered.
''Ocellus?'' Starlight before she looked over at the pillars and saw the blue changeling standing close to them.
''Are you feeling okay, Starlight?'' Trixie asked her.
''Yeah, I think so,'' Starllight said as she rubbed the side of her horn, ''But what about the others?! What happened to them?!''
''I'm sorry, Starlight,'' Ocellus said with her head hung low, ''I wanted to save the others too when I found out it was all a trap, but I was too late.''
''Wait, you saved me?'' Starlight asked before looking amazed at Ocellus.
Ocellus nodded, ''Yes, but not the others. I hope you can forgi-''
Starlight gave the little changeling a big hug before she could finish her sentence.
''It's okay, Ocellus,'' Starlight said with a comforting tone in her voice , ''Thank you for saving my life. You really are one of the bravest students I've ever seen.'' Ocellus gave her a small smile.
''Uh, guys,'' Sunburst said nervously while looking at the Crystal Heart as more dark crystals slowly emerged from it, ''I hate to interrupt, but we should probably do something about the Crystal Heart right now!''
Starlight, Trixie, Ocellus, Starswirl and the rest of the Pillars all turned their attention to the corrupted Crystal Heart and when they saw many more dark crystals emerge from it. Starswirl was the first one to quickly position himself in front of the heart. He charged up his horn and shot a white magic beam at it. The dark crystals around it began to disappear back into the Crystal Heart as a bright white light began to shine from within the center, which slowly spread itself all over the corrupted heart. But it only lasted for a few seconds before the white light began to fade away again.
''Quick, we must help him!'' Starlight shouted before she used her own magic on the Crystal Heart. Trixie and Mistmane both immediately joined them and shot their magic at the heart as well. As soon as the magic of the four unicorns made contact with the Crystal Heart, the light slowly started to shine brighter once again from within the center of the heart.
''I think it's working!'' Trixie shouted happily. She saw how the light began to shine brighter and brighter. Eventually the Crystal Heart started spinning around slowly.
''You almost got it!'' Ocellus said with a glimmer of hope in her voice.
But it was short-lived however, since she soon noticed that the Crystal heart's light started to fade away again. Suddenly a source of dark magic emerged from the center of the corrupted Crystal Heart as it began to spin faster. The dark magic quickly spread over the heart and made it's way across the magic beams of the four unicorns.
''Or not!'' Trixie said with a worried look as she watched the dark magic slowly moving over to her horn.
''Release your magic, now!'' Starswirl shouted. He and the other three unicorns quickly released their magic from the Crystal Heart right before the dark magic was able to reach their horns.
They all watched how the Crystal Heart slowly stopped spinning. The light had completely disappeared and the heart had returned back to it's corrupted state.
''It's no use,'' Sunburst said with a defeated look, ''That's only going to prevent the Crystal Heart from becoming completely corrupted for a few minutes.''
''Then it looks like the Elements of Harmony are our only hope now.'' Ocellus said, sounding alot more determined than before.
''Ay! All we have to do is find Twilight and her friends and they'll restore the Crystal Heart in no time!'' Rockhoof said while looking confident.
''It's not gonna be that easy, Rockhoof.'' Ocellus said.
''Don't worry, little one,'' Rockhoof said confidently, ''Twilight and her friends have saved Equestria plenty of-''
''You don't understand, Rockhoof,'' Ocellus said, ''Chrysalis has corrupted the Elements of Harmony and put Twilight and her friends under her control somehow. And now she has taking over all of Canterlot.''
''What?!'' Starswirl said with a look of shock, ''That's impossible! Nopony should have the power to corrupt the Elements of Harmony! It would take a tremendous amount of power to accomplish something like that!''
''But it's true, I've seen it myself,'' Ocellus explained to Starswirl, ''And that's why I came to seek from you. Since you and the other Pillars are connected to the Elements of Harmony, you could use that magic to restore the elements and return Twilight and her friends back to normal.''
''That does sound like it could work.'' Mage Meadowbrook said to Starswirl.
''Well, it's a good thing we brought along our artifacts, am I right?'' Rockhoof said while showing off his shovel.
''But we're still missing one of our friends.'' Somnambula said.
''She's right,'' Starswirl said, ''Without Flash Magnus we won't be able to restore the Elements of Harmony back to normal. We must head to Canterlot at once.''
''I hear ya,'' Rockhoof said determinedly, ''We go to Canterlot, rescue Flash and find a way to save Equestria from all this madness.''
''I'm coming too.'' Ocellus said with a serious look on her face.
''I don't think so,'' Starswirl asked with a stern look, ''This is far too dangerous for a young creature like you.''
''I ran away from danger before, and I'm not planning on doing it again,'' Ocellus said, trying to sound as brave and determined as possible, ''My friends have been captured and they need me! That's why I'm coming too, whether you want it or not! And besides, I might know where Flash Magnus is being held.''
''She does have a point, Starswirl,'' Mage Meadowbrook said, ''She probably knows her way around Canterlot better than any of us do.''
Starswirl thought about it a little while stroking his beard a few times, ''I admire your loyalty and courage, young changeling,'' He said while smiling a little, ''Alright, you can come with us. But you have to promise to do exactly as we say, understand?''
''I understand.'' Ocellus said with a look of determination.
''Count me in,'' Starlight said to Starswirl and the others Pillars, ''I will take care off Chrysalis, you just focus on taking care of the Elements of Harmony.''
''Are you sure you can take her on all by yourself, Starlight?'' Ocellus asked with a worried look.
''Don't worry, Ocellus,'' Starlight said with a reassuring look, ''I just need to hold her off long enough for the Pillars to restore the elements back to normal. I'll be fine.''
''And what about us?'' Trixie asked Starlight.
''We must stay here and take care of the Crystal Heart,'' Sunburst explained to Trixie, ''If it becomes fully corrupted, the consequences for Equestria could be disastrous.''
''I hear you.'' Trixie said in a somber tone before looking over at Starlight.
''What is it, Trixie?'' Starlight asked.
''.....Promise me you come back in one piece, okay?'' Trixie said with a sad look on her face.
''I promise, Trixie,'' Starlight said with a reassuring smile.
A small tear rolled down Trixie's cheek before she hugged her friend.
''Trixie! The Crystal Heart!'' Sunburst said out loud when he noticed the dark crystals coming out of the Crystal Heart once again.
Trixie stopped hugging Starlight and immediately looked over at the Crystal Heart as Sunburst was already trying to stop the corrupting with his own magic. She quickly rushed over next to Sunburst and shot her magic at the heart as well.
''We'll try to keep the Crystal Heart from being corrupted!'' Sunburst shouted as he looked over to the Pillars, ''Now go!''
''Everypony gather around Starswirl!'' Starlight said with a serious look. She, Ocellus and the other Pillars quickly did as they were told and gathered around Starswirl in a circle.
''The fate of Equestria now rests upon us!'' Starswirl said. He closed his eyes, charged up his horn and within a second everyone around him, including himself, disappeared in a giant flash of white light, leaving Sunburst and Trixie to deal with the corrupted Crystal Heart.
Inside the stone fortress on top of the tallest tower of her new castle, Queen Chrysalis watched over her new kingdom from the balcony with a sinister smile on her face. The changelings that patrolled throughout her kingdom were all dressed in dark blue armor and kept watch over every single corner of the fortress.
Suddenly Chrysalis heard the sound of hoofsteps coming from behind her. She looked back and saw two armored changelings walking up the flight of stairs inside the tower. Both of them approached Chrysalis, stopped in front of her and bowed before their queen.
''Any signs of Starlight Glimmer yet?'' Chrysalis asked in a demanding tone. Both of the changelings stood back up, looked at their queen and shook their heads.
''No, your highness,'' One of the changelings answered her with a distorted voice, ''But all the changelings are now in position. We'll be guarding every corner of the fortress. If she does show up, we'll know.''
''Excellent,'' Chrysalis said, sounding calm and collected, ''Now it's only a matter of time before I'll finally get my revenge on that wretched pony.''
''Are you sure she's going to show up soon?'' The other changeling asked.
''Oh, I'm sure,'' Chrysalis said with a smug grin before looking back down at the fortress, ''Thanks to the dark magic casted by the Elements of Disharmony, no place in Equestria besides my fortress will be safe. She and the rest of her friends will have no choice but to come here if they want to have any chance of survival. And besides, she's not one to give up on her precious little friends.''
Chrysalis giggled sinisterly and headed back down the stairs of the tower along with the two changelings.
''Looks like she's increased security quite a bit since the last time I was there.'' Ocellus said to the others quietly. She, Starlight and the pillars all watched the stone fortress from far away behind the hill, just enough for them to get a clear view of the place without taking the risk of being spotted by the changelings.
''Then she must have known we were coming.'' Starlight said.
Rockhoof looked over at Ocellus, ''So where do you suppose Flash Magnus is being held?'' The muscular stallion asked.
''In the Crystal Caves right beneath Canterlot, that's where my friends are being held along with the rest of Canterlot.'' Ocellus explained.
''I wish I could teleport us there, but I'm afraid I can't teleport to places that I'm not familiar with,'' Starswirl explained, ''And even if I could, the place is too heavily guarded to take the risk. We'll have to find another way to get in. ''
''But how?'' Mage Meadowbrook asked while she watched the changelings patrolling the walls around the fortress, ''A few steps too close and we'll get spotted for sure.''
''I think I already have another idea,'' Starswirl said, ''With the help of my invisibility spell, we should be able to sneak in.''
''Great idea, Starswirl,'' Rockhoof said before looking at himself, ''But eh, sneaking ain't exactly my style. You know, considering my......strength.''
''Don't worry, Rockhoof,'' Starlight said reassuringly, ''I know a spell that can suppress any form of sound around you.''
''And I could lend you some of my magic, that way we'll be able to keep the spell up much longer than normal.'' Mistmane added.
''Thanks, Mistmane,'' Starlight said before looking back at the fortress, ''Now we just gotta figure out where the entrance to the crystal caves is.''
Ocellus kept looking at every part of the fortress, hoping to spot the same bridge that led to the crystal cave. Eventually she spotted a giant, creepy looking entrance in the form of a skull on the side of the mountain next to the fortress. The entrance was heavily guarded by more changelings dressed in dark blue armor.
''Over there,'' Ocellus said as she pointed to the giant entrance, ''That's the entrance to the cave, I'm sure of it.'' Starlight and pillars all looked to where the blue changeling was pointing.
''Are you certain that's the one?'' Starswirl asked, ''We need to be absolutely sure before we head in.''
''It's at the same exact place where me and my friends entered the caves awhile ago. It has to be the one.'' Ocellus explained.
''Then that's where we're going.'' Rockhoof said.
''But we still have to find a way to get into the fortress.'' Mistmane said.
Starlight looked over at a metal bar gate that was blocking the entrance to the fortress, ''Seems like the main gate is our only option.''
''But how do we open it without attracting any noise?'' Mage Meadowbrook asked.
Ocellus rubbed her chin for a moment as she took the time to examine the gate. Her eyes widened when she noticed a big lever located above the entrance on the walls of the fortress.
''I have a plan,'' Ocellus said to the other Pillars and Starlight, ''I'll disguise myself as a corrupted changeling and open the gate for you using that lever. When it's open, that will be your chance to sneak in.''
''Not a bad plan, little changeling.'' Rockhoof said.
''Yeah. I'm Impressed, Ocellus,'' Starlight said while smiling at the blue changeling, ''You've really come a long way ever since you first came to the School of Friendship.''
Ocellus responded to the pink unicorn with a shy smile.
''Alright, is everypony ready?'' Starswirl asked the pillars, who all responsed with a quick nod and a determined smile.
''Good luck, Ocellus,'' Starlight said to her, ''We'll make our way inside as soon as the gate is open.''
A white magic aura appeared around Starswirl's horn, which soon spread itself around the old wizard, as well as Starlight and the Pillars. All of them disappeared into thin air right before Ocellus's eyes in a split second. The invisible group of ponies began to make their way to the fortress.
Ocellus took a deep breath before letting it out a second later, ''Here goes nothing.'' She said to herself. The small changeling transformed herself into a light blue parasprite and flew over to the fortress.
Just as she had anticipated, none of the changelings patrolling the walls seemed to take notice of her as she came closer. Ocellus waited for most of the changelings to pass by before landing on the walls surrounding the fortress. She quickly transformed herself into a corrupted changeling in dark blue armor and with green glowing eyes before any of the other changelings could spot her. She was easily able to blend in without much trouble and walked towards the lever she saw earlier. Ocellus positioned herself behind the lever, grabbed a hold of it and slowly pulled it back with all her might. Not even a second later after pulling the thing, she heard the sound of the gate slowly rising itself up from the ground, which caused all of the armored changelings on the fortess walls to instantly look in her direction.
''Hey!''
Ocellus's heart stopped as soon as she heard the familiar, rough voice talking. She quickly stopped pulling the lever, looked to her left and saw an angry looking changeling with purple wings walking towards her.
''We're not allowed to raise the gate under any circumstances, unless Queen Chrysalis says otherwise!'' Pharynx said.
Meanwhile, Starlight and the other pillars were already standing in front of the gate, still invisible thanks to Starswirl's spell. They watched as the gate slowly opened in front of them before stopping half way.
''Now's our chance.'' Starlight whispered to the Pillars. They quickly crawled under the pointy tips of the gate and entered the fortress.
Ocellus giggled nervously while still holding the lever with her hooves, ''Oh, right,'' She said in a disguised voice while giving Pharynx an awkward smile, ''Sorry. I uh....just wanted to see if the lever still works. You never know, right?''
''Lower....the....gate.'' Pharynx commanded in an intimidating tone while giving her a demanding look.
Ocellus's eyes quickly looked down for a second before focusing back at Pharynx. She gave him another awkward smile and removed her hooves from the lever, which quickly fell back into place as the gate lowered itself and hit the ground.
''My bad.'' Ocellus said, still in a disguised voice while rubbing the back of her head.
''Don't let it happen again. Understand?'' Pharynx said with his head very close to Ocellus's. She nodded nervously in response.
Pharynx turned around and flew back into Canterlot while the other changelings continued patrolling the walls. Ocellus sighed to herself in relief, turned around and looked down into the fortress, hoping to find Starlight and the Pillars. She quickly noticed a familiar, light purple hoof hovering close to the entrance. The hoof seemed to gesture her to come down before it disappeared into thin air. Ocellus flew down to where she saw the hoof disappearing. Within a few seconds after she landed, her whole body turned invisible. Immediately Ocellus saw Starlight and the pillars standing around to her. She also noticed the see-through, magical aura that was floating around them.
''That could have gone better.'' Ocellus whispered.
''It's alright, Ocellus.'' Mistmane said while her horn was glowing, ''What matters is that we're inside now.''
''Don't worry,'' Somnambula quickly said when she noticed Ocellus's suprised reaction, ''Nopony can hear or see us in here. As long as we stay close to each other in this magical barrier, we'll be safe.''
''Now we just have to make our way through the fortress without running into any changelings.'' Mage Meadowbrook said.
''I hope you know the way around the fortress, Ocellus.'' Rockhoof said.
''Of course I do,'' Ocellus answered, ''Well, If the layout of the fortress is still the same as Canterlot's that is.''
''Then I suggest you lead the way,'' Starlight said.
''I'll do my best.'' Ocellus said.
''Let's move out,'' Starswirl said, ''And try to stay together inside the barrier. We cannot take any chances.''
Ocellus, Starlight and the Pillars carefully began to make their way through the heavily guarded fortress. They did their best to avoid running into any changeling guards they encountered along the way. There were much more changelings than they had expected, but thanks to Starswirl, Starlight and Mistmane's magic, they were able to sneak past all of them without too much trouble. Luckily the layout of the fortress seemed relatively the same as the one from Canterlot, just as Ocellus had hoped. With that in mind, she was able to lead the others through the fortress without getting lost.
After minutes of sneaking around, they eventually arrived at the long, stone bridge like the one they saw before entering the fortress. The bridge was still heavily guarded by a small group of armored changelings. A few of them blocked the whole entrance to the cave, leaving little to no room for anypony to sneak past them.
The Pillars, Starlight and Ocellus hid behind one of the many rock buildings and watched the heavily guarded bridge from afar as they began to plan their next move.
''There it is.'' Ocellus said.
''Those changelings are blocking the whole entrance,'' Rockhoof said, ''There's no way past them.''
''And teleporting in there might alert them to our presence.'' Starswirl added.
''There's got to be another way to get in.'' Starlight said while looking at the entrance to the cave.
''I think I might have an idea.'' Ocellus said as she looked over at Starlight and the Pillars.
''Let's hear it.'' Starswirl said curiously.
''It will be very risky,'' Ocellus said while rubbing her chin, ''But with your help, It just might work.''
A line of armored changelings kept watch on each side of the stone bridge. Between them stood a series of green flaming torch poles.
Suddenly the armored changelings heard the sound of heavy hoofsteps coming from the fortress. They all looked over to where the sound came from and were surprised to see Queen Chrysalis herself marching towards them from around the corner. She seemed to be carrying a long, white glowing chain with her. Six other ponies soon appeared from around the same corner behind Chrysalis. A large, light blue earth pony, A grey unicorn wearing a wizard cloak, a light scarlet pegasus, a old looking unicorn with a flowing mane and finally a blue earth pony wearing a bird mask on her forehead. The ponies all looked sad and defeated while their hooves were tied up with the white magical chains that Chrysalis was carrying with her. The chained up ponies seemed to be following the queen of the changelings without question and didn't show any sign of resistance. The changelings on each side of the bridge all bowed to their queen as she walked passed them.
Eventually Chrysalis reached the entrance to the cave and stopped right of front of the small group of changelings who guarded the way in. The six captured ponies all stopped close behind Chrysalis.
Meanwhile, Starlight, thanks to the use of her invisibility spell, was able to follow Chrysalis and the Pillars without being noticed and stayed close to them as she waited.
''I need to bring these new prisoners into the cave.'' Chrysalis said with a demanding tone.
The changelings bowed before their queen and stepped aside. Chrysalis and the chained up Pillars walked through the entrance and together they entered the crystal cave with the invisible Starlight following them.
When Chrysalis got a good look at the inside of the cave, she was surprised to see that it looked almost nothing like it did before. The once bright and sparkling crystals had changed into the same dark crystals that were littered throughout Equestria, torches with green flames had been placed on the walls everywhere that helped to illuminate what little light there was in the cave. On the other side she noticed a long, narrow stone path hanging above a pitch black ravine that led to a rocky platform down below in the distance. On that platform stood two armored changelings, both of whom were guarding a small passageway that she can't remember being there before. Chrysalis carefully walked over the narrow path along with the Pillars as they made their way across.
The two changelings guarding the passageway bowed as soon as their queen stopped in front of them.
''Is this where we keep our prisoners?'' Chrysalis asked them in a calm tone. Both the changelings stood back up and looked confused at each other. Eventually they looked back at her and nodded in response.
''Then uh, lead me to them.'' Chryaslis said, trying her best not to be distracted by their odd reaction. The two changelings shrugged at each other and walked into the passageway. Chrysalis, the chained up Pillars and the still invisible Starlight Glimmer followed them further into the cave.
Thanks to the green glowing eyes from the changelings, they were able to lead Chrysalis, Starlight and the Pillars through a series of dark tunnels. Another minute of walking later they finally saw another source of green illumination glowing in the distance. The green light got closer and closer until they eventually stepped out of the tunnel. The Pillars and Chrysalis took their time to take in what was in front of them.
The Pillars were shocked to see the hundreds of cocoons hanging on the ceiling in a large open area, all of them containing the citizens from Canterlot along with the royal guards. Starswirl looked surprised when he saw that one of the cocoons hanging close above him contained Flash Magnus. Chrysalis watched the changelings patrolling the area as the green light from the cocoons and the torches hanging around on the walls shined on their armor. A few of them took notice of Chrysalis and the Pillars entering the area.
''Fear not, my subjects,'' Chrysalis said when she saw some of the changelings getting ready to attack the Pillars, ''They are no threat to us anymore.'' The changelings backed down while keeping their eyes on the six chained up ponies.
''Is there anything else can we do for you, your highness?'' One of the changelings who had led Chrysalis and the Pillars through the tunnel asked.
''That won't be necessary,'' Chrysalis said with a somewhat sinister smile, ''Right now, I'd like to have some alone time with our new prisoners. So I'm gonna need you and the rest of my subjects to leave this cave right away.''
All the changelings gave each other a confused look.
''But I thought you said we weren't supposed to leave this cave no matter what.'' One of changelings said.
Chrysalis paused for a second before talking, ''But I'm the queen, aren't I?,'' She asked with a calm tone in her voice, ''If I tell you to leave the cave, then you leave the cave. Understood?'' She looked at the other changelings with an intimidating look on her face.
''Right, of course, your highness.'' One of the changelings responded nervously, ''You heard her! Everyone out of the cave!'' Soon he and the rest of the changelings in the area all flew into the tunnel. Chrysalis waited long enough until the sound of their wings flapping inside the tunnel had completely faded away.
Chrysalis sighed to herself, ''Alright, they're gone.'' She said in a different, softer voice before she transformed back into Ocellus.
''Phew,'' Starlight said before she revealed herself to everyone, ''That was some very solid acting, Ocellus. You almost had me convinced you were the real Chrysalis.'' She said in a joking manner.
Ocellus gave Starlight a nervous smile and giggled, ''Y-Yeah.''
''No more time to waste. Let's go free Flash Magnus.'' Starswirl said.
The old wizard looked down at his hooves and used his magic on the white chains to make them disappear. Starswirl then proceeded to fire a magic beam right above the cocoon that Flash Magnus was trapped in, causing it to detach from the ceiling and hit the ground with a loud splat. The cocoon bursted open and the remaining parts scattered all over the place. Flash Magnus slowly woke up and looked at himself laying in the piles of green goo. He quickly stood up and shook the remains of the goo from his body.
''Where am I?'' Flash Magnus asked when he looked at the many cocoons on the ceiling.
''Flash Magnus!'' Rockhoof said before he embraced the armored pony in a big hug, ''Good to see ya, friend.''
''Rockhoof!'' Flash said, looking overjoyed before hugging back the big stallion, ''How did you find me here?!''
''I had some help.'' Rockhoof answered after he finally released him from his grip. Flash Magnus looked behind Rockhoof when he noticed five other familiar ponies standing behind him.
''Starswirl?!'' Flash Magnus said with an eager look, ''You guys are here too?''
''Good to see you again, my old friend.'' Starswirl answered with a warm smile.
''Listen, something terrible has happened,'' Flash Magnus quickly began to explain, ''Chrysalis and-''
''We know, Flash Magnus.'' Somnambula said calmly, ''Our new friend Ocellus over here has told us everything.''
''I see,'' Flash Magnus said, ''Then you must already know what happened to Twilight and her friends, huh?''
Somnambula nodded calmly, ''And that's why it is now up to us to save them.''
''What's the plan?'' Flash Magnus asked curiously.
''You and the other pillars are connected to the Elements of Harmony,'' Ocellus began to explain to the armored pony, ''If you six could cast that magic on Twilight and her friends, it could restore the elements and change them back to normal.''
''Ah, I get it. With the help of our magical artifacts, right?'' Flash Magnus asked before he showed his shield to everypony, ''Good thing I still have my shield with me.''
''But what about the other changelings?'' Starlight asked with a concerned look, ''If we decide to confront Chrysalis head on, all the changelings will most likely overwhelm us.''
''The royal guards will take care of that,'' Flash Magnus suggested, ''They can hold off the changelings while we focus on saving Twilight and her friends.''
''What about the rest?'' Ocellus asked while looking at the many cocoons on the ceiling.
''We'll have to free them later,'' Flash Magnus answered, ''The citizens of Canterlot aren't exactly fighters. No offense.''
''I guess you're right,'' Ocellus said, ''Just promise me that the royal guards won't try to hurt the changelings, Okay? They may be under Chrysalis's control, but they're still part of my family.''
''I understand,'' Flash Magnus said with a confident smile, ''Don't worry, I've been training my comrades to be ready for any type of situation.''
''Thank you,'' Ocellus said with a relieved smile before looking over at Starswirl, ''Starswirl, can you free my friends now, please?''
''How can we recognize them?'' Starswirl asked as his eyes were already searching the cocoons.
''I see them up there,'' Rockhoof said while pointing her hoof towards the five cocoons containing a orange dragon, light pink hippogriff, blue griffin, a young earth pony and a small yak.
''How do you know them?'' Starswirl asked.
''I was their teacher for a short while at the School of Friendship.'' Rockhoof explained.
''You? A teacher?'' Mage Meadowbrook said with a playful giggle, ''Now there's something I never thought I'd hear from you.''
''So you are friends with six different creatures?'' Flash Magnus said to Ocellus with a happy smile, ''Wow, that really is something special.''
''You can thank Twilight's School of Friendship for that.'' Starswirl said with a proud smile. He then shot a series of magical beams right above the cocoons of Ocellus's friends. Immediately they detached from the ceiling, fell down and hit the ground. The cocoons bursted open and the remains of it splattered everywhere. Ocellus could see her friends laying in the green gooey remains.
''You and your friends can take your time to recover,'' Starswirl said to Ocellus, ''We will gather up all the Royal Guards until we're ready to move out.'' He and the other Pillars then began to search every cocoon for the Royal Guards.
''I will help too.'' Starlight said as she followed the Pillars.
Ocellus looked over to her friends and saw Smolder removing the green goo from her body. The orange dragon stood up and stepped out of the slimy remains of the cocoon.
''Ugh. What even is this stuff?'' Smolder asked herself while shaking the last bit of goo from her claw.
''Smolder!'' Ocellus said happily before she approached Smolder with a relieved look on her face.
''Ocellus?!'' Smolder said with a surprise look when noticing the blue changeling standing few meters away from her.
Ocellus ran over to the orange dragon and hugged her immediately. Smolder eventually hugging her back while smiling calmly.
''Are you okay?'' Ocellus asked after she let Smolder go from her hug.
''Don't worry, I'm fine,'' Smolder reassured her, ''But how did you escape?''
While Ocellus explained her story to Smolder, Sandbar stepped out of the remains of his cocoon and shook some of the remaining green goo from his body.
''I hope I never get stuck in that thing again.'' Sandbar said to himself. The first thing he saw when he looked around was Yona laying on the ground unconscious while being covered in the same green goo as him.
''Yona!'' Sandbar said with a concerned look before running towards the unconscious yak.
Yona slowly opened her eyes when she heard Sandbar's voice calling for her and began to regain her consciousness. She looked to her left with a blurry vision and noticed a pony with a familiar manestyle standing next to her.
''Are you okay, Yona?'' Sandbar asked, still looking concerned as he placed his hoof on Yona's shoulder.
Yona blinked with her eyes a few times, ''Sandbar?"' She said in a weak voice, ''It really you?''
A look of relief appeared on Sandbar's face as soon as he heard Yona speak, ''That's right, the one and only.'' He said with a reassuring smile.
Yona blinked her eyes a few more times until her vision was finally clear again. A big happy smile appeared on her face when she saw that the pony standing next to her was indeed Sandbar. She quickly stood up and embraced her pony friend in a very tight hug.
''Yona missed Sandbar so much.'' Yona said as she continued to hug him very tight.
Sandbar chuckled a little, ''I missed you too, Yona.'' He said while still being hugged by the excited Yak, ''And uh, could you maybe be a bit more gentle with your hugs, please?''
Yona heard what he said and giggled nervously before letting him go.
''Hehehe, sorry.'' Yona said with a shy smile on her face.
''It's alright.'' Sandbar said with another reassuring smile, ''But how did you find me here?''
Yona began to tell Sandbar about everything that has happened after they had escaped from Canterlot.
Meanwhile, Silverstream stepped out of the pile of goo and looked to her right to see her friend Gallus, who was sitting in the remains of the cocoons with a sad look on his face. Silverstream looked concerned and quickly flew over to the blue griffin.
''Are you okay, Gally?'' Silverstream asked him. She grabbed him by his claw and helped him get out from the goo.
''I'm fine.'' Gallus answered reluctantly as he pulled his claw out of Silverstream's grip. He turned around, sat down and looked at the ground with an conflicted look on his face.
''What's wrong?'' Silverstream asked Gallus while looking worried.
''Nothing's wrong,'' Gallus quickly answered in a frustrated tone, ''Now go away.''
''But I just wanna help.'' Silverstream said with slighly sad look on her face.
"Then do as I say and leave me alone.'' Gallus answered in an irritated manner.
Before Silverstream could say anything else, she heard the sound of many hoofsteps heading their way. She and Gallus looked where the sound came from and saw Smolder walking towards them along with Yona, Sandbar and Ocellus.
Smolder gave Gallus an angry look, ''You better have a good explanation for us, Gallus,'' She said sternly, ''How could you just keep such vital information from us?!''
''Is it really true, Gallus?'' Sandbar asked with a concerned look.
Gallus groaned, ''Can we please just put it behind us?!''
''I don't think so,'' Smolder answered, ''You're gonna tell us everything or else I will-''
''I'm sorry to interrupt,'' Starswirl said from behind the creatures, ''But it's time to get out of here and save Twilight and her friends.''
Smolder and her friends looked behind them to see Starswirl, with Starlight, the five other pillars and the other pony guards standing close behind him.
Silverstream gasped with an excited look on her face, ''No way! The Pillars are here too?!''
Yona's eyes widened when she saw Rockhoof standing with the other pillars, ''Rockhoof!'' She shouted while having an eager look on her face. She ran at full speed towards the big stallion and immediately hugged his right leg.
''Yona,'' Rockhoof said with a happy smile before petting Yona on the head, ''Good to see ya again, ya strong little yak.''
''No way....'' Sandbar said as he stared at Starswirl with a look of amazement, ''It's.....It's really him.''
''Something the matter, little pony?'' Starswirl asked when he noticed the look on Sandbar's face.
Sandbar eagerly walked over to Starswirl and stopped right in front of him, ''You are THE Starswirl the Bearded! You're one of the greatest and most legendary wizards to have ever existed,'' Sandbar said with excitement in his eyes, ''I mean, you still exist right now of course. But still, I can't believe I'm actually meeting you right now with my very own eyes!''
''That's all very nice of you to say,'' Starswirl said with a friendly chuckle, ''But I'm afraid they're bigger matters at stake right now.''
''He's right, Sandbar,'' Smolder said, ''Ocellus already told us everything. We don't have much time.''
''Oh, right,'' Sandbar said with shy smile, ''Sorry.''
''Don't worry,'' Silverstream said with a confident look, ''With the Pillars by our side, we can take down Chrysalis and save Twilight and her friends for sure!''
''Then no more waiting!'' Yona said determinedly, ''Yona and friends gonna teach bug pony a lesson!''
No one noticed the corrupted, armored changeling appearing at the entrance of the dark tunnel. He gasped to himself and widened his eyes when he saw the many ponies and creatures that had escaped from their cocoons. One of the royal guards looked over at the entrance of the tunnel and widened his eyes when he spotted of the corrupted changeling.
''A corrupted changeling!'' The royal guard shouted while pointing at the tunnel. Everyone in the area immediately looked to where the guard was pointing just in time to see the changeling disappear into the darkness of the tunnel.
''He's gonna warn Chrysalis!'' One of the royal guards said before looking over to Flash Magnus, ''What are we going to do, Captain?!''
Flash Magnus looked back at his comrades, flew up into the air and got ready to give his speech to the royal and crystal guards.
''Listen up, rookies!'' Flash Magnus said, ''And today is the last time I will ever call you that, because today is the day that you will show me what you are truly capable of! Our princess have been turned to stone, Twilight Sparkle and her friends have been corrupted and the once reformed changelings are back under the control of Chrysalis! And it's up to us to save them! We're gonna need all your help to hold off the changelings for us. But don't try to harm them, they're still our allies! Together we shall stop Queen Chrysalis and save Twilight Sparkle and her friends along with Equestria! Who's with me?!''
All the guards cheered out loud towards their commander as they raised their hooves into the air.
''For Equestria!'' Rockhoof said determinedly as he raised his shovel. The guards all shouted the same words as they ran into the tunnel along with the Pillars.
''We're gonna help too!'' Smolder said while looking back at her friends, ''Come on!''
''No, you six stay here!'' Starlight quickly said right before Smolder could come after them.
''What?!'' Smolder said, ''But we-''
''I know what I said before, but this is too dangerous for you!'' Starlight explained, ''Don't worry, we got this! Just stay here until we let you know it's safe!'' She turned around, entered the tunnel and went after the others.
Smolder watched as Starlight disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.
''Dangerous or not, I'm not just gonna sit here and do nothing while the fate of Equestria is at stake.'' Smolder said before looking back at her friends. She walked over to them and reached out her claw.
''Who's with me?!'' Smolder asked as she waited for their response.
''I'm in!'' Sandbar said as he gently placed his hoof on Smolder's claw.
''Yona too!'' Yona said before placing her hoof on Sandbar's
''So am I!'' Ocellus said as she placed her hoof on Yona's
''Let's go save Equestria!'' Silverstream said excitedly before placing her claw on Yona's hoof.
They all kept their claws and hooves on each other and waited for a couple of seconds before looking over at Gallus, who looked like he was completely lost in thought as he stared at the ground with a slightly somber look on his face.
''Gallus?'' Smolder asked with a confused look.
''This is supposed to be the part where you join us and say: 'If you're all in, then so am I!' '' Silverstream said with an enthusiastic look. Gallus didn't respond and instead kept the same somber look on his face.
''Gallus?'' Yona said with a worried look.
Gallus eventually snapped out of his thoughts and looked back at his friends, ''What does it matter?'' He asked unenthusiastically.
''Excuse me?'' Smolder said in a surprised tone.
''Starlight and the others already have things under control with Chrysalis anyway, so why should we even bother?'' Gallus said with a frustrated look on his face.
''This isn't just about Chrysalis, Gallus! the fate of everything in Equestria is at stake here!'' Smolder said.
''Bug pony use corrupted elements to destroy Equestria.'' Yona explained.
''What?'' Gallus said with a shocked and surprised look.
''I've seen it myself,'' Ocellus said with a desperate look, ''Dark thunderous clouds from Cloudsdale are covering the sky, plants and trees are dying, the weather is going out of control. Even if Starlight and the Pillars save Twilight and her friends and stop Chrysalis, it still won't save the rest of Equestria.''
''Meaning that all of our homes are in danger!'' Smolder added, ''And that's why we need to do something about it! They're going to need all the help they can get!''
A conflicted look appeared on Gallus's face as he looked down at ground for a minute. Suddenly he got lost in thought again when the unpleasant memories from his time in Griffinstone came back to him.
''Gallus?'' Sandbar said, sounding concerned at Gallus's silence.
''.....Then just go without me.'' Gallus answered reluctantly.
''What?!'' Silverstream said with a shocked look.
''Did you even listen to a thing I just said?!'' Smolder asked in a slighty more angry tone.
''Yona and friends need Gallus help to save Equestria!'' Yona said in a desperate tone.
''Gallus, please.'' Silverstream pleaded.
''I said just go!'' Gallus said out loud with a frustrated tone in his voice. His friends all looked suprised as they stared at him in silence for a few seconds.
''What's gotten into you?!'' Smolder asked with a frustated look, ''Ocellus brought the pillars here in order to save us all and this is how you're going to repay her?! By hiding in here like some pathetic coward?!''
''Hey, easy now, Smolder,'' Sandbar said, ''There no need to-''
''Stay out of this, Sandbar!'' Smolder said before Sandbar could finish, ''Well, Gallus? What do you have to say for yourself?''
Gallus stayed silent for a few seconds, ''Go away. Now.'' He said in a cold voice, still looking conflicted as he tried to hold back his anger while clenching his claw.
''Oh, so you're actually just gonna sit here all by yourself, huh?'' Smolder asked furiously, ''Do you want our homes and everything in Equestria to be destroyed or something, you selfish jerk?!''
''I don't care what happens to any of your stupid homes!'' Gallus shouted in a fit of rage as a look full of hatred could be seen on his face.
There was nothing but utter silence as Gallus's friends stared at him with looks of shock and despair on their faces. A sad look slowly began to appear on Silverstream's face as tears slowly formed under her eyes.
Ocellus watched Gallus in disbelief before tears appeared under her eyes as well, ''How could you say that?!'' She shouted furiously before she started sobbing.
Gallus didn't respond and instead stared at the ground while looking both conflicted and frustrated. Smolder tried to comfort Ocellus in her arms before giving Gallus an angry look.
''No wonder you don't have a family.'' Smolder said in a bitter voice. Sandbar gave the orange dragon a slightly shocked look while still remaining silent.
Gallus eyes widened a little. Hearing hose words, it was as if he felt a stab going right through his heart.
''Come on, everyone. Let's go save Equestria.'' Smolder said before she walked over to the dark tunnel.
Sandbar watched Smolder leave before glancing back at Gallus, who looked back at him in despair. Sandbar gave the blue griffin a look of disbelief before following the orange dragon into the tunnel. Gallus watched Ocellus and Yona slowly walk past him and followed Smolder and Sandbar into the dark tunnel without even giving him a second glance.
Gallus looked behind him and saw Silverstream, who looked slighty angry as tears were already rolling down her cheeks. She eventually slowly waked past the blue griffin as well.
''Silverstream...'' Gallus said to her, talking in a somber tone with a guilty look on his face, ''I....I didn't-''
''I hate you!'' Silverstream said to him in a uncharacteristically cold voice. She ran into the tunnel and disappeared in the darkness. Gallus struggled to hold back his tears as he could hear Silverstream's crying coming from the tunnel before slowly fading away.
Even a whole minute after all of his friends were gone, Gallus still kept looking at the dark tunnel. His face was filled with guilt and doubt. He soon felt tears appearing under his eyes that began to blur his vision. He eventually turned around, walked away from the tunnel and went futher into the dark crystal filled cave without looking back, not caring about where he was going or where he would end up.
"She's here!" The changeling shouted as soon as he flew out of the cave's entrance.
All of the changelings throughout the fortress quickly turned their attention to the panicking changeling, who flew around the fortress as he kept repeating what he said before to every changeling he passed by. Pharynx took notice and quickly flew up to the panicking changeling.
''Calm down!'' Pharynx said after grabbing a hold of the changeling's shoulders, ''What's the situation?!''
''Starlight Glimmer is here,'' The changeling answered, still with a panicky tone in his voice, ''She has freed many of our prisoners and they're about to attack the fortress!''
''Go warm Queen Chrysalis!'' Pharynx commanded.
''Aye aye, sir!'' The changeling said before he quickly made his way to the castle.
''The rest of you, get into position!'' Pharynx shouted while he flew around the fortress, ''We cannot let them reach the queen!''
The changelings all heard Pharynx and immediately spread themselves out around every part of the fortress.
Once every changeling had gotten into position, their attention quickly turned to the entrance of the crystal cave as they waited for the escaped prisoners to show up. It didn't take long before their patience was rewarded by a huge group of pony guards running out of the cave. The unicorns and earth pony guards charged over the bridge while the pegasi flew up into the air as everypony shouted their battle cries. The armored ponies all charged into the fortress and soon an intense and chaotic battle ensued between the corrupted changelings and pony guards.
Starswirl, Starlight and the other pillars finally got out of the cave as well and watched the battle happening in front of them. Ponies and changelings were clashing at each other in the sky, others were wrestling on the walls around the fortress.
"Looks like the battle's already started!" Flash Magnus said, ''I don't know how long they'll be able to hold them off!''
''Then we must hurry!'' Starswirl said. He, Starlight and Mistmane quickly pressed the tip of their horns against each other and used their magic to turn themselves and the other Pillars invisible.
''Chrysalis must be keeping Twilight and her friends inside the castle!'' Starlight said to the pillars, ''Do what you can to save them, I'll take care of Chrysalis!'' Together they quickly crossed the bridge and made their way to Chrysalis's castle through the battlefield going on inside the fortress.
Queen Chrysalis sat inside her new throne room, waiting patiently for one of the changelings to inform her if Starlight Glimmer were to show up. She looked around and admired the redecorated stained glass windows that showed herself as queen of Equestria. The corrupted Twilight and her friends formed half a circle around her throne and kept watch for any intruders. On the left side of the throne stood the statues of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, while on the right side stood the statue of a desperate looking Cadance and Shining Armor holding an unconscious Flurry Heart in their arms. The only thing interrupting the silence was the sound of the green goo that was flowing from small fountains close to the throne. The green goo streamed through the small, long gaps on the floor that led all the way to the end of the throne room.
Chrysalis got up from her throne when she heard many loud noises coming from outside. Just as she was about to go see what was going on, a changeling slammed the door wide open and entered the throne room.
''She's here, your highness!'' The changeling said in an urgent manner, ''Starlight Glimmer has freed half of our prisoners and they're now attacking your kingdom!''
''What?!'' Chrysalis said with an angry look, ''How did none of you idiots see her entering the cave?!''
''We don't know!'' The changeling answered her, ''Maybe she snuck in when you ordered us to leave the cave!''
''Say what?'' Chrysalis suddenly said in a surprise tone.
''You ordered us to leave the cave when you brought those six ponies in chains. Don't you remember?'' The changeling explained.
''I did no such thing,'' Chrysalis said, ''Why would I-'' She stopped talking and widened her eyes when she came to a sudden realization.
''Something wrong, your highness?'' The changeling asked with a confused look.
Chrysalis giggled to herself quietly with a sly smile on her face, ''She's smarter than I thought.''
''Who is?'' The changeling asked again.
''Nevermind,'' Chrysalis quickly said, ''Get out of here and help the others protect my kingdom!''
''What about Starlight?" The changeling asked.
''Don't worry,'' Chrysalis said with a confident smile, ''I already know exactly how I'm going to deal with her. Now go!''
The changeling saluted Chrysalis and exited the throne room.
''Pretending to be me, huh?'' Chrysalis said while smiling sinisterly, ''Well played, Ocellus. Well played.''
Smolder, Yona, Ocellus, Silverstream and Sandbar all sighed in relief as soon as they finally made it out of the dark passageway. Up in the distance they could see the exit of the cave, which was located on a higher rock platform. A long stone path connected the platform they were standing on with the one on the other side.
''Yona hope Yona never have to travel through dark spooky caves again.'' Yona said as she looked back at the passageway.
A somber look appeared on Silverstream's face as she looked back into the passageway as well. She kept remembering Gallus's words from before while another small tear rolled down her cheek. Sandbar looked over at Silverstream and noticed the sad look on her face.
''What's wrong, Silverstream?'' Sandbar asked the sad looking hippogriff.
Silverstream dried the tear from her cheek, ''I just can't believe that Gallus would say something like that to us.''
''Me neither,'' Ocellus said while looking disappointed, ''I thought he was supposed to be our friend.''
''Yona not understand either.'' Yona said with a concerned look.
''It doesn't matter,'' Smolder said, ''We have more important things to worry about right now.''
''What do you mean it doesn't matter?'' Sandbar asked.
''You heard what he said to us!'' Smolder said, ''If he doesn't care about what's happens our homes, then why should we care about what happens to him?!''
''I know what he said was wrong,'' Sandbar said, ''But I just think maybe we should-''
''Do you wanna save Equestria or not?!'' Smolder asked sternly, interrupting Sandbar's sentence.
Smolder's friends all looked slighty shocked and frightened at her and remained silent for a few seconds before nodding.
Smolder sighed a little, "Look, If we wanna save our homes, we've got to stay focused. Understand?"
"But what Yona and friends gonna do?" Yona asked, sounding a bit frightened.
"We should probably go help Starlight first," Ocellus answered, "I don't know how long she'll be able to hold off Chrysalis on her own. Especially now that she's become so powerful thanks to all the love she's absorbed."
''Then that's what we'll do,'' Smolder said to her uncertain looking friends in a demaning tone, ''Come on!'' She quickly turned around without saying another word and flew over the stone path above the ravine.
''Wait for us!'' Ocellus said before giving chase. Sandbar and Yona both carefully crossed the stone path hanging above the dark ravine as fast as they could.
Silverstream sighed deeply after looking back into the dark passageway one more time. She wiped another tear from her eye before looking up at her friends, who were already close to reaching the exit of the cave. The young hippogriff pulled herself together and flew after them.
Gallus kept sobbing as he walked slowly through the barely lit cave with his head hung low. He stopped when he ended up in front of a giant, pitch black ravine that prevented him from walking any further. The blue griffin sighed to himself with an incredibly somber look on his face before drying his tears. He walked up to one of the dark crystals close to him, sat down and layed back against the crystal to get some rest from all the walking. The moment his body made contact with the crystal however, he felt something strange going through his body and mind.
Before Gallus knew it, the entire cave disappeared into nothingness and his surroundings changed into something completely different. It didn't take long for him to realize that he had ended up in a familiar looking place.
The messy looking houses with hay on the roofs, the sticks and stones littering the streets. That was all it took for Gallus to realize that he was without a doubt back in Griffinstone somehow.
''How did I get here?'' Gallus asked himself in confusion. He stood up from the barrel he apparently layed against and decided to explore the desolated looking town.
The silence was eventually interrupted by the sound of his own laugh coming from behind a destroyed little house in the distance. Gallus looked surprised when he saw another blue griffin that looked exactly like him coming from around the corner of the house. He had a sly smile on his face and carried a small bag with him on his back. The blue griffin seemed to be running straight towards Gallus.
''Wait, is that-'' Gallus said when he noticed that the look alike griffin wasn't going to stop running. He shielded his eyes with his arm as the blue griffin was about to run him over. But instead, the look alike griffin passed right through his body.
Gallus quickly turned around and watched the look alike griffin run away with the bag. He finally realized who it was when he got a better look at the blue griffin.
''Is that......me?'' Gallus asked while he watched himself hide behind another broken house.
''He went that way, Greta!'' Gallus heard a familiar, raspy girl voice shouting from behind.
A surprised look appeared on the blue griffin's face when he turned around and saw two angry looking female griffins in the distance running in his direction. One of them being Gilda while the other one was a griffin wearing a grey scarf with a moon symbol on the side.
''Oh o.'' Gallus said to himself. He quickly ran away and hid behind the closest broken house he could find.
He waited there for a little while before peeking around the corner. He could see the two angry griffins standing from afar and much to his surprise, neither of them seemed to have noticed him.
''Which way did he go?!'' Greta asked, panting slightly as she looked around.
Gilda groaned and formed her claw into a fist before slamming it on the ground, ''Why does that Gallus always have to be such a pest?!'' She asked.
''No idea,'' Greta answered, ''Let's just hope that's the last time he'll ever try to steal griffin scones again.''
''I hope that's the last time I'll ever see him again at all,'' Gilda said before letting out a small sigh, ''Look. I know I promised Rainbow Dash and Pinkie to spread friendship to the other griffins in Griffonstone, but that little street rat Gallus is clearly a lost cause, don't you think?''
Gallus got the strangest feeling of deja vu he ever felt while watching the conversation of Gilda and Greta from behind the house.
''Maybe someday he'll finally learn his lesson.'' Greta said.
''I doubt it,'' Gilda said with an annoyed look, ''Let's just go back.'' She and Greta turned around and walked back further into the messy town.
Once they had left, Gallus suddenly heard his own playful laugh coming from his right. He looked behind another house close to him where he saw his other self looking inside his back. He reached his claw inside and revealed a pair of griffin scones with a confident smile.
''Wait,'' Gallus whispered to himself, ''I remember this.''
Suddenly all of Griffinstone disappeared into darkness before Gallus had the chance to further examine the situation. It only took another few seconds before his surroundings lit up once again. Gallus looked around and quickly realized he was back in the halls of the School of Friendship, which was crowded with many young ponies, some of whom where passing right through his body.
''What is going on here?'' Gallus asked himself as he began to walk around the halls. He turned around the left corner to see himself and his friends talking to a small green pony with a semi-long frizzled mane.
Gallus quickly recognize her as Cosette and decided to listen to their conversation.
''What is in that castle?'' Cosette asked curiously.
''Lots of things according to Headmare Twilight,'' Sandbar answered, ''Like a giant library. And even many secret rooms and passages.''
Cosette's eyes widened, ''Did you say a giant library?''
Silverstream nodded, ''Probably ten times bigger than the one in this school. Amazing, right?!''
''Well if that's case, then I'm coming too.'' Cosette said happily.
''Don't go with her!'' Gallus shouted at his friends and his other self, ''She's evil!'' But none of them seemed to even pay attention to him or even acknowledge the blue griffin, as if they didn't even hear him.
''Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go!'' Gallus saw his other self saying his friends with great enthusiasm.
Gallus quickly ran over to his friends to try and warn them, only for a dark hole to appear on the ground right in front of him. The blue griffin had no time to react and fell into the pitch black hole, he screamed out loud as he descended deeper and deeper down into what seemed like a never ending fall.
Eventually Gallus stopped in mid air and the darkness around him faded away to reveal himself inside the halls of the school once again, only this time it seemed to be during midnight. He finally felt his claws standing on solid ground again. In front of him were Cosette and his past self standing in front of Twilight's office. Gallus quickly realized where he was, or rather when he was.
''Oh, so you're going to cheat?'' Cosette asked his past self in surprise.
''It's not like that,'' Gallus saw himself quickly say in a desperate tone, ''Listen, If I don't do this, I will never see my friends again. And they are the closest thing to a family I got.''
Cosette looked down at the ground and rubbed her chin a little before looking back up, ''Okay, I'll help you.'' She said with a endearing smile.
''Oh, thank you.'' Gallus saw his other self say in a relieved tone.
Cosette giggled quietly, ''You're welcome.'' She said before aiming her horn at the giant lock on the door.
''Stop!'' Gallus shouted as he ran over and blocked the way to Twilight's office, trying to stop his past self and Cosette from entering. Instead of responding, Cosette shot a dark magic beam onto Gallus, which spread itself over Gallus's body and teleported him away from the place.
The darkness that filled Gallus's vision finally faded away after what felt like half a minute. And this time it seemed he had ended up in the throne room of Canterlot, where he saw his other self, his friends, Starlight, Cadance and Shining Armor all being surrounded by a horde of changelings. Gallus noticed Chrysalis standing in front of the two thrones of the princess with a sinister smile. He saw both the statues of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing on each side of the thrones. Gallus knew what this meant and was already dreading the moment.
''What Bug Pony saying?'' Yona asked.
''I was the one who wiped Gallus's memory that night, when he helped me break into Twilight's office.'' Chrysalis explained with a satisfying smile.
''What?!'' Gallus's friends all shouted at the same time.
Gallus saw Smolder looking at his other self with an angry look, ''Why didn't you tell us about this?!'' She said furiously. Gallus could already see himself having a guilty look on his face.
Gallus watched everything happen in front in him with a look of despair. He could hear Smolder's words echoeing everywhere around him.
Suddenly everyone in the throne room transformed into Smolder and all of them kept shouting her words from before. The many Smolders turned their attention towards Gallus, who all slowly approached the scared looking griffin as it seemed like they were about to get ready to breath fire at him. Gallus could feel the sweat drops on his head as he walked back nervously before hitting a dead end in the corner of the throne room. The blue griffin accepted his faith and close his eyes.
Instead of fire, all of the Smolders that surrounded Gallus shot dark magic from their mouths and onto the blue griffin. The dark magic surrounded him and turned into what seemed to be a black vortex, which disappeared after a good ten seconds.
Gallus looked surprised when he saw himself and his friends inside the dark crystal cave, with hundreds of changeling cocoons hung above them on the ceiling. Gallus could see all of his friends staring at his other self in anger and disbelief.
''Oh, so you're actually just gonna sit here all by yourself, huh?'' Smolder asked furiously, ''Do you want our homes and everything in Equestria to be destroyed or something, you selfish jerk?!''
''I don't care what happens to any of your stupid homes!'' Gallus saw himself shouting at his friends.
Gallus looked in shock at his other self when he noticed the rage filled in his own eyes. The conversation between his other self and friends continued just as he remembered. Hearing the same words Smolder said to him before was enough for him to get teary eyed. And seeing Silverstream's sadness and anger expressed on her face along with her final words she said to him only made it worse.
Suddenly a dark sphere emerged from his other self and started to consume the whole cave. Gallus quickly closed his eyes before the darkness consumed him as well.
Gallus catched his breath and opened his eyes when the darkness had disappeared once again. He felt a strong wind blowing against his fur. As he looked around he saw that the ground was littered with pieces of hay, piles of bricks that seemingly belonged to the destroyed houses he saw everywhere. Eventually his eyes looked upon a gigantic skew tree in front of him. Behind the tree he noticed the blood sky with many thunderous clouds hanging in the air.
It didn't take long for Gallus to realize that he had ended up back in Griffinstone once again, but he can't remember it ever looking like this. The horrified blue griffin looked at the destruction around him while he explored the completely desolated place, hoping to find any sign of life.
''What happened here?'' Gallus asked himself.
"You happened."
The familiar voice that answered him in a cold tone seemed to come from behind. Gallus turned around to see Gilda looking at him from afar. The female griffin gave him a slighty intimidating stare and slowly walked over to him as the wind blew against her white and brown fur.
''Gilda?'' Gallus asked her while looking uncertain, "What do you mean 'I happened'?"
''All of this,'' Gilda said while looking around herself, ''It's all thanks to you.''
''What?'' Gallus said to her in a frightened voice, ''B...But I-''
''Why the scared look, street rat?'' Gilda said, still giving him the same intimidating look, ''This is what you wanted, isn't it?''
''Of course not!'' Gallus said desperately, ''Why would you think that?!''
''I don't care what happens to any of your stupid homes!'' Gilda said, trying to imitate Gallus's voice, ''Isn't that what you said to your friends?''
''My friends,'' Gallus said in a surprised tone, ''They're here?!''
''What do you mean?'' Gallus asked in a desperate tone.
''Why do you care?'' Gilda asked, sounding uninterested.
Gallus got up close to Gilda and grabbed the female griffin by the fur on her chest,
''Show me where they are,'' Gallus said sternly, ''Now!''
Gilda rolled his eyes, ''Relax, they're right behind you.'' Gallus let go of Gilda's fur and quickly turned around to see where they were.
What Gallus saw before him would haunt his nightmares for years to come. A few meters away from him, in the middle of the desolated Griffinstone, layed five skeletons that seemed to belong to five different creatures.
Gallus did not want to believe that was he saw before him was real, but remembering what Ocellus told him how bad it was in Equestria and after saying how much they wanted to save their homes, he just couldn't deny it for much longer.
''No...'' Gallus answered as a devastated look appeared on his face, ''....What have I done?'' It didn't take long before the blue griffin broke down into tears
''Yeah, you really messed up big time, street rat.'' Gilda said before letting out a small laugh.
Gallus eventually tried to pull himself together, wiped the tears from his eyes and looked back at Gilda with pure anger in his eyes.
''Where is she?!'' Gallus said in a demanding tone.
''Who?'' Gilda said while looking surprised.
''CHRYSALIS!'' Gallus answered with determination in his voice, ''WHERE IS SHE?!!''
''Pfftt, you really think you'll stand a chance?'' Gilda asked him with a smug grin, ''She's gonna wipe the floor with you in-''
''I don't care!'' Gallus said before Gilda could finish, ''This is no longer about me, this is about my friends and Equestria! And I'm going to do whatever it takes to get them back somehow, even if it's the last thing I'll do!''
Suddenly a bright, pink light started glowing from the center of Gallus's chest. The light surrounded itself all over the blue griffin's body before spreading itself all over Griffonstone.
The corrupted Twilight Sparkle and her friends stood next to each other in front of Queen Chrysalis's throne, waiting for Starlight Glimmer or any other intruders to arrive. Their eyes kept looking at that the tall door on the other side of the throne room.
Chrysalis was hiding in the dark parts of the ceiling above the door. She watched with her two green eyes looming in the shadows, scanning every part of the environment for the arrival of the eventual intruders.
Suddenly she heard the door below her fly open. The sound of both sides smashing against the walls and parts of the door shattering into pieces echoed through the throne room. Chrysalis's head quickly turned to the destroyed door below her to see seven ponies running inside. A sly smile appeared on her face when she noticed one of them was none other than Starlight Glimmer.
''Now!'' Starswirl shouted when he saw Twilight and her friends charging up their corrupted Elements of Harmony. Meanwhile, Starlight's eyes looked around the throne room for Chrysalis.
The pillars got their magical artifacts ready. Rockhoof placed his hoof on Flash Magnus's shoulder. Flash, Somnambula, Mistmane and Mage Meadowbrook all immediately followed suit and placed their hooves on the shoulder of the pony that stood right next to them. Each of their artifacts started glowing a bright light, all of them in a different color. Starswirl got ready to fire his magic at the six ponies opposing them.
Twilight and her friends were the first ones to use their corrupted elements to fire a huge, dark magical beam at the seven opposing ponies. The Pillars shot their rainbow colored magic beam at the dark magic a split second later. The two beams clashed against each other. The pressure of their magic caused the entire throne room to start shaking as if their was an giant earthquake. Cracks began to form on the stained glass windows in the room as the beams still collided and eventually shattered into pieces.
While the beam struggle continued, Smolder and her friends reached the open door to the throne room, peeked around the corner and watched everything happen.
Starlight watched from the side and placed a magical barrier around her to protect herself from the pressure of the two colliding magic beams. Starlight's eyes widened when the dark magic beam slowly pushed the rainbow beam back at the Pillars.
"Hold on!" Starlight shouted as the dark magic got closer and closer to the Pillars. The magic barrier around the light purple unicorn disappeard as she quickly charged up the blue aura around her horn. Just as she was about to fire her magic, she noticed a green light glowing above her eyes. Before she could look, she felt something hitting the back of her neck, causing her to shriek in pain and fly off to the other side of the room. Starlight's body hit the wall with a loud smack before falling on the ground next to a small stream of green goo.
''We have to retreat!'' Starswirl shouted. He quickly closed his eyes before teleporting himself and the other Pillars out of the throne room. The dark beam hit spot where the Pillars once stood, which caused a series of small crystals to emerge from the ground.
''No.....This can't be.'' Ocellus whispered to herself after she and her friends had witnessed everything.
Chrysalis smiled sinisterly before she revealed herself from the dark part of the ceiling. She let out a satisfied laugh as she flew over to the wounded Starlight Glimmer. Chrysalis quickly picked up the light pink unicorn before she had the chance to get up. Chrysalis spinned her around in her hooves while spitting a trail of green slime out of her mouth. The slime got all around Starlight and soon she was trapped inside a changeling cocoon once again.
''Rest in peace, Starlight Glimmer.'' Chrysalis said while watching Starlight in her cocoon with a intimidating smile. She carried her to the middle of the room and placed the cocoon on the ground before turning her attention to Twilight and her friends.
''Find those six ponies and don't come back until you've finished them off!'' Chrysalis commanded.
''As you wish, your majesty.'' Twilight and her friends said at the same time in their monotone voices as they bowed to Chrysalis. Twilight, with the help of her magic, levitated herself and her friends into the air. Chrysalis watched the six of them floating away out of one of the broken windows.
''Alright, no more games,'' Chrysalis said when she looked back at Starlight's cocoon with a serious look, ''It's time I finally put an end to you.''
''Not if I can help it.'' Smolder said to herself. Ocellus and the others watched in surprise as Smolder rushed at Chrysalis without a second thought.
Just as Chrysalis was about to shoot her magic at Starlight, Smolder kicked Chrysalis on the side of her body with full force. Chrysalis let out a scream of pain and got knocked to the side. The green magic from her horn only barely missed the cocoon and caused a small explosion right next to it. Starlight got launched into the air and flew out one of the broken windows.
''Starlight!'' Silverstream shouted in shock. She quickly jumped from around the corner and flew towards the broken window.
Chrysalis saw Smolder approaching her, looking like she was about to land another punch on her. The changeling queen quickly fired her magic at the orange dragon, causing her to fly back and out of the throne room.
''You again?!'' Chryaslis said. She took notice of Silverstream trying to fly out of the window and quickly fired a green laser at the hippogriff.
The green laser turned into a magical rope as it made contact with Silverstream and tied her up. The young hippogriff fall to the ground close to a small stream of green goo and tried to struggle free from the rope.
''No one hurt Yona friends!'' Yona shouted before charging at Chrysalis with full speed.
''Yona, no!'' Ocellus said in panic as she watched the yak running away.
''You honestly think you can defeat me, hm?!'' Chrysalis said with a sinister grin when she saw Yona rushing at her, ''I accept your challenge!''
A green glow appeared around Chrysalis's horn and soon a giant wall of green fire emerged from the ground right in front of Yona. A look of shock appeared on the little yak's face and she immediately stopped in her tracks right before the fire could touch her. Yona quickly tried to find her way around the green firewall, but instead she saw that it began to surround her in a circle. She kept looking around in a panicked manner for a way to escape, but found no way out. The green flames were slowly closing in on her.
''Let her go!'' Sandbar shouted as he ran around the fire circle and rushed at Chrysalis.
The tall changeling took notice Sandbar right before he jumped up to tackle her head. Chrysalis quickly turned her neck a ninety degrees to her right, causing Sandbar to only barely miss her. The small pony's body smacked against a pillar close to the stream of green goo and fall on the ground.
Ocellus pulled herself together and transformed into a giant green bug before flying over to Yona. She quickly grabbed the terrified Yak under her arms and lifted her out of the shrinking green fire circle right. Just as the green flames disappeared into thin air, Ocellus felt herself getting hit by Chrysalis's magic. This caused her to drop Yona as she transformed back into her normal self.
''Ha! Is this all you got?!'' Chrysalis asked with a confident grin.
Smolder rushed back into the throne room and charged at Chrysalis. She landed another kick on the side of her body with all her might, causing Chrysalis to get knocked to the ground.
''Does that answer your question?!'' Smolder asked confidently.
Before Smolder could land the next punch, she felt like something was preventing her from moving her body. A a split second later, she saw a green magical aura appearing in front of her. Smolder's eyes quickly looked down to see that the magic aura was all around her body.
''Enough!'' Chrysalis shouted before a magical sphere emerged from her horn and spread itself across the whole throne room.
Sandbar, Silverstream, Ocellus, Yona and Smolder were all being held against their will by Chrysalis's magic. Her magic teleported the six creatues in the middle of the Throne room before they all got tied up together by a green magical rope. Ocellus closed her eyes and was about to transform herself into something else, but nothing happened. She tried again and again before realizing that the magic rope was preventing her from using changeling magic.
''I've had it with the six of you,'' Chrysalis said in a frustrated and angry tone, ''It's time to-'' She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the absence of a certain blue griffin. A sly smile appeared on her face as she let out a sinister laugh.
''What's so funny?'' Silverstream asked with a worried look.
''Where is your blue griffin friend?'' Chrysalis asked in a mocking tone, ''Too cowardly and ashamed to show up?''
''None of your business, you big ugly stone coal!'' Smolder said out loud while struggling to free herself from the magic rope.
A intimidating smile appeared on Chrysalis's face, ''Very well then.''
A giant, green magic beam shot out of Chrysalis's horn and was heading towards the five tied up creatures. They watched in fear and despair as they realize magic beam was too big to dodge. Smolder closed her eyes along with her friends as the magic beam got closer, accepting their doom as small tears appears under their closed eyes.
Smolder noticed the blury, green light glowing on the tears under her eyelids, but for some reason she felt nothing happening to her. She cautiously opened her eyes and saw a blury blue thing blocking Chrysalis's attack. Smolder blinked her eyes a few times to clear her vision and was shocked when she saw a familiar blue griffin, who had a pink magical aura glowing around him, standing right in front of them as he took the magic beam.
''Gallus?!'' Smolder said out loud when she realized Gallus was resisting the green magic beam. Her friends all opened their and turned their attention to Gallus, who had his arms placed in front of his face while having his eyes closed.
''What?!'' Chryaslis said before the magic beam disappeared. She was taken back by the magical aura around Gallus.
Gallus opened his eyes and moved his arms away from his face, completely unharmed by Chrysalis's magic.
''How are you doing that?!'' Sandbar asked in amazement.
Gallus didn't answer his question, instead he rushed at Chrysalis with determination and courage in his eyes. Chrysalis shot another smaller magic beam at Gallus, who quickly maneuvered around it. The blue griffin reached Chrysalis before she had the chance to attack again and tackled the tall changeling right in the chest with all his might. A shriek of pain came out of Chrysalis's mouth as she flew back from the tackle. Her body hit the throne with a loud smack, causing it to fall apart slightly.
Chrysalis got up from the throne while holding her hoof against her chest and saw Gallus heading her way, who looked like he was about to throw another punch at her.
Chrysalis growled as little sparks of thunder started shooting from her horn, ''You'll pay for that!''
Gallus reached Chrysalis's throne and was about to land another punch on the tall changeling queen, only for a green sphere to appear around Chrysalis. The fist of the blue griffin made contact with the sphere and completely resisted his punch. The sphere got sucked back into Chrysalis's before it shot another, slighty bigger magic beam at Gallus, who has no time to shield himself from the magic. The blue griffin got hit by the beam with full force and got launched against the wall next to the open door of the throne room. His friends watched in shock as the pink aura around Gallus disappeared before he fell to the ground and seemed to lose his consciousness.
''GALLUS!'' Silverstream cried out.
Chrysalis laughed to herself, ''Was that it?! How pathetic,'' She said before she used her magic to levitate King Sombra's spell book from behind her throne and into her arm, ''I think our little playtime has come to an end.''
''I'll make you pay for this, Chrysalis!'' Silverstream shouted as she attempted to free herself from the magic rope in any way she could.
''I'd love to see you try.'' Chrysalis said with a sly smile.
Chrysalis opened the book and started reading one of the spells out loud as her horn already started glowing with dark magic. Just as she was about to finish the last words, a light blue magic beam came through the broken window on her right and hit Sombra's book, causing it to disintegrate and turn to ash right in front of Chrysalis's face.
''NO!!'' Chrysalis shouted. She looked to her right to see an angry looking Starlight Glimmer levitating herself through the broken window.
''That's enough, Chrysalis!'' Starlight said as she used her magic to levitate herself in front of Gallus's friends.
''Why you!'' Chrysalis said before aiming and shooting a green magic blast at Starlight Glimmer, who protected herself with a round, magical blue shield that shattered the moment it blocked Chrysalis's attack.
''Chrysalis, listen to me,'' Starlight said with a desperate look, ''I know how you're feeling and what you're going through right now, but it's not worth it! You still have a chance to-''
''Shut up!'' Chrysalis shouted while shooting another magic beam at Starlight, who quickly protected herself with the help of her magic shield before it shattered once again.
Starlight quickly looked behind her and used her magic to remove the magical rope around Smolder, Ocellus, Silverstream, Yona and Sandbar.
''Find somewhere to hide!'' Starlight said while looking at Smolder, ''I'll deal with her!'' She looked back at Chrysalis and rusehd towards her with full determination in her eyes.
''But we can-''
''GO!!'' Starlight shouted to Smolder right before reaching Chrysalis, who was just about to fire her magic that the unicorn.
Smolder and her friends watched how Starlight tackled Chrysalis before she could fire her magic. In a split second she teleported herself and the changeling queen out of the throne room in a flash of blue light.
Gallus got up from the ground, shook his head and quickly flew over to his friends.
''Are you all okay?'' Gallus asked them, which immediately got their attention.
''Well, look who finally decided to come to his senses.'' Smolder said while having her arms crossed with an annoyed look on her face.
''Why did you come back?'' Ocellus asked with a slightly uncertain look.
Gallus sighed before a look of guilt appeared on his face, ''I'm really sorry,'' He said with a somber tone in his voice, ''All of this is my fault.''
''What do you mean?'' Sandbar asked.
''If I hadn't suggested to go to the Castle of the Two Sisters with Cosette at the School of Friendship, none of this would have happened.'' Gallus explained, still talking in a somber tone.
''Cosette?'' Smolder said with a surprised look.
''That's the green pony we met a few days ago at the school of friendship.'' Sandbar explained.
''What does she have to do with this?'' Ocellus asked.
Gallus sighed deeply, ''She was actually Chrysalis in disguise the whole time,'' He explained, ''And I was the one who accidentally helped her find those artifacts when she helped me break into Twilight's office.''
''What?!'' Gallus's friends all said at the same time.
''And you're just NOW telling us this?!'' Smolder said.
Gallus sighed again, ''I'm sorry.''
''I don't understand,'' Silverstream said concernedly, ''Why did you break into Twilight's office?''
''I wanted to find the answers to the test for the upcoming finals,'' Gallus explained further with a somber look, ''Before I could find them, Cosette tried to steal the six artifacts behind my back. I wanted to stop her, but then she tricked me and casted a spell to erase my memory.''
''So all of this happened just because you wanted to cheat?!'' Smolder asked furiously.
''Why did you never tell us any of this when you got your memory back?'' Sandbar asked.
''.....Look, I'll explain everything later,'' Gallus answered as his somber look got replaced with a look of determination, ''But right now we have to focus on saving Equestria first.''
''How?'' Yona said, ''Even Pillars magic not strong enough to change back Elements of Harmony.''
''What?!'' Gallus said.
''We saw it happening,'' Ocellus explained, ''The dark magic of the corrupted Elements of Harmony is just too strong, even for the Pillars. And now we have nothing else to fight it with.''
''But we can't just give up,'' Silverstream said, ''There has to be another way!''
''Like what?!'' Smolder asked, ''If the Pillars's magic can't even change the elements back to normal, then what magic can?!''
Gallus began to rub his chin, ''.....Their magic alone may not, but combined with another source of magic....''
''What Gallus saying?'' Yona asked.
''Do you remember when the Tree of Harmony tested us again when it almost became corrupted by dark magic?'' Gallus asked his friends.
''Yeah,'' Sandbar answered, ''What about it?''
''The tree said that we had to use the magic inside us to save it from becoming corrupted,'' Gallus explained, ''What kind of magic was she talking about?''
Ocellus thought back to her test from the Tree of Harmony. She kept pondering for a bit, wondering what exactly caused that magic from her chest to appear. Suddenly the blue changeling gasped and widened her eyes when she came to a realization.
''Of course!'' Ocellus said out loud.
''What is it?'' Smolder asked Ocellus as her friends all surprised looked at her.
''It all makes sense now,'' Ocellus said, ''When the Tree of Harmony told us to spread the magic inside of us across it's roots, she must have been talking about the magic of the Elements of Harmony!''
Sandbar widened his eyes, ''So what's your saying is...''
Ocellus nodded, ''The magic of the Elements of Harmony is inside all six of us! That's why the Tree of Harmony put us through those tests, to bring out that magic and use it to cast away the dark magic that was corrupting it.''
''And that must have been the magic that was protecting you earlier from Chrysalis's attack!'' Silverstream said to Gallus.
''That's right,'' Gallus said confidently, ''Each one of our tests represented one of the Elements of Harmony!''
''Exactly,'' Ocellus said, ''And if we can combine our magic with that of the Pillars, it just might be enough to save Twilight and her friends!''
''Ocellus, you're a genius!'' Smolder complimented her, causing a light blush to appeared on Ocellus's face.
Smolder gave the little blue changeling a friendly smile before turning her attention back to the confident looking Gallus.
''Hey, Gallus.'' Smolder said with a somewhat somber tone in her voice.
''What is it, Smolder?'' Gallus said.
''......I just wanted to thank you for saving us back there,'' Smolder said before a guilty look appeared on her face, ''And I'm sorry for what I said to you about not having a family.''
''I'm sorry too,'' Silverstream said with a slightly somber look, ''I didn't mean to say I hated you, but I just felt so angry and-''
''It's alright,'' Gallus said to them reassuringly, ''That was my own fault. I never should have said that about your homes either. But I want you all to know that I do care. About all of you, about your homes and about Equastria. And that's why I wanna help in any way I can.''
''Now there's the Gallus we know and love!'' Smolder said with a happy smile.
''What are we waiting for?!'' Silverstream said excitedly with a confident smile, ''Let's go find the Pillars!''
Gallus gave his friends a confident smile and reached out his claw, ''Who's with me?!''
Smolder placed her claw on Gallus's, ''I am!''
Yona placed her hoof on Smolder's and Gallus's claw, ''Yona in too!''
''So am I!'' Ocellus said as she placed her hoof on the rest.
Sandbar was the next one to place his hoof on the others, ''Count me in!''
''Let's save Equestria for a second time!'' Silverstream said, being the last one to reach out and place her claw on those of her friends.
''Together!'' Gallus said before he and the others raised there arms in the air.
''Let's do it!'' Smolder said confidently. Together they ran out of the throne room and made their way through the castle to find the exit.
Starlight and Chrysalis emerged from a giant flash of blue light and ended up in what seemed like a dark, greyish wasteland. A strong wind blew over the field, all the trees were barren and there was not a single piece of grass to be seen on the ground. Chrysalis fell on the solid, earthy ground while Starlight flew a few meters away from her before hitting the ground as well. Both of them quickly got back up before turning their attention to each other.
Chrysalis looked at the desolated wasteland around her, "Where are we?!" She asked Starlight with an angry and confused look.
''In Equestria,'' Starlight answered with a serious look as her mane kept flowing in the wind, ''Or at least, what's left of it.''
"Did you teleport us to the future?" Chrysalis asked.
Starlight shook her head, "No. What you're seeing right here is the present."
''Why did you bring us here?!'' Chrysalis asked, still looking confused and angry.
''To show you what your actions have done to Equestria,'' Starlight answered in a desperate tone, ''Chrysalis, listen to me! You don't have to do this! And if we don't stop this, then-''
''SILENCE!!" Chrysalis shouted agressively, ''You took everything away from me! And for the last two years I've done everything I can to get it back! And now that I finally have, I'm not gonna let you take it away from me ever again!''
Chrysalis used her magic to summon a series of pillars made out of green flames from the ground around her and launced them into the air. They flames collided with each other, turned around into a spiral and formed into a giant ball of destructive green fire that launched itself down towards Starlight.
Starlight widened her eyes in shock for a second before teleporting away from the spot. The giant, green fire ball hit the ground where she once stood and caused a big, firey explosion. The green fire spread itself across the wasteland and all the barren trees that got caught up in the fire burned to ash.
Chrysalis looked surprised and quickly protected herself from the oncoming fire by surrounding herself with a green magic barrier, which was able to resist the green fire with ease.
Starlight appeared a few meters away behind Chrysalis and saw the huge wave of green fire coming her way. She quickly encase herself inside a giant, light blue crystal, protecting herself from the green fire that consumed the entire crystal.
The magical sphere around Chrysalis disappeared as soon as the spreading of the green fire had stopped. She giggled sinisterly and looked to the giant hole in the ground where she aimed her fire ball. Her evil smile soon got replaced by a look of surprise when the body of Starlight Glimmer was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly she heard what sounded like a crystal shattering in pieces. She turned around and saw Starlight Glimmer standing a few meters away from her, completely unharmed with a serious look on her face.
''This is your last warning, Chrysalis!'' Starlight said while charging up her horn with magic, ''Stop this now or else I'll have no choice but to fight you!''
Chrysalis let out a maniacal laugh, ''Let's see how long you'll be able to keep up with the latter option, shall we?!'' She said with a psychotic smile on her face. She charged at Starlight while surrounding herself with green magic.
Starlight took a deep breath and charged at the incoming Chrysalis as she too surrounded herself with her own light blue magic. The two magical forces clashed with each other and caused another big explosion to appear on the wasteland.
Yona smashed her forehead against the wooden door of the castle with all her might, causing a small part of the door to shatter into tiny wooden pieces. Yona and her friends exited the castle through the small opening.
They quickly saw that every corner of the Fortress had turned into a chaotic battlefield between the changelings and the pony guards, who were fighting each other on the walls and in the air.
''Does anyone know where the Pillars are now?!'' Gallus asked his friends.
''We saw them teleport away right before Twilight and her friends could hit them with the Elements of Disharmony,'' Ocellus explained, ''But we have no idea where they went, they could be anywhere right now.''
''The Pillars would never just run away at a time like this,'' Sandbar said, ''They're probably still in Canterlot somewhere.''
''Then let's go find them!'' Smolder said determinedly. She and her friends quickly ran down the stairs.
A small group consisting of at least twelve fully armored changelings took notice of the six creatures walking across the square in front of the castle. Together they all quickly rushed down towards the six creatures while green magic surrounded them.
Before Gallus and his friends could walk further into the fortress, a group of changelings landed in front of them while the green magic that surrounded them left small holes where they landed. The changelings all stared at them intimidatingly with their green glowing eyes and blocked their way.
''Oh o.'' Silverstream said. She looked scared as the opposing changelings slowly approached them, forcing herself and her friends to back away.
''Anyone got a plan?'' Gallus asked as he kept his eyes on the changelings walking towards them.
''I don't know,'' Ocellus answered nervously, ''There's too many of them.''
Eventually they were all backed into a corner under the stairs of the castle.
''Then I guess we're just gonna have to do this the hard way.'' Smolder said as she stood her ground while cracking her knuckles.
''Smolder,'' Ocellus said worriedly, ''They're still my family, remember?''
''I know,'' Smolder answered, ''But what other choice do we have?''
While the others kept their attention on the opposing changelings, Sandbar looked back and noticed that another changeling had snuck up on Yona. Sandbar quickly ran over to her.
''Yona, look out!'' Sandbar shouted as the changeling got ready to pounce at Yona.
Sandbar quickly launched himself behind Yona right at the moment the changeling pounced at the small yak. The armored creature and Sandbar both crashed into each other. Yona and her friends watched in surprise as their young pony friend flew over them. Sandbar let out a shriek of pain as he hit the ground along with the changeling.
Yona looked back at the group of changelings in front of them and stared at them with rage filled in her eyes. Soon she started breathing heavily while smoke came through her nostrils.
''No creature gets away with hurting Yona friends.'' Yona said in quiet, yet angry voice.
''And what are you gonna do about it, fat one?!'' One of the changelings remarked in a distorted voice.
Yona's friends all widened their eyes and gasped.
''What changeling call Yona?'' Yona asked in a cold voice with an intimidating look.
''You heard me, fat one.'' The changeling said again.
''WHAT CHANGELING CALL YONA?!"' Yona asked out loud with a furious look.
''I'm not gonna repeat mysel-''
The changeling's sentence got interrupted when Yona stood up on her two legs and smashed her hooves against her chest while roaring out loud. Her roaring got so loud that it echoed throughout the whole fortress.
Yona aggressively stomped her hooves back on the ground, creating a mini earthquake around her. She rushed at the scared looking group of changelings at full speed and aimed her two horns at them while letting out her battle cry. The group of changelings all began to back away with looks of fear and shock on their faces before Yona smashed through them.
Gallus and the others were all speechless and watched how Yona ran through the group of changelings. Most of them flew off in many directions one by one, all while sounds of armor breaking violently could be heard everytime Yona smashed into an armored changeling.
Yona eventually stopped running when she noticed that there weren't any more armored changelings left. Her friends all looked flabbergasted when they saw the many changelings laying unconscious on the ground with many cracks visible on their armor.
Yona calmed herself down and quickly ran over to Sandbar, who didn't seem to have any serious injuries on his body as he stood up on his legs.
''Sandbar okay?'' Yona asked worriedly as she helped the young pony stand up.
''Don't worry, I'm fine,'' Sandbar said reassuringly while rubbing the side of his head, ''It's just a small boo boo, nothing more.''
They both looked behind them to see Smolder, Gallus, Silverstream and Ocellus walking towards them with looks of amazement.
Yona showed a nervous smile, ''Sorry. Yaks not like being called fat.''
''No kidding.'' Gallus said, still a little in shock at what he just witnessed.
''That was incredible, Yona!'' Smolder said while looking amazed.
''You totally just wiped the floor with them!'' Silverstream said in excitedly.
''Good thing they all wear armor,'' Ocellus said worriedly, ''Otherwise that could have seriously hurt them.''
''Yona sorry.'' Yona responded.
''It's alright, you did it to protect us.'' Ocellus reassured her.
''Let's go find Starswirl and the other Pillars.'' Sandbar said.
''There he is!'' Gallus said while pointing into the fortress.
Gallus's friends all looked to where he was pointing to see Starswirl a few meters further into the fortress. Close to the old wizard they also saw Twilight Sparkle, who kept firing multiple purple lasers at him. Starswirl blocked them all with ease using his own magic.
''Come on!'' Smolder said before flying over to the two fighting ponies. Her friends all quickly followed her.
''Starswirl!'' Sandbar shouted before he and his friends reached the old wizard.
Starswirl looked behind him to see who called his name. He widened his eyes when he caught sight of the six creatures and quickly created a magical white barrier around them. Twilight kept on shooting more purple lasers at the barrier.
''What are you all doing here?!'' Starswirl asked while trying his best to keep the barrier up, ''I thought Starlight told you to stay in the cave!''
''No time to explain!'' Gallus said, "Where are the other Pillars?!''
''We split ourselves up to get Twilight and her friends away from each other,'' Starswirl answered, ''It was the only way to prevent them from using the Elements of Disharmony against us again!'
''We have to get them back together!'' Silverstream said determinedly.
''Didn't you just hear what I-''
''Starswirl, listen,'' Gallus said, interrupting Starswirl's sentence, ''We might know a way to restore the Elements of Harmony back to normal!''
''You do?!'' Starswirl asked with a surprised look, ''Then by all means, let's hear it!'
''The magic of the Elements of Harmony is inside us,'' Ocellus explained, ''If we can combine that magic along with yours and from the other Pillars, maybe that will be enough to save Twilight and her friends!''
''How did you-'' Starswirl's sentence got interrupted and shrieked in pain when he felt a more powerful magic than before hitting the barrier, ''Nevermind. Do what you have to do! I will hold off Twilight!''
''We'll meet back at the square in front of the castle when we find them!'' Gallus said.
''Understood!'' Starswirl said as the barrier around them kept flickering, ''My magic won't hold much longer, prepare yourselves!''
After taking a few more hits from Twilight's magic, the white barrier around them disappeared completely.
Gallus and his friends didn't waste any time and immediately headed further into the fortress. Twilight took notice of their escape and fired a magic blast at them. Starswirl quickly used his own magic to make a glowing portal appear in front of Twilight's magic blast. The magic went right through the portal before disappearing immediately after. Twilight gave Starswirl an angry look and fired another magic blast at him, which Starswirl was quickly able to block thanks to a magical force field that appeared around him thanks to his own magic.
Starlight closed her eyes and summoned a magic white line from her horn that formed into a giant circle around Chrysalis. The magical line turned into multiple little white orbs that quickly changed into duplicates of Starlight that surrounded Chrysalis.
All of the Starlight duplicates shot magic from their horns and onto Chrysalis at the same time. The tall changeling quickly summoned a green magical barrier from the ground that blocked all the incoming beams. The Starlight duplicates kept firing their magic on the barrier until it eventually grew larger and expanded itself over the wasteland, pushing back all of Starlight's magic.
The real Starlight quickly encased herself inside another light blue crystal to protect herself Chrysalis's expanding magic barrier, which hit all of her duplicates and made them disappear into thin air. Starlight broke out of the crystal after the green wave of magic was gone.
''Not bad,'' Chryaslis said with a psychotic smile, ''But let's see how you will try and stop this!''
Chrysalis charged up her horn for what seemed like a good ten seconds. Starlight stood her ground and prepared herself for what she was about to do. Chrysalis then quickly aimed her horn in Starlight's direction. Within a second she fired a green magic blast at the unicorn, which looked five times bigger than any of the ones she fired before. The blast consumed and destroyed everything in it's path.
Starlight took a quick glance behind her. She widened her eyes when she realized that the blast would be heading straight towards the mountain where the fortress was if she were to dodge it. Starlight quickly looked back in front of her, manipulated the strong wind on the wasteland with powerful magic and used it to steer the gigantic blast towards another big mountain in the distance. Starlight watched how the blast caused a big explosion that destroyed the entire mountain within seconds.
One loud scream caused Starlight to quickly look back in front of her again, where she was met with an angry looking Chrysalis flying towards her with a magical blade coming from her horn.
A magical blade appeared out of Starlight's horn as well right before Chrysalis reached her. Both of their magical blades clashed against each other. Chrysalis kept slashing her blade away at Starlight, who kept blocking each and every single one of her moves until eventually their horns were pushed against each other.
''You're doing alot better than I thought you would, Starlight Glimmer.'' Chrysalis said with a sinister smile, ''But I think it's for me to get serious!'' She looked into Starlight's frightened looking eyes with a sadistic smile and began to push her back while the clash from their blades created little sparks everywhere.
"Chrysalis, stop it!" Starlight said in a desperate tone while trying to push her horn blade back against Chrysalis's, "Why can't you see that I'm trying to help you?!''
''Help me?!'' Chrysalis said as small green sparks shot out of her horn, ''If you really wanna help me, then stay still so I can destroy you!''
A green wave of magic emerged from Chrysalis's horn, which launced Starlight away from her and across the wasteland. The light pink unicorn kept flying away at full speed in the direction of another mountain in the distance. Chrysalis quickly went after her.
Gallus and his friends all made their way through the chaotic battlefield in the fortress. Everywhere they looked they could see royal guards and crystal guards fighting against the changelings with giant spears, others were wrestling on the ground and some kept chasing each other through the air. Sandbar noticed a changeling body flying in his direction. He quickly jumped out of the way just in time before the changeling could crash into him. Sandbar turned is head to see where the changeling came from and looked surprised when he saw a muscular pony standing on the walls that surrounded the fortress.
''Look, up there!'' Sandbar shouted to his friends while pointing his hoof up at the giant walls. His friends gasped when they looked up at the walls and saw Rockhoof defending himself against Applejack's attacks using his shovel.
''There's Apple Pony and Professor Rockhoof!'' Yona said.
Suddenly a loud explosion could be heard from above. Smolder looked up to the red sky, that's where she saw a giant circle wave that looked like a colorless rainbow spreading itself high above the fortress. Under the center of the circle wave was Rainbow Dash, who agressively punched away against a fire shaped shield, which was being held by an orange pegasus dressed in grey armor.
''And there's Rainbow Dash and Flash Magnus!'' Smolder said.
''We've gotta help them!'' Silverstream said.
''We better split up,'' Gallus suggested before looking at his friends, '' Yona! You and I will go help Rockhoof! Smolder, you will help Flash! Ocellus, Sandbar and Silverstream will go find the other Pillars!''
''Got it!'' Smolder said as she already flew herself off the ground.
''Remember, we'll meet each other back at the castle!'' Gallus said. Smolder gave him a thumbs up and flew off into the sky where Flash Magnus and Rainbow Dash were still fighting each other.
''Good luck, Gallus!'' Silverstream said.
''Let's go!'' Ocellus said before she, Silverstream and Sandbar all made their way through the battlefield to begin their search for the other pillars.
''Come on, Yona!'' Gallus said before using his wings to hover himself into the air.
Yona saw Gallus flying to the walls of the fortress and followed him while dodging the occasional royal guard or armored changeling that flew past them.
Rockhoof and Applejack stood on the walls of the fortress while staring each other down. Eventually the orange mare rushed at Rockhoof and threw a series of kicks with her back legs against the muscular pony at great speed, which Rockhoof quickly blocked using the metal part of his shovel. Applejack's launched the final kick against the shovel with all her might, which caused Rockhoof to slide back across the stone ground.
Applejack didn't give Rockhoof any time to rest and immediately kicked some normal sized rocks that layed on the walls towards the giant stallion. Rockhoof spinned around his shovel at great speed, blocking all rocks coming his way and causing them to fly off in all directions. Applejack ran over Rockhoof as he was still protecting himself from the rocks. She jumped up right after Rockhoof stopped spinning his shovel and kicked him right in the metal plate on his chest with full force. The metal place cracked as Rockhoof let out a small shriek of pain before getting pushed back across the stone ground again.
Rockhoof placed his right hoof on his chest while panting, ''You're stronger than ya look.'' He remarked.
As Applejack and Rockhoof both contiued to fight, Yona and Gallus had finally reached the walls after many close calls in the battlefield. They ran up one of the staircases right next to a small, pointy rock tower. They both reached the top with ease, but soon ran into a pair of armored changelings that blocked their way.
''Go help Rockhoof, I'll distract them!'' Gallus said while looking over at Yona.
''Yona not leave Gallus behind!'' Yona said.
''Don't worry, I'll catch up with you later!'' Gallus said back.
''But Yona not want Gallus to get hurt!'' Yona said in a desperate tone.
''I'll be fine, Yona!'' Gallus said while keeping an eye on the opposing changelings, ''Now go!'' Both of the changelings soon pounced at Gallus and Yona.
Gallus quickly tackled one of the two incoming changelings while Yona dodged the other. She ran acorss the walls to where she saw Rockhoof and Applejack and didn't look back.
As Yona got closer to reaching Rockhoof, she noticed a few changelings charging at the big stallion from his left without him noticing.
''Professor Rockhoof, look out!'' Yona shouted as loud as she could.
Rockhoof heard her shouting and looked to his left to see the changelings closing in on him. He ducked out of the way just in time as the changelings flew right over him. He then looked behind him to see Yona coming his way.
''Yona?!'' Rockhoof said while looking surprised.
Rockhoof quickly looked back in front of him to see Applejack jumping towards him. The orange mare was about to land another kick on his chest, but Rockhoof blocked it just in time using the metal part of his shovel and pushed Applejack back, launching her far away from him and Yona.
More changelings appeared behind Rockhoof and got ready to strike the big stallion. Yona arrived just in time and smashed the armored creatures away from him right before they had the chance to attack.
''What are ya doing here?!'' Rockhoof asked when looking back at Yona again.
''Rockhoof and Apple Pony need to follow Yona to castle!'' Yona said, ''Yona and friends know how to save Twilight and friends! And restore Elements of Harmony!''
''Really?!'' Rockhoof said.
Yona quickly nodded, ''Other Pillars waiting for us too!''
''Great work, Yona!'' Rockhoof said with a confident smile.
''Rockhoof, behind you!'' Gallus shouted as he flew towards him and Yona. They both turned around and saw Applejack running over the walls in their direction.
''Lead us to the castle! I'll keep her busy!'' Rockhoof said as he watched Applejack.
Applejack ducked and tried to sweep Rockhoof's legs, but he quickly blocked her kick with his shovel and pushed her back against the ground. Rockhoof quickly followed Yona and Gallus across the fortress walls and headed to the nearest flight of stairs. Rockhoof still kept an eye on the Applejack, who stood back up and immediately began to chase after them.
Pinkie Pie kept pulling an infinite amount of green, poisonous cupcakes from her mane and threw them all into the air towards Somnambula at an insanely rapid speed.
Somnambula kept dodging the incoming cupcakes with a series of aerobatic moves, but eventually she felt herself getting hit by one of them on her right wing. The female pegasus shrieked from the pain in her wing and descended down towards the ground.
Mage Meadowbrook, wearing her bird mask, watched Fluttershy flying down towards her at full speed with an intimidating look on her face. The blue earth pony jumped out of the way with a hoofstand maneuver, causing Fluttershy to miss her just by a hair and crash into a changeling close to them.
Having bought herself some time, Mage Meadowbrook looked to her left and noticed Somnambula laying on the ground with a green infection growing on her right wing.
''Somnambula!'' Mage Meadowbrook shouted before grabbing a small blue potion bottle out of her left saddle bag, ''Use this!''
Somnambula noticed Mage Meadowbrook throwing the potion bottle in her direction. She caught it in her hooves, removed the cork stopper with her mouth and poured the blue liquid inside the bottle over the infection on her wing. The effects of the liquid took effect within a few seconds and the green infection on her wing slowly vanished.
''Thanks for the assistance!'' Somnambula said to Mage Meadowbrook.
''What are friends for?!'' Mage Meadowbrook said back.
Somnambula stood back up just in time to see Pinkie Pie getting ready to throw more of the poisonous cupcakes at her. She flew up into the sky and continued dodging the incoming cupcakes once more. Eventually she decided to hide herself in the battlefield, causing Pinkie Pie to lose sight of her. The pink pony growled and fight her way through the crowd of changelings and ponies.
Meanwhile, Mistmane summoned a water dragon from the magical circle that surrounded her. Rarity showed a serious look and fired a series of white lasers from her horn at Mistmane. The old looking unicorn stayed still in concentration as the water dragon ate and swallowed all of the incoming white lasers, which all turned into water inside it's stomach. Rarity growled in frustration and charged at Mistmane. The water dragon quickly wrapped it's tail around Rarity's body and threw her back into two changelings.
Fluttershy rushed down at Mage Meadowbrook once again. This time Mage Meadowbrook reached for her right saddle bag and threw a small grey bottle at Fluttershy, which exploded into smoke as soon as it made contact with the incoming pegasus. Mage Meadowbrook took her chance and kicked the blinded Fluttershy away with her back legs. The yellow pegasus crashed into one of the armored changelings in the battlefield.
''I don't know how much longer we can keep this up!'' Mage Meadowbrook said as she ran over to Mistmane.
''We have got to hold them off until Starswirl has come up with a plan!'' Somnambula said as she joined up with Mistmane and Mage Meadowbrook.
''Mage Meadowbrook!'' Sandbar shouted as he, Silverstream and Ocellus all made their way throught the chaotic battlefield. Mage Meadowbrook, Mistmane and Somnambula all turned their attention to where they heard the voice coming from and saw the three of them heading their way.
''What are you doing here?!'' Mage Meadowbrook asked surprised.
''No time to explain,'' Ocellus answered, ''We need you and the other Pillars to come to the castle with us! There might still be a way to change the Elements of Harmony back to normal!''
''But we've split up!'' Mage Meadowbrook said, ''We don't know where the others are!''
''It's okay,'' Silverstream reassured them, ''We've already got that covered!''
''Then we must hurry,'' Somnambula said, ''Who knows how long Equestria has left!''
''We'll keep an eye on Twilight's friends while you lead us to the castle!'' Mistmane said.
''Everyone, follow me!'' Ocellus said as she led her friends and the three Pillars through the battlefield. Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie saw them leaving and chased after them.
Starlight panted calmly and watched how Chrysalis summoned six pillars of green fire out of the ground from her left and right side. The flames immediately headed towards Starlight at full speed. She quickly encased herself inside a magical barrier, which only barely managed protected her from the green flames. The barrier immediately disappeared right after the fire vanished.
Starlight started panting slightly faster as she watched Chrysalis laughing at her maniacally.
''Is this really the best you can do?!'' Chrysalis asked in a mocking tone, ''Face it, Starlight Glimmer! You can't stop me no matter what you do!''
''Maybe I can't,'' Starlight said calmly, ''But you're never gonna stop me from trying.''
''If that means I'll get to see you suffer some more, then I'm game!'' Chrysalis said. She fire another green magic beam from her horn. The tired unicorn put up a magic shield and struggled to block Chrysalis's magic, only barely able to hold it off before both the shield and magic beam disappeared.
''It's not just me who will suffer,'' Starlight said with a determined look as she did her best to stand her ground, ''Everything in Equestria, including you and your new kingdom, will all no longer exist if we don't do anything to reverse all this.''
''Why do you keep telling me this nonsense?!'' Chrysalis said in a frustrated tone.
''Because I've once made the same mistake as you,'' Starlight began to explain, ''One year ago, Twilight and her friends took my village of equality away from me. And I wanted to take my revenge on them by altering time and making it so that she and her friends would have never met. But instead, my actions nearly caused the destruction of Equestria.''
Chrysalis kept on listening to Starlight while having a slightly conflicted look on her face.
''I never would have gone that far if I knew what my actions would have done to Equestria,'' Starlight continued to explain as Chrysalis kept looking conflicted, ''And I know that not even you would go that far either!''
''Spare me you're stupid, nonsensical friendship speeches!'' Chrysalis said as her conflicted look got replaced by a look of hatred, ''You know nothing about me! My kingdom will not fall! And you will never defeat me!'' Out of rage she fired another green magic beam. Starlight tried to teleport, but quickly felt that she didn't have enough magic and was forced to jump out of the way. Chrysalis's attack only barely missed her.
Twilight Sparkle growled at Starswirl before shooting a series of huge magic beams and into the air high above the square of the castle. They spiraled around each other and eventually descended down at great speed. The old unicorn wizard stood his ground, used his magic to steer Twilight's magic beams back up into the sky and clashed them against each other, causing a big explosion in the air.
''Starswirl!''
Starswirl recognized Rockhoof's voice immediately. He looked to where he heard the voice and saw the big stallion running to him with the other pillars. Ocellus and her friends appeared from around the corner close behind them half a second later, soon followed by Twilight's corrupted friends.
Starswirl quickly looked back in front of him when he heard a charging sound. Twilight's green glowing eyes were filled with pure anger as it looked like she was about to demolish everyone with another magic beam.
''Everyone, quick! Get around me!'' Starswirl demanded to the other pillars and the six crearures heading his way.
Ocellus, her friends and the other pillars reached Starswirl just in time before he surrounded everyone inside a white magic barrier. Right after the white barrier was put up, Twilight's friends rushed at them and started kicking and tackling away against the magical protection non-stop.
''Alright, we got everyone!'' Gallus said to Starswirl.
''Excellent work, young heroes,'' Starswirl said while struggling to keep the barrier up with every blow it got from Twilight's friends, ''Now, I need you all to stand close to the pony who shares the same element as you!''
''How do we figure out what our elements are?!'' Silverstream asked.
''Try to remember your test from the Tree of Harmony,'' Ocellus said to her friends. ''Which part of the Elements of Harmony comes to your mind?!''
''Make it quick!'' Starswirl said as he felt Twilight shooting her own magic at the magic barrier, ''My barrier won't last much longer!''
Gallus and his friends all began to think back to their tests from the Tree of Harmony and tried to remember which part of the elements the pillars presented.
''I got it!'' Smolder said before standing close to Flash Magnus, ''Mine must be loyalty!''
''Yona know too!'' Yona suddenly said before she placed herself close to Rockhoof, ''Yona test definitely about honesty!''
Ocellus tried to remember the last words she said before she had passed her test from the Tree of Harmony. She eventually positioned herself next to Mistmane.
''I assume mine must be generosity!'' Ocellus said.
Sandbar went over to Mage Meadowbrook, ''Kindness! I'm sure that's the one I have!''
''That only leaves laughter and magic!'' Ocellus said.
''Well, the laughter part is easy!'' Gallus said when looking over at Silverstream.
''Me?!'' Silverstream asked curiously.
''Well, duh!'' Smolder said, ''You and Professor Pinkie act almost exactly the same!''
''Fair point!'' Silverstream said before standing next to Somnambula.
''Then that means I'm the element of magic,'' Gallus said before standing close to Starswirl, ''Let's hope we got it right!''
''Hold the hoof of the pony next to you, young heroes,'' Starswirl said, ''I'll do the rest!''
Starswirl reached out his hoof to Gallus, who didn't think twice and immediately held the old unicorn's hoof with his claw. Ocellus and the others all quickly did the same and held hooves with the Pillars that stood right next to them.
''Look!'' Ocellus said when she saw Twilight and her friends charging up the Elements of Disharmony with dark magic.
''This is it, friends,'' Starswirl said, ''It's now or never!'' He closed his eyes as the white aura around his horn glowed brighter.
Two white magical lines appeared from Starswirl's glowing horn and spread themselves across the artifacts of the Pillars. Each of them slowly started glowing in a different color. Gallus looked at the book on Starswirl's back and saw it showing a bright purple color. On the center of his chest glowed another light with the same color as one from Starswirl's book. Gallus looked over to his friends and saw the same thing happening to them as well, only each of them with different colors. He soon realized they represented the other Elements of Harmony.
''It's working!'' Silverstream said, having sparkles in her eyes while looking blue glowing light on her chest.
''Let's hope it will be enough!'' Somnambula said.
''It better be!'' Smolder said as she saw Twilight and her friends getting ready to use their dark elements against them.
''NOW!'' Starswirl shouted.
The white magic barrier quickly got pulled back into Starswirl's horn. Multiple colored lasers shot out of the magical artifacts and onto Starswirl's horn. The magic glow from Gallus's chest and the ones from his friends all did the same thing. The twelve lasers formed into a small, rainbow colored ball of magic that circled around the tip of Starswirl's horn.
Twilight and her friends stared with intimidating looks on their faces before six dark lasers shot out of their corrupted elements and onto Twilight's horn. They clashed with each other and formed into a small dark sphere around Twilight's horn. A split second later, a gigantic, black and grey colored beam got fired from Twilight's horn that headed straight to Starswirl and the others.
The floating ball of magic on Starswirl's horn quickly turned into a gigantic, rainbow colored magic beam that headed towards the dark magic from Twilight and her friends. The two beams clashed with each other once more. The power of the two colliding magic beams made the entire fortress shake uncontrollably and caused many cracks to appear in parts of the castle behind them.
''Hang in there, everyone!'' Rockhoof shouted while he and the other Pillars held onto the six creatures standing close to them.
It didn't take long before the rainbow beam slowly pushed the dark magic back. Sweatdrops appeared on the forehead of Twilight and her friends as they gave it their all, using all of the dark magic that was left in the Elements of Disharmony. Their efforts managed to halt the rainbow beam from coming closer for a few seconds, but only kept nearing the six corrupted ponies inch by inch immediately after.
''Almost...got it!'' Starswirl said.
Finally the rainbow beam managed to overpower the dark magic of the corrupted elements. Starswirl and the others all saw the rainbow magic hit Twilight Sparkle and her friends. The bright light from the rainbow magic caused their dark magic slowly vanquish and turn the Elements of Harmony back to their original state. Right after the elements were restored and the light had dissapeared, six familiar looking artifacts emerged from the necklaces of Twilight and her friends. They got launched away from the elements and fell on the ground right in front of Starswirl and the others.
''The school's magical artifacts!'' Sandbar said with a surprised look.
''So that's where she got the power to corrupt the Elements of Harmony.'' Starswirl said.
Starswirl and the others looked over to Twilight and her friends when they heard multiple groans in front of them. The green glow in the eyes of the six ponies had dissappeared and the colors from the Elements of Harmony seemed to have fully changed back to normal.
''What just happened?'' Twilight asked while she and her friends all looked around in confusion.
''Have we ended up in some kind of alternate dimension?'' Pinkie Pie asked when she saw the many changelings that were fighting with the royal guards.
''Starswirl?!'' Rarity said when she noticed him and the other Pillars.
''The pillars?!'' Rainbow dash said when she and the others quickly looked in front of them as well.
''And the six young students?'' Fluttershy said with a curious look.
''What in tarnation are y'all doing here?!'' Applejack asked in surprise.
''Woohoo!'' Silverstream said happily as she jumped up and raised her fist into the air, ''We did it! They're back to normal!''
''Don't celebrate yet, young hippogriff,'' Somnambula said, ''We still have to bring harmony back to Equestria.''
''What are you talking about?'' Rarity asked with a worried look.
''Starswirl, what's going on here?!'' Twilight asked when she approached the old unicorn wizard.
''Chrysalis used these artifacts to corrupt you and the Elements of Harmony.'' Starswirl explained while pointing at the artifacts on the ground.
''What?!'' Twilight and her friends all said in perfect unison while having shocked looks on her faces.
''And now she used them to cause havoc all over Equestria,'' Starswirl continued to explain, ''If we don't find a way to reverse it all, Equestria will eventually cease to exist!''
''Can't we just use the Elements of Harmony to save Equestria?!'' Silverstream suggested.
''I'm afraid not, Silverstream,'' Twilight answered, ''The Elements of Harmony are powerful, but it's magic is nowhere near enough to save all of Equestria at once!''
''What about our artifacts?'' Flash Magnus asked, ''We can use those along with the Elements of Harmony, right?!''
''Perhaps that could work.'' Mage Meadowbrook said.
''Equestria is a big place,'' Starswirl explained, ''I have my doubts if that will be enough.''
Ocellus looked over at the school's artifacts for a moment, ''But what if....'' She said while rubbing her chin.
''If what?'' Rarity asked Ocellus curiously.
''What if we use the Elements of Harmony, the artifacts of the Pillars AND the school's artifacts together?!'' Ocellus suggested, ''Maybe their magic combined could save Equestria!''
''We could give it a try,'' Twilight answered, ''But I don't know. The school artifacts may have magic, but only me, my friends and the Pillars are connected to the Elements of Harmony.''
''Well, about that.'' Smolder said.
''What is it?'' Fluttershy asked curiously.
Pinkie Pie suddenly widened her eyes and gasped, ''Wait a minute, are you saying...''
Gallus nodded, ''We're still not exactly sure how, but me and my friends carry the magic of the Elements of Harmony inside us as well.''
''Say what?!'' Applejack asked with a flabbergasted look on her face.
''It's true, Professor Applejack,'' Silverstream said, ''We saw Gallus use it when he saved us from Chrysalis's attack.''
''That's right,'' Ocellus said, ''And if Twilight and her friends are connected to the Elements of Harmony. And the Pillars are connected to their artifacts, then that could mean-''
''That we might share a connection to the artifacts from each of our homes!'' Gallus said, finishing Ocellus's sentence.
''Exactly!'' Ocellus said with a hopeful look.
''If what you're saying is true, then we still have a chance!'' Twilight said determinedly.
''I say we try it!'' Rainbow Dash said.
Sandbar got a hold of Clover the Clever's cloak and tied it around his neck like a cape. Yona grabbed the Helm of Yksler with her mouth, threw it up into the air and made it fall down on her head between her horns. Silverstream snatched the Amulet of Aurora and placed it around her neck on top of her other necklace. Ocellus picked up the Talisman of Mirage and held onto it with her right hoof. Smolder grabbed Knuckerbocker's Shell while Gallus picked up the Crown of Grover and placed it on his head.
''Everyone, stand close with the one who shares your element and gather around in a circle!'' Starswirl said. They all quickly did as they were told and soon everyone formed a big circle in the center of the square.
''Let's do this!'' Twilight said with determination in her voice.
Twilight closed her eyes as a purple colored magical line came from her horn and formed a circle across the Elements of Harmony. Her friends all close their eyes as well before the elements around their necks started glowing, each of them shining in the color of their respective element. Starswirl did the same as Twilight with a white magic line that spread itself across the magical artifacts, causing each of them to start glowing in the same color as the element they represented. One by one Gallus and his friends noticed the same bright light as before coming from their chests once again. Not even a second later, a small magic laser emerged from their chests and connected themselves with their school's artifacts. Eventually the Elements of Harmony and the twelve magical artifacts all shot multiple colored magic beams into the sky. All of their magic collided with each other and slowly began to form into a gigantic, colorful, bright sphere. They all looked at the giant sphere as many colors kept flowing through it at rapid speed. The sphere kept grow larger and larger.
Chrysalis had to try her best to stay on her hooves as she slowly approached the wounded and tired looking Starlight, who was laying on her side against the ground with her hooves and legs tied up with green slime. Chrysalis stopped when her face was right above Starlight's body and looked down at her with a evil grin on her face.
''It's over, Starlight Glimmer,'' Chrysalis said with slight exhaustion in her voice, ''And this time, nopony will come to save you.'' She then proceed to aim her horn at Starlight's head.
Starlight, too exhausted from using too much magic, watched helplessly as small green sparks appeared from Chrysalis's glowing horn right in front of her face.
Just as Chrysalis was about to finish off the weakened unicorn, she heard what sounded like a giant explosion coming from her fortress. She quickly looked up to the mountain next to the fortess and saw a gigantic, rainbow colored sphere consuming the whole fortress. The colorful sphere grew bigger and bigger and headed their way.
''What is that?!'' Chrysalis asked with a shocked look on her face.
While Chrysalis was distracted by the giant sphere, Starlight used the last bit of her magic to make a small magic ball appear on her horn. She raised her head a little and fired a magic beam against Chrysalis's horn. A scream of pain along with a cracking sound could be heard from Chrysalis before she and Starlight both got consumed by the incoming rainbow sphere.
Gallus noticed that the glimps of bright light under the small opening of his closed eyelids had finally disappeared. He slowly opened his eyes again and checked his surroundings.
The blue griffin looked amazed when he saw that the big stone fortress had completely changed back into the rich and beautiful city of Canterlot. The dark clouds from before were nowhere to be seen. The blood red sky had become bright blue and was filled with white clouds once again.
''Gallus!'' Gallus heard Silverstream's voice shouting in excitement. He looked over to his left to see the overjoyed looking hippogriff running towards him. His other friends were following close behind her, all of them still carrying their artifacts with them.
''Silverstream?'' Gallus said, still trying to figure out what had happened.
Silverstream jumped at Gallus and embraced him into a big, tight hug, ''We did it!'' She said excitedly before letting go of the hug, ''We did it, Gallus! We saved Equestria! Can you believe it?!''
Gallus looked at his friends for a bit before giving Silverstream a genuine smile.
''I sure can.'' Gallus answered calmly before giving Silverstream another hug. His friends all smiled and joined in on the hug. A small tear ran down Gallus's cheek as his friends hugged him for what felt like a full minute before finally letting go.
''Nice crown, Gallus.'' Smolder said to Gallus in a joking manner.
''Thanks,'' Gallus said while his eyes were looking up at the crown, ''Maybe one day I'll become the king of Griffonstone with this.''
''Really?!'' Silverstream asked with an eager smile.
''Nah, probably not,'' Gallus answered, ''But I can dream, right?''
''Yaks gonna be amazed when yaks see Yona wearing Helm of Yksler!'' Yona said while happily looking her helmet.
While Gallus and his friends kept admiring their artifacts, Twilight descended down from the sky and landed close to her five friends.
''Looks like everthing in Equestria is back to normal once again.'' Twilight said to them with a happy smile.
She and her friends all looked behind them when they heard the sound of wings flapping coming from streets of Canterlot. Much to their relief, they saw a horde of colorful changelings along with a group of royal and crystal guards heading their way. Thorax and Pharynx led them all through the city and towards the castle. The changelings all stopped right in front of Twilight and her friends and showed them a friendly smile before giving them a royal bow.
Starswirl watched the changelings before looking back at the five other Pillars, ''Another job well done, my friends.'' He said while giving the other Pillars a satisfied smile.
''Just like old times, ay Flash?'' Rockhoof said while giving Flash Magnus a small pat on his shoulder, causing the armored pony to nearly fall over before regaining his balance.
Flash Magnus looked at Rockhoof, ''Yup, just like old times.'' He said with a smile while rubbing his shoulder with his hoof.
Ocellus eventually began to look around in panicky manner, ''Wait a minute...''
''What's wrong, Ocellus?'' Sandbar asked when he noticed the worried look on her face
''Where's Starlight?!'' Ocellus asked her friends out loud.
Suddenly a bright flash of blue light flashed close to them for half a second, which attracted the attention of everyone standing in front of the castle. They all gasped and looked shocked when they saw a wounded and tired looking Starlight Glimmer standing a few meters away from them. The unicorn kept on panting while trying her best to stand on her hooves. Next to her layed an unconscious Chrysalis on the ground with her back turned away from them.
''Counselor Pony!'' Yona said with a concerned look before running over to Starlight.
Starlight was about to collapse on the ground, but Yona was able to reach her just in time and caught Starlight's body on her back. Yona looked back at the exhausted looking unicorn, who was resting on her back while breathing steadily with her eyes closed.
''My goodness,'' Rarity said with a worried look, ''What happened to her?''
''She must have used up all of her energy against her fight with Chrysalis.'' Starswirl explained. Twilight and her friends, the other Pillars and the changelings all went over to Yona and took a closer look at Starlight.
''Poor Starlight.'' Fluttershy asked with a worried look.
''It's alright, everyone,'' Mage Meadowbrook said reassuringly, ''One potion and alot of rest should be enough to heal her wounds.'' She grabbed a small blue bottle from her right saddle bag.
''Thank you, Mage Meadowbrook.'' Twilight said with a relieved smile. ''And I just wanted to thank you and the other Pillars for saving us.''
''Awww, you're welcome, Princess Twilight.'' Mage Meadowbrook said before removing the cork stopper from the bottle.
Mage gently opened Starlight's mouth with her hoof and poured the liquid inside the bottle into the unicorn's mouth. She threw the bottle away, which Pinkie Pie caught with her mane.
Pinkie held the bottle in front of her nose and sniffed it a little, ''Hmmmmm, blue berries.'' She said before swallowing the bottle. The others all smiled at the pink pony before looking back at Starlight, who was still laying on Yona's back.
''Is it working?'' Silverstream asked after waiting for a few seconds.
''Don't worry, It will,'' Mage Meadowbrook answered, ''It just takes some time before the potion takes full effect.''
''Twilight!'' Twilight heard a familiar, regal voice calling from the entrance of the Canterlot castle.
''Princess Celestia?!'' Twilight said when she and her friends looked over at the castle to see Princess Celestia and Luna walking over to them with warm smiles on their faces. Behind them they could see Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and Princess Cadance also heading their way.
''Twily!'' Shining Armor said happily. He ran towards her little sister and embraced her into a hug.
''We're so glad to see you're all okay.'' Cadance said as she and Flurry Heart joined in on their hug.
''How could we ever thank you for saving us?'' Luna asked the Pillars with a calm smile.
Starswirl let out a friendly laugh, ''While we certainly played our part in saving Equestria,'' He said before looking over at Ocellus and her friends, ''We never would have succeeded if it weren't for the help of these six very special young heroes.''
''He's talking about us.'' Silverstream whispered to her friends with an eager smile. Her friends smiled at her and rolled their eyes.
Celestia and Luna both walked over to the six creatures and gave them a royal bow as a way to say thank you. Gallus and his friends all looked amazed and suprised at the two princesses.
''I still can't believe that you six share a connection with the Elements of Harmony.'' Rainbow Dash said to Smolder and her friends while looking impressed.
''Me neither,'' Pinkie Pie said, ''That's a twist that even I did not see coming.....mostly.'' She gave a playful wink to her friends, who gave her a friendly eyeroll.
''I guess that just goes to show how strong the friendship between them really is.'' Applejack said.
While everyone was busy reuniting with each other, no one noticed Chrysalis slowy regaining her consciousness. She slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Starlight Glimmer resting on Yona's back. Chrysalis watched her with rage filled in her eyes. She did her best to stand up without any of them noticing. Chrysalis eventually stood back on her legs, but before she could act, a series of chains appeared out of thin air and tied her up, causing her to fall back on the ground. Immediately after that a muzzle strapped itself around Chrysalis's mouth. She started muffling under the muzzle as she tried to struggle free from the chains.
Applejack turned around when she heard the muffling coming from behind her, ''What in tarnation?!'' She said when she took notice of the chained up Chrysalis. Everyone joined in and looked at Chrysalis struggling in the chains.
Before any of them could question what was going on, a giant white flash appeared between Chrysalis and the rest of the ponies for a split second and revealed itself to be none other than Discord.
Discord groaned and stretched, ''Finally,'' He said in a frustrated tone, ''That was even worse than my last stone imprisonment! No seeing, no talking, no nothing!''
''Discord?'' Fluttershy said in surprise.
''Where have you been this whole time?!'' Rainbow Dash asked.
''Don't even ask,'' Discord said in a irritated manner, ''It makes me sick just thinking about it.''
Chrysalis tried to fire her magic at Starlight while no one was looking, only for nothing but a few small sparks to come out of her forehead. Her pupils looked up and she widened her eyes in shock when coming to the realization that half of her horn had broken off.
Eventually some of the guards quickly surrounded Chrysalis while aiming the tip of their spears at her. Everyone else joined in and stared at the chained up changeling in anger.
''It's over, Chrysalis.'' Cadance said.
''And we're not gonna let you escape this time.'' Shining Armor said with a furious look.
Flurry Heart placed her hoof under her eye lid, pulled it down and mockingly stuck out her tongue at Chrysalis.
''What shall we do with her, your highness?'' One of the Royal guards.
''I already have something in mind for her,'' Celestia said calmly, ''Get Chancellor Neighsay.''
Cozy Glow sat inside her cage and sighed with a pout on her face, ''I didn't expect Tartarus to be so boring.'' She said while placing her hoof on her cheek.
''I've been stuck here for at least a thousand years,'' Tirek said in a irritated manner with his arms crossed in his cage, ''Think about that next time you start complaining about boredom, you little pest.''
Suddenly Tirek and Cozy Glow noticed a giant blue portal appearing next to them.
''Oh, golly,'' Cozy Glow said with a happy smile, ''Looks like we're getting a new neighbour.''
A giant cage hovered out of the portal and landed next to Cozy Glow's. After that, some royal guards appeared out of the portal. A few of them carried a chained up Chrysalis on their backs. One guard opened the cage, the ones carrying Chrysalis threw her inside and closed the cage before putting a small lock on it. The guards turned around and exited back through the portal without saying a word. The chains around Chrysalis's body and the muzzle on her mouth dissappeared right after the portal was gone.
Chrysalis catched her breath, ''Where am I?!'' She asked while looking around the dark and empty place.
''Welcome in Tartarus, new neighbour,'' Cozy Glow said with a fake happy smile, ''Wanna be friends?''
''Tartarus?!'' Chrysalis said as she looked at Cozy Glow and Tirek before realizing what that meant. She looked back at her broken horn with a defeated look on her face. She shut her eyes, screamed out loud and punched her hooves against the metal bars of the cage as hard as she could, all while very small tears appeared under her eyes.
''Good riddance.'' Discord said with an irritated look. He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light.
Ocellus sighed with a disappointed look, ''I can't believe I actually used to look up to her.''
''Don't worry, Ocellus,'' Smolder said as she placed her claw on the blue changeling's shoulder, ''That's all in the past now. She's not gonna be able to hurt anyone anymore.''
''That's right,'' Silverstream said, ''And who knows? Maybe she'll see the error of her ways and change for the better.''
''Perhaps one day she might,'' Sandbar said, ''After all, Discord was able to change his ways. So I don't see why she couldn't.''
''Let's hope so.'' Ocellus said.
Gallus and his friends all noticed Twilight walking over to them with a warm smile on her face
''Words cannot describe how proud I am of you right now.'' Twilight said before stopping in front of them.
Gallus looked at the crown on his head as he remembered something, ''Headmare Twilight.'' He said with a uncertain tone in his voice.
''You can just call me Twilight now, Gallus.'' Twilight said to him with a friendly smile.
''Twilight,'' Gallus said before he took the crown off his head, ''About the artifacts...''
''I know,'' Twilight said before Gallus could finish, ''Chrysalis was the one who stole them, not you. And I'm really sorry I accused you. I was just really worried about what happened to the artifacts and I wasn't thinking straight.''
''Wait, how do you know?'' Gallus asked curiously.
''Celestia wasn't really the one who had called us for an emergency back at the school,'' Twilight began to explain, ''It was Chrysalis pretending to be her. I knew that when I saw the green magic on her horn and when she showed us the school's magical artifacts. That's when she casted a spell to hypnotize me and my friends into doing her bidding.''
Gallus sighed, ''And that all happened because of me.''
''What are you talking about?'' Twilight asked with a confused look, ''I just explained-''
''I asked Chrysalis to help me break into your office that night,'' Gallus said before Twilight could finish her sentence, ''She had disguised herself as that pony named Cosette and I asked her to help me remove the magical lock on your door so I could get in. That's how she was able to find the six artifacts. I wanted to stop her when I found out her true intentions, but she used a spell on me to erase my memories.''
''Erase your memories?'' Twilight said worriedly.
''It's okay, Twilight,'' Sandbar said when he noticed the worried look on her face, ''Starlight already used a spell to bring back his memory a while ago.''
''That's why I didn't know who you were when you confronted me in my room.'' Gallus explained.
''I see,'' Twilight said with a concerned look, ''But why did you wanna break into my office in the first place?
Gallus sighed again with a somber look, ''I wanted to find the answers for the finals so I could pass with ease,'' He explained in a non reluctant voice, ''I was afraid that if I didn't, I would never see my friends again. Since they would have passed for sure.''
''But you've been doing so well at school lately,'' Twilight said, ''What made you think you would fail?
''Back when me and my friends went to the Castle of the Two Sisters, I got hit by some kind of dark magic from a black crystal in a secret passage,'' Gallus continued to explain, ''It showed me a vision where you and my friends put me in a giant pit. You kept telling me about all the mistakes I made in my life. And you also told me how I didn't study enough for the finals and that I would fail no matter what.''
Celestia and Luna both gave each other a concerned look as they listened to Gallus's story.
''Dark magic? Black crystal?'' Twilight said with a puzzled look. She widened her eyes after saying those words. Memories of her first visit to the Crystal Empire came back to her.
''What?'' Gallus asked in surprise.
''But that's impossible,'' Twilight said, ''That obviously must be the work of King Sombra, but he was defeated a few years ago.''
Twilight and her friends's attention quickly turned to Celestia and Luna.
''What do you mean?'' Rarity asked.
Celestia didn't answer and instead gave everyone a very conflicted look.
Pinkie Pie widened her eyes and gasped, ''Is he...''
''Don't worry, he's not back from the dead or anything,'' Luna quickly said, ''At least I hope not.''
''Then what is it?'' Fluttershy asked.
''....I rather not talk about it right now,'' Celestia answered hesitantly, ''Maybe some other day.''
''Let's just say that my sister and I have a complicated history with Sombra and leave it at that, okay?'' Luna said.
''Okay, I understand.'' Twilight said, still sounding somewhat worried.
''Thank you.'' Celestia said, showing a relieved smile.
''Your highnesses,'' Flash Magnus's voice came from one of the buildings close to the castle.
Everyone looked surprised and relieved when they saw the grey armored pegasus and the other Pillars leading all of the ponies of Canterlot to the castle.
''We have searched every place and corner of the crystal cave,'' Mistmane said, ''Everypony is back safe and sound.''
''Twilight!'' Twilight heard Spike's voice coming from the crowd of ponies.
''Spike?!'' Twilight said eagerly.
Spike popped out amongst the Canterlot ponies and showed an overjoyed smile on his face. The purple dragon quickly flew towards Twilight and hugged the purple alicorn as tight as he could.
''How did you manage to save Equestria this time?'' Spike asked eagerly.
Twilight giggled, ''Well, it wasn't exactly just me and my friends who saved Equestria.''
''Then who did?'' Spike asked in surprise.
''I'll tell you all about it on the way home.'' Twilight said with happy smile, ''But right now, I think it's time for us to head back to the School of Friendship.''
''Good idea,'' Spike said while stretching, ''I could use some cooling down after everything that's happened today.''
''But what about the finals, Twilight?'' Ocellus asked.
''Oh, don't worry about that,'' Twilight said, ''I already have something else in mind for you and your friends. You could call it a special surprise.''
''A surprise?!'' Silverstream said eagerly with an excited smile.
''What Headmare Twilight mean?'' Yona asked.
Twilight giggled, ''You'll see when we get back to school.''
''I would like to thank you all again for everything that you've done for Equestria,'' Celestia said to the six students and the Pillars with a warm smile, ''None of it would have been possible without you.''
''It was our pleasure, your highness.'' Somnambula said with a bow.
''But let's not forget the six very special creatures who helped us succeed in the first place.'' Starswirl said while giving Gallus and his friends a calm smile.
''Thanks, Starswirl,'' Gallus said with a confident smile before looking over at Ocellus, ''But I think Ocellus is the one who you should really be thanking.''
Ocellus looked over at Gallus in surprise, ''Why me?''
''Isn't it obvious?'' Smolder asked, ''You brought the Pillars here and figured out how to restore the Elements of Harmony.''
''Not to mention all the other stuff you were able to figure out for us during our adventure.'' Sandbar added.
''You all took the words right out of my mouth.'' Gallus said with a confident smile.
''Yona think Ocellus is best changeling!'' Yona said, causing Ocellus to smile a little with a light blush on her face.
''If you say so.'' Ocellus said in a shy tone.
''I know so.'' Smolder said before giving Ocellus a small wink.
''I think it's about time we all go back to our homes as well,'' Mage Meadowbrook said while looking at her friends, ''Wouldn't you all agree?''
''I certainly do.'' Mistmane said.
''Ay, you got that right, Mage.'' Rockhoof said.
''See you all until our next adventure, my friends!'' Flash Magnus said while saluting to Starswirl and the other Pillars. The old unicorn gave him a friendly nod and teleported out of Canterlot with the other four Pillars.
Twilight smiled before looking back at the six students, ''Now then, are you all ready to go back to school for something very special?''
Gallus and his friends all started cheering amongst each other and followed Twilight and her friends to the train station of Canterlot.
One by one the hippogriffs, griffins, yaks, changelings and dragons crossed the pond and entered through the front door of the School of Friendship. They joined the crowd of ponies who were all waiting patiently in the main hall.
Everywhere the creatures looked they could see party decorations hanging around at every corner. Between the two pillars at the end of the hall hung a colorful banner with the faces of Gallus, Yona, Ocellus, Sandbar, Silverstream and Smolder painted on it. The word graduation was written above their faces with the symbols of the Elements of Harmony being painted on the lower side of the banner.
Under the banner stood Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, both of them looking proud while Gallus and his friends were standing close behind the two ponies.
''Alright, I think that's everyone.'' Starlight said to Twilight before she levitated the school's six magical artifacts from the ground in front of them.
Twilight smiled at Starlight before looking at the giant crowd, "Attention, everycreature!" She announced accidentally in her royal Canterlot voice. All of the ponies and creatures in the main hall instantly turned their attention to the purple alicorn while looking either shocked or surprised. Her voice kept echoing through the school for a few more seconds before fading away.
''I think they heard you.'' Starlight said in a joking manner while covering her ears with her hooves.
Twilight giggled nervously and got ready to give her speech.
''As you all know, a few days have passed since Equestria has overcome it's biggest crisis yet,'' Twilight began to explain, ''Only this time, it was thanks to the efforts of six amazing, strong and courageous young students that we were able to bring harmony back to Equestria. A Friendship so strong, the Tree of Harmony has deemed them worthy as six new wielders of the elements. That's why I called you all here to celebrate our victory. And as a big thank you for everything these very special students have done for us.''
Twilight and Starlight stepped out of the way until Gallus, Silverstream, Ocellus, Smolder, Yona and Sandbar were visible to the whole crowd.
''Give it up for Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, Ocellus, Smolder and Sandbar! Our new saviours of Equestria!'' Twilight said while showing a proud smile to the crowd.
As Starlight started handing the six young students their artifacts, all the ponies and creatures in the main hall erupted in applause. It got so loud that the sound of their cheering could be heard throughout every classroom inside the school.
Gallus looked around at all the cheering going on, the party decorations hanging everywhere and then back at his artifact. He slowly got lost in thought for a moment. Being called a saviour of Equestria, loved and adored by so many creatures at once. Not even in his dreams would he have imagined a day like this. And all of it was made possible thanks to a school that had been set up by seven ponies.
Gallus eventually snapped out of it and looked over at Starlight. While his friends kept on listening to the rest of Twilight's speech, the blue griffin went over to Starlight without any of them noticing.
"Hey, Counselor Starlight," Gallus said while tapping her shoulder, which got her attention.
"What is it?'' Starlight asked while raising her eyebrow.
Gallus's head reached close to Starlight's ear while placing his claw next to his mouth. He quietly whispered something into her ear. After he was done whispering, Starlight raised both of her eyebrows.
''Really?'' Starlight whispered with a surprise look, ''Wow, I never expected an idea like that from you.''
''After everything they've done for me and my friends, I think they deserve it.'' Gallus whispered back with a confident smile.
''Alright, I'll do it.'' Starlight said before she teleported away from the spot.
After she was gone, Gallus looked back at Twilight, who was still busy giving her speech to the crowd.
Smolder looked to her left to see Gallus walking over to the purple alicorn, ''What are you doing?'' She asked the blue griffin quietly.
''You'll see.'' Gallus answered while giving Smolder a wink.
''And that's why I-'' Twilight stopped mid-sentence when she felt something tapping her on the right shoulder. She looked behind her and saw Gallus standing close to her.
''What is it, Gallus?'' Twilight asked.
''Is it okay if I get to say something too?'' Gallus asked.
''Oh, sure,'' Twilight said before she turned her eyes back to the other creatures, ''It seems that Gallus has something to say as well.''
Gallus walked past Twilight, positioned himself in front of the crowd and looked at everyone in the main hall with a look of confidence on his face. He took a deep breath and got ready to give his speech.
''Before I came to this school, I used to see friendship as something that I never wanted, or even needed,'' Gallus said loud enough to be heard by everyone, "Back when I used to live on the streets of Griffonstone, I didn't see the point. I thought that any creature could just be perfectly happy on their own. That has always been the case for me ever since I was just a little griffin. That was until five very special friends of mine taught me otherwise.''
''He's talking about us.'' Silverstream whispered to her friends excitedly.
''They helped show me the importance of friendship, and why you should never underestimate it, even if you feel like you don't need it,'' Gallus continued to explain with a warm smile, ''None of that would have happened if it weren't for them.''
Twilight and her friends kept on listening with proud smiles on their faces.
''However, I think today's celebration should also be dedicated to six other ponies and a little dragon,'' Gallus said, ''Cause without them, this school wouldn't exist. And thus me and my friends probably would have never learned the true power of friendship.''
Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike and even Rainbow Dash already got a little teary eyed as Gallus continued on with his speech.
''So to show our appreciation for them,'' Gallus continued, ''We're gonna give these six ponies the party they deserve!''
Suddenly Discord appeared from a flash of light along with Starlight. The draconequus snapped his fingers with a confident smile on his face.
Immediately after Discord's finger snap, the banner hanging between the two pillars started changing colors and shapes for a few seconds. When it stopped, the faces of the six young students were gone and instead were replaced by Twilight, Spike and their friends, with Fluttershy's face being in the center.
''Give it up for Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and of course Spike!'' Gallus shouted happily, ''The true heroes of Equestria!''
Twilight and her friends all looked suprised as everyone in the crowd erupted in the loudest applause they had ever heard. It forced some of the creatures in the crowd to cover their ears a bit.
''Hooray for us! Woohoo!!'' Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly.
The pink party pony pulled an extra large party cannon out of her puffy mane and fired multiple shots of colored confetti everywhere until the entire main hall was littered with it. Some of the confetti landed on Fluttershy's nose, causing her to let out a cute little sneeze.
''Gesundhoof.'' Applejack said to Fluttershy playfully before giving the yellow pegasus a little wink.
Twilight looked over at Gallus with a warm smile on her face as tears were already rolling down her cheeks. She slowly walked up to the positive looking blue griffin.
''Gallus,'' Twilight said in a soft voice, ''...I don't know what to say.'' Pinkie Pie came over to her and handed her a small purple handkerchief. Twilight playfully rolled her eyes at her. She grabbed the handkerchief with her magic and used it to dry her eyes.
''You're welcome, Twilight.'' Gallus said with a confident smile.
''Gallus!''
The blue griffin widened his eyes as he recognize the familiar rough voice coming from behind him instantly. Gallus nervously turned his head around to see an old, grumpy looking griffin, who was mostly covered in some of the party strings from Pinkie's party cannon. Gallus made his way down the steps and walked to the grumpy griffin. His friends looked at each other for a second before following him.
Gallus stopped in front of the grumpy looking griffin and sighed while looking disappointed.
''Hi, Grampa Gruff.'' Gallus said unenthusiastically.
''Who?'' Smolder asked.
''He's the one who looks out for me in Griffonstone.'' Gallus answered her.
''Gallus.'' Grampa Gruff said as he stared at the blue griffin for a few seconds before extending his claw to him.
Gallus looked puzzled for a bit at Grampa Gruff's extended claw, but eventually reached out. Grampa Gruff grabbed his claw and shook it while giving him a proud smile.
''Congratulations, sonny.'' Grampa Gruff said.
Gallus looked dumbfounded, ''Say what?''
''I send you to this school to give you a place to stay,'' Grampa Gruff explained, ''And to do something about that attitude of yours, but you becoming a hero is the last thing I'd expect from you. Well done.''
Gallus smiled while looking a bit surprised, ''Wow. Well uh, thank you.''
''Sandbar!'' Sandbar heard a female voice calling from the crowd.
''Mom?'' Sandbar said when turned his attention to the crowd of ponies.
A yellow mare with a short pink mane came out from the crowd. Next to her was a light green stallion with a dreadlock mane, who was carrying a little green foal in his arm. The yellow mare walked over to Sandbar and embrace the young pony into a hug.
''Congratulations, my dear son.'' The yellow mare said with a motherly tone in her voice.
"And nice cloak you got there." The light green stallion said in a calm tone. The foal in his arms giggled excitedly and waved her little limbs around.
Silverstream giggled, ''I suppose these your parents?'' She asked happily.
''That's right,'' Sandbar said while standing next to the yellow mare, ''This is my mom, High Tide. And that's my father, Sea Foam. And that foal is my little sister, Coral Currents.''
''Nice to meet you all.'' Smolder said while giving them a thumbs up.
''So these are the friends you've been telling us about?'' High Tide asked while taking her time to examine the five creatures.
Sandbar nodded, ''And they're not just any friends, they are the best friends anypony could ever wish for.''
''Such a variety of many different creatures, and yet you all are the best of friends,'' Sea Foam said, ''That sure is something you don't see everyday.''
Thorax emerged from the crowd and walked over to Ocellus.
''I knew you would make the changelings proud, Ocellus,'' Thorax said, giving the little blue changeling a warm smile while gently petting her head, ''Maybe one day you could become our new leader.''
Ocellus widened her eyes, ''Really?''
''Well, I said maybe,'' Thorax said Ocellus when he noticed the unsure look on her face, ''Let's talk about it back home, okay?''
Ocellus giggled with a shy smile, ''Yeah, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet.''
''We're all so proud of you, sweetie.'' Silverstream looked to where she heard her mom's voice coming from. She immediately recognized the light yellow hippogriff coming over to her with a proud smile on her face. Next to her were two other hippogriffs. One was a tall light blue hippogriff while the other was a small white hippogriff.
''Mom! Dad! Terramar!'' Silverstream said excitedly. She rushed over to them and gave them all a big hug.
''Congratulations, sis!'' Terramar said as he hugged Silverstream back.
"Is this your family?" Gallus asked happily.
Silverstream nodded excitedly, "This is my mom, Ocean Flow.'' She said while pointing at the yellow hippogriff.
''Oh, so these must be your friends you've been telling us about,'' Ocean Flow said while looking at all of Silverstream's friends, ''Awww, aren't you all just adorable?!''
Smolder blushed a little with widened eyes, ''Um, thanks....I think.'' She said while smiling awkwardly.
''Greetings, young creatures,'' The light blue hippogriff said with an optimistic smile, ''I'm Sky Beak. Pleased to meet you all!''
''And I'm her brother, Terramar." The small white hippogriff said.
"You got quite the family, don't you?" Gallus asked Silverstream.
Silverstream giggled, ''You could say that again.''
''Just wait until Queen Novo hears about this, honey!'' Sky Beak said to Ocean Flow with an excited smile, ''Our little Silverstream, heroine of Equestria! She's never gonna believe it.''
''You're gonna have quite the story to tell back home, sweetie.'' Ocean Flow said to Silverstream, who responded to her with an endearing smile.
Prince Rutherford made his way out of the crowd and walked over to Yona.
''Prince Rutherford hereby declare Yona best yak of Yakyakistan.'' Prince Rutherford said to the small yak with a big smile on his mouth.
Yona gave Rutherford a cheerful smile, ''Yona appreciate it. But Yona only best cause Yona learn things from best friends. So Prince Rutherford and other yaks need to respect way other creatures do things.''
''Prince Rutherford not understand.'' Prince Rutherford said while rubbing his hoof on the right side of his head.
''Yona love yak culture,'' Yona explained, ''But that not mean Yona only have to like yak culture. Yona like and appreciate all other creatures's cultures in different ways. And Yona have friends from different cultures. And they helped Yona save Equestria. And even if most yaks only like yak culture, that not mean yaks have to dislike other creatures's cultures.''
Prince Rutherford rubbed his chin as he tried to process what Yona had just said.
''Yona make good point,'' Prince Rutherford said while giving the small yak a smile, ''From today, Yaks show respect to other creatures, and not just ponies and yaks.'' Yona showed an eager smile and hugged Prince Rutherford's leg.
''Well, look at you, Smolder,'' A tall, light blue dragon said. She carried a scepter with her as she flew out of the crowd, ''I always knew you were brave, but never to this extend.''
''Hehehe. Oh well, what can I say?'' Smolder said with a confident smile while crossing her arms.
"I bet even your brother will be impressed when he hears about this," The light blue dragon remarked, "And that's saying alot."
"Thanks, Lord Ember." Smolder responded.
''Alright, everyone!'' Pinkie Pie suddenly said before putting on her heart-shaped, party glasses, ''I say that it's time for a PARTY!!''
Discord showed a cocky smile on his face, ''I got you covered.'' He said before snapping his fingers.
Suddenly a white unicorn wearing glasses appeared under the giant banner. She had a DJ set placed in front of her while having two giant soundboxes standing behind her. Next to the white unicorn was an elegant looking grey mare with a big violin in her arms.
''Come on, DJ Pon 3 and Octavia! Let's get this party rocking and rolling, dude!'' Pinkie Pie shouted, trying to sound as cool as possible.
DJ Pon 3 turned on the DJ equipment and together with Octavia they started playing a very familiar tune. All the ponies and creatures soon started grooving and dancing with each other to the loud music. Yaks were stamping on the ground while ponies and other creatures were happily bopping along to the music.
The sound of the train whistle could be heard throughout most of Ponyville. Twilight and her friends led all the students from the School of Friendship to the train station, where Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, Smolder and Ocellus were waiting for them. The rest of Ponyville had also gathered around to see the six young creatures about to board the train.
Inside the giant crowd of ponies, Sandbar watched happily as his friends smiled and waved at everypony. Just as he saw the door of the train wagon opening, he felt somepony tapping him on his right shoulder. He looked behind him to see Twilight Sparkle. She smiled at Sandbar while carrying a small, square shaped blue present wrapped in a red ribbon in her right arm.
Meanwhile, Gallus and his friends heard the train's whistle going off once again.
''All aboard!'' The pony conductor shouted while peeking his head out of the open window.
Gallus took a deep breath, ''Well, this is it.'' His friends looked back at the crowd of ponies one more time before entering the train wagon close to them.
Right after they had entered, Sandbar, who was carrying two saddle bags on his back, quickly ran up to the station and entered the same wagon as his friends just in time before the door closed behind him.
Twilight, her friends and everypony else watched the train slowly leave Ponyville.
Applejack sighed, ''I'm really gonna miss 'em.'' She said with a genuine smile.
''Me too,'' Rainbow Dash added, ''It'll be a long time before I meet another dragon as awesome as Smolder.''
''I hope that more creatures will come to our school now.'' Fluttershy said to her friends with a hopeful smile.
''I'm sure they will, Fluttershy.'' Twilight said.
Pinkie Pie was already sniffing overdramatically with tears in her eyes as she saw the train leaving the station. She grabbed a tissue box out of her poofy mane and handed a pack of tissues to each one of her friends, who gave the pink pony a playful eyeroll.
The train whistle went off one more time as the wheels of the train started spinning faster and faster with each passing second. A few of the windows of the train close to the front wagon opened. A second later, Smolder and her friends peeked the upper halves of their bodies out of the open windows and started waving goodbye to everypony. All of Ponyville waved back while shouting goodbye to the young creatures.
Smolder and her friends soon noticed Big Mac and Sugar Belle standing amongst the other ponies.
''Thanks for everything!'' Sugar Belle shouted happily while waving.
''Eeyup!'' Big Mac said before giving Sugar Belle a kiss on the cheek, causing her to blush.
''You're welcome!'' Smolder and her friends all shouted to the two ponies at the same time.
Smolder, Yona, Gallus, Silverstream and Ocellus continued waving until everypony was almost completely out of sight. Once the train had left Ponyville, Smolder and her friends sat back down on their train bench and closed the windows.
Smolder sighed, ''I can't believe it's already over. It feels like only a few weeks ago since we all first met each other.''
''I can't believe it either,'' Ocellus said, ''It's really too bad. Getting to learn so much about Friendship, about other creatures and the history of Equestria. I'm really gonna miss it.''
''But look on the bright side,'' Silverstream said before looking that the amulet around her neck, ''At least now we own these legendary magical artifacts!''
''Uh huh!'' Yona said while nodding happily with Yksler's helmet on, ''Yona think School of Friendship best school ever! And Yona can't wait to tell all of Yakyakistan!''
''I can't wait to see the griffins reactions when they see me wearing this.'' Gallus said in a joking manner while admiring his artifact.
''Hey, guys!'' Gallus and his friends all heard Sandbar's voice coming from the back of their wagon. They looked over to the back door of the wagon in suprise and saw their young pony friend coming their way while carrying two saddle bags on his back.
''Sandbar?!'' Yona said happily.
''When did you get on the train?'' Gallus asked.
''I stepped on at the last minute.'' Sandbar answered casually as he took a seat next to Yona.
''Why?'' Ocellus asked.
''I just wanted to travel with you one more time, you know,'' Sandbar answered, ''Since it could be a long time before we'll get to see each other again.''
Yona giggled happily as she gave Sandbar a tight hug, ''Yona always happy to be with Sandbar!''
Sandbar gave a hug back to the excited yak. He placed his saddles bags next to him on the train bench after Yona stopped hugging him.
''And Sandbar always happy to be with best friends.'' Sandbar said, trying to imitate Yona in a joking manner. He gave a quick wink to Yona, who responded to him with a shy blush.
''What's in those saddle bags?'' Silverstream asked curiously.
''I'll show you later,'' Sandbar said, sounding slighty nervous after glancing at his saddle bag for a second, ''Let's talk about something else in the meantime.''
''Like what?'' Gallus asked him.
Sandbar had thought for a few seconds before answering, ''Well, there's still one thing I don't fully understand.''
''And what's that?'' Ocellus asked curiously.
''How did we get the power of the Elements of Harmony in the first place?'' Sandbar asked.
''Good question.'' Smolder said while rubbing her chin.
''If I had to guess, it could have been given to us when the Tree of Harmony saved us from getting sucked into that giant vortex,'' Ocellus explained, ''Back when we stopped Cozy Glow from taking over the school.''
''That would make a lot of sense,'' Gallus said, ''After all, we were glowing in the same colors as the elements.''
''That's right.'' Ocellus said.
''I can't wait to see the looks on the dragons faces when I tell them about me being an Element of Harmony,'' Smolder said with a confident smile, ''They're all gonna be so jealous.''
Silverstream looked over to Gallus, who was sighing to himself before silently staring out the window next to him.
''Gally?'' Silverstream said as she placed her claw on Gallus's shoulder.
''Huh?'' Gallus said before turning his attention to Silverstream.
''Something wrong?'' Silverstream asked. Her friends all looked curiously at the blue griffin.
''Oh, yeah I'm fine'' Gallus quickly answered, ''I was just thinking about something.''
''About what?'' Smolder asked without a second thought, ''And tell us the truth this time, okay?''
''Hey. easy, Smolder,'' Sandbar quickly said when noticing Gallus's slightly somber expression, ''He doesn't have to tell us if it's-''
''No, it's alright,'' Gallus said, ''Look, It's just that....I wasn't always the nicest griffin.''
''What Gallus mean?'' Yona asked while looking concerned.
Gallus took a deep breath, ''When I was young, I spend most of my life on the streets of Griffonstone....on my own,'' He began to explain calmly, ''I would always steal food from other griffins and even trick them into doing what I wanted sometimes. And considering how Griffonstone used to be before Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie came along, none of the griffins were exactly very fond of me because of it.''
''But what about Grampa Gruff?'' Sandbar asked, ''Isn't he the one looking out for you?''
''He is,'' Gallus answered while looking disappointed, ''But he only did that after I caused too much trouble in Griffonstone. That's when he decided to take me in, but only so he could 'keep me in check' as he put it.''
Silverstream placed her arm around Gallus's waist and pulled herself closer to him, ''But that's all in the past now, right?'' She said to him with an optimistic smile.
''Silverstream right!'' Yona said happily, ''Yona not care who Gallus was, Yona care about who Gallus IS!''
''I agree,'' Sandbar said, ''No one starts out perfect, and no one can ever become perfect. But you can always become a great pony, or creature in your case.''
''I couldn't have said it better myself.'' Smolder remarked.
''Thanks, everyone.'' Gallus said with a reassuring smile.
''By the way, Gallus,'' Ocellus said, ''I hope you don't mind me asking this, but how come you don't have a family?''
''.....I don't know,'' Gallus answered reluctantly, ''All I can remember was crawling out of a basket and finding myself in Griffonstone when I was just a baby.''
''Oh,'' Silverstream said with a sad look, ''....So you never found out who your real parents were?''
''No,'' Gallus asnwered, ''But it's alright. Like you said, that's all in the past now.''
''Now that's what I like to hear.'' Smolder said with a confident smile.
Gallus smiled, ''And when I get home, I'm gonna show them that I've changed. And I will share what I've learned from all of you to every griffin in Griffonstone.''
''So you're not upset about it anymore?'' Ocellus asked, still sounding a little worried.
''Not really,'' Gallus said while showing his friends a genuine smile, ''Maybe some day I'll find out what really happened. But right now.....I already know who my real family is.''
His friends all responded with endearing smiles, got up from their train bench and gave Gallus a tight, long lasting group hug. A small tear ran down Gallus's cheek before he hugged his friends back.
Suddenly they heard the sound of the train whistle coming from outside. Gallus and his friends moved over to the window and looked through it to see a giant grey tree, located at the peak on the right side of a tall mountain.
''That's Griffonstone,'' Gallus said before looking back at his friends, ''I guess this is it then, huh?'' He got up from his bench and stepped down on the ground.
''Goodbye, Gallus.'' Silverstream said with a genuine smile.
''Yona wish Gallus best of luck.'' Yona added.
Gallus smiled at his friends, sighed and walked away as his friends watched him leave the wagon.
Sandbar widened his eyes and gasped when he took another look at his saddle bags, ''Oh no!'' He quickly stuck his hoof inside one of the saddle bags and revealed a small, square shaped blue present wrapped in a red ribbon.
''What's wrong?!'' Ocellus asked while looking surprised.
''And what is that?'' Silverstream asked while pointing at the present.
''Twilight's present, I forgot to give it to him!'' Sandbar said in a panicky tone.
The young pony jumped off from the bench and headed towards the back of the wagon. The rest looked at each other for a second before following him. The rest of the ponies inside the wagons watched in confusion as the five creatures ran past them.
While his friends made their way through the wagons of the train, Gallus had already walked out of the train and stepped onto the wooden boards of the station. Just as the blue griffin was about to walk down the small steps on the left, he heard the sound of multiple footsteps hitting the wooden floor of the train station coming from behind him. Gallus turned around to see his friends stepping out of the train. He quickly noticed Sandbar carrying a small blue present with him.
''What are you doing here?'' Gallus asked curiously before pointing at the small present in Sandbar's arm, ''And what is that?''
''It's for you.'' Ocellus answered with a happy smile.
''For me?'' Gallus said with a surprised tone in his voice. He watched Sandbar walking over to him before handing him the blue present.
''Twilight told me to give this to you,'' Sandbar explained, ''She said you deserved it.''
''Go on, open it!'' Silverstream said with an excited smile. The others all began to stand around the blue griffin, eagerly awaiting to see what was inside the present.
Gallus didn't wait another second and untied the small ribbon around the present. He then removed the blue wrapping paper to reveal a small, plain cardboard box. When he opened the lid of the small box, he saw a group photo of himself, his friends and the rest of the School of Friendship laying inside it. He quickly recognized it as the same photo that was taken on their first real day of school together.
As Gallus looked at the photo, a big, genuine smile appeared on his face as he felt his eyes getting a bit watery.
''Twilight told me to keep it a surprise until the last minute.'' Sandbar explained while he and his friends all smiled cheerfully.
Gallus went over to his friends and embraced them all into another long hug.
''Thank you all, for everything.'' Gallus said while tears were still in his eyes. Eventually they stopped hugging each other when they heard the train whistle go off once again. Gallus held onto the photo with his right wing and wiped the tears from his eyes.
''Well, there's our signal.'' Smolder said to her friends. They all looked at Gallus one more time after opening the door of the wagon behind them.
''Goodbye, Gallus.'' Yona said while smiling warmly.
''We'll miss you.'' Sandbar said.
''I know,'' Gallus said back with a friendly smile, ''And I'll miss you too.''
Silverstream slowly walked over to Gallus, ''Will I ever see you again?'' She asked with a shy smile.
''Of course you will,'' Gallus answered, still having the same friendly smile on his face, ''Whenever I'll get the chance, I'll come visit you.''
''To Mount Aris?'' Silverstream asked, ''But that's a very long journey.''
''I know that,'' Gallus replied, ''But If it means that I'll get to see you again, then I think the journey is more than worth it.''
Silverstream responded with a warm smile as a light blush appeared on her face. She reached her head towards Gallus's and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. Gallus's eyes widened as a red blush appeared on his face as well.
''Uh, thanks.'' Gallus said, sounding unsure on how to respond while showing a slightly awkward smile.
Gallus's friends all playfully giggled and chuckled at him. The blue griffin watched his friends stepping aboard the train once more. They gave him one last heartwarming smile before closing the door of the wagon.
Gallus heard the train whistle go off one last time and soon the train started moving forward, going faster and faster with each passing second. Gallus followed alongside the train. He walked down the steps of the station while looking through the windows, hoping to see his friends in there one last time. He heard a few of the windows sliding open a few wagons away from him. He looked to where the open windows were and saw his friends all peeking their heads out while smiling and waving at him.
The blue griffin waved back at his friends with a genuine smile on his face. He kept on watching until the train and his friends were almost out of sight. The train and his friends eventually disappeared between the mountains in the distance.
Gallus grabbed the photo from under his wing and gave it another look. While watching the happy smiles of him and his friends, Gallus finally came to a realization. For the first time since spending his first Heart's Warming Eve at the School of Friendship, he felt something truly magical going through him. And he finally understood what that magic was.
