Prologue

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Here follows the account of Starswirl the Bearded on the origins of the Alicorns, the creation of our world, the coming of the Blight, and the forging of the Elements of Harmony. All information is gained from first-hoof interviews with Their Majesties Princesses Luna and Celestia.

In the beginning, in the time before time, there was the Vita. For an eternity, the Vita was without form, alone in an empty universe. Then, as it gathered together, pressing in upon itself, it gained physicality. And thus Cosmos came to be.

From its own body, Cosmos formed a book, not of paper or leather, neither bound or pressed. This book simply was and was so created to give form to the words written upon it. To sate its own bodily desires, Cosmos came to write of Others with the power to create, Others who would do its bidding without question.

To each of the Others was given a book similar to that of Cosmos, along with the command to create. So the Others set to writing of whole worlds and other, lesser creatures to live upon them, and all that was written of came to be. For endless ages, the Others would preside over their subjects on their own worlds.

On one world in particular, many of the Others concentrated their works, aspiring to make a world free of flaws. Lands were divided and given to each race to preside over, though with the freedom to travel to and fro from land to land. The task of maintaining these lands and races was shared between the Others who toiled over it. Many would write of physical forms for themselves, so that they could go among the lesser creatures that inhabited this world. To ease their interaction, they would take on a form similar to those with whom they would work. Of all the Others, nine were those who worked with this world. Six frequently took the forms of the creatures they loved above all others for their humility and willingness to learn. These creatures were known as ponies, and predominantly inhabited the northern half of the largest continent in the world, where we ponies mostly still live today. These six Others took similar forms, though with greater perfection and stature than their subjects. They referred to themselves as Alicorns.

The first of the six was Augustus, who took on a form with fur the colour of clay and a mane that flowed grey like smoke. He (for the Alicorns assumed genders as well as physical forms) would teach the creatures of the world the ideas of civilisation and economy, so that each race could grow beyond simple living and work towards expansion and greatness.

The second was called Marina, who would preside over the seas that surrounded the lands. Blue was her coat, and blue also was her mane, which flowed and rippled like water. She would control the wild waves and calm them so that creatures could travel across them, as well as filling the seas with life of their own.

Then there was Iudex, the third. He took it upon himself to teach morality and law to the creatures, and help each race to determine rules of its own. His coat was orange, and his orange-and-yellow mane raged and writhed like fire.

The fourth was Gaia. Her Alicorn form was one with light green fur and a mane like white clouds. Her dominion was over the very earth itself, for she adored all that nature had to offer. She taught the creatures of the world to respect and care for the world they lived in. But since Augustus taught them expansion and civilisation before, they found Gaia’s teachings difficult to follow. So she cordoned off areas of the world where no civilisation could grow, and the land would forever remain wild and free. The best known was the area of untamed wilderness we now know as the Everfree Forest, but many other such wildernesses were created throughout the world, including the Southern Forests of Cervidas and the Sea of Sand in Zebrica.

Lastly there were the sisters, who called themselves Celestia and Luna, after the great bodies they controlled. The elder, Celestia, was pure white with a mane of endless colours. She would control the great star that was nearest to the world, the Sun, so that it would rise and illuminate the world. Luna, the younger, would control the smaller body known as the Moon, whose glow would light up the dark. Her body and mane were both deep blue like her dominion of dusk. The sisters would alternate the rising and falling of their respective spheres, creating day and night over the world. But they loved the creatures of their world, the ponies more than any others, and longed to live among them. So, against the advice of their kin, they forsook their divinity, giving their books to the other Alicorns and taking their physical forms permanently. They lost their power of creation, but retained their immortality and their power over the Sun and Moon. In these forms they went among the ponies, sometimes as kin, sometimes as rulers.

Now, there were three Others who ruled alongside the Alicorns. But their indecision over the race they loved the most drove them to take on a different form to their Alicorn kin. They would take on many different forms at once, so that they appeared made of parts of many different creatures. With this in mind they took the name Draconequus, meaning Dragon Horse.

The first of the three was Morpheus. His body was long and sinuous like a snake’s, with a horselike head and large, membranous wings. He held sway over the dreams of all creatures, so that they could emulate the Others in creation but within the safe confines of their own imaginations.

Then there was Thanatos. His form was unknown, since he always went among creatures cloaked in black. His power was over the end of life, of mortality and what lay thereafter. It was his task to escort those who had reached their end and guide them to the Lands Beyond, where they could live eternally in bliss.

The last and most powerful was known as Eriseus. His form lived up to the name Draconequus the most, being like that of a large grey pony, but with the hindquarters and tail of a red dragon. Great wings stretched from his back and horns sprouted from his head. He reigned over the greatest asset of the lesser creatures: their desire to create and expand, and aspire towards greatness and power. He taught them to desire creative abilities and would then teach them these abilities himself. Thus he became greatly loved by all creatures for his benevolence.

So these nine Others, the six Alicorns and the three Draconequi, ruled over the world and its creatures. And for endless ages, life was good for all beings. With the Others to guide them, the creatures of the world forged great empires and dominions in peace and harmony.

But sadly it was not to last.

One fateful day, as they guided the ponies in the art of mining and the use of ores and precious stones, Eriseus and Augustus delved too deep into the earth and awoke something. It was impossible to describe, save for one word: Corruption.

Eriseus and Augustus tried desperately to shut away that which they had discovered and to herd their subjects away from the abhorrent place, but the Corruption spilled forth like a great cloud, and took hold over both Others. Augustus escaped its grasp, but Eriseus was not fast enough, and was consumed. Taking root, it poisoned his mind and twisted his body into something hideous to behold. Gone was the kind and loving Eriseus, and now awoke the monstrous being of madness and chaos known as Discord. Under the control of the corrupting Blight, he went to each of his Draconequus brothers. The Blight spread and twisted the three into monstrous and ugly forms. Morpheus of the dreams became Decay, destroyer of all that the Alicorns had created. And Thanatos, for the first time, tossed back his hood to reveal a pale, fleshless skull; no longer did he escort the aged to their just reward in the Lands Beyond, but instead brought an end to life itself as Death.

The Draconequi came together in their newfound hatred of the Alicorns, who strived for harmony, truth and life. To them, the Alicorns represented everything they now stood against. They rose up, claiming the world by force before the Alicorns had a chance to react. The world fell into ruin and disarray under the twisted rule of these monsters, destroying all the hard work of the Alicorns and causing unrest and unhappiness wherever they went.

Finally, the Alicorns could gather their full strength, summoning many great creatures to their cause, before launching a mass attack upon the Draconequi. But the three brothers had themselves been highly creative, forming many lesser Draconequi of their own, and endless hordes of savage monsters. And so a great battle was fought in the heavens between the Alicorns and the Draconequi, led respectively by the embodiments of order and chaos. Races and species came and went, and whole lands appeared and disappeared as the battle raged on.

After what seemed like an eternity the Alicorns were victorious, subduing two of their corrupted kin as the third fled to the lands in the south. But because the Alicorns were willing to be merciful, they made an offer to Death and Decay. The two Draconequi were told that they may be forgiven and allowed to continue their ways (Under careful scrutiny, of course), provided they would turn in their brother Discord and surrender their own books. Seeing no way out, the brothers agreed and turned in their books, giving the location of Discord and what remained of his army.

The sisters Celestia and Luna took five jewels from the earth, and channelled into each jewel the power of one of the aspects of harmony and love that the two Alicorn princesses had come to hold in highest regard. These five jewels became known as the Elements of Harmony, representing Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness and Laughter. Through these five jewels, the sisters discovered that they could generate the most powerful force known to Other or lesser creature, the force we now know as magic, which they then channelled into a sixth jewel. Discord and his army of monsters battled stubbornly on, but in vain, as the Elements of Harmony cleaved through any who stood in their way. Finally, Discord was all who remained to fight.

Celestia and Luna could not, however, destroy their fellow Other, and so made one last appeal to Discord. They promised that he may be allowed some sway over the world, if he would only hand over his own book of creation and surrender. But in response Discord consumed his book, absorbing the power of creation into himself. The Blight lunged forth from his body, grabbing at the Alicorn sisters to corrupt the two. Celestia evaded its grasp with ease, but Luna was caught in its grip and nearly consumed, before Celestia stepped forth and launched a barrage of magic. Discord and the Blight fell back, and in this brief moment of hesitance, Celestia and Luna saw their chance. Rising up and harnessing the full power of the Elements of Harmony, their magic blasted the body of Discord, and encased his essence in stone. What remained of the Blight’s monstrous army was gathered together and herded to the place now known as Tartarus. There they were sealed away behind great gates of iron and stone, where they remain to this day.

The Alicorns were victorious, but at a price. Each of the three Draconequi had taken a considerable hold on the world, which was reduced to a hollow shell of its former glory. Of all the Alicorns, Gaia was most saddened by the destruction of her beloved world. Her weeping was long and loud, as in her grief she held her lands closer and closer to her, her grip tightening until she became one with the very Earth she so loved. In her memory, the Alicorns took her tears and forged them into a great green jewel to preserve the legacy of their fallen sister.

It was then that the Alicorns departed from the world for the last time, their work done, shedding their physical bodies and joining their fellow Others. But before they did so, each of the Alicorns would leave behind a trace amount of their magic, which fused with the Tears of Gaia, as one final gift to their world. But what was a small amount of magical power to an Alicorn was near infinite to any lesser creature, and so the great jewel grew to be more beautiful than any other in the world, and was a reservoir of more magic than any other known artefact in existence.

Celestia and Luna remained behind, unable to join their kin since they had forsaken their divinity. It was at this time, however, that a new nation came to be in the world. It was a united nation of the three pony tribes: the winged pegasi, the magical unicorns and the industrious earth ponies, and was known as Equestria. So the sisters came to the ponies to help this flourishing new nation, and were immediately hailed as the new rulers due to their power, majesty and benevolence in the past.

And so from the ashes of the war with the Draconequi, a new world emerged, greater and more bountiful than ever before. With the Alicorn sisters, known now as the Royal Princesses, ruling over their peaceful new nation, and the Tears of Gaia safely hidden away, life returned to the world once again, and thus it has been ever since.

1. Six is Company

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Book 1
A Step Beyond the Familiar

In the main hall of the Ponyville Library, the gentle clip-clop of hooves echoed off the walls as Twilight Sparkle paced round the central table in an endless circle. Stopping briefly, she looked up at the clock that hung above the endless bookshelves that formed the walls. But the time she saw did little to calm her down. With a groan, she resumed her pacing once more.

“Okay, what’s the big dilemma this time?”

She did not even look up as Spike descended the carved wooden staircase to join her on the ground floor. “She’s late…” Twilight muttered to nopony in particular. “Why is it she’s only ever late when I know I have a delivery coming?”

“Delivery? Oh, so you’re waiting for Derpy then?” Spike asked, his mind putting two and two together. Twilight nodded as she continued to pace round and round. Spike scratched his neck as he asked, “So what’s this big delivery then?”

Finally Twilight grew tired of endlessly pacing and sat down on a cushion by the table. “I ordered a new shipment of books to replace some old damaged ones I found in the basement. Honestly, you’d think whoever worked here before me had no regard for the welfare of these books!”

“You’re running a library Twilight, not an animals’ home,” Spike said with a grin.

She prepared to deliver a rebuttal, but the look on Spike’s face was enough to break her self-imposed frustration.
“Yeah, you’re right,” she chuckled, “It’s just that some of the stuff I saw downstairs looked so fascinating! Really old books about really strange, arcane subjects! I just had to have some fresh copies delivered!”

As if on cue, there came an enthusiastic knock on the door.

“Ah! Speak of the draconequus!”

With a slight spring in her step, Twilight hurried to the door and yanked it open. There before her stood a familiar grey pegasus.

“Oh thank goodness, it’s the right tree this time!” Derpy Hooves chirped as she leant against a large cardboard box that stood beside her.

“Hey Derpy.” Twilight smiled as she greeted the friendly, if sometimes a bit airheaded, delivery mare. “So, are these those new books I ordered?”

“Sure are, Miss Sparkle. Sorry for the delay. I, er… went in the wrong direction when I was looking for your place and ended up the other end of town. By the way, did you know there’s a tree down that way that looks exactly like this one?”

Rolling her eyes, Twilight stamped off the delivery form and began to levitate the box indoors. “That’s okay, Derpy. And thanks!”

With a tip of her imaginary hat, Derpy flapped off on her next delivery. Twilight pulled the door shut and set the large box on the ground. One burst of magic later, the box was wide open and the books were set in a neat row along the desk.

“I’ll leave you to it while I get started on lunch,” Spike called with a chuckle as he headed through to the kitchen. Twilight needed no second bidding as she eagerly set to skimming through each book one by one, sticking in the paper inserts that labelled it as property of the library.

Once that was done, she looked up to the clock again. “Hmm…looks like I have some free time until the next item on my schedule.” She glanced again at the pile of brand new books, which now sat stacked at the end of the table. A wide grin spread across her face. How could she possibly resist?

The book at the top of the stack floated to her side of the table as she made herself comfortable. The spine creaked slightly as she opened the pages, inhaling the sweet, crisp scent of new books. It had cost her half the library’s monthly budget to order these books, but in her mind, it was worth it.

A few hours later, Spike shouted from the kitchen as he laid the table, “Hey Twilight, come take a break, will ya? Lunch is ready!”

The only response he received was a non-committal “’Kay…” from the hall. Peeping his head round the doorframe, he could see Twilight seated on the floor, surrounded by her new books, along with dozens of other assorted books and scrolls. As her eyes scanned the pages, sometimes switching between pages at breakneck speed, Spike could see her scribbling down notes on extra rolls of parchment.

“Hey Twilight, c’mon!” Spike called again, “I made us some hay fries.”

She tried to respond and wave away the offer but she was assailed by the delicious smell of the crisp, crunchy delicacy, fresh out of the frying pan. It had been a while since she last had any hay fries. Her rumbling stomach concurred.

Reluctantly, she slipped a scrap of parchment into the pages as a makeshift bookmark, and joined Spike at the small table in the kitchen.

For a few moments, the only sound that came from either of them was the crunch of the fries or the occasional little sound of satisfaction. It was Twilight who finally broke the silence.

“Hey Spike?”

“Hmm?”

She sat back from her meal for a moment. “Have you ever heard of something called the Tears of Gaia?”

Spike looked up from his dining, crumbs and flakes of hay falling from his lips. “The what now?”

“It’s just something I noticed in those new books,” Twilight replied as she gazed around at nothing in particular. “It keeps mentioning them, the Frozen Tears of Gaia. But the funny thing is, I can’t find any actual description of what they are, what they do…”

“Well, what do the books say about them?” Spike queried.

“Well, nothing direct.” As she spoke, Twilight’s horn flared up with a magenta glow. Several of the books came floating through the doorway, encased by the same aura. “As best I can discern, whatever these Tears are, they’re incredibly ancient, possibly as old as Princess Celestia. That, and that they’re extremely powerful.”

“Powerful in what way though?”

The unicorn shook her head. “No idea. Here, listen to this. The author is talking about lost artefacts: ‘…And so the Sapphire Statue takes its place among the greatest mysteries of Equestria that have yet to be rediscovered, joining ranks alongside the vanishing army of Luna, the lost sword of Commander Hurricane and possibly most ancient and prized of all, the legendary Frozen Tears of Gaia.’”

She looked up to Spike, who nodded, “Yeah, go on.”

“That’s all there is.” Twilight sighed, passing the book to Spike. “I’ve gone through all these books and found nothing.” Pushing her plate aside, she rested her chin upon the table.

Spike gulped down another mouthful of fries. “Mmm…I dunno Twilight, I’d imagine something as powerful as all that would have tonnes written about it. It just doesn’t add up.”

The pair sat in silence once more, dwelling with their own thoughts on this newfound mystery.

“Hey, maybe it’s like those time spells!” Spike suddenly said. “Remember? They were all kept in that secure wing at the Canterlot Archives.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re right!” Twilight perked up almost instantly. “If those Tears of Gaia are really so powerful, any information about them would probably be top secret and secure! Well then, it’s a good thing I’m the Princess’s personal pupil. I can probably tell them it’s for research and the archivists should understand.”

Spike sniggered, “Yeah, that or the security is still as easy-going as it was last time.”

Twilight could not help but laugh too. She still remembered how the guards had not only not arrested her for sneaking into the Archives, but they actually helped her get in. Being the personal protégée of royalty certainly had its perks.

“So then,” Spike continued, “If none of the books here have anything useful, I guess the Canterlot Archives are your next best bet.”

“That sounds just about right. I can head up there tomorrow morning. I’m mostly free that day… Hey, I should ask the girls, see if they wanna come too! It’s been a while since we all went up to Canterlot together.”

Twilight got up and levitated her empty plate into the sink. “Spike, clear my schedule for tomorrow. I can rearrange things once I get back from Canterlot.”

As Spike dutifully got to work seeking out Twilight’s calendar, the unicorn headed out the door and into town to seek out her friends. Inwardly, she prayed for the sort of luck that would allow some of her friends to be free for a day trip to the royal city.

Twilight’s luck could not have been better.

Not only were all of her friends free to make a trip to Canterlot that day, but several were already there! Applejack had headed up there for a special national market day to sell her family’s wares, and Sweetie Belle had told them that Rarity had been summoned to the city to do a personal commission for Fancypants's wife. Miss Fleur apparently insisted that Rarity stay with them while they did business.

So the next morning came and the four young mares that remained had convened at the train depot. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash waited on the platform as Pinkie Pie and Twilight bought the tickets for the four of them.

“There ya go, Miss. Anything else for the journey?” the stallion behind the shop counter asked as he printed out the tickets.

“Could I have a newspaper too, please?”

“Certainly.” He pointed to a small rack, displaying half a dozen different papers, from broadsheets to tabloids and everything in between. “Which one do ya want? The Ponyville Express, the National Gazette, the Canterlot Tribune…”

“I’ll take an Equestria Daily,” she replied. Paying for her purchases, she tucked the thick newspaper and the tickets into her saddlebag and moved aside to allow Pinkie to purchase her supply of snacks for the journey. Finally, she returned with her dozen sticky buns and four smoothies and the group boarded the train.

As it pulled out of the station, Twilight and her friends took their seats together. Twilight set to scanning the newspaper for anything of interest.

“Anything good in there, Twilight?” Rainbow asked as she read over the violet unicorn’s shoulder.

Twilight shook her head. “Not really. The territory negotiations with the Diamond Dogs are still going nowhere apparently… Sapphire Shores’ latest album got four stars… Ooh, here’s something interesting!”

She laid the newspaper flat so that her friends could read. “Apparently there are emissaries from Cervidas and the Griffon Kingdom in Canterlot. Hmm, doesn’t really say why though…”

“Griffons in Canterlot? Oh my...”

“Oh Fluttershy, don’t worry!” Pinkie said as she patted the yellow pegasus reassuringly on the head. “Not all griffons are as grumpy and mean as Gilda was. Remember Gustav LeGrande?"

The yellow pegasus smiled a bit, “Well, I guess that’s true…”

“Where was the other guy from again?”

Twilight pointed to a photo of the emissaries from the two nations standing alongside Princess Celestia, smiling for the camera. On her left stood a white and grey griffon, decked out in a scarlet military jacket, complete with a velvety red and gold cape. And to Celestia’s right was the emissary from Cervidas. He was a venerable, but graceful-looking stag in a simple pale green tunic and cloak. “The other one is from Cervidas, the deer nation. I’ve read that it’s this huge forested land south of Equestria, but I’ve never heard of any deerfolk coming this far north before.”

“Why not? Are they just shy or somethin’?” Rainbow chuckled.

But Twilight nodded, “Well, yes, in a way actually. From what I know, the deerfolk are rather like the zebra tribes: they just like to keep to themselves and not leave their land too often. So whatever’s going on there, it must be pretty big to make them travel to Equestria.”

As they flipped through the paper more, they found a few more articles of interest, but nothing that warranted much conversation.

“So Twilight, what’s this whole trip about?” Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow Dash joined the discussion. “Yeah, because you’re not really the type to decide to go on a day trip just for fun. Did Princess Celestia wanna see you?”

The unicorn shook her head. “Actually, this is a personal trip. Y’see, yesterday I received some new books to replace some really old ones I found in the library basement. They were filled with some pretty fascinating stuff, but one thing stood out to me. Something called the Tears of Gaia.”

“Ooh, that's a pretty name, Gaia!” Pinkie interrupted, “But why would somepony write about her tears? And who is she anyway?"

Twilight carried on, “Well, that’s just it. None of these books really talk about what the Tears are. All I could figure out from what I read is that they are something extremely powerful in some way, and that they are incredibly old as well. Maybe as old as Princess Celestia herself!”

“Wait, that’d mean these tears, whatever they are, could be at least a thousand years old!” Rainbow Dash added.

“Exactly,” replied Twilight, “Pretty intriguing, wouldn’t you say? So I’m going to try and see if the Canterlot Archives have anything more informative.”

Fluttershy then spoke up. “Well, if these Tears are as old as Princess Celestia, then they might have some connection with her. So don’t you think you should ask her about it?”

“Hmm, maybe,” Twilight replied, gazing out the window. “But with the griffons and deer visiting, I’m betting she’ll be pretty busy. If I haven’t found anything by the time the emissaries leave, I’ll talk to her.”

As the train pulled into the Canterlot depot around noon, the four mares headed out and off in their separate directions. “Alright girls, you go have some fun, see the sights, do what you like. I’ll be over at the Archives, so come and meet me in there around suppertime.”

“Don’t you want some help?” Fluttershy asked, hanging back.

Twilight shuffled on the spot, scuffing the ground with a hoof. “Well, normally I would, but…well, truth is when it comes to studying or research, I typically work better on my own. You understand, right?”

“Of course. See you then.” Fluttershy replied, giving a quick smile before trotting off towards the market district.

Twilight, meanwhile, set off towards the massive spired building that was the Canterlot Archives. The idea of so much knowledge and history all crammed into a single building together, as if waiting for an eager researcher such as herself. It gave her the shivers just thinking about it.

A low creak echoed through the otherwise silent hallway as the doors to the Canterlot Royal Archives swung open. An elderly unicorn stallion at the reception desk looked up to see a familiar silhouette stride through the doorway.

“Well well, Twilight Sparkle. How long has it been since you graced my archives with your presence?” he called with a wrinkled smile.

"Not as long as you think," Twilight murmured under her breath. “Hi, Mr Scrollstacker. How have you been?”

“Eh, been keeping myself busy, I guess. So, what brings you here?”

“Well, I’m doing some research on an ancient artefact, but none of my books have much information on it, so I wondered if you might have something about it. It’s something called the Tears of Gaia…”

“Hah! The Tears of Gaia?!” Scrollstacker scoffed derisively, “I think you’d be better off checking the fantasy section in the foals’ library m’dear.”

She frowned at the old archivist. “Don’t give me that! It really does exist, I know it!”

“Oh please.” Scrollstacker waved his hoof. “The Tears of Gaia are nothing but a plot device from an ancient myth. It’s just an old pony's tale.”

“You mean like Nightmare Moon?”

The archivist stopped dead in his tracks. As he desperately tried to prepare a counter-argument, he saw the look of raw determination on Twilight’s face. “Alright, point taken. Here, follow me. We’ll see if we can’t find something.”

Smiling with satisfaction, Twilight followed Scrollstacker into the Archives. They passed through the high-ceilinged corridor and entered the room labelled 'Pre-Equestrian History'.

“If we have any information to do with these Tears, you’ll probably find it in here. I’d start in the books on alicorn origin theories or on the foundation of Equestria.”

Twilight gazed with wide eyes at the thousands of scrolls, tomes and grimoires that lined the walls. “Right. Thanks…”

Without another word, she wandered awestruck into the thick of the archive room. Scrollstacker smirked as he headed back to the front desk. “Oh, and if you do fall asleep, try to make sure there aren’t any books nearby. Last time you were here, it took me about a week to get the saliva stains out of that copy of the Protocols of the Elders of Smooze.”

Twilight felt her cheeks flush red as the awkward memory sprung up in her mind. “Heh, no problem… Oh, and if anypony comes in asking for me, let them in.”

The archivist nodded one last time and closed the door behind him. Needing no second bidding, Twilight rushed to the nearest shelf and began scanning the titles for anything of some relevance. Surely here, in the greatest collection of ancient artefacts and written word in Equestria, there would be some hint or scrap of information that would provide some leads to the Tears of Gaia.

Six hours later, the young unicorn sat at the central table, hair dishevelled and eyes red with the strain of continuous reading, with about as much useful information as she had entered the Archives with.

“Are you serious? I look through over a hundred different books and scrolls, and I find nothing?!” she mumbled aloud angrily. Venting her frustration, she aimed a half-hearted kick at an empty bookcase. All this resulted in was a throbbing pain in her hoof and an even fouler mood. Then, to add insult to injury, a fresh wave of books and scrolls tumbled down on her from their hiding place atop the bookcase.

As she exhumed herself from the pile of dusty tomes, all the while muttering some rather colourful language, she yanked a thin wad of bound parchments from her mouth. But something caught her eye as she tossed the crudely bound excuse for a book to the far side of the table. It was a small wax seal on the front. A stylised star, with a swirling spiral background. Twilight’s eyes twinkled with wonder. She would recognise that seal anywhere.

“No way... C-could it be…?” she whispered in amazement as she pulled the bound papers closer. Tentatively she peeled back the front cover. Her breath caught in her throat as she read the first lines:

“…Here follows the account of Starswirl the Bearded, on the origins of the Alicorns, the creation of our world, the coming of the Blight, and the forging of the Elements of Harmony. All information is gained from first-hoof interviews with Their Majesties Princesses Luna and Celestia.

"In the beginning, in the time before time, there was the Vita. For an eternity, the Vita was without form, alone in an empty universe. Then, as it gathered together, pressing in upon itself, it came into physical form. And thus Cosmos came to be…”

“Good grief, this place could use a good dusting!” Rarity said with no trace of subtlety as she and her four friends wandered through the corridors of the Archives.

Applejack nudged her none too gently. “Just keep an eye out fer Twi already. She said she’d be in here somewhere.”

“That pony at the main desk said she was in the ‘Pre-Equestrian History’ section. Any idea where that might be?” Rainbow said as she stared around at the thousands of shelves.

“Found her!”

Pinkie’s voice rang out from around the bend. As they came round the corner they saw Twilight sitting at the table of the small room. Pinkie Pie was looming over her, trying to get a peek at what she was reading.

“There you are, sugarcube. Ah tell ya, it’s pretty darn easy to get lost in this place.” Applejack chuckled as they gathered around Twilight. A moment’s awkward silence passed as the ponies waited for their friend to reply, or even acknowledge their presence.

“Um…Twilight? You okay there?” Pinkie ventured.

“I found it.”

“Huh?” The five ponies took a step back as Twilight got up and turned to face them, a victorious smile on her tired face.

“So…you know where the Tears are, then?”

“Well, not really,” Twilight replied. “But I do know where to get started. It was all thanks to these old papers I found entirely by accident!” She held the bound papers in a magical grasp, waving them enthusiastically in front of her friends.

Pinkie Pie beamed, “Awesome! So what are they anyway?”

The purple unicorn practically glowed with pride. “They're from his records. The written notes of Starswirl the Bearded!”

When there was no response to this momentous fact, Twilight hastily cleared her throat and continued, “So anyway, these are actually his own records all about the history of before Equestria was founded. It talks about where the Princesses came from, and the first conflict with Discord and everything!”

Rainbow Dash held up a hoof, “Yeah, that’s cool and all, but what does this have to do with these Tear things?”

So Twilight read to them the passage, detailing the coming of the Others, the discovery of the Blight, the fall of Gaia and her weeping for her destroyed lands, and the gift of her Tears, which were forged into a great jewel, imbued with the magic of the Others.

“…Then the book goes off the subject of the tears mostly, talking about other subjects that Starswirl was interested in. But I have managed to deduce this much from his writings: that the place to start looking is in the Crystal Mountains, up in the north of Equestria.”

She looked expectantly at her friends, but found that each and every one of them was occupied, sitting awestruck by the story she had related.

“Mah gosh…” Applejack muttered, “It’s just pretty humblin’ to hear about all this.”

Rarity nodded. “Indeed… I had always rather wondered exactly where the Princesses came from. And to think, they used to be even more powerful than they are now!”

“It is a bit sad though,” Fluttershy added, “thinking about how they can’t be with their family anymore, after the rest of these Others left.”

“Yeah, it is kinda sad. But hey, the Princesses have a whole country of ponies who love them now. And they got us too! We're like one great big ginormous family!” Pinkie chirped.

This got an appreciative chuckle from the group of friends.

Applejack turned to Twilight. “So Twilight, now that ya know all this, what’s yer next move then?”

Twilight sat back down, sending the books back into their shelves with a wave of her glowing horn. “Well, I know where to start looking…so I guess my next move is to take the first step. I can head out tomorrow morning and reach the Crystal Mountains in a few days.”

“Whoa, whoa! Twilight, has all the dust gone to yer head and made you nutty?!” Applejack cried. “You can’t just go wanderin’ off into Equestria like that!”

“Not alone, at least.”

Every head turned to look at Rainbow Dash in surprise. The pegasus frowned back. “You heard me. You can’t expect us to just let you go off on some random adventure into the unknown without us! We’re your friends, Twilight!”

The others nodded in agreement. “Yeah, what if something happens to you and nopony’s around to help? You could be stuck out there forever!” Pinkie added.

But Twilight was apprehensive. “I’m not sure…It’s bound to be pretty dangerous. I mean, I’m thankful for the offer but…”

“No buts, sugarcube! We ain’t gonna let any friend of ours go gettin’ herself into danger alone.”

“Normally I would be against such an endeavour,” Rarity chimed in, “but the idea of going off to find what could be the most beautiful jewel in the world…ooh, how can I possibly resist!”

Fluttershy nervously spoke up too, “Well, it does sound like it could be…dangerous. B-but if you would all be there with me, I’m sure it would be a nice journey.”

“There ya have it, Twi.” Rainbow turned to Twilight with a confident smile. “If you wanna go on an adventure, we’re coming with you.”

Twilight looked around at the expectant faces of her friends. She wanted to reason that she had no idea what would await them at the Crystal Mountains, and that even she was not entirely certain there would even be anything there. But she could see a fire in each and everypony’s eyes. She remembered back to the conflict with Nightmare Moon. They hadn't let her go on her own into danger then either. Relenting, she gave a smile. “You girls really are the best friends a pony could ask for.”

“We ain’t the Elements of Harmony fer nothin’ Twilight.” Applejack replied with a grin.

The purple unicorn nodded, “That’s true. Alright. We’ll all head out together. C’mon, let’s find a hotel room or something for the night. We can head out tomorrow morning.”

“What about Ponyville?” Fluttershy asked, “Don’t you think we should tell somepony there that we’ll be gone?”

“Good idea Fluttershy,” Twilight nodded. “I’ll write a note to Spike, telling him we’ll be gone about a week. And I’ll make sure to tell him to tell your family, Applejack. Oh, and we’ll have to get somepony to take care of our pets...”

Chatting animatedly about all manner of preparations, the six young ponies headed out from the Archives, ready for a good night’s sleep for the journey that lay ahead.

2. From the ashes of time

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As the late morning sun streamed through the windows of the Canterlot Royal Archives, old Scrollstacker readied himself for another quiet day. The Archives themselves were more of a storehouse of old books and artefacts than an actual library, so except for some big-shot researchers or historians wanting to study something, his days were mostly spent filing some new journals into their shelves, or doing his best to keep things tidy. The ever-present dust served as a constant reminder that he was fighting a losing battle on that front.

That said, he enjoyed the quiet time this job gave him. It gave him a chance to pursue some personal reading, listen to some music on the gramophone in the back room, or simply sleep the day away!
Blowing across his steaming mug of morning coffee, his ears pricked up as he heard the creak of the huge wooden doors swinging open. So much for a quiet day.

“I’ll be right out!” he called from the back room, taking another bracing sip of coffee.

“Don’t worry, take your time,” called back a gentle, serene voice from the main hall. Moments later, he emerged from the back room, a stack of books levitating before him. Plopping them down on his desk, he sat down and took another sip of coffee. “Good morning, and welcome to the Canterlot Royal Archives, how can I help…?” But as he looked up he froze.

“Good morning to you too, Mr Scrollstacker,” said Princess Celestia as she stood before him, a smile that could light up the night gracing her lips.

The old unicorn coughed and spluttered as he hastily swallowed his scalding mouthful of coffee. Not only to speak, but to avoid a most undignified spit-take. “Y-Your Majesty! I…I apologise, I should have come right out! If I’d known it was you…”

The princess raised a hoof to stop Scrollstacker before he could start prostrating himself before her. “But you didn’t know it was me, so it’s quite alright. In fact, I should apologise to you, I should have said I was coming.”

“No, no, it’s quite alright!” Scrollstacker shook his head frantically. “It’s an honour, in fact! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? I heard you were busy with those foreign emissaries.”

“They actually left just an hour ago. Sadly neither of them left in a particularly good mood.” Celestia’s smile fell for a moment. “Luna and I were up talking with them ever since the night before last, and unfortunately no agreement could be reached… Come to think of it, if you don’t mind, I could do with a cup of coffee myself. Would you be so kind?”

He nearly toppled a nearby stack of parchment in his haste to get up. “Of course, Your Majesty! Right away!” He hurried into the back room to prepare Celestia’s drink. “Do you take cream and sugar with your coffee?”

“Just cream please,” Celestia said, hiding a grin. As much as she disliked how everypony would go out of their way to please her, she could not deny that it was a little amusing sometimes.

Scrollstacker returned with the fresh mug levitating before him. He passed it to the princess and she gripped it in the golden aura of her own magical grip. Taking a dainty sip, she closed her eyes and sighed as she felt the warmth of the drink coursing through her whole body. “Ahh, that’s better.”

“So if I may, Your Majesty, what exactly were the emissaries asking for? The newspapers didn’t really give any reason.”

Celestia put the mug down on a scrap piece of parchment. “Oh, it was nothing to worry about. There was some trouble going on in Cervidas and they were requesting military aid from us and the Griffon Kingdom. Of course I could only refuse and… well, let’s just say that the griffons and the deerfolk don’t exactly see eye to eye.”

“Ah, I see… so why have you come here then?”

“Well,” Celestia took up her mug of coffee again. “I was actually hoping to see my student, Twilight Sparkle. I was told she was doing some research here, so I came by to visit.”

“Ah, well then you’re a tad late, Your Highness. She left yesterday evening, without clearing away might I add!” the old unicorn huffed.

“They left already? That’s a shame; I would have loved to see her again. So what was she doing here anyway?”

Scrollstacker rolled his eyes. “Oh, she was looking for evidence about the Tears of Gaia. Honestly, you’d think a pony as smart as her would be able to tell the difference between history and fantasy!”

Chuckling at his own joke, Scrollstacker failed to see the shadow that passed over Celestia’s face for the briefest of moments. “Oh, but I did hear her and her friends talking about the Crystal Mountains, and travelling up that way earlier today… Your Highness, are you alright?”

The princess blinked and shook her head, as if dispelling a headache. “Hmm? Oh, no it’s alright…I’m fine. Thank you for your help, Mr Scrollstacker.”

Without another word she turned on the spot and hurried back down the hallway and out the door, shutting it behind her with a little more force than necessary. The old archivist stared blankly in the direction she had left. “Was it something I said?”

That night Princess Luna was wandering the corridors of Canterlot Castle, basking in the pools of moonlight that streamed through the windows, when she heard the echo of hoofsteps emanating from upstairs. Fluttering up to the top landing, she followed the steady clip-clop sound until she stood before the doorway to her sister’s royal chambers. She tapped on the door gently. “Sister, why are you awake still? Is all well?”

She received no response. But she could just make out Celestia muttering something, “How could I be so blind? It all makes sense now… ”

“I am coming in!” Luna called out as she twisted the doorknob and opened the door to Celestia’s chambers. The source of the sound became obvious as she saw Celestia, pacing back and forth across the room, her face stern and anxious. Every little ornate detail in the princess’ bedroom was in its rightful place except for the bedspread which had been carelessly tossed aside “Sister? 'Tis almost midnight, what are you doing awake? Is something the matter?”

Celestia stopped her pacing, standing silent in the middle of the room. She looked up, as if only just noticing Luna’s presence “Oh, hello Luna… Yes, there is indeed something the matter. I-I’m worried about my faithful student…”

“Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked. “What has she done now, enchanted another of her belongings with a want-it-need-it spell?” she added with a chuckle.

“This is serious, Luna! Twilight may be in serious danger!”

The chuckle died in Luna’s throat as she saw the look on Celestia’s face. It read nothing but anxiety. “I’ve been informed that she and her friends have gone on a hunt for the Tears of Gaia.”

The lunar princess felt a heavy twinge in her heart as she heard that name. Even after all she had been through, the name of her fallen sister still tugged at her heartstrings. “The Tears of Gaia? You are certain of this?”

“Beyond any doubt,” Celestia replied. “Scrollstacker at the Archives told me that she came in yesterday to do research on the Tears, and left later that day with her friends, talking about travelling to the Crystal Mountains.”

“But how is that possible? Indeed, the Crystal Mountains are the starting point for seeking the Tears, but how could she know? The location of the Tears has passed from common knowledge for over a millennium now.”

Celestia sat on the floor and shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I asked around a bit more, and she and her friends set out early this morning. Who knows where they’ve reached by now?!”

Luna sat down beside her sister. “What eludes me is why you are so worried. This is not the first time your protégée and her friends have gone on adventures before. And perhaps rediscovering the Tears now could be a boon for Equestria. Imagine what could be done with that amount of raw magical power!”

“At any other time I would agree with you, little sister. But I fear that something may be awakening in the South. Remember what the deer emissary said about the conflicts in Cervidas? What was his description of the foe they were fighting?”

Luna tapped her chin with a hoof as she recollected the stag’s words. “Hmm… If I recall correctly, he called them ‘twisted, monstrous mockeries of creatures’.”

“Indeed he did,” Celestia replied. “And he went on to describe a strange infection that seemed to come from these creatures, taking over the bodies of any creature that came close to them and…changing them. And how did he describe this infection?”

“Well, he said it resembled a great black…cloud.” Luna trailed off as the realisation hit her like a freight train. “You aren’t suspecting…?”

“That’s exactly what I am suspecting. It’s back. The Blight has returned.”

Silence reigned in the bedroom as both princesses digested this discovery. The terrible truth hung in the air like a lead weight. Memories flooded back to them of their struggle against the Blight and its control. Faces of its victims, twisted in fear as the corruption took over their bodies. Their own brothers mutilated into ruined and terrible abominations.

“But where could the Blight have come from after so long?” Luna asked, finally finding her voice again.

“Well, when we fought against Discord the first time, we imprisoned him in stone. At the time, the Blight was using his body as a host, and so it must have been imprisoned along with him.”

“And when he escaped, so did the Blight?”

Celestia nodded. “And it must have fled when they were freed. And now, it must be gathering strength again… It could already have reached Equestria and we haven’t even realised…”

Luna wrapped a comforting foreleg around Celestia’s withers. “So what do you plan to do?”

“Well, somepony needs to warn Twilight and her friends. The Tears of Gaia hold more magical energy than all of Equestria combined. If the Blight gets to them, it could spell doom for us all!”

“But whom would you send?” Luna got up and stood by the window, gazing out onto the city below. “If I may express a personal opinion, the less of our subjects who know about this, the better.”

Celestia nodded. “Agreed. We don’t want to start a panic. Besides, nopony alive apart from us is aware of the existence of the Tears or the Blight.”

The clock chimed midnight as Luna embraced her sister, and the two sat in silence again. Minutes passed with no word from either sister. Luna felt her sister’s warmth through her foreleg, and for a moment, she suspected that her sister may have final fallen asleep. The navy-blue princess smiled, 'Tis not often that she should fall asleep in my forelegs, and not vice-versa.

That was until Celestia spoke up again.

“That’s it.”

Luna turned to see her sister’s face turn grim with determination. “Tia?”

“Nopony alive other than us knows. I know exactly who must go after them,” Celestia said, her voice now strong with conviction. As she got up and headed for the door, she found her way blocked by Luna.

“Step aside, Luna.”

“I will not, sister of mine. Surely you see the wrongs in your action.”

“Oh come now, Luna…”

The younger sister stomped her hoof, “No, you will listen! This is wrong and you know it! Your duty is the protection of all ponykind, not just your student!”

“Please Luna, just let me…wait, what?” Celestia paused.

“You heard me. As the rulers of Equestria, our duty is to protect all our subjects. Pardon how callous this may sound, but you cannot throw that aside just for the sake of protecting Twilight Sparkle!”

A smile slowly grew on Celestia’s face as she deciphered her sister’s words. “You really think I would do that? Let my love for Twilight take priority over all of Equestria?”

Luna relaxed her stance a bit. “So…you do not plan…to go after her yourself?”

“Luna, I love Twilight Sparkle as if she were my own daughter,” Celestia replied, gently moving her sister aside, “but even I think that’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t put her above the safety of the rest of my subjects!”

“So whom do you plan to send?” Luna asked, her curiosity growing by the minute.

Celestia said nothing, but strode down the dark corridors of the palace, Luna at her side. Down the stairs they went, out the back entrance and onto the grounds. Apart from the two sisters, there wasn’t a single creature about. Even the beasts and birds of the night seemed shut away at this late hour. Not a word passed between the two as they crossed the grounds and passed through the streets of Canterlot. Once again the solar princess found herself before the massive building of the Archives. Her horn glowed with a gentle golden light that spread to envelope her whole body. Encased by her magical aura, Celestia strode up to, and through, the locked wooden doors.

Luna hesitated, though. She was still completely in the dark concerning her sister’s idea. What could help them in the Archives?

Before she could muse any further, Celestia’s head poked back through the door “Come on, Luna. If I’m going to do this, I’ll need your help.”

“This is illegal, sister! This is breaking and entering, as well as trespassing!”

Celestia replied with a confident smirk, “How so? Technically all of Canterlot is our own land, so we can’t trespass on it. And we’re not breaking in, per se, are we? Now come!”

Her head disappeared through the wall, leaving Luna alone again. Looking around quickly, Luna sighed and cast her own spell, rendering herself immaterial and phasing through the wall.

The two sisters strode through the endless shelves of the Archives, the only light provided by their own horns.

“Are you ever going to tell me exactly what you plan to do?” Luna said, now getting thoroughly annoyed.

“Ah, here we are,” Celestia said, ignoring Luna’s question. Passing through a locked door on their right, they found themselves in a small room bedecked with shelves and desks. A dais rose up from the centre of the room, topped by a massive hourglass suspended between two brass posts.

“And what, pray tell, do you expect to find in here?” Luna asked, now beyond annoyed and starting to feel bored with her sister’s antics.

In answer, the white princess placed a hoof on the bottom of the hourglass and tipped it over. As it reached an upside-down position and began to pour its sands the other way, there was a gentle click somewhere below the dais. Turning it over to its original stance, Celestia smiled as she felt the dais give before her. With a gentle telekinetic push, the massive stone slid along a groove in the floor.

Luna gasped as the dais gave way to reveal a large, round hole in the floor, stone steps twisting down into the darkness below.

“We have to hurry. I have to get this all done so I can get back in time to raise the Sun,” said Celestia, before hurrying down the stairs, “Come along, Luna!”

Seeing no alternative, and now truly desperate to find out her sister’s plan, Luna shrugged before following her down into the dark.

After what seemed like endless steps, they found themselves in a small room. It was completely empty, save for a large block of blue-grey stone, dotted with white jewels that seemed to shimmer and light up the darkness.
Celestia stood before it. “It’s been a long time, friend. Time to wake up.”

Fluttershy’s eyes fluttered and slowly opened, just as the first streams of daylight peeked over the horizon. Pushing her blanket aside, she raised her head and smiled, finally getting a good look at their campsite. She and her friends had been walking long after sunset the night before, and so when they finally set up camp there was not enough light to see much of their surroundings. But now as the rosey fingers of dawn illuminated the world below, she could see that they had slept in a broad clearing, a thicket of trees to their right, and a small stream meandering by their left.

“Morning, sleepyhead!”

Rolling over onto her side, she could see Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle, both seated by a small campfire. Twilight was busy poring over a large scroll, a detailed map of Equestria drawn intricately onto it, and marking routes and paths with a pencil.

Pinkie waved to Fluttershy with a cheerful smile. “C’mon Fluttershy, it’s time for breakfast!”

The pegasus then finally realised what it was that had awoken her: The heavenly scent of fresh toast. Pinkie had set up a grille over the top of a small campfire, on which she was toasting slices of brown bread. Fluttershy noticed with some curiosity that the campfire in question, burned a strange purple colour.

“Isn’t this great? Twilight agreed to conjure up a fire for us! Nothing like fresh toast and jam to start your day!” Pinkie said as she deftly flipped a slice of toast over with the tip of her snout. “Ooh, feels like they’re almost done!”

“Well, it just seemed safer than trying to start a real fire,” said Twilight. “Besides, we’re not really in any hurry. We can afford to take things slowly.”

And true to her word, they did indeed take the morning slowly. It was another fifteen minutes before Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash awoke (some needing more encouragement than others), and they took breakfast at a leisurely pace, filling themselves up for the day’s hike. After all, they had been walking non-stop across country since they left Canterlot the previous morning, and they had been too tired to make a proper supper.

“Mmm, delicious…” Rainbow mumbled through a mouthful of toast and jam. “So Twilight, what’s the plan for today?”

Putting her slice of toast aside, Twilight unrolled the map and levitated it in front of them. “Well, we’re about here, inbetween this river…” she pointed to a long winding line on the map, “...and these mountains here, the Foal Mountains. It’s a pretty simple trek, straight up north along the river. If we keep a good pace, we can make up through the woods and to the base of Neighagra Falls…”

“Neighagra Falls?!” Rarity squealed, “Oh, we simply must stop there! I’ve always wanted to see them, but never had the chance myself! It’s supposed to be simply gorgeous!”

Twilight grinned. “Well then good news, Rarity. By my calculations, we’ll probably be camping there tonight.”

The white unicorn promptly toppled over backwards, a giddy smile plastered on her face.

One quick dunking in the river, and one awake and thoroughly drenched unicorn later, and the six of them were busy packing away their supplies. It was due to only be a journey of about a week, so few supplies were needed.

Each of them carried their own blanket (which could double as a cloak if need be) and a small pillow, a canteen of apple juice, along with a variety of food, ranging from apples and pears to small loaves of bread to sweets and miniature cakes, as well as plenty of fresh vegetables and flowers. Along with this, each pony had packed their own supplies- things they knew would prove useful: Applejack’s coils of rope, Twilight’s maps and scrolls, Fluttershy’s first-aid kit, Rainbow Dash’s lucky Wonderbolts scarf, Rarity’s newly purchased hat, and Pinkie Pie’s cooking equipment, which included- of all things- a jar of sprinkles.

“I tell you, girls, you never know when sprinkles can come in handy until you need them and don’t have them!” she insisted as she rolled up her blanket and strapped it to the top of her saddlebags.

“Right… So girls, we ready to go then?” Rainbow asked as she slipped her own saddlebags around her shoulders. All five mares nodded.

“Alright then, let’s move!” Twilight proudly called, leading the way. Her horn glowed magenta, and the purple fire died down before sparking out completely with a small pop. Turning to face north, the ponies set out along the riverside at a leisurely pace.

As they hiked across the landscape, the ponies chatted idly, their minds wandering to just about anything. They would talk about what they could see, interesting landmarks they passed, what they expected to run into, anything that crossed their minds.

“As lovely as this hike is,” Rarity spoke up, “I see no reason we couldn’t have gotten a train at least some of the way. I’m sure we could have cut the journey time in half!”

But Applejack shook her head. “Nothin’ doin’, Rarity. The trains don’t go this far north. Northbound lines all head east from here, over to Manehattan and Hollow Shades. Darn shame that Hollow Shades ain’t on our route, my Auntie Honeycrisp lives up in those parts.”

“Besides, Rarity, if we took the train, we couldn’t stop and have sights like this all to ourselves.”

“Sights like what?” Rarity looked up ahead to where Twilight was standing at the top of a low ridge. She and the others trotted up to the top of the ridge to join her. Each and every one of them stared with wide eyes, Rarity’s eyes wider than any others. “Oh my.”

It was like an endless sea of green, rolling and shimmering as the gentle summer breeze blew through it. It stretched for miles, uninterrupted by any settlement or building, broken only by the river which snaked and twisted through the plains into the distance, and the occasional copse of trees or rocky outcrop. The sunlight streamed through gaps in the clouds above, forming vast, mile-wide spotlights on the ground. And there on the far horizon, were the dim purple-grey silhouettes of the Crystal Mountains.

“I take back what I said,” Rarity whispered, awestruck, “This was worth the long hike.”

The group stood and stared for a good five minutes before they could finally collect themselves and continue the trek into the rolling plains of grass. Not a word passed between the ponies as they looked around in awe, silent except for the occasional gasp or sigh of wonder. So entranced was Twilight especially, that it took her a while to realise that Pinkie had begun whistling and humming odd little melodies and bars of music to herself. She turned to look back at the group and caught the eye of her bubbly pink friend.

“Oops, sorry!” Pinkie said, suddenly stopping her humming, “Was I ruining the moment?!”

“No, no, go ahead.” Twilight shook her head, smiling. “It just sounded nice. What was that?”

Pinkie gazed around for a moment before answering, “Oh, just a little song I was putting together in my head. Because really, when somepony’s hiking through huge epic landscapes like this, what that pony needs is a song to sing about it!”

The six friends chuckled at this thought. Rarity picked up the pace slightly until she was walking alongside Pinkie. “Well by all means darling, if you feel like singing go right ahead!”

“Yeah, a good walkin’ song could help to keep us trottin’ at a smart pace,” Applejack commented from behind.

Pinkie needed no second bidding. Puffing up her chest with a deep intake of air, she burst into song, strolling along in time:

“There’s a road, calling me astray,
Step by step, pulling me away,
Under Moon and Sun and star,
We’ll take that road, no matter how far!

Where it goes to, nopony knows,
Who really cares? Just follow where it goes!
To strange new lands beyond the Sun,
Take that road, wherever it ruuuuuuuns!

The road goes on, forever ever on,
Over hills and plains and dales.
Mile by mile, free and wild,
To surprise me, the wo-orld never fails!

Few more miles, then some lunch;
Those flowers look yummy, would you like a bunch?
Rest our rumps on the grassy floor,
Then take that road a hundred miles more!

Pluck some fruit from the branches of a tree,
Juicy and plump, and sweet as can be!
Rambling on from place to place,
With a big happy smile on everypony’s faaaaace!

The road goes on, forever ever on,
Over hills and plains and dales.
Mile by mile, free and wild,
To surprise me, the wo-orld never fails!

Stop when the Sun falls for the day,
Down in a flowery bed we lay.
Sleep through the quiet night, safe and sound,
Dreaming of wherever you’re bound.

Wake up in time to watch the sun rise,
Wipe the sleep-sand from your eyes,
Then head out into the world again
To seek adventure with all my very best friiieeends!”

As she broke into the final chorus of her song, Pinkie suddenly heard her voice mingled with the voices of five other ponies, all singing in a joyous harmony. Looking to her left and right, she found all her friends trotting beside her, singing their little pony hearts out:

“The road goes on, forever ever on,
Over hills and plains and dales
Mile by mile, free and wild,
To surprise meeeeeee, the woooo-orld neeeeveeeer faaaaiiiiils!”

The six ponies trotted on in high spirits, laughing and cheering at their own impromptu performance. They leapt and bounded and tumbled through the tall grass, some of the braver and more carefree splashing through the shallow river that they were following. It was a delight to be out in the wild countryside like this. Sure, Ponyville was no metropolis with its neighbouring forests and farmlands, but this…this was true wilderness. No civilisation or settlements for miles around. Even Rarity had to agree that thi remoteness was definitely preferable to any town.

Unbeknownst to the young mares, they were not truly alone on these plains. A few hundred yards away, a solitary creature stood among the grass, chewing contently on the juicy green blades as the wind whistled through his broad, palmate antlers.

Old Alcesco’s ears had pricked up at the rare sound of voices carrying on the breeze. He watched the young ponies hiking through his country side and a warm smile creased his wrinkled face as he heard the bright pink one singing at the top of her lungs. “Now that was nice,” Alcesco said aloud to nobeast in particular when the song ended, “It does an old fellow good to hear young ‘uns singing.”

Sound carried far on these grassy plains, however, and it seemed that Alcesco may have spoken a little louder than he thought. The white pony in the midst of the group turned and waved straight at him.

“Oh, look! A moose!”

3. Of Songs and Ambushes

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The hiking had been long and successful for the ponies that day. Despite their leisurely pace, Twilight and her friends had walked far over the vast grassy plains, following what seemed to be an old dirt road that had become overgrown. It stretched along the banks of the river. They knew from their map that the river flowed from the bottom of Neighagra Falls, and they only had to follow it to reach the Falls by dusk.

But best of all, the day had been clear and sunny throughout. The ponies basked in the warmth of the cloudless sky as they strode across the plains in high spirits.

So Rarity was most surprised when she felt, of all things, the cold plip of a drop of water bounce off her snout. “Ooh! Okay, who did that?!”

“Did what?” Twilight called from the front of the group.

“Somepony’s flicking water from the river at me! Have you any idea how filthy that stream could be?!”

Rainbow glided overhead, rolling her eyes. “Take a good look, Rarity. None of us are anywhere near the water.”

The white unicorn glanced at her friends. True to Rainbow’s word, they were all at the top of the riverbank, far from the water’s edge. She shrugged. “Hmm, must have been my imagination. Apologies, girls.”

Plip! “No need to apologise, sugarcube, I’m feelin’ it too!”

Plick! “Ooh, so am I!”

“Look girls! Up ahead!” Twilight came to a halt and pointed up to the sky. Looming overhead, casting the plains in shadow, were great, grey, gargantuan clouds. The spattering of water from the sky became stronger as the gloomy
raincloud approached.

“Well, so much for our good hiking weather,” muttered Rainbow Dash as she fluttered down to the ground and folded her wings. “That must be the bi-monthly storm shipment. It gets shipped around Equestria, giving the whole country a good sprinkle… But it’s always worst when it’s fresh outta Cloudsdale.” She pointed to the skyline over to the west, where the faint shape of the pegasi’s cloud city could be seen hovering above the horizon.

“Aw, c’mon girls,” Pinkie Pie chirped as she bounced along the increasingly damp road. “It’s not that bad!”

As if nature itself decided to spite Pinkie, there was a low rumble of thunder in the distance, and the raincloud doubled its efforts to soak all below.

Applejack turned to glare at the pink pony. “Ya just had to go and say it, didn’t ya?”

“Don’t worry girls,” Twilight said as she set down her saddlebag and began rummaging through it. “I anticipated this, so I took the liberty of enchanting all our blankets before we left. They’re good against the cold and they’re also waterproof.” To prove her point she levitated her blanket from deep inside her bag, draped it around her shoulders and secured it with a safety pin. The end result was a rather amateurish, but altogether effective, cloak.

Following suit, the ponies all extracted their own blankets and Twilight and Rarity helped make a simple raincoat from each one, clasping it with a pin. When all the ponies were clothed in their makeshift cloaks, they shouldered their saddlebags and continued down the road.

Their newfound dryness did little to raise their spirits, though. As any hiker would have agreed, there was little in the world more miserable than walking through the pouring rain, as the path ahead became less and less visible through the downpour and the ground below their hooves just got muddier and muddier.

“I reckon at this pace, we’ll never make it to Neighagra 'fore nightfall!” Applejack cried above the noise of the rain as the first traces of dusk crept over the sky.

Twilight extracted the map from her bags and quickly scanned over it, careful not to let it get too wet. “You may be right, Applejack. But what can we do then? Set up camp and try for the Falls in the morning?”

“You’re kidding, right?!” Rainbow shouted from behind. “We can’t camp out in this!”

Fluttershy spoke up, her voice barely audible above the rain, “She’s right. Not just because we’d be sleeping in the rain, but we could get swept down into the river if this gets much worse!”

“Oh come now, Fluttershy!” Rarity replied with a humourless laugh. “How could this get any worse?”

But Luck, it seemed, was a cruel mistress. Especially when she had Nature as her fellow conspirator. From the rear of the group there came the sound of splashing and a most undignified shriek. Fearing the worst, the group turned around to see Rarity, her mane bedraggled and bespattered with mud and dirty rainwater, standing flank-deep in a murky-brown puddle. Her twitching eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates, contrasting eerily with her pupils, which had shrunken into tiny black pinpricks.

“Oh… oh my,” the timid pegasus squeaked.

The six ponies cantered along the path, not caring about the mud splattering against their legs and sides. Or rather, five cantered and one, a white unicorn who was frozen in catatonic shock, was tied on Applejack’s back.

“This is ridiculous! If we don’t find some shelter soon we’re gonna drown out here!”

Twilight paused for a moment to wring the water out of her mane. “You’re a pegasus, Rainbow! Can’t you do something?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Even if I could do something against a storm that big, it’d mean the rest of Equestria wouldn’t get any rain for the rest of the month!”

“Hey, look there, girls! I can see light up ahead!” Pinkie shouted as she skidded to a halt, throwing a small wave of mud all around her. The others also skidded to a stop, or rather, tried to and ended up sliding right into the back of her. As they got back to their hooves, they followed Pinkie’s pointing foreleg and saw a sight in the distance that almost made them weep with joy.

Less than half a mile away was a tiny group of buildings, the windows glowing with a warm yellow light that occasionally flickered as a figure passed the inside of the window. The simple wooden architecture and surrounding fields came into focus as the soaked mares sprinted towards the lights, discovering the small group of houses and fields to be a farming commune of some sort. As they passed under the archway into the farmstead, they could hear the muffled sounds of many voices emanating from a building off to the left side of the courtyard. Above the door hung a wooden hand-painted sign depicting a plate laden with a loaf of bread and an apple, with a foaming flagon beside it. Beneath it were the words “THE WARM WELCOME”.

Needing no second bidding, Twilight pushed the door open and the six friends staggered in.

The first thing they noticed was the warmth. They had not exactly been tundra temperatures outside, but the sudden rain and the wind-chill had not helped matters. The ponies could practically feel the rainwater evaporating off their coats and fur.

Tossing back their hoods, they shook droplets of water from their bodies as they passed through the porch.
It was a small tavern, lit only by a few dim wall-mounted lights and a roaring fireplace opposite the bar. There were a good couple dozen ponies dotted around the room, mostly Earth-ponies, but with a scattering of pegasi and a unicorn or two. Some sat together at the small round tables, a few huddled by the fire and some stood or sat at the bar. Behind the bar was a corpulent old cream-coloured stallion with a bushy black beard and moustache, an apron tied around his belly. It wasn’t the best looked-after of inns, but it still had about it a general air of friendliness and, as the sign suggested, a warm welcome.

As they approached the bar, they caught the eyes of a few ponies around the tavern, and there was a brief lull in the conversation. But the chatter soon swelled again, with a few voices giving some gruff greetings to the newcomers.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie instantly headed to join the ponies that were huddled around the fireplace, while Twilight and Applejack approached the old bartender and rapped a hoof on the worktop.

“Erm…excuse me, sir…?”

“One moment, please!” the old stallion called over the hubbub, as he hastily poured more drinks for the ponies standing at the bar, either popping open a bottle or filling a flagon from one of the many massive barrels behind him. After a few minutes, he finally had a moment to talk. “Sorry 'bout that. Things are always busy this time of day. Now then, how can I help ye, missies? I can’t say we get many visitors round here, ‘specially in a group your size.”

“We’re, uh, making a little trip up north. Just a hiking trip, y’know?” Twilight replied. She was not sure she wanted them to know their real intentions up at the Mountains.

“And you got caught out in the rain, eh? Well, ye couldn’t have picked a better place to shelter. We got hot food, drinks, a warm fire…” He glanced at Rarity, who still lay frozen and covered in mud on Applejack’s back. “Heh, and I’ll bet yer friend back there wouldn’t mind a warm bath.”

“Warm bath?” Rarity’s ears perked up as she instantly returned to consciousness

Applejack chuckled as she untied the bonds that strapped Rarity to her back. “Glad to have ya back with us, Rarity.”

The bartender chuckled as well in his deep, bass voice. “Yeah, a pretty mare like that, covered in muck, just ain’t right. Hold on a moment… Hey, Songbreeze!”

A young mare in an apron matching the bartender’s squeezed her way through the other ponies. She was a pretty young mare, about the same age as Twilight, with mousy hair braided into a ponytail and a pale tan coat. “What’s up, uncle?”

The stallion pointed to Rarity. “This mare is in dire need of a bath. Be a dear and take her up to the bathroom, will ye?”

Songbreeze nodded and beckoned for Rarity to follow. “Sure thing, uncle Butterbeer. Follow me, Miss…erm...”

“Rarity.” She replied. “My name’s Rarity.”

The young filly led the way up some stairs on the left of the porch. Butterbeer watched them disappear to the upper floors before returning his attention to Twilight and Applejack, a smile creasing his face. “Now then missies, anything else I can help with, or shall we skip to takin’ orders?”

“Well, a nice hot meal would be nice,” Twilight replied, “But also, we were wondering if you have any rooms to stay the night.”

His smile sagged. “Ah…Sorry young miss. ‘M afraid we got no vacancies at the moment.”

Applejack frowned. “Seriously? Ah, shoot! Ain’t there anywhere in this place that’d have somewhere we could sleep?”

“Not likely,” replied Butterbeer, “Most houses here are pretty crowded to begin with, and we just don’t got room to house six more ponies. Again, sorry missies… Yer welcome to stay till the bar closes, but after that, I’m afraid yer on yer own.”

When Rarity finally returned from her bath, Twilight gathered her friends together to share the bad news. Once they were done groaning and moaning with frustration, they resigned to the plan of staying until the bar closed at midnight, then continuing on their way. Rainbow and Twilight had headed outside again and gauged that the raincloud may have let up a little by then. Until then, they could just say at the tavern and enjoy a hot meal and a warm fire.

“It’ll be a sleepless night all round, but we don’t really have much choice,” Twilight explained to the ponies assembled around one of the round tables.

Rainbow nodded “Besides, it’s just a couple hours from here to Neighagra Falls, and we can chill all we like once we get there.”

“S’cuse me, but did I hear right that yer heading to Neighagra Falls?”

Twilight turned around and saw a grizzled old stallion sitting at the adjacent table. “Erm, that’s right sir…we’re heading to the Crystal Mountains, and we’re planning to stop at the Falls on the way.”

The stallion took a swig from his flagon before replying, “Well, if yer lookin’ for a place to stop and sleep, then the Falls are the place to go.”

“What d’ya mean?” Applejack asked, joining the conversation.

“Well, there’s an old pony who lives up by the Falls. Bit of an odd mare, but she’s welcoming to most ponies. If ye go at a quick pace and just go straight north from here, ye can reach the Falls in an hour. She’ll be perfectly willing to give ye a place to sleep.”

At that moment, Songbreeze came by, a platter balanced on her back with the six ponies’ drinks. “Yeah, but you wanna be careful around here at night,” The mare said, cutting into the conversation. “There’s talk of strange creatures abroad.”

At this all the ponies’ ears perked up. “What kind of creatures?” Rarity asked as she sipped her cup of cider.

Songbreeze shrugged. “Dunno. Haven’t seen any myself, and most of the rumours just talk about ponies in funny outfits goin’ about the place. And some say they aren’t even ponies, but somethin’ else that looks kinda like a pony, but not quite…”

“Now, now, Song, let’s not spook our visitors,” Butterbeer said as he trotted to the tables. “In fact, it’s a bit gloomy in here all around, I think.”

“Yer right, uncle” Songbreeze replied with a grin. Turning to the ponies all seated in the tavern and at the bar, she called aloud, “C’mon you old lot, whaddaya say we liven things up a bit!”

Her suggestion was met with a hearty cheer from the gathered ponies. Without further ado, she went right into a bouncy little ditty which soon had the whole tavern singing along and thumping their flagons on the tabletops. The six mares were rather caught off-guard by Songbreeze’s singing voice, which truly lived up to her name, and was most unexpected from a barmaid:

“Oh, the weather’s cold outside
But we’re all snug in here!
With you and me, good company!
With cider, food and beer!

Oh, the winds can blow outside,
And whistle and wail and moan.
But sit us by a roaring fire,
And you’ll hear not a moan!

Oh, the night is dark outside,
But the dinner’s good and hot!
Good food, good friends and happy hearts,
I’d say we got the lot!”

The tavern joined her in enthusiastically shouting the last line, and ending in another hearty cheer and a round of applause for Songbreeze. Even Rarity, who was not a pony given to enjoying the sort of songs sung in inns and taverns, had to admire the filly’s lovely voice.

As the night went on, the six friends were treated to more delicious drinks, though they stuck to the non-alcoholic stuff, as well as some quaint, yet appetising food. Soups, stews, pies (which were really little more than bowls of stew with lids made from piecrust), all very heavy and much stodgier than Ponyville fare, but undeniably delicious.

As yet another song (which Twilight was sure was one big euphemism for something incredibly dirty) drew to a close with a roar of laughter, they found themselves called upon to provide a song of their own

“C’mon ladies!” shouted Butterbeer. “Surely you know some good songs!”

“Yeah, let’s hear something new, we get bored of our own music!”

“Ooh! Ooh, I have one!” Pinkie bounced up and down on the spot, delighted to have a willing audience. The ponies cheered and fell quiet, waiting for her to begin.

The pink pony took on a dramatic pose, one hoof on her chest, another extended before her, her face uncharacteristically solemn. Played by some unseen musician, an accordion and a fiddle were heard, along with a steady drumbeat.

“Listen now,” Pinkie spoke, “to the tale of a pony, and his endless quest for adventure and justice. This is the epic tale of the great knight, Shiny Shield!”

Applejack facehoofed. She’d heard this one before. “Oh good gravy, here we go…”

“Old Shiny Shield was mighty brave,
As I was told by my mother,
Fair maidens by the bucketload
He’d save, one after another.
Each morning he rode from his abode,
Riding the back of a giant toad,
Searching the dangerous forest roads,
A-looking for those fair maidens!

He spied a fat old pony there,
And doffed his hat quite proudly
The mare was frightened out of her wits
And started to shriek so loudly!
He shoved her upon the back of his toad
And tried to ride off down the road,
But two fat ponies was one heavy load,
And the toad was squashed like a beetle!

Then out there came a stout old colt
Who yelled, ‘Oh woe and strife!
I spy some villain, tryin’ to steal
My lovely fat old wife!’
So he took up a great, massive club
And gave poor Shiny quite the drub
And a mighty bruise for him to rub
While his wife ate all their supper!”

She had to pause mid-song, for the assembled ponies were drowning out her singing with roars of hearty laughter. Even her friends, who had been living in fear that she would ever sing this song again, were giggling and guffawing.

Only Applejack could control herself long enough to shout above the din, “Don’t encourage her, folks! That song goes on fer another forty-seven verses!”

The singing and mirth went on long into the night, until the midnight hour finally came, and Butterbeer and Songbreeze closed down the bar. The dozen or so ponies who were still drinking returned to their own houses, some supporting their staggering, inebriated friends, while many other ponies headed upstairs to their rooms in the inn.

Soon the only ponies left were Twilight and her friends, along with Songbreeze and Butterbeer. “Once again, I’m really sorry we can’t accommodate you girls tonight. Especially after all the fun we had tonight, ye seem like such nice girls!”

Twilight gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, Mr. Butterbeer. At least we had a chance to dry off and cheer up a bit.”

“And besides, the rain’s lettin’ up as it is. We’ll be fine,” Applejack added. True to her word, the downpour outside had let up into a gentle drizzle.

“Well, I went ahead and dried out yer stuff.” Songbreeze replied, carrying the ponies’ saddlebags and cloaks from the back room. “Nice and warm from the heater.”

Each of the six ponies smiled as they felt the warmth of their cloaks and saddlebags on their backs. “Thank you so much!” Twilight said as she clasped her blanket around her shoulders. “So, that stallion was saying that if we head straight north from here, we’ll reach Neighagra Falls in an hour?”

Butterbeer nodded. “Yep. Cut across country and keep goin’ north. After a while you’ll be able to see the place. As best I know, the old mare keeps a light in the window fer any traveller headin’ her way.”

“But who is this mare?” Fluttershy inquired.

“She goes by the name of Rowanoak. Nopony really knows who she is or where she came from. She just lives up by those Falls all alone,” Songbreeze replied. “But like Butterbeer said, she’s usually welcoming to travellers.”

Applejack nodded as she led the way out into the courtyard. “Well, it's sure been a delight. Thank you kindly for your hospitality, but I reckon we better be going then.”

“Well, safe journey to the lot of ye,” Butterbeer called from the doorway. “And remember what Song said about strange folk abroad. Take care of yerselves!”

“We will!” Pinkie Pie replied, waving back. “And you take care too! Who knows, maybe we’ll come back this way and I can finish Shiny Shield’s story!”

“If that's the case, take all the time you need to come back!” the old bartender joked.

With one final wave, the six friends donned their makeshift hoods and headed back out the gate and onto the road.

As they trudged over the grasslands and moors that dominated the area, the notable reduction in rain did little to improve their moods. Every now and then a hoof would get caught in an especially deep puddle, or somepony would slip and narrowly avoid an unwanted mudbath. But one pony in particular felt even more ill at ease than the rest.

“Applejack?” Twilight looked back to see her Earth-pony friend standing stock-still at the back of the group. She trudged over to join her. “What’s up? You’ve been stopping and starting like this a lot.”

Applejack shook her head, as if dispelling some unwanted thought. “Sorry Twi. I dunno what it is, but somethin’ feels mighty off. I can’t put my hoof on it, but I just reckon somethin’s up…”

“Like there’s somepony out here other than us?” Rainbow asked in a low voice as she joined them.

“Actually, I’ve been feeling something like that too,” Fluttershy added. “A few times, I even thought I could see something.”

“Was it a group of shadowy cloaked figures that seemed to be getting closer?"

The pegasus was unnerved by Rarity’s oddly specific question. “Erm…yes, actually. Why?”

Rarity was perched atop a slight mound on the moor, staring intently eastward. “Because I can see them too. About half a mile away.”

With a sudden flash of light, Twilight was by her side, looking out over the moors. Over the lip of a low hill they could see a shadow rise, or more than one. Squinting and peering through the mist and rain, they watched as the shadows seemed to grow in size and number. Soon there was no doubt about it, about four or five shadows were standing there on the hill, peering back at them with the piercing yellow dots that seemed to be their eyes. Twilight thought that she could hear faint hissing or growling from their direction. Then the shapes began to advance.

Twilight was immediately spurred into action. “We need to get moving. Now! Head straight north, fast as you can!”

They turned on their back hooves and began to gallop across the land, ignoring the spattering of mud or the scratching from bushes and scrub as they ran by. Applejack led the way, pumping her strong workhorse legs, followed closely behind by Rainbow Dash, who had taken to the air, flying low along the ground. Twilight and Pinkie galloped behind them. Bringing up the rear were Rarity, who gasped for air as she tried her best to keep up, and Fluttershy, who glided alongside.

Chancing a quick look behind, Fluttershy gulped as she saw the strange shadows gaining ground behind them. She could clearly see their eyes now, and noticed that they were not like any pony she had seen. They seemed to be nothing more than bright yellow rings in a shadowy, cowled face.

As the ponies sprinted desperately, they noticed that more and more of these strange figures appeared, running behind them and even alongside them. About ten or so of them were now following them.

But the six ponies came to a halt as they found their way barred by another five cloaked figures who formed a line before them. Within seconds they were surrounded.

The largest of the figures stepped forward a few paces, and called in a snarling voice, “You will go no further!”

Now that they were standing still, Twilight was able to get a good look at the figures. She too noticed their strange eyes, nothing more than yellow rings, staring out from beneath hooded and cowled faces. From what she could see of their limbs and tails beneath their cloaks, she noticed with unease that they did not look very equine at all. And while she and her friends’ breath came out as pale puffs of steam, there seemed to be a constant stream of black smog seeping from beneath the creaures' hoods. But swallowing her fear, she stepped forward to confront them. “And why not? We’re just travellers on our way to Neighagra Falls!”

“You will come with us!” the cloaked figure shouted.

“And what if we don’t?” Rainbow shouted back defiantly, scuffing the ground with a hoof.

Another cloaked figure on the right of the larger one stepped forward and pointed with a foreleg at the group of ponies before him. Twilight’s fears were confirmed when she saw that the armoured foreleg ended not in a hoof, but in a clawed hand. Then a million things happened at once.

The dozen or so figures bore down upon the group of mares, silently charging forwards. In an instant Rainbow Dash had zoomed skyward before any of these strange creatures could touch her. Flying above the ground, she would zoom down on any of their assailants who made a grab at her friends, barrelling into them like a cannonball.

Twilight and Rarity held their own, bolts of magic shooting from their horns and lighting up the darkness. Every now and again these flashes of magical energy would make contact, blasting one of the beasts back. But many would catch them off guard, swooping down upon them on wings that were sometimes feathery, and sometimes not so much.

Through the darkness of the melee, Twilight called out, “Girls! Over here! Everypony around me, now!”

Through the dark there were the sounds of scuffles and snarls and grunts of creatures as they were beaten back, and within moments, Twilight found herself surrounded by her five friends. Through the darkness, and the veils of rain and mist, she could see the shadowy figures regrouping and heading their way.

Glancing over to the north for a moment, she then closed her eyes and focused all her will into her horn. She had always been warned about the dangers of teleporting somewhere she did not know or could not see, but this was desperate.

“Girls, hold on tight!” she shouted as she could feel the magic welling up in her horn. She felt five pairs of hooves grabbing on to her as tightly as they could. Ignoring the pain, Twilight cast the enveloping net of magic around her friends and herself, before finally releasing the spell. With a blinding flash of white and magenta light, they were gone.

Many miles away, in a cottage by the waterside, a light came on. An ancient, grey-haired mare got up from her chair, stretching her creaking old limbs and slipping into a dark blue nightgown. Picking up a candlestick on her way out, she opened the door and slowly made her way across her garden. She passed by the small lake that gradually shrunk down into a stream, snaking its way into the distance past the boundaries of her home. She crossed the bridge over the silent water and ambled slowly down the colonnade. Finally she reached the two pillars that marked the entrance to her home and stood there, waiting. They should be arriving any moment now. In four, three, two…

BANG!

“Ooh, you’re early!” the old mare said with delight as she watched the six young ponies flash into existence. They appeared to be two of each pony kind, young, and absolutely filthy. Mud caked the sides and hooves of the six mares, and scratches and bruises could be seen where there was no mud.

“Well, come on in, no sense in sitting out in the rain on a night like this,” the old mare said as she passed between the pillars. Agonizingly slowly the six mares got to their hooves, barely able to stand up under the weight of their bags and their own exhaustion. “Go on, hurry up and get inside. Best shed those heavy bags of yours; I’ll have them brought in.”

Twilight and her friends could only stare dumbly at this strange old mare, who did not seem to mind that six very exhausted and very scared young mares had just materialised on her doorstep. She just smiled back. “C’mon, scoot! Down the colonnade and over the bridge, straight into the cottage. You don’t need to fret, yer safe now.”

Nodding dumbly, Twilight motioned to her friends to follow her, and they headed towards the bridge. But as they passed the pillars, the old mare spoke up again.

“Ah, wait young’un! Go between the pillars, if ya don’t mind. The barrier won’t work properly otherwise.”

Taken slightly aback, Rainbow Dash and Rarity, who had been making to walk past the two pillars, backed up and headed through them. When they saw the old pony’s satisfied smile, the group continued to stagger towards the colonnade. The old mare stayed behind, gathering up their saddlebags and carrying them between the pillars, before setting them down on the ground and following her new guests. “Hmm, s’funny. Only five bags for six ponies… Ah well, there’s probably nothing to it. Now, let’s go get these girls some tea!”

“You useless vermin! How’d this happen?!”

The cloaked creatures groaned and growled as they sat about in the grassy field and licked their wounds. They tried their best to ignore the berating words of their leader, who paced up and down before them. His tail whipped back and forth in frustration as he spoke in their tongue, “Ponies… Nothing more than six ponies, and you let them get away! I ask you, am I the only competent one here?!”

He received little more than grunts and hisses in reply. Running a hoof down his face, he groaned, “Never mind, don’t answer that. Athaps, what’s the damage?”

“Bruises and scratches. Nothing broken. These ones are good to go anytime now Maugoth,” replied a thin cloaked fellow
with a reedy voice.

“Right,” Maugoth replied, eager to be on the hunt again. “We may not have caught those little meals, but there’s bound to be more of them somewhere nearby. Be ready to go in five minutes!”

Before he could say any more, another one of the cloaked creatures was at his side, beckoning with a claw. “What is it, Gadhup?”

The little creature, Gadhup, beckoned for Maugoth to follow him, leading him to the spot where the six ponies had vanished. There on the ground, covered in muck and filth, was a set of white saddlebags, clasped shut with a small magenta clip, shaped like a starburst. Maugoth picked up the bag and unclasped it, rummaging through for anything of value.

“Anything good in there?” Gadhup asked, eagerly peering over his master’s shoulder. The cloaked pony knocked him back and continued rifling through the bags. A few old books, some quills and inkpots, blank scrolls, maps, some food, but nothing of serious interest. He pulled out a bunch of sheets of paper and skim-read a few pages. Nothing of interest, just some old history notes. But then Maugoth saw on one page, the words “Source of near-unlimited power”. His attention was instantly grabbed. As he read through the pages again, his mouth broke into a cruel smile. Flipping to the final page, he saw a simple map of Equestria, with an X scrawled onto the mountain range that lined the top of the page.

“Oh, this is good,” the pony muttered aloud. “This is just what we need.”

“Did you find something good?” Athaps joined Maugoth and Gadhup, peering at the map and the notes that Maugoth was holding.

“Only the best possible. Get Laga over here, we need his magic.”

Gadhup nodded and scampered to the rest of the group. Maugoth tossed back his hood and cowl, revealing the face of a young stallion, perfectly normal except for a few extra-long teeth poking out from under his top lip, and his unnatural eyes. They were devoid of whites, completely black save for the irises, which were a bright, piercing yellow. He flipped the bag onto its side and saw a tiny label on the back. In both the common Earth-pony alphabet, and the Runicorn pictogram script, were the words “If found, return to Twilight Sparkle, Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville”.

“We may just be able to work this to our advantage.”

4. At Neighagra Falls Sanctuary

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The old mare pushed the door of her cottage open, the hinges creaking almost as much as her joints. She could barely get four paces inside the house before she bumped into the tail of one of her guests. Squinting in the low light, she saw that the six ponies had not even passed the threshold, and were all huddled together in the porch.

“Go on, you lot! Go on in and make yerselves at home,” she said, gently nudging Fluttershy with her head. Hesitantly they made their way through the tiny hallway and into the dining room, where they found a small round table surrounded by seven small stools. “Sit yerselves down, girls. I’ll get started on the tea.”

The old pony eased her way through the crowded room and rounded a corner into what was presumably the kitchen. As the group of ponies sat down, each of them noticed for the first time how dry they were. When they had re-materialised after Twilight’s teleport spell, they had been drenched from the rain outside. Even their cloaks had proven powerless against the downpour, and had been heavy with water. But as soon as they rested their flanks on their respective stool, each pony found themselves suddenly warm and dry, and their cloaks felt as if they had just come off the clothesline after a hot summer’s day. But before they could put their heads together in discussion about how this could be, the old pony’s voice rang out from the kitchen.

“How do you like your tea then?”

But the six mares remained silent, still shaking from their encounter less than ten minutes ago. When the old pony received no reply, she added, “I’ll just bring out the cream and the sugar bowl and let you help yerselves, shall I?”

“Uh… yeah, that would be best…” Twilight was the first to find her voice. “Excuse me, are you Rowanoak?”

“Yep. I’m Rowanoak, and Rowanoak is me. How’d you know me name?” asked Rowanoak as she returned, balancing a tray on her head, laden with a sugar bowl and a small ceramic jug of cream, along with a small plate of biscuits, which Pinkie Pie eagerly dug into.

“Well, we were sheltering from the rain at a little inn not far from here,” Rarity replied. “Unfortunately they didn’t have any accommodation, but they said that there was a mare up this way named Rowanoak, and she’d offer us shelter.”

“Oh, ye mean old Butterbeer?” Rowanoak’s face creased as she smiled. “Well, that’s mighty kind of him to not just turf ye out at closing time with no place to go.”

“So, you’ll let us stay then?”

She nodded. “Of course! Can’t have a bunch of pretty fillies like yerselves outside in this weather!”

Pinkie Pie giggled through her mouthful of custard creams. “Butterbeer said the exact same thing!”

“Sure sounds like ‘im. But yes, ye can stay as long as ye want, though I imagine that won’t be that long, judging by those bags of yours.” Rowanoak’s ear perked up as she heard the whistle of the kettle in the kitchen.

“Bags…bags….” Rainbow Dash suddenly jumped up, pointing an accusing hoof in the old mare’s direction. “Hey, our bags! You said you were bringing in our bags!”

“No dear, I never said that.”

The pegasus faltered. “Huh? Whaddaya mean? Didn’t you say you’d…”

Rowanoak returned, the kettle clenched in her teeth and a teapot looped around her tail. “I always mean what I say, young ‘un. I never said I’d be bringin’ in yer bags, I said they’d be brought in. Passive verb, y’see.”

All six ponies jumped as there was a sudden knock at the door. But Rowanoak simply set down the kettle and teapot and went to answer. “That’ll be them now.”

“Here, I’ll help you,” Twilight called as she got up and followed her to the porch. But when Rowanoak pulled the door open, there was nopony there. The only thing on the doorstep was the pile of saddlebags. Twilight poked her head out the door and peeked left and right, but saw nopony in sight. “But…who brought them…?”

“C’mon missy, less chatter, more action! Let’s get them bags in here and dried out.” Rowanoak nudged her aside and began dragging the sodden saddlebags into the porch. Twilight simply shrugged and did the same, pulling each heavy bag into the porch and setting them down in a line. But just as she brought in the first bag, she gasped as, once the bag had passed the threshold of the house, it suddenly became dry right before her wide eyes.

“Did… you see…?” Twilight stuttered in shock, as Rowanoak dragged another bag inside. Once again, the bag seemed to suddenly dry out in an instant when it passed through the doorway. There was no steam, no fading of the dark patches, no dripping; it just wasn’t wet anymore. “How is that possible?”

“Hmm, you say something’?”

“How does it do that? Those bags, they just suddenly…dried out, when we brought them inside!”

“Oh that!” Rowanoak waved a hoof dismissively. “That happens all the time. ‘S just funny that way.”

“So… you didn’t enchant it or something?” Twilight asked, before clapping a hoof to her mouth as she realised how silly that question was.

“Do I look like a unicorn?” the old mare asked, bowing her head to show that, indeed, there was no horn amongst her grey mane.

Twilight scratched her head sheepishly. “Heh, yeah, stupid question…” Eager to change the subject, she cast an eye over the saddlebags, lined up along the wall of the porch and miraculously dry. It was then that she noticed something off. “Hey… there are only five bags here.”

Rowanoak looked at her quizzically. “You mean ye had more?”

“Yeah, we had six, one for each of us,” the unicorn replied.

“Really? There were only five when ye got here.”

“Tea’s ready!” called Applejack from the dining room. Twilight and Rowanoak returned and took their seats at the table, Twilight perching on her stool and Rowanoak curling up in a large moth-eaten armchair.

“So, our saddlebags are safe and sound then?” asked Applejack as Rarity poured her a cup of steaming tea.

Twilight sighed, taking a sip from her own cup. “All except one. I only counted five bags, and Rowanoak says that we only had five when we arrived here.”

“How could ye not notice? It was you who didn’t have any saddlebag!”

The unicorn spluttered and coughed as she narrowly avoided a spit-take. “M-me?! Then that means… Oh Celestia, I must dropped my bags when we got ambushed!” She dejectedly slumped forward until her head rested upon the tabletop.

“Ambushed? By what, Twilight?”

Her ears perked up as Twilight heard Rowanoak say her name. “Wait…how do you know my name?”

“Hah, how could she not know us?” Rainbow said with a smirk. “The six of us are practically celebrities! She’s probably read about us in the papers.”

But the old mare shook her head “Nah, I don’t get any papers out here.”

Rainbow Dash was slightly taken aback. “Erm…or maybe, she heard about us on the…radio?”

“Never had one.”

The pegasus threw her forelegs up in frustration. “Well then how do ya know us?!”

“Don’t rightly know,” replied Rowanoak. “It’s like the whole deal with the threshold. ‘S just funny that way… But anywho, you say you were ambushed? By whom?”

Twilight took another sip of tea and put down her cup. “I’m not sure. I didn’t get much of a look at them. We were walking across the plains, just after we left Butterbeer’s inn. Rarity spotted them in the distance coming after us, so we picked up the pace. But before we knew it, we were surrounded!”

“But don’t think we didn’t give ‘em a good fight or anything!” Rainbow interrupted. “We sure didn’t go easy on them!”
Twilight shot the pegasus a quick disapproving glance before continuing, “Well yes, we did try to defend ourselves for a while. But pretty soon we were getting overwhelmed, so I teleported us out of there.”

Rowanoak chuckled. “And lucky for you, ye landed right on my doorstep.”

“But, um, why did those… things attack us in the first place?” Fluttershy at last broke her silence. “What were they after?”
Applejack shrugged “Maybe they were bandits? I mean, bunch o’ mares in the middle of the night in the pourin’ rain, maybe they just reckoned we’d be an easy target.”

“Maybe,” Twilight muttered. “What I’m more bothered about is exactly what those things were. At first I thought they were just ponies, but I’m not so sure.”

“They were most certainly not ponies, Twilight,” responded Rarity. “That whole ordeal is a bit hazy in my memory, but I distinctly remember at least one of those brutes had claws.”

“Besides, did any of y’all ever see ponies with eyes like that before? All black and yellow with no whites?”

Applejack had a point. The six ponies all clearly remembered the eyes of those things. Devoid of whiteness; pure black, broken only by a ring of bright yellow. Twilight leaned forwards to rest her chin on the table again. “Well, whatever they were, they’ve probably got my bag now… and all my notes and maps on where to go.”

“Can’t you remember any of it?” Pinkie asked. Twilight shook her head.

“No, I wrote it down so I wouldn’t have to remember it!”

An awkward silence hung in the room. The only sound was the crackling of the fireplace in the next room, and the pitter-patter of the rain on the roof outside. Each pony dwelled on their thoughts about the events of the day, trying to make sense of the mysterious attack. Finally, it was Rowaoak who broke the silence.

“Well, this ain’t the time for dwelling on such things. High time you girls were in bed, resting. Finish yer tea, now.” She proceeded to gather up the tableware and load it back on the tray. The ponies drank down the last dregs of tea and got up, ready for a good night’s sleep. It was only when they reached the hallway when they realised that they had no idea where to go.

“Oh, of course! Sorry, I forgot to say… There’s no guest rooms in this cottage. You’ll be better off in the guesthouse.”

Rainbow Dash groaned, “Aww come on! You mean we gotta go out in the rain again?!”

Rowanoak, however, smiled sagely. “Oh, don’t fret none. It might be rainin’ outside, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get wet.”
“But that doesn’t make… Oh, nevermind. So where is this gatehouse?” Twilight asked, now becoming impatient for a chance to sleep.

The old mare opened the door and pointed out to the left of the house, towards the falls. “Just over that way. The lights are on, so you’ll see it in the dark, and yer bags will be there waitin’ for ye.”

A low yawn escaped Applejack’s throat, “Ooh, well, I dunno about y’all, but I’m more than ready to hit the hay myself.”
“Lead the way, Applejack.” Rarity added as the ponies one again donned their makeshift cloaks and headed out the door. But before closing the door, Twilight paused.

“Wait, what do you mean, our bags will be waiting for us there? They’re all here in this cottage!”

“I mean just what I say, Twilight Sparkle.” Rowanoak’s eye twinkled as she smiled. “When you reach the guesthouse, all these bags will be there.”

“Hmph, except mine of course,” the unicorn harrumphed, her ears drooping glumly.

“Now, don’t you fret too much. I have a feeling it’ll turn up sooner than later. Sweet dreams to ye and yer friends.” Without another word, she closed the door, leaving a rather confused Twilight on the doorstep.

“… Turn up sooner or later? Does she think somepony will just turn up on the doorstep and say ‘Excuse me, I think you dropped this’ and hand me my bag?” the unicorn muttered to herself, with half a mind to demand some sort of explanation from the old mare. But she withdrew her forehoof just before she could knock on the door and hurried after her friends to the guesthouse. Forget it, she thought. I need some sleep. I’ve had quite enough strangeness for one day!

Unfortunately for her, fate had other ideas.

The gibbous moon hung high in the sky over Neighagra Falls, casting small pools of silvery white light through the windows of the guesthouse, with its six sleeping occupants. Or rather, five sleeping and one wide awake.

No matter what she did, Twilight Sparkle could not find the peace of sleep. All through the night she tossed and turned, her bedspread becoming as entangled and chaotic as her thoughts. Enviously listening to the gentle snores of her friends in their own beds, she lay staring straight up at the pale ceiling. As chaotic as when a small contingent of bees is trapped beneath a bucket or in a jar, and their buzzing reverberates all through the container, so were the thoughts milling about in her mind.

Not since her first discovery of the Pinkie Sense had so many questions been presented to her at once. Ever since she and her friends had left the Warm Welcome, it seemed sense and logic had taken a holiday.

She rolled over and could see Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity fast asleep in their small, but extremely soft and comfortable beds. The first mystery was the sudden appearance of those strange creatures out on the plains. Who were they? Indeed, what were they? Black and yellow eyes, snarling, cruel voices, and now claws! Even thinking back to all the books she had skimmed through about mythical monsters and supernatural creatures yielded no results. Not even the monsters and ghouls of legends and trashy horror stories did not match them. Vamponies? No, no legends about vamponies ever mentioned claws, and their eyes were always red (Some stories mention vamponies changing eye colour… but then again, they also mention their skin shining like diamonds in the sunlight, so their credibility is debatable). Zombies? Nah, they were too fast, and they could speak too. Zombies can’t speak, right?

Applejack stirred and snuffled in her sleep as Twilight smacked herself gently in the forehead, her hoof making a resounding clack against her skull. She froze, holding her breath until she was sure that Applejack had not been woken up. She frowned. Really? Trying to apply logic to ghost stories? Is this really what I’ve fallen to now?

The unicorn rolled over again and found herself facing the window. Outside she could see the moon hanging high in the blackness outside, its white glow illuminating the occasional raindrop that passed the window, looking like tiny white gemstones falling from the sky. Their mysterious assailants aside, Twilight dwelt also on the very place she and her friends were calling home for the night. It all started at the moment she and her friends arrived in front of those two white pillars, and they were greeted by old Rowanoak, who somehow was expecting them. Since then nothing had made sense. Who brought our bags to the doorstep? How was it that they suddenly became dry when they were brought indoors? And what did Rowanoak mean, ‘turn up sooner or later’?!

Even the weather made little sense. True to the old mare’s words, they had walked through the rain from her cottage to the guesthouse and stayed completely dry! She had barely even felt the rain upon her, and once they reached the guesthouse, neither she nor any of her friends was even so much as damp.

And then there was Rowanoak herself. How did she know we were coming, Twilight asked herself. How was she so unfazed by our arrival?

And how did she know my name?

Twlight paused in her thoughts as she heard something outside: the gentle padding of hooves on grass. Raising her head, she could just see over the top of the windowsill. Beyond the fence of the garden that surrounded the guesthouse, Twilight saw a figure, hunched and cloaked, walk slowly past and out of sight.

The unicorn glanced over her left shoulder. Each of her friends was fast asleep in their own bed. No sense in waking them up for the sake of my own curiosity. Sliding the covers down, Twilight slipped over the side of the bed until her hooves touched the floor. Without a sound, she tip-hoofed past her snoring friends and twisted the doorknob.

“…Twi?”

Twilight froze, the door half-open. Applejack, the nearest to the door, had stirred in her sleep, and gazed up at the unicorn with half-open eyes. “Wha…What’re ya doin’? Ya can’t…go out now, the…seaponies are…dancin’… Shooo..bee, doobee...”

Desperately trying not to giggle, Twilight patted her friend on the head. “I’ll keep that in mind, Applejack. Go back to sleep now.”

Applejack nodded and closed her eyes once more. Within seconds she was snoring again. Satisfied that all her friends were fast asleep, Twilight Gently eased the door closed, grabbed her cloak from where she and her friends had heaped them by the door, and headed out.

The rain had let up considerably, reduced now to nothing more than a drizzle. As before, Twilight could see the rain falling on and around her, but felt nothing. She peered ahead through the mist and saw the figure up ahead, walking through the colonnade. Twilight picked up the pace and hurried after her, running as silently as she could.

She followed the figure like this for a good few minutes, trotting along the outside of the colonnade, until she was right alongside the figure. By their bent-double stance and ponderous gait, she guessed it to be Rowanoak. But why would she be outside?

As she silently padded after her, Twilight heard on the night air, a low rumbling sound. As she and Rowanoak continued up the colonnade, the rumble grew louder and more distinct, until Twilight finally placed it. ”The falls…”
And indeed it was. The colonnade stretched up a gentle slope, until it came to an end on a ledge that overhung a small lake. A small stream branched off from one end of the lake, no doubt growing into the river that she and her friends had followed. At the other end was the falls.

It was almost as wide as the lake itself, sending torrents of foam and water over the ridge, where its source lay in the mountainside somewhere. Huge clouds of mist and spray were sent up at the bottom of the waterfall, the likes of which would no doubt cast small rainbows in the sunlight. And yet for all its size and intensity, Neighagra Falls were unearthly quiet. Not silent, not by a longshot. But not nearly as loud as a waterfall of this scale should be. Instead of the hissing roar of water, even right next to them, there was little more than a low rumble, as if listening to a waterfall from far away, and from within a dense forest. She was sure there was something else to it, but Twilight could not quite put her hoof on it.

From her hiding place behind a bush, Twilight saw old Rowanoak reach the top of the ledge, where some craftsman had built a small stone structure. It as a relatively simple affair, a dome set atop a ring of pillars, all carved from white marble. As she edged closer and closer, Twilight made out a small bench inside the marble gazebo, similarly carved from white stone, where Rowanoak seated herself.

“Come on up here, Twilight. The view is lovely!”

Her ears perked up as she jumped with a small squeak, making the bushes rustle. Trying to fight back the awkward blush on her cheeks, Twilight raised her head and, hesitantly, stepped out from behind the bush and climbed up the slope. As she entered the gazebo, Rowanoak smiled up at her and slid over slightly, leaving her a space on the bench.

“Oh, er… thanks. Um, sorry for following you like this…”

“It’s alright.” Rowanoak replied as she gazed out over the lake “Actually, it’s nice to have somepony up here with me for once. Somepony to share the view with.”

Twilight nodded. “Hmm, it is a lovely view from here.” From their point on the ledge, she could see right across the lake, past the falls, and into the darkness on the other side. Something clicked in her mind as she came to a starting realisation. That’s what was so weird about the lake!

“There’s no ripples!”

“Eh?” Rowaoak raised a brow.

Twilight pointed a hoof at the water. “I was trying to figure out what was so off about the lake. It’s that there aren’t any ripples! A huge waterfall like this should have waves all over the lake, but there’s nothing! The whole thing is totally still!”

The old mare nodded. “Aye, that it is. Very relaxing just to sit up here and look out at it, don’t ye think?”

“Yeah, it is kinda…” Twilight agreed. “But it’s just one more thing here that makes no sense! The waterfall, the lake, the rain, the bags… even you!”

“Me? What about it? Somethin’ wrong with me?”

“Sorry…” The unicorn’s ears drooped. “That did sound kinda harsh, didn’t it? What I meant was, you’re just as much of a mystery as this whole place. How did you know me and my friends were coming here? How did you know my name?”

Rowanoak shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ye, missy. There’s just some things I know, even if I don’t know why I know them! Places, faces, happenin’s, sounds, smells, all sorts of stuff goin’ in and out of my old skull. I never really understood it meself, ‘s just funny that way. I’ve just learnt to go with it and let it happen.”

Twilight sat up with rapt attention. She had seen this sort of thing before. “That sounds a lot like something Pinkie Pie has. Sometimes she’ll get a strange twitch, and she’s learnt to interpret them and figure out what each one means. She calls it her ‘Pinkie Sense‘”

“Huh, interestin’.” Rowanoak sighed as she gazed out at the lake again. “But like I said, I just let it happen. Tryin’ to figure out how it works will just drive ye crazy.”

“That’s for sure.” Twilight replied with a chuckle. “I nearly drove myself mad trying to analyse her Pinkie Sense… So, do you live up here all on your own then?”

The old mare nodded. “Aye. Family’s long gone, either moved away or passed on to greener pastures. But I like it here, so I stay. It’s my home and my sanctuary. It’s always been funny like this too… I’m guessin’ you can feel it? That funny sort of pressure everywhere?”

The unicorn looked around. “Yeah, I’ve felt it. Usually if I’m in a place with magical energy of any kind, I can feel it right away, but here… it seemed so much more subtle. It’s like there’s some kind of thin, invisible sheet draped over me. It’s not heavy or unpleasant, but it’s…there.”

“That sounds about right.” Rowanoak nodded again. “This place has always been magical, for as long as I can remember.”

Twilight sighed, resting her chin on her hooves. “I just wish I could stay here a bit longer. I’d give anything to research this place!”

“Y’know, young Twilight, a wise young unicorn a long time ago, once said something that I really take to heart when it comes to places like this. I dunno what he was referring to at the time, but it basically sums up this whole place.”

“Really? What was it?” Twilight asked, her ears perking up. Rowanoak leaned close to her, cupping a hoof round her mouth.

The unicorn leaned eagerly in too, desperate for some sort of explanation.

“He said, ’It’s magic, I don’t have to explain anything!’”

The old mare wheezed with laughter as she leaned back again, slapping her hooves against the marble seat below her in her mirth. Twilight, however, frowned at Rowanoak.

“But Rowanoak, if we never look for explanations in things, how will ponies ever learn about anything? How could we ever make progress?”

“Well, that’s true,” replied Rowanoak when she calmed down and stopped laughing. “But if’n ye spend all yer time analysin’ and researchin’ everything, you’ll miss what’s right in front of ye. There’s a time for study and science, and it does take ponies to new frontiers, but sometimes ye just need to sit back and just see the beauty of what’s in front of you. Stop lookin’ at the world fer a moment, and see it instead.”

Twilight tried to make a rebuttal, but as her glance was caught by the lake again, she found that she had none. Rowanoak was right. For the first time, she was not looking at the area from a critical or technical point of view. Not analysing, not studying. Just seeing.

She had never felt such peace. It seemed like they were seated by each-other for hours on end, as he night drew on and on.

However, both were pulled out of their trances, when a strange light flared up above the waterfall. Twilight looked up and saw a small structure, like a tower or a beacon, set upon one of the cliffs at the top of the falls. From the tip a bright light twinkled and shone, like the flicker of a candle-flame. Curious, Twilight looked to the old mare, who smiled.

“Ah, look at that. Looks like we have another visitor. C’mon.”

Both mares got up and made their way through the colonnade. Yet as they approached the twin pillars that marked the boundaries of the strange sanctuary, their shared curiosity and intrigue began to turn to wariness and anxiety. The closer they got, the more they felt uneasy, as if there was some subtle change in the air. Something foreign, something… unclean.
As they rounded the bend, they could see to the end where the pillars stood, and between them stood a figure. At first glance, it appeared to be little more than another pony, with a black cloak draped over his withers. But as Twilight looked more, something about him seemed off. Something in how he carried himself. Or something odd about his face. But what?

He looked normal enough: an earth-pony stallion, probably around twenty-five or thirty, with a pale blue-grey coat and thin, ragged white mane. His mouth was curled into a scowl beneath his hood, which concealed his eyes in shadow.

“Hello there, sir,” Rowanoak said politely, smiling at the newcomer. “How can we help?”

For a moment the stallion was silent. Turning to look at Twilight, he said, “You’re Twilight Sparkle, correct?”

Rowanoak turned her eyes upon the young unicorn. Twilight took a step back, her unease about this stranger rising with every second. But she steeled herself and answered, “Erm…yes, that’s me. Why do you ask?”

“Because,” The stallion lifted the side of his cloak slightly and rummaged inside. “I have a little something for you.”

Twilight stepped back again, ready to dodge or fight back, should he try to attack. It had not escaped her eyes that the cloak he was wearing bore more than a passing resemblance to the cloaks of their unknown assailants in the night.

With a single swift motion, the stallion pulled something large and white, swinging it before him. Twilight flinched slightly, her eyes clenched shut. But she felt no impact of any sort of weapon. Cracking an eyelid open, she saw a familiar white saddlebag dangling before her, decorated with a familiar purple starbust clasp.

“You dropped this,” The stallion said, speaking around the strap of the saddlebag that he held before him.

The unicorn was stunned for a moment. When the feeling finally returned to her legs, she cautiously stepped forward a few paces, before enveloping the bag in a purple aura and lifting it through the air and depositing it on her back.

“Oh! Well, uh… thanks, I guess,” Twilight muttered. “Where did you find it?”

“It was out on the plains. You must’ve dropped it at some point,” replied the stallion, motioning to the stretches of land behind him.

The unicorn raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, something like that…”

“Well, I won’t bother you further, Miss Sparkle. Good night.” With that, the stallion turned on his back hoof and walked back towards the plains. But before he could vanish from sight completely, Twilight trotted to his side.

“Wait! Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, exactly who are you?”

He looked down at the young mare and smiled. It was a strange smile, as if his mouth was somehow blurry or out of focus. Similar were his eyes, which Twilight could see for the first time. Looking at them was like looking through an unfocused camera, or a sheet of gauze. “Just a traveller passing through.”

Without another word, he continued on his way, watched by Twilight and Rowanoak until he passed over a ridge and was out of sight.

“Ah, Maugoth, you’re back!”

Maugoth lowered his hood and grinned to his comrades, who sat huddled at the foot of the ridge. One of the cloaked creatures stood up and approached the returning pony, a sickly yellow glow emitting from the twisted horn that curled from his forehead. A similar aura sprung up around Maugoth’s eyes and mouth, causing the air to see to shimmer and ripple, and then begin to fade as the illusion spell was banished. Soon, his jagged, sharp teeth and yellow eyes were visible once more.

“So, how’d the illusion hold up?” Asked the horned one.

Maugoth clapped him on the back with a foreleg. “The unicorn was a bit uneasy, but she took the bag, no questions asked. Nice work with that disguise spell, Laga.”

Laga tossed back his hood to reveal the face of an old stallion, except for the abnormally curled horn and a single tusk that jutted out from the left side of his mouth. Like Maugoth and his companions, he bore the same eyes. “Heh, glad to be of service.”

“Glad to hear you two are so proud of yerselves!”

A grating, raspy voice called out from among the other figures. Parting the small crowd, a larger, bulkier creature stomped towards Maugoth and Laga. His hood fell back a little, showing off an equine snout covered in grey-green scales and small spines. He snarled at the smaller ones, black smoke billowing from his maw with every breath. “So, Maugoth, care to let us all in on yer genius plan anytime soon? Or was ‘give the map that leads to a valuable weapon, back to the little-food we took it from’, all there was to it?!”

In response, Maugoth stamped his forehooves and snarled at the larger soldier, similar tendrils of smoke wisping from this nostrils. “Mind your attitude, Shataz! You might be my cousin, but I’m still your superior!”

Shataz said nothing in response and dutifully backed down, but not before staring daggers at his officer.

“Actually, sir… what is the plan from here on in?”

Maugoth rounded upon the speaker, which was the skinny little one, Gadhup. Backing from his master, Gadhup raised his claws as if in supplication. “N-not that I doubt you or anything! I’m just curious, y’know!”

Their leader suddenly smiled, putting a foreleg around Gadhup’s withers. “Glad you asked! Y’see, as the leader of this unit, it’s my job to not only make sure we fulfil our mission of infecting the populous here, but also to take care of my troops. And I think I’ve done that pretty well thus far, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Well…”

“Don’t answer that. But anywho, the moment I found that little-food’s saddlebag and saw where she and her little friends were heading, I contacted command back at Burzkala. O’ course, they were very interested, and they tell me to get these Tears things, and bring ‘em back.”

Gadhup, and everypony listening, nodded (Begrudgingly, in Shataz’s case).

“Well, since I’m also supposed to take care of my troops, then there’s no sense in sendin’ them in blind to fetch these Tears. Somethin’ that powerful, there’s bound to be some kind of protection on it: Guards, traps, that kinda stuff.”

The little one nodded. “I think I see where yer goin’ with this.”

Maugoth nodded back. “Yeah, probably. So, I’m thinkin’, why send my own troops in to fetch it, when those ponies are already goin’ there anyways? Why not let them do the hard work for me?”

“And then when they gets it, we takes it from ‘em!” Laga added as the plan dawned on him.

Gadhup gave an admiring smile to his commander. “I swear, sir, with a brain like that you should be up there in high command!”

Shataz, however, was less than impressed. “Pff, sounds like the strategy of a Nar Thos to me.”

The twenty collected creatures gasped. Even those who could not speak knew the biting insult of those words. Every yellow and black eye fixed upon Maugoth, awaiting his response. The pony simple glanced over his shoulder at his cousin, and shot him a wry grin. “You’d be the expert, I guess.”

Raucous laughter greeted this sharp response, as Shataz simply snarled and stomped away to the other side of the ridge. Maugoth, meanwhile, clambered to the top of the ridge, and rested his head on the top, peeking over at Neighagra Falls. Before long, he was joined by Laga and Gadhup, who lay down on their fronts on either side ofhim.

“So, now we just wait. And when they leave, we follow.”

This time it was not Fluttershy, but Rarity who was awoken by the divine smell of cooked breakfast. As her eyelids fluttered open, she swept her curls out of her face and groggily glanced around. All five of her friends were in similar states of semi-consciousness. “Hmm… Rowanoak must be cooking us breakfast… what a wonderful way to start the day.”

Slipping daintily out of bed, Rarity tip-hoofed her way through the door and downstairs to the kitchen. Sure enough, there was the old mare, clad once again in her navy-blue nightie, carrying a plate of fresh toast to the table.

“Ah, mornin’ Rarity. I hope you and yer friends slept well.”

“Indeed we did, thank you.” Rarity inhaled the smell of the toast with a husky sigh. “A marked improvement over last night’s sleeping arrangements. No matter how comfortable a mat and a blanket are, they can never outdo a proper bed.”

Rowanoak chuckled “I see yer a proper lady, eh?”

The white unicorn nodded. “I try to be. Goodness knows it can be hard with friends like mine. But I wouldn’t trade them for all the high-society ponies in Canterlot!”

“Good to hear! And just so ye know, those ladylike manners of yers will be comin’ in handy on this trip of yours, if things go that way.” Rowanoak replied with a wink. Before Rarity could enquire further, the clatter of hooves on the wooden staircase heralded the arrival of the others.

For the next hour, the six ponies dined well on toast, honey, jam, oats, nuts and all manner of fresh fruit, all washed down by a bracing cup of morning tea. Rowanoak curled up in a puffy red chair on the side, joining in the conversation when she was not dozing gently.

Before long, breakfast was all eaten, leaving behind six well-fed and very ready ponies. While the others began clearing up their plates and bowls, Rowanoak called Twilight to the side again. “I took the liberty of puttin’ together some directions for you and yer friends to follow. They’ll get you safe to yer destination.”

She passed a small sheet of folded parchment to Twilight, who held it on her hoof. “Oh, thank you! But how did you know the way? I mean, to be honest, once we reach the Crystal Mountains, I don’t really know where to go next!”

Rowanoak pointed to the parchment. “Well, those there directions will get you wherever yer goin’, mark my words. It just came to me when I sat down and thought about it for a while, so I wrote it all down. Heh, don’t ask me how I know…”

“It’s just funny that way?"

The old mare wheezed with laughter, joined soon by Twilights laughter. “Yer a good mare, Twilight Sparkle. You and yer friends take good care of yerselves.”

“We will, and thanks again,” replied Twilight. But before she could join her friends in clearing things up and preparing to leave, she felt Rowanoak’s foreleg on her shoulder. Twilight turned around and was surprised at her expression. Gone was Rowanoak’s usual cheerful wrinkled grin, replaced instead by a stern and serious face.

“But, once you’ve found that you seek, you and yer friends best head straight back where ye came from. Nothing but hardship and strife awaits if’n ye stray from the path,” said Rowanoak in a solemn voice.

Soon after, the six young ponies stood by the twin pillars once again, saddlebags strapped on, food supplies replenished, and ready to go. Rowanoak gave each pony a gentle hug in turn. “It’ll be sad to see ye go. It’s been nice havin’ company again after so long.”

“We’ll be sure to visit ya on the way back!” replied Pinkie Pie, winking to the old mare.

“Oh, absolutely. This place is just lovely,” Fluttershy added.

Applejack tipped her hat to Rowanoak as they broke the hug. “Y’all take good care of yerself, miss Rowanoak.”

“I will, missy. And who knows, maybe someday I’ll end up in Ponyville and pay all of ye a visit,” replied Rowanoak.

Finally, when all the goodbyes had been said, the ponies crossed the threshold of Neighagra Falls Sanctuary and began the long hike to the Crystal Mountains, with Twilight in the lead, and Pinkie keeping pace with another cheery performance of ‘Ever, ever on’. Rowanoak watched with a serene smile as they marched off into the distance, until they were little more than specks on the horizon.

But even then, the old mare’s day was not quiet and eventless. Come mid-afternoon, she was informed of the arrival of a new pony. Sure enough, there, pacing back and forth between the white pillars, was a strange new pony.

“Good afternoon sir,” Rowanoak called as she approached the stallion. “How can I help ye? In need of a place to stay for the night?”

The stallion stopped his pacing, letting Rowanoak get a good look at him. A horn protruded from his brow, just above his grey-brown eyebrows, the colour of which clashed nicely with his pale yellow coat. A long beard stretched from his chin to his knees, and a plain blue cloak was draped over his withers, matching the pointed hat that lay on the ground beside him. “Ah, no, not tonight, thank you. I’m rather in a hurry… Now, I’m here on matters of great urgency. Tell me, can I find a young unicorn here by the name of Twilight Sparkle?”

Rowanoak raised her brows in surprise. How famous was this mare? “Oh, so sorry, you just missed her. She and her friends headed out for the Crystal Mountains early this morning.”

“WHAT?!”

The old mare flinched, flattening her ears against the noise. “Steady on! I may be old, but I’m hardly deaf!”

But the old unicorn did not seem to notice, as he swiftly turned about and trotted off in the same direction that Twilight and her friends had taken mere hours ago. Rowanoak watched him go, blinking in slight bemusement at her sudden, and rather odd, visitor. But she shrugged, passing back between the pillars and making her way home. But not before she paused briefly to turn back again and look at you:

“Don’t look to me for explanations, dear reader. Ye best get after those ponies, see what happens… They got plenty of troubles ahead… If’n only they knew.”

With that, she shrugged again and returned to her cottage for her mid-afternoon nap.

5. Poems in the Forest

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On a grassy hillock by the trail, the six ponies sat together. The noon sun hung high in the sky, leaving the flat land devoid of shadows. As she nibbled on a patch of daisies that grew nearby, Applejack watched through half-closed eyes while Twilight pored over the parchment for the fifth time that morning. “So Twilight, that there parchment Rowanoak gave ya… What’s it say?”

“It doesn’t really say anything!” Pinkie chimed in, glancing at the parchment from her precarious perch on Twilight’s shoulder. “Just a bunch of funny-looking squiggles and pictures!”

Rainbow Dash grunted. “Hmmph, so Rowanoak really was just a crazy old mare after all.”

But Rarity shook her head, as she glanced over a quatrain of the strange writing herself. “Not at all. These aren’t random old squiggles, as Pinkie so eloquently put it. They’re letters in the Runicorn alphabet, the old writing system unicorns used to use in the olden days.”

“Rarity!” Twilight looked up from her studies in surprise. “I didn’t know you knew Runicorn! C’mon, you can help me translate it!”

“Apologies, Twilight. I only really know it from when clients ask me to embroider Runicorn text on personal designs. I recognise the script when I see it, but when it comes to reading and writing in Runicorn, I’m, er, not the most learned of ponies.” Rarity replied, taking a dainty sip from her canteen.

“Well, what have you got so far?” Fluttershy asked.

Horn aglow, Twilight levitated before her both Rowanoak’s original parchment, and her own translation. “Well, I’ve only really managed to translate bits here and there, but I’ve got the first four lines pretty much done.”

Clearing her throat, she began to recite the first stanza of Rowanoak’s words:

“If I were a fool without any fears,
From Neighagra I’d travel forth,
For only fools seek Gaia’s Tears,
Upon the pathway leading North.”

“Ooh, so it’s a poem!” Pinkie squeaked with delight. “I like poems! It’s like singing, only you don’t need a good singing voice, so anypony can do poems…”

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings impatiently. “Yeah yeah, real pretty and all, but how is it supposed to help us find the Tears?”

“Well as best I can discern, “Twilight replied, “The entire poem is a list of instructions on how to find the Tears. It mentions things to keep an eye on, where to go, even some dangers we should watch out for on the way.”

She laid the parchment on the ground. “But this first bit doesn’t really tell us anything we didn’t know before. Basically, it’s just telling us to travel due North from Neighagra Falls.”

“And callin’ us fools for goin’ after the Tears, apparently.” Applejack muttered. “Givin’ us directions in fancy poetry… Call me crazy, but I reckon old Rowanoak didn’t want us to go on this trip.”

“Well, she has been all alone for Celestia knows how long. It’ only natural that she’d want us to stay a bit longer.” Reasoned Rarity.

“I did feel kind of bad for leaving her.” Fluttershy added as she swallowed a mouthful of trail-mix, “She was just such a nice pony.”

“Well, once we find the Tears, we can all pay her a visit! Or maybe we should go back to Ponyville first and get her something, and then go visit her. What do you think?” Pinkie asked, hastily making a mental note to bake a special cake for the old mare.

“I think we best leave that planning for after we find the Tears. Once I’ve finished translating Rowanoak’s poem, we can get moving.”

So Twilight returned to her task, writing down the stanzas as she translated them into the common Equestrian script. Meanwhile the others returned to their lunch, making small talk about the journey ahead. It was then that something struck Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, how’d Rowanoak know about us going after the Tears anyway? I’m pretty sure nopony told her.”

“Oh believe me Rainbow,” Twilight replied. “If you try to start making sense of that old mare, you’ll drive yourself mad… Believe me, I know.” She added under her breath. “Maybe she has some strange connection to magic, maybe she’s just really wise. Or maybe she’s just funny that way.”

From there onwards, the ponies’ conversation turned to Rowanoak and Neighagra. Theories of their power and origins went back and forth, each more radical than the last. Final, as amusing as it all was, Twilight was forced to interrupt as she finished her translation. One she and her friends were packed up and on the road again, she recited it aloud as they walked:

“If I were a fool without any fears,
From Neighagra I’d travel forth,
For only fools seek Gaia’s Tears,
Upon the pathway leading North.”

The foothills bring death with each pace,
Beware of dangers lurking there.
Monstrous beasts with friendly face,
Fangs that in the waters stir.

After the swamps, north-eastern way.
Seek out the grey ones, colt and wife.
Forsake the path, cross country’s way.
Stay on the trail and lose your life.

Camp close by night, keep watch by day,
For wooden ones with amber eyes.
If wizards travel up that way,
They save you from where Slaughter lies.

Where the green meets whitest snow,
There the second step doth lie.
Look to the Shard in moonlight’s glow,
To seek the jewel of Gaia’s cry.”

"That's a pretty good poem!" Pinkie piped in.

“Quite. Who knew Rowanoak was such a master of poetry?” Rarity wondered aloud as she walked.

Applejack peered ahead, at the looming mountains in the north. “So, accordin’ to that poem, we gotta head North into those hills, and look out for a swamp o’ some kind. Should be easy enough!”

“But what about the danger it mentioned? ‘Monstrous beasts with friendly face’, I wonder what she meant by that… Some sort of creature that looks like a pony but isn’t, perhaps?”

“You mean like a changeling?”

“Maybe, I dunno… Keep your eyes peeled.” Twilight replied from the head of the group. She glanced nervously at the surrounding flatlands, leading up to the wooded foothills at the base of the Crystal Mountains. What could be lurking among those hills, waiting for them?

As they hiked across the vast plains, they passed through green fields and groves of trees, accompanied by the sounds of wild birds and creatures all around. Camping at the base of a massive oak tree, they slept under the stars, huddled together close to the fire. But by the time the sun reached its zenith the next day, they had passed far into the Northlands and the clear sky became clouded and grim. The wind carried with it a cold chill, forcing them to don their cloaks again. Thankfully, they were dry and warm ever since their time at Neighagra Falls. All around them, Twilight and her friends began to feel that no matter where they looked, danger could not be far away, be it from their mysterious cloaked friends, or some new threat, native to these lands.

It was some time mid-afternoon when the six mares came to the foothills of the Crystal Mountains. As they sat down for a brief rest, Fluttershy gazed in the direction of the dense woods that covered the hills. The pegasus frowned. “Huh…strange.”

“You say something, Fluttershy?”

She squeaked, hiding her face behind her pink hair and scuffing the dirt. “Oh, it’s nothing really…”

“No please, darling, do tell. It sounds like something caught your eye.” Rarity pleaded, wrapping her cloak about herself.

“Um… alright, well,” Fluttershy coughed quietly and continued, “It’s just… the trees here, they… they feel different, to the trees back in Ponyville.”

“Feel different?” Twilight asked. “You mean, as in their texture is different?”

“Oh no, not like that…though there is that too, since these trees are all pine trees, and the kinds we get back in Ponyville are mostly oak… Anyway, it’s kind of hard to explain, but I can sometimes get these… feelings from trees. I can sort of sense them.”

Twilight hastily extracted a small notepad and a pencil from her bags, scribbling down notes of this new discovery. “Interesting… so, what sort of feelings do you get, exactly?”

Fluttershy brushed her hair aside, her shyness forgotten. “Well, it depends. I can go walking in Whitetail Woods, and I just get this feeling of welcoming and friendliness. But then you have the Everfree Forest… well, it just feels like I shouldn’t be in there. It’s like the trees are all judging me or something.”

“Spooky! So what do these trees feel like?” Pinkie asked, gazing up at a nearby specimen.

“That’s the thing.” Fluttershy replied. “I can’t tell with these trees. It’s almost as if they’re empty or something… ”

Twilight rolled up her notes and shouldered her bags. “So, they don’t feel unwelcoming or bad or anything?”

The pegasus shook her head, standing up. “No, not bad at all. But not good either.”

The six mares looked nervously into the thick woods before them, none of them particularly eager to enter. Finally, Applejack stepped to the front. “Well, if it ain’t good, but ain’t bad either, that’s good enough fer me. We gotta get movin’ if we’re ever gonna reach the swamps. Let’s save the worryin’ for when we actually run into something’.”

With one last nervous glance at the trees, the other five ponies followed the farmgirl into the forest.

The thick branches cast heavy shadows across the ground, not quite thick enough for total darkness, but dark enough to make everypony take a collective nervous gulp. Fluttershy was right: Even if it was only the subtlest of hints, there was a very strange feel about the trees. Something foreign, unusual. And that ever present feeling that somewhere, somehow, danger was nearby. The path became overgrown with strange plants that brushed against the mares’ legs as they walked.

But most unnerving of all, was the silence. Since they entered the trees, the only sound was of their own hoofsteps. Even in the Everfree Forest there was the breeze and the occasional sound of an animal, but here… nothing.

Breaking the spell, Applejack spoke up. “So, what was it the rhyme said about the swamps? “

Twilight recited from memory, “Monstrous beasts with friendly face, fangs that in the waters stir. Not exactly the most reassuring of warnings. And from there, we head northeast, until we find the Grey Ones, whatever they are.”

“Well, we’re about to figure some of it out!” Rainbow called from where she hovered a few feet in the air. “I can see the swamps from here! You want me to go check it out?”

Twilight glanced nervously to the others. She was hesitant to let anypony be alone in these woods, especially considering the poem’s warning. But if anypony would be able to get out of trouble, it’d be Rainbow, reasoned a tiny voice in the back of her head. “Well, alright,” She said at last. “But if you see anything unusual, come straight back to us. Don’t investigate; don’t follow anything, come straight back, alright?”

“Yes mother.” Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes. Fluttering a few feet higher off the ground, she took off through the trees, following the path on the ground below. Soon the trees spread out into a clearing, and in the middle, the swamps.

A thin curtain of mist hung over the murky water, broken only by the occasional insect buzzing its way across the mire. Damp patches of scrub sprouted from the water here and there, some large enough to stand on. The far side of the swamp was hidden by the mist, but to the right Rainbow could see a gap in the trees. Under Twilight’s orders, Rainbow turned about to fly back to report her findings.

Something behind her splashed.

Rainbow whipped around again in mid-air, her multi-coloured mane going in all directions. Sweeping a bang of orange from her eyes, she peered through the fog at the waters of the swamp. Just over to the right, something moving caught her eye. A tiny patch of bulrushes and reeds wriggled slightly. Before the pegasus’ wide eyes, the rushes seemed to stretch up out of the swamp. Then a head emerged, and Rainbow Dash’s jaw hit the ground.

Peeking out of the water, bulrushes woven into her turquoise mane, was the most stunningly beautiful mare Rainbow had ever set eyes upon. The mysterious pony stood up, the water coming up to her knees. She was a dark aquamarine blue, her dripping mane clinging to her body. Rainbow slowly floated down to the ground as the mare reared her head, tossing her mane back and out of her eyes. For some reason, Rainbow Dash suddenly found it very hard to fold her wings. She then looked at the dumbstruck pegasus with the deepest, sultriest eyes imaginable. Her wings sprung wide open in an instant, with a tiny ‘pomf!‘ sound.

Rainbow took a step closer to the waters of the mire. She had never been absolutely certain whether she liked mares or stallions, or maybe a bit of both, but this strange pony… there was no questioning it. Rainbow wanted her. The way the water dripped off her mane and body… the cheeky grin on her face… the way her flanks swayed and bobbed with her every movement… She slowly neared the water’s edge, the mare gazing at…no, into her with a seductive smile gracing her lips.

Every instinct and compulsion in Rainbow’s mind and body urged her on, to approach this stunning mare and take her for her own.

Except one.

Deep, deep in the recesses of her mind, a tiny voice cried out. Dash, what are you doing, it shouted. Twilight said to go straight back to her if you saw anything unusual! But her body seemed to b acting of its own accord. As her forehooves stepped into the shallows of the swamps, the mare giggled, her laughter like the ringing of crystal chimes. Even now the voice in her head screamed in protest, but Rainbow was determined. As she came closer, the mare gave a teasing wink and dove under the waters again. Rainbow Dash caught a glimpse of the mare’s perfect rump and what lay hidden beneath her tail, and that was it. Throwing caution to the wind, Rainbow pushed through the rushes after the mare. Soon the waters deepened, rising to her withers. Then her collarbone. Then her chin…

“Rainbow Dash!”

The sudden sound of her own name threw her off, and on her next step she stumbled. The bottom of the swamp seemed to suddenly deepen as Rainbow fell face-first into the muddy waters.

The sumptuous mare saw her chance and in a flash, she was upon the helpless pony.

“Rainbow Dash! What’s taking you?!” called Twilight as she hurried down the pathway to the swamp, her friends not far behind. They came to a skidding halt at the water’s edge and froze with shock at what they saw.

Rainbow Dash was up to her chin in the mire, thrashing splashing as a monstrous blue and turquoise blur struggled and wrestled with the pony, a clawed hand forcing her head below the waters. Rainbow Dash put up a solid fight, kicking and bucking at the thing, but to no avail, as this just made the creature force her head deeper under the water.

The spell was broken as Twilight shook her head clear of the shock and launched a magenta blast of energy from her horn.

It narrowly missed the tussling mares, but halted the fight long enough to get a good look at Rainbow’s assailant. The creature that was once a stunningly beautiful mare turned its face to the newcomers and hissed, baring row after row of pointy white teeth. Rainbow Dash frantically waved a forehoof from below the water, bubbles streaming from her mouth. Twilight fired off magical blast after magical blast at the creature, who continued to hold Rainbow under the murky waters, igoring its attacker.

Applejack pushed her way past the other ponies and jumped into the swamp without a moment’s hesitation. Splashing through the mud she charged straight at the beast, butting it with her head, right in its chest. It reeled back, sending waves all through the marshes. It tried to get back up and leap at Applejack, but a beam of magic shot over the cowgirl’s head, slamming into the monster, full in the face. With a splash the creature fell back again into the waters and was still for a few seconds, before rising up again. It gave one final hissing snarl at the six ponies before diving of into the water and swimming further into the swamp.

Without a second’s hesitation, Applejack ducked her head below the water and hoisted the unconscious Rainbow Dash out of the water. Soaking wet and caked with mud, Rainbow was deposited onto the banks and lay face up, gasping for breath. Fluttershy emerged from her hiding place behind Twilight and landed by Rainbow’s side, wiping the mud from her face. “C-can somepony get me some clean water?”

Twilight levitated one of the canteens from her saddlebag and passed it to Fluttershy, who proceeded to rinse Rainbow’s face until she came to, sputtering and coughing up water.

The pegasus spat out a gob of mud. “Gah! Wha… What happened?”

“You tell me, Rainbow Dash!” replied Applejack. “You went off to check out the swamp, but when you didn’t come back we went to find you. When we got to the swamp, we saw you fightin’ with that…thing!”

“Whatever could have possessed you to set hoof in that foul swamp in the first place?” Rarity asked.

Rainbow sat up, rubbing her head tenderly. “Ugh… It was weird. I checked out the swamp, and I was gonna fly back to you guys, but then this pony showed up. This mare, she came right out of the swamp, just like that! She looked at me and I looked at her and… I dunno, I just wanted to…”

She trailed off as a blush began to spring up on her cheeks. An awkward silence hung in the air as the other ponies put together what must have happened, broken only when Twilight spoke up:

“Sounds to me like you had a narrow escape from a kelpie.”

All eyes turned to the lavender unicorn. “A what-ie?” Pinkie asked, her head tilted.

Twilight sat down to explain. “A Kelpie. They’re creatures that live in ponds and swamps. They can change their shape, in order to trick other creatures into their pools by…ahem, attracting them. Then when their victim is close enough, they’ll pounce and try to…”

“Okay okay, enough!” Rainbow cried, shuddering at the memories. “Uuggh! It was horrible! That thing, the kelpie or whatever…she grabbed me and pushed me under the water…. Filled my nose and mouth… I couldn’t see anything…” she collapsed limply into Fluttershy’s forelegs. “I’m never gonna be able to forget that!”

Fluttershy patter her back gently. “Shh, it’s okay, it’s over now. Just relax.”

After a few minutes of silent sobbing, Rainbow got back up on shaky legs with a deep breath. “Hoo man! Alright, I’m feeling a bit better now. Thanks you guys, especially you Applejack. I would’ve been that thing’s dinner if you hadn’t come along when you did!”

“Are you quite sure?” Rarity asked with a doubtful face. “You nearly drowned just a moment ago! We can stop for a rest if you need a moment.”

But the pegasus shook her head. “Nah, I’ll be alright once I’ve dried off. And actually…uh…” She dug bashfully at the ground. “The sooner we get away from that swamp, the better… Oh, that reminds me, I think I found where we go next!”
She then led the group to the trees to the left of the marshes, where the small gap revealed a path through the trees. “I’m no genius at directions, but I’d guess this way is northeast from the swamp.” She announced with a grin.

After some hearty cheers and clapping on the back for Rainbow Dash, the six friends proceeded down the path, heralded by the glowing horns of Rarity and Twilight. Rainbow Dash walked shakily at the rear of the group, flanked by Fluttershy, who caught her any time the pegasus seemed about to stumble. As Applejack walked by her side, Twilight gave her an affectionate nuzzle.

“That was really brave of you back there, Applejack.” She muttered.

“Aw shucks, what was I supposed to do?” Applejack chuckled, “I couldn’t just let Rainbow get munched by that water-dwellin’ hussy!”

Twilight giggled too. “Heh, well, still you were brilliant.”

“You weren’t too shabby yerself, Twi. Those magic bolts of yours definitely gave her somethin’ to think about!”

The two laughed as they led the group down the path. The light was fading as the sun began its descent from the sky. After about half an hour of hiking, Twilight was striding a dozen or so paces ahead of the others, for whom exhaustion was beginning to set in. She peered through the darkness and saw what appeared to be an end to the path they were walking along. And standing at its end, two shapes, distinguishable in the darkness. Moments later, Twilight came to a halt as the glow of her horn fell upon the two figures standing before her.

“Hey girls! I think I’ve found the Grey Ones!”

6. Of Statues, Dogs and Wolves

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Pony after pony came galloping and flying down the woodland path at the sound of Twilight’s call. As the back of the lavender pony came into view, her five friends sped up, ready to confront whatever may await them.

“You okay, Twi? Are they friendly?” called Applejack, still unable to see these mysterious Grey Ones.

“Oh, you have to need to worry, they’re fine.” came Twilight’s reply. She looked over her shoulder at the approaching group and waved a forehoof. “Come and see, girls! Quick!”

The mares skidded to a halt by Twilight’s side, and saw with some relief that the Grey Ones were, indeed, quite harmless.

Before the six ponies stood a short plinth, about two feet high, carved from a single massive grey granite boulder. Around the top of the plinth were carved woven patterns of flowers, vines and leaves, winding its way around the sides. Atop the plinth, carved from the same grey stone, there stood a stallion and a young mare. Both were earth ponies, the stallion’s mane cropped and combed over the eyes. His impressive build and short mane and tail vaguely reminded the six ponies of Big Macintosh. A cutie mark of a broad green leaf was carved into his flank. The mare, meanwhile, was a small, stocky pony with a long braided mane and tail, and an intricately carved tulip woven into her forelock. She leaned gently into the stallion, gazing up at him with loving eyes. He seemed to gaze back into hers with a content smile. On her flank was a cutie mark of three snowflakes.

Fluttershy smiled up at the carved lovers. “So this is what the riddle meant by the Grey Ones. It really is a lovely statue, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, they make a cute couple! It’s really lifelike too… I wonder who they are.” Pinkie thought aloud as she and Rainbow

Dash approached the statue. The pegasus trotted around the entire sculpture, examining it from the back and the front. “Hey, check this out!”

Pinkie was by Rainbow’s side in an instant. Rainbow pointed to the base of the stone ponies’ tails. Standing out against the grey of the granite was a silver band, wrapped around each pony’s tail. Embedded in each band was a massive round jewel, near the size of a conker; a ruby on the stallion’s band, and a turquoise on the mare’s.

“Sweet Celestia, look at the size of those things!” squealed Rarity as she joined Pinkie and Rainbow behind the statue and spotted the jewelled rings.

Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy came to join the others behind the statue, and each pony gasped with amazement at the beautiful wedding bands that were worn by the statues. Rarity was practically salivating at the sight of the perfectly spherical gems. “The craftspony who carved these jewels was truly a master! No scratches, no markings, completely flawless…”

“Yeah, well keep yer hooves to yerself, Rarity. Don’t go swipin’ the gems or anythin’,” Applejack said with a snide grin.

Rarity glared back accusingly at Applejack, before resuming her examination of the rings. “How could you ever even suggest such a thing?! I may have a lifelong passion for fine jewels and crystals, but I would never stoop as low as graverobbery!”

Twilight returned to the pathway to look up at the statue from the front. “So, we can guess that they are the Grey Ones from the riddle, and if those rings are any indication, they’re definitely married. What I’m more interested in is just who these two ponies are…”

“Yeah, I see what you mean, Twilight. It is kinda weird to just have a statue like this in the middle of nowhere.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Plus, why use real rings? Why not just carve them into the statue?”

Pinkie Pie’s eye was caught by a marking on the front of the plinth. Sweeping aside the long grass and shrubs that had grown around the base, she called aloud with delight, “Ooh, lookie! There’s writing down here!”

Quick as a whip, all six ponies were huddled around Pinkie, peering over her shoulder at the words carved into the front of the plinth.

Erected in loving memory of
Earthheart & Snowshimmer

Humble heroes of the Northern Valleys
Now only their rings remain
Their bodies may fade
But their love transcends all time

Pinkie smiled at the simple memorial. Nice and simple, nothing too fancy. She swept the plants out of the way of the words, pulling up clumps of grass and flowers and setting them to the sides, until the message was completely clear. She stood up and stepped back to admire the inscription with her friends. For a few minutes, they stood in silence, pondering whatever story these two lovers may have had. Were they warriors? Maybe they were great leaders of some sort? Pioneers? Maybe they just lived a life of happiness and love, spreading it to all around? Whatever it was, each pony was doubtless that it would be quite the tale to tell.

Rarity stepped forward, her horn glowing gently. In mid-air before them, a small wreath of white flowers suddenly popped into existence, surrounded by a light blue aura. Rarity slowly lowered it to the ground until it leaned against the base of the plinth.

The unicorn looked back to her friends and shrugged. “It just felt like the right thing to do.”

“It’s lovely, Rarity.” Fluttershy said, patting her on the shoulder. “I’m sure they would like that… Erm, Twilight?” she added, as she looked back and saw Twilight rifling through her bag for something.

“Oh, I’m just getting some parchment to get some notes down. I wanna see if the library at home has anything about them.”

Rainbow Dash snickered, “Heh, even on epic quests you’re still an egghead, eh Twilight?”

“You know it,” Twilight replied with a grin. As she copied down the inscription on the plinth, the words of Rowanoak’s riddle came to the top of her mind.

“’Forsake the path, cross country’s way… Stay on the trail and lose your life.’”

Pinkie Pie looked in her direction. “What’s that, Twilight?”

The unicorn rolled up her notes and slipped them into her bag. “I was just thinking about the next part of the riddle.”

“What’s to think about? It’s simple enough,“ Applejack joined the conversation. “From here on out, we gotta leave the trail and go cross-country.”

“Yes, but in what direction? Going cross-country could mean anything!”

“Um, perhaps, “ Fluttershy meekly raised a forehoof, “We should go in the direction of the mountains?”
Twilight paused in her musing and muttering to glance up and over the treeline, where the purple and grey mountains loomed in the distance. “Oh…heh, yeah, that would make sense.”

The six ponies continued their push through the woods, the trees becoming taller and denser as they went. Twilight, as always, marched at the head of the group, map levitating before her. Behind her was Applejack, who would pause momentarily to pluck from the ground anything that appeared edible: berries from bushes, wild garlic cloves, mushrooms and leafy greens. She plucked them up, sometimes presenting them to Twilight or Fluttershy for a second opinion on their edibility. Above her hovered Rainbow Dash, brushing branches out of her way as she flapped through the lower canopy.

Rarity was just off to the left of the main column, opting to take the route closest to the path, and therefore with the least low branches and shrubs to worry about. Pinkie Pie, however, did not share such sentiments as she bounced along, giggling and crashing through the undergrowth. Twilight hastily grabbed the excitable pony in a magical aura, lifting her to join the rest of the column. “Keep it down, Pinkie!” she muttered urgently, “We don’t want to attract attention out here.”

“Attention?” asked Pinkie, struggling against Twilight’s magical grip. “From what?”

“I’d reckon from whatever would make us ‘lose our life’ if’n we stayed on the trail,” said Applejack.

Twilight nodded, brushing a low-hanging branch out of the way. “Exactly. Until we find out exactly what’s waiting for us on the path, we need to keep quiet.”

Pinkie was deposited back on the ground. She joined the back of the column and, with a great deal of effort, trotted along with only the slightest bounce in her step.

Without the inexplicable “BOINK!” noise of Pinkie Pie pronking alongside them, a gloomy mood descended on the party as they trod the leafy undergrowth of the woods. No sound of birds of beasts could be heard anywhere around. Twilight’s thought went back to Ponyville. Even in the dead of night, or in the depths of the Everfree Forest, there was at least the sound of owls or crickets to break the silence. Here, in these strange lands of the North, there was nothing. She looked back at her friends, and was slightly unnerved by the lack of smiles. Hard to blame them, a voice in the back of her mind said. It was only meant to be a simple trip to the mountains, and already you’ve run into strange cloaked monsters and a flesh-eating kelpie, and you’re barely in the foothills!

Twilight gulped as she looked back at Rainbow Dash, who was still visibly shaken from her encounter in the swamp, and with a few clumps of dried mud clinging to her mane and tail. What that kelpie would have done, had she and her friends not come running to her aid… She shuddered.

The unicorn was brought back to reality by the sound of somepony sniffing behind her. She twisted her head round and saw the group paused a few feet behind. Fluttershy stood at the front with her snout in the air, sniffing the breeze.

“I…I can smell smoke,” the pegasus said in a voice barely above a whisper. “Somepony’s lit a fire nearby.”

“How big of a fire? Like, a brushfire or somethin’?” asked Applejack nervously as she craned her head to try to spot the glow of flames.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Nah, if it was a forest fire, we’d probably see the smoke too. I’ll bet it’s just somepony with a campfire up ahead. But who’d be camping out here besides us?”

“Rainbow Dash, if there’s one thing I’m learning from all this, it’s that sometimes one might do better to have no assumptions about what lies ahead,” Rarity replied as she peered through the trees. “Hmm... Ah! There, I can see it! There’s a faint glow over through those trees up ahead.”

Applejack stood beside her, peering along Rarity’s pointing forehoof. “Oh yeah, I see it now… Yeah, can’t be anythin’ bigger than a campfire.”

“Do you think it might be whom we were meant to avoid on the path?” Twilight inquired.

The cowpony nodded. “I’d bet my hat on it.”

As they silently approached the glow of the far-off campfire, Applejack saw to her delight that her hat was in no danger of being forfeit. She and the others peeked through the branches of a bush on the outside of a clearing, and saw three figures sitting around a small, crudely-made campfire.

Rarity gasped, nearly giving herself away. “It’s them! It’s…it’s…them!”

The three beasts, the shortest almost twice as tall as a pony, were sitting hunched around the campfire, their gargantuan paws holding a long branch with various leaves and roots skewered into a crude imitation of a kebab. Each wore a tattered and ragged vest, far more ragged than the last time Rarity and her friends had encountered them, and a black collar around their neck, decorated with a single yellow jewel. Everypony recognised them in an instant.

“Diamond Dogs!” Twilight spat under her breath. Like her friends, she held no fond memories of the savage creatures.
“What are they doing this far out here? I thought they lived near Ponyville, in the rock-quarries!”

But before anypony could reply, one of the dogs, the biggest of the doglike creatures began to speak.

“Rrgh, veggibles yesterday night, veggibles tonight, and dig me an ‘ole if it not look like veggibles again tomorrer!” grumbled Fido, the largest of the Diamond Dogs. “We not had a good bit of food for weeks now! No fish, no big juicy cave-grubs, not a scrap of meat for ages…

“Shuttup, big lug! You’re makin’ me hungry too now!” The smallest dog threw a twig at his massive companion, which bounced off Fido’s skull. Turning his attention to the third Diamond Dog, he yapped, “You said we’d find lotsa gems up these ways, Rover! Well, we’re far away from home, stuck in the middle of a forest, no good caves for miles around, no food and no gems! I could eat a horse right now, I’m so hungry!”

“Oh, be quiet, Spot!” Rover muttered, clapping a paw to his ears to block out the smaller dog’s whines. “There’s plenty of gems up this way. We just gotta go a bit further. There’s mountains up in the northlands called the Crystal Mountains…”

“Crystal Mountains?” Fido grunted. “Why’re they called that?”

“Well obviously it’s because of the lovely forests, why do you think?!” Fido deadpanned.

Rarity had to bite her hoof to stop herself from giggling aloud at the three bickering dogs. As cruel as they had been to her, they were amusing in a strange way, especially when arguing.

“C’mon, we’d better get moving,” whispered Twilight. “You heard them, if they spot us they probably wouldn’t be above eating us. We can sneak around them if we’re silent.”

But Rarity had other ideas. “Oh but Twilight, it would be rude to pass them by without at least saying hello,” she crooned, a smile of malicious glee on her face. Before anypony could stop her, she had donned her hood and pushed through the bushes into the clearing. Sneaking close to the campfire, she cleared her voice and gracefully stumbled into the firelight.

“Oh my! Oh, woe is me!” Rarity cried in mock-fright. “A pack of vagabonds and bandits! Whatever shall I do?”

The Diamond Dogs whipped their heads around as Rarity stumbled gracefully into their campsite. The looks of surprise on their faces turned to cold grins as they recognised the form of a small pony beneath the cloak. “Ooh, what luck!” barked Rover, ignorant of the mocking tone of Rarity’s voice. “Some poor pony lost in the woods!”

“Huhuh, looks like we’re eating meat tonight!” chuckled Fido in his gravelly voice.

Spot was up and before Rarity before the others, a knobbly club in hand. “May as well give up, pony! Three of us, one of you, and you got nothing to protect yerself!”

“Oh I wouldn’t say that.” Rarity replied in a deceptively calm voice, before tossing back her hood.

The three Diamond Dogs froze on the spot, weapons forgotten by their feet. Their eyes, wide with shock and fear, were set firmly on the white unicorn that they had hoped to never cross paths with again.

“Hello, gents. Remember me?” she asked, with a flutter of her eyelashes.

“Y’know, those dogs run pretty fast for such short legs,” Rainbow Dash commented as she and the other ponies went about searching through the now abandoned Diamond Dog camp.

“You’d be runnin’ too if ya knew ya were about to be on the recievin’ end of Rarity’s whinin’!” Applejack said with a wry grin.

Rarity smirked back. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Ooh, emeralds!” Her smirk turned to a smile of delight as she exhumed a small bag of the shining green jewels from one of the dogs’ tents. “pee-yew! Will those dogs never learn to bathe?!”

Fluttershy hung back, nervously pawing at the dirt as she watched her friends rifling through the dogs’ tents and bags.

“Erm… isn’t it a bit…well, mean, just taking their stuff like this? I mean, they didn’t even do anything to us.”

Pinkie popped her head out from within a tent. “Of course it’s fine, Fluttershy! They even said so. It was kinda hard to make out, but I definitely heard one of them say…” Pinkie then hunched her back, exaggeratingly copying the Diamond Dogs’ snarling faces, and shrieked in a whining, mewling imitation of Rover’s voice, “AAGH! Just take them! Take all of it, just don’t let the white pony start talking again! Please, her voice is unbearable!!”

The little performance had the six friends laughing together, even getting a little giggle out of Fluttershy. As they went through the campsite, Applejack stumbled on a strange little device.

“Hey Twi, whadaya make of this?” she called as she looked over the contraption. On a simple frame embedded in the ground, there hung a small bell made of tarnished brass. To the top of the bell there was tied an incredibly thin black string, which ran along the ground out of the campsite and through the woods. When Twilight took a look over the strange setup, she followed the black string as best as she could through the trees, until she found herself by the path again. Stooping low, she found the string looped around a tiny wooden stake planted on either side of the path, stretching the string across. Twilight tentatively tugged at the nearly-invisible string, and heard the response from the campsite of the ringing bell.

“Ah, so that’s it. See, Applejack? A tripwire.” Twilight got back up as she explained the simple trap to Applejack. “Anypony who comes down here wouldn’t be able to see the tripwire, so they’d trigger the trap and make the bell ring.”

“So then those dogs would know somepony’s comin’ down the road, and rush off to ambush them!” Applejack finished. “Y’know, for snarlin’ beasts, those Diamond Dogs can be cunning if they wanna be.”

Moments later, they were joined on the path by the other four ponies, saddlebags now resupplied with what little food they could find at the campsite, as well as a few bags of jewels (Rarity insisted that she was not stealing, but liberating them).

“Well, no sense in tirin’ ourselves out by avoidin’ the path, now that we’ve gotten past the dangerous bit.” Applejack reasoned, shrugging her saddlebags onto her back.

Rainbow Dash took a moment to wrap her Wonderbolts scarf around her neck. “So, everypony ready?”

The five ponies all voiced their unanimous ‘yes’, though Rarity was a little late on the delivery as she was donning her fabulous feathered hat.

“Alright then, let’s get going!” And with that, the six ponies continued on their way away from the campsite and down the road, the Crystal Mountains looming ever nearer with every step.

After what seemed like hours of hiking, the six ponies finally came to a merciful stop. The path had come to a stop in a small grove where the trees were less dense, by the base of a particularly high hill. Or possibly it was a particularly short mountain. Or something in-between, but either way it was different to the previous hills and rocky outcrops: the stone was a light purplish-grey colour, and twinkled ever-so-slightly in the light of the moon, which hung high in the sky above.

Somehow, despite her exhaustion, Twilight was able to conjure up another of her magical fires, which bathed the campsite in an ethereal purple glow. Unable to face the exhausting task of cooking food, the ponies settled for a quick bed-night snack, rummaging through their bags for apples, mouthfuls of trail-mix or just a swig of water, before unfolding their cloaks back into blankets, and curling up for some much-needed restful sleep.

For whatever reason, however, Rainbow Dash found her sleep to be anything but restful. Tossing and turning, she mumbled and groaned aloud; asleep, but unable to relax. Finally she gave up, her eyes snapping open once more and staring up at the dark sky above. It was then that she noticed that she was not the only pony awake at that hour.

“Rainbow Dash? Are you awake?” whispered a demure voice from her side. Rainbow rolled over and saw Fluttershy looking back at her.

“Mm… Yeah, I dunno what it is, I just can’t settle down and just go to sleep,” Rainbow replied. “I guess I’m not used to sleeping on the ground like this. I mean, the blanket’s nice and all, but nothin’ beats a good cloud.” The rainbow-haired pegasus sat up, staring up at the high, dark trees that surrounded them. “I’d probably fly up and catch a snooze in one of those trees, but…”

“But something about them makes you uneasy?” interrupted Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash nodded. Fluttershy continued, “I’m feeling that too. It’s like I said earlier, something feels… off about them. They’re so different to the trees near my cottage back…back h-home.” She swallowed. The mere mention of home brought a lump up in her throat.

She did not want to say anything, but Rainbow could definitely see the first signs of tears welling up in her friend’s eyes. Oh please don’t, she thought to herself. I’m no good with crying ponies. I’m clueless with all that sensitive stuff..

But as soon as she heard the first near-inaudible sobs from Fluttershy, instinct too over and she huddled up by her side. Needing no second bidding, Fluttershy leaned in and buried her face in Rainbow’s fur.

“You’re homesick, huh?” asked Rainbow softly. Fluttershy nodded, unable to reply without whimpering and sobbing. “Ssh, it’s alright. I mean, it’s not like you’ve never been away from Ponyville like this before.”

“B-but, those times were d-different,” whimpered Fluttershy.

Rainbow put a reassuring hoof around her withers. “How? We’ve been out travelling on the road like this before.”

“Yes, but those times, we actually knew w-where we were going!”

She had a point. Rainbow stopped a moment and thought back on the startlingly extensive list of long, epic adventures that she and her friends had gone on in their years together. True enough, every time there had been a definite destination, be it some delivery or artefact, or some plant, or an event happening in the next town that they had been invited to.

“And then there’s now,” Fluttershy continued, “when we’re up here in these dark woods in a part of Equestria we’ve never been to and… well, I don’t want to doubt Twilight’s theories, but… Oh Rainbow Dash, what if there are no Tears of Gaia, and this whole trip was a waste and…and…oohh!” She could say no more as the floodgates at last opened and she broke down in quiet little sobs.

Rainbow Dash did her best to calm her friend, cuddling up close to her and hushing her gently. “Ssh, c’mon now. Lemme tell ya somethin’.” Fluttershy sniffled a bit and looked at Rainbow with red eyes.

“First of all, if Twilight says these Tear things are out here, I’m willing to believe her. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t let us come with her if she was just acting on a hunch and nothing else,” she reasoned.

Fluttershy wiped at her eyes with a forehoof. “Well… I guess that’s true.”

The blue pegasus went on, “And even if it was all a big bust, even if we finally get to wherever these Tears are, and there’s nothin’ there, I wouldn’t call this trip a waste.”

“You… You wouldn’?”

She shook her head with a proud smile. “No way. Think about it Fluttershy. We’ve been on the road for… what, four nights? And what have we seen already?”

“Um… Well, we saw those grassy fields, we saw that little inn, the Warm Welcome… Erm… Oh, Neighagra Falls-”

“Neighagra Falls, yeah! That was pretty awesome, right?” Rainbow nodded encouragingly.

Fluttershy shrugged. “Yes, but what about those monsters that attacked us before we reached the falls? What about that kelpie, Rainbow Dash?”

“Aww c’mon Fluttershy, quit looking at just the negatives! We’ve seen awesome stuff on this trip and you know it!” Rainbow replied, playfully poking Fluttershy on the nose. She was relieved to see a smile hesitantly sneaking up on the shy pony’s face. “Sure we’ve run into some nasty stuff on the way, but that’s what makes it an adventure! Otherwise, it’d just be a week-long hike with nothing happening!

“And besides,” Rainbow lay back down and pulled the blanket up to her chin. “At least you’ll have some stories to tell when we get back.”

Fluttershy gazed down at her friend lying beside her, and smiled. Scooting a little closer to Rainbow, she snuggled down in her blankets and at last, she felt sleep slowly overcoming her. Suddenly, everything seemed much more peaceful and calm, with less of that feeling of tension in the air. The sky above was just the same as back in Ponyville. The trees, as foreign and strange as they felt, seemed less intimidating. And even the orange, glowing eyes that peered at her through the thick branches… Wait, what?!

She sprang upright, eyes riveted on the amber orbs that stood out in the darkness. Fumbling with a forehoof, she frantically tapped the sleepy bundle of feathers and blanket that was Rainbow Dash on the shoulder.

“Mmph, c’mon Fluttershy…” the rainbow mare mumbled. “You’ve had your motivational speech, now it’s time to sleep already…

“But Rainbow Dash…”

“Look, I can sympathise that you’re homesick and all, but…”

“Rainbow Dash, just look!”

Forcibly rolling her over, Fluttershy pointed desperately towards the trees. Rainbow squinted, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her eyes snapped wide open as she spotted the eyes, staring back at her and Fluttershy. Then another pair of eyes started glaring at them. And another. And another.

“Twilight, Twilight, wake up!” Rainbow reached over and shook the sleeping unicorn that lay by her side. Twilight sleepily opened her eyes.

“Mmm, what is it…?” she muttered. In answer, there came a deep, guttural snarling from the orange eyed creatures in the trees. All around them, the six ponies all came to, freezing stock still as they made eye contact with the amber-coloured orbs.

“Everypony huddle around me, right now.” Twilight whispered hastily.

“Whatever are those things?!” Rarity whimpered as she cowered close, her exquisite blanket forgotten on the ground. As if on cue, the beasts advanced into the clearing, and a large, clawed, wooden paw stepped into the firelight.

“Timberwolves!” Applejack said aloud, her voice hoarse with fear. Indeed they were, monstrous things, nearly twice the size of a normal wolf, with a skin seemingly made of bark, hackles of twigs and pine-needles, and eyes like solid chunks of amber. She and her family had dealt with such beasts back home for years, but she knew how vicious they could be. “O’ course! Wooden ones with amber eyes, just like the riddle said!”

The six ponies cowered closer and closer together, until they were practically piled ontop of eachother. “Pinkie Pie, get your pots and pans out, and start bangin’ them together, smart like!” Applejack muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

Pinkie nodded fearfully, fumbling to reach her saddlebags without separating from the group. Again and again, the strap slipped from her grasp as the timberwolves crept nearer and nearer, sap oozing from their mouths in a gruesome imitation of salivation.

“Anytime, Pinkie!” Rarity said, barely able to keep herself from shrieking as the wolves came ever closer.
But Pinkie was unable to keep her hooves from shaking, and the pot slipped from her grasp. The clanking noise of it hitting the ground drove the wolves back for the briefest moment, but it was not long before they began to advance towards their terrified prey.

“NOW, Pinkie!” Shouted Twilight. But there was no time. Channelling her magic into her horn, she concentrated it and refined it, preparing to let loose with a barrage of magic missiles. She might not be able to cause damage, but they might be able to hold them back…

But before she could churl any such eldritch blasts, a voice, strong and commanding, rang out through the grove,

“TAKE COVER!”

In an instant, a bolt of ruddy-yellow light seared through the air above the six mares, slamming into the ground between them and the timberwolves with an earsplitting CRACK!

The lupine monsters reeled back in fright from the sudden light and noise. Before they had a chance to regroup, another blast of yellow magic came close to zapping them, and they fled into the darkness of the trees.

As the echoes of the snarling timberwolves faded into the darkness, silence fell over the grove once more, broken only by the soft thump of approaching hoofsteps.

Still gripping eachother tightly for dear life, the ponies turned around and stared at the direction where the magical bolts seem to come from. Through the dark, there approached the figure of a pony, clad in a long, heavy cloak, and a tall pointed hat. As he came into the clearing, the ponies suddenly became aware of a new sound that followed the newcomer. A minute ring of tiny bells, that jingled and sang with every step.

He came into the clearing, and was visible in the light finally. It was a stallion, a little shorter than Big Macintosh and not as well built, and obviously well on in his years, his dirty-blonde coat and hazel eyes faded with age. A long silver mane flowed from beneath his blue, pointed hat, and a full thick beard sprouted from his chin, reaching almost to his hooves. He cleared his throat, the bells hanging from the hem of his cloak and hat jingling as he did so, before pointing with a forehoof at

Twilight and speaking in a deep voice, “Ahem, Twilight Sparkle, I presume?”

Twilight was only able to nod feebly as she stared with wide eyes at Starswirl the Bearded, the greatest conjurer of the pre-classical era, before keeling over and fainting on the spot.

7. Of Wizards, Shards and Glowing Peaks

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As consciousness and feeling began to slowly seep back in Twilight’s body, the first thing she was aware of was the warmth of sunlight on her fur. It must be dawn, she thought to herself. The next sensation she noticed was the dryness of her mouth. Licking her lips, as if to seek out any moisture remaining, she at last forced her eyes open and raised her head. “Ugh, my head’s pounding…”

“You did hit your head rather hard,” said a comforting voice somewhere nearby. “Here, drink up.”

A canteen of water hovered into her view, enveloped in a yellow aura of magic. Twilight graciously accepted it, greedily gulping the cool water down. Once her thirst was satisfied, she passed the now half-empty canteen back and stood up.

“Better?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, Starswirl…”

Then, her voice caught in her throat. Finally her vision cleared and she saw her friends anxiously gathered around her. Once they saw recognition shining in her eyes, they relaxed and smiled. But it was the pony in the middle that caught her attention and rendered her speechless.

Starswirl the Bearded smiled at her. “Good morning, young miss Twilight.”

The unicorn blinked. She blinked again. And again, and yet, the image of the stallion that stood before her, impossible as he was, refused to waver or fade. Her knees began to wobble as she fought the urge to collapse again.

“Woah now! Easy now, Twi,” Applejack cried as she leapt forwards and caught the pony on her shoulder before she could flop down on the ground.

“B-but… that’s impossible! You can’t be here,” Twilight babbled as she found her footing once more. “You’re Starswirl the Bearded! The greatest conjurer of the pre-classical era! Founder of over two hundred spells!”

“You clearly know your history,” he replied as he sat down by a small campfire off to the side, placing his pointed hat on the ground beside him.

“But you’re dead!”

Starswirl looked up at Twilight, his wrinkled face betraying nothing.

“Sorry… But still, you’ve been dead for more than a thousand years,” muttered Twilight as she deftly approached the old stallion. His only reaction was a calm smile.

“Indeed. And yet, here I sit for all the world to see. Equestria is a strange place, is it not?”

Applejack came to join them, standing between Twilight and Starswirl.”Sure as sugar it’s strange. But I’ve never heard of somepony from hundreds of years ago suddenly comin’ back to life.”

“Yeah, how can we be sure you’re the real Starswirl?” Rainbow joined in.

The stallion was unfazed, however. “Well, feel free to interrogate me until you are satisfied that I am who I am.”

Twilight delved deep into her mind, seeking out the most obscure, unknown thing she had learned about the great unicorn scholar. Not something from a book however: anypony could pick up a book and study the history of Starswirl. No, instead she thought back to her study sessions with Princess Celestia. Having been a personal friend of the ancient wizard, the Princess had told plenty of stories that nopony but herself would have known. Including a few rather embarrassing titbits about him.

“Okay, if you really are Starswirl the Bearded… What was Princess Luna’s nickname for you?”

He tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment, before answering, somewhat hesitantly, “I believe it was…uh, ‘Hairy Potter’, referring to my beard and my studies of amniomorphic spells, was it not?”

Twilight nodded dumbly. “Yeah…that’s correct.”

In the brief silence that followed as the unicorn tried to wrap her head around the indisputable fact that a unicorn that had been dead centuries ago was sitting before her, Pinkie Pie jumped past her and plopped herself down next to Starswirl.

“Ooh, so that must mean you’re, like, a bazillion years old or something! What’s that like? I mean, Granny Smith is the oldest pony I know before you, but you don’t actually look as old as her. What was Equestria like hundreds of years ago? Did they have ice-cream back then? What kind of music did you have…” the hyperactive mare rambled on until Starswirl firmly put his hoof to her mouth.

“I shall answer your last questions first. Music of my day was usually very simple, all flutes and drums and lutes… though I could never quite understand how ponies could play a lute with hooves. No, as I recall we did not have anything called ice-cream, though the name intrigues me. If you have any, I wouldn’t mind trying it,” the old pony replied rapidly. “As for being a…ahem, bazillion years old as you so eloquently put it, that’s a frank overstatement. At best, I’d say I am around a thousand, one hundred and ninety years old, if we are including the years between my death and now.”

“Eleven-hundred and ninety? Land sakes, I hope I look that good when I’m that old!” joked Applejack, before returning to tending the slowly recovering Twilight. “Ya okay there Twi?”

Twilight nodded and moved to sit down across the fire from Starswirl. “Alright, so we know it’s you. It may not make a lot of sense, but that’s the fact of the matter. So, my question is, why are you here?”

Starswirl absentmindedly stroked his beard for a moment before saying, “You best all sit down. And perhaps get yourselves some breakfast. This may take a while.”

The six ponies obediently sat down in a circle around the now dwindling campfire. Twilight smothered the dying flames with a clump of dirt before conjuring up one of her own magical fires. As they sliced up their last small loaves of bread for toast and chopped up a couple of apples to share, Starswirl told his story:

“I suppose first of all I should tell you, Twilight Sparkle, that your departure from Canterlot did not go unnoticed. Her majesty Princess Celestia is fully aware of your quest, and what you are seeking.”

Twilight gulped. “Oh…Um, she’s not… angry or anything, is she? That I went off without telling her first?”

The old unicorn shook his head. “No, not at all. In fact, she rather envies you for some of the things you will see on this quest. And I must agree with her,” he added with a wistful look at the surrounding area. “The lands this far north are quite lovely, especially this time of year.”

He paused a moment to accept a slice of bread and a few segments of apple from Fluttershy, who sat on his left. “Ah, thank you very much, Miss...?”

“Oh, um…” Fluttershy stammered and stumbled timidly on her words, to nopony’s surprise. “I-I’m Fluttersh…”

“Beg your pardon?”

“Erm… It’s F-flutter…

Starswirl batted at his ear with a hoof. “Oh dear, is my age catching up with my hearing?”

“Her name is Fluttershy,” Rarity helpfully said.

“Ah, I see. Well, thank you very much, Miss Fluttershy.” Starswirl finished. The only reply Fluttershy could muster was a near-silent squeak.

He hastily cleared his throat and continued. “Well then, as I was saying, you can relax, miss Twilight. Celestia is not angry at you. But she is a tad worried.”

“About what?” Twilight asked, leaning forwards slightly.

“She’s worried about what you might run into out here.”

“Heh, why’s she worried?” Rainbow Dash said, proudly thrusting out her chest. “We’ve faced plenty of nasty stuff around Equestria, and we’ve kicked the flanks of every single one of ‘em!”

Starswirl’s face became grim. “Because what she is worried about is not from Equestria. Something has emerged from lands far to the South. Something that she thought defeated and imprisoned for all eternity.”

“Yeah, no offence to the Princesses, but they’ve got a bit of a bad record for imprisoning ancient evils,” Pinkie Pie chimed in.

Twilight shot her a silencing glare before turning back to Starswirl. “Go on, continue.”

“Anywho, I trust that if you are seeking out the Tears of Gaia, that you have read my writings on the subject?”

Twilight nodded. Starswirl continued, “Then you will remember the events that led to them being formed, I presume?”

“Yeah, the war against the Draconequi and the coming of the…” But Twilight trailed off as realisation hit her like a comically oversized mallet. “You mean… the Blight?”

Starswirl nodded solemnly. “Indeed. The Princesses have come to the conclusion that somehow, the Blight has regained much of its former strength, and is on the move once more.”

“But where could it have been for the last thousands of years?” asked Rarity.

Starswirl replied, “As I recall, it was trapped with Discord when he was first imprisoned. However, the Princesses did tell me that Discord did recently break free, which is a troubling thought in itself.”

“But we turned him back to stone!” Rainbow countered. “That creep’s an ornament in the Canterlot gardens now!”

He took a bite from his slice of toast, munching on it thoughtfully, before continuing. “Yes, but Discord and the Blight are not one and the same. Discord was only its host. I can only guess, but I’d guess that when you were about to turn him back to stone, the Blight fled his body. I suppose that brings us up to now,” he finished, sitting back.

“And now, this Blight thing’s back,” muttered Applejack. “Hey Starswirl… one thing I never quite got, what exactly is the Blight s’posed to be, anyway?”

“Nopony knows for sure.” Starswirl replied. “The only ponies around who still remember it are the Princesses themselves, and as much as I have tried they refuse to go into great detail about it. As best I can discern, however, it is some sort of entity or force that takes hold of its victims and changes them. Corrupts them into monsters.”

“Like those yellow-eyed things that attacked us!” cried Twilight suddenly.

“Yellow-eyed things?”

The six ponies nodded as they thought back to the strange cloaked creatures that came after them a few nights ago. “Yeah, at first we thought they were just ponies under those cloaks… but some of them had claws, spines, fangs, antlers, beaks, you name it!” Rainbow replied.

Starswirl nodded thoughtfully, mumbling to himself for a moment. From within his cloak he extracted a small wooden pipe and popped it in his mouth, removing it every now and then to blow a smoke-ring, much to Pinkie Pie’s awe. Not because he could blow smoke rings, oh no. Rather, it was because she had seldom seen a pipe that did not blow bubbles. “Hmm… So the Blight is here in Equestria. That’s rather troubling to know…”

“Okay, that does answer a few questions,” Twilight interrupted. “But you still haven’t answered my question: Why are you here?”

Starswirl smiled again. “Straight to the point, I see. An admirable trait to be sure, Miss Twilight. I am here because Princess Celestia was worried about you. That, and what may happen if the six of you are not careful. You see, the Blight in its present state seems weak, doing little more than attempting to sustain itself and infect as many poor creatures as it can reach.”

His smile changed to a dark and serious frown as he leaned forward a bit, the firelight exaggerating the shadows on his face. “But if the Tears of Gaia were to fall into its grasp, that would be enough power for it to spread everywhere…”

“Y-you mean it could… take over all of Equestria?” Fluttershy stammered.

“You underestimate the potential of the Blight’s power,” Starswirl replied, shaking his head. “Equestria would just be the start. Cervidas, the Dragonlands, Caneighda, the Frozen North, even across the Eternity’s Crossing to Zebrica and the Griffon Kingdoms…”

“Don’t forget the Crystal Empire.”

“The… The Crystal Empire? Hah, by my beard!” Starswirl suddenly let loose a loud and strong peal of laughter. “So that disappearing Empire finally showed up again then? Incredible!”

His laughter, however, was cut off as Twilight very loudly and pointedly cleared her throat. Starswirl checked himself and carried on. “Ah, yes, where was I? Oh yes… the Princesses sent me to help you and generally keep the six of you safe. Whatever your reasons are for seeking out the Tears of Gaia, it is vital that it is kept as far away from the Blight as possible.

“But if you have indeed encountered them this far north, then they are far too close for comfort to the hiding place,” He finished, before popping his pipe back into his mouth.

Rainbow Dash was the first to get up. “Then we gotta get going! The sooner we find this thing, the sooner we can get it away from the Blight!”

Five of the other ponies nodded in agreement. Twilight, however, remained seated, her mind hard at work putting together all the facts. “Actually… I’m starting to think twice about this whole journey.”

“What?!” Applejack was gobsmacked. “But this whole trip was yer idea in the first place! Don’t you wanna find them Tears?”

“Indeed!” Rarity added. “It’s not like you to turn away from a chance to learn something new!”

Twilight held up a hoof. “This is different though. You heard what Starswirl said, if this Blight thing gets its hooves or claws or… whatever it has, on the Tears, it’d be a disaster for everypony! We should just leave well enough alone and head back home.”

“Oh it’s far too late for that, my dear Twilight.”

All eyes returned to the old stallion, who was extinguishing his pipe and donning his hat once more. “The six of you have come this far already, and if your little skirmish with the Blight a few nights ago is any indication, they know of the Tears and are seeking them out themselves. Our only choice now is to continue on with all haste, and pray we reach them before the Blight does.”

Rainbow Dash flew above him and patted him on the top of Starswirl’s head, flattening his hat a moment. “I like your attitude, Mr the-Bearded! Let’s get a move on!”

With that she hovered overhead at the head of the group, leading the ponies along the pathway to the mountains. Starswirl followed close behind, but not before casting a rather bemused glance at the headstrong pegasus and re-pointing his hat, all the while muttering under his breath “Mr the-Bearded?! Honestly, some ponies…”

Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie followed behind, and Twilight joined them after hastily putting out her fire.

“Heehee, ‘my dear Twilight’, I’m gonna use that one,” giggled Pinkie as she bounced along, her mane nearly hitting the overhanging branches above with every bounce.

“C’mon my dear Twilight, keep up.” Applejack playfully called back.

Twilight tied her cloak around her withers and hurried after the giggling column, trying her best to hide her blushing as she shouted back in mock-anger, “Oh be quiet, the pair of you!”

By the time the noontime sun hung directly above, the travelling party had passed through the foothills at last, and reached the first steep slopes of the Crystal Mountains. They were still rather close to the ground, and so patches of grass and dense shrubs grew here and there. But the rest was gravel, earth and rock everywhere ahead. And all around, and much to Rarity’s infinite delight, were the delicate telltale signs of veins of crystal.

“This land is gorgeous,” Rarity voiced her thoughts aloud for the third time that day. “Almost makes this agonizing hike up a mountain worth it… Speaking of which, how much farther?”

“Dunno. Hey Twilight, what’s the riddle say about how far we go up into these mountains?” Applejack relayed the question to the front of the band where she was walking alongside Starswirl, filling him in on their journey so far and discussing with him the meaning of Rowanoak’s riddle.

“I’m just figuring that out actually.” Replied the unicorn. “The next bit of Rowanoak’s poem says, ‘Where the green meets whitest snow, there the second step doth lie.’ So I guess we just keep going straight ahead until we hit some snow.”

Rarity peered up ahead at the high peaks that loomed overhead. Most of what lay ahead was nothing but slopes of purple-grey stone, dotted with patches of earthy-green grass. But miles ahead up the mountains, there she could see the first white patches on the mountainside. Rarity sighed with weariness, wrapping one of her many scarves around her withers, and pressed on.

Twilight, meanwhile, slipped her maps and charts away in her bags and concentrated on the road ahead. She could see their destination from where she stood, and the path was clear. Pausing for a moment, she turned and gazed down in the direction they had come. The foothills stretched for miles far below them, with streams and patches of trees scattered among the green slopes. She could see the swamplands where they had encountered the kelpie, enshrouded in mist. And far away, almost out of view, stood the solitary hill and the river that led to Neighagra Falls, the place Rowanoak called home. So far away.

It was another couple of hours before the seven ponies finally reached the first patches of snow on the slopes. And Rainbow Dash was the first to know, as there came a cold, wet sound smacking sound from where she was flying above the group.
Pinkie Pie scampered off along the snowbank, giggling as the blue pegasus chased after her, snowball in hand and shaking the snow from her face. “Oh I’ll get you for that, Pinkie! C’mere!!”

But Pinkie did not stop or even slow down. In fact, she somehow managed to stoop for another clump of snow, squeeze it into a snowball and fling it at Rainbow Dash, all at full cantering speed. However, her aim was off this time, and the snowball whizzed past, just to the left of Rainbow’s flapping wing. Her aim was no better, however, as the snowball intended for Pinkie Pie instead knocked Applejack’s hat clean off. And with that, the game was on!

Applejack and Pinkie teamed up, tossing and bucking snowballs at Rainbow, all the while frantically dodging the icy projectiles as they were magically flung by Rarity. With a gleeful laugh, Twilight bounded into the fray, her magical aura already enveloping balls of snow from the ground.

Starswirl, however, simply stood by and watched the battle as the laughing mares threw snowballs hither and yon. Sitting down on a nearby outcrop of rocks, he pulled his cloak around him and shook his head. “Honestly, you’d think they were little more than foals.”

Any further musings he may have had were interrupted as a stray snowball came careening out of the sky, and landed slap-bang in his face.

The snowball fight died down in an instant as the six mares stared in shock. Starswirl showed no emotion, staring blankly as blobs of snow dripped off his face and droplets ran down his beard. Twilight’s ears drooped in shame and she timidly began to approach the silent stallion, an apology forming in her head…

Which then promptly vanished as she saw a devious grin creasing his face. “Then again, it has been over a thousand years,” he whispered as he telekinetically scooped up a snowball and trotted straight at the mares.

By the time seven very exhausted ponies sat on the rocky copse, another of Twilight’s magical fires melting the snow from their fur and cloaks, the sun was beginning to fall behind the horizon. While the others relaxed by the campfire, making conversation among themselves, Twilight sat with Starswirl, as they attempted to decipher the last lines of the riddle:

“Look to the Shard in moonlight’s glow,
To seek the jewel of Gaia’s cry.”

“Well, we’re at the point where the snow meets the grasslands, so I suppose this is where we’re supposed to ‘look to the shard’,” Twilight said. “The question is, what shard? This whole place is made of nothing but rocks and crystals, there are bound to be shards of it all over the place! Which one do we look to?”

Starswirl looked around himself, before peering intently at the parchment on which the riddle was written as he puffed away at his pipe. “Hmm…Well, here’s something that might be of note. You say Rowanoak wrote this herself? Well notice here, when she wrote the word ‘Shard’, ‘twas with a capital S.”

“Oh yeah! So we’re not looking for a shard, we’re looking for The Shard!” Twilight scribbled a hasty note of the discovery down on a separate scroll. “But what about ‘Moonlight’s glow’? Do you have any clue what that one might mean?”
The bearded stallion took another puff. “That remains to be seen. If I were to guess, I’d suggest we keep our eyes open when the moon comes out.” Standing up, he headed over to where Applejack and Pinkie were putting together supper. “In the meantime, I am absolutely famished!”

The pair had put together a simple meal of bread and cheese, grilled together over the fire. Applejack, in a stroke of immense good fortune, had discovered a small patch of dandelions growing at the base of the rocky copse, and added them to the sandwiches. Simple, but indisputably delicious.

As they dined, Twilight found that she could no longer keep to herself a question that had nibbled at her mind ever since she had awoken to find Starswirl standing before her. “Hey, Starswirl?”

“Mmm?” He mumbled through a mouthful of grilled cheese and dandelion. He quickly swallowed. “Mmph, sorry. What is it?”

“I was just wondering. How did the Princesses do it? Bring you back to life, I mean? I once read that life and death was one thing magic had no power over.”

Starswirl put down his sandwich for a moment. “Oh, is that what they tell you these days?”

“What do you mean by that?” asked Twilight, cocking her head.

“Well, allow me to answer you with another question. What do you think would be easier to keep a unicorn from doing: A spell that they know exists, but are expressly forbidden from ever using, or a spell that they don’t know exists at all?”

Twilight was still a little confused. “Well, the second one obviously. How would you perform magic that you don’t… Oh.”
Then it came to her, the meaning of his words. There was magic that had the power over life and death. “The Princesses kept it a secret…”

“Indeed, my dear Twilight,” he replied. “Their Majesties used an ancient magic that only they knew. As a matter of fact, I recall Celestia saying that she and Luna personally destroyed all notes concerning such magic, the moment they had mastered it themselves. That is how they resurrected me. Or rather, I supposed… reanimated, would be a more appropriate word.”

“Reanimated? Why?”

“Well, quite simply, because I am not truly brought back to life. Not permanently, at least. They poured a tiny portion of their own life-force into my body, enough to keep me alive until my task is done.”

“Your task being accompanying us and helping our quest, right?” asked Twilight. Starswirl nodded.

Both ponies became silent for a time, pulling their cloaks close against the building winds which sent their manes and tails billowing in front of them, and bit at their coats. As she gazed out in the direction they had come, Twilight saw a light in the distance. On the shadows of a high mountain peak on the horizon, she could see a shimmering white light on the mountainside. Even from this far away, on the very borders of the kingdom, one could still see the shining glory of equine civilisation that was Canterlot. Slightly nearer, on the plains between the Crystal Mountains and the Equestrian capital, were tiny specks of a warmer yellow light, no doubt small villages and settlements dotted about the flatlands. Somewhere out there is Ponyville, she thought to herself. Somewhere out there, Spike is probably snuggled up in his basket in the library. I sure hope he’s doing alright.

Of course he’s alright, said another voice in her head. He may only be a baby dragon, but he’s more mature than one would expect of his age. And once you get those Tears and get them safely back to Canterlot, you’ll be able to see him again.

Twilight lay down on the stony copse and rested her head on her forelegs. Not far to go now.

Through her closed eyelids, she noticed a silvery white light from above. Opening her eyes, she looked up and saw above her head, Luna’s shining full moon, bathing all below it in gentle white. Twilight hoped inwardly, that Luna knew how appreciated her night was becoming. Most ponies still preferred the safety of their beds during the dark hours, but everypony held a certain appreciation for the beauty of the moon.

But another light shone too, from behind her. She turned around on the spot, and her eyes went wide as dinnerplates.
Towering high above the plateau where they rested, was a glowing mountain. Its peak stretched high up into the clouds, but from the mountaintop, and to a lesser extent across the entire mountain, there came an eerie glow of blue and white.

“Ithildin…” whispered an awestruck Starswirl from behind her.

Twilight turned from the amazing sight a moment. “Huh?”

“Oh, that was the old Deerfolk’s name for it. I suppose you’d know it better as Lapis Meridium.”

The young unicorn gasped. Of course, Lapis Meridium! One of the rarest gems in all of Equestria, said to only be found in a single place in all the land.

“A mysterious and magical crystal, which is said to only mirror the light of a full moon,” Starswirl continued. “And therein lies the final resting place of the Tears of Gaia.”

As the moon was briefly hidden behind a cloud and the glow faded a moment, Twilight then realised just how much her head was tilted back, just to see the top of the mountain. “So, that’s our way to go tomorrow then…”

“Indeed.”

Around mid-afternoon the next day, the band of ponies were a good three-quarters up the mountain, though their ascent was slowed by the winding path they were forced to take in order to scale the sheer side of the peak. The sky was clear and cloudless, but Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were forced to join their earthbound friends on the mountain, the wind was blowing so fiercely. So the ponies leaned into the side of the mountain, doing all they could to avoid being blown off into a sticky demise on the ground far below.

Twilight pushed with her hooves through the ever deepening snow on the mountainside, Starswirl trudging on behind her. They were heaving themselves up a particularly steep rise of stone, the Lapis Meridium completely invisible in the daylight, somewhere under the thick blanket of frost. The unicorn pushed forwards with another step and felt with delight, her hoof levelling out.

“Hey, it flattens out here!” she called out to her friends below. A ragged cheer greeted her good news as the seven ponies made one final push forwards, until everypony was standing on the ledge.

“Wowsers! This must be the highest mountain in Equestria,” Pinkie said as she peered over the side at the mountains below.

Applejack nodded. “I wouldn’t be surprised it ya were right, Pinkie. Even the Smokey Mountain wasn’t this high up!”
As they rested on this ledge, Rainbow Dash felt the winds die down considerably, to a point where she could actually take to the air and fly a bit. As she exercised her wings by doing a few loops and spins around the ledge, she had an idea.

“Hey, while the wind’s died down a bit, how about I look around a bit, see if there’s anything worth checkin’ out?” she called to the others below.

Applejack was hesitant. “I dunno Rainbow, remember what happened last time you went scouting out alone?”

“Aww c’mon Applejack,” Pinkie replied. “That was a kelpie in a swamp! What could be out here?”

Twilight nodded. “She’s got a point. I doubt there’s anything else lurking about on this mountain other than us.”

Rainbow grinned and took off like a shot. Taking an arcing path around the mountain, she looked over every possible angle of the mountainside, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. It was only as she made a second pass around the peak, that she spotted something just around to the right of where the ponies sat.

“Hey, I think I see something!” she cried as she made her return flight. “Just around the mountainside, there’s another big ledge, with a cave in the rock!”

Twilight leapt upright. “A cave? You’re sure?”

Rainbow nodded. “Positive. And it sure as hay didn’t look like a natural cave either. It was really smoothly carved into the rock, a big square doorway. And there was something carved above it, some funny lookin’ squiggles.”

Twilight had already packed her things up and was ready to go. “Lead the way, Rainbow Dash.”

When the travelling party came to the second ledge, and stood before the carved stone opening, Twilight became certain that this was where they were to go next. Starswirl felt it also, and even Rarity; as if some silent voice in their minds was saying, without words, that what they sought lay inside that cave.

Twilight and Starswirl examined closely the strange markings and symbols that were engraved into the stone around the doorway, but to little success. Neither the young student nor the ancient wizard could decipher or even so much as recognise the glyphs.

“Well, I haven’t a clue what these carvings mean, but I am sure they’re important.” Starswirl muttered as he stepped back to examine the doorway in full. “Either way, I can say with almost complete certainty that this is the way to go.”

Fluttershy quivered as she stared into the darkness of the cave. “W-we have to go in th-th-there? But who knows what’s in there!”

“She’s right; it could be a trap of some kind! How do you even know the Tears are in there?” asked Rainbow.

“I’m not sure,” Twilight replied. “But I’m just getting this really strong feeling that the Tears are in there.”

“Yes, I feel it too. It’s rather like when I’m using my gem-finding spell, I just feel drawn to any that are nearby… I’m getting a similar feeling now, and it’s pointing straight into that cave.” Added Rarity.

“And I, as well.” Starswirl lit up his horn, bathing the cave entrance in yellow light. “Perhaps only we unicorns can sense it. Besides, did you see anything else indicative of where the Tears might be, Rainbow Dash?”

The pegasus shook her head. “Nope. The only thing I saw on the mountain was that entrance.”

The stallion shrugged. “Then there’s nothing else for it. In we go!” and with that, he led the way into the cave. Twilight followed swiftly behind, and the rest followed after.

Within the cave, the tunnel was remarkably smooth and neatly-carved, as if the tunnels had been cut into the rock a matter of months ago. In the mingled blue, yellow and magenta lights of the unicorn’s magical auras, the tell-tale sparkle of gemstones and crystal could be seen every now and then in the walls. Only the possible reward of the Tears being at the end of the tunnel kept Rarity from conjuring up a pickaxe and hacking away at the cave walls.

“So, do you think we’ll just find the Tears in some room at the end of this tunnel?” Twilight whispered, her voice still echoing around the caverns.

Starswirl shook his head. “I very much doubt that such a powerful artefact would be that easy to take. I bet my hat that something will be there to stop us, some sort of spell or enchantment meant to stop would-be thieves. Be on your guard my dear Twilight, who knows what might await us...”

The walk through the tunnels was silent for a long while. Ever straight ahead it went, not up or down, not left or right. Surely they would come right through to the other side of the peak soon.

But then, Twilight saw with mixed apprehension and excitement, there was a dim light up ahead. Picking up her pace to a trot, her friends followed suit, the cavern echoing with their hoofsteps on the stone. Gradually the light grew stronger, until an end could be seen to the tunnel. Their rot turned into a canter. Their canter turned into a gallop.

“We did it girls! We found…”

All seven ponies then skidded to an immediate halt as they reached the end of the tunnel. The three magical lights fizzled and flickered a moment before going out.

To say that their breath was taken away is no description at all. There were no words left to express their staggerment and shock. Their eyes grew wide, and their knees grew weak.

The tunnel opened up to a truly gargantuan cave, roughly hewn from the stone of the mountain. The floor, however, was smooth and clean, save for the occasional gemstone that stuck up through the rock. At the far end, there stood a pair of tripods, upon each of which rested a large metal bowl, one gold, one silver. From some unseen fuel within the bowl, there flickered and blazed strange unearthly flames that changed colour endlessly, sometimes being a fiery orange, sometimes a deep earthy red, then neon green, pale white, even black and even some strange colours that our language cannot name, that caused nausea and dizziness to anypony who looked straight at them.

But none of these strange things could tear the ponies’ collective gaze away from the monstrous, crimson coloured dragon that was shackled by a long heavy chain to the wall. Smoke seeping from its nostrils, is lay sleeping just beyond the burning lamps. Or rather, had been sleeping.

For it is a little-known fact that all breeds of dragon, be they drake, serpent or wyrm, are inherently suspicious and very protective of their own. Because of this fact, they often sleep with one eye half-open.

And this eye happened to be glaring straight at the seven ponies who had just woken him up.

8. From one Peak to the Other.

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For a moment that seemed to last an eternity, neither party moved a muscle. The seven ponies were frozen on the spot at the entrance of the cave, their breaths caught in their throats as they stared with wide eyes at the cave’s lone occupant. Similarly, the vast crimson-coloured dragon sat motionless at the other end, his enormous body filling nearly half the cave, staring back at the ponies with massive yellow eyes.

There came a feeble squeak from somewhere at the back of the group, which echoed through the whole cave. Then, all hell broke loose.

The dragon opened wide its enormous mouth and with an ear-splitting roar, sent forth a massive plume of red fire. In the last seconds before they all became ponies flambé, Rainbow Dash finally found her voice again and screamed at the top of her lungs, “TAKE COVEEEERRR!”

The seven scattered in all directions, sprinting alongside the wall of the cave as the fireball exploded at the entrance, desperate to find cover wherever they could. Twilight, Starswirl and Applejack huddled together behind a massive boulder off to the left of the entrance, while Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie led the others on a run behind a small wall of stalagmites. The dragon stretched out its limbs, each the size of a tall tree, slowly lifting itself off the ground as it roared and raged. As Twilight raised her head to get a look, she felt her blood run cold at the sheer scale of it.

It was almost twice the size of any dragon she had seen. Even among the massive swarm of dragons that had made the Great Migration last year, she had never seen one quite the same size. Scales each the size of a dog shone red in the mingled red light of its fire, and the ethereal multi-coloured light of the twin lanterns. Huge pale horns protruded from its head, just above its brow, the same colour as its claws and teeth. A line of ridges ran from the back of its skull, down its back, until they formed a mass of spikey horns on the end of its tail. Huge ragged wings sprouted from its back, furled for the moment in the tight confines of the cave.

“What in the hay is that thing doin’ here?!” Applejack shouted above the din.

Twilight peeked over the top of the boulder to see the dragon watching her friends’ running with hungry eyes. “It must be guarding the Tears, right Starswirl?”

The old unicorn nodded. “Aye. As I said, it would be likely that such a powerful artefact would be guarded or protected… but a dragon! I never anticipated that!”

“Well, what do we do now?! We can’t exactly drive it off, the entrance is too small!”

For the briefest second, Twilight’s fear and panic gave way to scientific curiosity. “Hey, that’s right… how’d it get in here in the first place then?”

“Back on topic, if you please Twilight!” shouted Starswirl as he yanked Twilight back from peeking over the top again. The boulder suddenly shook as a second fireball cannoned into the other side of it. The three ponies cowered even lower behind it.

Over at the other side of the cave, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity leapt from behind the stalagmite formation and took cover behind a small ridge of stone. And just in time too, as the dragon’s massive tail came down upon the stalagmites. The tailspikes, each the size of a bear, crushed the rock formation to dust.

Rainbow Dash wiped droplets of perspiration from her brow. “This is nuts! We gotta get past that guy! I’ll bet he’s blocking the way to wherever the Tears are!”

“But how?!” Rarity wheezed, “That beast would turn us into charcoal before we were even close to it!”

As if emphasising her point, a blast of heat and a fierce red glow from the other side of the ridge indicated the impact of another massive torrent of flames. Rainbow Dash desperately wracked her brain for some sort of idea. The growing heat of the boulders at her back was an ever-present indicator that time was quickly running out.

“Rainbow, we gotta move!” Pinkie’s shrill cry brought her back to reality as the air around them began to ripple and the far side of the ridge began to glow red. Pinkie Pie looked around for some new hiding place and saw a perfect hiding spot a particularly broad stone column. Beckoning to Rainbow and Rarity, she expertly cartwheeled out from behind the ridge, the dragon’s fire just singeing the tip of her tail. With mere nanoseconds to spare, she rolled to the column and crouched low behind it. She beckoned with a hoof at the other two ponies.

Rainbow Dash zoomed from the ridge to the stone column, so fast that the naked eyed could barely register it as anything short of teleportation. Rarity hung back a moment, not near fast enough to make such a run with the dragon glaring straight at her.

The massive red monstrosity stooped its head low as it approached the boulder where Rarity was hidden. Opening its gaping maw wide, it tensed up its muscles and prepared to lunge forward. But before it could, it felt two blasts of magic strike it in the back of its head.

Twisting around, it saw Twilight and Starswirl, standing together atop the boulder, horns aglow as they prepared to launch another blast of magic missiles.

Rarity saw her chance as the dragon turned away from her to deal with the other unicorns. Her gaze focused on Pinkie and Rainbow, she ran with all her might, jumping haphazardly over the beast’s massive tail. With one final stumble, she came skidding to a faceplanting halt behind the column.

Pinkie helped Rarity up. “Any ideas yet, Rainbow?” asked the unicorn as she dusted the grit off her shoulders.
Rainbow peeked out from behind the stone pillar, watching as Starswirl shot a beam of yellow magic straight into the dragon’s face. It reeled back, each step reverberating through the ground, shooting random blasts of fire up at the ceiling as it stumbled. “I got one… Hey Pinkie, you think you can get over to the others?”

“Oh, I got a few tricks up my sleeve… even if I don’t have sleeves, but that would just be weird if I actually had sleeves! But yeah, I can get to them easily!” Pinkie shouted back.

“Good. Here’s my plan. I’m gonna fly up to the dragon, buzz around his head, keep him distracted. Then you guys run around him, under him, whatever, just get past him,” Rainbow explained.

Rarity gasped. “But Rainbow, that’s far too dangerous! Not to undermine your self-confidence, but surely you remember what happened last time you tried to fight a dragon alone?”

Rainbow winked. “That’s the thing, I’m not gonna be alone. Pinkie, I need you to get over to the others and tell Twilight and Starswirl that once everypony’s past the dragon, they start blasting it with some spells to distract it, and I’ll make my getaway!”

Pinkie saluted and began making her way towards the entrance to the cave, where the others were hidden. Rainbow and Rarity had no idea how she would manage the move quick and stealthily enough for the dragon to not see her, but as they watched her, their fears were quickly put aside.

With leaps and bounds of uncharacteristic grace and balance, Pinkie managed to weave her way around the dragon’s stomping feet and swinging tail, before diving behind a rock just by the cave wall. She ducked behind the rock and, in some bizarre mockery of reality itself, popped back up behind the same boulder that Twilight, Starswirl and Applejack were hidden behind.

Before Twilight could even so much as sputter in disbelief, Pinkie rattled off in one breath, “Twilight! Okay, Rainbow says that she’s gonna distract the dragon while we all make a run for the cave behind it ’cos that’s probably where it’s hiding the Tears, then once you’re clear of it, you and Starswirl start blasting him with your magic and stuff, and Rainbow can make her escape.” She paused a moment to take a breath. “Got all that?”

After a second of Twilight running over what she had heard, the unicorn nodded. “Let’s do it.”

Pinkie nodded and turned to find shelter behind another rock. She paused a moment, however, when she noticed something. “Hey, isn’t Fluttershy with you?”

“I thought she was with you guys,” Twilight replied. “You sure she’s not over there with you?”

“Sure as sugar! I better go find her before we try this…”

But Rainbow Dash, it seemed, had other ideas. As soon as she saw Pinkie finish telling Twilight her plan, the pegasus unfurled her wings and took to the air. She flew high up, almost to the cave ceiling, and hovered there a moment as she looked over the layout of the cave for anything that she could use in her favour. “Alright,” she told herself, “distracting time… here we go!”

She dived. The dragon’s massive head followed her. Rainbow knew what was coming and flew low just in time. A plume of crimson fire zoomed over her head at exactly where she had just been, blackening the tips of her tail, but leaving her otherwise unscathed. No worries, she thought to herself, no different to those cloud-blasters at the Academy. “GO, NOW!” she shouted at the others, who obediently began sprinting towards the other side of the cave, which remained obscured by the dragon’s massive bulk.

For a moment, she could hear Starswirl’s deep voice shouting out, “By the Six, Twilight! That friend of yours is an incredible flyer!”

Rainbow smiled to herself from the compliment, but kept her mind on the task at hand, zooming straight down at the dragon’s head. She flew rings around him, watching as it whipped its head round and round to try to keep up with her. If she kept this up, he should be nice and dizzy soon enough…

Unfortunately, even with her fast eyes, Rainbow Dash was only able to keep an eye on two of the dragon’s defences at a time. For this decoy attack, she had been focused mostly on the fireballs spewing from its mouth, and its huge, spiked tail. She did not notice its huge hands, tipped with claws like pickaxe-blades, until it was too late. As she swerved up to avoid them, one of the long claws slashed a shallow gash into her shoulder.

Inside the entrance tunnel, Fluttershy huddled up against the cavern wall, eyes firmly shut and forehooves clamped on her ears to block out the sound of the battle going on inside the cave.

As the dragon roared again, she whimpered. Dragon… why did it have to be a dragon?! Why couldn’t it have been something else… ANYTHING else?!

She knew she had to help her friends. She wanted to help her friends, but… how could she face that… that monster?! One breath of fire and we’d be goners! And that’s just the fire, there’s still the razor-sharp claws, and the teeth the size of fenceposts, and the tailspikes…

Then she heard a new sound. A scream of pain and shock, not from the dragon, but from an all-too-familiar voice. As she hazarded a peek into the cavern, she froze as she saw the source of the scream.

It was like time itself had slowed down. Just by the dragon’s left shoulder, Rainbow Dash was flapping weakly to stay in the air. Blood dripped from a gash on her shoulder, which snaked down her back, across her shoulder-blades to the base of her wings. The spray of red that still hung in the air drew her eye to the dragon’s tailspikes, the very tip of which was stained with fresh blood.

In an instant, Fluttershy snapped.

Flying with speed born of newfound rage and ferocity, she was up in the dragon’s face in an instant, landing on the monstrous beast’s snout and shrieking in its face.

“HOW DARE YOU HURT MY FRIENDS, YOU… YOU MEANIE! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF, ATTACKING OTHER CREATURES FOR NO REASON! JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO ATTACK ANYPONY YOU WANT?!!”

The dragon’s eyes bulged with shock and bewilderment as this tiny creature seemed to show no fear as it shouted in his face. But before the dragon had any chance to respond, be it with words, roars or more fire, Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut a moment, before opening them full and glaring right into the dragon’s face.

Now, dragons are known for many things: their insatiable greed for jewels and precious metals, their breath-weapons, which ranged from the common firebreath, to the poisonous toxic gas-breathers, the less common earth dragons, which spewed up endless heaps of loam and dirt, and even the rare dragons that could actually breathe out thunderclouds. Their ferocity and their size were well known about them too. Their fears, however, were not well known. Nopony had ever witnessed a dragon truly expressing fear. At least, not in known accounts.

This dragon had never been more terrified in his life.

There was something in this pony’s eyes that frightened him more than anything he had ever encountered. They were like deep, dark pits into the depths of someone’s worst nightmares. They were like staring into the pits of Tartarus itself. Every time the dragon tried to make some sound in protest, Fluttershy stepped closer and closer to the beast’s gargantuan eye, until she was almost touching it.

Finally, the dragon could take no more, and he lowered his head down. Then his body as he lay down on his belly, resting his head on the cavern floor. As Fluttershy hopped off of his snout, he placed his clawed hands upon his head and closed his eyes in submission.

A ragged cheer rose up from the ponies who lay scattered around the cave as they rushed out to Fluttershy.

“That was incredible!” Pinkie squealed as she swept the timid pegasus up in a ribcrushing hug.

Applejack shook her head in wonder. “Well I’ll be. Looks like that whole incident back at Smokey Mountain wasn’t a fluke after all, eh girls?”

“Wait…” Starswirl muttered, raising a forehoof. “You mean to say, she’s done this sort of thing before?”

“You mean staring down a dragon? Oh yeah, she’s been there before!” Rainbow said as she came limping past the dragon’s prostrate form. In a flash, Pinkie had grabbed her in a massive hug as well.

“Aagh, Pinkie! Watch the shoulder!”

“Ooh, sorry!” Pinkie loosened her grip on the hapless pegasus in an instant.

Fluttershy rushed off a moment towards the cave entrance, returning with her saddlebags. “Hold still Rainbow Dash… how bad is it?”

“Eh, not too bad.” Rainbow shrugged. “Hurts like all heck, but I’ll be fine.”

“Well, let me at least bandage it up a bit,” Fluttershy replied as she extracted a small roll of bandage from her saddlebag. With a gentle touch born of years of experience, she examined the jagged gash that ran from her shoulder to her wing, and wrapped the bandage around the top of Rainbow’s foreleg and the base of her left wing, before taping a final length of bandage over her shoulderblade. “There. That will at least stop the bleeding. You’re right, the cut was pretty shallow, so you’ll be fine once it heals over.”

Twilight smiled, not just happy that her friend was not seriously wounded, but that somehow, they had come out of a fierce battle with a dragon relatively unscathed! Rainbow’s scratch aside, the damage amounted to little more than a few scrapes and bruises, and some singed manes and tails.

Soon, the ponies were wandering freely about the cave, seeking out any nook or cranny where the Tears might be hidden. They had already encountered a mysterious statue, a glowing mountain and a guardian dragon, a hidden chamber did not seem like too much of a stretch. But even with Applejack bucking every loose shelf of rocks, Pinkie clambering over every possible hiding place, Rainbow Dash checking the higher walls, Starswirl’s spells, and even Twilight and Rarity’s gem-finding magic searching for any hiding places, the result was the same. Just one big cave with one entrance and exit, and nothing more.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, had chosen to stay with the dragon, who remained in his prostrate position in the middle of the chamber, lying on his front with his chin resting on the cave floor. Fluttershy paced back and forth in front of the dragon, a proud smile on her face and a slight spring in her step (thought she was sure to keep a safe distance from the monster). She did not often like to raise her voice at other creatures, but who knows what that dragon could have done to her friends had she not? But they were safe now, because of her. And what’s more, she had overcome her fear of dragons once again. Granted, it was for the sake of her friends and not herself, but still, the feeling of pride was amazing!

Her smile slipped a notch, however, as she saw the strange look in the dragon’s eyes. Gone was the primal rage it had held when it first attacked, or the feral fear it felt when she had turned her Stare upon it. Now, it was looking at her with eyes that looked sort of glazed over and, of all things, tired. The dragon stared at her with a look of weary resignation, as if to say “Go ahead, do it… Finish me off.”

For the first time in her life, Fluttershy actually felt pity for a dragon.

Hesitantly, she edged towards the massive ace of the beast, step by step, until she was close enough to reach out a quivering foreleg and gently pat the dragon’s cheek. “It’s okay… we’re very sorry for the intrusion. D-don’t worry, as soon as we’ve found what we’re looking for, we’ll be on our way and you can get back to sleeping.”

Suddenly, the dragon’s eyes widened in apparent surprise and he rumbled what could have been heard as a feral, draconic, “Huh?”

“It’s alright. We’re not going to hurt you.”

The pegasus then noticed a change in the dragon’s eyes. It was as if a veil or mist fell from over his eyes, and they seemed to gleam and shine with new life. He lifted his head slightly and peered down at Fluttershy. And smiled.

“Thank-you,” the dragon said.

Fluttershy leapt back with a frightened squeak. “Y-you spoke! I mean, I know dragons can talk, which is very interesting on its own, but… well, I didn’t realise you could speak. I… I thought you were a, um… feral dragon or something…”

Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Rarity heard Fluttershy’s sudden squeak and were swiftly rushing to her side. “Fluttershy, is everything alright?” asked Twilight, “I heard you shout. The dragon’s not trying anything, is he?”

“Why would I try something? She just freed me,” replied the dragon.

Twilight’s jaw dropped so hard, it nearly left a dent in the floor.

Rarity stepped forward. “Freed you? What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly that, little pony,” he said. “I was put in this cave as a hatchling to guard something. A very special and powerful gemstone. The ponies who put me in here cast a spell on me. And by being the first pony to spare me, you broke that spell.”

“The ponies who… you mean the Princesses?” Twilight found her voice again. The dragon nodded

“This powerful gemstone you speak of,” Starswirl had just come to join the others. “It would not happen to be something called the Tears of Gaia, would it?”

“Yes, yes, that was what they called it!” he replied, his low voice echoing around the cavern.

“But what was this spell they put on you? How did it work?” asked Twilight, her curiosity knowing no bounds.

The dragon took a moment to stretch out its massive limbs and tail. “Aahh, that does feel good… The spell? Well, it granted me the power and long life needed to guard the Tears forever against any creature that came looking for it. It could only be broken by the one who overpowered me in their search for it, but once I was defeated, would be willing to spare me.”

He paused, as if to let the information sink in. Twilight then thought back to the inscription above the doorway to the cave. Could that have said something about this? All other eyes turned to Fluttershy. The timid pegasus shrunk back from the attention, hiding her face behind a lock of her hair. “…Me?!”

“Yes, you. You were the first creature to defeat me in a fight, but not kill me… That was the worst part of the spell; how every time I was killed, I would be brought back.” The dragon frowned as his voice became softer for a moment. “No matter how often I failed in my task, I would never have the honour of reaping the consequences. Instead I would be brought back, to live with the memory of my failures.”

Fluttershy felt her pity for the creature grow. “Oh, don’t think like that, Mr Dragon. I’m sure you’ve done a great job protecting the Tears. Otherwise, they would probably have been found by now.”

The dragon cocked his head. “I suppose so… But whatever the case, I am free of that curse now, thanks to you. For that, I am in your debt.”

Fluttershy blushed slightly. She’d never had anyone in her debt before!” Oh! Um… well, you’re very welcome, mister, uh…”

“Tharos is my name.” the dragon replied, bowing his head before the pegasus. “My name is Tharos, and Tharos means me.”

“Oh, okay. Well, mister Tharos… it’s really okay, you don’t need to be in my debt or anything, I’m happy to help…”

But the dragon would hear none of it. “No, I must! Your wish is my command.”

Twilight and Starswirl look to eachother a moment as he said this, and both nodded. Twilight then walked up to Fluttershy and whispered something in the pony’s ear.

“Uh huh…hmm. Okay, I’ll ask.” Fluttershy whispered back. Clearing her throat, she said to Tharos, “Um, well, if it’s okay with you… M-maybe you could, um, show us where the Tears are hidden?”

“Yeah, I mean, we did free you from a curse and all. It’s the least you can do, right?” Rainbow Dash added brusquely. The other six ponies glared at her a moment.

But Tharos smiled and nodded. “I suppose I do owe you that much. Alright, climb on my back and I’ll take you to them.”

“Climb on yer back?” asked Applejack. “But where are we goin’? Ain’t the Tears in her somewhere?”

“No they are not.” Tharos responded, “They never were.”

The cowgirl kicked at the cave floor with her hind legs. “So, basically… we just came all this way… just to find out we didn’t need to come all this way?!”

A deep, bass chuckle escaped from the dragon’s mouth. “I suppose you could put it that way, little pony.”

“Now Applejack, don’t despair just yet. Tharos, if you know where the Tears are, would you be willing to take us to them?” Starswirl asked.

He nodded, stretching one of his arms like a ramp. “Of course. As that Rainbow pony says, it is the least I can do.”

But the seven ponies were hesitant to climb aboard, Rainbow Dash in particular. “How can we be sure you’ll take us to the Tears?”

“She has a point,” agreed Twilight. “No offense, but it’s not exactly the easiest thing to trust a full-grown dragon.”

But rather than be offended, Tharos simply shrugged and reared up on his hind legs. Placing a single hand on his underbelly, he raised the other in the air beside his head. “By my honour as a dragon of the old world, and by the fire in my belly, you have my word.”

“How good is your word of honour as a dragon?” Starswirl asked.

“Better than most dragons of this age, I would imagine, if you distrust me so much.” Tharos countered with a slight grin. “I would sooner fly face-first into a mountainside than betray it.”

There was a brief silence as Tharos’ words echoed around the cavern. Everypony looked up at the massive dragon’s face, looking for any sign of betrayal or falsehood. Tharos looked right back, his massive scaly face giving nothing away.

“Well, I guess ya can’t say much to that. I dunno ‘bout you guys, but I trust him.” Applejack said, breaking the silence at last. “Lemme up, Tharos.”

Tharos’ smile widened as he stooped down on all fours, holding out one hand to Applejack. She hopped onto his palm, and he lifted her up and deposited her upon his shoulder.

One by one, the seven ponies were hoisted up onto Tharos’ shoulderblades, where there was little shortage of ridges and spikes to hold onto or lean against. However, not all were so willing to climb up onto a dragon. Fluttershy least of all.

“C’mon Fluttershy! It’s perfectly safe, I swear!” Rainbow Dash called down impatiently.

“Yeah, it’s fine! Come on up!” added Pinkie. “It’s actually pretty soft up here! It’s just like those squishy floors you get at playgrounds.”

“You mean like mulch?” Twilight muttered, giving the skin under her hoof an experimental prod. Indeed, as tough as the scales no doubt were, they did have a certain degree of give to them. As Pinkie said, much like the springy, compressed mulch used to pad the ground in children’s playgrounds. Just as she was dwelling on this intriguing discovery however, she and the other six ponies were forced to make a hasty grab at anything they could, as Tharos jostled to the side slightly, with another deep chuckle.

“Don’t do that! It felt strange!”

Twilight grinned sheepishly, and made a mental note to tread lightly whilst on Tharos’ back. Who knows how many acupressure points and nerve endings she might accidentally trigger otherwise?

Once he calmed down, Tharos lowered his head down to Fluttershy’s level, giving her what he hoped was a gentle smile. Unfortunately, any smile from a dragon would show off hundreds of teeth the size of shovel-blades. Fluttershy gave a fearful squeak and backed away even more.

“Please, little pony. I promise you can trust me. Just climb aboard.” He said in the gentlest voice he could, holding out his ready hand.

After a few moments hesitance, Fluttershy finally took a nervous step closer. Then another. And another. Then she placed an experimental forehoof on the palm of his hand. Reassured that he was not about to crush her into a yellow and pink smear on his claws, she clambered up into his hand.

“Now don’t worry, little ones.” Tharos called over his shoulder as he placed Fluttershy with her friends. “I’ll be sure to fly as smoothly as possible… Now, erm, you might want to take cover and shield your eyes for a moment. It’s about to get very hot for a moment.”

The ponies all looked to eachother with an unsure glance. But the ominous rumbling in Tharos’ belly under them was all the confirmation they needed, and they quickly ducked down behind what they could find, covering their eyes.

Tharos, meanwhile, was channelling every ounce of dragonfuel in his body, gathering it all in his belly, which began to swell like some massive balloon. The rumbling of the flames in his belly grew into a low roar as it amassed inside him, until he could take it no more.

With one huge breath, he forced every last tongue of flame from his belly, up through his throat and burst forth from his mouth in one massive blast. So bright and hot was it, that it barely even looked like fire at all! It looked more like some strange hybrid, somewhere inbetween being a flame and being pure light energy.

“No way…” whispered Twilight, awestruck at the sight. “He’s… that’s… is he breathing plasma?!”

TTHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The livid, blueish-white ball of plasma smashed into the wall of the cave, exploding on impact. For a few seconds, all was consumed in blinding light and a ringing in everypony’s ears.

Then, the light dimmed and the dust clouds cleared. Twilight cracked her eyes open and was dumbstruck. Her friends fared no better.

Before them, where there had one been a solid stone wall with nothing but a tiny tunnel to the outside, there was now nothing but the clear afternoon skies, visible through a massive, almost-perfectly round hole, edges blackened, some patched still glowing orange from the heat.

“… Well, I was about to say something about someone as big as you getting outta here,” Pinkie finally said, almost nonchalantly. “But I guess you could say that you-“

“Don’t even think about it Pinkie.”

“Huh?” Pinkie looked over to a frowning Rainbow Dash, who sat on the dragon’s bag by her side.

Rainbow replied, “I know exactly what you’re gonna say, and you’d better not say it.”

Pinkie opened her mouth to speak. “I said don’t!” Rainbow shouted.

Pinkie paused a moment, before letting a malicious grin grow on her face. Unable to contain herself, she finally spouted in breakneck speed, “But I guess you could say you blew that question away, hah!”

“DANGIT, PINKIE!”

For the first time since they entered the cave, the seven ponies laughed. Tharos’ low chuckles mingled with theirs, and he clambered through the freshly-blasted hole, perching on the ledge.

“Ahh, it feels good to stretch my wings again. Alright, hold on now, little ponies!”

As he felt seven pairs of hooves cling tightly to his back, Tharos unfurled his wings wide for the first time in over a millennia. With a final triumphant roar, he leapt off the ledge and swooped out into the cool air, the excited and terrified shrieks of the ponies ringing loud and proud in his ears.

Far, far below, at the very base of the Shard, unbeknownst to Tharos or any of the ponies, two pairs of yellow and black eyes watched the dragon and his passengers flying off into the distance, his triumphant bellows echoing through the afternoon air.

“And there they go.” Maughoth muttered to himself. “Afar vadokanuk, if I’d known there was a dragon in there, I’d have brought someone with me who could fly! Urkuk!”

Gadhup cringed at his master’s rather colourful language. “What should we do now, sir?” he asked, as he watched Tharos flying off towards the plains and out of sight.

Maugoth sighed, his pointed teeth turning it into a strange whistling sound. “Head back to the others and tell them to break camp now. When I get back, we’re tracking that dragon like our lives are at stake… mainly because if Burzkala finds out we lost track of those ponies, they’ll have all our heads.”

The wiry little creature nodded and scuttled back through the undergrowth towards his cohorts’ campsite. Maugoth hung back a moment, looking up at the mountain high above them, complete with a brand new hole straight through the side.
We’d better be careful about this, he thought, before trotting back to his troops.

By the time the sun was beginning to set, Tharos and the ponies were far from the Crystal Mountains, flying further and further south over Equestria. After the initial shock, the ponies had slowly settled into travelling on the back of a dragon, finding a sure hoofhold in the scales and bumps of Tharos’ back. Some of the more adventurous ponies, like Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, even started to enjoy it!

“Hey look!” Pinkie Pie shouted, pointing down at a tiny mass of light on the ground below. “I think that’s Ponyville down there! Hi Mr and Mrs Cake, hi Gummy!”

Twilight felt a sudden tightness in her chest at the mention of Ponyville. They had already been gone more than two weeks. With everything that had happened, it was hard to believe that they were so close to home. The sooner they got back, the better.

Waiting until Tharos’ flight got a bit smoother, she tentatively stood up and heaved herself up the dragon’s back until she was perched just at the base of his jaw.

“Um, Tharos, how much longer until we reach… wherever it is we’re going?” she shouted up at his ears.

He looked back and gave a reassuring smile. “Not long now, “he replied. “We just need to wait until the sun goes down, and then I can do it!”

Twilight peered up at the sun, where it was almost below the horizon. “Do what?”

But before he could answer, his eye was drawn back to the horizon, as the last rays of golden sunlight dimmed, and the sky went dark.

With a satisfied grin, he looked back to Twilight. “You might want to sit back down.”

The unicorn quickly obeyed, letting herself slide back towards Tharos’ shoulderblades, where she grabbed tightly onto a spine and watched anxiously for whatever the dragon was about to do.

Finally satisfied that the sun was completely and truly down, Tharos cleared his voice and shouted out in a loud, echoing, rumbling voice, words of some strange, ancient power:

“Naal faal krein ahrk vulonkrein, bex faal miraad!”

Suddenly, there was another blinding flash of light, joined by a deafening roaring, like that of savage winds that tear apart the sails of ships at sea, sending their crew hurtling into the dark waters.

When Twilight’s eyesight finally returned, her breath was taken away.

Where there had once been a view of the plains and forests of Equestria before them, with the great peak of Canterlot to their right and the Appleloosan mountains in the far distance, there now stretched before them a strange, alien landscape.
Great rolling hills of green and yellow stretched far below them for miles around, forming into bizarre brown mountains in the farthest distance, which seemed to curve and droop over at the tops, almost like cyclopean thorns growing from the earth. Up above them, the once dark sky was now a vivid deep blue, like a sapphire. But in place of the moon, there hung a huge purple sphere, like a ball of solid gas, almost filling up the sky entirely with its vastness.

“Up ahead!”

Wordlessly, everypony turned to look forwards, between Tharos’ horns. About a mile ahead of them there loomed a small patch of short, white mountains. In the middle of all these, there rose up two enormous grey columns of stone, dotted with massive chunks of green stone. One rose to a sheer point, with nothing but a tiny ledge on one side. The other was flat, opening up at the top like the crater of a volcano. Between the peaks stretched a length of smooth stone, forming a natural bridge between the pillars.

“Behold, the Pillars of Prasinus! The final resting place of the Tears of Gaia!”

9. The Sunderance of the Seven

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Tharos’ mighty wings threw up clouds of dust as he began his descent into the massive crater at the top of the first pillar. On his back, the seven ponies held tight onto whatever they could as they were buffeted about by the high winds.

As she peeked one last time over the rim of the crater, Twilight noted something strange about this breeze. First of all, it was remarkably warm and humid for such a height, not cold and biting like the high mountain winds back in Equestria. But what was even more remarkable was how, by some bizarre mechanism of nature in this strange world, the wind came not from the sides but constantly from the sky above them.

“Tharos,” Twilight called. “Where exactly are we?”

The dragon shrugged. “As I said, we are at the Pillars of Prasinus. You may want to hold on, this may be a bumpy landing.”

“Yes, but where is that? I mean, it’s pretty obvious we’re not in-WOOAAH!” But before she could continue, she staggered backwards as Tharos suddenly touched down inside the crater.

He glanced up at her. “You mean this world? Honestly, little pony, I can’t say… I’ve never been here before. I’m just doing what the Princesses told me to do.”

“And what’s that?” Twilight asked.

“They said that as soon as someone broke the spell they put upon me, I would take them for a flight south. And when the sun sets, I’d speak those words I used earlier, which would take me to a different place… I guess that must be where we are now, this ‘different place’.”

Twilight gazed upwards into the sky. From the deep, vivid blue to the strange, purple sphere floating high in space above them, there was no mistaking it. Perhaps it was some strange new world, or some kind of alternate dimension, but wherever they were, they were certainly not in Equestria anymore.

The ponies disembarked from Tharos’ back, some more steadily than others. Applejack in particular was especially eager to get her hooves back on solid ground.

“Mah stars, I have never been so happy to see plain ol’ ground in all my life!” Applejack wobbled and stumbled her way down the dragon’s arm, finally collapsing as she planted her first hoof on the crater floor.

Rainbow Dash nonchalantly glanced around. “Ah c’mon, it wasn’t that bad!”

The cowpony frowned at her. “Hey, I got no qualms with heights in general. The hot-air balloon, yer house, Cloudsdale, those are fine. But you know I’m no good with flyin’ that fast! Remember the Marmalade Incident?!”

“Ooh, yeah…” Rainbow muttered, her ears suddenly drooping as the memory came back to her. “Though I kinda wish I didn’t to be honest.”

Rarity daintily jumped from the back of Tharos’ hand and onto the ground, adding, “Yes, I think that’s an experience we’d all like to forget.”

Starswirl listened to the conversation as he clambered down to join them, his curiosity piqued. “What are they talking about? What happened?”

“Let’s just say,” Twilight replied, “that it involved a flight spell, a pumpkin, and the fiercest flamingo you’ve ever seen.”

“And marmalade,” added Pinkie Pie with a shudder. “So... much... marmalade.”

The old unicorn paused a moment as he let that explanation sink in. After almost a full ten seconds of silence, he looked to Tharos for some kind of enlightenment. The dragon only shrugged in response. Finally, the only response Starswirl considered appropriate was a raised eyebrow and an uncertain “…Indeed.”

“L-like Rarity said, kinda something we don’t like to talk about,” Rainbow Dash hastily continued. “Anyways, it was a weird experience, flying that fast but not actually doing the flying myself. How’d you find it Fluttershy?”

No answer.

“Fluttershy?”

“Hey, where is Fluttershy?”

Tharos rolled his massive eyes and raised his tail off the ground, just high enough for everypony to see the practically petrified pegasus who was hanging off of it, eyes wide as dinnerplates and a vicelike grip on the dragon’s tail.

A bit of prising and some soothing words later, Fluttershy had finally calmed down enough to muster the strength to speak. And what did she have to say?

“…Never. Again.”

Twilight suppressed a chuckle as she gave Fluttershy an encouraging hug. “It’s alright Fluttershy. It’s almost over now. Tharos, where do we go from here?”

Tharos pointed to a small archway in the side of the crater. Through it was the stone causeway that led to the Second Pillar.

“Through that hole and across the bridge. The resting place of the Tears is inside the Second Pillar. I’ll wait here for your return, little ponies.”

“C’mon then girls, let’s go!” Pinkie Pie led the way eagerly though the arch, only to skid to a stop as she came to the narrow stone bridge. Peering over the edge, she immediately regretted it when she saw just how high up she was. She glanced back with a nervous grin.

“You can do it, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash called, “just don’t look down!”

Deftly, Pinkie made her way out onto the causeway, her eyes rooted firmly on the mountaintop that stood over on the other side. Behind her, she could hear the gentle clacking sound of her friends’ hooves on the stone. For a brief moment, the usual spring in her step was gone, all of her focus on keeping her hoofsteps steady, keeping herself moving, and above all else, not looking down… don’t look down… don’t look d-

She caught her hoof on a protruding piece of rock. She stumbled and almost tripped, only catching herself as she teetered on the very edge of the bridge.

But worst of all, she was looking down.

It was as if time stood still for a few seconds. Neither Pinkie, nor anypony else dared to move a muscle.

Then, with a shriek that would awaken the dead, Pinkie leapt nearly a metre into the air, before sprinting over the stone bridge as fast as her little hooves could carry her, until she slammed into the mountain on the other side. Desperately clinging to the stone wall for dear life, her chest rose and fell as if she had just run a marathon. In the silence that followed, Fluttershy was the first to speak:

“Well, at least we know the bridge is stable now.”

A few minutes later, the seven ponies stood, with great relief, on the ledge at the top of the Second Pillar. Before them, dug into the mountainside, was the entrance to the Pillar.

Twilight gulped as she looked up at the doorway. The adrenaline rush from crossing that stone causeway had not quite worn off yet, and was rising still in anticipation and excitement. A cold sweat broke out on her brow, and her breath seemed to speed up.

“Twilight? Is all well?” Starswirl asked from beside her.

“Huh?” She failed to answer a moment. “Oh, sorry… yeah, I’m fine, it’s just… I can’t believe we’re here. All this travel, everything we’ve been through, and we finally made it!” Anxiously she tapped her forehooves on the ground as if in some strange dance, grinning like a madpony. “Ooh, I’m just so excited!”

Starswirl smiled, giving Twilight a gentle nudge towards the entrance. “Well, no time like the present, my dear Twilight. In you go.”

She needed no second bidding. Twilight reared up triumphantly before trotting through the entrance to the cave, Starswirl and the others right behind her.

Now, when they went inside the mountain, once can assume the seven ponies assumed that they were well prepared for whatever waited for them inside. They could have been prepared for a tunnel lined with all manner of booby-traps, just waiting for somepony to step on the right stone. They may have been prepared for some monstrous guardian, be it a dragon or something older and fouler, dredged up from the deep places of the world.

However, not even Pinkie Pie’s most random and bizarre tangent could have prepared them for that which they came to a skidding halt into.

It was a large, square room with a high ceiling and a floor of black and white tiles, arranged in a checkerboard pattern. It seemed almost like the kind of room one would find as the great hall in a rather small castle. Long, green curtains covered the walls, and were illuminated by four tall brass lanterns which stood in each corner of the room. At the very far end of the room was a small wooden table, with a tall box, carved from solid ebony, resting atop it with its lid open. And music seemed to be playing from some unseen gramophone, a gentle and quiet classical piece, more at home at a high-class dinner party than the inside of a cave.

But while Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy were given a moment to be awestruck by this bizarre sight, the three unicorns of the group were not so lucky.

It was as if the pull of the world’s gravity suddenly doubled for Rarity, Starswirl and Twilight. Every step felt cumbersome and heavy, only growing worse and worse as they neared the table.

“Wha…what’s happening?!” Rarity wheezed, collapsing to the floor. “It feels like I’m trying to walk through molasses!”

Applejack looked down at the unicorn in confusion. “What’re ya talkin’ about?”

Twilight forced herself forwards another laborious step. “Can’t you feel it? It’s like there’s a hundred-pound weight on my back!”

“Uh, no, not really… Y'all girls feel anything?”

The pair of pegasi and Pinkie all shook their heads.

“Oof… It must be the Tears,” grunted Starswirl, only just managing to stay upright. “So much magical power contained in one place… It’s aura must be incredible!”

“Only… Only one way to find out!” Twilight replied. Channelling her horn, she fired up a spell she had once learned on a whim, never expecting it to be useful. Being able to read the magical auras of creatures and artefacts was a peculiar, if not entirely practical, spell. But she summoned the formula of the spell to her mind and cast it forth, honestly unsure what to expect

In an instant, the entire room was bathed in an endless spectrum of colours, every single creature and object glowing with a different coloured aura. Everypony around her seemed to shimmer and glow around the edges, sometimes a bright turquoise, then dipping down to a deep green, and brightening up again into a shining sunburst yellow before returning to turquoise. Twilight recognised these as the colours of apprehension, fear and excitement respectively. Understandable, considering what was going on at the time. But from the chest itself, there seemed to emanate thousands and thousands of strings of light, in all shades of green, orange, to the brightest yellow, the strongest crimson red to the deepest of deep blues. The rainbow of light seemed to get brighter and brighter as it neared the box itself, which was itself bathed in a brilliant, almost blinding white light.

“Dear sweet Celestia… if you ponies could see what I can see,” Twilight whispered.

Pinkie reached down to hoist the unicorn mare up. “C’mon Twilight! The Tears are right there in that box, and you get to be the lucky unicorn to open it up!”

Twilight shook her head. “I…I don’t think I can… I can barely stand!”

“Indeed,” Starswirl added, his legs failing him. “Perhaps it is its contained magical power, or the sheer majesty of what it entails, or even some sort of final trap, but I doubt any among us who are unicorns will be able to even touch it…”

The other four looked at their unicorn friends, and then to eachother. None among them seemed particularly willing to go near something of such power.

“Okie Dokie Lokie, I’ll go get it then!”

Except for Pinkie, of course. The pink mare bounced to the table, before casting a slightly nervous glance back at the others. They urged her to continue with encouraging smiles and waving hooves. Taking a deep breath, Pinkie reared up and peered into the box. Inside was lined with black velvet, and in a small depression in the centre, was a single solitary jewel.
It was a tiny little emerald, about the same size as a walnut. Cut perfectly symmetrically, dozens of facets glimmering in the low light, it was slightly pointed at one end, giving it the vague appearance of a teardrop.

Compared to other jewels she had seen before, especially the ones of the size and quality that Rarity would work with, it appeared to be nothing particularly special. Relatively small, simply carved and cut. And yet, Pinkie found that she could gaze upon the jewel with nothing short of absolute wonderment. It seemed to emanate an overpowering feeling of power, beauty and majesty. It also gave her a slight feeling of sadness. Why? Why did such a beautiful jewel make her feel so sad?
She turned around, her bouncy joy replaced by solemnity, to face her friends. Twilight had managed to stand back up and was leaning on Starswirl, who was only barely keeping on his hooves himself. Fluttershy was holding Rarity up by her withers. Everypony’s apprehensive and anxious faces gazed back at her, turning to worry as they saw a single tear roll down the pink pony’s cheek.

“It’s… it’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.” She said in a meek, delicate voice.

Relieved and triumphant smiles lit up their faces. Twilight pulled Starswirl into a delighted hug, before another powerful pulse of pressure seemed to emanate from the box, nearly forcing her to the ground again. “Pinkie, can you shut the box or something?”

She nodded, and flipped the lid back onto the carved wooden box. In an instant, the pressure vanished, and Rarity, Starswirl and Twilight found that they could stand up straight again.

“…Well, I guess that confirms my suspicions.” The old stallion huffed as he stretched for a moment.

“Yeah, looks like we’ll have to keep it in the box for now, at least until we figure out some way to counter its aura,” Twilight suggested.

Applejack frowned. “Wait a minute! So after all this time, after everythin’ we’ve been through, we’re not allowed to see the Tears for ourselves?”

“Not without making us magic users feel like a freight-train is running over us!” Rarity replied.

Fluttershy raised a hoof. “Um, well it only seemed to affect you three when you came in the same room as it… So maybe if you, y’know, go outside, we can look at it ourselves?”

Starswirl clapped her on the back, nearly sending her faceplanting into the ground. “Brilliant idea. To be honest, I’ve had quite enough of mountain caves, no matter how well decorated they may be.”

“Yeah, I was about to say something,” said Rainbow Dash. “It is kinda weird that there would just be these gaslights and curtains and stuff in a cave way up in the mountains!”

“Not to mention the music. Lovely as it may be,” added Rarity, “where could it be coming from? It’s baffling!”
Starswirl started for the cave entrance. “Well, there’s something for us unicorns to discuss while you four have a look at our prize.”

Twilight followed closely behind, and Rarity followed up the rear. “Don’t take too long,” the white unicorn called.

Applejack waved to Rarity as the three unicorns exited the cave, before turning to the box on the table. “Alrighty then, let’s have a gander at this thing!”

The four ponies nodded, and huddled around the box. Reaching with a timid forehoof, Fluttershy undid the brass clasp on the box, and flipped open the lid.

Applejack’s eyes grew wide with awe as she saw what lay inside. “Woah…” was all she could muster herself to say.

“It’s… awesome.” Rainbow gazed at the jewel with a glazed look of adoration that she usually would save for a Wonderbolts airshow. “Man, if Spike was here, he’d go nuts!”

“So… pretty…” Fluttershy whispered. “And yet… so sad.”

Rainbow Dash silently agreed. She would never admit it out loud, but she was suddenly struck with a vague sense of despair and despondence as she looked at it.

“We did it girls… we found the Tears… of Gaia…” Pinkie trailed off, stretching out her hoof towards the tiny emerald.

“Close it.”

“Huh?”

“Close the box,” Applejack repeated. “C’mon, let’s go meet up with the others.”

Pinkie nodded, not really listening. She just reached further into the box, almost touching it…

“Shut it!”

Applejack’s shout brought her back to reality, and she drew her foreleg back in an instant and slammed the lid shut. As soon as the jewel was out of sight, everypony present felt the strange feeling of sadness dissipate and vanish.

“Huh… that was weird,” muttered Rainbow. “Any of you guys feel kinda… sad when you looked at it?”

“Oh good, I was kinda worried it was just me,” Pinkie replied.

Fluttershy nodded. “I felt it too… I guess Twilight wasn’t joking when she talked about the Tears having great power.”

Pinkie Pie breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s magic for ya. C’mon, let’s not keep the others waiting.”

With that, she picked up the box in her teeth and led the way out to where the unicorns were seated outside. Twilight got to her hooves when she saw Pinkie with the box.

“Here, hold on a second,” Twilight said, levitating the box out of Pinkie’s jaws and began unclasping her saddlebag. “This should be a bit easier. You okay with carrying it?”

“Sure, as long as you’re okay too.”

The unicorn nodded. “Yeah, it’s probably a good idea. It’s not giving off that strange pressure anymore, but I’m still not sure how safe it would be if a unicorn carried it.”

She gently eased the box into Pinkie’s bag, careful to keep it as tight a fit as possible. “Heh, it’s kinda strange… I still can’t quite get it in my head that we’ve found it.”

Rarity impatiently tapped her hoof on the ground. “Well the sooner we get the Tears safely back to Canterlot, the sooner we can relax and let it sink in.”

“Yeah. C’mon everypony, let’s go home,” Twilight said with a smile, leading the way across the stone causeway.

But no sooner had she taken the first step onto the bridge, when everypony collapsed to the ground as the sky above erupted with a sudden blast of that same muggy, warm wind, and a sound that nearly shattered the eardrums of all present.

It started as some sort of low rumbling sound, like thunderclouds in the far distance. Then, it built in a crescendo to a roaring, throbbing sound straight out of the pits of Tartarus. It was like someone had combined the worst elements of the blare of a trumpet, the creaking of a gigantic wooden door, the roar of some cyclopean monster, and the throb of a subwoofer on full blast, all in a single sound. It rattled the bones of everypony as it roared and blared, deep, impossibly loud, and reverberating across the entire alien landscape.

“What in Equestria was that?!!” shrieked Rarity from behind, having to scream at the top of her lungs to be heard above the cacophonous roar from above.

Applejack pulled her hat tight around her ears. “Woah Nelly, and here I thought timberwolves could roar loud!”

“Whatever that is, it sounds big. Really, reeaallly big…” Pinkie murmured. “Like, bigger than an ursa major big!”

Suddenly, Fluttershy’s shriek drew all eyes upon her. She had collapsed to the ground, eyes wide with horror, pupils no larger than a pinprick. With one quivering hoof, she pointed to the sky. What she was pointing at made everypony’s collective blood run cold as ice.

High above them, the massive purple moon was changing. Across its equator, a thin dark line was forming. It stretched from one side of the massive planet to the other, and then began to expand. The crack seemed to slowly grow wider and wider, finally revealing a strange pale white beneath. The mountains still seemed to rumble and shake, only getting stronger and stronger as time passed. This sea of pale white seemed to grow larger and larger, glistening and shining in the sky, until it formed a vague ovoid shape across the surface of the planet.

Twilight watched in frozen horror as a new shape began to take form in the whiteness. From the top of the ovoid patch, an enormous black blot seemed to be descending into the sea of white. It ponderously made its way into the centre of the white ovoid, where it came to a rest. For a moment, the rumbling stopped, and all was still.

And then the planet blinked.

Twilight felt her heart leap up into her throat. The massive black pupil contracted, and turned down towards the Pillars below.

“EVERYPONY RUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNN!”

Paying little heed to the ground shaking below them, and trying their best to not look up at the gargantuan, planet-sized eyeball that gazed down at them from the sky, the seven ponies sprinted across the stone bridge, faster than they had ever sprinted before.

There was that sound again, the monstrous, cyclopean rumble, swelling into an earsplitting roar that made their stomachs churn and their heads throb. The causeway shook and almost seemed to ripple, threatening to crumble at any second. Finally, they made it across the causeway to the First Pillar, where Tharos was pacing anxiously back and forth. Twilight screamed his name and he turned, his scaly face lighting up with relief as he recognised them.

“There you are, little ponies! I was worried you would not make it back! Come, we must hurry!” he roared, lowering his tail so that they could clamber onto his back.

Twilight made a mad scramble up his tail and onto his neck, where she clung to his neck muscles for dear life. “THAROS, WHAT THE BUCK IS THAT THING?!!!”

The dragon looked up at the sky in terror. “I have no idea! But let us leave before we have to find out!”

Once the other six ponies had clambered up onto Tharos’ back, he instantly took to the air, wings beating with such ferocity that anyone below him would have been blown right out of the crater and to the ground far below.

“Hold on, little ponies!” he shouted, taking to the sky with breakneck speed, desperate to get as far away from the Pillars of Prasinus as possible, and out of sight of the gargantuan eye that glared down at them, and whatever it may belong to.

“Get us back to Equestria, Tharos! NOW!” screamed Applejack as she looked up at the sky in terror. The Eye was no longer the only thing in the sky, as strange ripples seemed to be forming in the air above.

Tharos put on an extra burst of speed. “We aren’t going fast enough yet. Just a few more seconds!”

The ripples seemed to give way and open, revealing enormous openings to nothing but empty blackness. But through the black voids, great spined tendrils, each the width of a mountain, began inching their way through, reaching towards the earth as the giant eyeball watched on, and the thing rumbled and roared again.

“Now Tharos! NOW!” Twilight screamed, tears streaming from her eyes from pure terror and desperation. She slammed her eyes shut and held tight to Tharos, wishing for some kind of miracle to save them.

The dragon clenched his eyes shut, praying silently that he would be able to do it. He then opened his mouth wide and began speaking the hallowed words again:

“Naal faal krein ahrk vulonkrein, bex faal miraad!”

The sky lit up in a brilliant white flash again, and the roaring stopped. Twilight opened her eyes.

Gone were the curved brown mountains and the yellow and green landscape. Gone were the deep blue sky, and the monstrous planet-sized eyeball, and the tendrils reaching out from the darkness. Instead, her eyes beheld the Macintosh Hills far below them, and the arid plains and swamplands of Southern Equestria. Up above them was the normal sky, darkened by the night, with Luna’s majestic white moon shining down upon them.

Twilight screamed again. But this time, it was a triumphant scream of victory.

“We did it! WE DID IT!! Oh Tharos, you magnificent dragon, we did it!!” she leaned down and actually kissed the dragon’s scaly hide.

Tharos looked back and smiled. “No thanks are necessary, little pony.”

Soon Twilight was joined in her joy by everypony else. Starswirl threw his pointed hat high into the sky with a whoop (before swiftly catching it again in a magical grasp and putting it back on his head). Rainbow Dash took to the skies herself, performing loops as she laughed. Applejack, and Rarity cheered and laughed as well, half with joy, half with relief. Pinkie Pie, however, was silent, as she held Fluttershy in a gentle, caring embrace. Neither the earth pony or the pegasus said a word, both of them just too overcome with relief to speak.

“Where to, little ponies?” asked Tharos, as he began his descent.

Twilight broke out in a huge smile as it hit her. They had done it! They were really going home!! “To Canterlot, Tharos! Let’s
go home!”

The dragon laughed and did a quick about-turn, roaring with victory as he sent forth a huge plume of crimson fire to light up the sky.

After about an hour's flight, the swamps and empty plains below soon became dotted with the dim yellow glow of tiny villages and settlements. Another hour, and the ponies could just about see the dim shape of Canterlot Mountain in the distance.

“Hey Tharos,” Twilight asked, “What do you think that was? That big… thing back in the sky?”

“I do not know, little pony. Honestly, I do not want to know.” Tharos shuddered.

Twilight rested her chin on a scale. “I’ve heard stories about things ponies have seen in far off lands… The Ursa Major, Great Dragons, Wyverns, even other, larger things… Monstrous creatures that live under mountains with mouths that could swallow entire cities in one gulp… But that…that thing! Nopony will ever believe it-“

She was cut off as Tharos suddenly veered to the left, nearly throwing his passengers and their precious cargo into the air. A bolt of bright yellow energy shot up past the dragon, just short of his left shoulder, veering into the air where it exploded high above them.

“Ooh, fireworks!” Pinkie exclaimed, finding her voice again at last.

Tharos reared back a moment, coming to a halt in the sky as another, much larger blast of magical energy whizzed across him, nearly slamming into his cheek.

Rainbow peered out into the darkness, and could just make out tiny specks, flying about in the distance. “I don’t think those are fireworks! Everypony take cover!”

The ponies all ducked down low as a storm of magical missiles and eldritch blasts suddenly shrieked overhead, clipping spines every now and then, but mostly skimming above their heads.

“Twilight! I can see them from here!” Starswirl bellowed. “Some strange flying creatures. It looks to be pegasi, or maybe griffons, I’m not sure!”

She peeked her head up to get a look at their assailants. As they drew closer, she could make out the faint shapes of pegasi and griffons. But something seemed of about them. Many of them had much longer and bulkier tails that suggested more reptilian bodies, and some had leathery or skeletal wings, and several of the creatures even had spines. Their bright yellow eyes confirmed her fears.

“It’s those Blight guys again! How did they find us?!”

Starswirl replied, “They must have been following us somehow! We cannot let them get close to the Tears, or all is lost!”
The old unicorn stood up and sent a shimmering, crackling beam of energy blasting through the air at the creatures that attacked them on all sides. He fired at them again and again, missing several, but sometimes striking the attackers in the side or the head, sending them plummeting downwards.

Twilight stood up as well, firing her own magenta bolts into the night sky. “Everypony, get to the middle and hide among Tharos’ spines. Rarity, you stand at the back and try to drive off any of them that try to get close. Starswirl, you take the left side, I’ll take the right.”

“But what about the front?” Rarity replied as she hurried into position. As if in reply, a trio of the monsters zoomed head on at Tharos’ face, their own horns and antlers glowing with magical energy. The dragon simply opened his massive mouth wide and sent forth a crimson fireball, which slammed into the three attackers at full force, sending them, or rather, their immolated bodies, down into the darkness below.

Rarity watched them fall with horrified fascination. “Fair enough!”

So the three unicorns stood high, firing blasts and magical beams into the night, shooting at anything that flew too close. They put up a strong fight, but the yellow-eyed creatures just kept coming in waves.

“It’s no good! I cannot stop!” Tharos shouted, flinching as a shimmering green bolt slammed into his neck. “Nnggh! We must go past the mountain, try to outfly them!”

“Can you manage that?” Twilight cried, knocking another monster out of the sky as it veered too close.

Tharos shot another fireball at his attackers, clearing his path ahead. “I should do! Just hold on and keep them away from me!”

He put on an extra burst of speed and everypony lurched backwards a few steps before steadying themselves. Rarity quickly conjured up a glimmering blue shield, wide enough to protect Tharos’ body, throwing it out to bash any of the creatures who got any ideas of getting too close. Magical missiles shattered against the shield or bounced harmlessly off, but still more blasts of yellow energy flew over the shield and clear over Tharos’ head. Anypony who was looking up at the sky from down below would be both awestruck and confused as to why there seemed to be some sort of cross between a fireworks display and a dogfight going on in the air above them.

Soon, the fight lulled down to a halt, as the shadowy, yellow-eyed things fell back to simply tailing behind them, occasionally firing a warning shot at the dragon and its passengers. Rarity maintained her blue forcefield, aided by Twilight, who poured her own magic into the shield as well, tinting it a bright violent colour. Every time Tharos tried to speed up or fly higher in an escape, a hail of blasts would drive him back down, until he was forced to begin his descent.

This was all that Maugoth and his cronies down below needed.

“FIRE!”

AS Maugoth shrieked the command, about a dozen of his horned cohorts released the welling energy that they had coalesced in their horns, combining their magical energy into an enormous, black fireball. This flaming plume was sent roaring into the air, straight at Tharos. The poor dragon never saw it coming.

Time seemed to slow down as seven ponies were sent careening into the dark sky as Tharos was thrown back by the blast, which he took full in the chest. Twilight forced her eyes to open as she was flung into the air, and she saw the terror-stricken faces of her friends as they were flung into the air around her.

Slowly, slowly, she stopped rising up in the sky, until for a single frozen moment in time, she was motionless. Then, she began to fall.

Her ears were filled with a ringing sound, mingling with the muffled sounds of screaming from her friends. She was never going to see them again. This was it. This was-

Teleport.

The single word shone out in her mind, like a strong word of command, blotting out all other thought. Turning full circle in the air, Twilight hastily glanced around at her seven friends as they fell around her. She made a mental note of where exactly each of them were in relation to her, concentrating on their positions. She then looked to the ground below her, fast approaching, and focused on a single spot far down below. A small rocky outcrop in the middle of a forest.
She channelled all her energy into her horn, faster than she had ever done before, letting it fill her, sending it out to surround her friends, embracing each one in a magical grip. Finally, the energy in her horn reached its full, and she cast.

Then, she felt three wrenching feelings. Cracking her eye open for a split second, she saw the shadowy creatures flying among them, ripping Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack, screaming, from her magical grip, which wrapped around and grabbed onto something else…

Before she could do anything or say anything, her spell manifested, and there was a flash of magenta light. Then, everything turned to blackness.

When Twilight opened her eyes, everything was a blurry, greenish-black haze, rippling and phasing before her. She blinked a few times, and the scene before her came into focus.

She lay on her front, atop a small rocky copse, not in the middle of the pine forest she had focused upon, but somewhere in the middle of a barren plain, at the foot of a great mountain range. Though her eyes were still bleary, and stars exploded in her vision from the battle earlier, she could make out the shapes of other ponies, all splayed out on the rocks as well. To her relief, she saw them slowly getting back up, with much groaning and moaning.

“Every…Everypony okay…?” she said hoarsely. She received a general murmur in response.

“That… was too close,” she heard Rarity mutter.

Soon, everypony had recovered from the interrupted teleportation spell, and were all standing up on wobbling legs.

“Hey, where’s Rainbow, Fluttershy and Applejack?” asked Rarity, as she brushed her unkempt mane from her face.

Twilight felt as if an icy claw had grabbed her gut. She looked around desperately and her heart sank. Only four.

“What happened to them? Where’d they go?!” Pinkie staggered about on the copse, looking around for any sign of the missing ponies. She saw dusty dry badlands for miles all around her, but there was no sign of the three.

Behind her, she heard a low whimpering, and the gentle thud of somepony collapsing to the ground. She turned around and saw Twilight, curled up and crying on the rocks.

“It’s my fault…” she wept. “It’s all my fault!”

“Oh darling, c’mere,” Rarity hurried to her side. “It’s alright, it’s not your fault…”

“Yes it is! I had them, Rarity! I was about to teleport us away, and… and I l-lost them!” Twilight’s words dissolved into more weeping. “Those th-things, they… they grabbed them and pulled them out of my grip…”

“Sshh, it’s okay…” Rarity wrapped her arms around the weeping unicorn in a gentle, soothing embrace, if not just to calm Twilights tears, then to calm her own. For as the word of her friends’ capture sunk its way into her mind, she felt a stream of tears dripping down her cheeks.

Both ponies looked up through reddened eyes as they heard Starswirl approach, his face a picture of uncertainty. “…I’m uh, sorry about the…the others,” Was all he could think to say. Twilight forced a smile as she looked up at his face, before yanking him down by the hem of his cloak, now tattered and stained, and pulled him into her embrace. The old stallion looked down at the two weeping mares clinging to him, before hesitantly putting a foreleg around either and joining them in their comforting group-hug

The three sat silently together, forelegs around eachother, weeping silently as everything that had happened began to sink in.

“Hey…where did Pinkie Pie g-go to?” asked Rarity, sniffling. Starswirl released his grip and pointed.

“She’s over there, with Tharos.”

“Tharos?” Twilight muttered. “He made it t-too?”

Of course, her mind said. That must have been what her magic grabbed onto when the others were pulled out… the others… she felt another fat tear roll down her cheek.

Finally, Twilight and Rarity each took a deep breath and steadied themselves, releasing their grips on eachother and Starswirl, and got up. “I suppose we’d better go see if she’s alright.”

But when the three approached her, they found that she seemed to be anything but alright. She was slumped down on the ground, sitting beside Tharos, who lay on his front before her. Her hair hung lank and straight around her shoulders, and tears dripped from her eyes.

“…Pinkie Pie?” Twilight nervously asked. The loss of her hair’s usual puff was an ominous sign. “Hey, Pinkie?”

The pink pony sniffed. “He’s been asking for you.”

“Who?”

“Tharos.” She pointed to the dragon’s head. Tharos lay with his eyes half-closed, mouth hanging open.

Twilight nervously patted Pinkie on the back reassuringly, before going over to Tharos. She could feel his warm, dry breath, coming out in thin, ragged puffs from his open mouth. “Erm…Th-Tharos? Are you okay?”

The dragon opened his massive yellow eyes and peered at her. His lips curled up into a weak smile. “There you are, little pony… No, no I am not okay… That blast of magic got me good.”

He rolled over slightly to display his chest, and the four ponies grimaced at the sight. His entire front was scorched and blackened, with whole patches of scales missing. Right over his chest, there was a massive gaping wound with edges seared black, giving way to dark red muscles and tendons within. The wound was so deep that even his ribs were visible, cracked and broken, with a burnt and black mess where his heart and left lung should have been.

Rarity gaped at the horrific wound, then back to Tharos’ face. “It’s alright Tharos, it’s alright… We’ll get you fixed up, in no time… You… your going to b-be…”

“Don’t lie to me little pony,” Tharos replied with a weak chuckle. “You are not very good at it.” He turned back to Twilight. “Dear little pony… how is the other one? The one who freed me?”

Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head. “We don’t know… I think those things that attacked us… have her. And two others…”

Tharos’ smile faded. “That’s too bad… I was hoping I could thank her one last time. I liked her”

He half-closed his eyes again, his breathing ragged and weak. Twilight and Rarity got up and placed their hooves on his massive head, silently resting their heads against his. Starswirl and Pinkie watched the whole scene with dry eyes.

“To think I would live to see this day,” the old unicorn said, taking his hat off. “Where ponies and dragons would be able to make peace with one-another.”

Pinkie gave a half-hearted smile. “Equestria’s a funny place these days, Mr. Starswirl. You can get up one day with something easy and nice planned, and by the end of the day you’ve been on an epic adventure and seen all kinds of cool stuff. And sometimes, yes, a pony can make friends with a dragon.”

Without another word, Pinkie joined her two friends and embraced the dying dragon.

“At…at least we still got the Tears with us.” Pinkie muttered, nudging her saddlebag with her hind leg.

Tharos nodded. “Well earned, I must say… I never had much chance to be with other creatures when I was guarding the Tears, you know… No chance to make friends. It is nice to know what friendship is.”

The ponies said nothing, only hugging the dragon tighter. He smiled again. “Tell the little pony Fluttershy, that I am eternally grateful for what she did… For what you all did.”

Pinkie nodded, mumbling, “We’ll tell her.”

“Thank you, little pony.”

“It’s Pinkie,” she replied. “Pinkie Pie. And my friends are Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Starswirl-” she choked a moment before continuing. “… and the others who aren’t here are Rainbow Dash, Applejack and F-fluttershy...” She buried her face in his scales again as a fresh wave of tears poured forth.

“I…I wonder if we’ll ever see them again.” Twilight mused aloud.

If Tharos had had the strength, he would have held the ponies close to him as well. “You may yet, Twilight Sparkle. You may.”

Finally, he could keep his eyes closed no longer as he felt the Vita leaving his body. A single solitary tear ran down his cheek, warm and silvery. “Thank you, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Starswirl…And thank your other friends when you find them…Hmm, those are such nice names.”

Just as the first rays of the early-morning sun peeked over the horizon, Tharos’ body went still, and he breathed his last.

End of Book Two

Author's Notes:

Hoo boy...I confess, that last part was kinda tough for me to write. Kinda makes me wish it wasn't so easy to get me all emotional.

Anyways... wow. We made it folks. First book of the story over and done with. I gotta say, I didn't expect to evenhave the willpower to get this far. You guys all helped, keeping me going. I couldn't disappoint you or can the story, so thank you, one and all.

Now, I'm afraid I will be taking a short break from the story at this point. Seems appropriate enough... But yeah, I'll be taking a break from writing new chapters, so that I can concentrate on getting Book Two all sorted out and laid out before writing anything. Also, since this story has kinda been consuming me since I started writing it, it would be nice to get a break from that!

So, thanks again to all my readers, and I will see you guys again in Book Two.

10. Of Dreams and Feathers

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Author's note: I know these usually go after the story, and there are some after this, but you kinda need to read this one before you read the story. I have made a few little changes to the previous chapter, namely putting the Tears into Pinkie's bag instead of Applejack's, and switching Applejack and Rarity's places (Applejack has been captured along with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, while Rarity has escaped with the others). I hope that clears things up, and you can go back and reread the previous chater again for full clarity on the changes. With that said, let's get started and see how things are going with our seven little ponies!

Book 2
Allies and Enemies

Dragons truly were some of the most mysterious of Equestria’s creatures. Little was known of their behavioural patterns, besides that they were extremely territorial, greedy and vicious when provoked. Even less was known of their physiology. How they created the fire in their bellies, how they aged, why some seemed intelligent while many were feral and bestial, all these questions had gnawed away at the mind of many an Equestrian biologist. But most mysterious was the question of what happens to a dragon’s body, after they die?

Fresh bodies of recently-dead dragons had never been found, for some strange reason. On the rare occasions when a dead dragon was found in the wild, it was already a skeleton. And yet, analysis would sometimes indicate that the dragon had been alive a matter of days beforehand.

And a matter of hours earlier, before Twilight Sparkle, Starswirl, Rarity and Pinkie Pie’s astonished eyes, this question was answered. As the warmth left Tharos’ body, and his dragonfire was extinguished for the last time, he began to change. His armoured scales lost their sheen and became almost like withered flower petals. Then, as if burnt away by some invisible fire, his scales and flesh began flaking away into grey specks and motes of dust, and were carried away on the wind in a large white cloud of dust and ash. It was only minutes until all flesh and tissue were gone, leaving only the bleached white bones as any evidence that Tharos the dragon ever existed at all.

That night, dinner was had in silence by the four ponies, in the shadow of the massive skeleton. Each pony kept to themselves and their own thoughts, both on the events of the day and what might lie ahead. It was a sombre affair. Even Pinkie Pie, that endless walking party herself, was uncharacteristically quiet and restrained.

“So...” Rarity was the one to finally break the silence. “Where do we go from here?”

Twilight looked up from her meagre meal of trail mix and dried fruit, and sighed. “I’ll be honest, I have no idea.”

“Now there’s something I never thought I’d hear Twilight say,” Pinkie murmured to Starswirl.

“Yes, I know, but it’s the truth,” Twilight replied. “I mean, let’s take stock of where we are in all this for a minute. Firstly, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are missing, presumed captured by those Blight things.”

“If they’re still alive, that is,” Starswirl added under his breath, too quiet for anypony else to hear.

“The four of us, meanwhile, are marooned out here in the middle of…Celestia knows where, with no indicators of where anything is, or even if we’re still in Equestria,” Twilight continued.

“And we can’t travel as fast as we had been, now that Tharos is…gone,” Pinkie finished, choking ever-so-slightly on the last word. Her hair had returned to its bouncy curls, but her chirpy attitude had not. “ we do have got a bit of good news, though.”
“Really?”

Pinkie popped open her saddlebag, and pulled out the little black box. “At least we still got the Tears.”

“Yeah, I guess we do have that going for us,” Twilight said. “If nothing else, at least the Tears and those Blight things are far away from eachother.”

“As far as we know.” Starswirl took his hat off, running a hoof through his grey mane. “We have no idea where we even are, so who knows if the Blight are present out here…Wherever ‘out here’ may be.”

Silence descended on the group again, with nothing but the crackle of the fire and the occasional whistle of the breeze.

Pinkie suddenly stretched her forelegs into the air with a mighty yawn. “Well, I dunno about you guys, but I could sure use a good nap right about now.”

Rarity frowned at the pink pony “How can you think of sleep at a time like…ti-time like…” But before she could finish, she herself yawned.

“Miss Pinkie is right,” Starswirl said. “The more we stay awake rattling our brains for ideas, the worse off we’ll be in the morning. A good night’s rest may clear our minds.”

Twilight nodded, lying down with her cloak draped over her. “Alright. But first light tomorrow, we strike camp and get on our way.”

“But where to?” Pinkie asked.

“I’m not sure. Any settlement nearby, a landmark, just something, anything, that might give us a clue as to where exactly we are. And maybe some indicator for where our friends are.”

So the four ponies lay down to rest, gathered around the dwindling fire, cloaks wrapped snugly around their bodies. Sleep did not come easy, however, as each pony tossed and turned as they tried to find rest.

Finally, however, their own exhaustion took over, and one by one, the ponies drifted off into deep sleep.

For the first time in weeks, Twilight found herself completely calm.

All the troubles they had faced, all the trials and tribulations, all the sadness and fear they had felt since their departure from Canterlot, it all seemed to float away like a leaf caught on the breeze. It felt as if she was lying in some great grassy meadow, surrounded by white clouds in the clear blue sky, and nothing but soft grass beneath her, and a gentle wind blowing across her fur and mane.

Imagine her surprise then, if you will, when she opened her eyes and found that, indeed, that was exactly where she was lying.

“…Wha?” was just about all she could manage to say as she looked around in utter confusion. Gone was the arid wasteland where she had fallen asleep. Gone were her friends who had lain down with her for the night. Even the mighty skeleton of Tharos was nowhere to be seen.

Did I teleport in my sleep, she thought to herself. Is such a thing even possible? Twilight looked up at the sky, where nothing seemed off or peculiar either.

“This…this can’t be real… It doesn’t feel right…” she thought aloud.

“How can you be so sure?”

Twilight jumped to her hooves as she heard a voice echoing to her on the wind. “Who’s there?!”

The voice did not answer. She looked all around her, but saw nothing but green hills as far as they eye could see. As she glanced about, she saw her saddlebags on the ground a few feet away. The matter of the mysterious voice remained in her mind, but she paid it little heed. She hurried over to it and rifled through it, and was relieved to find everything, books, food, supplies, all accounted for. As she breathed a sigh of relief, her searching hoof nudged a book out of her bag and onto the ground. But as she levitated it back into the bag, it fell open and she froze.

The page was supposed to be detailing the diplomatic alliance between the Griffon Kingdom and Equestria. But about three paragraphs down, the text seemed to devolve into pure nonsense and gibberish. “What the…?” Twilight mouthed, before it struck her. “Of course… This is a dream!”

“But of course it is.”

That voice again! Twilight’s head whipped around, frantically seeking out the source of the voice. She knew not why, but it seemed almost familiar.

Then she saw her.

Just on the next hill stood a figure, an old mare. Her grey mane and tail blew in the light breeze, and her face wore a gentle, kindhearted smile. But what really drew Twilight’s attention were the clothes the old mare was wearing. A simple, dark blue nightgown…

“Rowanoak?!” Twilight cried.

The old mare nodded. “Hello again, Twilight Sparkle. Nice to see you again.”

Twilight called back, “Wha…what are you doing here?”

“How should I know?” Rowanoak replied. “It’s your dream, dear.”

“But is it really you? I mean, are you just a dream version of you, or is it you for real?”

Rowanoak smiled. “Yes, I am a dream version of me. But why should that make me any less real?”

“Well… it’s…I...huh?” Twilight sat down on the grass, no answer coming to mind. “Well…okay, so you’re here, and you… might be the real you. But what are you doing here? N-not that I’m not happy to see you, Rowanoak, it’s actually great to see you again! Especially… y’know, after everything that’s happened lately.”

“I know, I know. And I’m sorry for what’s happened to your friends,” she replied as she approached. “But I can promise you that they’re alright, for now.”

“But how do you… You know what, don’t answer that,” Twilight chuckled. “You just know, right?”

“Exactly.”

Rowanoak reached the top of the green hill, and stood beside Twilight. For a moment, not a word passed between the two.

“Still, thank you,” Twilight said. “I don’t know how you know all these things, but if you say my friends are alright, I suppose that’s a bit of a relief…”

“I only said they were alright fer now, Twilight,” replied Rowanoak. “How long they remain alright is up to you and your other friends.”

The unicorn froze. So much for reassurance. “So…what do we do now? I mean, we’re stuck in the middle of some wasteland with no landmarks, far outside of Equestria, we lost our dragon, and we have no way to find the others…”

“That is why I am here,” Rowanoak interrupted. “I have information that may help you.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Really? Like what? Right now we could use any help we can get!”

The old mare closed her eyes. “Very well then. I have three things for ye to remember. They will help you in your journey ahead. And when they have all come true, then you can begin your search for your friends.”

“Wait, only then?” Twilight frowned. “Why not sooner? Why not just go as soon as possible? They need our help!”

“Not as much as ye’d think. I’m not sure how, but I expect that yer friends will be receiving some help of their own, and not from you,” replied Rowanoak. “But you must wait until after these things have come to pass, before you can seek to rescue them.”

“But why? You’re not making any sense!” Twilight shouted. And here I am saying that as if it’s unusual for her. "Just who are you, Rowanoak? Ever since we first met you back at the Falls, I still haven't been able to figure you out. How do you know all these things? Where did you even come from?!"

“I can’t say, Twilight. I’m just telling you what I have learned. They are what they are, don’t blame me. As for where I come from, the real question is, where have you gone?"

"But that makes even less sense!" snapped Twilight.

"Do you want to hear these three things or not?”

Twilight opened her mouth again to argue, but thought better of it. Whoever this Rowanoak was, and however it was that she knew these things about her journey, they had been right so far. Her riddle had led us straight to the Tears, she mused. Not to mention she was right about bad things happening whenever we left the path. “Alright Rowanoak, let’s hear these three things.”

The old mare nodded. Clearing her throat, she said, “The first thing is: The mountains to the West house feathered friends.”

Oh great, Twilight thought. More riddles. And more mountains, for that matter. “Mountains in the West, feathered friends… got it. Next?”

“The second thing is: The artisan shall defeat the warrior thrice.”

The unicorn nodded. “Artisan, defeats warrior thrice. And the third thing?”

“And the third thing is: The prodigal son will be found.” Rowanoak said with a nod.

Twilight repeated the three phrases in her head, over and over until she had them memorised. “…Prodigal son, found. Alright, so what do all these things mean?”

“What do they mean?” Rowanoak cocked her head. “They are riddles, Twilight.”

“Yeah, I noticed that,” she deadpanned.

Rowanoak shrugged. “I’m not doubting yer perception. But the point is to figure it out for yerself, Twilight. I don’t even know what they mean meself! I’m just telling you what I was told. This is all I'm permitted to say. Once these three things have happened, ye’ll be able to find your friends. But search any sooner and you will only meet with disaster and death.”

Twilight sighed, rubbing her temples with her forehooves. “Sorry Rowanoak, but do you ever just give a straight answer?”

“What do you think?” Rowanoak replied with a smirk.

The unicorn groaned. “Alright, I’m sorry… I know, you’re just saying what you know, but I just wish we had a little more to go on than riddles and vague hints like that… But I guess we do have somewhere to head for now, heading West to the mountains, so that’s a start.”

“There, see? At least now you have somewhere to go,” Rowanoak said reassuringly. "Now, give me something."

"Huh?"

"I said, give me something. Anything, just something that is recognisable as yours." Rowanoak replied, taking a step closer.

Twilight was clueless. It just seemed like such an odd request! "Um...Okay, I guess. Like what? What would you...like?"

"Some sort of token, maybe? A trinket that you have with you?" she said, nodding in the direction of Twilights saddlebags. "It doesn't matter, just as long as it's something of yours."

The unicorn nodded and started to rummage through her bag, before coming back out with a small bookmark. It was a simple thing, a strip of cardboard wrapped in golden-coloured string. It was an old thing that she had bought in Ponyville, at an old crafts booth on market-day. It had apparently hitched a proverbial ride when she packed her books for the journey, but had fallen to the bottom of the bag, its string beginning to unravel and lose its colour. "Uh...will this do?" she asked, now thoroughly baffled by the old mare's odd request.

Rowanoak nodded as she took the bookmark. "I will return it to you, when you find these things to be true."

Twilight scratched her mane. "But how will you...? Y'know what, forget it, I don't really care anymore. Knowing you, you'll find some way!"

The old mare smiled. "True. I don't know how, but it will return to you soon eough. I’m sorry I cannot say anything more. But I can predict that you and yer friends will go through many hardships on this journey. But in the end, you’ll all come out of it stronger and closer than before.”

She paused as the air around them seemed to ripple for a moment. “Ah, looks like me time is up. Remember those three things, Twilight. I’ll leave you now, it looks like it’s time to wake up.”

Twilight squinted as she opened her eyes to the harsh morning sun overhead. Rubbing her eyes with a hoof, she sat up and looked around.

“Ah, you’re awake, that’s good,” she heard Starswirl say behind her. She turned and saw him getting to his hooves as well, dusting the grit and sand off his cloak.

“Morning Starswirl. Did you sleep well?”

“Indeed, my dear Twilight, like a log. Once the others are up, we can plan what our next step should be,” he replied as he went over to Rarity and Pinkie, nudging them gently.

“Actually, about that… you see, last night, I had this dream, that…”

“Aww, why’d you have to wake me?!” Twilight was interrupted as Pinkie stretched and yawned widely. “I’d just learnt how to bring food to life! Lemme tell ya, when it comes to Scrabble, that pizza pony is a pro!”

Rarity could only stare with a mix of incredulity and contentment. “Well, I’m glad to see we have our old Pinkie Pie back. I must admit darling, your rather dour mood had me worried last night, even with… well, all that had happened.”

Pinkie, however, simply grinned at her. “Oh Rarity, I’m fine now! Sure, everything that happened last night was sad and all, but it looks like old Starswirl was right!”

The bearded stallion raised an eyebrow. “Old Starswirl?”

“I mean, I’m totally gonna miss Tharos, but at least he got to be free in the end. And I dunno about you guys, but a good sleep definitely cleared me up a bit.”

“I must agree,” added Rarity. “We were all a little on edge with what had happened yesterday. But now that we’re fed and rested, we can tackle our next step of the journey with new vigour! So then, what is the next step?”

Starswirl frowned. “That’s the problem. We can be as rested and well fed as we want, but we still haven’t a clue for where we are or where we should go.”

“I think we should head west.”

Three pairs of eyes turned to look curiously at Twilight, who faltered slightly, but regained her composure quick enough. “I mean… well, it’s as good a way as any to go, right? If we keep heading west towards those mountains,” Twilight turned until the rising sun was at her back, facing a distant ridge of tall mountains. “At the very least, we’ll have a better view of the surrounding land. We might be able to spot some landmarks or something.”

The others did not look convinced. “I dunno, Twilight. Don’t you usually like to try all choices and being super-efficient and scientific and stuff?”

“I know it doesn’t seem to make much sense, but I just…I have a good feeling about going that way, y’know?”

“No Twilight, I really don’t know. Pinkie has a point dear, it’s not like you to try something purely on a hunch, so to speak,” replied Rarity as she rolled up her cloak and slipped it into her bag.

“Now now, don’t dismiss Twilight’s idea so quickly.” Starswirl stepped to Twilight’s side. “At this point we have as much chance of finding anything if we go in any direction. But as she says, the mountains will give us a good vantage point to see any settlements, landmarks or, Celestia forbid, roving bands of Blight.” The old stallion gave Twilight a smile and a knowing wink. She smiled gratefully back.

Rarity rubbed her chin in thought a moment. “Well, I suppose that’s true… Alright, you can count me in.”

“And me too!” Pinkie squeaked. “It’s like a new adventure! And yeah, I bet the view at the top of the mountains will be awesome!”

Twilight started packing her bags up as well. “Then let’s not waste any more time. If we get going now, we should reach them before sunset.”

As she shouldered her bags and started in the direction of the mountains, Pinkie raised a hoof. “Hold on a second! What about breakfast?!”

“We can eat as we walk, now let’s go!”

So the band of four were on their way across the plains. With the sun at their backs and the mountains before them, they walked in relative silence. A few times Pinkie Pie started humming a little tune, trying to compose some new walking song to keep spirits up, but the forbidding mood of the arid wastes around her would stop her, leaving her whistling and humming echoing on the wind.

Twilight and Starswirl took the front of the group, walking side by side. Starswirl lowered his head, muttering in a low voice, “So, my dear Twilight, what’s the real reason we’re going this way, towards the mountains?”

Twilight gulped nervously. “What do you mean?”

“Oh come now Twilight,” he replied with a chuckle. “Even I can tell that you weren’t just acting on a hunch. Why are we travelling to the mountains, really?

Twilight grinned awkwardly, trying hard not to look at Starswirl’s knowing gaze. “A-alright… Look, I didn’t want to say anything. You’re probably not going to believe this, but before we met you, me and my friends had stayed or the night at this place near Neighagra Falls…”

“Ah yes, I went there as well. The old mare there said I just missed you leaving.” Starswirl said.

“Well, that old mare, Rowanoak, she... oh, how do I put this without sounding crazy…”

The old stallion grinned. “I’ve seen and heard things that would make your tail curl. Try me, my dear Twilight.”

“Well, alright,” Twilight took a deep breath and continued, “I don’t know how, but she seems to know things and do things that an ordinary earth pony shouldn’t be able to do. And last night, she visited me in a dream and told me that if we head west to those mountains, we’ll find something that will help us find the others.”

She closed her eyes. It sounds even more ridiculous saying it out loud! She tensed slightly, waiting for Starswirl to call the hike to a stop and berate her for leading them on a wild cockatrice chase.

Instead, she heard him chuckle. “Oh Twilight, I’ve heard far stranger tales than that before.”

She opened her eyes. That was unexpected! “So… you don’t think that’s crazy?”

“Not at all, not at all!” Starswirl replied. “I remember when I encountered that Rowanoak character before, and I must agree there was something… odd, about her. There was something in her aura, in the air around her… I’m still not sure what it was, but she was certainly no normal earth pony. Perhaps she as some way of entering one’s dreams, similar to Princess Luna.”

“Ah yes, I’ve heard about that,” Twilight said.

“Yes, rather reassuring to know that we’re even protected from our nightmares in Equestria. But whether it truly was her, or just some part of your mind talking to you, either way it gave us direction where before we had none. So for that, I’m at least willing to try.”

He gazed ahead at the massive mountains that loomed ever closer. “And besides, if the Princesses in all their wisdom trust in you, then I see no reason why I should not. You don’t seem like the kind of mare to deceive or mislead, so I trust you.”

Twilight smiled, trying desperately to contain her nerdish glee. The greatest sorcerer of all time just said he trusts me!

“Thank you, Starswirl… but I guess that’s why I didn’t say anything to the others. I mean, they’re my best friends in the whole world, but… well, I guess it does still sound pretty far-fetched.”

“I completely understand,” the old stallion replied. “But speaking of the Princesses, I had been meaning to ask for a while now: How did such a young unicorn as yourself get to be the personal student of not just royalty, but divinity?!”

Twilight grinned. “Well, it’s a funny story really…”

Delighted to have an attentive listener, Twilight regaled the story of how she first enlisted in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, the peculiar incident of her entrance exam, and how Celestia intervened, offering to tutor her in her studies. All the while, Starswirl listed with rapt attention to the young unicorn’s tale, asking questions and responding with amazement at the story, acting for all the world like an eager schoolcolt!

But as Twilight finished telling of her friends’ defeat of Nightmare Moon, Rarity trotted up alongside them, casting a furtive glance behind her. “Forgive my interruption, but I think we may have company.”

Twilight and Starswirl froze on the spot. “Where’d you see them?”

Rarity pointed over her shoulder, up at a small cloud not far above them. “I think I saw them peeking out from behind that cloud up there.”

“Blight?” Starswirl frowned, squinting up at the cloud.

Rarity shook her head. “I’m not sure… maybe, but its eyes didn’t look like those beasts that attacked us before. At least, I don’t think so…”

Twilight stared intently up at the cloud as well. She could just make out a small shape, standing top it. “Hmm… let’s keep going, pretend we didn’t notice it. If we don’t give it any trouble, it should leave us alone.”

Rarity, Starswirl and Pinkie nodded. Rearranging themselves into a line, the four ponies continued westward towards the mountains. They intently did not look up at the cloud, but none of them failed to notice that it seemed to be hovering right above them always, following them.

They carried on for about five minutes, concentrating on the journey ahead, but never letting their guard down against whatever this mystery stalker was.

Finally, their patience paid off. Pinkie’s ears pricked up as she heard the tell-tale flapping noise of feathered wings. She whipped around as the sound came closer and closer, ready to catch out their assailant. All she could make out before she was bowled over was a pair of clawed yellow forelegs, and a pair of brown wings. Anything else was blotted out as something small, but extremely heavy and bulky, bowled into her with a squawk.

She grabbed frantically at the stranger, but whatever this thing was, it was fast. Wriggling out of her grasp, it grabbed into the saddlebags on her back, wrenching them from her shoulders.

Before it could fly away, however, the flapping bundle of fur and feathers found itself contained in a bubble of magical energy, blue, magenta and yellow energy mingling together into a single bubble.

“Hold still Pinkie, we almost got it!” Twilight shouted as she galloped over to her, wrenching her magical grip upwards and lifting their attacker into the air, saddlebags and all.

Quickly helping Pinkie back to her hooves, Twilight, Rarity and Starswirl gathered around the magical bubble to get a good look at their attacker. From the waist downwards, it had all the size and appearance of a small cat or lion cub, with sandy brown fur and a fluffy tuft of hair sprouting from the tip of its tail. But everything else was covered in soft, downy, white feathers. Yellow eagle-eyes glared at them through a pair of black goggles, and it wore small black gloves on its clawed hands.

“A griffon?!” Rarity exclaimed. “What’s a griffon doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“And a young one at that, even stranger.” Starswirl added.

“Lemme go!” It squeaked in a young, boyish voice. “Get offa me! Lemme go, I said!”

“Be silent!” Starswirl shouted back. “We’ll let you go when you tell us why you were following us!”

The griffon struggled inside the bubble. “Lemme go, please! I was hungry, alright? I was just flyin’ around on my own and I saw you hrossa walking around down here, and I thought to myself that you might have some good food or somethin’, so…”

“Wait, hrossa?” Rarity interrupted. “What does that mean?”

Twilight replied. “It’s Griffonic. It’s the closest word they have for ponies. So, you just decided to help yourself to our food then?”
The griffon nodded fervently “I didn’t mean anything by it! I’m sorry, alright! You got your veske back, I said I’m sorry, now lemme go, hross lady!”

Pinkie leant over to Twilight. “If he’s out here, his mum and dad must be nearby too! Maybe they can help us or something!”

“Exactly what I was thinking, Pinkie.” Twilight smiled back at her, before turning back to the young griffon with a frown. “Alright, young man. We’re not going to hurt you or anything, but we will be making sure you don’t bother anyone else. Where are your parents?”

He pointed a claw towards the mountains. “They’re just up that way. We were stopping on our way to Fjaereir, and I got bored, so I went for a fly.”

The three unicorns released their magical holds, and the griffon took to the sky. “Take us to them. We want to have a word with them,” Rarity said.

In an instant, his proud fierce demeanour faltered and his face grew concerned. “You’re not gonna get me in trouble are you? I really didn’t mean anythin’ by attacking you. I was just hungry!”

Rarity smiled back, the griffon’s attitude reminding her of Sweetie Belle and her friends, who would similarly always go for the pity act whenever they were in trouble. “It’s alright, you’re not in trouble. We were mostly just shocked. But next time, you would do well to ask permission before helping yourself to somepony’s belongings.”

The griffon child giggled a little. “Heh, she talks funny. But yeah, I promise I’ll ask next time.”

“Good,” Twilight replied, speaking over Rarity’s offended mutterings (“’Talks funny’?! Ooh that little…”) “Now, will you take us to your parents? We’d like to meet them.”

He nodded eagerly, and took off into the sky above them, flapping his wings as strong as he could. “I’m Gerard, by the way!” he called down to them. “What’re your names?”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight replied. “And these are my friends, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Starswirl the Bearded.”

Each pony smiled and waved up at the young griffon as their names were given. Gerard scoffed, “Huh, you hrossa have weird names. Nice, but still weird.”

“We have weird names?! What kinda name is Gerard, anyway?” Pinkie giggled.

Gerard swooped low, flying just above Pinkie. “Hey, it’s a cool name! It means ‘spear of the brave’ in Griffonic!”

The two of them bickered playfully back and forth over what constitutes a ‘cool name’, until the group passed over a small hill and saw a small dirt road leading across the plains and up to the mountains. Standing by the side of the road were a pair of older griffons, a male and a female. The male griffon was of average build, with tawny brown plumage and darker brown fur.

He wore similar goggles as Gerard’s perched on his brow, as did the female, who shared her son’s white plumage.
As they came into view, the mother swooped in and grabbed Gerard in a hug. “Gerard! There you are, you little troublemaker! Your father and I told you to be back in half an hour, where have you been?”

“He’s been with us, ma’am,” Twilight spoke up. “He was flying around nearby, looking kinda lost, so we found him and brought him back.”

Before Gerard had a chance to respond and detail how much of that was fabricated, he caught the stealthy wink from the unicorn, and kept quiet about it. “I’m sorry mum.”

“Oh it’s alright.” The female griffon hugged him closer as she landed back on the ground by her husband.

“Thanks, you four,” said the male. “We were starting to get a bit frantic when he didn’t turn up after an hour. It’s remarkably easy to get lost round here, and there’s talk of strange folk around too. Who knows what he could have run into.”

“No problem, Mr Griffon!” Pinkie replied with a smile.

The male griffon reached out a claw. “Please, call me Gilbert. And this is my wife, Gunda. I see you’ve already met Gerard.”

Starswirl took his claw in a hoofshake. “Well met, Gilbert. I am Starswirl the Bearded, and these young mares with me are Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Rarity added with a slight bow.

Pinkie bounced right up to the griffons and shook their claws as well, with a chirpy “Hiya there!”

“Now tell me,” Starswirl continued, “Your son mentioned a place called Fjaereir, and said you were travelling there. Where is that?”

Gilbert pointed towards the mountains. “It’s a griffon settlement up in the West Mountains over there. Big place, almost like a fortress. Like I said, there’s some strange creatures abroad, so we decided to travel up there for safety. Apparently a lot of griffons are headed there.”

Twilight’s ears pricked up. “Creatures? Um… these creatures, would they happen to have strange eyes, yellow and black?”

“Yes, yes!” Gunda cried. “That’s them, they’ve been causing trouble back where we came from. All weird looking creatures with spines and claws and the like, and yellow eyes, but the whites are black. Have you seen them too?”

Starswirl nodded mournfully. “Unfortunately, indeed we have. We originally numbered seven in all. But we were attacked, and three of our friends were kidnapped by them.”

Gunda gasped and raised a claw to her mouth. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“And I’m guessing that’s why you’re out here then?” Gilbert chimed in. “You’re looking for these creatures that took your friends?”

The old unicorn nodded. “Indeed.”

Gerard clung closer to his mother, who tousled his headfeathers reassuringly. “Well, we haven’t seen any out here on the plains, I’m afraid,” Gunda replied. “And you’re the first ponies we’ve seen in months.”

“Ponies?” Pinkie interjected. “I thought you griffons called us 'Rossa' or something.”

Gunda chuckled. “Hrossa, you mean? You picked that word up from Gerard, I’m guessing. No, we can speak common Equestrian too. Little Gerard here’s still learning… but anyway, if you need help, maybe you should come along to Fjaereir with us? If anybird’s seen your friends or those monsters, they’ll probably be there.”

The mountains in the West hold feathered friends.

For the briefest of seconds, Twilight’s mind went blank. Blank, save for Rowanoak’s words, as they echoed through Twilight’s mind. Was this what she had meant? No way it could be a coincidence, she reasoned. If these riddles are true, we’re bound to find some answers in this Fjaereir place.

“Oh yes, if you could take us there, we’d be very grateful! There’s bound to be somepony… rather, somebird there who can help us.”

“Then let’s get going. Just follow us!”

At that, Gilbert and Gunda took to the air, flying low at the head of the group, followed closely behind by Twilight, Rarity and Starswirl. Pinkie brought up the rear, playfully jumping up and trying to grab Gerard, who would hover teasingly above her. Together, the seven travellers made their way towards the Western Mountains, with the afternoon sun shining above, and castng long shadows behind them.

Author's Notes:

A few translations are in order:

Hross- Griffonic for 'Horse', Hrossa is the plural.
Fjaereir- Griffonic settlement. Name translates literally into 'Feather town'
Gerard- Derived from the Griffonic words 'Ger', meaning spear, and 'hard', meaning brave or hardy.

Anyways, I'm back! And this story is back underway. I'm sorry about the long hiatus, things just kept cropping up, what with uni, side projects, family matters, and just plain procrastination. But we're back underway and hopefully I should be publishing new chapters relatively frequently. I'm starting my Final Major Project this week, which will last until the late spring, so I can't make any promises, but I'll try my best.

And don't worry, you'll find out what's happened to Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack soon enough.

EDIT: I adjusted the dream sequence a little bit, making the end a bit of a shout-out. If you can see what it's referring to, you have nothing but my utmost respect.

11. On the way to Fjaereir

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Fluttershy’s eyes slowly opened, and the first thing she was consciously aware of was the hard stone surface beneath her. She was lying on her side, on a small rocky outcrop, near the foothills of some mountain. Above her the sky was beginning to brighten as the sun rose. But as her surroundings came into focus, she found that even the warmth of the morning sun brought little comfort.

A thin, iron chain stretched away from her to a wooden stake that had been hammered into a crack between some rocks, and the other end of the chain hooked onto a collar fastened tightly around her neck. Tugging at the collar, she shuddered as the faint smell of leather came to her nostrils from the offending strap around her neck.

To her left, she saw with some relief, Applejack lying on the rock with her, a similar blackened leather collar and chain around her neck as well. Her hide was darkened with ugly bruises here and there, lingering reminders of the events of last night.

Slowly in her head, Fluttershy’s memory put itself together. They had been with the others; Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Starswirl, and had been riding on Tharos’ back. Then there were flashes of light as those Blight things swooped in and attacked from all sides. She had been the first to duck down and take cover as the battle began, but from her hiding place among Tharos’ spines, she could easily see Twilight and Starswirl, side by side, firing blast after blast of magical energy at the flying monsters.

But then there was some explosion. Something enormous slammed into Tharos’ underside from below, throwing her clean out of her shelter. A rush of air, shrill screams from all sides. And then she felt it. That tickly tingling sensation around her entire form. Somepony had her in a magical grip, most likely Twilight. The tingling became stronger as her magenta, magical glow enveloped her, ready to transport her far away from this dreadful fate.

But something caught her, pulled her out of Twilight’s grip. There was another blinding flash, and everypony was gone.
The rest of the night was a bit of a blur. She, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the only remaining ponies, were flown to the ground, where the fight began afresh. She had shied away from the scuffle, eager to get as far away from their Blight captors as possible. But out of the corner of her eye, she could see Applejack and Rainbow Dash, bucking and kicking, shouting and swinging, but even their efforts were not enough as the yellow-eyed monsters began to overwhelm them.
Something snapped in Fluttershy in that moment, and she dived into the fray as well. She managed to get a few nips and kicks in here and there, but even her brave charge was not enough, and soon she and her friends were pinned, chained and subdued. Even as her nerves finally got the better of her and she began to black out, she could still hear her friends, making their captors’ lives as difficult as possible.

The pegasus gently nudged her sleeping friend, who just mumbled in her sleep in response. She tried again, slightly harder, but to little avail.

“Leave her alone, little thing,” said a voice behind her. She whipped around and found herself face to sneering face with one of her yellow-eyed keepers. He was a peculiar little thing, scrawny and short, about an inch or two shorter than her. For the most part, he looked like an ordinary colt, except for his front legs which were yellow and clawed, like those of a griffon. His tail was different as well, long and whippy with a tuft of fur on the tip, like that of a lion. And, as with all of these Blight creatures, his eye were that chilling yellow and black, and that strange black smoke seeped from his mouth every now and then.

“You three may as well relax while you can,” he continued. “because we’ll be on the move before too long.”

Another Blightling, a hulking brute of a stallion with short spines sprouting through his cheeks, joined the scrawny one. “I don’t know why we even have to keep these things around anymore. We searched all three of ‘em, and they don’t have that jewel thingy we’re looking for. And if last night was any indicator, they’re gonna be nothing but nuisances anyway!”

The shorter one shrugged. “Maugoth’s orders. After we searched them, he just gave the order to leave them alone and get rest for the night. We’ll be on the move before too long, so you might wanna get some food down yer gullet, Shataz.”

The larger one, Shataz, mumbled something no doubt vulgar before stomping off to a nearby campfire. The scrawny Blightling cast one last look over the three ponies, before joining him to grab some breakfast. Fluttershy took the opportunity to get a proper look around herself. Applejack still lay asleep by her side, but to her right she saw Rainbow Dash, and whimpered. Her pegasus friend was not just tethered with chain and collar like her and Applejack, but also had a crude muzzle tied around her snout, and her coat was stained red in a few spots. She must have put up quite a fight, Fluttershy thought to herself. Poor Rainbow, she looks dreadful!

She took the time to get a good look around at the Blight’s small camp. They were in the foothills of some sort of mountains, and were in some rocky copse. The Blight with them numbered about twenty or thirty in total, maybe a few more. One thing that surprised her was the variety of the creatures. She could tell that most of them were at least partially ponies, or at least were at one time, but there were also a handful of griffons and even a few telltale antlers of deer, and a mule or two, as well as several wild animals who had also been turned. Some were very obviously corrupted, with spines bursting out from under their skin, patches of scales and in a few, entire extra limbs! But some were less affected, with little more than a few spines, maybe some fangs or tusks, and little else. Those that were talking with eachother were speaking in a variety of languages; some were conversing in normal Common Equestrian, while a few were resorting to primitive animalistic growls and grunts. But she also caught snippets of a strange language that she did not recognise. All she knew is that she wished that she could not hear it. She found it difficult to focus on it for any more than a few seconds before her head began to throb and her stomach began to churn.

The scrawny one returned, a steaming bowl of something in one hand and a canteen gripped in his teeth. He tossed it to the ponies and put down the bowl before them, revealing it to be full of a very unpleasant smelling gruel of some kind. “Go on, get some food inside you,” he sneered. “This is the last stop before we head to the outpost, and we’re not gonna carry you. Wake up yer friends, or I’ll do it for ya.”

Fluttershy nodded silently and nervously nudged Applejack again, as the Blightling sat down with the others. The cowpony’s eyes flickered and cracked open slightly. “Nng… Boy, my head’s throbbin’ like nopony’s business… Hey, is that food I smell?”
Applejack took one look at the bowl of gruel before them, and closed her eyes again. “Ergh…Don’t think much of their cookin’. Wake me up when they give us somethin’ edible.”

A pale yellow glow of magic surrounded her ponytail and yanked upward, forcing her upright. A few Blightlings chuckled nearby. “Didn’t yer mummy teach you that you should eat what yer given, little pony! It’s the only food yer getting until the next stop, and that's not for a while!” shouted the spellcaster in question, an older Blightling, with a curling horn in the middle of his forehead and short tusks jutting from his lower jaw. The glow around his horn went out and he went back to his food. The small group of creatures watched as the timid pegasus helped her friends up, and the three reluctantly started eating.

“So Laga,” the scrawny one asked. “When d’you think Maugoth’s gonna let us in on his plans? He hasn’t spoken since last night.”

“He’s probably just sulking because we got the wrong ponies,” Shataz interrupted. “The idiot was counting on us grabbing whichever one had this gemstone he was after, and now he’s clueless.”

Laga, the horned one, glared at Shataz before adding, “Sulking, maybe. But clueless? I doubt that. And ye might wanna savour his sulking, Gahdup. The more he sulks, the longer we get to rest.”

Gadhup nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. B-besides, he’s probably just thinking up some big new plan to get that gem back, you’ll see!”

Shataz chuckled humourlessly, “Pff, gruglup.”

“You got something you wanna share, big guy?” Gadhup growled at Shataz.

“No, nothing.”

“Anyway,” Laga continued. “If you guys are so curious, maybe someone should just go ask the guy.”

There was a general murmur of agreement from the small group, but none of them seemed willing to get up and do just that.

“Ugh, don’t all jump up at once or anything, ya bunch of lulgijaku,” Laga muttered as he got up. He tossed what was left of his food to his cohorts and headed to where Maugoth was seated.

Nopony could read it on his stoic, emotionless face, but on the inside, Maugoth was fuming. All this buildup, all this hard work tracking those ponies, setting up the ambush, taking out that dragon, and what foils us?! We grab the wrong damn ponies! Four of them get away, one of them with the Tears, and they’ve gotten to who knows where!

“Umm…Maugoth, sir?”

His inner raging was cut short as he looked up and saw Laga standing before him. “What is it?”

Laga asked, “Well, y’see Maugoth… the others are startin’ to wonder what we’re gonna do now, since the ponies with that Tears thing you were after have disappeared and we’re stuck with those three instead… What’s the plan?”

Maugoth smiled. A deadly, cruel smile. “You mean Shataz is starting to wonder?”

Laga nodded. “Well, yeah, him mostly. But he has got the camp talkin’. I guess they just wanna know if you have any sort of plan now.”

“Well, as it happens, I do,” he replied. “Yes, it’s a pain that those ponies got away from us with the Tears, but at the very least, we have got some hostages now. If we do find them, we can cut them a deal: their friends’ lives for the Tears.”

“But we don’t even know where they are!”

Maugoth’s smile widened. “Maybe not. But I’m sure our little hostages may have some idea of where they could be heading. We’re just about a day or two’s journey to Maudhul. Seems as good a time as any to get to the outpost and rest a bit. And then, if our little hostages refuse to talk, we can stick them in The Pits for a bit of fun.”

“The Pits? What good would-“ Laga paused as he spotted his commander’s raised eyebrow. He grinned. “Oh… those Pits!”

“A few days in there ought to loosen their tongues.” Maugoth said.

“And that’s not the only thing of theirs it’ll loosen, if’n ya know what I mean!”

Maugoth cackled at his soldier’s little joke. “Alright, tell the troops to strike camp and get the ponies on their feet. We head for Maudhul in five minutes.”

Laga saluted and hurried off to spread the word, but stopped and turned back a moment. “Don’t you think we should tell the big guys back at Burzkala about this?”

Maugoth got up and stretched, donning his cloak once more and standing atop the rocks. “Why? They’ll just yell at us and demand we give them the hostages so that they can turn them. Where’s the fun in that?”

Within minutes, the campfires were out and the Blight were assembled and ready to go. In the middle of the group stood the three ponies, each of their chains held by another Blightling soldier. As flavourless as the gruel had been, the ponies were now awake and fit enough to walk, though Rainbow Dash was wobbling a bit, still weak from her many injuries, and all three were hunched under the weight of their shackles.

Fluttershy looked up as Maugoth stood tall at the head of the pack “Now listen up, you lot! It’s a long ways away to Burzkala, so instead, we’re taking a little detour. The outpost of Maudhul is only a day and bit from here, so we can head there. We’re not stopping until we get there, but once we do, we can have a nice long rest while we have a little… chat with our new friends here.”

A malicious chuckle echoed throughout the company, and a few eyes turned to face the three ponies. Fluttershy recoiled, trying to hide behind her own mane.

With a final barked command, the Blightlings were on their way, jostling and pulling the three ponies along. Fluttershy looked out to the horizon one last time before she trotted clumsily to keep up. Please, she prayed. Please, somepony...anypony! If you can her us or see us, please... help us.

As the early afternoon sun began its descent, Twilight Sparkle found herself and her friends being led through the foothills of the Western Mountains by the three griffons. The trek had not been too difficult, since it was mostly through flatlands, and the group had been going at a leisurely pace, so they made good time in the walk, with spirits relatively high.

“How much further do we have to go?” Rarity asked from the middle of the column.

Gilbert turned around in mid-air, expertly hovering backwards. “Heh, not too far. You’ll know Fjaereir when you see it, trust me!”

Twilight asked, “Have you ever been there before?”

“A long time ago, yes, back when I was young,” Gunda replied. “But back then, it was a relatively new place. I’m just going by what I’ve heard, but it’s apparently expanded into a full-blown stronghold by now.”

Pinkie grinned to Gerard, who flew beside her. “So it’s your first time there too then?”

The young griffon nodded. “I can’t wait!”

As the group chattered to eachother about what they hoped to find in Fjaereir, Staswirl trotted ahead and motioned for Gilbert to join him. “What is it, Mr Starswirl?” he asked.

“I’m just a little curious about something. What exactly have you heard about these creatures that are abroad? The yellow-eyed ones?”

Gilbert shrugged. “Not much to be honest. I’ve just heard that they’re dangerous and to be avoided at all costs… Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason in particular,” Starswirl replied. “I was just curious if you knew anything we might not have known. If we only knew a bit more about these Blight’s motivation…”

“These what?”

“Blight, those creatures, they are known as the Blight… Anyway, if we only knew a little more about their motivations, we might have some greater idea where they took our companions.”

“Maybe, yeah…” Gilbert trailed off for a moment. “By the way, I was curious about something myself. Those mares you’re travelling with, they certainly seem to be close friends with eachother, but what’s your connection to them?”

“Connection? How do you mean?” the old wizard asked.

“Well, you know, are you related to one of them? Are they students of yours? Are you one of their friends too?”
Starswirl thought about this for a moment before answering, “I suppose… Well, I was sent with them as their protector, so I guess I’m their bodyguard of sorts.”

“Ah, I see… So if they need bodyguards, they must be pretty important in some way, right?”

“Yes, I suppose you could say that,” he replied with a small smile. “Well, you see, they are out on a journey to…”

“Hey look! There it is!”

The travelling party came to a halt and looked up.

Before them stood a tall ridge of mountains, rising up proud and grey, peaks reaching high up into the clouds. A road snaked and wound up across the face of the mountains, where there stood on broad ledges and platforms all manner of buildings, ranging from tiny cottages to massive halls, all connected by narrow walkways and stairs carved out of the rock. They were dotted all over the mountainside wherever there seemed to be space, with little regard for organisation or pattern except that the larger buildings seemed to be higher up the mountainside, culminating in a massive cylindrical keep which jutted out and towered over the rest of the town. Surrounding these buildings was a high wooden palisade, made from what seemed to be entire tree trunks. Where the road met the walls there was a giant gateway made from similarly enormous logs. Thin columns of smoke billowed from several tall buildings on the outskirts, spiralling up into the sky. The tiny figures of griffons could be seen milling about on the platforms, flying from level to level.

“Well…They’ve been busy since last time we were here.” Gilbert muttered.

As they stood before the massive gates of the fortified town, Twilight could not help but feel a little intimidated. The only gates she had seen that were anywhere near as big as these were the gates of Canterlot, and those gate were nearly always wide open, eagerly welcoming any visitors who came to the city. With its spiked palisade and heavily fortified gates, the entrance to Fjaereir seemed to be anything but welcoming. Gilbert gave a piercing cry to the guards at the top of the gate, who peered down at them. Twilight noticed that instead of the spears she most often saw used by Canterlot’s guards, she saw that they carried something else. It was hard to make them out, but they seemed to be some sort of short staves.

The guards made to open the doors wide when they saw Gilbert and his family, but as soon as they spotted Twilight and her friends, they hesitated a moment. Twilight thought nervously, Are non-griffons not welcome or something?

“It’s alright, they’re with us!” Gilbert called. Up to the gate. The guards looked less than convinced, but nodded and called down to open the gates. The massive wooden gateway split down the middle, and each half seemed to slide away from eachother, until the round doorway into the town stood wide before them.

The four ponies, and three griffons, entered the massive city, awestruck by its sheer size. Not just in scale of the buildings and the settlement itself, but the population. There seemed to be hundreds of griffons of all kinds, shapes and sizes, crowding the walkways and platforms. Several were hawking (If my dear reader will pardon the unintended pun) their wares on the side of the streets, while a few had set up wooden platforms where musicians and actors were performing to crowds of cheering griffons. Twilight was awestruck, but also delighted. Despite its rather intimidating outward appearance, it was like any bustling city in Equestria or beyond: Active, crowded and full of life.

That said, many a curious eye was cast in their direction. Indeed, the three mares and one stallion were the only non-griffons in the entire town. Onlooker poked their heads out of windows to get a look at the newcomers, and the crowds dispersed slightly before them as they walked.

“Do they think we’re celebrities or something?” Pinkie asked nopony in particular.

Twilight looked around. “I guess they’re just not used to seeing ponies around here.”

As they walked through the main walkways up through the town, they found more and more griffons staring and some even following on until they came to the top platform and stood before the stone keep, complete with a small crowd of curious onlookers.

For a few seconds, there was silence, except for the murmuring gathering of griffons around them, as they stood still before the doors to the keep. Then, the wooden doors creaked open, and a group of about five griffons came out.

Four of them, likely the guards of the keep, were dressed in dark-coloured plate armour, with brass goggles covering their eyes, and round helmets on their heads. Twilight finally got a good look at the short staves that they wielded, and her eyes widened with amazement. They weren’t staves at all; they were muskets! She had read about such weapons before, but they were extremely rare in Equestria!

The fifth, who stood taller than the rest, was dressed far more ornately, with golden trim around his armour, and a short white cape. His left eye bore a long jagged scar, which complimented his no-nonsense scowl perfectly.

“Who let these horses in?” he growled.

Twilight frowned back at the griffon, and made to step forwards, but Gilbert put out a claw to stop her. “These ponies came with us, sir. They’re seeking information about friends of theirs, and we suggested that they ask here in Fjaereir.”

The griffon paced back and forth, eyeing the ponies up and down, before turning back to Gilbert. “And you are?”

“Gilbert, sir. My family and I have travelled up here to seek refuge.”

“From what?” asked the griffon.

“From some strange creatures that have been sighted near our home,” Gilbert replied.
Twilight stepped forwards. “That’s why we’re here as well, sir. You see, several of our friends were taken by…”

“Nobird asked you, hross!” the griffon snapped. “We have heard similar stories from other travellers, Gilbert. I am guessing they have black and yellow eyes?”

“Yes, exactly! We were told they were dangerous, so we came here for shelter. No better place than the mighty fortress town of Fjaereir, right?”

For the first time in the entire conversation, the griffon smiled. “Indeed, no better place. This fortress is impenetrable! There are plenty of spare rooms and vacancies in the inns on the third and fourth levels. You can take your family there.”
As Gilbert gave his thanks and led his family away, the griffon turned to the four ponies and his smiled disappeared. “As for you, I am afraid we have no room for you here.”

“I’ll be the judge of that, Gellert!”

The griffon, Gellert, frowned even more as another griffon emerged from inside the keep. This one was much smaller and younger than the commander, but dressed in a fine velvet jacket and a fur-lined cloak, instead of the bulky armour of his companion.

“Galahad, sire,” Gellert spat that last word out as if it were a bad piece of fruit. “I was unaware that you were in.”

“Well as you can see, Gellert, I am,” Galahad replied calmly, gently pushing the larger griffon aside. “And unless I am mistaken, there is more than adequate amounts of accommodation for these four ponies. I can take these four from here, if you don’t mind.”

Gellert stared daggers at the smaller griffon, but said nothing as he stalked past, his four guards following quickly behind, back into the keep. Galahad smirked slightly as he watched him leave, before turning back to the ponies just in time to catch Pinkie Pie waving goodbye to the retreating Gellert.

He grinned. “I must apologise about Gellert. He can be a little… touchy around newcomers, especially ponies like yourselves. My name is Galahad, I speak for the King. How can we help you today?”

Twilight stepped forwards again “Well, first of all, a place to stay would be nice, but we can sort that out later. More importantly, we’re looking for some friends of ours who were… well, taken from us yesterday. We were told that if anypony knew what might have happened to them, this would be the place to go.”

Galahad nodded. “Hmm, yes well, we would be more than willing to help however we can. But such appeals can only be made officially during Royal Court before the Council.”

“So when would that be?” Rarity asked.

“The next court will be at sunset today. Come back up here then and you can make your appeal properly,” Galahad replied. “Will that suit you?”

Twilight looked to her friends who all nodded. “I suppose so. I’m guessing you are part of this Council, since you speak for the King and all?”

“Indeed I am, miss. I’m afraid I have some business to attend to, so until then, welcome to Fjaereir!” he said cheerily, bowing slightly before returning to the inside of the keep and closing the doors.

“So,” Starswirl asked. “What do we do now?”

“Ooh, ooh!” Pinkie squeaked as she bounced up and down on the spot. “Can we go explore the town? Can we, can we, can we?!”

Twilight shrugged. “I don’t see why not. If we’re going to be here for a while we might need to find somewhere to stay… Plus, I could use a bite to eat,” she added as her stomach grumbled.

“I’m on it!” Pinkie trotted up to a guard who was making his way into the keep, and tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me, where’s the nearest cake shop?”

The guard was taken aback, not just by the odd question, but especially by the glaringly pink pony who asked it. “Er…Cake shop? I dunno if we have one of those… I guess you could try one of the bakeries; the closest one to here is down on level four.”

Pinkie smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks!”

With that, she bounced down the stairway from the keep, down to the fifth level of the town, wither friends in tow. The now rather confused guard simply shrugged and carried on into the keep.

12. Antlers and Beaks

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A cloudy grey sky hung above the land as the column of Blightlings dogtrotted over hills and plains. The day was coming to an end and exhaustion was beginning to set in the muscles of the thirty or so troops, but they stubbornly carried on, running as if the whips of their masters were behind them. All except for the three unfortunate ponies who staggered and struggled onwards, yanked along by the heavy iron chains around their necks.

Applejack silently trotted at the head of the three, with Rainbow Dash behind her, switching occasionally from running to hovering a foot or so above the ground, then returning back to running to give her wings a rest. But Fluttershy staggered and stumbled forwards at the back, practically being dragged by the Blightling captor who held her chain in its claws.
Bruised, battered and scratched all over, Fluttershy whimpered to herself. She began to revisit bygone days when she and her friends would go off on adventures, travelling all around Equestria and the neighbouring lands; helping ponies out, seeing all kinds of amazing sights, and battling the occasional evildoer. The return of Nightmare Moon, confronting the dragon of Smokey Mountain, the conflict in Appleoosa, Discord’s return, the Royal Wedding, travelling to the Changeling Kingdom to save the three fillies… All were times that she and her friends were in very real mortal peril. At any time things could have gone very wrong, and oftentimes it did! But her friends were always there to help her get back on her hooves, and help her to strive forward.

But now… now it was just Rainbow and Applejack with her, and neither of them was in any state to comfort her or help her back on her hooves. For the first time since she had first met all her friends, all those years ago when Twilight Sparkle first moved to Ponyville, Fluttershy felt truly alone and vulnerable. And it was terrifying.

She gazed desperately around her, as if willing somepony to spring out from behind a rock or out of a hole in the ground and come to their aid. But all she saw was empty plains, dotted with the occasional rocky outcrop or grove of trees. Off in the distance in front of them, she could just see a faint shape on the horizon. Blinking her bleary eyes, they came into focus as what appeared to be a massive forest, somehow growing in the middle of this wasteland.

Even as she pondered how such a massive forest could suddenly spring up in the middle of these plains, something darted past her out of the corner of her eye. Looking to the right of the column of Blightlings and pony captives, she saw it again! The silhouette of something, slender and lithe, peeking up from behind a nearby boulder. But in the blink of an eye it was gone, only to peek up from behind another boulder, slightly closer to the trotting column but still too far to make out clearly.

Don’t say anything. Don’t even react. Pretend you can’t hear me.

Fluttershy started ever so slightly as she suddenly heard the voice speaking inside her head. A quick tug on the chain around her neck got her moving again, but while she was pulled along she still heard the voice in her mind. It was a voice she did not recognise, wispy and gentle, comforting and yet commanding at the same time. Eager to reply, she thought a moment, trying her hardest to communicate to this mysterious voice that she understood

I cannot help you and your friends just yet, but I promise that I will. I am Yarrow, of the Aras of Cervidas. What’s your name?

Fluttershy, she thought back, hoping that she was only thinking this and not actually saying anything aloud. My name is Fluttershy.

That’s a pretty name, the voice replied, making Fluttershy blush slightly. I wish I could help you and your friends sooner, but I’m the only one of my kind out this far. When these monsters venture closer to our territory we can come to your aid in force. Do you know where they are taking you?

Fluttershy replied, I’m not sure, but they say they are heading to a place they call Maudhul. They say it’s an outpost or fort of some kind.

Well, that’s certainly convenient. I’ve heard of that place, it’s a fairly new outpost right on the border of our land. Do you see that large forest up ahead?

Fluttershy craned her neck and looked over the heads of the column. Far in the distance, she could see on the horizon a small black shape, like a small castle or tower. She assumed that it must be Maudhul. But just to the right of the fort was an immense forest of tall trees of every kind. It stretched off into the distance, some trees appearing to be almost a hundred feet tall!

That is where I’m from, the voice of Yarrow continued. The forest kingdom of Cervidas, homeland of the Aras, and its capital of Ostaure.

For the first time in several days, Fluttershy felt her heart warming. You live in a forest? That’s wonderful! What kind of animals are there?

No time for idle chat, I’m afraid, Yarrow replied. I have to get back to my people now, Fluttershy. I won’t be able to speak to you anymore, but I’ll be watching these monsters on their way to the fort. Even if you can’t see me, I’ll be there.

But where are you? Fluttershy glanced around deftly, so as not to draw the attention of the Blightlings. I can’t see you anywhere.

Look to your right. The two boulders on the right of the column.

She checked the Blightlings immediately around her, seeing that they were all looking straight ahead. Fluttershy turned to see the boulders on her right, and could see the mysterious figure slightly clearer for the briefest of moments.
At first she thought it was some kind of pony peeking up from behind the boulder. But she had never seen a pony like this creature before. First of all, it had a very different build to any pony she had seen, with a rather bulky body supported by unusually slender limbs, and a thinner head that tapered to a white muzzle, tipped with a small black nose, with a pair of almond-shaped eyes that stared back at her. It also had a rather strange fur pattern visible beneath the green and brown tunic it wore; it seemed to be mostly a deep chestnut brown mottled with white spots on the back and lighter brown fur on its underside. But most unusual were the horns, like two branches of varnished wood, which sprouted from its head.

She silently stared at the creature, who simply stared back, smiling gently at Fluttershy. It then raised a cloven hoof to its mouth, as if hushing the pegasus.

I’m leaving now. Once you and your friends reach the fort I will return with my friends and we’ll rescue you. Until then just do what these monsters say and keep your head down. And don’t forget Fluttershy, I’m your friend.

And with that, the strange creature named Yarrow was gone. Not with some bright flash like a unicorn’s teleport spell, or even the familiar whoosh of a creature hurrying away. It was as if she blinked for the slightest nanosecond and Yarrow was gone.

Her thoughts on this most peculiar creature were interrupted however, as there came a twinge of pain in her left forehoof as she stubbed it against a rock. Wobbling for a moment, the chain around her neck yanked her forwards and her legs gave way beneath, and she fell to the ground with a squeak. Behind her, she could hear several Blightlings trying their best to skid to a halt, before tripping over her splayed legs and collapsing in a heap ontop of her. Fluttershy gasped for breath as more and more soldiers piled up around and atop her.

“Oof! Gettoff me!”

“Hey, somebody’s got their claws up my nose!”

“Somebody’s got their nose on my claws!”

“What’d you have for dinner Shataz, bricks?! You weigh a tonne!”

“Oh shuttup, yer no featherweight yourself!”

“What’s going on back here?!!”

Before a brawl could break out, however, Maugoth was on the scene, digging his way through the heap of Blightlings and shoving them aside. Finally, he hoisted the last soldier back on his hooves, leaving only Fluttershy, lying almost flattened on the ground.

“You!” He crouched low until he was snout-to-snout with the poor pegasus, glaring into her eyes, black smoke billowing from his mouth into her face. “You’re the troublemaker?! I gotta say, that’s rather surprising. I’d expect this out of either one of your troublesome little friends, but they’re both behaving themselves up ahead of you. So what’s your problem then?”

Fluttershy almost blurted out about the mysterious conversation she had just had in her head, with this mysterious Yarrow. But she checked herself, and swiftly came up with an excuse. “Um… Well, I was, er… I was looking up at the sky. I, uh…I thought I saw a bird or something flying above us. I… I g-guess I was distracted and I tripped and fell, a-and then… they all started falling over me…”

Maugoth looked up at the empty cloudless sky above them, and snorted, “Hmph! Well there’s no birds up there now. If there were, I’d have sent one of my flyers up there to fetch us some dinner!”

Laga came to join Maugoth, a thin, whippy branch held in his magical grip. “Normally, I’d have you whipped for interrupting the line and causing a ruckus like this… Consider yourself lucky that we’re on a tight schedule to get to Maudhul as fast as possible. Now get back in line and move it!”

Fluttershy squeaked in fright as the Blightling captain raised his voice, and quickly got to her feet, trotting along as the column started moving off again.

“Besides,” Maugoth muttered, his black smoke licking at her ear, “we’ll have plenty of time to tenderise you when we get to the fort.”

He leered at her one more time before hurrying up to the front of the column. She watched him go with wide, fearful eyes, before turning her gaze back to the fort up ahead, and the massive forest that stood beside it.

Pinkie Pie’s keen sense of smell and natural attraction to baked goods did not fail them. In a matter of minutes the four ponies were on the fourth level of Fjaereir, seated at a wooden table outside a small bakery, from inside of which wafted the scents of freshly-baked pastries, spices and all manner of other savoury and sweet delicacies. It was a simple establishment, a stone building with an open front, through which orders were made to the kitchen inside and passed out to waiters clad in white aprons, who served them to the small crowd of griffons outside. Most of the diners were seated at one of the four long trestle tables that stretched out in front of the bakery, though those who could not find room to sit simply stood at the sides, and some even perched along the walls or on the roof of the bakery itself, with the waiters flying up to them with their orders. It had a chaotic air about the place, but the staff maintained order among their patrons well enough, and an air of good cheer reigned over all.

Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Starswirl were seated at one of these long tables, squeezed inbetween other diners on either side. The four ponies shared a platter of savoury dumplings fresh from the boiling pot, as well as a basket of bread rolls.

“Mmm… I must say,” Rarity said, “as heavily as these dumplings sit in ones stomach, I can’t deny that they taste amazing!”

“I guess we’re just used to dumplings that are fried instead of boiled,” Twilight replied through a mouthful of dough. “They are good though. And these rolls aren’t bad either.”

“Aren’t bad?! They’re the yummiest thing I’ve had in my tummy for a while! I gotta ask them about their recipe before we leave.”

A griffon in a white apron stopped as he passed the four ponies, carrying a tray laden with glasses of fruit punch. “So, how are you four enjoying the food?” he asked as he handed a glass to each pony.

Twilight took a sip from her drink. “It’s delicious, thanks. After the time we’ve had, a good meal like this is just what we need.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are four ponies doing this far out here? You four have the look of Equestria ponies, and we hardly ever get your type around here,” the griffon waiter asked.

Twilight replied, “Well, we were out… umm… on a cross-country trip, with some other friends, and we lost them out there somewhere.”

“We were hoping to make an appeal to the Royal Court here, for aid in finding our friends,” Starswirl continued.

The griffon frowned. “Hmm. Well, I hope for you and your friends’ sakes that someone on the Council can help ya. You don’t wanna get lost out in these parts.”

“Actually,” Twilight interrupted. “What exactly are ‘these parts’? We’re… well, kinda lost ourselves.”

“Lost as well?” The griffon raised an eyebrow. “Well, in terms of your Equestria, we’re pretty far southwest of there. We’re just south of the San Palomino Desert, which is on Equestria’s border… I think. There’s a lot of empty land out there to get lost in, I’m afraid, and some pretty nasty creatures roaming around.”

“Yeah, we know…” Twilight said, the thoughts of her missing friends weighing heavy on her mind and heart.

The waiter noticed this sudden change in the unicorn’s expression, and swiftly changed the subject. “Er, listen, I gotta get back to work… But don’t worry. King Gideon’s got contacts all around these parts. If anybird can help you, it’s the Council.”

“Thanks,” Twilight replied with an appreciative smile. The griffon nodded and returned to the shop front to pick up another order of food.

Rarity swallowed anther mouthful of dumpling and dabbed at her lips with a napkin. “Well, it’s at least comforting to know where exactly we are. Though I’ve never been this far from Equestria before!”

“Indeed,” Starswirl replied. “I might keep an eye out for someplace in this town that sells maps. My dear Twilight, did not never think to pack a map on this journey?”

Twilight nodded. “Sure, but it only covers Equestria and the surrounding lands. We’re way off the map.”

“Intrepid explorers, lost in a faraway land!” Pinkie piped up, hoof waving dramatically in the air. “If Rainbow Dash was here, I bet she’d make some reference to Daring Do.”

Twilight and Rarity chuckled. “Yeah, I bet she would…” Twilight trailed off.

Pinkie reached across the table and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Aww, don’t worry Twilight. Rainbow Dash and Applejack are two of the toughest ponies I know, and I know a lot of tough ponies! I’m sure they’re doing fine.”

“But what about Fluttershy? She’s hardly a hardened traveller or athlete like the others,” Rarity responded.

“I dunno, she might not look it, but Fluttershy’s a lot tougher than she first appears. Just remember the whole incident with the dragon,” Twilight added.

Rarity and Pinkie both nodded as they reminisced on that day. Starswirl watched the grins growing on their faces with some confusion before turning to Twilight. But before she could explain, there came the booming toll of a massive bell, echoing down through the town from a tall tower by the keep.

“What’s that all about?” Pinkie asked a griffon who sat beside her.

“That would be the signal for sunset,” he replied. “I couldn’t help but overhear that your four hrossa are makin’ an appeal at the Royal Court. You better hurry up to the keep then, it’ll be starting in about five minutes.”

Twilight and her friends hastily left a small pile of coins on their empty platter, shouldered their saddlebags and hurried through the streets towards the keep.

Just as they reached the top tier of the mountainside, Starswirl shouted out to the two guards who were just beginning to close the massive wooden doors, “Halt! Let us through, we have council with the Royal Court!”

The armoured griffons looked up as they heard his voice, and quickly yanked on the doors to slow their closing. The four ponies reached the doors with barely a second to spare, nodding a quick thanks as they passed between the doors into the keep.

“You’re just in time, pony visitors.”

Before them stood none other than Galahad, the young griffon who had greeted them at the keep earlier today. He was still lad in the same velvet coat, but he had discarded the fur cloak, and now wore a simple bronze circlet around his brow. The young griffon smiled at them. “Come on through, the court is about to begin. You’re lucky, today we don’t have many appeals apart from yours.”

The four ponies followed Galahad down a short corridor through the keep, until they came to another door before them, as the corridor branched off to the right. “I’m going this way to join the other members of the Council, but you ponies can go in and take a seat now with the others. See you in there!”

With one last smile, he headed down the corridor and out of sight, leaving the four ponies standing before the door. Starswirl took an audible deep breath. “Well… I suppose this is it. Shall we?”

The three mares nodded, and Starswirl pushed the door open. All four ponies gasped as the Royal Court was revealed to them.

Greeting them was an enormous, tall room, packed to the rafters with griffons of all breeds, sizes and colours. It was less like a council room or a court, and more akin to an arena in design. On either side of the entrance there stood rows and rows of large, flat cushions arranged up a ramp, almost like the bleachers at a racetrack or a hoofball game. At the base of these seats, in front of the large space in the centre of the court, there was a red carpet that stretched across the courtroom, dotted with another row of cushions, upon which several griffons were already seated. And at the far end of the space, raised up on another platform, were five stone seats arrange in a row. The seats on either end were simply carved from black granite, and the three seats between them were more ornate, carved instead of white marble. But the middle throne was the most intricately detailed of them all, carved with patterns of swirls and strange runes.

As the four ponies sat down on their cushions, Twilight muttered to the griffon beside them, “So, who exactly is on the council?”

The griffon pointed to the thrones. “Well, King Gideon presides over the whole thing. Then on his left and right are his aides, Counsellor Galahad and Commander Gellert. Then there’s the notary, Glinda, over on Galahad’s left.”

“What about the last seat? Who sits there?” Rarity asked. “I notice that there’s already a crown on that seat.”

The four ponies followed her pointing hoof and saw that, indeed, the seat farthest on the King’s right had a small iron circlet resting on its cushion. But before the griffon could reply, there came an “All rise!” from one of the guards, who shouldered his musket and opened a door on the side, through which the council entered, as the four ponies hastily stood up with the rest of the griffons. First came an elderly female griffon, no doubt Glinda, dressed in a simple grey tunic with a silver trim, and an iron circlet around her brow. Then came Gellert, no longer clad in his dark armour but instead in a red and gold dress military dress jacket, not unlike the one Shining Armour wore during the royal wedding. Even without the bulky armour, Gellert was an imposing figure, towering over almost everyone present. Around his head he wore a bronze circlet. Lastly there came Galahad, still dressed in his velvet jacket, but now with a silver circlet around his brow. He gave a quick smile to the four ponies as he sat down on his white marble throne.

“All bow for his majesty Gideon, lord and king of Fjaereir!” the griffon shouted, stooping low as a door on the left of the courtroom swung open. Suddenly every creature in the courtroom fell silent and every head was bowed. The ponies quickly followed suit, but not one of the four friends could resist raising their heads ever-so-slightly to get a look as King Gideon entered.

The floor shaking with every footfall, in stepped the largest griffon any of the ponies had ever seen. He was several heads taller than any other griffon or pony present, almost as large as a manticore. His hindquarters were those of an enormous lion, the tuft on the end of his tail ragged and untidy, and beginning to grey, much like the rest of his fur. But beneath his greying fur could be seen the shapes of enormous, bulging muscles and sinews, all along his legs and his barrel-chest. His clawed forelimbs were just as enormous and muscular, terminating in hands that looked like they could crush whole skulls in their grip. In one hand he carried a strange sort of mace, terminating in a head that had only a single hooked spike on one side, looking almost like a simple imitation of a bird’s skull. His head was that of an enormous golden eagle, with a vicious hooked beak and yellow eyes. Around his heavy brow was a simple circlet of gold, with a ruby set into the centre.

At one time, Gideon must have looked like the most powerful griffon in existence. But Twilight could not help but notice how he limped exhaustedly to his marble throne, how heavily he seated himself down, how vacant and bleary his yellow eyes seemed to be, how distant his stare. The red and golden jacket he wore, with a longer trim and more ornately decorated than Gellert’s, seemed faded and shabby. He seemed to lean heavily on his mace like a walking stick, resting his chin upon it as he sat forward on his throne. Even with his imposing build, Twilight could not help but think that he looked kind of pathetic.

“This Royal Court is called to order, you may be seated,” boomed Gellert’s voice. The assembled griffons all sat down, and the ponies followed suit, and the council began. The other griffons presented their appeals and cases to the four griffons, who would then each give their opinion on the matter, except for Gideon who remained silent. The three griffons would then give a vote of ‘Jatit’ or ‘Neitit’ on the matter, and move onto the next. Most of the appeals were of a very simple nature; one griffon was asking for permission to build an extension on his house to house his growing family (A unanimous ‘Jatit’). The next was a land dispute between two small families, with the accuser claiming that the other family had extended his vegetable garden onto his property without asking permission (‘Jatit’ in favour of the accuser). The third appeal was for aid in searching for a pair of young griffons who had gotten lost in the mountains (Another unanimous ‘Jatit’, though Gellert took some convincing that he had enough troops to spare).

“Well, this is promising,” Starswirl muttered to Twilight out the corner of his mouth. “They’ve said ‘aye’ to every appeal so far. That last appeal about the search party is especially encouraging.”

“Yeah, I see what you mean. Here’s hoping, I guess,” Twilight replied.

Galahad turned to face them, beckoning them forward. “The last petition of the evening. The Royal Court calls forward the four pony visitors from Equestria!”

The mention of ponies sent a ripple of mutterings throughout the court, as all eyes turned to the four ponies. Twilight hesitated, but with a quick nudge, Starswirl stood up beside her. She smiled at him, and beckoned for Rarity and Pinkie to stand as well. Together, the three mares and one stallion took their place in the centre of the court, looking up to the four griffons seated before them.

“Order please,” said Galahad, and the courtroom fell silent once more. “Ponies of Equestria, please state your names and the manner of your appeal, please.”

Twilight nodded and nervously cleared her throat. “Ahem…Erm, my name is Twilight Sparkle, sirs. And these are my two friends, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. We are ponies from the town of Ponyville… though I was originally from Canterlot, that’s the capital of Equestria, but I moved to Ponyville…“ She trailed off under the unflinching glare of the four griffons. “Erm… anyway, and this is Starswirl the Bearded, who is…um…”

Twilight trailed off again, glancing desperately at her friends. They had never come up with any sort of cover-story for Starswirl! What do I say, she thought to herself. What can I say? That he’s the greatest wizard in history, brought back from the dead?!

“I am her tutor, sirs.” Starswirl interjected swiftly. “Since she moved out of Canterlot, I’ve been her magical tutor in Ponyville.” He gave a stealthy wink in Twilight’s direction, and the young unicorn nodded.

“Anyway sirs, we have been travelling around Equestria, my friends and I. But we also had three others with us, our friends.”

“And why were you travelling together?” Glinda asked.

“I-it was purely academic,” Starswirl quickly replied. “Part of Twilight Sparkle’s magical training.”

“Like a field trip!” Pinkie Pie added.

Gellert glared at Pinkie. “Hmm… Well, I can understand why you three unicorns would be on this, ahem, ‘field trip’. But what about the others? Are they unicorns as well?”

“No, sir,” Twilight replied nervously. “Pinkie Pie and one other, Applejack, are earth-ponies, and the other two, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are pegasi.”

“Then why would they come as well?” Gellert asked, an eyebrow raised.

Rarity responded, “Well, if you saw an excuse to go on a trip all around Equestria with a group of your friends, would you not take it?”

There was a general murmur of agreement from the griffons in the stands, as well as from the council members. “That does sound nice, I can’t deny,” Galahad said.

“Nice country up in Equestria, that’s true,” added Glinda.

“Hold on!” Gellert stood up. “If you and your companions were travelling around Equestria, then how did you end up so far south of its borders?”

Galahad stood as well. “Now hold on, everybird. How about we save these questions for after these ponies finish their account?”

Gellert hesitated, but begrudgingly sat down. Galahad did the same. “Continue, please.”

Twilight nodded. “Thank you. Anyway, the seven of us were travelling together, when we were… attacked by these creatures…”

“What sort of creatures? Some sort of beast, or-“

“Gellert.”

“Hmmph… Continue,” Gellert muttered.

“These creatures, they were… well, they were like us, like ponies or griffons, but… different.” Twilight attempted to describe the Blightling creatures that had tormented them. There was another murmur throughout the courtroom, this time more nervous and uncertain.

“So they looked like us… what else?” Galahad asked.

Twilight gulped. “Well… they had faded fur, or feathers… and I think several had scales as well… and some of them wore tattered cloaks of some kind… and their eyes were completely black, except for their irises, which were-“

“Yellow?”

Twilight was taken aback at Gellert’s interruption. “Y-yes, that’s exactly it. Apparently they call themselves the Blight, and they kidnapped three of my friends!”

The murmurs in the courtroom swelled to a panicked chattering. At the mention of the Blight, a change seemed to come over King Gideon as well. He raised his heavy head and, or the first time, actually seemed to look at the ponies before him. Was it a trick of the light, or was that a tear in his eye? Twilight looked to her friends, worried that she may have said the wrong thing.

“Order! We shall have order!” Gellert boomed, and the room slowly fell silent again. Galahad stood up.

“We’ve had encounters with these monsters before. They appeared in our lands a couple of years ago. They roam unchallenged and are indiscriminate in whom they attack. We still don’t know their ultimate motives, but they seem to be determined to spread their plague to as many innocent creatures as they can.”

“And they have our friends!” Pinkie cried. “We need your help to find them and get them back!”

“As much as I would like to say yes, ponies, I am not sure we can…” Galahad replied.

“But why not?”

“Well, because… how can I put this delicately…” The young griffon scratched his chin as he searched for the right words.

“Because if your friends have been taken by the Blight, they are probably either dead, or they are already one of them.”

The four ponies’ eyes grew wide with shock, and the breath caught in their throats. Galahad threw a dirty look in Gellert’s direction. “Well…yes, I would have phrased a little less brutally, but that is the truth. We have heard no account of a griffon being captured by the Blight, who was not either killed on sight or turned into a Blightling themself.”

“Can they do that? Turn you into… one of them?” Rarity asked, half not even wanting to hear the answer.

Galahad nodded. “We have seen it happen to many of our own people. They strip their victim’s mind bare and empty, filling it instead with their evil plague. It poisons their mind and warps their body, until there is barely anything left of their previous selves. No memories, no allegiance to anything but the Blight, and no desires except to spread the Blight further.”

Twilight felt the blood draining from her face as she heard more and more. So the Blight can convert their prisoners and make them into Blightlings as well? What's to say that they've not already done just that to Rainbow, Applejack and Fluttershy?!

A tiny glint of light inside her saddlebag caught her attention. Rifling through the bag a bit, she found that the source was the clasp on a small lacquered box. The box that contained the Tears.

The Tears, of course! Suddenly it hit her; if turning a creature to the Blight erases their mind and their memory, then it would erase any memory they had of why they were travelling at all. My friends would completely forget the Tears existed!

“Sirs!” Twilight shouted over the hubbub that had broken out in the courtroom. “Please, listen!”

“Order! Order, I say!” Gellert roared over the cacophony, to no avail. Finally, fed up, he puffed out his chest, opened his beak and let out a long, deafening screech.

In an instant, the entire courtroom was silent again. Every griffon and pony was immediately cowed.

“Phew… thank you, Gellert,” Galahad finally said. “Now, Twilight, do you have anything more to say before we put it to vote?”

Twilight looked anxiously to the others, who all looked expectantly back. “If you have anything more to add, I suggest we do so. We need all the help we can get,” Starswirl muttered.

Twilight nodded, and turned back to the council members. “Yes… yes, I do have something more to say. I know that my three friends have been kidnapped by the Blight. However, I have reason to believe that they are still fine, and have neither been killed or turned into Blight themselves.”

“Oh?” Galahad’s eyes widened. “And what would this reason be?”

Twilight gulped. No turning back now. “Because… because we have something with us. It’s something that the Blight want for themselves…”

“And what would this be?” Gellert asked, his curiosity piqued.

Twilight paused, just as she held the box in her magical grip. She found herself hesitant to reveal the Tears to these griffons. Just how much can we trust them? What would they think of something like the Tears? Would they want it for themselves?

She felt a hoof on her shoulder, and looked up to see Starswirl, Pinkie and Rarity, all looking at her, with encouragement in their eyes. “I think it’s time we told them the truth,” Rarity said.

Twilight smiled at them, and nodded. Horn aglow, she lifted the lacquered box out of her bag and sent it hovering towards the four griffons seated before her. Undoing the clasp, she pulled the lid back and revealed to them the tiny emerald within.

“This is the Tears of Gaia. It contains the concentrated magic of six of the most powerful beings in existance. It is one of the most powerful magical reservoirs in all of Equestria and maybe even beyond Equestria. And the Blight want it for their own.”

13. Prison Break

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The fort of Maudhul was a simple construction. Built atop a small hillock, ramshackle stone walls formed a perimeter around a dusty courtyard. A few small buildings were built into the inside of the walls, with the keep standing tall among the others, built into the back wall. Scattered around the courtyard floor were many small trapdoors, leading to more chambers and buildings underground. Somewhere, also, in that underground network were the Pits. The Pits. Those were words that would send shivers of glee down the spine of any Blightling, or reduce any poor prisoner sentenced to them to a mewling, quivering wreck.

Above the gates, a single Blightling stood guard on the wall. Only a few dozen Blightlings remained in the fort, mostly just to keep it in good condition, and to guard the few prisoners in the cells down below, and a few unfortunate souls in the Pits who could barely be called living anymore. In the warm evening sun, her eyes began to droop as she leaned heavily upon the battlements. The fort had been quiet these past few days and she had been on guard duty for two days straight. Surely, she thought, a quick nap wouldn’t hurt…

“OPEN THE GATES! MAUGOTH’S TROOPS ARE APPROACHING!”

The Blightling’s eyes snapped open and she leapt to attention. Peering out at the landscape before them, she saw clearly a column of creatures approaching the fort. She hurried to the enormous bell that hung by her, and rang out the alarm.
Below her, the other Blightlings posted at the fort rushed about, gathering up weapons, donning helmets and uniforms, and lining up in front of the gate. Two particularly large, burly creatures took down the crossbar that held the gates shut, and pulled the massive wooden gates open.

With Maugoth, Laga and Shataz at the head, the column of Blightling troops filed into the courtyard, not bothering with marching or standing in lines. From among the stationed Blightling troops, the largest stepped forward. He had apparently been a griffon at some time, if the beak and clawed forelegs were any indication. But his wings had rotted away long ago, leaving only two frames of bone and sinew remaining.

“Maugoth. We heard you were coming. Welcome to Maudhul. Ashdautas vrasubatlat.” He hissed through a gnarled beak.

Maugoth grinned. “Nar udatsas, Shargoth. Hope things didn’t get too boring for you guys here. So what’s been happening?”

Shargoth shrugged. “Not a whole lot. We had a brief skirmish with some flatar kjani on our way here, but that’s about it.”

“Ah, sounds like fun. Any of them accept our gift?”

“Only two. Those beasts are tough, I’ll give ‘em that. We did away with most of the rest, but we’re keeping one of them down in the cells. One of his friends let slip that he’s apparently royalty.” The winged Blightling explained.

Maugoth’s ears perked up at this. “Royalty, eh? Well, that could come in handy.”

“And what about you?” Shargoth pointed to the three ponies among their midst. “I notice that you got a few prisoners of your own. Won’t you introduce me?”

All eyes turned to Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Rainbow and Applejack glared back, but said nothing, and Fluttershy huddled between them, trying to be inconspicuous.

Maugoth leaned close to his fellow commander. “Those three have information. Apparently they and their other friends were looking for something, an ancient magic artefact or a weapon of some kind.”

“Ooh, I’m intrigued. So lemme guess, you want them to tell you where this thing is, right? Regardless of how much they refuse?”

“You know me all too well,” Maugoth replied. “There were six of ‘em, but we lost the other three. Maybe with a little, ahem, convincing, they’ll tell us where they went off to.”

Shargoth grinned. “Well, sounds like ye got things under control. Have them taken down to the cells for now, and make yerselves at home. I’ll have my troops cleared outta here by nightfall.”

Before they could listen to any more of the conversation, the three mares found themselves being hauled away from the group by their chains. One of the trapdoors in the ground creaked open to reveal a flight of crudely carved steps snaking down into the dark.

“Down ya go, little things!” their Blightling captors guffawed as they dragged them down the stairs. They found themselves in a dank, dimly lit tunnel dug out of the earth, musky and damp. A quick tug on their chains and the three ponies were on the move again. Applejack and Rainbow Dash merely kept their heads down and struggled on, too tired and resigned to fight back. Fluttershy, however, glanced constantly around her. She thought back to Yarrow’s words as they echoed in her mind once again. Even if you can’t see me, I’ll be there. Did that mean he was somewhere in the fort? Was he watching them even now?

Her thoughts were interrupted as she was shoved bodily into a small cell dug into the wall. One of the Blightlings followed her in and hooked her collar and chain up to a loop in the wall, before doing the same to her other friends in their own cells. Once all three of them were shackled and locked up, he headed back out into the tunnels, leaving the three in the dark.

“Well this is just great,” Applejack’s voice muttered from somewhere on Fluttershy’s left. “You gals alright? Where are y’all?”

“No, I’m not alright!” Rainbow Dash’s voice came from the right. “I’m stuck in a tiny little cell, I’m chained to the wall and I can’t see a thing! Lemme out already!!”

“Rainbow, calm down! The last thing we need ta do right now is panic…”

“This is the perfect time to panic! I’m no good in tiny spaces like this!”

“Yes Rainbow, I know,” Applejack replied. “But we gotta stay calm if we’re gonna get outta here!”

“Yeah, emphasis on the ‘if’ part of that statement.”

All three ponies fell silent as they heard this new voice.

“Erm… Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked, “Did your voice change or something?”

“I didn’t say anything,” the pegasus replied.

“No, that would have been me.” The voice spoke again. “I gotta say, it’s nice to hear kind voices again. Who are you three?”

“Uh… Applejack’s my name. Where are you?” Applejack asked.

“I’m in another cell. Applejack… that’s an Equestrian name, isn’t it?”

Rainbow joined in. “Yep. And Rainbow Dash is my name. Ever heard of me?”

“Should I have?” the voice replied. “I’ve never been to Equestria myself. I’m pretty sure I heard a third voice too. Who would that be?”

Fluttershy squeaked as she heard herself being acknowledged. Nervously clearing her throat, she said “Erm… I’m F-Fluttershy. And who are you?”

“My name’s Gordon. I’m from a town northwest of here… I think. I’m not certain exactly where we are.” The voice replied.

“I do, sort of,” Fluttershy replied. “I mean, I know where we are in relation to somewhere else. We’re on the border of this huge forest, by the name of Cervidas.”

Applejack started. “Cervidas? Ain’t that the place Twilight mentioned back when we were travelling to Canterlot?”

“Yeah, that’s where the Deerfolk live, right?” Rainbow added.

“Great. So I’m trapped in here, and I’m miles away from home!” Gordon muttered.

The four prisoners were quiet for a moment, the only sound being an occasional dripping noise from the caverns, or the echo of somebody moving around outside.

“Well… It could be worse,” Fluttershy said.

“Worse?” Applejack muttered halfheartedly. “Fluttershy, we’re locked up tighter than chickens in a coop, in a castle surrounded by tonnes of those Blight things, and we still dunno where Twilight and the others are! How could things be worse?!”

Fluttershy quailed slightly under the verbal onslaught, but picked herself back up and continued “Well, erm… at least the cells aren’t too small. They’re bigger than those ones that we were locked up in on the moon, remember?”

“Oh yeah, when we were up against the Nightmare Forces,” Rainbow Dash responded. “Yeah, I guess those cells were much smaller.”

“Heh, I dunno about y’all,” Applejack joined in. “but I wouldn’t mind seein’ old Jerome and Larry again right about now.”

“Yeah, and little Buffy too…” Fluttershy added.

“Wait… Jerome…? Moon… What?!”

Even in a situation this dire, Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at Gordon’s confusion. “Long story, sugarcube… Still, I don’t think getting’ outta here will be quite as easy as it was then. We don’t exactly have Pinkie here to reveal that she’s got the key hidden in her mane.”

“Yeah…” Rainbow sighed. “I hate to say it, but I dunno if I we can rely on magic or Harmony this time.”

“Erm, actually, you might not be quite right, Rainbow Dash.”

“What do you mean?”

Fluttershy stood up by the door. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything while those Blight creatures were still around, but… well, I was talking to somepony while we were being brought here.”

“Wait, what? Talking to somepony, how exactly?”

“Well, in our minds… I think. I could hear his voice in my head, and I could speak back to him by thinking. I’m not sure how it happened. He said he was from Cervidas, and that he was going to help rescue us.”

“From Cervidas, huh?” Gordon said. “Sounds to me like you were talking with one of the Deerfolk. So what did he say?”

“He said that when we get to here, we would be close enough to the forest for him to come and rescue us with his people.”

“Huh, typical deer. Never wants to stray too far from his precious forest.”

Applejack spoke up. “Well, I guess that’s reassurin’, knowing that they’re plannin’ on rescuing us, but how long will we have to wait for them to show up?”

“He said he’d rescue once we’re in here,” Fluttershy replied.

A sharp bang came from where Rainbow was locked up, and the pegasus kicked against the cell door. “Then why haven’t they busted us out yet?!”

“For Pony’s sake Rainbow, we’ve only been in here about an hour! I know ya like to live yer life in the fast lane, but would a little patience be too much to ask?!” snapped Applejack.

Rainbow Dash mutinously muttered, “Yes mother.”

“Well, whenever these Deerfolk decide to show up, I hope for all our sakes that it’s soon,” Gordon interrupted before an argument could break out. “Those yellow-eyed freaks are keeping us alive, which must mean they want us all for something. And I think it’s a safe bet it’s not gonna be pretty.”

The four prisoners were quiet once more, each alone with their thoughts.

“Hey, Gordon.” Rainbow broke the silence. “I keep hearing these Blight things talking about something called The Pits. You know anything about it?”

“Yeah, I was kinda wonderin’ myself. I’d heard them mention it a few times. Is it some kinda mine or labour camp or somethin’?”

Gordon was silent a moment before answering. “No, it’s much… much worse. I, uh, I don’t really think any of you really wanna know what it really is. Frankly I wish I didn’t know it myself!”

He paused again, and from his cell could be heard sounds of him shuffling around, no doubt settling on the floor.
Fluttershy spoke up again. “Please… It might be easier just to know.”

Gordon sighed. “Well, when these creatures catch anybird, they’ll do one of two things to you. If they think you’re strong and fit enough to help them, they infect you with their poison and turn you into one of them. If they think you’re too weak to be infected, then they send you down into the Pits for their… entertainment.”

“… Entertainment?” Applejack echoed. “What sorta entertainment do you... wait… you don’t mean-“

“Yeah.” Gordon replied. “Exactly that. And let’s just say that they’re in the mood for It a lot.”

“That’s….That’s horrible!” Rainbow spat. “That’s just sick!!”

While Applejack and Rainbow Dash continued to express their disgust, Fluttershy was still putting the pieces together in her mind. But when she realised the meaning behind Gordon’s words, Fluttershy clapped a hoof to her mouth in horror and revulsion. Does that mean that those Blightlings, those monsters… they’re going to…to… and to her…?!

Unable to hold it back any longer, Fluttershy could only curl up in a pitiful little ball in her cell, whimpering to herself. I don’t know if you can hear me, she prayed silently, but please. Yarrow, if you’re there, please… please, help us!

But there was no reply. She wanted to scream aloud, or hit the door or cry, but even that felt too exhausting for her. Scooting along the floor a bit, she huddled up in the corner of her cell, eyes clamped shut. But just as she finally felt the merciful veil of sleep falling over her mind, Yarrow’s voice spoke again, loud and clear in her mind.

We’re on our way.

Maugoth watched with a grin of satisfaction as his Blightling troops hurried to and fro about the fortress of Maudhul. With the outpost’s former skeleton crew out of the way, he could reshape this fortress into his own personal stronghold. From here, he could expand and send out troops to find more potential recruits to receive their Black Blessing.

And then there are their little pony prisoners. They would definitely be useful in finding those legendary Tears of Gaia. Maugoth could remember very little of his former life before the Black Blessing opened his eyes and made him what he is today, but he did know one thing about ponykind: They’re generally a very selfless race, rarely willing to put their fellow pony at risk for their own gain. It’s obvious that these ponies in particular were very close friends. They would do anything to keep their friends safe. Even lead us back to the Tears.

And with that kind of power in my grasp, The Blight will be mind to command. We’ll spread across the world and make it our own. Just like it should have always been…

His train of thought was interrupted as he felt a tiny pinprick in the back of his mind. His eager grin turned to a nervous frown; he knew just what that meant. With the rest of his troops busy, Maugoth hurried up into his new quarters in the keep of the fortress. Closing the door and the windows, he shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

As he breathed out, the noxious black smoke that always lingered around his mouth billowed out in swirls and plumes. The smoke began to circle around him as it formed into a massive dark cloud before him. Two yellow lights formed in the smoke, peering down at Maugoth like massive eyes.

The Blightling leader knelt down in reverence before the cloud. “You… honour me with your presence.”

“Spare me the pleasantries, Maugoth. What do you have to say for yourself?” A voice echoed from the cloud, sonorous, deep, rumbling. It was as if several dozen voices were speaking at once. And every one of them was furious.

“S-sire?”

“We bestow on you not only our Black Blessing, but we allow you to retain your own free will and your own mind. And this is how you repay us? We are ashamed. Did you think that your little playthings would go unnoticed?”

Maugoth raised an eyebrow. “I-I’m not sure I understand you, sire.”

“Your three little vogal kjani, Maugoth. Those ponies. You have every opportunity to welcome them to our ever-growing family, and yet you still deny them my gift! Are you really so selfish? Or is three how many it takes to satisfy your lust now?”

“That’s not it at all!” Maugoth replied. “I haven’t turned them to our kind, because they have something we could use!”

The voice was silent a moment, before rumbling, “And what would that be?”

“A weapon, sire. A source of near unlimited power! It could change our fortunes in this war. With it we could increase our strength tenfold, with enough power to spread our gift across the whole world!”

“Hmm… that changes things. And one of them has this weapon?”

The Blightling’s tattered ears fell. “Erm… not exactly. But one of their fellow ponies does. I can propose a trade: the safety and wellbeing of these three ponies, for the weapon.”

“And would they accept this deal?”

“They would, sire. Ponies of Equestria value their friends greatly.”

“Equestria…” The voice rumbled and growled with more intensity. “When our strength is enough, that nation shall be the first to receive our Blessing. If not for those accursed rulers of theirs, Celestia and Luna, I would have bestowed my Blessing upon all of the Others, and this universe would have been mine long ago…”

“So, may I continue with my plan, sire?”

“You may. Obtain this weapon by any means necessary. And when you have it, bring it to Burzkala immediately. That is all.”

And with that, the yellow eyes dimmed, and the black cloud began to swirl around again, before rushing back into Maugoth’s mouth. With one final gasp, it was gone, and Maugoth opened his eyes once more. He grinned.

“Dear Allfather, you old fool.”

Opening the windows once more, he watched as his soldiers milled about at their jobs. Not long now until I can have every creature in this world at my command. All I need is that blasted stone!

His gaze wandered around the courtyard, until it stopped at the trapdoors that led to the prison cells. Well, I guess there’s no time like the present.

The ears of the four prisoners perked up as they heard the door of the prison chamber opening again. Hoofsteps heralded the entrance of somepony, followed by a low chuckle.

“Now then, little ponies, how are we doing?”

There was no reply. Maugoth chuckled again. “Oh come on, don’t be that way. All I’m asking for is a little cooperation from you. Just tell us where your little friends are, and where they might be keeping that little jewel of theirs, and you’ll be free.”

“Even if we did know, we wouldn’t tell you!” Rainbow Dash snapped.

“I dunno what yer plannin’ to do with the Tears, but I’ll bet hooves to hindquarters that it’s nothin’ pleasant.” Added Applejack.

“Oh come on,” Maugoth replied. “You treat us like we’re the bad guys!”

“Gee, I wonder why!”

“All we want to do is make this world better. I’ve been blessed, my soldiers and I! Our Allfather has given us the great gift of perfection, and all we want to do is to share it with you!”

“Ya mean that poison inside of ya? That turned y’all into freaks of nature?!” Applejack retorted.

Maugoh chuckled again. “And here I heard that Equestrians were a tolerant nation.”

Rainbow Dash laughed humourlessly. “Yeah, there’s a limit to how much we can tolerate anypony. And we’ve heard about the Pits. You sickos don’t deserve any tolerance at all!”

“So you’ve heard about those, huh? Well then, I have a proposal to make. Nice and simple for you: You cooperate with us, or it’s down to the Pits.” There was no longer any humour in Maugoth’s voice. Only cold cruelty.

His proposition was met with silence just as cold. “I see. Very well then,” Maugoth sighed. “I guess I have no choice.”

In the centre of the prison chamber, there were four small levers. Hovering his hoof over the first three, he paused and pushed down on the middle one. It tilted all the way down until it was flat on the floor, with a resounding CLICK!

Fluttershy removed her hooves from her face as she felt the floor moving beneath her. A seam appeared across the floor from one end of the cell to the other, and began to expand. The very floor opened up beneath her feet.

“I’d say that this hurts me more than you, but I never tell a lie.”

The loop connecting her chain to the wall came undone. With a final earsplitting scream, Fluttershy tumbled through the opening and into the darkness below.

On the fringe of the woods of Cervidas, the bushes stirred. A head popped up from among the undergrowth, branching antlers glowing ever so slightly in the dark of the night.

“We can wait no longer. Tolo hi!” Yarrow called into the bushes. In seconds, about twenty Deerfolk were emerging from the forest, shaking the leaves from their antlers and dusting off their earth-coloured tunics.

“Marigold, you take twelve around the front and sides of the walls and divert their attention. The rest, follow me.”

The deer named Marigold nodded and her deer hurried of into the darkness. Yarrow watched as she headed off, before leading his own dozen troops towards the castle.

When Fluttershy opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was a pounding headache. Clutching her throbbing skull in her forehooves, she glanced around at where she had landed.

She was in the middle of a chamber, about the size of a small living room or a bedroom, but completely empty. Along the walls there were a few small loops and chains, terminating in shackles and collars of various sizes. A single door was the only way in or out, aside from the small hole in the ceiling above her, leading back up to the cells. The floor and the walls were dug crudely out of the damp earth, illuminated by a single burning torch by the door. But what struck her most was the smell.

It was a wholly unpleasant mix of smells. The metallic tang of dried blood, the earthy, musky scent of underground, the saltiness of sweat, and other more foreboding odours all combined together into some hideous miasma.

She started, jumping to her hooves, sending another jolt of pain reverberating through her skull, as she heard a noise outside the door. It sounded like a lock was being fumbled with and unlocked on the outside. Huddling against the far wall, Fluttershy curled up and closed her eyes again, awaiting her fate.

But there was no sound of the door opening or the lock unlocking. Instead, she heard some other commotion outside the door. Shouting, loud bangs and crashes, and strange pulsing, whooshing sounds.

Suddenly, there was a deafening crash as something heavy was thrown bodily against the door, knocking it off its hinges. As the dust cleared, Fluttershy looked up and saw a particularly large Blightling sprawled atop the fallen door, knocked out cold. Behind the fallen creature stood an odd-looking creature, in a very familiar tunic.

“I told you I was on my way. Now let’s get you out of here,” Yarrow said with a confident smile.

The cream-coloured pegasus needed no second bidding.

After what seemed like an eternity of navigating endless dank tunnels and caverns, Fluttershy and Yarrow pushed open the final trapdoor and found themselves on the surface, where chaos reigned. Blightlings and Deerfolk were running all about the place, chasing one another, crashing into one another and tumbling down from the walls. Every now and then a coloured flash of magic would whizz by, either fizzling out in the air, leaving a scorch-mark on the walls or slamming headlong into an unsuspecting target.

A slender young doe sprinted up to the pair, skidding to a halt. “Ah good, you found her. Juniper has the other three. So Yarrow, I think we gottheir attention.”

“Marigold, when I said ‘create a diversion’, I didn’t mean for you to storm the place!” Yarrow shouted over the din of the battle.

“Well, we were firing up at the walls, and it sort of escalated from there. But we have what we came for, so let us make haste!”

Yarrow nodded and the two deer headed towards the gates. But Fluttershy found herself unable to move, rooted to the spot by fear.

Yarrow nudged her none-too gently “Better get moving Fluttershy, no time to dawdle!”

The pegasus shook off the shock, and followed behind Yarrow and Marigold. The three kept to the shadows, steering clear of the mass-battles going on in the middle of the courtyard. “Marigold, did you say that you had the other three?”

The doe nodded. “Yes, two ponies and a griffon. Why?”

“A griffon?” Fluttershy joined in. “Oh, so Gordon’s a griffon! He was already in the prison cells when we were put in there, you see.”

Yarrow frowned slightly. “A griffon? Can we trust him?”

“Well, we either take him with us now or just fight him as an ulunn later!” Marigold replied.

Before Yarrow could reply, a bolt of magic burst against the wall just above their heads. The trio promptly hurried towards the gates, where a small group of Deerfolk were waiting, along wth…

“Rainbow Dash! Applejack! Gordon!”

Fluttershy took to the air and swooped into a tender group hug with the three. “Fluttershy, are you okay?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“I’m fine, I’m just so happy to see you all! I thought I’d never see any of you again!”

“Forgive me, but can we save the pleasantries for when we’re somewhere safe?” Yarrow interjected.

“I have to agree.”

A particularly large stag joined the group, his massive branch of antlers towering above the rest, four more deer following behind him.

“Ah, Oakwood, glad to see you’re safe.” Yarrow said with a respectful nod.

“Mae G'ovannen, Yarrow,” Oakwood replied. He glanced around the fortress, as more and more deer began gathering with them by the gates. “We’re ready to back out whenever you are!”

Suddenly, a pair of Blightlings, tall skinny lizardlike things with bony spines along their legs, leapt down among them, latching onto Rainbow and Applejack. The pair of ponies kicked and bucked with all their might to get the monsters to let go as several deer helped, their antlers glowing as they grabbed them in magical grips. But to no avail, as the Blightlings just held on tighter, their claws drawing blood as they dug into the ponies’ fur.

“Now that is enough!”

Everybody froze as they heard the voice. It was rare that that voice, usually so quiet and demure, would shout that loud. But Applejack and Rainbow Dash had heard it before, and they knew what it meant.

The two of them clamped their eyes shut as Fluttershy rounded upon the two Blightlings. “You two let them go right now! I have been through a lot today, and I’ll put up with that, but you leave my friends ALONE!”

The reptilian beasts tried to attack her, but as soon as they looked at her face, they were frozen in terror. Her eyes were held wide open, glaring straight at them with nothing short of unbridled anger and dominance. It pierced their minds and rendered their every conscious thought meaningless.

The Stare has a way of doing that.

“Now you let go of them and leave us alone, open these gates for us, and don’t DARE coming after us when we leave. Got it?!”

They nodded feebly and let go of the two ponies, scuttling off towards the latches. In a matter of seconds, the massive wooden gates were being heaved open before them. Fluttershy watched them with a satisfied nod as she trotted out the gates. “Now that’s better. Thank you.”

Followed swiftly by a score of deer, two ponies and a griffon, all rather shocked and confused.

“Stop them you idiots! Don’t let them get away!!”

Maugoth pushed his way through throngs of confused and angry soldiers, cloak billowing out behind him. Booting beasts of all size aside, his focus remained on the gates as he watched them creaking open, and his prisoners streaming out.

“Close the gates! Afar Vadokanuk! Close those gates!!” he shrieked. “Who told anybody to open the gates?!!”

But by the time he finally fought through his own troops milling about and reached the gates, his quarry had long since departed. He could see them hurrying down the hill in the darkness, heading towards the forest border.

And before he could give any order to fire upon them, they were gone. The entire group, vanished before his eyes. No flash, no puff of smoke. Just gone.

Laga and Gadhup hurried to his side as he stood in the open gateway. But when they saw the face of their leader, they respectfully stepped back a bit. Maugoth’s entire body was shaking with silent rage, his face expressionless except for an ominous glint in his eyes.

Gadhup nervously cleared his throat. “Sir, if we hurry we might still catch them. It’s a safe bet they went into the forests…”

“Into Cervidas, where none of our kind who entered have ever returned? You really think it's a good idea to folow them there?” Maugoth interrupted, his voice dangerously steady.

Gadhup swiftly shut up.

“Who is responsible for opening the gates?” he asked.

The throng of Blightlings that was gathered around the gate parted, leaving the two lizardlike creatures standing rooted to the spot, their entire bodies quaking.

“Laga, if you please.”

A quick flash of yellow light, and their quivering stopped. The two Blightlings remained standing a few seconds longer, even as their heads fell from their shoulders and rolled away.

The din of the battle was gone. Indeed for a moment, all sound and sensation was gone, as if the ponies were floating in nothingness. Then they felt ground beneath their hooves again, and felt a gentle breeze caressing their fur. All around them were the sounds of the night in the forest, the chirruping of crickets, the whistle of the wind through leaves.

“You can open your eyes now.”

At Yarrow’s command, the three ponies opened their eyes, and found themselves standing atop a huge treetrunk, nearly 20 feet from side to side. Gordon was standing with them, just as shocked and disoriented, as well as the twenty deer that were their saviours. At the four corners of the trunk stood large white plinths, with ethereal blue fires hovering just above them, illuminating the entire platform.

“Where… where are we?” Rainbow asked, her voice echoing strangely.

“In the outer teleport hub. It was the easiest place we could reach from the fortress. We should be safe now, we’re just over Cervidas’ border.” Yarrow replied.

Juniper stepped out from the group, standing before them. Closing his eyes, his antlers began to shimmer and glow a bright white, lighting up the darkness that surrounded them. From the tips of his antlers, small globes of electric blue light broke off and began flying through the air into the darkness, stopping at certain points to light up the forest around them.

As more and more of their surroundings came to light, the four escaped prisoners could only stare with jaws (or beaks) agape.

"...Woah.” whispered Gordon. Even if they didn't understand what he said, the ponies could hear the reverence in his voice.

All around them were trees. Enormous trees, stretching hundreds of feet into the air, with a canopy of leaves obscuring the night sky far above. The blue globes of light cast the entire forest in a strange silvery light, revealing platforms built into the treetrunks all the way up, or among the branches. Small buildings and houses sat atop the platforms, and deer could be seen moving about in the darkness from platform to platform along narrow walkways that snaked between the branches or wrapped around the massive trunks. The trees stretched off into the dark before them with no end in sight, save for a mysterious golden light, glowing faintly in the distance.

Peering over the side of the platform, the ponies could see that the severed tree they stood upon was still around twenty feet off the ground, with a spiral staircase protruding from the trunk, twisting down to the leafy ground below.

“Behold, the Forest Kingdom of Cervidas. Homeland of the Aras, the Deerfolk in your tongue, and its mighty capital of Ostaure. Le natham hi.”

Author's Notes:

Translations:

- 'Ashdautas vrasubatlat'/'Nar udatsas' - "Someday I will kill you."/ "Not today." A formal Blightling greeting.
- Ulunn - The Elkish term for the Blight. Literally, 'Monster'
- 'Mae G'ovannen.' - "Well met." An Elkish greeting.
- 'Tolo hi!' - Elkish command, "Come on!"
- 'Afar Vadokanuk!' - Blightling oath, "By all the dead!"
- 'Le natham hi' - Elkish greeting, "You are welcome here."

Other notes:

- Jerome, Larry, Buffy and the Nightmare Forces - See the Friendship is Magic IDW comics, #5-8. Long story short, Rarity was kidnapped by the same Nightmare Forces that turned Luna into NMM, who turned her into a new NMM. Larry and Jerome were 2 of the higher-up Nightmare Forces, and Buffy was one tha Fluttershy befriended.
- The Pits - Yeah, I think you can guess what goes on in there now.
- The Black Blessing- what the Blight call their infection.

14. Sour Negotiations

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“So you see, if the Blight wanted to find where the Tears are, they wouldn’t risk turning or killing my friends. They would be their only lead to finding…them…”

Twilight Sparkle trailed off her explanation as she looked around the royal courtroom and saw that not a single griffon or pony present seemed to be paying her any attention at all. Instead, all eyes were firmly focused on the lacquered box and the Tears within. She had made sure to point the box away from herself when she opened it, holding it above her head so as not to suffer the full power of its immense magical pressure again. But in doing so, she exposed the entire courtroom to the jewel’s magical aura. Twilight was unsure of just how magically inclined the griffon race were, but no doubt they were feeling the strange effects of the Tears right now. Even she could feel the slight heaviness in the air.

Indeed, before her the three members of the Council gazed at the jewel with nothing short of adoration. Glinda and Galahad sat staring in their seats, and Gellert had actually gotten up and was slowly walking towards Twilight and the box, arm outstretched.

With a snap that echoed throughout the stone chamber, Twilight quickly slammed the box shut. In an instant the heavy feeling in the air was lifted and the dazed expression on everybody’s faces was gone. Many of the griffons blinked and rubbed their eyes as if waking from a particularly vivid dream.

Gellert looked around at where he was with some confusion. “Erm… how did I get here?”

Hiding the first signs of a blush with a claw, he slunk back to his seat and sat down.

“Just what was that?!” Galahad asked.

“That,” Twilight replied, “Was the Tears of Gaia. It might just look like an average emerald, but as you can see, it holds immense magical power.”

“So it would seem…” Glinda nodded.

“And should the Blight ever gain access to such power, it would spell disaster for not only Equestria, but possibly the whole world,” Starswirl added. “I’m sure you can understand our concern.”

There was a general murmur of agreement, but it died down as Glinda raised a claw. “If I may, ponies, what exactly did you plan to do with the Tears once you found them?”

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but found that none came. Come to think of it, she had never really given much thought to exactly what they would do with the Tears once they had them back in Equestria. Would they preserve it as a museum piece, a relic of times past? Would they find some way to harness its power for the good of all ponykind? Would it be hidden again?

Her original plan had been to bring it back to Canterlot, study it, and hopefully find some way to tap into its power. Who knows what sort of advances could be made with access to such immense raw power! But that was before she was aware of the Blight’s emergence. Now that they were back and they knew about the Tears, would it be safe to publicly use the Tears? Would it draw the Blight to them in force? Would it even be safe to try harnessing this much raw power?

“… Miss?”

Galahad’s voice brought her back to the present, and she found with some embarrassment that every eye in the chamber was now upon her.

“We shall ask again, what were your plans for these Tears when you returned to Equestria?” Gellert asked, more firmly than Glinda had asked.

“I… I don’t know. I guess we were planning on somehow harnessing the Tears’ power for our own use… but that was before we knew about the Blight.”

It was subtle, but there was a tiny glint in Gellerts eyes as Twilight explained their possible plans. He silently beckoned to Galahad and Glinda, and the two leaned closer to him. The three griffons conversed in hushed tones, as the audience of the council chamber began muttering amongst themselves as well. The four ponies looked to eachother with uncertainty.
After debating for a few minutes, the three griffons returned to their seats and faced the ponies again. The audience fell silent again, and Galahad stood up.

“Ponies, we have discussed what you have told us, and we have come to an… agreement.” Galahad hesitated on that last word, glaring for a moment at Gellert. It was clear that whatever they had agreed upon, the young griffon did not altogether agree with his peers. “We have information about many outposts of the yellow-eyed monsters, and it is likely that if your friends are indeed alive as you say, that they are being held in one of these. We will be willing to grant you an escort of fifty of our griffon soldiers to accompany you to as many of these outposts as it takes until we find your friends.”

The muttering among the audience began afresh. The faces of the four ponies lit up and for the first time in days, Twilight could honestly say she was feeling happy. A full escort of griffons! It was more than she could ever have hoped for!

“Thank you sirs, thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to…”

“I’m not finished,” Galahad interrupted. “We’ll grant you this help on one condition: You allow us to use the Tears of Gaia for our own purposes.”

Twilight caught herself at the very last moment before she agreed. Allow the griffons to use the Tears? Would that be a good idea? “Just what would you be using the Tears for?” she asked.

“I’m afraid that is confidential,” Glinda said with a no-nonsense tone.

“Confidential? But why?” Rarity added.

Pinkie chimed in too. “Yeah, just what have you got planned?”

“As I said, that’s confidential. For the sake of public security, we cannot tell anyone who doesn’t need to know.”

“Least of all a gang of wandering hrossa!” said Gellert with a sneer.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Rarity shouted. “Is there something wrong with us being ponies? Speaking of which, would it be too much to ask to be referred to as ponies and not hrossa?!”

“Rarity…”

The white unicorn glanced apologetically at Twilight. “Sorry darling, but it’s been bothering me since we got here!”

“Very well. My apologies… ponies,” Gellert spat out that last word. “But as Galahad and Glinda said, we can’t and won’t tell you what we would use the Tears for. All we can say is that it would be for a good cause. In fact, it’d be for the good of all creatures of this land, griffon and pony alike!”

“If it’s so good, then why keep it such a secret?” Rarity countered.

Gellert growled. “It’s a matter of public security! All it takes is one loose-beaked fool telling the wrong person about it, and pretty soon the Blight would know all about it. Worse still, they’d know how to counter it!”

There was another murmur of agreement among the assembled griffons. But Twilight was adamant in her decision. “I’m sorry, but until we know exactly what you plan to use the Tears’ power for, I don’t think we can agree to this.”

A frosty silence hung in the air. Gellert narrowed his eyes at Twilight and Rarity, as if challenging one of them to back down or falter. But neither pony moved a muscle, simply staring right back at him unflinchingly.

Pinkie Pie and Starswirl looked from their pony friends to Gellert and back again, waiting for one of them to back down.

Finally, Gellert closed his eyes and sighed.

“You are a stubborn lot… fine, we will show you,” he relented.

Galahad nodded. “Very well. This matter will be settled out of court. I declare this meeting of the council adjourned!”

With that, the assembled griffons in the stands began to get up and file out, chattering to one another as they went. Glinda made her farewells and exited too, and a pair of guards entered. Shouldering their muskets, they bowed respectfully to Gideon, who had sat silent throughout the proceedings. Ponderously he got to his feet and slowly stomped back through the doorway on the left of the chamber, escorted by the two guards. Only Gellert, Galahad and the four ponies were left.

“Follow us, please,” Galahad said as he led the way. The six of them exited the stone chamber through the doorway on the right of the room, and came into a wide corridor. The two griffons took the front of the group, the four ponies following behind. They moved through the corridor past dozens more chambers, rooms and offices. Every other griffon they passed dutifully stepped out of their way and bowed his head. Rarity noticed with some amusement that while Gellert seemed to indulge in his authority, Galahad appeared more modest, even perhaps slightly embarrassed about the whole thing, nodding awkwardly to every griffon they passed.

The group came out of the corridor and reached a narrow stairwell, spiralling down below the castle into darkness. Galahad flipped a large, chunky switch connected to a metal box on the wall, with a cable running along the wall down the stairs. Small lightbulbs began to glow with a strange green light, illuminating the stairwell.

When the group got to the bottom of the stairs (And the dizziness of climbing down a long spiral-staircase had worn off), the ponies found themselves in an enormous underground hall. All around them were dozens of griffons, clad in heavy grey aprons, black goggles and bulky gloves worn on their claws. They milled about, carrying crates full of metal bits and pieces, or sitting at work benches tinkering with strange devices, or managing enormous whirring machines. A few doorways led to smaller rooms where more griffons worked on smaller machines, or would all be tinkering with a single, larger device. There was a strange thin smoke all around them, making the air seem thick and muggy. Throughout the hall could be heard sounds of industry; whirring of drills and servos, the clang of hammers upon anvils, and a strange buzz of energy. Several of the rooms and many of the crates seemed to give off a green glow similar to the strange lightbulbs that lit the stairwell. All around was an air of industry and technology, the likes of which the ponies had rarely seen

“This way. And don’t touch anything!” Gellert called over the noise. The ponies obediently followed, and the group strode through the hallway, past various workbenches and machinery. A few griffons looked up from their work to watch them pass, before returning to whatever task they were busy with. The group came to a door labelled ‘TESTING RANGE’ and Galahad pushed it open.

On the other side of the door was another enormous room, but with a considerably lower ceiling. It was at least a hundred metres from wall to wall, and most of it was empty. The side they were on was fenced off, with griffons taking notes at small desks here and there. On the far side were a row of straw dummies, made in a vague griffonoid shape. And on the wall on their right was a rack of scores and scores of muskets of all sizes. Most of them were similar to the simple muskets the guards wielded: a long barrel, the business end trumpeting out slightly, with a small sight on the end, all done in matte black. But upon closer inspection, Twilight noticed something very different to what few examples of regular muskets she had seen. In place of where the ammunition would be loaded, there was a small metal case which surrounded a glowing green stone.

“Watch this,” Gellert said, picking up the musket in his claws. Rearing up on his hind legs, the griffon took aim and pulled the trigger.

Instead of the standard loud boom and burst of smoke, the musket whirred for a second, before discharging what looked like a green beam of light from the end. It fizzled and crackled off at breakneck speed towards the far end of the range, where it made contact with one of the dummies, instantly igniting it. Proud of his shot, Gellert put down the musket and turned to face the ponies, who were all slack-jawed with shock.

“Impressive, ain’t it?” he said with a smirk. “I’ll bet you don’t have that kinda firepower in Equestria!”

“Forgive me for being so blunt, but… what in Equestria was that?!” Rarity blurted out, still dazed by what she saw.

“That, little hross, was the power of Griffonic technology,” he replied proudly. “Just because we can’t use magic doesn’t mean we can’t harness it!”

Galahad stepped forward. “You see, these muskets and rifles are the product of a recent technological advancement by griffon scientists. Before we had these there was no way for griffons to use or control the inherent magical energy in the world.”

“And that’s when we discovered how to make these!” Gellert added. Pressing a small button on the side of the musket, the clasps holding the green stone inside the metal case came undone and the gemstone slipped out and into his hand.

“Gemstones that are imbued with magical energy,” Galahad continued. “By cutting them in this specific style, we found that we can siphon the magical energy from the air around us and contain it in the stones. Then, we can use the stones as a sort of fuel source…”

“And a handy replacement for traditional ammunition in guns,” Gellert finished. “No more wasting time with gunpowder and reloading lead shots. With these we can just keep firing until the magical energy drains!”

“And how long does that usually take?” Starswirl asked.

Gellert tapped his chin. “I think… we can get about five hundred shots out of one gemstone, but it depends on the size and purity of the gem.”

Twilight had remained silent throughout the explanation. Finally she spoke up. “Yeah, I’ve actually seen technology similar to this back in Equestria.”

Starswirl glanced her, eyebrow raised in curiosity. “Oh really? Does Equestria use it for weapons of war as well?”

She shook her head. “No, actually it’s used for medical purposes. There’s a rather dangerous disease that unicorns can come down with that causes random magical discharges. But they’ve invented a machine that siphons off excess magical energy from the unicorn’s horn and contains it in gemstones like these ones.”

Gellert rolled his eyes as he put the musket back on the rack. “Hmph, how unambitious. Hasn’t it crossed your scientists’ minds to use it for weapons technology?”

Twilight frowned. “Well no, mainly because we can actually use magic, so we don’t need this sort of technology. But also because they know just how dangerous this is! Channelling magical energy into a beam weapon without a proper focus, don’t you know how dangerous that is?!”

The giant griffon looked as if he was about to shout back at Twilight, but Galahad swiftly stepped between them. “Actually yes, we know all too well. You see, no matter how perfectly we cut the gemstones, there are still impurities in the stone itself. Even our safest gun has a small risk of blowing up in somebird’s face if they’re not lucky. We’ve tried every gemstone we can find, but we’ve never found any gem pure enough.”

“Until today,” Gellert added. “With the amount of magical energy contained in that little gemstone of yours, it’s obvious just how pure a stone it is. Imagine the good that such energy could be used for!”

“So that’s what you want the Tears for,” Twilight said, her disgust beginning to show in her voice. “You want use it as an energy source for your muskets.”

The older griffon nodded. “Among other things, yes.”

“You want to turn the Tears into a weapon?!” Rarity spat.

“Well that’s just the start, but yes. Is that so wrong?” Gellert asked, turning a derisive eye on the unicorn.

Rarity nodded. “Yes it is! You claim that you want to use the energy other Tears for some greater good, but all you really plan to do is turn it into another weapon!”

A few of the other researchers and workers in the testing range looked up from their work to watch the debate unfold. Pushing up their goggles, they listened in on the young unicorn’s argument.

“I may not know as much as my friend Twilight about these Tears and their powers, but what I do know is that it contains enough energy to accomplish just about anything! You literally have the power of gods at your fingertips, the most magnificent gemstone in all of existence, and all you can think about is more killing! That’s not technological advancement, that’s barbaric!”

Her voice echoed throughout the testing range, which had now fallen silent. A few goggle-wearing griffons were even peeking their heads around the door from the main hall. Pinkie, Twilight and Starswirl stared at their friend with awe. Even Galahad could not help but be impressed by the unicorn’s words. Gellert, however, simply closed his eyes and sighed.

“I want to show you something. Come with me,” he muttered, heading towards the door back to the hall. He stopped and turned around when he saw that nobody as following him. “Please,” he added.

Galahad followed, giving a little shrug to the ponies that seemed to say ‘just go with it’. The four ponies followed behind. The group moved through the hallway again, weaving through the enormous machines, which Twilight now recognised as the machines that were gathering energy and channelling them into the gemstones, which would travel down a narrow gutter out of the machine and land in a huge basket, almost half-filled with hundreds of glowing stones.

They finally came to the only door in the hallway that was locked. And barred. And deadbolted. And guarded by two griffons holding particularly vicious-looking muskets, complete with razor-sharp, barbed bayonets. But as they saw Gellert and Galahad approaching, they respectfully stepped aside and began undoing the myriad of locks on the door. Once the final deadbolt was undone, they opened the door, and the group entered.

Inside was dark, dank and musty. Lit only by a single dim bulb, the ponies could see that it was a completely bare room, save for an enormous metal box in the centre of the room. There were a few narrow slits on the sides of the box, covered over with glass panes, and a small hole in the top, out of which emanated wisps of black smoke.

“What’cha got there?” Pinkie asked, craning her neck to get a look over the heads of her friends.

Galahad beckoned them to approach the box, pointing to the slits. The ponies tentatively approached, and put an eye to the openings.

Inside was almost pitch black, except for slivers of light that came through the slits on the other sides. A silhouette could be seen in the darkness, of something malformed, misshapen and monstrous. It appeared to have what may have once been wings, but were little more than lumps of flesh and cartilage sprouting from its back. Spines and ridges ran down its back, and the tip of its tail ended in a vicious hooked stinger, like that of a scorpion. It opened its eyes, and two yellow orbs glared at them.

“Hrossa of Equestria, meet our resident Blightling, Mazgash,” Gellert said in a low voice.

Mazgash snarled in their direction and belched forth another cloud of his black smog, but it was stopped by the glass windows. He growled again and turned away to face the other wall.

Twilight stared in shock at the griffons. “You… you keep one of them? Here?!”

Gellert nodded. “We captured him a few months ago, when a whole bunch of them tried to attack our town. He doesn’t speak any language unfortunately, so getting info out of him is rather difficult. Heck, it took us weeks to discern his name! So we keep him here for research purposes .”

“What kind of research?” Starswirl asked.

“Well, analysing that black smoke they create, observing their mannerisms,” he answered. “And, in time, finding out how long they can live without sustenance.”

With that, Galahad switched off the lights and led the ponies out of the chamber, back into the hallway. “You see, little ponies, it’s not about just building new and fancier weapons,” he said. “It’s about protecting what we have. Our town might not be as glamorous or well-designed as your Equestrian towns, but it’s our home, and we need to do what we can to protect ourselves.”

Gellert joined in as they walked back through the hallway, towards the staircase once more. “Every time they try to attack us, those yellow-eyed monsters are getting stronger and in greater number. The last time they attacked, they very nearly stormed this very keep!”

“Please try to see it our way, ponies,” Galahad continued. “We may have a good supply of these gemstones, but they’ll run out eventually, and when that happens, the Blight will have no problem taking Fjaereir for their own. But with the energy in your little gemstone, we could finally have the power to drive those monsters back where they came from!”

The ponies were silent, mulling over their arguments, as they ascended the stairs. By the time tey reached the top, Twilight finally broke the silence.

“Well, I suppose I understand where you’re coming from… But still, I don’t think I can allow it. Even if it’s for a good cause, a weapon is still a weapon,” the unicorn said.

Rarity nodded. “I must agree. Using the Tears of Gaia for a weapon like this… I can’t say I agree with it, even if your intentions are good. I’m sorry, but using it as a weapon is exactly what the Blight want to use it for. I can’t speak for the others, but I would be perfectly willing to help protect this town in other ways. But the Tears stay with us, and nopony uses it.”

Pinkie, Starswirl and Twilight nodded in agreement. Galahad sighed deeply. “Well, it seems we can’t come to an agreement then. The Council’s decision was that we would be willing to help you find your friends if you allowed us access to the Tears. Sorry, but I’m afraid that if the will of the council remains the same, then you’re on your own.”

Twilight nodded, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice. “Well, thanks anyway. I agree with Rarity though, if you want we’ll definitely help improve your defences without the Tears.”

“Totally! We might be small but we’re tougher than we look!” Pinkie Pie added, with a mock-growl.

“Thank you for that,” Galahad replied with a chuckle at Pinkie’s snarl-face. “Well, if that’s as close to an agreement as we’re gonna get, then I guess you and our friends can be on their way. If you want to help with bolstering our defences, then I’ll be happy to show you where you could be helpful.”

“Please, Galahad, we don’t need help from the likes of them. That unambitious white one least of all.”

The young griffon and all the ponies glared at Gellert, who frowned back. Rarity in particular, stared daggers at the older griffon, but neither looked ready to back down. In fact, both had the look of one ready for a fight.

“Hey, I dunno about you, but I’m kinda hungry again!” Pinkie quickly blurted. “Whadaya say we go get some dinner, huh?”
Twilight saw the animosity swelling between Gellert and Rarity and noded. “Yeah, it’s about suppertime, sounds good! Come on you guys.”

They gently prised Rarity away from Gellert, and led her down the corridor. Starswirl gave a tip of the hat as he followed behind. “Well Galahad, I am glad that some good might come from this. I do hope we can provide some sort of assistance. My companions and I will be on the fourth tier if you wish to speak to us further.”

The two shook claw and hoof and, giving one last disdainful look at Gellert (Which the griffon returned in kind), the old stallion trotted off to join his friends.

A sour mood hung over the four ponies as they sat around a table in the food court. Griffons milled and flew about, merrily dining, chatting, a few even singing, blissfully unaware of the tense confrontation between their leaders and the ponies.
“Well, that could have gone better,” Starswirl said, desperate to break the silence.

Rarity dug furiously into her meal. It was a simple soup of vegetables, gravy and chunks of something white and savoury. She couldn’t identify it, but it was altogether very tasty. “Unambitious, he called me… Me! Just because I refused to let him turn the Tears into some fancy new bomb of his!”

“You performed admirably, miss Rarity,” Starswirl replied. “Any weaker pony than you would have caved under that Gellert’s gaze.”

“Things may not have worked out, but I still think we made the right choice,” Twilight said, levitating another spoonful of the broth to her lips. “Besides, we can still help them somehow. Maybe we could improve their muskets, make them a little less prone to, well, exploding… or improve the focus points… or maybe just help fix up the walls and defences and such.”

“Sounds good to me!” Pinkie said before gleefully slurping up her soup until the white chunks were all that was left.

“I can’t say I’m looking forward to seeing that Gellert fellow again,” Starswirl said, putting down his spoon. “Here’s hoping we won’t have to deal with him later.”

“Tell me about it.”

A familiar voice called out to them from among the crowds of griffons. Twilight looked up and saw Galahad, of all griffons, approaching them, a plate of the soup and a flagon of drink balanced on one of his wings. “You don’t mind if I join you?”

“No, go ahead!”

He nodded and sat down between Pinkie and Starswirl. “I do apologise for Gellert’s behaviour. He can be a real pain sometimes.”

“It’s alright,” Pinkie replied. “Maybe we just caught him on a bad day.”

Galahad shook his head. “Maybe, but he’s not much better on good days. And no offense, but he’s not exactly a huge fan of ponykind.”

“I noticed,” Rarity muttered.

The griffon giggled. “Well, don’t take it personally. He’s a bit… old-fashioned. He doesn’t respect anybird who he doesn’t consider superior.”

“You mean in terms of rank?”

“Not really. I mean a more traditional way; the only creatures he has any respect for is anybird who has bested him at his own game. You beat him and you have his respect,” Galahad explained.

“A fight? A rather primitive way of looking at things…” Starswirl murmured.

“And has anyone ever beaten him?”

“Only one,” the griffon replied. “King Gideon. Of course, that was a long time ago, before…” he trailed off a moment, searching for the right words. “Well, before he became like he is today.”

Rarity tapped her chin a moment. “So, if someone were to best Gellert, then he would have to respect them. What sort of things would one have to beat him at? I presume a fight is part of it.”

“Yep, that’s the final part of it,” Galahad explained. “Gellert’s Challenge is referred to as the 3 Fs. Fighting is the third F. Before that, there’s two other Fs. The first is a Flyt.”

“A flight? What, is it a flying race or something?” Pinkie asked.

“No no, a Flyt isa Griffonic term, essentially an insult contest. You both contestants hurl insults at eachother until one gives up. Then after that is the second F, Feasting. Both contestants are given an unlimited supply of food, and the loser is the first to stop eating for whatever reason. And finally there is the Fight, which is simple enough: Whoever gets knocked down and can’t get back up loses.”

“Huh, you know, apart from the fighting part, that actually sounds… kinda fun!” Twilight said. “I mean, it’s not like it’s high stakes, it just to get Gellert to respect you, right?”

Galahad shrugged. “Well that, yeah, and the winner can also take over as commander of the defence force.”

The purple unicorn gulped “Ah. Well, anyways, our offer still stands. Once we’re done here, we’ll be more than willing to help however we can, as long as the Tears aren’t involved. Right guys?”

The three ponies nodded enthusiastically. Galahad bowed slightly. “Any help is gratefully accepted. Even if Gellert doesn’t show it. So, after dinner, we can head down to the gatehouse and get started.

“Sounds good to me!” Pinkie chimed in. ”Speaking of which, this soup is dee-lish!”

Twilight agreed. “Yeah, makes me wish I could read Griffonic so I could understand what the menu said it was. I just went with what looked good, but I’ve never tasted something like this before. What is it?”

Galahad gave her bowl a small sniff and smacked his lips. “Ah, you chose well! Fjaereir’s finest chicken and mushroom soup!”

The four ponies instantly froze as he said this, suddenly very conscious of what they had put in their mouths. Simultaneous spit-takes in 3…2…1…

15. Breakfast with a King

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As the small platoon of creatures descended from the illuminated tree-stump, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Gordon could not help but look about in wonder at the forest that surrounded them. Back in Equestria the only major forests they had seen were the Whitetail Woods, which while very pretty were rather small, and the dark and foreboding Everfree Forest, which few dared to enter alone. And Gordon, ever a mountain-dwelling griffon, had seldom seen forests at all!
Far above their heads, the silvery white trees stretched up hundreds of meters, and all around them were nothing but their massive trunks, linked together by shimmering white walkways and staircases.

“…If Twilight could see where we are now…” Rainbow Dash whispered in awe.

Applejack and Gordon could only nod in silent agreement.

Oakwood led the way as they walked along a dirt road on the forest floor, his massive glowing antlers lighting the way ahead. As the other ponies huddled together in the middle of the column, Fluttershy walked slightly ahead, alongside Yarrow and Marigold. The young buck could not help but grin at Fluttershy’s dumbstruck expression.

“I take it you like what you see?” he asked.

The pegasus nodded. “It’s… it’s beautiful. What kinds of trees are those? I’ve never seen them before.”

“A rather special tree, of our own creation,” Marigold replied. “We call them Celevon Eryn, which translates to ‘silver wood’ in your language.”

“They’re amazing… How old are they?”

“They were grown by the first stag who ever lived here, thousands of years ago,” replied Yarrow.

As they passed a significantly smaller and younger tree, Fluttershy reached out a forehoof. The bark of the tree was hard and slightly cold, almost like they were carved from massive white stones. But she still felt an odd sensation emanating from the trees, feeling somehow welcoming and intimidating at the same time, as if to say ‘You are welcome here, but don’t mess with us’. Looking ahead, she squinted through the darkness of the trees at the golden yellowish glow in the distance ahead.

“What’s that? That light up ahead?” she asked.

“That is our destination, little pony,” Oakwood replied.

For a few minutes, the walk continued in relative silence, save for the muted hoofsteps of the group, and the occasional gasp of wonder from their four guests as something else caught their eyes. Every so often they could see figures on the walkways above, watching them with curious eyes. Most were dressed in the familiar green and brown tunics that the rescue group were wearing, though a few wore long robes or flowing dresses instead, still in the earthy browns and greens. But despite their rustic colour schemes, everything looked clean, well-kept and very much unspoilt.

Suddenly, a voice from above broke the silence. A high, wispy voice, singing out something in the strange, ethereal language of the Deerfolk. The ponies and Gordon looked around for the source of the singing, but could see nothing. From either side, other voices echoed the same words, and more joined in as the song travelled out ahead of them into the distance, towards the source of the golden glow.

“Lebyreg anglennar! Rawdhoron anglennar!”

“What do you suppose that’s all about?” Rainbow whispered to Applejack. The farmpony simply shrugged.

“No idea. Mighty pretty to listen to though,” Applejack replied.

“No need to be alarmed,” Yarrow reassured them. “They’re just signalling our arrival, passing on the message. It’s not often we get guests such as yourselves in our forest.”

“I had no idea ponies lived this far from Equestria.” Marigold added.

“Actually, we are from Equestria,” Applejack replied.

Yarrow looked back with curiosity. “Really? Then what are you doing this far south?”

“Now now Yarrow, don’t pester them,” Oakwood interjected, his deep voice echoing among the trees. “I’m guessing you four are tired?”

The three ponies and griffon nodded.

“Well it’s only a little further, and we will be at the capital of Cervidas. Some hot food, a warm bed, and a safe haven to rest.”

“You had me at hot food!” Rainbow called from the middle of the pack. The deer surrounding them could not help but laugh as she took to the air and flew ahead. Moments later, she flew back, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. “Uh… heh, which way?”

“Straight ahead, towards the light,” Oakwood replied with a grin. “But you’d better stick with us. It’s easy to get lost in here, you know.”

Rainbow nodded, and instead took to hovering above the pack. “Aahh, it feels good to stretch my wings again. It’s been way too long since I flew last!”

Gordon stretched his wings too, and flapped up to her height. “Mind if I join you?”

Rainbow Dash grinned, and the two began flying around, circling and swooping over eachother in the cool, still air. The pack below, and a few curious deerfolk on the lower platforms of the trees, watched in wonder as the two looped and rolled through the air.

But about ten minutes later, both Gordon and Rainbow Dash slowly sunk back down to the ground as the group cleared the last row of trees, and saw the source of the glow. Yarrow could barely resist a proud grin as he saw the dumbstruck expressions on their guests’ faces.

In the centre of the forest was a clearing, well over a mile across. And in the centre of the clearing stood the largest tree any of them had ever seen. Nearly five times as thick as any of the other silver trees in the forest, it stretched high into the evening sky, nearly piercing the clouds above. Massive roots, each as broad as a train tunnel, snaked out in all directions from the base of the trunk. And high above, hundreds of branches pointed out like long, spindly fingers. All around the trunk and the branches were walkways, staircases and bridges, connecting together large flat platforms built into the branches and the sides of the trunks like ledges, as well as bridging the gap from the enormous tree and the other trees around it.

Deerfolk of all shapes and sizes could be seen out and about on the platforms, travelling along the walkways, making daring leaps between particularly close ledges, and going in and out of white and brown buildings that were constructed on the platforms. The source of the golden glow was obvious now as well; while the rest of the trees of Cervidas were that ethereal glowing silver, this incomprehensibly large tree almost appeared normal, except for great golden lines that ran up and down the trunks and along the branches, to the tips where they shone out like great golden flames. And far above them all, settled in the very top branches of the tree, was a single platform, nearly an acre in width. But anything built upon that platform was obscured by the thick boughs of golden leaves that grew only on the highest branches of the tree.

Oakwood turned around and proudly held his forehoof out to the sight. “The golden capital of Ostaure. You will be staying here.”

But the four could not respond. They were rooted to the spot, and left picking up their jaws of the ground, by the sight of the tree that stood before them. Majestic, shining, colossal. It was unlike anything any of them had ever seen.

A good twenty minutes of walking later, the four found themselves entering a small cottage in one of the highest platforms of Ostaure. It was a medium-sized platform, with many small houses and buildings scattered across it. A single walkway connected to the side of the platform, which merged with a small road that led into the centre, where it terminated in a large circular patch of road, around which the houses were built. Applejack imagined that it was probably their equivalent of a suburban cul-de-sac.

“Now, you will be sleeping here tonight,” Yarrow said as he led them indoors. It was fairly simple on the inside: A small living room with three couches surrounding a low table, and doors on the sides that led into individual bedrooms, and a bathroom through a door on the far end. Everything seemed carved out of the silvery wood of the surrounding trees. On the table were four small bowls, filled with steaming brown soup, with a farl of bread beside it.

“FOOD!”

Before anybody could say anything, Rainbow was upon the food in a flash, munching on her loaf of bread and eagerly slurping down the soup. “Oh man, this stuff is delicious!”

“Thank-you kindly fer this,” Applejack said as she joined Rainbow at the table. “We really can’t thank y’all enough for this.”

Yarrow smiled and nodded. “No thanks are necessary, friends.”

“Aww c’mon now, no need to be modest. If it weren’t for you and yer friends, we’d all still be stuck in that fort!” she replied.

Rainbow Dash nodded as she put down her bowl, already half-empty. “Yeah! I mean, we’d totally be able to escape on our own… but you guys sure saved us a lot of trouble.”

Gordon sat down on the third couch without a word, simply nodding his thanks.

“Thank you so much, Yarrow,” Fluttershy said sincerely. “I don’t really like to think what might have happened if you never showed up.”

“Neither do I, Fluttershy,” Yarrow replied. “Now, get some rest. You’ll be safe here. Even when the Fainum do breach our forest’s border, they never make it this far in.”

“Fainum?” Rainbow Dash tilted her head in confusion.

“The yellow-eyed monsters. The ‘Blight’, I think you call them?” Yarrow paused as the ponies nodded. “Well, we are far away from them, so don’t worry. Now, I will return in the morning. The White Hart has requested you join him for breakfast, and I’ll escort you there. Until then, I bid you goodnight.”

Applejack looked up from her food. “The White Hart? Who’s he?”

The young deer paused as he turned to leave. “Ah, that’s right, we haven’t told you about him yet. The White Hart is the Lord of the forest, our ruler.”

Fluttershy daintily sipped her bowl of soup. “B-but, why does he want to meet us?”

“No idea.” Yarrow shrugged. “I suppose he’s just interested in having newcomers. Especially you, Gordon.”

Gordon looked up at the sound of his name, a few crumbs of bread still clinging to his beak. “Hmm? Why me?”

“Because if there is one thing rarer than a stranger entering our land, it is a griffon entering our land.”

“Well, they’re sure as hay missing out! With trees this massive, I bet there’d be plenty of places to perch, eh Gordon?” Applejack said, tearing into her bread. She stopped chewing a moment, however, as she heard no reply from the young griffon. She saw him give a half-hearted nod, but it did not conceal the look of unease on Gordon’s face.

Lucky for them, Yarrow was still there to break the silence. “Well, I’ll leave you four to get some rest. I’ll come by to pick you up tomorrow morning for breakfast. Until then, losto vae.”

And with those last Deerish words, Yarrow gave one final bow and closed the door with a shimmer of his antlers.

Rainbow mopped up the last of her soup with a chunk of bread, before popping it in her mouth. “Mmm… This stuff is delicious! I wonder what’s in it?”

“Yeah, I might see if’n I can talk to one of the cooks or somethin’. I reckon a dish like this would go down well back … back home,” Applejack agreed, her voice trailing off at the mention of home.

Fluttershy sighed wistfully as, for the first time since she was captured by the Blightlings, she found herself thinking of her little cottage in Ponyville. “Home,” she mumbled. “It feels like it’s been years since we were in Ponyville.”

“I sure hope everypony’s alright back on the farm,” Applejack said.

Fluttershy stared down at the last few dregs of soup left in the bowl before her. “A-and all my little animal friends… I-I hope they’re managing without m-me…”

Hearing the first warning sniffles from the little pegasus, Rainbow Dash swiftly flapped over to Fluttershy’s couch and sat beside her. Draping a wing over her shoulders, Rainbow nudged her gently. “Hey, c’mon Fluttershy. They're probably doing fine, I'm sure of it. They're a tough bunch, they can take care of themselves."

The cream-coloured pegasus wiped her eyes with a hoof. "I-I guess so..."

"I mean, you've said so yourself about how they keep finding where you keep the food. They're probably fast asleep after an awesome meal right now!"

"That... That does sound like them," Fluttershy said with a smile. It only lasted a few seconds before falling again. "I still miss them, though."

She squeaked slightly in surprise as she felt Rainbow Dash's forelegs wrap around her in a gentle hug. "Don't worry, Fluttershy. We'll find the others and get back to Ponyville before you know it."

Silently, Fluttershy raised her hooves and hugged back. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash. You always seem to know just what to say," she said with a smile returning to her lips.

"Yeah," Applejack added with a smirk. "Ya might try to come off all rough an' tough, but ya can be a real softie when ya want to!"

"Oh shut up, farmgirl!" Rainbow replied, unable to keep the chuckle from her voice, before returning to her meal.

As the four of them ate, Applejack could not help but notice Gordon’s silence, as well as his restless appearance. “Hey Gordon, y’alright? Ya seem a little, I dunno, on edge.”

“You don’t need to worry, Gordon,” said Fluttershy. “You heard what Yarrow and the others said, we’re safe as long as we’re here. Those monsters can’t get to us.”

“It’s not the monsters I’m worried about,” Gordon said with a frown.

“Then what’s up?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s these Deer,” he replied. “I dunno, I guess… I guess I’m just not that comfortable around them as you three.”

Fluttershy looked at him quizzically. “Why is that? I mean, they seem really nice, don’t they?”

Gordon sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, I suppose so. But the thing is… you know how that guy said that they rarely get griffons here? Well the reason for that is… well, let’s just say Griffons and Deerfolk have never really been on good terms.”

Applejack nodded. “I do remember Twilight sayin’ somethin’ about that back in Canterlot. So that’s what’s bothering you?”
He nodded. As Rainbow mopped up the last of her soup with a slice of bread, she asked, "But why exactly? Why exactly don't deer and griffons like eachother?"

"I'll be honest, I'm not sure of the details," Gordon replied. "There's just been some sort of grudge between our races for centuries, I dunno if anybird even remembers why! Though if I were to guess, I'd say it's just because our cultures clash so much."

"Clash how, exactly?" Applejack asked.

"Well, the old myth is that we griffons are some sort of warrior culture, who use fighting as our way to solve all problems," he explained. "That's just what it is, a myth. We're not warriors, we're industrialists, builders. Whenever you have some big technological advance in the world, nine times outta ten it was a griffon who came up with it. We're one of the few races who have hands for holding tools, and are smart enough to use them. So we build, and we design, and we invent new things to help advance civilisation. And, well, it just so happens that what we're best at making are weapons."

Gordon got up out of his chair, going over to the window. Resting his chin in his claws, he looked out the window into the forest below. "But then look at the Deerfolk. They live in treehouses, never daring to go past their borders, preferring magic over technology, and refusing to share their powers with others. And the way they keep slipping in and out of Deerish, you never know what they're saying. You can see how they wouldn't like us griffons much."

Fluttershy joined him at the window. "Well, I suppose I can see where you're coming from. Still, haven't they ever tried to get along?"

Gordon chuckled humourlessly, "Heh, a few times. But both sides' politicians are stubborn. Neither side wants to admit that the other has a point. Plus, Deerfolk and Griffons do have a bit of a, uh, turbulent history. There's never been an all-out war, but there have been a couple of skirmishes in the past."

"And what about you?" Applejack asked. "What side are you on?"

"I dunno," Gordon said, sighing in resignation. "I mean, I can see where both sides are coming from, but I feel like I'd be abandoning my own kind if I sided with the Deerfolk."

Rainbow got up and stretched her limbs. "Well, hopefully it won't keep ya up tonight. I dunno about you guys, but I'm ready for a long, comfy sleep!"

The ponies and griffon nodded. Tidying their plates up, the four of them said their goodnights and snuggled down in their individual beds. Within a matter of minutes, the house was filled with the sounds of snoring, mingling with the sounds of the forest outside.

As Applejack rolled over in her bed, she felt the warmth of the morning sun on her face and cracked her eyes open. The sunlight streamed through the windows of the bedroom, casting golden pools on the floor, its brightness only magnified by the pale coloured walls and floor of the house, and the subtle glow of the silvery trees outside.

"Mmm... Boy howdy, I haven't slept that well in days!" she murmured to herself as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Tossing aside the crisp white blanket, she lowered herself to the floor and stretched her legs. The bed seemed to have been build for a deer, since it seemed to be a further drop from the bed to the floor, likely to accommodate their longer legs.

One quick rejuvenating shower later, Applejack plopped her hat back on her head and dried herself off on a fluffy white towel, the same gleaming white as the bedsheets and the curtains, that seemed to glow in the sunlight. When she returned, she found Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Gordon in the lounge, stretching their limbs, rubbing their eyes and their hungry bellies.

"Good morning, Applejack," said Fluttershy. "Did you sleep well?"

Applejack nodded. "Like a log, Fluttershy. It's nice to sleep in a proper bed again."

"You got that right!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "Still not as comfy as a cloud, but sure beats the ground. So how's the shower?" she added, pointing to Applejack's damp mane.

"I'd nearly forgotten how refreshin' a morning shower can be. Y'all have got to try it for yerselves!"

Fluttershy nodded. "Oh I know! I woke up earlier than the rest of you, so I thought I'd have a quick shower for myself. It feels wonderful!"

"Yeah, well, maybe I'll try it after breakfast" Rainbow replied. "Speaking of which, where's that Yarrow guy? I thought he was supposed to be taking us to see this White Hart..."

"Ah, glad to see you're all up."

The four of them started as they heard the voice coming from the doorway. Standing there was none other than Yarrow, a cheeky smile on his face. "Suilad, melloneamin," he said, bowing his head slightly. "I trust you four slept well?"

"Very well, thank you," Fluttershy replied.

"So, you here to take us to breakfast then?" Applejack asked.

Yarrow nodded. "Indeed I am. Follow me please, the White Hart awaits."

With Yarrow in the lead, the group headed out onto the massive platform build into the side of the tree. All around them, Ostaure seemed to be waking up. Deer exited their cottages and towers, walking along the stairs and walkways built into the enormous tree, and even in the distant trees surrounding the clearing, tiny figures could be seen milling about. Bucks went to their jobs, does escorted their youngest fawns to schools. On tall pedestals and ledges, particularly large stags stood still and silent as watchmen, looking for all the world like well-painted statues. Of all the deer about, they were the only ones dressed in any sort of armour, as opposed to the simple earth-colour tunics and robes that most of them wore. It was a curious, elegant form of plate armour, form-fitting and curved, with a vague look of leaves or waves done in golden and bronze plates, with silver trim around the hems. It consisted of barding around the withers and flanks, and a two-piece helmet that clasped together down the sides, to allow the helmet to fit around the antlers.

"Hey Yarrow, who are those stags?" Rainbow asked as she pointed to one such stag who stood on a ledge beside the walkway they crossed. "The ones in armour? They look pretty important."

Yarrow glanced at the stag, who nodded back curtly. "Those are the Tirn, the elite guard of Ostaure, some of our most powerful spellcasters. Even if we barely ever get intruders or invaders making it this deep into the forest, it can't hurt to have some extra security for the White Hart."

As they passed another Tirn on a ledge by the stairwell, Applejack saw that the stag was keeping an especially close eye on the four of them as they passed. Indeed, all around them, there were many Deerfolk who watched them as they passed, some with curiosity and intrigue, some with unease. It was obvious that they were not used to outsiders, especially in the capital.

After about ten minutes walking up staircases and walkways, the four found themselves at the highest platform of the tree. At the top of the staircase was a large door, that looked to be gilt from solid silver. On either side stood another of the armoured Tirn, who glared down at them with calculating eyes.

"This is as far as I go, friends," Yarrow said, stepping back. "Just go straight through the doors and you'll be in the White Hart's sanctuary. He'll probably be there to greet you."

Giving one last nod of farewell, he hurried down the stairs again to the platform below. The four friends looked up at the silver doorway with some apprehension.

Fluttershy gulped. "Well... I guess we sh-should go in..."

Leading the way, she ascended the stairs towards the door, and cleared her throat. "Um... hello... Can we go in, please? I-I think the White Hart is s-supposed to be expecting us?"

Without so much as a twitch or a move of his head, the stag on the left of the door's antlers shimmered yellow and gold, and the door swung open.

"Oh! Um, thank you," Fluttershy whispered to the Tirn, who nodded back, stonefaced. Together, the three ponies and griffon passed through the door, under the guards' watchful eyes.

Inside, they found themselves on a completely flat platform, held up by the uppermost branches of the tree. The branches curved over the platform, forming a loose dome of branches and leaves, where the sunlight poked through holes in the canopy. In the middle was a small lake, its waters completely still, with a round island in its centre. On this island sat a single tree, its leafy boughs hanging over like a lopsided parasol. A sheet of white cloth lay on the grass under the hanging boughs, laden with silver and golden tableware, with a small woven basket on the side. And on the island, its lone inhabitant, was a single stag.

He was quite unlike any deer the four of them had seen. Standing nearly a head taller than any other deer, almost the same height as Celestia, he stooped by the side of the island, lapping water from the lake. Unlike the earthy brown and red speckled fur of his subjects, this stag's fur was the purest white, and his enormous antlers were a strange silvery colour. A thin grey beard hung from his chin tied up by a string. He was clad in a simple green robe, with a golden trim around the collar, and a turquoise sash around his waist. And on his brow sat a simple crown, which was really nothing more than a band of gold, with a large teardrop-shaped plate on the front, with strange script going around the band in some unknown alphabet.

As they apprehensively approached the circular lake, the stag raised his head, ears perked up as he heard their approach. As he saw the four, he smiled, a broad welcoming smile. "Ah, there you are," he called, in a strange voice, not entirely masculine or feminine.

"A-are you the White Hart?" Applejack called, tentatively stepping forward.

"That is I," he replied, bowing low. "El sila nan lu egovaded vin. Welcome to my humble home."
The four bowed respectfully back.

"Won't you join me for some breakfast?" the White Hart asked, standing on the bank of his lake.

They nodded silently and approached the lake, unsure exactly how to reach the island. Did they have to jump? Was there some hidden crossing? Did they just have to wade through the water?

As if answering their unasked question, there was a slight rippling on the surface of the lake, as five broad, flat stones rose up from the lakebed, in a straight line from the bank to the island. They crossed these stepping stones and sat down on the white blanket. The Hart joined them, and with a shimmer of his massive antlers, plates, cups and cutlery began flying out of the basket beside him, as well as platters laden with a loaf of white bread, bowls of fruit, yoghurt, nuts, shrubbery and flowers, and a small variety of drinks, all of which came to rest in the middle of the blanket while the plates and cutlery laid themselves before each of the diners.

"Enjoy," the White Hart said cheerfully as he helped himself to bread and fruit, and filled his wooden cup with steamy, fragrant tea from a small teapot.

Needing no second bidding, the four guests eagerly dug into the food, which was simple but undeniably delicious and filling. Even Applejack, with her mighty appetite, found herself somehow sated after only a few apples and some bread and jam. As she poured herself a cup of apple juice, she glanced at her surroundings, then back to the food, confusion creeping into her mind.

The White Hart noticed her slightly troubled expression. "Something troubling you, miss...?"

Applejack put down the jug. "Oh, that's right! How about that, we come up here and eat yer food, and we don't even introduce ourselves! My name's Applejack, sir."

"And I'm Rainbow Dash."

"My name is Fluttershy. It's a pleasure to meet you," Fluttershy said politely.

"The pleasure is all mine, friends," the White Hart replied. "So, do tell, Applejack, what's the matter? Is the food not to your liking?"

"Oh no, no, nothin' like that, sir!" Applejack sputtered. "This food's just about the tastiest I've eaten in a long time. And mighty fillin' too. But it's... well..."

"You were expecting that breakfast with a king would be a little more grand?" The White Hart suggested, with a knowing smile.

The farmpony nodded sheepishly. "Heh, yeah, I guess so."

"She does have a point though sir," Rainbow Dash added. "No disrespect meant, but when I think 'breakfast with royalty', I don't exactly think of a picnic by a lake."

The stag nodded. "I understand. And I would be lying if I said that I never indulged in the occasional extravagant banquet. But when I'm eating on my own I like to keep things simple. If I'd known sooner that we would have guests, I would have had something prepared."

"Oh no, there's no need for that," replied Fluttershy. "This is just fine. This is the kind of breakfast I'd have on a normal day anyway."

"And what about you, young sir?" the White Hart said, turning to Gordon. "I do not believe we've been introduced."

Indeed, Gordon had remained silent throughout the whole meal. Swallowing a mouthful of bread, he replied, "I'm Gordon, son of Gideon the king of Fjaereir."

"And is the breakfast to your liking? I'd assume that being royalty yourself, you would be used to more extravagant meals than this."

"Yeah, that's about right," Gordon replied. "Back in my hometown the nobles and royalty all dine together, and breakfast can sometimes go on so long, by the time we're done it's already time for lunch!" The White Hart suddenly snorted and stifled a chuckle at this, before he regained his composure and motioned for Gordon to continue. "But when this is the first proper meal I've had in weeks, I'm in no position to complain. It's not often that a deer would show a griffon this kind of hospitality, or so I've heard anyways," the griffon added.

"Sadly, you have heard correctly," the White Hart replied. "Relations between our two races have been... tense, at best. But in my eyes, you are a guest first and a griffon second, so please don't feel uneasy during your stay."

"Well that's real nice of you to offer and all, but we can't stay."

All eyes turned to Rainbow Dash, who had finished her breakfast and was just getting up. "What do you mean?" The White Hart asked.

The pegasus frowned. "Look, your majesty, I really do appreciate everything you and your Deerfolk have done for us, but we can't stay here. We gotta find our friends!"

"Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy tried to interject, but the White Hart stopped her.

"Your friends? You mean to say there are more of you out here in these lands?" he asked. When the three ponies nodded, the White Hart's smile slipped a notch. "That is... not what I had hoped to hear. Perhaps you could tell me what, exactly, led you to find yourselves so far away from Equestria?"

Gordon nodded. "Yeah, to be honest, you never exactly told me what you were doing out here either. I'd be interested to hear it."

The ponies looked uneasily to eachother. Just what could they say? On one hoof, these deer had indeed saved their lives and given them a safe haven from the Blight, and Gordon seemed trustworthy enough. But on the other hoof, just how much should they tell?

The three ponies huddled together a moment, as Gordon and the White Hart watched in silence.

"What do you two think?" Rainbow whispered.

"I guess we got no choice," Applejack said. "Not like we can just refuse royalty, right?"

"But Applejack," Rainbow whispered. "We barely even know these guys. You really think we should tell 'em?"

"I think so," replied Fluttershy. "They've been so nice so far, and they don't seem to like the Blight any more than we do. I think we can trust them."

Rainbow Dash, however, was not convinced. "But what about... y'know, it? D'you think we can really tell them about it?"

"It's not like they can try to steal it from us," Applejack said with a shrug. "Wherever it is, it's mighty far away from us, that's fer sure."

"Yeah, I guess you got a point. Okay, Applejack, you're the honest one, you tell 'em."

"Don't keep me in suspense, ponies," The Hart said from behind them. "Let us hear your story."

The huddle broke, and Applejack stepped forward. "Sorry... Alright, we'll tell you everythin', but could you keep whatever we tell you just between the five of us?"

Gordon and the stag nodded.

"Thanks. So then, where to begin... Well, it all started back in Ponyville, which is the town where we come from..."

And so Applejack, with occasional assistance from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, told the griffon and the Hart everything. From Twilight's discovery of Starswirl the Bearded's notes, how they started their journey from Canterlot heading north towards the Crystal Mountains. Of their first encounter with the Blight on the plains at night, and how they took shelter with the mysterious pony Rowanoak. Of how they followed Rowanoak's riddle through the forests, and their encounters with the kelpie and the Grey Ones, until they met up with Starswirl the Bearded, resurrected from the dead to help them in their quest. She told of their hike through the Crystal Mountains, until they reached the Shard, and were confronted by Tharos the dragon. How he took them into that mysterious realm where the Tears were hidden, and the gargantuan planet-sized monster that bore down upon them as they fled with their treasure. The aerial battle with the Blight and their subsequent kidnapping. And finally, their rescue from Maudhul by Yarrow and his team. Throughout the whole retelling, Gordon felt his admiration for the ponies growing with every word. The White Hart, meanwhile, also sat with rapt attention, but his calm face betrayed no emotion as he listened, only nodding in understanding every now and then.

"...And then the deer brought us here, and... well, here we are." Applejack finally finished. By the time her story was at an end, the morning had worn on considerably, and the sun shone high in the sky above their heads, beams of light piercing the canopy of branches.

She sat down with her friends, as Gordon and the White Hart sat silent, still processing the story they had been told.

"Well... that's one heck of an adventure you've been on," Gordon said weakly. "It's impressive that you've made it this far, even though you've... y'know, lost some friends along the way."

Fluttershy shook her head. "Well, it is painful not knowing what happened to them. But, I'm not sure, I feel that the others are still alive and well. I can't really explain it, I just know it."

"What interests me more is your encounters with the Fainum," the White Hart said. "Not to mention this artefact of yours, the Tears of Gaia. You say that these creatures were following you?"

"Yeah. We first ran into them on the plains, up in Northern Equestria. And ever since then they'd been following us. And as soon as we had the Tears, they ambushed us."

The Hart frowned. "That is disconcerting. I think that a connection between your search for the Tears and the Blight pursuing you, would not be too far-fetched of an assumption."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, it did seem like they were coming after us for it."

The Hart fell silent, closing his eyes in thought a moment. "This is not good," he muttered, getting up and crossing the stepping stones linking his island to the rest of the sanctuary.

"Erm... Sir?" Applejack said, following him across the lake.

Fluttershy, Rainbow and Gordon followed after her, and the four tentatively approached the Hart. He glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, then turned back to the walls of branches that surrounded the room. As his horns shimmered with magic, the branches suddenly sprung to life, writhing and wriggling almost like tentacles. They parted, leaving an opening in the branches that looked down on the rest of Ostaure, that sprawled out amongst the branches below.

"Look at this city, friends," he said in a low voice. "Look at my people. Tell me, what do you see?"

The four stood close to the opening, looking down at the city. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary or unusual. "It looks like a peaceful city of Deerfolk, sir," Gordon replied.

With a sigh, the White Hart replied. "An illusion, I am afraid. This city, indeed, all of Cervidas, are not quite as peaceful as you may imagine."

"How so?"

"Because, little ponies, while the city may look calm and peaceful to the unsuspecting eye, the truth is that we Deerfolk are at war." He stooped low, so his head was level with theirs. "We appear calm and collected, simply because that is the nature of our race. But for over a year now, we have been in the midst of a war with the Fainum."

Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes, peering down at the thousands of Deerfolk milling about on the walkways and platforms below. "But how? Apart from those guards around the place, I don't really see any soldiers."

"Oh but you do," he replied. "The entire city, indeed, the entire forest is filled with thousands of them. From the day they reach maturity, every deer is expected to come to the aid of the kingdom in times of war when summoned. Stags and does, young and old, they are all soldiers."

"But what about armour and weapons and stuff?" Rainbow asked. "Doesn't that get expensive?"

The White Hart shook his head. "Only the Tirn have armour, since they protect the welfare of our capital, and therefore have top priority. And with magic like ours, we have little need for physical weapons. Ironic, isn't it? Of all the species in this world, one would never suspect that the placid, mysterious Deerfolk would be the one made up entirely of warriors."

Gordon snorted derisively at these words. Either the White Hart did not hear him, or simply chose not to respond. "But for the last few months, both us and the Fainum have been in a deadlock. Neither side has the power to take the other on face to face. So while we have been sending out small parties of soldiers to exploit weakspots and gain intelligence, we have not the strength for an all out assault on their forces, and neither do they.
Which is why this news about the Tears is so concerning to me. If they gained access to that much power, I hate to think what they could do with it. It is a dangerous treasure even in the most responsible of hooves."

Fluttershy raised a hoof. "Um, you almost sound like you already knew about the Tears..."

"I did know," he replied. "I hate to brag, but we Deerfolk were among one of the first species that were written of in the Teithad Minui."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "The what-now?"

"The First Writing. When the beings you referred to in your story as the 'Others' first created our world and life as we know it," he continued. As he spoke he returned to his island and sat down, the ponies and Gordon following. "You refer to those beings as 'Alicorns', but in our tongue they are the Ainur, the Holy Ones. And when they created life on our world, we Deerfolk were the first species to be created. And I was the first of the Deerfolk."

Fluttershy's eyes grew wide with amazement. "You were the first deer?! So... you're the one who created this forest then?"

He nodded. "It seems somebody has told you the legends of our trees then. Indeed, I was the creator of Cervidas. And I know the strength of the Fainum all too well."

The ponies could not see it, but a single tear rolled down the White Hart's cheek as he recounted this memory. However, they could hear the slightest hint of a sob in his voice as he spoke.

"Um... Sir?" Fluttershy whispered, tentatively placing a hoof on the White Hart's broad shoulder. "Are you okay?"
The stag raised his head, gazing straight up at the canopy above. Taking a deep breath, he turned with a smile to the pegasus. "I am fine, thank you Fluttershy. But more to the point, I implore that the four of you do not leave Cervidas just yet."

"Why not?" Rainbow asked.

"Because out there the Blight are amassing. My scouts have reported their movements across all the land. And if what you say is true, they have even reached as far as Equestria," he replied. "They have already tried to use you to get to the Tears, and who knows what they would do to you if they got that chance again. So please, for your own safety, stay with us."

"But what about our friends?!" Rainbow Dash cried. "They're somewhere out there too!"

"She's right, are we just supposed to sit on our rumps and do nothin'?!" Applejack added

"Girls, please..." Fluttershy implored, but found herself interrupted as the Hart raised a hoof.

"She does have a point. And I promise you, if my scouts do find your friends, then their safe escort to Cervidas shall become their top priority. And as Fluttershy said, if they had been captured, we would know it. If they had, the Blight would have the Tears by now and would be bearing down upon us in force."

Rainbow sat back down as his counterargument sunk in. As much as she hated to admit it, he did have a point. "Alright I... I guess we can stay."

"Your loyalty and concern for your friends is admirable, Rainbow Dash," the Hart replied. "You four are welcome to all Ostaure has to offer. And you have free reign to explore the rest of Cervidas as yo see fit, though I Insist that for your own safety, you have some of my deer accompany you if you leave the capital. It is easy to get lost in the forest."

"I guess we could have Yarrow and his pals come with us if that happens," Applejack replied.

He smiled. "Excellent. Well, I won't keep you four any longer. Feel free to explore my kingdom to your hearts' content, and if you wish to speak to me, don't hesitate to visit."

With that, he bowed low to the four, and escorted them to the doorway back to the upper platforms of Ostaure. As each of them bowed in return and left, the White Hart spoke one more time. "Oh, and Gordon?"

The griffon turned. "Hmm?"

"I know that relationships between the Deerfolk and the Griffons are frosty at best, but you are as welcome as our pony friends. If anyone acts openly hostile towards you because of this, rest assured that they will have me to answer to."

"I will, thank you." Gordon replied stiffly.

"Very good. Enjoy your stay, harthon gerithach aur vaer." The stag smiled one more time, before closing the doorway behind them, leaving the four on the stairway. The clacking of hooves on the floor heralded the approach of Yarrow again.

"Ah, excellent, you're back! So, friends, how did it go?" he asked with a smile.

Applejack waved to him. "Howdy, Yarrow! It went alright, I guess. Well, we had breakfast with him, he asked us about who we are, where we came from, that kinda stuff."

"And he asked us to stay in Cervidas," Fluttershy added. "He said it was too dangerous to head back outside the forest for now."

Yarrow nodded. "Well, he'd be right. The Fainum are up to something out there, so it's best you stay with us until it's safe to travel again."

"Well then," Rainbow Dash said, taking to the air once more, "We'd better get to know this place if we're staying here! How about a tour, Yarrow?"

The young stag smiled. "I'd be happy to oblige. Follow me, friends!"

So Yarrow led the four friends down the stairs back to the platforms of the city. As he showed them the various platforms and levels of the tree, and what could be found on each one, Fluttershy found herself musing more on what the White Hart had said to them. Or rather, how he had said it to them.

"Excuse me, Yarrow?"

"Hmm?" he stopped as he led them through a less populated area. "Something wrong, Fluttershy?"

She scuffed the floor with a hoof as she spoke. "Well, umm, I was just thinking about something the White Hart said to us. He was talking about how he was, you know, the first Deer, and how he created Cervidas. But it... it almost sounded like he was sad when he mentioned it. Did something happen then?"

Yarrow's permanent grin sagged as he understood. "Ah. Yes, rather... well, he would be when talking about that. You see, the reason he created Cervidas as a home for the Deerfolk was... well, according to our legends, because the original home of the Deerfolk was lost. We don't know alot about it ourselves, and he refuses to go into detail about it."

"What happened?" Applejack asked.

"Well, we have an old song that tells the story. Would you mind if I... you know...?"

"Oh no, please," Fluttershy replied. "Go right ahead!"

Yarrow nodded, cleared his throat, and sang in a slightly quavering, but still very beautiful, voice:

"From East he came, the Elder Hart,
the Ainur-son.
Lamenting for his ancient home,
A land long gone.
At last his hooves, they came to rest,
deep in a glade,
He raised his head, and as he sang,
The realm was made,
O Cervidas.

Of leaves he sang,
and leaves of gold and silver grew.
Of wind he sang,
the winds, they came and through them blew.
The sun shone down
upon new land of timeless joy,
His perfect child,
No mortal force could dare destroy.
O Cervidas.

Though like the leaves,
We'd fade and fall, through all the years,
Of our demise, and our downfall,
He had no fears.
Though light may fade, and shadows grow,
And dark descends.
He knew the dawn was brightest still,
When night-time ends..."

16. The Flyt

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Truth be told, Maugoth had not had the best of weeks.

His platoon had been patrolling the countryside for nearly a month, with little to no success. A few captives had been turned to them, yes, but only a few. Other than that, they had been killed in the struggle or fled. And when opportunity finally came his way, when he spotted those six little ponies wandering across the plains, they had run him and his soldiers ragged. What they carried, that mysterious Tears of Gaia, would have been all he needed to carry out his dark plan. But it would never be that easy

Sure, he had captured them in the end, but lost four of them in the process. Three captives out of seven, and none of them had the Tears. Still, Maugoth liked to think that very little would truly get him down, so he made the best of it, and his troops brought the three little ponies to the outpost of Maudhul.

And then the Deer showed up.

Were he not frozen stiff with fear, he would have screamed to the heavens, cursing the name of the Deerfolk for an eternity. But that would have to wait. For while he had felt anger, triumph and frustration all the while since this whole ordeal had begun, this was the first time he had felt true terror.

He prostrated himself upon the floor of his quarters in Maudhul, as all around him flowed and flickered a miasma of darkness, swirling like ink dropped into a cup of water. It blocked out all windows and extinguished all lights in the room, until the only respite in the blackness was the two yellow eyes that glared down upon the Blightling's form.

"They are gone," It said.

Maugoth could only nod silently.

"Escaped."

Licking his lips nervously, he answered, "...Y-yes."

The furious glare of the yellow eyes dimmed slightly as the Voice sighed. "Maugoth, our dear son. We confess ourselves... disappointed."

"I know, m-my lord."

"We were easy on you when you lost those ponies, Maugoth. You lost their magical weapon, that would have ensured our absolute rule. But we were lenient, we gave you a second chance. And still you fail," The Voice continued. "You would propose a trade to their friends, you told us. Their life and wellbeing for the weapon. And now, their friends have slipped from your grip."

"Well, to be honest, sire," Maugoth stammered, "Th-they didn't exactly escape alone... The D-deerfolk helped..."

"I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR EXCUSES!!"

The Blightling whimpered and tried his best to cower even lower as the Voice rattled the timbers of the room.

"It is clear that you cannot be relied upon, Maugoth. This must be rectified."

"Please, Sire, j-just give me one more chance! I swear upon my life, I will get those ponies back, and I will get their weapon! A-and when I do, I will personally take it to Burzkala myself! I swear it!" Maugoth stuttered all in one breath.

The Voice replied, in an almost tender voice, "Maugoth, my son... Please, do not think so little of us. Do you think we would dispose of one of our own so easily? Foolish child.
"No, I will not dispose of you... However, since you cannot be relied upon to lead your soldiers yourself, I will send a new commander to help you. One that will reign you in, keep you on schedule."

"M-my lord?"

"You and yours are confined to Maudhul for the time being, Maugoth," the Voice went on. "I will send another of my officers from Burzkala. Dushtala is his name, he will do you good."

Maugoth did not let his face betray it, but within he was fuming. Another officer, to lord over me?! Unthinkable! Shameful! Maugoth does not bow to anybeast, Blight or otherwise! This 'Dushtala' would have to be dealt with as soon as possible.

"Are we making ourselves clear?"

He nodded. "Yes, very clear, Sire."

"Remember this," the Voice growled. "If you fail us, or in any other way hinder our plan, Dushtala and his soldiers die with you. So it will be in his best interests, that you do not. That is all."

And with that, the blackness vanished, leaving Maugoth alone. As he got up, legs shaking, there was a timid knock on the door.

"Enter!" he barked, and Laga pushed the door open.

He bowed low. "So, sir, how d-did it go?"

Not even turning to face him, Maugoth sighed again. "Not too well, Laga. The higher-ups got wind of our little escapees. They're sending one of their officers out here to take over control."

"A new guy from Burzkala?" Laga spat. "Pah! He won't last a week out here."

"Not quite," Maugoth replied. "They're sending over Dushtala and his boys."

Laga paused as he felt his chest clench. "Dushtala?! You sure that's what they said?"

The Blightling nodded. "Positive. He'll probably be here in a day or so, depending on how fast he arrives."

"Hmm... That's not good. I've heard stories about that guy... Well, I guess we better start expanding the outpost, if we're gonna have another whole platoon movin' in."

Maugoth nodded. "Yes, very good..."

Laga bowed again and turned to leave. But as he was about to close the door, he paused. "We're not really gonna let Dushtala's crowd take us over, are we?"

His commander smiled a mysterious smile, revealing rows of pointed teeth. A plan was already forming in his mind. "Of course not. We'll see what he wants us to do, and work around it. That's the trick of being a good commander, Laga: Be like water. Ever adapting to meet change, ever in flux, never using the same plan twice."

"And that's why you're our commander, sir," Laga said, closing the door behind him.

"How does it look up there, Miss Pie?"

Pinkie thumped the stone and wooden barricade that surrounded Fjaereir with satisfaction as she called down, "Sturdy as a rock, Starswirl! Though, that might be because it is rock, mostly."

As the sun rose high above the mountains, the four ponies clambered down from the high walls around the town. True to their word, after a good night's sleep, they came to the towns defences, ready to help the dozen or so griffons who were assigned to maintaining the pitted and scarred walls. They hauled buckets of rubble to the top to fill in gaps, nailed down boards to repair the walkway along the top, and generally shored up the walls.

As Twilight walked along the base of the wall, inspecting it for any potential weakpoints, Galahad approached, a tray in his claws laden with drinks. "A fine day's work, ponies. I thought you could do with some refreshment."

"Thanks, Galahad," Twilight replied, eagerly taking a deep drink. "Anything to get the taste of that... ugh, soup out of my mouth."

"Chicken soup, unbelievable," Rarity muttered as she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. "Imagine if Fluttershy had been here, the poor dear would have probably gone into convulsions!"

Galahad sheepishly scratched at the ground. "Heh, apologies. I'd have warned you if I knew you didn't eat meat."

"It's alright, Gally!" Pinkie replied as she bounced down from the scaffold. "New experiences are what adventures like these are all about!"

"Though if may be so blunt," Starswirl added, "For me this is one of those experiences that, now that I have experienced it firsthoof, I need never experience it again."

"I'll put word around town, make sure none of the vendors sell you anything with meat in it," Galahad said.

"Thanks," Twilight replied, before stretching her limbs. "Ooh, well I dunno about you guys, but I'm about ready for lunch. Shall we?

"Aye, my dear Twilight, we shall," Starswirl said. The four ponies bade Galahad good-day and took the path back to the fifth level of town. As they walked, they chatted about the day's work.

"I gotta say Rarity, I never expected to see you hauling rocks and working like that back there!" Pinkie noted aloud.
Rarity chuckled. "Well, one's food does tend to taste better when one has worked for it. Besides, it's not as if I was all that clean and tidy before."

"She does have a point though," Twilight added. "It's only been a few weeks since we started on this whole thing, but I have noticed we've all gotten a bit leaner."

"Leaner?" Rarity echoed, looking herself over. " Yes, I suppose so. More toned, more athletic... though I don't know if I'd want to be too muscular, it can lead to rather unsightly stretchmarks if not managed correctly, you know."

Pinkie playfully nudged her. "Don't worry Rarity! You might be a little leaner, but you're still as pretty as always!"

Their banter went back and forth as the ponies reached the fourth level of the town, and they sat down at a small table by a food stall. Dozens of griffons sat, lay or hovered all around them, seeing to their own lunches before heading back to their work.

Ordering their food, after assurance from the vendor that their food was meat-free, they dined in relative peace. At least, until a certain griffon sat down to join his friends at a nearby table.

"Afternoon, ponies," Gellert called, emphasising the second word. "Sleep well?"

Twilight nodded politely, if a little stiffly. "Yes we did, thank you."

The griffon nodded. "Didn't you say you lot were from Canterlot? Well, glad to hear our humble accommodation was satisfactory to your refined tastes."

The griffons at his table chuckled along with their friends little quip. Twilight, Rarity and Starswirl could do nothing but frown.

"Actually, we're from Ponyville," Pinkie called back with a wave. "Well, most of us anyway. Twilight Sparkle here lived in Canterlot for a while before moving to Ponyville, but Starswirl's from Canterlot."

"Ah, I see." Gellert nodded. "I heard you four were helping down at the walls today, good to hear."

Rarity, somewhat taken aback, replied. "Oh, well thank you sir-"

"Though I hope they didn't have you doing all the heavy lifting for them, earth pony. I know how unicorns tend to avoid manual labour and hard work and all that."

Twilight made to rise, her mane bristling with anger, but Starswirl was quick to pull her back down. "Now now, my dear Twilight, pay him no heed."

Gellert grinned as he saw the frowns on the ponies' faces. "Listen to your mentor, unicorn. Sit yourself back down."

His cronies laughed and sneered loudly as the four ponies returned to their seats. The rest of their meal was eaten in frosty silence, as each tried their hardest to not listen to Gellert's biting remarks. Ranging from unicorn snobbery and aristocracy to earth-pony dim-wittedness, the griffon commander left no stereotype unspoken. But the ponies remained silent and unflinching, refusing to give into his remarks.

A well-aimed farl of bread, on the other hand, was not quite so easy to ignore.

"Oops, my bad!"

The griffons all around could no longer contain themselves and fell about in laughter, while Twilight, Starswirl and Pinkie looked nervously at Rarity, who was sitting still as a statue, the farl of bread firmly stuck on the tip of her horn.

"Rarity... Uh, are you gonna eat that?" Pinkie timidly asked, desperate for something to lighten the mood. But to no avail.
Rarity stood up from the table, her body quivering, except for her ears which stood up ramrod straight. Her horn began to glow silvery blue, and the bread roll slid off her horn to hover in mid air.

Gellert and his cronies were too busy laughing to themselves to notice as the farl of bread whizzed through the air like a bullet, finally coming to a stop impaled on Gellert's sharp beak.

The laughter stopped, and the street fell silent, punctuated only by the sounds of Rarity's hoofsteps as she angrily stomped over to Gellert and glared squarely into his eyes.

"I have had just about enough of you, sir!" she shouted in his face.

Twilight rose to her hooves "Rarity! What in Equestria are you doing?!"

The noise seemed to break some griffons out of their stunned stupor, as two armed guards swooped over to grab Rarity by her forelegs.

"Get your claws off of me!" she shrieked, struggling in their grip. "I have something to say to you, Gellert!"

The griffon blinked, coming back to reality. With a waving motion, he dismissed the two guards, who released the unicorn. "You may speak, hross."

"Oh, may I, sir?" Rarity sneered. "Well thank you very much, how kind of you. Now you listen to me, Commander Gellert, my friends and I have been nothing short of courteous and kind to you and your people since we arrived in your town. And most of the griffons here have been nothing short of kind to us, except for you. You have insulted us, abused us, and to top it all off, implied that I lack ambition! Now, the noble and strong griffons of this town may have grown used to your brutish ways, but I say no more!"

"Rarity..." Twilight tried to pull her fellow unicorn back, but to no avail. She had been correct in her observation that Rarity had grown leaner since the beginning of their journey. Considerably stronger and sturdier, too.

"Calm down dear, what on earth are you getting so worked up about?" Gellert asked, not batting an eyelid at Rarity's tirade.

"Don't you call me dear, you... you... you blowhard!" Rarity shouted. "I'm taking you up on the Three F's Challenge!"

Her words echoed through the street, drawing nothing but rapt attention from every griffon and pony present. There was tense silence again for a moment, until it was broken by Gellert's derisive guffawing.

"Hah! A pony wants to challenge me to the Three F's? Me?! Commander Gellert of Fjaereir, and a mare no less!" He laughed, and a few of his cohorts laughed along with him.

But Rarity remained staring, unflinchingly, at the griffon commander. "Tell me, commander, does it say anywhere in the rules that a mare cannot compete in the Challenge?"

"Well, no, not exactly, but-"

"Well then I challenge you, Gellert!" Rarity interrupted. She reared up and prodded him in his barrel-chest. "Do you accept, or are you too cowardly to take on a dear little mare like myself?"

Ding. Cowardly. That's the secret word of the day.

Gellert frowned, batting her hoof aside. "Don't you dare call me a coward, hross! I accept your challenge."

A hushed murmur went through the crowd. Gellert raised a clawed hand into the air and shouted in a booming voice,

"Ladies and gentlebirds of Fjaereir, hear me! This... mare, has challenged me to the contest of the Three F's! Let it be known that I have accepted her challenge."

A cheer went up from the griffons around, as the three ponies could only watch in horror as the scene unfolded.

Gellert gave an evil grin towards Rarity as he continued, "And let it be known that the first contest, the Flyt, shall be taking place in the main square on the third level, at sunset today!"

Rarity's eyes went wide. "Today?! But you can't-!"

"My Competition, my rules," Gellert replied with a wink. "I'll see you there."

Rarity nodded and headed back to the stall as the crowds of griffons swamped around her and Gellert, eager to get a look at the competitors. She was quick to wave them off and return to her table, where the other ponies stared at her with slack jaws.

"Rarity..." Twilight said in a faint voice. "What were you thinking?!"

Rarity daintily took a sip of her drink, calmly replying, "I was thinking that I had had quite enough of his bullying. He is a braggart and a brute, and I wish to take him down a proverbial peg or two."

Pinkie clapped her on the back. "That's awesome, Rarity! Standing up for yourself like that, it's great!"

"I would not celebrate too soon, Pinkie Pie," Starswirl countered. "Think about what Miss Rarity has gotten herself into. She is now going to have to out-brag, out-eat and out-fight a full grown griffon."

"That's easier said than done, yes," Rarity replied. "But if that is what it takes to make him respect us while we are here, then I will do what I must."

Twilight groaned and put her head on the table. "This is ridiculous! Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy are out there somewhere, waiting for us to find them. I'm sorry, but we can't put that aside just so you can uphold your pride, Rarity!"

Starswirl lowered his head to her level. "I would not be so quick to judge, my dear Twilight. I think I can see how we can work this to our advantage."

"How?"

"Well, if you will recall, the other reward for defeating Gellert in the Challenges is not only his respect, but also the command of his soldiers. An small army of griffons on our side could do wonders for our search, yes?"

"Hmm... Well, I guess so," Twilight muttered. "But how can we win this?! You heard Starswirl, you have to beat Gellert, of all griffons! And the first contest is later today!!"

Rarity stood up and brushed herself down. "Then it's probably a good idea to get to work. How about we find somewhere a little quieter to talk?"

The four ponies agreed, and as they walked through the streets to one of the lower levels of the town, discussed the upcoming Flyt. It was obvious that news travelled fast in Fjaereir, as all along the trip Griffons called out to Rarity, some giving words of support, some mocking the very idea of her competing with her. And as she listened, Rarity learned a vital, if rather obvious, weakness of Gellert's: His pride. And so, when they found a small courtyard that was practically empty, the four ponies sat down and discussed Rarity's strategy.

"It's obvious that you can't take Gellert of head-to-head, Rarity. No offense, but even as you are now, he'd still beat you every time if you did that," Twilight said.

Rarity shook her head. "None taken, Twilight, I quite agree. I do have an image to maintain. No, instead of throwing insults at him willy-nilly, I shall instead remain calm and collected, turn his own insults back at him."

Pinkie was warming up to the idea. "Yeah, like in a karate match! If you can't beat the other pony down, then let him come at you. And then, when he's about to lay into you, hiii-yah! Use his own weight against him!"

"Well put, Pinkie Pie," Starswirl said with a nod, "Though I am unsure as to what exactly 'karate' is. But her point still stands, use Gellert's insults and turn them against him. These griffons might pride strength and power, but a sharp wit is praised by all creatures."

"It sounds like it could actually work. If nothing else, we can at least win the first contest. But Rarity, do you actually know any particularly strong... Oh, what's the word, 'zingers'?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie frantically waved her hoof in the air. "Ooh! Ooh, I do I do!"

"You do?!" Rarity was taken aback.

"Sure! I went to a comedy festival in Baltimare a few years ago, and standup comedians needs to know some good zingers to deal with hecklers and tough crowds. I picked up a few good ones, I'll teach them to ya!"

And so the four ponies spend the entire afternoon in the courtyard, working out the unicorn's plan for attack. Pinkie Pie did indeed teach Rarity an assortment of comebacks and zingers for a variety of situations that may be thrown her way. And all the while, Rarity practised her image, maintaining her composure as the dignified and calm unicorn she liked to present herself as, even as Pinkie threw one cruel jibe after another at her, and dished out as strongly as she received.

By the time the sun started to hover just above the horizon, crowds had already gathered at the Third Level. In the middle of the square was a large ring marked by a white rope, split down the middle by another rope.

As the four ponies approached, they saw the crowds of griffons cheering on Gellert, who stood at one end of the ring, casually inspecting his wingfeathers, occasionally giving a confident nod or wink to an admiring onlooker. But among the crowd of cheering admirers, there were a few silent faces, who frowned at the enormous griffon.

All the griffons turned to face the four ponies as they approached. Twilight, Starswirl and Pinkie halted a moment, slightly cowed by the sudden attention, but Rarity kept walking, her eyes never leaving Gellert for a second. The others followed her example and pushed their way through the crowd until they stood by the edge of the ring.

A rather small, stocky old griffon took to the air, flying in a circle above the ring. Clearing his throat, he shouted in a booming voice that shook the foundations of every house on the level, "LADIIIIEES AND GENTLEBIIIIIRRDS! WELCOME, ONE AND ALL, TO THE THREE F'S CHAAALLEEEEENGE!!!"

The griffons cheered and whooped as he continued, in a slightly calmer voice. "For any newcomers, this is a series of three competitions between Commander Gellert of Fjaereir, and anybird who wishes to challenge him. The contests are the Flyt, the Feast and the Fight, and the best of three wins the grand prize of command over the town's army!"

Gellert locked eyes with Rarity from across the ring, giving a cocky wink. Rarity gave an emotionless nod in return.

"The rules of the Flyt are simple. The contestants must stand in their individual sectors of the ring, no physical contact allowed. They must exchange insults, one after the other, until one is so insulted that they cannot insult back. AAAARE BOTH CONTESTANTS REEEAADYYYYYYY?!"

Gellert confidently strode into the ring and stood in his sector. "Ready!"

Rarity turned to her three friends. They nodded encouragingly back, Pinkie even attempting to give a thumbs-up, despite the lack of thumbs. "Just stick to the strategy, Rarity. Good luck!" Twilight whispered.

The white unicorn took a deep, calming breath, and entered the ring. Her nerve was bolstered as she heard a few confident cheers from not only her friends, but a few voices around the ring. "Ready, sir."

"Then let's begin!"

The portly griffon flew back down to stand by the side of the ring at the halfway point. Gellert was the first to step forwards, cracking his knuckles and launching into his first insult.

"Well well, my friends, we have before us a rather unusual challenger. A simple little unicorn, and a mare no less. Tell me, Miss Rarity, were your parents so low-born that they never taught you to show respect to your elders and betters?"

The crowd laughed as all eyes turned to Rarity, eagerly awaiting her response. The unicorn calmly stepped forward and replied, "Ahem, indeed they did teach me that. They also taught me to not waste by respect on rude little children."

There was a sharp intake of breath from all around, as well as a few 'ooh's. Gellert frowned a moment, but laughed it off. "I think somepony needs to get their eyes checked, otherwise this deluded little mare would realise that a grown adult stands before her, and an adult demands respect!"

"Well, maybe if you acted like one, you'd get the respect you claim to deserve." Rarity countered. The 'ooh' count grew as Gellert frowned again.

"Hah! You might think you have a chance, but things will be different at the Fight. Just looking at you now, I can see you're no fighter. More of a dairy farmer, perhaps."

A round of guffawing and hooting went around the circle, but Rarity did not waver. "I fight like a dairy farmer? Well, that seems appropriate. By the way you throw your weight around and chew your food, not to mention your odour, you probably fight like a cow."

The hooting and hollering only grew louder at her smart comeback. Even Twilight and Starswirl could not help but grin.

"Nicely done, Rarity!" Pinkie called.

"Indeed," Starswirl replied. "It seems she learned well."

Gellert was swift on the rebound. "But your build is nothing compared to your brain! It's so small, it could fit in a nutshell, along with three raisins and a list of your greatest achievements!"

Another cheer from the crowd. Rarity's eye twitched ever-so-slightly, but she took another deep breath and recalled a particular comeback Pinkie taught her. "Well, now, that insult does rather cover quite a bit of ground. You know, you cover quite a bit of ground too, you big brute. You should be careful, I've heard rumour that they plan to tear you down and build a shopping centre."

The griffon growled in response, waiting for the whooping and cheering to die down. "Tell me, with a face like yours, have you ever been mistaken for a male?"

There was a long 'oooh' from the crowd as they waited with bated breath on Rarity's comeback. The comeback they all knew was coming. The comeback that was so cliched, and yet, so perfect.

"I don't know. Have you?"

And she did not disappoint. The griffons went wild with laughter and cheering, some even swooping into the sky with glee. Pinkie cheered loudest of all.

Gellert paced up and down his half of the ring, glaring daggers at the unicorn. As he waited for the crowd to die down, he breathed deep to regain his composure, deciding to take a similar, aloof and distant approach. "Honestly, I don't know why I even bothered taking you up on your challenge. Nobird has ever beat me, so why would some inbred, snooty, little filly have any chance? A pathetic little crook-pated piglet like you isn't worth the skin off my knuckles!"

"Well maybe if you didn't drag your knuckles so much, you'd have some skin to spare," she replied.

The griffons cheered and laughed, as Rarity politely bowed her head to the crowd, ever maintaining her calm facade. As her confidence rose, she added, "You know, you should really just retire from commanding and find yourself a nice girl. Or at least someone who can teach you the meaning of respect and courtesy. Because you, sir, have the manners of a homeless beggar!"

"Well I just wanted to make you feel a little more at home, is all."

Rarity could almost feel herself reeling back from the insult. The crowd jeered and laughed as Gellert regained some of his confidence.

Pinkie covered her face with her hooves. "Oh no! They've switched places! Now he's giving the comebacks! This is bad, this is really really bad!"

"Have courage, Pinkie Pie," Starswirl muttered. "You taught her well, surely she has some jibes to spare."

Rarity hesitated a moment, but for every second she was silent, the crowd cheered more in Gellert's favour. The referee at the side watched her expectantly, and Rarity started to panic. Her calm image was beginning to crack.

And then she remembered another classic Pinkie taught her. It wasn't exactly a killer, but it could buy her time. Calmly walking along the dividing line in the ring, she chuckled aloud to herself. "You know, it must be fascinating in that little mind of yours. So determined in your firm deluded belief that you are likeable. I daresay, I would love to see things from your perspective..."

She stopped her pacing, turning on her back hooves to face Gellert with a confident smile.

"... But I'm not flexible enough to stick my head quite that far up my own rump."

The griffons and the ponies burst into laughter and cheering again, with plenty of 'Ooooooh!'s, a handful of 'Zing!'s and even a 'Booyah!' or two. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. She was back in this.

"Better be careful..." Gellert growled, stomping right up to the line, puffing out his chest and glowering down at Rarity. "I'll admit you got quite a foul mouth on you. But if you keep it that foul, you'll either get executed for insulting the wrong person at the wrong time, or die from some sort of horrible infection."

Rarity paused a moment, as she let the enthusiastic crowd reactions die down. She had the perfect comeback. It resorted to the lowest of the low, but it was also absolutely crippling. However, it needed the perfect delivery. She turned her back on Gellert, facing Twilight, Starswirl and Pinkie, who all looked back at her with bated breath. She smiled at them, turning back to Gellert with a nonchalant smile on her face. "Yes, well, that depends on one small thing, my dear Gellert."

She sauntered across the ring, slowly, leisurely, until she was face to face with the enormous griffon. "That would all depend on whether I were to embrace your way of life..."

She leaned in closely, until her face was so close to Gellerts, that the referee had to get up and join them to make sure they were not touching.

"... Or your mother."

You could hear a pin drop. For a second that felt like an eternity, the entire square was silent as the grave. The eyes of every griffon and pony spectating went wide as dinnerplates, and a few jaws fell agape.

Then the audience exploded.

Griffons flew all about the air, crashing into eachother, hooting and shrieking with laughter. And down on the ground, the entire audience was in absolute pandemonium. Audience members were wiping dears of laughter from their eyes. Even Twilight, Starswirl and Pinkie Pie could not help but cheer at the absolute bite of Rarity's comeback. Cries of 'Burn!', 'Zing!', 'Booyah!' and 'Hiyoooo!' flew thick and fast.

The only one who were silent were Rarity, who stepped back to admire her work, smiling deviously at her opponent, and Gellert. The griffon was shaking all over, his clawed forelegs balled into fists, his eyes wide and glaring murderously at the unicorn. With a snarl, he stepped over the white line and started straight for Rarity, who's confident grin slipped several notches as she saw him approach.

"Hold up!" Lucky for her, the referee swooped in to stand between the two. with his claws held wide, he glared up at Gellert. "You have crossed the line, and violated the rules! For this, you are immediately, and without room for debate, disqualified!"

Gellert tried to sputter out a response, turning his furious gaze from Rarity to the referee and back, even looking imploringly about the audience, but no such response came. With one final snarl, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the ring.

"THE WINNEEEEERRRR, BY DEFAULT, IS RAAAAARITY THE UNICOOOOOOOOOOOORRRN!"

The referee's announcement was met by cheering, applause and whistling from all sides as griffons rushed into the ring, crowding around rarity and hoisting her up on their shoulders.

That night, there was little sleep for any of the ponies, nor any griffons, as they threw Rarity and the ponies an impromptu victory party. There was plenty of food and drink to go around, and griffons and ponies danced together to bouncy, upbeat music played on fiddles, guitars, drums, accordions, flutes and even a set of highland bagpipes!
After thanking her dancing partner (A blushing, bright-eyed little griffon lad) and taking her leave as a song ended, Rarity took a seat at an unoccupied table, grabbing a glass of cool water. As much as she enjoyed a party being thrown in her honour, it was a tad overwhelming. As she drank, she spotted some griffons who were not celebrating her victory. A small group of griffons, Gellert's entourage from earlier today, were skulking around a far table, muttering amongst themselves and throwing her the occasional hate-filled glance. She put on a winning smile and waved a hoof to them, at which point they quickly pretended to not be glaring at her, and returned to skulking.

Her mind returned to the contest, and her final crippling blow to Gellert's ego. It had felt incredibly satisfying and exhilarating to take that blowhard down a peg or two, but she could not help but feel slightly bad for him. Not only because she had humiliated him in front of all his people, but because of his face when she had spoken her final insult. There was indignant anger, no different from the other insults, but there was something else. It was the only time he looked like she had genuinely hurt his feelings. That thought alone made the victory feel somewhat hollow. She had wanted to bring him down to earth, but not upset him.

Getting up from her table, she eased her way through the partying throng until she found Galahad, twirling and dancing with her pony friends. "Ah, there you are Rarity! Congratulations on your victory today!"

"Thank you, Galahad," Rarity replied, as she watched Twilight dancing, rather badly, with an equally awkwardly-dancing Starswirl. "Have you seen Gellert around? I haven't seen him since the contest ended."

"Oh, that big baby's probably just found some quiet corner in the castle to sulk. Don't worry about him," Galahad said, jumping out of the way of Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing and kicking away to the music, leaving even the most experienced griffon dancer in the dust.

Rarity sighed. "That's a shame. I did want to find him, at least commend him for a good contest. Not to mention, I do feel kind of bad for humiliating him like this, I at least want to see if he's alright."

Galahad chuckled and took another swig from his goblet. "I wouldn't worry too much. He's just not used to getting such a beatdown as you gave him. He'll have bounced back to his usual bragging self by tomorrow morning. Now come, Miss Rarity, may I have this dance?"

The griffon offered his arm to Rarity. Though she hesitated at first, wanting to go out and find Gellert, Rarity could not resist the atmosphere of the party. She relented and took his arm. "Why, Mr. Galahad, it would be my pleasure."

17. Battle Plans and Moonlit Strolls

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There was little rest for the blightlings stationed at Maudhul.

The previous day, Laga had come out with new orders from Burzkala High Command, to enlarge the outpost to accomodate more soldiers. All through the afternoon and night, they had been busy putting up new palisades of logs and stone, digging more tunnels and barracks underground and generally leaning the entire fortress up. The whips and canes of officers and captains had them working double time and without breaks. By morning, the expansions for Maudhul were completed in record time, but the entire platoon was exhausted.

But did they get any sleep or any rest as a reward for their hard work? Indeed not! Instead Maugoth and his subordinates had them lining up in the courtyard. A few score Blightlings were stood in rows and columns, each headed by an officer, on either side of the parade ground, facing inwards at a gap between them. And after a good few hours standing to attention, there came a pounding sound on the gate. As the gate was swung open, Dushtala's platoon entered.

In the few years of their activity, Dushtala had become somewhat notorious among the legions of the Blight. A harsh creature that had once been a griffon, his wings were now decayed down to bony constructs held together by a few strings of sinew and flesh. His dull brown fur was dotted with pink scars and scratches from countless battles. One of his hind legs was twisted from a particularly hard-fought battle against a Buffalo tribe. He had lost all his claws in that foot. The buffalo had lost its life.

he had quickly risen through the ranks due to his viciousness, obedience and cold no-nonsense efficiency. When he led his forces, there was always victory. No questions asked, no skirmishes, no spending days getting into position for an attack. Just a swift charge, lots of carnage, and another victory for the Blight with new converts aplenty.

He strode through the gates into the parade ground, followed behind by tenscore blightlings of all shapes and sizes, all clad in the same black and green armour, carrying all manner of spears, swords and clubs strapped to their sides or gripped in clawed hands. A far cry from the cloaked and lightly-armed scouts and spellcasters under Maugoth's command, Dushtala's troops were soldiers through and through.

Maugoth gulped and strode through his soldiers to meet the new arrivals. "Dushtala, welcome to Maudhul. Ashdautas Vrasubatlat," he said with a low bow.

The winged commander did not return the greeting. Looking around the outpost with a keen, critical eye before turning back to Maugoth. "You are Maugoth, the commander of this outpost, then?"

"That's me, sir. Reporting for duty," he replied.

Dushtala grunted in what may have been condescension. "The higher ups at Burzkala tell me you've been having some trouble with prisoners, Maugoth? That the local Deerfolk have been giving you trouble?"

Oh sure, rub it in my face why don't you, he thought. "Well... yes, we have. Kind of a given when this outpost is right on their border. The previous platoon stationed here told me that those deer had been harassing them for some time now."

Dushtala looked then to the troops that stood to attention around him. Striding down the line, he took every soldier in. A few dozen skirmishers and trackers. Hardly any armour worn by any of them, and barely a single weapon among them. A good many spellcasters and plenty of claws and sharp teeth, but nobody truly built or trained for war. This is going to be difficult. "And why has nothing been done about this?"

"Well, with all due respect... sir," Maugoth spat out the word as if it were a bad fruit. "We are a handful of advance scouts going up against an entire civilisation. We can't exactly just storm the forest and take their land by force. The forest is too well protected."

"Hmm, you may be right," the commander replied. "Well then, it's a good thing I've been sent then. Come, let's talk somewhere private, while our soldiers get better acquainted."

Maugoth nodded and turned to his troops. "Alright then, you're dismissed everyone. Show Dushtala's soldiers about, make 'em feel at home and all that."

His troops gave a quick 'Akhoth!' and broke rank. Many returned to their barracks, went back up to guard duty on the walls, or mingled with Dushtala's platoon. Before Maugoth could lead Dushtala to the keep, Laga trotted up to him, beckoning for a quick word.

"Excuse me a minute," Maugoth said to Dushtala, before hurrying to join his soldier. "What is it, Laga?"

"How in Tartarus are we supposed to fit this many new arrivals in here?! This Dushtala guy's brought nearly two hundred soldiers with him! And they ain't exactly on the small side either," Laga whispered frantically.

"Just do what you can," he replied. "In the mean time, have some of the grunts dig some more tunnels. It doesn't have to be comfy, we just need room to put 'em."

"I'll get 'em right on it." Laga gave a quick salute and hurried off to find some help.

"Are you quite done?" Dushtala called.

Maugoth nodded and led him to the keep. "Just a minor report from one of my officers, nothing to worry about. Now then, let's talk a bit, eh?"

The inside of the keep was as dingy and ramshackle as the rest of the fort, with grime and dirt and filth caking the walls and floor. Dimly lit by only a few candles and lanterns here and there, only a few benches and tables scattered around to punctuate the otherwise empty hall.

Sweeping some old plates and tools off a table, Maugoth laid out a crudely-drawn map of the surrounding area. "So then, what is the situation? And don't spare me the details," Dushtala said in his no-nonsense way.

Maugoth frowned at him briefly, but obeyed. "Well, this outpost is here, just on the edge of the Prancing Plains. North of here is the vast woods the locals call the Forest of Leota." He pointed to a vast area of woodland, just south of a wall of mountains. "And further north still is the mountains and mines, and beyond that, Equestria itself."

"Our ultimate goal," Dushtala added.

"Well yes," Maugoth replied. "But so far we've only got a few scouting parties in there. It's far too well-defended to even attempt invading by force right now. My troops and I were stationed out there, where we found those ponies we took prisoner."

The commander nodded. "And then lost them. So where are these prisoners now?"

Resisting the urge to punch the smug Dushtala right in the beak, Maugoth continued "Well, y'see when we first found them, there were seven of 'em. We almost had them all, but four of them escaped us. We brought the remaining three here, hoping to get some info out of them..."

"About what, exactly?"

"Well, where we could find their friends, which one of them had the weapon we sought, how we could contact them, that sorta thing," he explained.

"And then you got ambushed by the Deerfolk and lost all of them, correct?"

"Uh... yeah," Maugoth said, his ears drooping in embarrassment. "So we know that those three are somewhere in the Deer Forest, but the other four, we dunno."

Dushtala leaned over the map. "From what the higher-ups said back at Burzkala, this is the only big outpost we got in the area, and most of our troops are moving out from here. We got a couple small villages under our control in the area, but the Deer are giving us grief. Tell me Maugoth, did Allfather tell you why my soldiers and I were sent here?"

Oh here we go. "Well, it was because they thought I was... well, not exactly working at a... satisfactory level to them."

"You failed them too many times, you mean." Dushtala callously responded. "But also because Burzkala has been planning something for the last few weeks. Those Deer have been a thorn in our side for far too long."

"So, what do they plan to do?" Maugoth asked.

In silent response, Dushtala stabbed at the map on the table with a particularly long claw, gouging a long, ugly scratch right across Cervidas. "We're gonna take them once and for all."

"What?!" Maugoth shrieked, forgetting for a moment who he was speaking to. "Are you insane?! We've lost hundreds of our brethren to those woods, what makes you think you have a shot?"

Any further word were silenced by Dushtala's hand around his throat, pinning him to the fall. The avian Blightling snarled in his face.

"Be mindful of whom you're addressing, Maugoth. You're not exactly in Burzkala's favour anymore, and yer sure as Tartarus not in mine! Clear?"

Maugoth sputtered and gagged, nodding frantically "Yes...Rrghh, yes, we... very clear...!"

Dushtala let go and Maugoth slid to the floor, hacking and coughing. "What makes me think we have a shot? Simple. We're not the only ones making the big push."

Returning to the map, Dushtala took a few small fragments of bones from a plate of table scraps. He placed each piece of bone around the forect of Cervidas on the map, each at one point of the compass. "Burzkala has been sending out small groups of our soldiers to four camps around the Forest. They've been going in small forces, about fifty at a time, so the Deer don't suspect anything. Mauhur's stationed up in the north camp, Shag has the East side, Sulmurz is down in the south, and I was sent to lead the troops from here at Maudhul, the western outpost."

With a clawed hand, he pushed each of the fragments of bone inwards, until they all rested above the dot on the map labelled 'Ostaure'. "Altogether, there's a good few thousand of us. We push forward from four fronts all at the same time, force them to divide up their forces, and aim straight for their capital. No more converting either. The Deer have made it obvious they don't want our gift, so why waste it on them. And if those little escapees of yours are still in there, then we'll make sure to scoop them up."

He scratched at the map again, slashing right through the marked forest. His normally impassive face broke into what may have been a grin, or possible a leer, it was hard to tell. "The Deer will stand no chance. We will wipe them out and they will not bother us anymore. From there, it's on to Equestria itself."

He turned to Maugoth, awaiting his reaction. The Blightling had sat down in a rotting old chair by the table. "How long has this plan been in the works?"

"A couple of days now. The other camps are all ready to go. I was the last piece to position before we made our move," Dushtala replied.

"And why wasn't I told any of this?" Maugoth asked.

"Why would you need to know? Even if you weren't falling out of favour with the higher-ups, you're still just a scout commander. Little more than an errand boy."

Maugoth snarled, but held his tongue, so as not to risk another set of claws around his throat. "So... when does the attack begin?"

"First thing tomorrow morning."

By the time the walking tour of Ostaure had finished, the sun was already beginning to dip below the horizon, sending pillars of fiery orange light shining through the trees and clashing brilliantly with the silvery glow of the forest. Yarrow had led Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Gordon all around the treetop town, showing them houses, workshops, training grounds, even some of the small forges they had set up on the lower levels. Everywhere they went, deer would stop and watch them, some waving and saying hello, some giving a simple nod, and a few especially curious onlookers joining them for the walk, asking them all sorts of questions about where they came from, what they were doing out here, who they were and endless other inquiries. The little fawns were curious most of all, many of whom being so young they had never been outside the forest's borders or even seen a pony or a griffon in real life before. The four guests were flattered, and answered as many questions as they could, though Gordon remained reluctant to speak to the deer any more than he had to. But from all the questions, and from the apparent awe with which the deer seemed to regard them, the ponies could not help but get an impression that the Deerfolk, for lack of a batter term, did not get out that much.

Having finally lost their curious hangers-on, Yarrow had led his guests to a small platform, where the branches hung over the ledge like a domed ceiling. There, at a small table the five enjoyed a simple, but much appreciated supper.

"Mmm, this is pretty good!" Rainbow Dash said through a mouthful of salad.

Yarrow smiled. "Eat all you want, friends. I'd imagine our long walk will have given you quite the appetite."

"Ya got that right!" Applejack replied. "Thanks for the tour though. It's sure a nice place y'all got here."

"It was lovely, Yarrow," Fluttershy added, taking a sip from some sort of sweet drink. "I've never seen such beautiful trees before, and the view from up here is amazing."

"Thank you, Fluttershy," Yarrow replied. "We do rather take pride in our trees, there are none like them anywhere else in the world. But they are even more beautiful up close. Maybe tomorrow, if you'd like, I could show you deeper into the woods?"

"Sure, if ya like," said Applejack, taking a bite out of a flat piece of bread. "I mean, this ain't the only town in Cervidas, right?"

Yarrow shook his head. "No it is not. Ostaure may be the capital, but there are also four major settlements surrounding it. Harlond, Forlond, Annulond and Rhulond, the Four Havens, four more larger trees that each serve as town, fortress and outpost in the forest. Then there are many smaller villages and little heaths and sanctuaries scattered all around as well. A day trip to a few of the Havens, perhaps? A few teleportations and we can be there in no time."

"Sounds good," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, the capital is great and all, but it would be cool to see the rest of the place while we're here."

For the remainder of the meal, the small dinner party indulged in idle small talk, reflecting on what they had seen on the tour, sharing a few stories and jokes. Yarrow and Gordon made a few requests of the ponies for stories of their own adventures. And with as many amazing stories as they had, the ponies were all too happy to oblige.

"... And then, I swooped down through the arena! I could see the Wonderbolts and Rarity down below me, plummeting to their dooms!" Rainbow Dash said in an excited voice relating her tale of the Sonic Rainboom and the Best Young Flyers Competition. "They were getting closer and closer to the ground, and I wasn't sure I'd get them in time. But then, it happened."

"What happened?" Yarrow said, leaning forward on his cushion with rapt attention.

"KABOOM!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "The Sonic Rainboom happened. A huge boom, a flash of rainbow light, and I was flying faster than ever before! I grabbed the four ponies, swooped up away from the ground and before I knew it, I was back in the arena, safe and sound."

"It was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen," Applejack added. "And I've seen some doozies!

"It was no wonder you ended up winning the competition," Yarrow said in wonder. "This 'Sonic Rainboom', how exactly does it work?"

Rainbow Dash patted her chin a moment. "I'll be honest, I'm not sure. I mean, a sonic boom is when I break the sound barrier, but I dunno where the rainbow shockwave comes from. Something about the refraction of light in the water particles in the air or something... I gotta ask Twilight again next time we see her. She knew the science of it better than I did."

"I would love to see it for myself someday." Yarrow leaned back, gazing up at the canopy. "It sounds like a sight to behold. So anyway, what do you have in mind for after dinner?"

Applejack stood up, brushing crumbs off her front. "I'll probably head back to our house for a lie-down. That food was sure fillin', and I didn't even eat that much of it! And maybe later I'll check out some of the shops. I saw a couple sellin' seeds and plants, maybe I'll take some back home as a souvenir."

"Well, I'll probably head up to one of the higher platforms, do a little flying. Don't wanna get out of practice and all."

"And by that you mean you want to show off your amazing flying skills to the locals?" Applejack said with a wry smile.

"You know me all too well Applejack," Rainbow replied, flying out of the canopied chamber and heading upwards.

Gordon took to the air as well and followed. "Wait up Rainbow Dash, I'll join you! I could use a bit of flying too, my wings are starting to get a little stiff."

So he flew away as well, leaving only Yarrow and Fluttershy behind. "So, what about you, Fluttershy?"

"Hmm? Oh, I don't really have any plans," she replied. "I mean, I don't know if I want to be wandering around the capital by myself, I don't want to get lost or anything. I might just go back to the house as well."

"Or perhaps," Yarrow said with a quick sideways glance towards the doorway. "I could give you a little... preview of tomorrow's tour?"

"A preview?"

"I could show you around the forest a bit, maybe go visit one of the Havens. A little private evening walk in the woods, just for you," he replied. "How does that sound?"

Fluttershy's face lit up into a wide smile. "Oh my, that sounds wonderful. But it's getting dark soon, would it be safe?"

Yarrow nodded. "Of course. The trees always have a bit of a glow to them, so we'll be able to see easily enough. And there aren't really any dangerous wildlife in here either. So, would that be a yes then?"

"Of course, yes! Let's go!" Fluttershy said, swooping out the doorway, before doubling back and peeking around the frame, a bashful grin on her face. "Umm... Maybe you should lead the way?"

"Heh, happy to oblige," he said. "We can teleport and be there in no time."

The pair headed down the stairs from the platform, down through all the lower levels, past the markets, the forges, the workshops, the barracks and armouries, until they were at a quiet little ledge overlooking the western woods.

"This will do nicely," Yarrow said aloud as they stood on the ledge. As his horns began to shimmer and glow, the stag put one of his forelegs around Fluttershy's. "Hold on tight, here we go!"

Fluttershy gripped Yarrow's foreleg tightly as suddenly, like before, all sensation was muted for the briefest of moments. No sight, no sound, nothing but a black void. Then, an instant later, they were on the forest floor, at the edge of the clearing that surrounded Ostaure. Before them lay nothing but an endless expanse of silver trees.

The stag smiled at Fluttershy, with his familiar warm smile. "Shall we then?"

The pegasus smiled and nodded back. With Yarrow leading the way, the two strode through the forest, inbetween the enormous glowing treetrunks. On the walk, they passed many small structures, either built from the same silvery wood as Ostaure, or from white stone. Several of these little sanctuaries were populated by other deer who went about their evening meals out in the open or inside their little wooden cottages. But many of the sanctuaries and buildings stood empty and abandoned, a few apparently for quite some time, as vines and ivy had begun to reclaim the structures. Every so often, Yarrow would ask Fluttershy to hold onto him as they teleported to another faraway spot in the forest. The pegasus could not see it in the low light, but every time she held onto him, the ever-so-slightest hints of red sprung up on Yarrow's cheeks.

As they whiled away the hours exploring more and more of the forest floor, the daylight faded until it was nearing midnight, and the only light was the gentle silvery glow of the trees.

"Hey Yarrow," Fluttershy said in a low voice. "It seems awfully quiet doesn't it?"

Yarrow's ears pricked up as he listened to the silence. "Does it? This is how it usually is in Cervidas. Why, what is it like out there where you are from?"

She replied, "Well, the thing is I live with all sorts of animals living around my home, so it's never really quiet. There's usually owls hooting, crickets chirping. But here, there's nothing. Not even the wind blowing in the trees. It's kind of eerie, don't you think?"

"Huh... I suppose it would be. But I've grown up in Cervidas all my life, so I don't know anything different. In fact, to me, the world outside the woods seems rather noisy," he said, as they strode down a small path.

Fluttershy watched him walking ahead, before asking, "So have you ever, you know, considered leaving the Forest?"

"Leaving Cervidas?" Yarrow twisted his head around. "You mean, for good?"

"Oh no, no, nothing like that!" Fluttershy quickly replied. "I just mean, maybe go out to see what's out there. You know, like a holiday or something."

"Hmm..." Yarrow said as he thought. "I suppose it could be a rather interesting adventure. But where would I go?"

The pegasus shrugged. "Anywhere, really. There's a whole big world out there beyond the forest, Yarrow. My friends and I have seen all sorts of amazing things on our journey... Heh, my goodness, listen to me! Back when we started this, I was kind of worried about leaving to go off on this big adventure for the Tears of Gaia, and now here I am talking about how amazing the big wide world is!"

She giggled a little, and Yarrow laughed along with her. "Well, it seems some good has come out of this whole journey of yours. If nothing else, you'll have memories, and some amazing stories to tell back home."

"Yeah, that's true... Hey, um, Yarrow?"

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy pawed at the forest floor with a forehoof. "M-maybe sometime, you know, when this is all over and I've gone back home... maybe you could come and visit me in Ponyville sometime? I'm sure all my little animal friends would love to meet you!"

Yarrow smiled, the blushing on his face returning. "I'd like that... though I imagine it would create quite a stir in town to see someone like me there."

"Heh, I suppose so. I don't think we've ever had deer in Ponyville before," Fluttershy replied. "Still, it would be nice to see you again after all... you know, this, is over and done. Once the land is safe and I've found my friends again."

Yarrow nodded. "That would be nice."

A gentle silence fell upon the two as they continued their walk through the woods, the padding of their hooves on the ground as the only sound. Yarrow led Fluttershy down the woodland path, through clearings, inbetween treetrunks, passing more deer-built structures and empty shrines and temples scattered along the roadside.

After what must have been walking for hours, they came to a stop at a small structure, like some sort of old shrine of white stone. A large circular platform surrounded by stone pillars, with a raised platform in the centre. "This is as far as we can go this way. This is the safest minimum distance from the forest edge."

Fluttershy walked up the steps that wound around the circular platform, her hooves making little clack sounds as she went. "It's lovely here. What is this place though?"

"You mean this structure?" Yarrow asked in reply, tapping the ground with his own hoof. "I'm not too sure... There are alot of old abandoned buildings in Cervidas, ever since most of us live deeper in the forest where it's safest. I guess this used to be some old temple or meeting place. I like coming to these old places sometimes. Something about them just... sitting here in the middle of the forest is oddly compelling."

"Hmm, I know what you mean. Ooohh..." Fluttershy stifled a yawn as she sat down on the raised dais in the middle of the old temple.

"Tired?"

"Mmm, a little," Fluttershy replied. "It's funny, I didn't really notice until now just how long we were travelling."

"Yes, I'm feeling a bit tired as we..well... Oohhmmm..." Yarrow yawned back. "Hmm, this is a bit of a predicament. It's never a good idea to teleport when you're tired. You can't focus your mind on where you're going, you could end up anywhere... But it would take hours to walk back, and I don't think either of us is up for that, correct?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Is there anywhere nearby we could go?"

"Not that I know of, no," Yarrow replied. "Hmmm... Well, I suppose we could just camp out here or something. It won't exactly be the most comfortable sleep or anything but..."

"Oh no, that would be fine, no!" Fluttershy interrupted. "I mean, if you're sure it's safe."

"We should be safe. We're still a good mile away from the edge of the forest, and if anything comes our way, we'll hear it before we see it for certain," he replied. "Just let me send a message back home, letting them know we're okay..."

Nimbly hopping up onto the dais, Yarrow them jumped onto one of the tall pillars surrounding the platform. Clearing his throat, he sang out, "Mellon tin lobor posta barn na forvonin!"

His voice echoed through the trees, fading into silence. Then on the breeze there came a response, "Henion! Aur fuin vaer!"

Yarrow chuckled and sang back, "Aur Fuin Vaer!", then jumped down to the stone floor again. "There we go. Now they won't panic when they find you're not at Ostaure tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," Fluttershy said. "Um, Yarrow? What was that you said at the end? You repeated something they called to you, what was that?"

"You mean 'Aur fuin vaer'?" he asked. Fluttershy nodded. "It means 'have a good night' in our language."

"Oh, I see," she replied. "It's a really pretty language you have. Everything you deer say just sounds so... I don't know, elegant or wispy or something."

"Heh, I don't think I've ever been complimented on how I speak," Yarrow replied with a chuckle. "But with that said, le hannon, Fluttershy... that means 'thank you'."

"Oh!" Fluttershy giggled again. "Um, Yarrow...?"

"Yes?"

"Do you... do you think I could, um... hear you maybe... sing? It's just that your language sounds even more lovely when it's sung... I mean, if you don't mind..."

Yarrow blushed again, this time unable to hide it from Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, it would be my honour." Clearing his throat, he sat down beside Fluttershy and started to quietly sing, rocking gently from side to side to the rhythm:

"...Meleth elei nin,
Anim isoon kuil,
Lin ilf ikala uf ianor,
Im henn iestal uf tinnu,
Im faigli rhimp mavilhagr gwaew,
Meleth elei nin,
Isoon mil..."

Fluttershy listened in awed silence at his singing. His own singing voice was rather quiet and quavering, it was obvious that he was no expert, but the song still had a strange beauty, as if the words themselves, whatever they may have been, had a peculiar, ethereal quality all in their own.

She found herself smiling as she watched and listened him walking ahead and singing. I wonder what the words mean, she thought to herself. Perhaps he could teach me some more Deerish language sometime. It is a lovely language to listen to... especially when he speaks it...

Her smile only widened as she continued listening. A nice voice, and he's really friendly and... he's kind of cute when he blushes like that...

Fluttershy could feel her cheeks warming up as she thought more and more about it. Oh! Oh...my...Am I...? I mean, do I...? She buried her face in her hoves to hide how red she had gone. I-I mean, I do like him, he's really nice and all, but do I...? N-no, can't! I've only just met him! I can't like him, I-I mean I do like him, but not like that!...

She peeked between her forehooves at Yarrow, who was still singing beside her. Then why do I feel so warm around him?

So buried in her own thoughts was Fluttershy, that it was a few seconds before she realised that Yarrow had stopped singing. She opened her mouth to compliment him for his song, but she found no words came out as she looked at him.

"We should probably get some sleep," Yarrow said, folding his legs beneath his body and lying down beside one of the pillars.

"...Hey."

"Hmm?" He cracked an eye open.

Fluttershy scooted closer to him until she lay beside him. She smiled, and leaned close to his ear, whispering, "Aur fuin vaer, Yarrow.", before quickly pulling back and hudling down to sleep.

Yarrow smiled sleepily back at her. "Aur fuin vaer, Fluttershy."

And so, in the midst of those ruins, the two of them then lay their heads down to a restful, if not entirely comfortable, sleep. Blissfully unaware of the myriad of campfires that burned low in the night just outside the borders of Cervidas, barely a mile from where they slept.

18. The Feast

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"Ooohh... By the Six, my legs are stiff. Why did I think I could dance?" Starswirl groaned as he slumped out of his bed. He held a hoof to his eyes, shielding from the sunlight wich poured in from his bedside window. After a night as long and frivolous as the last one, the glare of sunlight in his eyes was the last thing he needed.

After tiredly trying to calm down his mane and beard, he slipped on his cloak and headed to the main room of their small hotel, where the three mares were already waiting for him, though appearing in equal states of exhaustion. Except one, of course.

"Good morning, Mr the Bearded!" Pinkie Pie said with a grin. "You have a nice long rest?"

"Not long enough," he grumbled.

"Well, now that we're all here," Rarity said, "Can we get going? I'm rather famished after last night's festivities, and in need of a good breakfast."

"Oh, didn't we tell you Rarity?" Pinkie turned a quzzical eye on the unicorn. "You're not having any breakfast today."

"I beg your pardon?!" Rarity sputtered weakly. "And why should I be denied breakfast?"

Twilight caught on. "Oh, that's right! The Feasting Challenge is today, so it would make sense that by the time it comes around, you'd be as hungry as possible."

"B-but... but..."

"No buts, Rarity," Pinkie cut her off. "I know it's tough, heck I've been eyeing those pastries they have at the vendors too, and they look yummy scrummy! But we need you to be hungry if you're gonna win this thing. Don't worry though, once you win the contest, you can have all the delicious pastries you want!"

"Actually, if my memories of dining with griffons in the past serves me well, after this contest is over I doubt Rarity will want to even look at food, let alone eat more," Starswirl said dryly.

"Alright, alright, you make a fair point," Rarity said with a melodramatic sigh, though she was unable to hide her grin. "The things I do for you ponies, honestly."

"And we do appreciate it, really," Twilight replied. "Now, let's find somewhere to eat."

The four headed out of the hotel and into the town. All around them griffons were already strolling and flying about, off to work, off to breakfasts of their own. Twilight noticed with a small smile that several of these griffons looked almost as tired as they did. The previous night's festivities had taken their toll on them too, it appeared.

After a hearty breakfast was had by all, with Rarity watching enviously on, the four ponies headed back down to the third level, where the Flyt had taken place the previous day. By the time they arrived, an enormous crowd of griffons had already gathered all around the designated area of the contest. In the middle of the arena was a large table, where there lay on either end a plate, a set of silver cutlery, and a large pottery goblet. And in one of the two chairs set at the table, was Gellert. As he saw the ponies approach, he glared daggers at Rarity, before changing to a confident grin as he waved with a claw.

"Ah, there you are, hrossa. I was wondering when you'd all decide to show up," he called.

Rarity sat down at the table, sitting opposite the enormous griffon. "Good morning, Gellert," she said with stiff politeness. "I trust you are in good appetites, this morning?"

"Famished, Rarity." Gellert winked rogueishly at the unicorn. "Enough to eat everything they set before us, and still go home for supper afterwards!"

"Well, good to know," Rarity replied. "By the way, in all seriousness, I would like to commend you for yesterday. The competition may have turned sour by the end, but you put up a good fight, so bravo for that, sir."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, hross."

"LADIIIIIEESSS AND GENTLEBIIIIIRRRDS! WELCOME, ONE AND ALL, WELCOME TO THE SECOND CONTEST OF THE THREE F'S CHALLEEEEENGE!"

Rarity barely had time to cover her ears before the stocky old griffon referee had swooped down and landed in the ring, his booming voice echoing through the whole town. The griffons surrounding the arena cheered loudly in response. Twilight took this momentary distraction as a chance to give some last minute advice to Rarity.

"Now remember Rarity, the object isn't to eat the most, but to eat the longest. So go slowly, pace yourself, but most importantly, don't stop," she muttered to Rarity.

The white unicorn nodded. "I'll do my best, Twilight."

"Good luck!"

And with one last reassuring pat on the shoulder, Twilight slipped back into the crowd to sit by Starswirl and Pinkie on Rarity's side of the arena.

"Now then," the referee shouted, "The rules of the Feast Challenge are simple. Both contestants will be provided with as much food and drink of their choice as they desire. And both contestants must continue to eat without rest, until one contestant is unable to eat any more. NOW, ARE BOTH CONTESTANTS READY?"

"Ready!" Gellert barked, like a soldier ready to charge into battle.

"I'm ready, sir," Rarity replied in a much more subdued tone of voice.

The referee raised a claw, and the crowd parted as two enormous wagons entered the arena, creaking under the weight of what was probably the largest collection of food Rarity had ever seen in one place at one time.

First there came the salads. An unusual sight to be seen at a griffon banquet, but added in by special request of Galahad, since one of the contestants was a vegetarian. There were dozens of different salad dishes, with beets, lettuce, fennel, onions, rocket, tomatoes, sultanas, peppers, sunflower seeds, sweetcorn, apples and all manner of fruits and vegetables sliced, diced, chopped or served whole, drizzled with different types of vinegars and oils.

These delicate delecacies were backed up by a variety of breads and pastries, ranging from light and fluffy white buns and sliced loaves dotted with spices, to whole sourdough loaves sprinkled with flour ontop. Cakes, pies, turnovers, cookies and crumbles were everywhere, in all manner of flavours and colours. And among them were also several huge wheels of cheese; soft white cheeses, crumbly cheeses dotted with spices, gouda, yellow cheddar, tangy parmesan, even a wheel of squishy camembert, threatening to ooze right off its plate.

But the dishes that caught Rarity's eye the most were the meat dishes. Equestria was almost an entirely vegetarian nation, so she had no experience in cooked meats until now. And now, despite the knowledge that these dishes were made of chopped up dead animals, she had to admit: they did smell good.

Sliced legs and breasts of chicken, turkey and duck, game pies dripping with gravy, medium-rare steaks and legs of sliced ham, heaps of jerked beef, sprinkled with spices and pepper, even a few fried fish were dotted around the table, laid out on long dishes surrounded by chips and sliced lemon wedges.

And finally, to top this display of decadent deliciousness, were the drinks. Kegs of beer, jugs and bottles filled with many different wines, pitchers of cold fruit juices and water, and even a pot of fresh-brewed coffee.

And that was just the first wagon.

"THEN, LET THE FEASTING BEGIN!"

The referee stepped aside as several griffons, dressed in aprons, began setting dishes on the table

"Fill 'er up, boys! Best beer you got!" Gellert said, holding up his goblet. "Dig in, Rarity, I hope it's up to your high standards."

"It will suffice," she replied, raising her goblet. "A spot of orange juice, please, with ice if you have any."

Her server nodded and hurried off to fetch the drink. While she waited, Rarity began levitating food onto her plate, starting with a portion of salad and a few slices of bread. She eagerly dug into the salad, but did her best to hold herself back and pace herself, thoroughly chewing each mouthful before swallowing and washing it down with her drink.

Gellert, meanwhile, piled his plate high with a whole loaf of sourdough, a few wedges of gouda and the majority of the beef jerky, sticking them together into some bizarrely shaped sandwich. As he tore chunks of the sandwich apart with his vicious beak, he called across the table, "Hah! Nibble and nurse away, hross, and let a true general show how it's done!"

He scarfed the sandwich down in a matter of minutes, while Rarity still daintily worked her way through a bowlful of salad, before starting on a wedge of cheese with some sliced apple ontop.

An hour had passed, and both Rarity and Gellert were still eating their way through the enormous feast before them. She was still maintaining her dignified and restricted manner of eating, though by now she had finished two bowls of salad, five apples, three buns and was starting on a plate of plum and apple crumble. He, on the other hand, had eaten almost thrice that much, and did not look like he was full either.

"Mmm, this game pie is delicious. More gravy!" he chortled, beckoning a server over as he took another wig of beer, his third goblet since the start. His entourage still cheered him on as he ate, while Pinkie, Twilight and Starswirl sat behind Rarity, shouting their own words of encouragement.

"Keep it up Rarity!"

"Show him how us Ponyville ponies eat!"

"Try to stick to food that's not too stodgy or bulky, then you won't feel as full."

Rarity gulped down another swig of orange juice. Sure, no pressure

"I see your little game, hross... playing it all coy and aloof.."

Two hours into the competition, and both Gellert and Rarity had slowed down to a graze. The unicorn was already lamenting the loss of her trim figure but still she muscled through, tackling her fifth bowl of salad.

Gellert continued as well, though considerably slower and sloppier, as his seven goblets of beer were starting to kick in. "Well, two
can play at that... that game *hic*... I can eat just as slowly as you!"

He grinned triumphantly and began chewing slower than ever. Delicately cutting another slice of ham before chewing it slowly and washing it down with a leisurely sip of beer that poured down the sides of his beak.

Rarity watched him as she munched on a stick of celery. Stay calm, Rarity, she said to herself, just ignore him and focus on your own food...

She groaned. Why did I agree to this? How did I, Rarity, the most beautiful and graceful unicorn in all of Ponyville, lower myself to an eating contest?!

For your friends of course, a voice in her head replied. They're relying on you now. If you don't beat this griffon at his own games, there's a chance you might never see Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash ever again!

She sighed inwardly. You're right. I can't give up now!

With a new fire in her eyes, Rarity grabbed another small loaf of bread and got to buttering it. While she chewed, she looked over at Gellert as he devoured a whole turkey by himself, and retched.

But does he really need to eat so much meat?!

It was noon. Most of the crowd of onlookers were sitting idly about, chatting, reading a book or even taking a quick nap. Even the three ponies were beginning to get bored by the endless display of gluttony before them.

Rarity nibbled at a loaf of dry bread, struggling to keep her head up. Please, please make it stop... no more food, I beg of you... I need relief, anything, to make it stop!

Her head drooped. Her eyelids felt heavy. Not now, please! I was supposed to win... I need to win, to help my friends... it can't end like this.

Even as she thought these things, she caught a glimpse of Gellert across the table from her. His eating had slowed down almost to a complete stop, half-chewed food falling from his beak. Rarity watched with bated breath as the griffon slouched forward, his eyelids drooping lower... and lower... until they fell shut, and Gellerts head slumped forward to rest on the table, his beak stuck halfway into a half-eaten wheel of cheese as he started to snore.

"... Thank you," Rarity muttered heavily, as she too succumbed to the sweet allure of sleep, and slouched forwards onto the table, clearing a space to rest her head.

Sadly, her rest did not last long, as a cacophony of sound jolted her back to reality. Through bleary, sleepy eyes she saw the referee flying into the air above the table, shouting in his booming voice, "AND THE CONTEST IS OVEEEERRR!"

The crowd cheered and clapped, their attention returning to the challenge and its result. A louder cheer was raised as the referee proclaimed, "After deliberation with the servers, I declare, RARITY THE UNICOORN IS THE WIIIIIINNEEEEER!"

He then continued to prattle on about the details of the victory, how since Rarity was still chewing when Gellert fell asleep, she had won by the rules (As set down by Gellert himself), and calling on the servers as witnesses. But all that was lost as Rarity was descended upon by her three friends.

"Rarity, that was amazing!" Twilight shouted, "I never could have held out for that long!"

Pinkie picked her up in a ribcrunching hug. "Wowee, that was awesome!"

"Indeed it was, Rarity. You are a worthy victor," Starswirl added.

"You mean I'm a bloated wreck!" Rarity replied, trying to get up, but finding no balance with her considerably larger belly. "I think even my horn's gotten fatter... Ugh, you were right Starswirl, I think I've had quite enough of food for a couple of days. Somepony please get all that food out of my sight!"

"With pleasure!"

Needing no second bidding, Pinkie Pie leapt at the table, making a beeline straight for the desserts, hoovering up whatever remained. A good few griffons joined her in devouring the leftovers of the contest as Rarity was hoisted up and helped away from the table.

Gellert was a bit more difficult, however. No amount of pushing or nudging could awaken him, so his cronies simply picked him up and airlifted him back towards the keep, the wheel of cheese still impaled on his beak, defeated.

The first thing Fluttershy became aware of was a strange warmth, and something resting against her side. She opened her eyes, squinting in the bright morning sunlight as it glinted off the silvery tree trunks. The forest was silent and still, almost eerily so.

Rolling over on her side, she saw the source of the warmth she felt and quickly shuffled back, blushing profusely. For right by her side, practically huddled up against her was Yarrow.

"Oh! Oh m-my..." she stammered to herself. "How did we...? Oh, that's right..."

Still slightly dazed from her sleep, it was only after a moment of confusion that her memories of the previous night returned. So that wasn't a dream, she thought. We went for a walk in the woods, we came to this old ruin and he... he sang for me.

Her blushing only grew as she remembered the sound of his voice echoing through the trees as he sang. It was such a lovely sound. He just sounded so sweet... And then, when we went to sleep, I... I...

She squeaked in embarrassment as she remembered. I really came that close to him... I practically nuzzled him! Stupid Fluttershy, stupid, stupid! Who knows what he's going to think of you now! W-was I too forward?

But as she looked down at the deer, still fast asleep beside her, she could not help but smile. Who knows, maybe... maybe he feels this way too. I hope he does, she mused. I hope he feels the same way about me too...

As she got up, she nudged him slightly, and he grunted in his sleep. His eyes flickered open, and he looked up at Fluttershy. "Ah... good morning, Fluttershy."

"G-good morning, Yarrow..." Fluttershy whispered, still slightly nervous about the whole situation.

"I trust you slept well? I know the forest can get a little chilly at night," he said.

Fluttershy nodded, hiding her face. "Oh no, no I was fine. It was quite w-warm actually." Somewhere in her mind, she knew exactly why that was the case.

"Well, we should probably head back to Ostaure," Yarrow replied. "We don't want your friends worrying about us."

"Good idea," said Fluttershy.

Yarrow held out his hoof, ready to teleport them through the forest. Fluttershy wrapped a foreleg around his, grinning bashfully at him. Yarrow did his best to hide the blush that was springing up on his face, but to no avail as Fluttershy giggled at the sight.

"What? Wh-what's so funny?" the deer asked.

Fluttershy replied, "Sorry, it's just you look kind of funny, when you blush like that. I-I mean, I'm not saying you look funny or anything, b-because that would be mean, but I... I guess it's kinda funny to see. You blushing like this, I mean... Oh dear..."

Yarrow raised an eyebrow as he saw a distinct pink flush on the pony's cheeks. "Don't laugh too soon, Fluttershy. I can see you're blushing as well."

She squeaked and hid her face in her mane. "Oh gosh, you can? I'm sorry, I'm n-not usually like this, I just..."

"Just... what, Fluttershy?" Yarrow asked apprehensively.

Fluttershy looked back up at Yarrow's face, her gaze drawn to his gentle, emerald-green eyes. "I guess... I feel sort of... happy, around you. Sort of... safe."

She closed her eyes and lowered her head, her bashfulness getting the better of her once more. There, I said it, she said aloud in her mind. Please don't be scared, please don't hate me, please don't hate me...

"Really?"

She nodded, still unable to look back at him.

"Because... well, to be honest with you Fluttershy... I do kind of feel the same way. About you, I mean."

Wait, what? She looked back at him and saw that he was blushing more than before, staring nervously at the ground and pawing at the ground with a forehoof. Is he really...? Does he...?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Yarrow hastily cleared his throat. "Erm, we should probably get going then."

"Oh! Y-yes, yes we should," Fluttershy replied.

Yarrow held out his foreleg once again, and Fluttershy wrapped her own foreleg around his, standing ever so slightly closer to him than she had been yesterday, before giving him a little smile. He smiled back, and his horns began to glow as the teleportation spell charged up.

But then his horns faded. Yarrow's ears pricked up, swivelling and twitching as his smile was swiftly replaced by a worried frown.

"Yarrow?" Fluttershy asked. "Is there something wrong?"

He let go of her hoof and walked a few paces towards the edge of the forest. "... Something's there."

She moved beside him, staring through the trees for any sign of movement. But all seemed quiet throughout the forest.
Then they both saw it. A faint glow of light from beyond the edge of the forest, growing brighter and larger with every second. As if it were coming closer.

"RUN!"

Yarrow turned on his back hooves, leading the way off of the ruin and sprinting into the undergrowth, as through the canopy above them, there came a roaring sound and what looked like a gargantuan black fireball crashed through the trees, before exploding on the stone ruin where the two had been standing mere seconds ago.

The black fire spread and licked at the trees and bushes around, engulfing the clearing in flames. Fluttershy and Yarrow turned tail and swiftly fled back down the path towards the centre of Cervidas.

"What was that?!" Fluttershy screamed as they ran.

Yarrow sprinted ahead slightly. "I'm not sure, but I have a hunch. We have to get back to Ostaure as soon as possible, they need to know about this!"

While they ran, yet another enormous black fireball careened out of the sky and smashed into the trees less than fifty feet away. Behind them, they could hear the sounds of bestial roaring and snarling, and the crunch of plants and branches breaking under the feet and hooves of hundreds of creatures.

"I think this is it," Yarrow said, panting from the run as they came to a quick stop. "The Fainum are finally making their move against us! Fluttershy, hold onto me!"

The pegasus ignored his outstretched foreleg and wrapped her forelegs around his waist, gripping him as tightly as she could. Hastily charging up his spell, he raised his shimmering antlers up and the two vanished.

Moments later, one of the massive trees fell town with a sickening groaning, smashing sound, right where they stood. Around the fallen tree there swarmed dozens of Blightling soldiers, some decked in armour, some dressed simply in cloaks and tunics, but all armed to the teeth and thirsty for blood.

Dushtala flapped down onto the fallen trunk and watched impassively as his soldiers stormed the forest. Maugoth clambered up to stand beside him.

"An impressive start, Dushtala," Maugoth said as he observed the carnage. "but how long can you keep this momentum up?"

"Long enough, Maugoth," he replied. "As soon as we have a strong foothold, it's just a matter of pushing. Your spellcasters did a good job, by the way, those fireballs have helped clear the way quite well."

Maugoth begrudgingly bowed. "Thank you, sir... But their mettle will truly be tested when we reach their first strongholds. The deer respond to threats fast, and it won't be long until they send out defences."

As if on cue, there echoed through the forest the booming sound of a horn. From all directions there came similar calls in response.

"Head straight for the source of that first horn!" Dushtala barked to his soldiers. "Maugoth, it's obvious they have an outpost nearby. It looks like you'll be the one testing their mettle, as you put it. Lead the way!"

Using me as a meatshield already, Dushtala? I anticipated as such, Maugoth thought. But he nodded, and leapt down from the trunk, leading the charge into Cervidas.

With the tiniest of popping sounds, Fluttershy and Yarrow found themselves back in Ostaure, and in the centre of sheer pandemonium. Deer were rushing everywhere in panic, as several more deer teleported in with reports from all over the forested kingdom.

"The Fainum are approaching!"

"Harlond is in flames!"

"There are reports from the southern outposts of swarms of Fainum rushing through the forest!"

"I need reinforcements to come with me to help Rhulond. Who's with me?"

Fluttershy peered over the crowd of deer and saw three familiar heads pushing through the crowd towards her.

"Fluttershy! There you are, are you okay?" Rainbow Dash said, finally reaching the pegasus.

Applejack followed right behind. "We heard somethin's happenin' out in the forest, what's goin' on?!"

"It's the Blight!" Fluttershy replied. "Yarrow and I were just out by the edge of the forest, and then suddenly out of nowhere, there was this huge fireball, like the one that... that killed Tharos."

"Holy smokes!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You don't think it's the same guys, do you?!"

"That doesn't matter right now," Yarrow replied. "The Fainum are finally making a move, and from what I'm hearing, they're attacking us from all directions. The whole city is in panic, we need someone to help organise them all together..."

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm here."

Every creature, griffon, deer and pony alike, froze in place as the White Hart appeared in their midst, his usual mysterious smile replaced now by a tight emotionless frown.

"Y-your Majesty!" Yarrow hastily bowed low. "Thank the Ainur you're here! The Fainum are attacking us from all directions, in numbers far greater than we've seen before."

"Then they're finally making their move," The White Hart replied calmly. Holding his head high, his antlers glowed and shimmer in a bright golden light, and from the very floor below him there grew a small hill, that raised him several meters into the air, until he could be seen by everyone across the entire platform.

"CITIZENS OF OSTAURE, HEAR ME AND BE STILL!" he shouted in a suddenly booming voice that could rival that of Princess Luna. Even on the lowest platforms of the tree, the city became still and silent. "The Fainum have plagued our borders for months, but now it appears they are making a major offensive. In a calm and orderly manner, everyone please make their way to the gathering points and teleport to their designated Havens at once! These monsters must not be allowed to reach beyond the defences of the Havenring!"

From across the entire city there came a resounding reply of "HENION!", and the deerfolk sprang into action. Hundreds of deer gathered on enormous flat platforms midway up the trunk of the colossal tree, where they would vanish en masse, to reappear at one of the four Havens surrounding Ostaure.

"What about us, Your Majesty?" Rainbow Dash asked the White Hart. "We can't just stand by while there's an invasion going on!"

The enormous deer nodded. "Normally I would insist you stay here and keep safe and hidden... but if what I have heard of the size of this invasion army is true, we will need all the help we can get."

"I can take care of them, your majesty," Yarrow said, stepping forward. "They can join me and my force."
"Very well. Take good care of them, Yarrow."

He bowed low, looking back at Fluttershy, who looked nervously back at him. "I will, your majesty, I promise."

"Good. Now let's go," the White Hart said, hurrying towards one of the mustering platforms.

"Wait!" Applejack cried. "Your Majesty, where are you goin'?"

The white stag turned to look back at her, his face showing nothing but grim determination. "I am going to join my people in the battle. Never let it be said that the White Hart does not fight his own wars. Now come, quickly!"

Without another word he rushed to join the crowds. Gordon, Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed swiftly behind. Yarrow and Fluttershy looked to eachother anxiously before joining them. Truly, the battle to save Cervidas had begun.

19. The Fight

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"My my, what a day..."

It was well past midnight by the time Rarity finally staggered back to her hotel room, still bloated from the Feasting Contest, and exhausted from the impromptu victory-party that was thrown for her. Several hours of dancing and shaking clawed hands with griffon wellwishers , the unicorn was more than ready for a good night's sleep.

Levitating her keys onto the dresser by the door, she wobbled into the living room, plopping herself down on the couch with a satisfied sigh.

"Aahh, that's so much better," she said to herself. "I'll admit, it feels rather rude to leave my own party before it is over but quite frankly, right now I just need a rest. Dear old Pinkie Pie has more than enough party to make up for my absence."

Her joints cracking slightly as she stretched, she lay back on the couch with another sigh of satisfaction, closing her eyes as the blissful veil of sleep finally overtook her.

Sadly it was not to last, however. For her blissful dreams of mountains of greasy, stodgy food being incinerated before her eyes were interrupted by a knocking at the door.

"I guess the party must have finally ended," she muttered as she got to her hooves and headed to the door. But as she pulled the door open, she was not greeted by the friendly but tired smiles of her fellow ponies, but Gellert.

"Oh! Uh, Gellert, this is... unexpected," Rarity stammered.

The griffon stood in the doorway, a mere shadow of the boisterous, proud commander he had been earlier that day. For now with his head low and his considerable gut, he almost looked... defeated.

"Ahem, hi," he said in a strangely subdued voice.

"...Hello," Rarity replied.

An awkward silence hung in the air as they stood on either side of the doorway. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh, no, not really..." Gellert replied, scuffing the floor with a claw.

More silence followed, neither griffon nor pony knowing what to say. Well, this is getting rather awkward quickly. "Well... then what, pray tell, is it?"

"I just... rrgh, I'm never any good at this," he muttered. "I guess I came by to say... goodgrrmm..."

"Come again?"

"You heard me," Gellert replied, bowing his head. "I just wanted to say..." his voice trailed off again into incoherent mumblings.

"Forgive me," Rarity said. "but I didn't catch that. Could you speak up?"

"Good game!"

Rarity recoiled as the griffon raised his voice, but checked her step as she saw his hand, held out before him. "You performed well today, and I just wanted to... to congratulate you."

The unicorn looked him up and down. Surely he can't be serious? This is the same griffon who boasted that as soon as he was done with the Feast he'd go home for supper as well, and now look at him! "I, uh, must admit, this is unexpected," she said, hesitantly placing a forehoof in his hand and shaking.

"What's unexpected is a hross... sorry, a pony, like yourself, beating me in two challenges already. You've put up a better challenge than most," Gellert replied. "How does a small mare like you do it?"

Rarity leaned against the doorframe. "Well Gellert, that's quite simple. Somewhere out there, my friends are lost and in grave danger. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack... I'd move mountains for them, if it meant seeing them safe and sound once more."

She chuckled a moment. "I'd even participate in a contest like the Flyt."

Gellert laughed as well. "Well, for somepony as refined as you are apparently, I must admit you held up well."

Rarity smiled. "Why, thank you."

He smiled back. As their laughter trailed off into quiet once more, Gellert coughed nervously. "That said, however, you have put up an impressive fight throughout this challenge. Let's just see if you can keep it up for tomorrow."

There's the competitive attitude I know so well, Rarity thought. "Quite."

"Well, I best leave you to your rest. I'll see you at the final challenge tomorrow afternoon." Gellert bowed stiffly again, turning on his heel to leave. But as he departed, he looked over his shoulder and said, "Good luck tomorrow, Rarity."

Rarity smiled and waved. "And to you, Gellert."

The next day, the noon sun shone down on the town. Up above Fjaereir on the mountainside, crowds of griffons had gathered on rocky crags and ledges or wherever they could find a foothold. Twilight, Pinkie and Starswirl sat together on a broad ledge at the base of the mountainside, surrounded by griffons on all sides. And before them stood Gellert and Rarity.

A hushed murmuring coursed through the crowds. All of Fjaereir had turned out for this third challenge, but the air of frivolity and festivity was gone. For this was it, the challenge that would decide the fate of the town's soldiers.

Rarity or Gellert. Here, the commander would be decided.

"LLLADIIIEEEESS AND GENTLEBIIIIIIRRDS!" the old griffon referee's voice boomed over the heads of the crowd. "WELCOME, ONE AND ALL, TO THE FINAL CONTEST OF THE THREE F'S CHALLENGE!"

He flapped his wings, sending up clouds of dust and grit as he took to the air. "This is the deciding stage of the challenge. whosoever wins this contest shall be granted command over Fjaereir's army!"

Twilight stood by Rarity, placing an encouraging hoof on her shoulder. "Nervous?"

Rarity gulped, giving a feeble grin. "Just a little. There's quite a bit at stake here, you know."

"I know," Twilight replied. "But just stick to the same plan as the Flyt: use Gellert's weight against him. You're smaller, but you're also faster and more nimble on your hooves. Force him to wear himself out. It's not about knocking the other out, it's about being the last one standing."

"Got it," she replied.

"Now then, the rules of this challenge are quite simple," the referee continued. "Each contestant must start at the base of this ledge and climb up to the arena at the peak of the mountain. There, the two contestants must fight until one can fight no longer, by knockout, exhaustion, incapacitation or otherwise."

As he spoke, another official-looking griffon came forward, slipping large thick gloves onto Gellert's claws and strapping down his wings with a large leather belt. At the same time another griffon approached Rarity, wrapping a large thick scarf around her horn.

"There is to be no use of teeth, beaks, horns, claws or any other sharp or pointed appendages. Weapons are forbidden, as is the use of magic or wings. Any breach of these rules will result in an immediate forfeit. Are there any objections to these rules?"

Rarity shook her head as she adjusted her headscarf. Gellert shook his head also, both contestants looking eachother dead in the eye.

"Then on my signal, begin climbing!" The judge flew into the air, all eyes upon him. He looked down at both Rarity and Gellert, ascending up to the peak of the mountain and gliding around the large, flat circle that was carved out of the top.

"LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!"

At his signal, both Rarity and Gellert put foreleg to the mountain and began the long climb. It was not a steep ascent, gentle enough that any creature could climb up it without the need of ropes or grappling hooks. But all across the mountainside were large crags that loomed up in the way, or patches of loose stones that would crumble and slide under foot, paw or hoof.

Rarity gritted her teeth and muscled on up the mountain, taking slow, deliberate steps, ensuring her footing was secure and steady before pushing up. Her left forehoof slipped slightly as she touched town on a loose slab, which slid down the mountain below her. She watched with bated breath as it slipped and crumbled far below her, before turning her face back to the peak. On her left, Gellert was already well ahead, taking the considerably faster keep-climbing-and-just-hope-your-footing-is-sure method, paying little heed to whenever his paws and claws hit loose rocks or a particularly stubborn crag.

"You might consider slowing down, Gellert," Rarity called. "Maybe reserve some of your energy for when you actually reach the top!"

Gellert laughed. "Hah, you'd like that wouldn't you! Save your breath for the climb!"

Without another word he put on another burst of speed, his limbs a blur as he scuttled up the mountain, sending showers of shale and pebbles in his wake.

Rarity raised a hoof to shield herself from the falling rocks, clinging for dear life to the mountainside. As the small rockslide subsided, she spat out some grit and sand, hastily brushing dust off her limbs and face. When this is over, I will be needing a serious bath!

The rest of the climb continued in relative silence, save for the occasional pant or grunt from either of the climbers. Within minutes, Gellert finally heaved himself up onto the arena. It was a simple flat patch of ground, some five or six metres in diameter, carved out of the mountaintop. He sat himself down on a small outcrop to catch his breath, overhanging the side of the mountain, with Fjaereir far down below.

"I don't suppose you could hurry up?" he called down to Rarity, a few meters down the mountain.

Rarity grunted as she lifted herself onto a small ledge. "Show some consideration, Gellert, I'm not exactly a mountain pony. If you're so eager to begin the fight, how about helping me out or something?"

"Ah, but that wouldn't be a fair fight, would it?" Gellert countered, a grin forming on his face. "But hey, because I like you, I'll let you have a rest once you reach up here, before we start the fight."

"Huh, how very generous of you," she replied, nearing the arena. She could feel her limbs beginning to ache already, but clenching her teeth through the pain, she carried on until at last, she put a forehoof on the floor of the arena.

Gellert grabbed her foreleg, hoisting her up onto the platform, where she plopped down on her rump, panting and lolling her tongue out in a most undignified manner.

"Tha... thank you," she wheezed. The griffon stepped back to the other side of the arena and sat down.

"Take your time, whenever you're ready. Never let it be said that I duelled a foe with an unfair disadvantage."

Keep telling yourself that, blowhard, Rarity thought as she lay on her back a moment, her chest rising and falling. After a minute or two, Rarity got to her hooves, her legs finally steady, and stamped against the rocky ground.

"Ready to go?" Gellert called.

Rarity nodded. "Then let us begin."

"You know, I confess myself rather reluctant. I never like to hit a lady," he said as he approached the centre of the arena.

"Why, just because I'm a lady, you think I can't take a little roughhousing?" Rarity replied with a wry grin. "Take your best shot."

Gellert smiled a cruel smile. "Alright, you brought this on yerself!"

Rarity was ready for him, however. She saw his gloved hand swinging towards her in a rapid arc, and dropped down. Falling flat, she swept out with a hind leg, knocking Gellert's other three limbs out from under him, sending him flying a few feet before landing hard on his front. Rarity leapt upright and scurried to the edge of the circle.

Gellert scrambled upright, dusting off his bare shoulders and went straight at the unicorn like a charging bull. Rarity dropped low again, this time on her back as she raised both back legs out in front of her. The griffon cannoned straight into her hooves, knocking the air out of his lungs, and he went beak over tail onto the hard ground again.

He arose again, a little slower this time, and took to circling around Rarity, looking for any opening. But Rarity stood her ground, head lowered and hooves spread apart. With a snarl like a lion, Gellert came at her again, but this time it was his turn to drop down low as he skidded into Rarity's front legs with his gloved claws, knocking her into the air like a bowling pin. She dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, knocking the wind out of her.

Gellert stood and faced her as she got up again, her limbs shaking slightly this time. "Had enough?" he asked with a sneer.

"Not... even... close!" Rarity panted, confidently striding towards him. He came at her as well, fist raised ready to strike.

The unicorn ducked again, Gellert's fist narrowly skimming against the tip of her ear as it whistled overhead. His enormous barrel chest was right in front of her, and Rarity lunged out with her forelegs, bucking into him once! Twice! Thrice!

But as he reeled from the blows, Gellert's flailing limb caught her on the cheek. She staggered backwards as stars exploded in her vision, until both combatants were on either side of the arena. She wiped a small droplet of blood from her snout as she rubbed her bruised and swollen cheek.

"You fiend, you bruised my beautiful face!" Rarity cried out in mock-anguish.

Gellert chuckled as he rubbed his battered chest. "I warned you, you brought this upon yourself. You said you could take it, so I didn't hold back... Whooo, you pack a heck of a kick, you know."

"I may not look it, but I have had some experience in fighting before," Rarity replied.

"You don't say?" Gellert said. "Well, here's a bit more experience for ya. Remember this as the day you almost beat Gellert, commander of Fjaereir."

Looks like this is it, she thought to herself as she watched his crouching low, tail whipping back and forth. It all comes down to this...

With a feral roar, Gellert leapt at her, fists clenched and raised high above his head.

Time seemed to slow down as Rarity acted. Dazed as she was, she knew she had to act quickly. Leaping out of his path, she arched her back as she came up on her hind legs. Her front hooves contacted his shoulders as he barrelled past her, and she kicked high, leaping clean over him like a ballerina as he skidded to a halt.

Before he had a chance to turn or react, Rarity had landed on the other side of him, her hind legs kicking up and slamming into his side, sending him flying to the far end of the arena in a heap.

Rarity stood rooted to the spot, unsure of exactly what had just happened. There had been no conscious thought in that move, she had acted almost purely on instinct and reflex. And yet she had pulled off an attack that would make even an experienced soldier's jaw drop!

Gellert groaned, trying feebly to lift himself off the ground. But each time, his limbs gave way and he crumpled and fell. "So... are you gonna finish it?" Gellert muttered. "Strike the knockout blow?"

In reply, Rarity simply sat down beside him, before keeling over backwards from sheer exhaustion, lying on her back looking up at the sky. "Even if I had the strength, I'd rather not. Besides, I'd say you're pretty much incapacitated at this point, am I correct?"

"Aye, she has a point, sir," the referee called as he flew in circles above the fight. "So Gellert, you fell first. Do you submit?"

Rarity looked from the referee to the griffon who lay in a heap before her. All eyes were upon the commander, including several of the griffons (and Pinkie Pie) who had climbed up after them to watch the fight from up close.

"I... submit..." Gellert managed to mumble.

For a miniscule moment that felt like an eternity, the world seemed to stand still.

Then the mountainside exploded.

Cheers, shrieks of joy and victory from griffon and pony alike came from all across the mountain as a detachment of soldiers airlifted the two semiconscious combatants down from the arena, to the starting ledge where the rest of them waited.

"RARITY, THAT WAS AMAZING!!!" Pinkie Pie wasted no time in zooming forward and grabbing Rarity in a big, tight hug.

"Aagh! P-Pinkie Pie... I appreciate the -ow- sentiments, but I'm still rather -oof!- injured!"

The pony quickly let go. "Oh, sorry, sorry! But still, that was awesome! The way you swept his legs out, swoosh! And those kicks in his chest, that was just... aagh, it was EPIC!!"

"Bravo, Rarity!" Starswirl shouted, tossing his hat into the air. "'twas a duel well-fought, and a victory well-won!"

"Thank you my friends," Rarity replied, waving a hoof to quiet their cheers. "Thank you everyone. But even if I emerged victorious, I would like to extend a round of applause to my opponent, who fought valiantly and like a true champion. To Gellert, a warrior through and through!"

The griffons cheered and screeched as they applauded their former commander. A few griffons helped him upright, and he gave a bruised and battered smile to Rarity. "Thanks for that Rarity."

The two of them sat down together, the griffon shedding his gloves and straps around his wings, and Rarity her horn-wrappings. The ponies at beside them, carrying bowls of warm water to bathe their injuries.

The referee parted the crowd as he fought to reach the small group, carrying in his claws Gellert's red and gold dress jacket. Rarity stood up before him. "You have both fought well, but miss Rarity is the clear victor. And so, it is my honour to present you with this, the official dress jacket of the Commander of Fjaereir."

Rarity levitated the jacket out of his grip, holding it before her for a moment before slipping it on around her shoulders. Being made for Gellert, the jacket was a considerably larger fit for her, falling loosely on her, long enough to be a dress.

Gellert got up, shakily standing before her, among the crowd of other griffons that now stood to attention in front of their new leader. "I consider myself relieved, Commander Rarity," he said hoarsely. "We await your orders, ma'am!"

Rarity looked out over the hundreds of heads, all looking back at her expectantly. Commander? Oh my... this is certainly something else, she gulped. She looked down at her new clothes, bedecked with its golden trim and silver pips along the collar. "Well then, ahem... In that case, as my first order as Commander of Fjaereir..."

In one swift motion, she whipped the jacket off, slipping it back around Gellert's shoulders. She chuckled slightly at his baffled expression, which accurately mirrored the expressions of every griffon and pony around her. "... I hereby reinstate Gellert the griffon as Commander of Fjaereir!"

Uncertain murmurs coursed through the crowd.

"What does she mean?"

"She won command, and then just gave it right back? What is she playing at?"

"This makes no sense!"

"But... but why?" Gellert stammered. "You beat me fair and square. My army is yours now, as the rules state."

Rarity stood before him. "Oh but Gellert, this was never about your army."

"It wasn't?!" asked Gellert, the ponies and several other griffons almost simultaneously.

"Not at all," Rarity replied. "I was after the other prize of the challenge: Your respect. When we came here, you looked down on us ponies as weaklings, inferior to you griffons, did you not?"

Gellert shrugged. "I guess I did..."

"Exactly," she continued. "It was obvious to me that, if we were to make any headway with convincing you to help us in our search for our friends, we would first need you to see us as more than just weak. And, forgive me for blowing my own proverbial trumpet here, but have I not earned it by now?"

Gellert looked up at the unicorn that stood before him. He thought back to when he first saw her and her friends enter the town. She looked like nothing but a prissy, uptight, snobby unicorn. I guess looks can be deceiving, he thought.

"Aye, Rarity. You and your pony friends have my respect. To go through all this for the sake of those closest to you, without thought of your own gain, is quite frankly admirable." Gellert stood proudly up, standing by Rarity's side, looking over the griffons. "And so, I am ordering that a search shall begin for these ponies' missing friends! I'll need four-score griffons to volunteer to go out and search!"

And so preparations began for the great search. Within the hour, Gellert had his eighty volunteer flyers from among his forces, and they began suiting up for the long flight out into the surrounding country. Rarity drew up quick sketches of Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, with detailed descriptions of each of them, which Twilight and Starswirl then duplicated with their magic, until every volunteer had at least ten copies.

Pinkie Pie joined the royal chefs in preparing travelling food for each flyer, adding a little of her own sweet touch to the bags of granola. Though she backed off somewhat when she saw them packing strips of dried meat in with it.

By the time the sun began to dip below the horizon, the four-score volunteer griffons stood proudly along the base of the battlements of Fjaereir, the evening sun gleaming slightly off their freshly-polished armour. Gellert, wearing his dress jacket, stood at the top of the gatehouse overlooking the volunteer force, with Rarity by his side.

"Griffons, you have your orders! You are to fly out in an arc, covering as much land as possible, until you find any of these three ponies! If you encounter anyone along the way, be sure to ask them if they have seen anything. It is of vital importance that we find these three ponies, for until we do, we cannot guarantee our own safety. The Blight grown stronger every day out there, and if they discover these ponies before we do, and just one of these ponies lets slip the location of the so-called tears of Gaia, then it could spell doom for Fjaereir as we know it!

So fly, fly forth with all haste. Seek out and find these ponies, and return them safely here. Now go, and may the winds be ever in your favour!"

With a roar of voices all calling out together, the volunteer force took to the skies, sweeping up great clouds of dust with their flapping. Up into the air they went, spreading out over the sky from the mountain town, as the griffons and ponies that remained behind cheered them and aw them off, until the nearest griffon was but a speck in the evening sky.

"Hmm, gettin' kinda hungry... time for a snack methinks!"

The griffon swivelled the bag on her back around so that it hung just below her chin like a makeshift feedbag. Gerta was her name, and she had been flying south-east for hours now. The moon hung high in the sky above her, illuminating the land below. She had flown alongside the Forest of Leota, over Knight's Peak and was now halfway across Froud Valley. But aside from the occasional Chupacabra, kelpie, and an elephant or two, Gerta had seen neither hide nor hair of any creature out and about this late at night.

As she chewed thoughtfully on a chunk of cured ham, she glimpsed a light in the distance. "Ah, civilisation at long last!" she said aloud to herself, putting on a burst of speed. As she neared the light, she saw the outlines of enormous silvery trees, which seemed to glow. She came to a halt in mid air as she saw the source of the light. Below her was the vast forest nation of Cervidas, home of the Deerfolk. But the light was not the familiar silvery white glow of their famous trees, but of something far worse.

"Fire?!"

Dotted all through the massive forest, she could see flames of red and black licking at the leaves and trunks of the massive trees. Above the crackling and roaring of the fire, she could hear the faint sounds of creatures roaring, horns blaring, and the whizz and crack of magical energy shooting back and forth. And as she tentatively hovered lower until she was only a few meters above the canopy, she saw through a hole in the leaves the battle in the forest below. And among the carnage, four very familiar creatures...

Eyes wide with shock, Gerta swung about and took to the air again, flying straight back towards Fjaereir with breackneck speed. "I have to tell the others! And the King... King Gideon, he needs to know... unbelievable, after all these years, at last I've found him! I've found the King's son!"

20. Saviours from the Skies

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Far below in the Forest of Cervidas, scattered fires burned. Yells and screams, and the fierce cries of battle echoed among the trees as hosts of Blightlings could be seen swarming among the trees, horns aglow with magical energy.

It was now nearly midnight, but there was no lull in the battle. Deerfolk formed lines of defense on the ground and on platforms high up on the trees. From their vantage points they saw the forest below crawling with dark shapes, some squat, some tall, but all with the same eerie yellow eyes. The Blight would surge forward in groups, some clambering up the high treetrunks, but most pressing along the ground. But they would be met every time by volleys of magical blasts, silver darts, crimson beams of light and blue fireballs. The Blight wavered, broke and fell back, but then charged again before too long. And with each surge forwards, like the approaching tides, they would gain a few more feet of ground, forcing the Deerfolk further back into their forests.

At the haven of Rhulond, Yarrow and his friends considered themselves lucky. The numbers of Deerfolk and Blightlings were roughly even, and so the battle had fallen to almost a standstill, with both forces taking up defensive positions. The Deerfolk had built barricades around the base of the mighty treetrunk, and Yarrow and his pony and griffon friends now huddled behind them, with a deer occasionally popping up to fire off a blast of magic at any Blightling who strayed out from their cover among the trees.

Rainbow Dash and Gordon flapped in from beyond the barricade, a grim smile of satisfaction on her face. "Well that took care of a few of them. If I fly fast enough those Blight chumps never spot me until it's too late!"

"Got any more stones?" Gordon asked the group behind the barricade.

A stag gathered up fragments of rubble and pebbles, passing them into bags the pair wore around their necks. Rainbow Dash had taken rather quickly to helping in the battle, flying above the Blight forces and raining rocks down on their heads. Not really anything large enough to kill, but more than enough to stun and distract.

"I hope yer not doin' anythin' too reckless out there Rainbow Dash," Applejack shouted from further down the barricade.

Rainbow smirked. "Aww, worrying about me are you? Relax AJ, me and Gordon are flying so high up they can barely see us. Now c'mon dude, let's get going!"

Gordon nodded, and the duo took to the air again, flying high into the canopy with their bags of ammunition.

"I must say," Yarrow said to Applejack. "Your friend Rainbow Dash has taken to war considerably..."

He was cut off as the malformed face of a Blightling peeked over the barricade, his yellow eyes shining with bloodlust. But before the monster could jump down among them, Yarrow had stood up, lifting the Blightling up on his antlers before tossing him bodily back in the direction he came, where he landed in a crumpled heap twenty feet away.

"...Considerably faster than I expected," he finished.

Applejack scuffed the dirt with her hooves before bucking a small boulder over the barricade with her hind legs. "Well this ain't the first time us ponies have gotten in a scrap. We've fought off Changelings and Moonbeasts and all kinds of monsters more times than I'd like to remember. Nothin' quite this... intense though!"

Juniper the stag hopped down from atop the wall as a black fireball sailed overhead to crash against the tree, where a few nearby deer stamped it out. "Well needless to say you ponies are doing a fine job for your first war... wait, where's Fluttershy?"

Applejack silently pointed over her shoulder to a small dead tree, which curled over on itself, forming a small sheltered hollow beneath it. And inside, Juniper and Yarrow could see a small yellow and pink form, huddled up and quivering.

"She ain't exactly the fightin' type, so there's not much she can do," Applejack explained. "Poor thing, this is way too intense for a delicate pony like her."

Yarrow looked with pity at the pegasus. "I'll go talk to her. Juniper, you're in charge until I get back."

The younger stag nodded and turned back to the battle as Yarrow trotted over to the curled tree trunk. Ducking under, he saw Fluttershy curled up underneath, her face buried in her forelegs. But her hooves could barely muffle the whimpers and squeaks of fear from the little pegasus.

"Fluttershy?"

She tensed slightly at the sound of her name, but raised her head to look at the stag. Yarrow felt his heart clench as he saw the obvious signs of tears in her eyes. "Y-yarrow," she whimpered. "I-I'm scared... I d-don't know what t-to do..."

Yarrow sat down beside her, a comforting hoof around her shoulders. "I know Fluttershy. Applejack tells me you've never been in a fight quite this intense?"

Fluttershy nodded mutely. "Th-this is all too m-much for me! I don't know h-how much more I can take!"

He nodded. "I understand, Fluttershy. But we need you out there."

"What g-good can I do?" Fluttershy cried. "I'm no good at fighting! I've never f-fought anypony in my life!"

"But your friends said that you've all been in fights and battles before," he replied.

Fluttershy shook her head. "Maybe, b-but I've never actually fought. As s-soon as I get into something like that, I j-just... I just freeze, curl up and hope for it to be over as s-soon as possible. My friends are the ones who d-do all the fighting..."

As a fresh flood of tears sprung from her eyes, she held Yarrow closer and buried her face in his fur. Stroking her head with his forehoof, the stag replied. "But every contribution helps, Fluttershy. The Fainum intend to see Cervidas go up in flames, us Deerfolk along with it. We need all the help we can get, you included."

"H-how?" Fluttershy asked, holding Yarrow even tighter as a blast of magic crashed against the outside of the tree, causing the whole thing to shake.

"Well..." Yarrow pondered this a moment, looking furtively outside. "You said that you work with animals, correct? Feeding them, caring for them, healing them?"

"Y-yes, but how...?"

"Well, every army needs medics. It's obvious you'll never be the kind of pony who can take lives, so how about saving them instead?" he suggested.

Fluttershy did not look convinced. "Oh... I-I mean, I'd love to help make people better, but... I don't know if I can go out there..."
Before she could continue, there came a sharp bang from outside the tree. Both of them peeked out, and saw that one of the barricades had taken heavy fire from the Blightlings, blasting several deerfolk to the ground. Juniper struggled to his hooves, a sliver of tree-bark impaled straight through his left hind leg.

"Oh my, Juniper!" Fluttershy needed no second bidding. Regardless of the situation, she was not a pony to stand idly by as another creature suffered. Rushing past Yarrow, she flapped to the fallen deer's side. "We need to get you somewhere safe. Can you stand?"

Juniper grunted with pain. "Rrrgh... not easily, I'm afraid."

"Here, let me help." Fluttershy offered herself up as a support to the stag, as he pulled himself upright again. The two limped slowly behind another barricade, this one considerably more intact, where the pegasus got to examining his wound. "Oh you poor thing. It's not too bad, but we need to get this wound cleaned right away. Somepony get me some water and bandages!"

Even as he rejoined the battle, covering one of the barricades with a dozen other deer, Yarrow cast glances back at Fluttershy every chance he got, a smile growing on his lips as he watched the pegasus removing the sliver from Juniper's leg, before cleaning out the wound and bandaging it with strips of linen and a bottle of water brought to her from inside the haven. She paid little heed to the war going on around her, her face stern with concentration as he ensured that Juniper was as comfortable as possible. As the stag thanked her profusely and slowly made his way back to reinforce his barricade, realisation hit the pegasus like a freight train.
Her pupils became a small as pinpricks and her chest rose and fell as her breathing became rapid and deep. Yarrow hurried over to her to see if she needed anything. "Fluttershy, are you okay?"

"I..." she stammered. "I j-just ran out there! I didn't c-care about what was g-going on, I just headed straight for Juniper. How d-did I do that?"

Yarrow smiled. "Amazing. A healer through and through, Fluttershy, that's what you are. I saw you, you cared nothing about what was going on around you, you just concentrated on tending to his injuries. I've never seen anybody concentrate like that!"

Fluttershy smiled slightly. "I... I guess I did. I just can't stand to see anypony in pain."

The stag gestured around him. "Well, this is a pitched battle we're in the middle of, so there are bound to be injuries aplenty. So, do you think you could take on the responsibility of saving the lives of any deerfolk who need it?"

"Oh, my..." Fluttershy scuffed the dirt nervously. "That's quite a big reponsibility... But alright, I'll do it."

"Thank you, dear Fluttershy," Yarrow said, smiling at the pegasus. Fluttershy smiled bashfully back, and for the briefest of moments, both of them forgot about the war going on around them.

"Oh, I er, probably should, you know... get to work then," Fluttershy stammered.

Yarrow coughed hastily. "Uh yes, and so should I... Back to the ramparts and all that, yes..."

With one last glance at eachother, Yarrow headed back towards the barricades, while Fluttershy hurried back towards Applejack, and Rainbow Dash and Gordon, who had returned to restock on rocks, her bandages and water held under her wing as she tended to a nearby deer with a scorched shoulder.

The firefight continued for almost an hour, with the Blight inching slightly closer towards the base of Rhulond, using the trees as cover. Packs of flying Blightlings had taken to the air, swooping down in squadrons at the high platforms in the massive tree, only for most of them to be shot out of the air by all manner of magic missiles shot by Deerfolk that lined the edges of the platforms, blasting away at them with their antlers. A few Blightlings managed to land on the platforms, and a few melees were breaking out in the streets high above, but otherwise Rhulond was holding out well enough.

Rainbow and Gordon had given up their aerial assaults, not wanting to risk clashes with the airborne Blightlings, and now stood behind the barricade with Applejack and the Deerfolk, pelting rocks and rubble at any Blightlings who got too close. Fluttershy, meanwhile, was fully engrossed in her new role as battlefield medic, rushing to the aid of anybody who needed it with cool water and bandages. She had even come across a small garden of healing herbs growing at the base of the tree, and now provided soothing balms and painkillers as well (But not before leaving a hastily scribbled note to whomever owned the herb garden, promising to replace the herbs she had picked)

However the tide of the battle turned in the Deerfolk's favour as none other than the White Hart himself appeared among them, as he came to support each of the four havens surrounding Ostaure. Bringing with him twoscore other deerfolk, including a few Tirn soldiers, Rhulond's defense was bolstered to the point where the Blightlings were forced to stay in cover, lest they be met with a volley of magical fire the moment they peek their heads out. While a dozen or so deer now lay slain on either side of the barricade, they were far outnumbered by the number of dead Blightlings that littered the forest floor.

"Your majesty," Oakwood shouted to the White Hart. "How goes the battle in the rest of Cervidas?"

The White Hart sat down behind the barricade. "Not that good. Harlond has nearly fallen, and Annulond and Forlond are hard pressed. Many of the villages beyond the Havenring are now in flames."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Oakwood replied with a nod. "It seems these Fainum are without end. You slay one, and three more take its place!"

"It does look grim, your Majesty," Yarrow agreed. "Even with our guests aiding us, particularly our new battlefield healer Fluttershy, we are in trouble unless we can get some help."

"But where could we get help? With the Fainum armies surrounding our forest, nobody would dare to come near to aid us," The White Hart replied, before hastily popping up to fire a silver dart of energy from his antlers at a Blightling who was rushing towards the barricade. The creature teetered on, carried forwards by its momentum for a few seconds, before keeling over dead.

"No, my beloved Deerfolk, it appears we are on our own now."

Nearly a hundred miles away, the griffons of Fjaereir went about their daily lives, oblivious of the war going on in the lands south-east of their beloved town.

After the big sendoff of the griffons sent to seek out Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie and Starswirls friends, there had been another great celebration, that had carried on long into the night. Dancing, feasting, drinking, games and all manner of crazy fun was had, in honour of Rarity's victory over Gellert, as well as their burying of the hatchet that had stood between any sort of alliance between the griffons and their pony guests.

But by the next morning, the town had returned to life, albeit rather dazed and tired, with a bit of a headache from the previous night's events.

The four ponies sat in the throne room of the Keep with Galahad and Gellert, and King Gideon slumped in his throne, his chin resting wearily upon his mace. Sadly, even with all the frivolity and celebration and pageantry of the last few days, Gideon still remained catatonic and motionless in his throne.

Pinkie Pie sighed, lying on her back. "Man I wish those messenger griffons would just come back with some good news already. I can't stand waiting like this for so long!"

"Pinkie, it's only been one night," Twilight reasoned. "Even at top speed, I don't think any griffons would have gotten that far by now."

"She's right," Galahad added. "Give it time, they'll be back with news soon enough."

Gellert stood up. "In the mean time, I've been meaning to ask, Twilight, have to come up with any ideas about what you will do with that jewel of yours once you and your friends return to Equestria?"

Twilight started slightly. With all that had been going on, she had almost forgotten about the Tears! Rifling through her saddlebag a moment, she pulled out the ornate lacquered box, holding it in her forehoof. "I guess I haven't been thinking much about it..."

"I suppose our little request is still out of the question?" Gellert asked.

Twilight nodded. "I'm afraid so, Gellert."

"Why?" Pinkie Pie asked, rolling back onto her front. "Don't you trust the griffons yet?"

"It's not that Pinkie," Twilight replied. "Of course I trust you guys, that's what the whole challenge was about. I just don't know if anyone can be trusted with the Tears. It's kinda hard to describe, but it... does things, to your head."

Rarity nodded. "I know what you mean, Twilight. I still remember how odd I felt when I saw it for the first time."

"What was it like, if I may ask?" Galahad asked.

"It's rather hard to describe," Rarity replied. "But I suppose it was like some sort of strange pressure, as if some huge weight suddenly appeared on my shoulders. And I'm not sure why, but when I looked at them, I felt rather... sad."

"I got that as well!" Pinkie added. "I dunno why, but when I looked at it in its little box, I almost wanted to cry. And I couldn't make myself stop looking at it."

Galahad whistled in awe. "Wow. Sounds like a rather powerful artefact."

"Well according to the Princesses, it is forged from the accumulated magic of gods," Starswirl replied. "I would be surprised if it didn't have adverse effects on ponies' minds."

As Starswirl finished, the doors to the throne room swung open, and in marched a guard, who pulled his brass goggles up off of his eyes before bowing low. "My lords! A griffon flyer has returned with news!"

As he spoke, Gerta entered the throne room, followed by a small crowd of curious onlookers, all eager to be first to hear the news.

"What news do you have?" Galahad asked. "Have the ponies been found?"

Still panting from her long and swift flight, Gerta bowed low, pausing to catch her breath, "Forgive my...bedraggled appearance, my lords. I... I flew here as fast as I could when I saw it. I was... flying over Froud Valley when I saw light in the distance. I flew close to it and saw that it was the Deerfolk's homeland, the Forest of Cervidas. It was burning!"

A gasp rippled through the crowd at the news. Galahad wore a face of concern and worry, but Gellert's face suddenly became dark and sullen. "If Cervidas burns, what concern is it of ours?"

"Well, my lords, I flew a bit closer to see what was going on inside the forest, and it was a warzone! The yellow-eyed monsters, hundreds of them, maybe even thousands! They were swarming through the trees, in battle with the Deerfolk. And that's when I saw them; three young mares, that perfectly matched the description of the three ponies we were tasked to find!"

"You found them?!" Twilight leapt to her hooves, a look of disbelief on her face.

Gerta nodded. "And that's not all I saw. My lords, I saw a young griffon with them. And he was the spitting image of the lost young prince!"

Another murmur went through the crowd, louder and more curious this time. A few griffons in attendance also noticed a change in Gideon as Gerta related her tale. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but his eyes seemed to glimmer with life once more. His head even lifted up off of his sceptre as well, ever so slightly, but enough to be noticeable.

"Are you sure about this?" Galahad asked sternly. "Think very carefully about whom you saw."

"My eyes don't lie, my lord," Gerta replied. "There was no mistaking it, it was Gordon, my lords! Gordon is alive!"

In the silence that followed, there was a sound. A minute, almost inaudible mutter from the King. His beak cracked open, repeating again, but loud enough for all to hear, "...G-Gordon's alive?"

And then, after a brief second that felt almost like an eternity, his eyes sparked to life again, and his heavy beak curled into an overjoyed smile. Then he spoke, in voice that had not been heard for ages. A voice that made the ponies' ears flatten against their heads. A voice that would put Princess Luna to shame.

"GORDON'S ALIVE?!!"

He was no longer the feeble, catatonic king who sat slumped and barely conscious on his throne. Standing up out of his throne, his mace gripped firmly in his enormous claw, the accumulated dust of months of inactivity falling from his fur and feathers, and from his ornate jacket, revealing its bright blood-red and golden colours.

Without so much as a word, the entire crowd in the throne room fell down into a low bow before Gideon. Truly, their king had returned.

"I have been in a dark world for so long," Gideon rumbled. "Too long, waiting for the tragic news of my son's fate. But no longer."

"It is wonderful to have you back in the land of the living, your majesty," Galahad said as he got up. "And even more wonderful to hear the news of your son's discovery."

"Wonderful?" Gideon echoed. "Wonderful?! This is spectacular news! He has been found, alive and well, and in the midst of a mighty battle no less! Gellert!!"

"What are your commands, your Majesty?" Gellert said, leaping to attention.

"I understand that, despite your defeat at the hands of our unicorn friend here," he gestured to Rarity, who bowed respectfully. "you still hold command of our army, correct?"

"I do, sire," Gellert said, smiling at Rarity. "She was kind enough to return command to me. Though, if it pleases you, miss Rarity, I would still consider you an honorary commander."

Rarity smiled back. "Why, mister Gellert, I consider it an honour. Though, I don't really know anything about commanding armies."

"Well," Gideon replied, "I believe in learning on the job. Gellert, Rarity, rally the troops! Kit everybird out with the finest weapons we have in the armoury and muster them at the gates. My son is in peril, as are our pony allies. And though we may not be close friends with the Deerfolk, these Blightlings threaten the freedom of every creature in these lands. So prepare the army, we fly for Cervidas!"

"Yessir!" Gellert saluted, turning on his back paw to face the crowd of onlookers. "You heard your king! All soldiers report to the armoury and arm yourselves! In one hour, we fly!"

There came a general roar of agreement, and the castle began to buzz with activity as griffons milled all about the place. As the throne room emptied, Gellert made to leave, but was stopped by a hoof on his shoulder.

"What about us?" Twilight asked. "None of us can fly."

"You're coming to the battle as well?" Gellert asked, eyebrow raised. "You heard the messenger, Cervidas is under invasion."

"With all due respect," Rarity said. "Our friends are out there as well."

Pinkie and Starswirl came to their side, the four of them standing in row before the griffon commander. "Just try and stop us."

Gellert saw the fire in the eyes of the four ponies before him, and smiled. "I'll arrange for some air-chariots for the four of you, as well as weapons and armour."

Twilight shook her head. "No weapons, thank you. My magic can take care of that well enough."

Rarity and Starswirl nodded in agreement. "But what about the pink one? Won't she need anything to defend herself?"

Twilight smirked. "Clearly you don't know Pinkie Pie very well."

Gellert looked uncertainly at Pinkie, who merely grinned her innocent grin back at him. He shrugged. "Very well. Still, you'll be needing armour, so head off to the armoury with the others. Then just follow them down the gatehouse, we'll have chariots waiting for you."

"Now go!" Gideon shouted, as he headed out the door to the side of the throne room. "You have one hour to prepare, and then we fly! Galahad, help me get into my armour!"

"Right away, your majesty!" Galahad replied, rushing to his aid. But before he disappeared, he gave another glance and a smile to the ponies. "It's wonderful to have him back."

Let one thing be said about the griffons of Fjaereir. They certainly are punctual.

Exactly one hour later, the entire host of griffon soldiers perched along the walls of the city, bedecked in their dark armour and goggles, wielding a variety of swords, spears, maces and their special crystal-infused muskets. More griffons were gathered behind the walls, a total of around five or six hundred soldiers. Down on the ground were also two large wooden chariots, harnessed to pairs of particularly strong-looking griffons. Twilight and Starswirl sat in one, while Pinkie Pie and Rarity took the other.

And at the head, perched at the highest point on the roof of the gatehouse, were Gellert and King Gideon. Gellert stood in his ornate armour, a golden trim offsetting the dull gunmetal grey of the plates, with a long white cape flowing from his shoulders. The grandeur of his armour was only trumped by Gideon's who stood in armour of a glorious golden colour, offset by patches of shiny black enamel. He had also traded his crown in for a golden helm which he held under one arm. And in his claw, as always, was his strange mace with its single hooked spike. Raising a claw, the entire army fell silent in an instant.

"Now, as some of you may remember, I have a habit of going into a long-winded speech before we fly off into battle," Gideon said in his booming voice, eliciting chuckles from many of the soldiers. "But time is of the essence, so all I will say is this: It is good to be back!"

The host cheered, waving their weapons in the air. Even the ponies joined in, caught up in the energy of the moment.

"Now, without further ado, let us fly! TO CERVIDAS, AND VICTORY!!"

The cheer this time rattle the timbers of the entire town. Sweeping his golden helm onto his head, Gideon took to the air, his mace held out pointing the way. Gellert followed, and behind him the entire army of Fjaereir, taking to the skies in squadrons until the air was filled with them and their battle cries. And among them, the airborne chariots carrying the four ponies.

Oakwood lay dead, slumped over the barricade, his once mighty body now slashed and bleeding. Blightlings swarmed towards the ramparts in droves, many driven back or cut down by the magic of the deer, but they pressed on, many reaching the barricade, where they fought tooth and claw with the haggard and exhausted deer who stood before them. They had been fighting all through the night, and as the late morning sun hung in the sky above the battle, energy and ammunition were running low.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood behind the barricade, continuing their barrage of rubble and boulders, sending them flying up over the defences with mighty kicks of their back legs, to crash down on the swarms of monsters on the other sides. Gordon stood with Yarrow and Marigold, beating back any Blightlings to tried to climb the ramparts, along with the White Hart, who knocked them back by the dozen with each sweep of his mighty antlers. Fluttershy, meanwhile, hung back with the other medics and healers in their little group, on one of the lower platforms of Rhulond, relatively safe from the attacking hordes of Blightlings aside from the occasional blast of magic or debris that would land near them.

As Fluttershy wrapped a bandage around the leg of an old doe, she watched anxiously as the barricades down below were assailed. Time and again they would drive the Blight back, and time and again they would amass and swarm back at the defences, each time gaining a bit more ground. And all the while, rocks and blasts of magical black energy whooshed and screeched at the barricade.

"Oh gosh, how long can they hold out?" Fluttershy wondered aloud.

"Until every last of the Fainum, or every last one of us, lies dead," replied one of the deer beside her. "When it comes to defending our homeland, friend Fluttershy, us deer aren't the retreating type."

Fluttershy gulped. "Well... h-hopefully it won't have to come to that."

The stag shrugged. "Harlond has already fallen to the Fainum, and the rest of the havens aren't far behind... I hate to be the pessimist, but unless we receive some sort of aid any time soon, by the end of today Cervidas may have fallen."

"Now don't say that!"

The deer started as Fluttershy stood up, her fearful facade giving way to an expression of determination. "As long as we're alive, isn't there always hope? I might not be fighting with the others down there, but I'm not going to say that it's over until it's over! I'll help heal and care for the Deerfolk for as long as I have to. if there is one thing I've learnt from my friends for as long as I've known them, it's that we can overcome anything if we work together!"

Her words were interrupted, however, by a sickening roar of an explosion in the fray below. Fluttershy peeked down and her blood ran cold. As the smoke cleared, she saw a gaping hole had been blasted through the barricade, wide enough for the Blightlings to begin swarming in five at a time. The Deerfolk, Rainbow, Applejack and Gordon fell back to the base of the tree, pelting the oncoming horde with rubble and magical missiles, but to no avail. Before long, the barricade was overrun, and Deer were falling slain left and right.

"Well, we gave it our best shot," the stag beside her said. "Might as well go down fighting. Who's with me?"

The other medics and healers cheered, several rushing down to join the fighters down below, while the others launched volleys of magical fire from the platform. Fluttershy reluctantly picked up a thick knotted branch that had fallen beside her, hefting it up like a club. I won't abandon my friends, she thought. I won't, I won't, I won't. if this is how it ends, then at least It'll end with my friends by my side.

But even as she took to the air, preparing to swoop down into the fray, there was a thunderous crack like thunder, and a flash of green light from high above the canopy of trees. What looked like bolts of green lightning screeched down, smashing into the horde of Blightlings, sending their scorched bodies flying hither and yon.

"NOW, MY HAWKS! DIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!"

Griffons.

Dozens, scores, hundreds of griffons, swooping down among the treetrunks towards the Blightling army. More bolts of green energy flashed from their muskets, cleaving great holes in their forces, while others swooped lower, swinging all manner of blades, spears and bludgeons. And at the forefront of this attack was the largest griffon Fluttershy had ever seen. Clad all in gold, swinging an enormous mace about the same size as her head, guffawing like a madman as he landed among the Blightlings, his mace ringing against armour and bone like some victory bell.

"The Griffons!"

"The Griffons are with us! It's a miracle!!"

"They fight with us! Come, soldiers of Cervidas, let's not be shown up by a swarm of birds!"

"You're right! Gurth Gothrimlye!!"

The Deerfolk fought with newfound fervour, their defences bolstered by their griffon saviours. Step by step, inch by inch, the Blight were driven back from Rhulond, and as the battle raged on word spread as griffons landed at all of the four havens to help the Deerfolk.

But Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack paid little attention to the turning of the battle, as they saw two airborne chariots, pulled by mighty armoured griffons, bearing four passengers. Four very, very familiar passengers.

"Hiya girls! Sorry we're late" Pinkie Pie screamed above the commotion of the fight. As a winged blightling flapped alongside her, hissing menacingly, Pinkie Pie simply ducked its swipes and scratches, before reaching into her saddlebag and pulling out her jar of sprinkles, somehow still intact after all this time.

Popping the lid, she flicked the contents of the jar into the blightling's face. As it screeched and flailed, desperately trying to get the offending sprinkles out of its eyes, it failed to notice the large tree it was heading towards until it was too late.

"Like I say, you never know when sprinkles might come in handy!" she shouted with glee.

Rainbow could only gawp, slack-jawed, as the chariots landed on the platform and the four ponies disembarked. Each one wore iron greaves on their legs, along with plate-metal barding hanging from their shoulders, with a large round helmet atop their heads. All in all, they were an impressive sight.

For a moment, time stood still for the ponies. The battle noise faded to a low rumble as they stood, looking at eachother, for what felt like the first time in an eternity.

"... Girls?" Fluttershy squeaked. "Is it... Is it really you?"

Twilight levitated her helmet off and smiled. "It is Fluttershy. We're back."

The ponies could find no words to say. Tears sprung to their eyes as the shock of the moment wore off, giving way to realisation and a sudden flow of relief. The seven ponies rushed together into a tight embrace, hugging eachother as they had never hugged before.

"I don't believe it!" Rainbow said, once her voice finally returned. "How is this... I mean where did you... Where have you girls been?!"

Before anypony could answer, a fireball of black flame slammed into the side of the tree just above them. The seven ponies recoiled as the reality of their surroundings came back to them.

"We can share stories later, my friends!" Starswirl shouted. "For now, let's go help!"

Rarity nodded, donning her helmet, which she had personalised with a single loose feather she had picked up at Fjaereir. "You're quite right. After all, I have an army to command!"

"What."

Rarity giggled at the look of total shock and bemusement on Rainbow Dash and Applejack's faces. "Oh, my dears, I have quite the story for you when we have a moment."

"Well, lead on Commander Rarity!" Pinkie shouted, taking up another loose branch rather like Fluttershy's improvised club.
The seven stood, together once more, on the ledge overlooking the battle, a glint in their eyes and a fire in their hearts. "Indeed. Come on ponies! Let us show these Blightling monsters how we do things back in Ponyville!"

The battle carried on long into the evening. By the time the Blight forces had gotten over the shock of the sudden attack of the griffons from above, it was too late. Almost a third of their forces were slain, injured beyond continuing to fight or otherwise incapacitated, and the defences around the havens that had once fallen were repaired threefold over. The White Hart was everywhere at once, teleporting from haven to haven, rallying his soldiers and providing some extra fighting power wherever he was needed. Gideon, Gellert and Gordon found eachother on the battlefield, where they worked together as an efficient, vicious machine of war, swooping low in an arrowhead formation, leaving bruises, broken bones and cloven skulls left and right. And the seven ponies fought side by side, with blasts of magic, thrown rocks and debris, or just plain kicks with their strong legs. Blightlings were flung left and right by their impenetrable defence.

Around sunset, there came a mighty cheer from the Deerfolk and griffons alike, as the Blightlings were finally pushed beyond the boundaries of the Havenring, and began to fall back to the edge of the forest.

At Rhulond, the ponies whooped and cheered as they watched the last few remaining Blightlings fleeing back into the trees. When the battle at last ended, they turned to eachother, bombarding one another with endless questions.

"Where have you been?"

"Where did you get that awesome armour?!"

"Who are all these griffons?"

"So what's this I hear about 'Commander Rarity'?"

"Didn't you get kidnapped?"

"Did you see me with those sprinkles?"

"How did you end up with these deer?"

"Now ladies, please!" Starswirl shouted, raising his forehooves up. "There will be plenty of time for all that later. Now that we have a lull in the battle, might I suggest finding somewhere a little more comfortable to rest for a bit?"

Applejack nodded. "He's got a point. I'm plum tuckered out. We've been fightin' since yesterday almost nonstop. C'mon, we got a place back at the capital where we can relax."

"Uh, could you girls wait a moment?" Fluttershy spoke up, gesturing to the grim aftermath of the battle that lay around the tree. "If it's alright with you, I just need to talk to somepony before we go."

The others nodded, and Fluttershy hastily flew down to the cleanup effort, where deer and griffons were repairing barricades, sweeping up debris, and gathering the bodies of the dead.

"C'mon, best leave her to it. She's kinda gone native, Fluttershy has," Applejack said.

Twilight nodded as she watched Fluttershy. "Well, the Deerfolk are known for being rather in touch with nature and all that. I guess she's found her niche or something."

"And that's not all she's found, it would appear," Starswirl added, pointing down to the pegasus, who had headed straight for Yarrow, where the two shared a tender hug.

Rarity cooed. "Oh how darling!"

"Fluttershy and Yarrow?" Applejack muttered. "Well I guess now we know what they were doin' out in the wood together."

"C'mon everypony," Rainbow said, ushering them away to another part of the platform. "Let's leave the lovebirds alone."

Before long, Fluttershy returned, her face considerably flushed.

"So Fluttershy," Rainbow said teasingly. "Is there something you'd like to share with us?"

The pegasus squeaked, hiding her face under her mane. The ponies laughed, Pinkie tousling Fluttershy's head affectionately. "It's alright Fluttershy, I think you and that stag make a cute couple!"

Twilight smiled. "I can't wait to hear all about it myself. But like Applejack said, let's find somewhere to sit down first. Lead on, Applejack!"

And so, for the first time since that fateful day that Tharos was shot out of the air and they awoke to find themselves separated and lost, the seven ponies began the fairly long walk back to Ostaure.

Together again.

End of Book 2

Author's Notes:

That's right folks. The entire storyline concerning Gordon and King Gideon was all just building up to a Flash Gordon joke (For extra awesome, imagine all of Gideon's lines as spoken by Brian Blessed.)

So there it is folks. 20 chapters in, and finally, Book 2 of the story is complete. I'd like to thank everybody who has stuck with this story all the way through, especially from when it was published wayyyyyy back in 2012. Y'all are awesome and I love you for it.

Now as was the case when Book 1 was finished, I will be taking a break from this story for a bit, while I recollect, work out the storyline for the rest of the story, and generally relax from the story for a while. it won't be long, probably a month or two. But until then, again, my other story, Crisis on Infinite Equestrias, is in need of readers and commenters, and it would be awesome if you could give it a try as well.

But otherwise, thanks so very much for reading, and I'll see you all again with Book 3!

21. Burying Friends and Nursing Wounds

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Book 3
So the Tide of Battle Turns

Pillars of smoke arose from among the trees of Cervidas once more. But this was not smoke from the flames of disaster or battle, but from the fires of a hundred funeral pyres.

The branches of Ostaure were dotted with thousands of tiny figures, griffon and Deerfolk alike, standing on the high platforms, along the stairways and bridges, even simply perched among the branches themselves, watching in silence as the fires consumed the bodies of all those killed in the battle. Griffons and Deer, laid out in separate pyres which crackled and blazed in the low dusk light.
In front of the pyres stood King Gideon, Gordon and the White Hart, who watched them burn. And as they burned, Gideon spoke in a loud voice, a eulogy in the language of his people:

"Sovn, brodre, sovn. skriv himmelen dorer
Utover som, store krigere venter
Bli fodt fra din stal
Alle dine sar bli helbredet
Fra jorden til himmelen
Na sonner stal oppstar.
Ta din plass i paradis
Hvor dine sjeler aldri skal do."

As he finished, he raised a clenched fist above his head, shouting in his booming voice, "HAIL TO THE VICTORIOUS DEAD! EVER SHALL WE FIGHT IN THEIR NAME!"

"HAIL!" came the roaring reply from every griffon present, who raised their fists to the sky in unison. The assembled host of creatures stood in silence, save for the sobbing of those who had lost family or friends, until the moon arose over the pyres, which burnt low until they were smouldering piles of ash.

When at last the pyres burnt out, the White Hart turned to face Ostaure, and every eye turned to look at him. In a clear voice, he said, "We shall keep those who have fallen forever in our memory and in our hearts. However, while this is also a time of mourning for our fallen brothers and sisters, and our brethren among the Griffons, I feel that they would not want this to be a night of sadness."

"He's right," Gideon added. "Let's not think of this as lamenting their deaths, but celebrating their lives, and the lives that they saved by bringing us victory over a mighty foe. So come, my noble hawks, let the celebration begin!!"

A mighty cheer went up from among the griffons, and even the Deerfolk joined in. They were right; with all due respect to the fallen, this was also a night of victory and celebration. And celebrate, they did.

Within the hour, all of Ostaure was lit up as torches burned in many colours, and music rang out from every platform. Feast tables were set up anywhere and everywhere, laden with all manner of food and drink, with wine, beer and fruit juices poured from enormous barrels. And of course, where there was food and drink and griffons, there were contests. Who could pile their plate highest, who could drink the fastest, who could eat the most, though none could hope to outdo Rarity and Gellert's now famous competition.

And on one of the lower platforms, sitting at a table of their own, were the seven pony friends. As they dined and drank their fills, they told stories of all that had happened since they were separated. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack's tormenting at the hands of Maugoth and his crew, the rescue from Maudhul, their time with the Deerfolk, the parts they played in the defense of the capital. And the rest of the ponies also related the tales of their adventures with the griffons of Fjaereir. The three listened with wide-eyes as Rarity told the tale of her contest against Gellert.

"... And even now, I have no idea how she did it," Twilight said, "But in a flash, he was behind Rarity, she bucked him square in the ribs and sent him flying!"

"Hah! Never knew you had it in ya!" Applejack laughed, slapping Rarity heartily on the back. "I'd have paid to see that: the delicate, fancy Rarity, goin' hoof-to-paw with a griffon!"

"Ahem, that's Commander Rarity, thank you," Rarity replied with a smirk, gesturing to her helmet which lay on the table beside her.
Fluttershy smiled. "That helmet really does suit you, Rarity. And it really is wonderful to see you all again. There were a few times when I really feared the worst."

Starswirl nodded, putting down his flagon. "I think we all can sympathise, Fluttershy. And yet here we all are again, still alive and well."

"By the way," Rainbow asked, "Any idea what happened to Tharos? I think he ended up teleporting away with you four."
The awkward silence that followed pretty much told Rainbow all she needed to know. The jolly smiles on everypony's faces faded.

Finally, Pinkie spoke up. "He didn't make it."

Fluttershy gasped, her forehooves covering her mouth in shock. Rainbow lowered her head. "Oh... I'm sorry."

"N-no, it's okay..." Pinkie replied. "He at least seemed kinda happy when he... passed on. Twilight, Starswirl, Rarity and I were all there with him."

"Ah, okay... well, that's good, I guess."

Nopony spoke for a moment as the rather sad realisation sank in. The silence was only broken as Applejack raised her flagon up. "Here's to Tharos... for bein' one heck of a great dragon."

The others raised their drinks also, clinking them together and drinking deeply to Tharos' memory. Luckily Rarity, being the master socialite as she was, knew exactly how to break the ice.

"So Fluttershy," she asked with a devious grin. "Do tell, whatever is going on between you and that young stag we saw you with earlier?"

Fluttershy squeaked, trying desperately to hide her blushing face. "Oh!... oh, my... It's, uh, well he... Oh goodness!"

She shrank down in her chair as the others giggled. "It's alright Fluttershy, I'm not judging you or anything. Indeed, he's a rather handsome looking fellow."

The pegasus smiled. "Well... yes, I guess he is that..."

"So how did you meet?"

"Well... Applejack, Rainbow Dash, you remember when we were first rescued from that fort by the deer?"

Applejack nodded. "Kinda had to forget it. That was the night you used yer Stare on those two Blightlings, as I recall!"

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow added. "That was awesome!"

Starswirl scratched his beard. "The... Stare?"

"I'll tell you later," Twilight replied. "So, go on, you were saying?"

Fluttershy took another swig of her drink. "Well, when we were first captured, I heard a voice, his voice, saying that he'd help us get free. Then, when we were being held prisoner in the Blight's fort, the Deerfolk attacked and set us free. I suppose Yarrow... he saved my life that night."

Rarity smiled. "Oh how romantic! Your gallant saviour, coming to your rescue!"

"So, after that, he took us back to Cervidas and they took care of us. He and I spent some time together and I guess... I just started to, you know... like him."

"And does he, you know, like you back?" Pinkie asked.

"I think so..." she replied.

Applejack nudged her playfully. "Oh come on, I saw you and him huggin' back there. That look he gave you when you were leavin', that stag's smitten for sure!"

If possible, Fluttershy blushed an even deeper shade of red. Pinkie hugged her close, patting her on the head. "Awww, our dear little Fluttershy's growing up!"

"I'm older than you, Pinkie..."

While the others playfully teased Fluttershy, Twilight and Starswirl turned to eachother. "You're awfully quiet, Starswirl," Twilight said. "Anything wrong?"

"Not wrong, my dear Twilight, " he replied, taking his pipe out again and lighting it. "I'm just pondering to myself. The Blight may have been driven back from Cervidas, but they are hardly defeated. Even with the number of casualties they suffered, they still numbered in the thousands. And I'd be willing to bet that at their dark stronghold, there are thousands more waiting."

"So what do you suppose we could do now? I mean, we're all back together, we still have the Tears and the Blight shouldn't be a trouble for a while..." Twilight replied. "Then again, I don't know how I'd feel about leaving now."

The old stallion nodded. "I know what you mean. I'm not sure what the griffons and Deerfolk plan to do next, but leaving them to do it themselves now, it does seem like it would be in bad form."

They were interrupted as a young griffon in uniform approached the table, clearing his throat. "Ahem, I have a message for Commander Rarity, courtesy of King Gideon and the White Hart."

He handed a small note to rarity, tipped his hat and left without another word. Rarity held the note in her magical grip and unfolded it. her eyes darted back and forth as she read the scratchy writing, her smile slipping a notch.

"What's it say?" Applejack asked.

"It's a summons for a meeting tomorrow. The commanders from the griffons and Deerfolk are meeting to discuss their next plans. And I guess that includes me."

Rainbow frowned. "So... I guess that means we're not going home?"

"I'm not sure. I suppose we'll just have to see what they say tomorrow," Rarity replied with a shrug. "I suppose commanding one's own army does have its drawbacks."

Pinkie looked around at all the dour-faced ponies sitting round the table with dismay. Never one to just stand around while ponies are feeling glum, she leapt to her hooves. "Well we can worry about that tomorrow. But for now, c'mon everypony! There's a party going on, and that dance floor downstairs is calling my name!"

"Miss Pie is right!" Starswirl said, getting up and donning his hat. "How about we save the grim mood for some actual grim news? But tonight is a night of celebration, so in the parlance of your times, let us party!"

The mood lightened considerably as a band of griffon musicians played a merry jig, the music reaching the ponies. With Pinkie leading the way, the ponies left their table and joined the party. "Maybe I could tell them another of my epic ballads," Pinkie mused out loud. "I never did get to finish the Tale of Shiny Shield..."

"Oh come on Pinkie!" Rainbow groaned. "They just got out of a war, don't you think they've suffered enough?!"

And so the party was joined, most of the night falling to a hazy blur of music and merriment. Rainbow and Applejack wowed the crowds with the most intense hoof-wrestling anybeast had ever seen. Applejack's strong hooves eventually won the game, but as a sign of good grace she shared a drink with the defeated Rainbow Dash, nursing her pride the way she knew would work: with copious amounts of cider.

Gellert jokingly challenged Rarity to a rematch of their fabled feasting contest, the eager eyes of dozens of griffons watching, waiting for a spectacle. But the unicorn, ever the demure lady, politely turned him down, instead offering to simply join him for dinner. He accepted, and the two dined at their own table with all the dignity and grace of a high-society banquet.

And the dancing. Oh, how they danced! Pinkie completely owned the dancefloor, leading griffons and deer alike in jigs, twosteps, hornpipes and even a Timewarp or two. Twilight and Starswirl danced together, desperately trying to keep up with the hyperactive pink pony, the old stallion's long cloak flapping this way and that. And when Yarrow sheepishly approached Fluttershy, who stood on the sidelines of the dance clapping along to the music, even she could overcome her nerves and accept his offer of a dance. Neither of them were the best of dancers, admittedly, but they enjoyed the moment together nonetheless.

By the time the midnight hour rolled about, the whole of Ostaure was still awake and partying long and hard. But as seven exhausted ponies made their goodnights, an eerie white glow appeared in the far end of the crowd. The revellers parted, revealing none other than the White Hart himself. He bade the party continue, and the griffons and Deerfolk needed no second bidding.

"Off to bed, are we?" he called, as he approached the ponies.

Twilight bowed her head. "Yes your majesty. Your deer put together a wonderful party, but I think we're all ready for a good night's sleep."

He smiled. "I completely understand. I just wanted to find you before you disappeared to wish you a goodnight. And to thank you."

"Thank us?" Applejack. "What for?"

"Why, for everything!" the White Hart replied. "You three ponies aided us in the battle against the Fainum, and every contribution helps. And as for you four," he gestured to Pinkie, Twilight, Rarity and Starswirl. "If it weren't for you and your griffon friends arriving when you did, Ostaure itself may not be standing now. I admit, the griffons and my people have never exactly seen eye to eye, and I probably would never have asked for their aid myself. But they proved indispensable, and for leading them here, I am grateful."

"That was all thanks to Rarity!" Pinkie Pie replied, nudging her unicorn friend forward.

Rarity smiled bashfully, but bowed gracefully as well. "It was nothing, really. What else could I have done, knowing my friends were in peril?"

"And you have my eternal gratitiude, Rarity." The White Hart bowed back, the tips of his enormous antlers almost touching the ponies. "And I will see you at the council meeting tomorrow. But until then, aur fuin vaer, mellyn."

The seven ponies bowed once more, with Fluttershy giving an "Aur fuin vaer," in reply. But as they turned to head to their cottage, the White Hart called out once more.

"Oh, and Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy turned around. "Erm, yes?"

"I also have a message I was bidden to give you, courtesy of young Yarrow," he said with a serene smile. "He wishes you a good night, and hopes you will join him for lunch tomorrow."

For the third time that night, Fluttershy could not hide the flush of crimson on her cheeks. "Oh! Well... erm... t-tell him I said thank-you, and I'd l-love to join him for lunch..."

He nodded, and bade them goodnight one last time, letting them take their leave for the night, back to their little cottage. One soundproofing spell later, and the seven ponies were fast asleep, with full bellies and happy hearts.

The same, however, could not be said for Maugoth who, for the first time since before the siege began, felt his legs buckle beneath him as he sat down. Panting like a dog, great clouds of blackness billowed from his mouth and nostrils with every gasp for air. And all around him, the few-dozen soldiers than had survived the battle similarly slumped down in a bedraggle heap all about the place. The ground was rocky and dry, a far cry from the lush soft undergrowth of the forests of Cervidas, but a flat surface to rest upon was all they cared about, licking their wounds and cursing their ill fortune.

"So, does someone care to enlighten me on just what in hellfire's name happened back there?!"

An all-too-familiar gruff voice snarled through the night air. Maugoth turned around and looked over his shoulder to see Dushtala glaring back at him. "You got eyes, don't you?" Maugoth spat back at the commander. "Those accursed griffons came outta nowhere and slaughtered us!"

"And even without those feathered pests, we weren't exactly doing the best of jobs overthrowing the forest," Laga added.

"Whadaya talking about?" Dushtala replied, standing up. "We had them cornered and their barricades destroyed. We had them!"

Laga snarled back, "Yeah, at the expense of almost a quarter of our entire forces! Bit of a hefty sacrifice for one forest. We lost Gadhup, Shataz, Athaps, and scores of others from our group alone. And from what I hear the other fronts didn't exactly fare too well either."

"Exactly," came another voice from among the mob. "Yer pretty much the only commander left alive, Dushtala."

"Which means yer to blame for all this," Maugoth added, getting up on his hooves again.

Dushtala spluttered. "ME?! I was just followin' orders!"

"And you failed."

The Blightlings fell silent as a sonorous, echoing voice spoke up. They looked around for the source, and when they saw it, their blood ran cold.

Laga lay flat on his back, limbs twitching and spasming, eyes rolled back in his head. His mouth lay wide open, and from within emerged an enormous cloud of the black smokey substance. It formed into a cloud above the assembled soldiers, swirling and billowing in some ghostly breeze. And two enormous yellow eyes peered down from within the black miasma.

Dushtala bowed his head low, his knees quivering. "M-my lord..."

"Dushtala, our son..." the Voice rumbled. "When I sent you to aid Maugoth, it was with the idea that together, you could overthrow Cervidas and reclaim our prisoners."

"But my lord..."

"Hush, Dushtala. Let us finish. And even with this weighty responsibility, you have failed us. And not only that, but you lost almost a thousand of our children as well."

"I was just following your orders!" Dushtala shouted back. "I had no idea the griffons were coming, we almost had the deer defeated!"

Maugoth raised a hoof. "I-I'd just like to point out, my lord, that I was against this idea from the start. I knew attackin' Cervidas head-on was a foolish idea, but would Dushtala listen? No sir!"

"Silence, Maugoth!" the Voice roared. "You are just as much to blame as he is. if it weren't for your bumbling and losing the prisoners, this whole operation may have run smoother from the start. You have already failed us twice. We shall ensure you will not fail again."

"I won't my lord, I won't, I promise!!" Maugoth cried, bowing lower and lower in supplication.

"We would have the pair of you killed for your failings..." the Voice continued. "However... given the results of this disastrous battle, we need as many of our children as possible ready and able to fight. So, we will be lenient."

Dushtala and Maugoth looked to eachother, then to the miasma above, nearly weeping with relief. "Thank you my lord, th-thank you!!"

"We are not finished. We said we would be lenient, not that we would spare you both. No, we will spare only one of you."

Dushtala gulped. "Only... one?"

"Yes," the Voice replied. "One will live, and be allowed to serve us directly, as our personal attendant. The other, however, will be dead before this night is over. Which of you that is, is entirely up to you."

The two commanders looked at eachother again, realisation dawning on their snarling faces.

"Drop your weapons and shed your armour, and then decide for yourselves which of you may survive."

The eyes faded to a ruddy glow within the cloud as the Voice fell silent. Maugoth and Dushtala stood frozen on the spot for a moment.

Then quick as a flash, the pair of them ripped off their cloaks and armour, threw their weapons to the side, and rushed straight for eachother.

The first blow went to Dushtala, who lashed out with his claws, slashing a long gash across Maugoth's face. He reeled back, ribbons of blood pouring down his face. Wiping it from his eyes, Maugoth snarled like a wild animal, punching with his forelegs, catching the blightling that was once a griffon, once in the chest and again in the cheek. But the larger creature was not ready to back down, lunging back at him, his claws wrapping around Maugoth's head.

Maugoth fell back to the ground, his forehooves feebly pushing against his foe, gasping for air as Dushtala's grip tightened around his neck. He struggled and wriggled, but to no avail, as the winged blightling squeezed tighter and tighter.

Maugoth's vision began to go blurry and dark. With one final burst of strength, he kicked up with his hind legs, sending Dushtala beak over tail, flying right over his head to land on his back.

Dushtala panted and wheezed, but managed to get back up again, only for Maugoth to land on his back, once more pinning him on the ground. he swung his forelegs at Dushtala's head, his hooves slamming into his skull once! Twice! Thrice!

But in a brief window where he stopped to catch his breath, Dushtala had all the time he needed, rolling over on his back, Maugoth tumbling off of him. Once again Dushtala loomed over him, holding the white-haired blightling down by his neck. Maugoth strained against his grip, but Dushtala's claws were like vices, slowly crushing his windpipe.

The beaked monster leaned in close, whispering, "Got nothin' to say? C'mon wise guy, let's hear some last words!"

Maugoth opened his mouth, but not to reply. Instead, he spat full in Dushtala's right eye, sending him recoiling once again, desperately clawing to clean his eyes out. Maugoth saw his chance, and he took it.

Bucking upwards with his hind legs again, he caught Dushtala square in the jaw, the force of the kick heaving him into the air and flying back four feet. He needed no second bidding. He had to end this fight now, his life depended on it!

Leaping to his hooves, Maugoth leapt upon the prone Dushtala and pummelled away at him with everything he had. Hooves, legs, even his head, he punched, kicked, bucked and jabbed at Dushtala's head, sending it slamming into the hard ground again and again. He grunted with every blow, his snarls and growls growing to a fever pitch until he was roaring and screaming with every strike, his own adrenaline and rage driving him berserk!

After what seemed like a lifetime, Maugoth finally stopped striking. He could no longer feel Dushtala trying to lift his head up after every blow. Indeed, he could no longer feel a head at all.

As the red mist faded from his vision, he could see clearly again. Looking down at his opponent, he saw that, somehow, in his rage he had reduced Dushtala's head to something that somewhat resembled a smashed watermelon. Maugoth stood up, his limbs shaking with exhaustion once more, and wiped his dripping hooves on the ground.

The yellow eyes re-emerged from the black cloud above. "Very well done," it said. "It seems that, despite our best efforts, you are still of some use to us after all."

"Thank you, my lord."

It continued. "Now get up, and head straight to Burzkala on the double. We will put you to good use, where we can keep a very close eye on you. And remember: Should you try to flee, we can contact you at any time. If we find you are heading anywhere except Burzkala, we will not hesitate to kill you and your soldiers. Is that clear?"

"Vividly." Maugoth gritted his teeth, his voice barely containing his anger.

"Very good. See you soon," the Voice said, as the eyes faded one last time, and the cloud of blackness dissolved, swirling back into Laga and vanishing from sight.

There was silence among the group as they all looked either to their commander, or to the red stain on the ground that used to be their other commander.

"Well, you guys heard the Allfather. On yer feet, let's get moving!"

Laga hurried to Maugoth's side. "So that's it? Yer just going along with what he says? Yer just gonna let him walk all over you and make you his slave?"

For the first time since the beginning of the siege, Maugoth grinned his toothy, pointy grin. "Oh Laga, my old friend, you can be so trusting sometimes. Of course I'm not."

Looking over his shoulder, he saw that the soldiers were back on their hooves, claws, paws or whatever, ready to go. "I'm forming a new plan even as we speak. And once we get back to Burzkala, I can put it into action. Just you wait, before this war is over, I'll be back in control of everything."

"What about the weapon we were after? We still goin' after the Tears?"

"Of course," Maugoth replied, leading the troop in a slow jog. "But for now, keep yer head down and wait. You'll know when things are startin'."

With that, Maugoth tapped a hoof to the side of his snout. Laga nodded, tapping his as well, and the two turned back to face forwards. With any luck, they'd be home by tomorrow evening. And then it would all begin.

Author's Notes:

And I'm back, baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaby!

But seriously, I'm back, the story is back underway, and we're on the final stretch. The Blight are becoming desperate, the ponies are all back together, and the final battle between the free creatures and the Blight is looming ever closer. Hopefully you haven't been waiting too impatiently.

BTW, if anybody would be willing to help me make a new cover image, I would be eternally grateful. I'll even pay you if you want!! But yeah, if you're interested, drop me a message and we'll see what you have to offer. Bear in mind, it is likely to be an image featuring alot of characters and alot of action.

And if you want the effect I had when I was writing the party sequence, listen to 'Spirit of Freedom' by peter Crowley while you read it. I've got a link in the text, but just in case.

Anywho, it's great to be back, my faithful readers, and I hope you're ready for the final book of the Tears of Gaia!!!

Translations:

Gideon's eulogy- A brief Griffonic poem I wrote, based on the final words of Manowar's 'Hymn of the Immortal Warrior'. English translation:

"Sleep, brothers, sleep. enter the heavens doors
Beyond which, great warriors await
Be reborn from thy steel
All thy wounds be healed
From the earth to the sky
Now the sons of steel arise.
Take thy place in paradise
For thy souls shall never die."

22. Of Herbalism and Meetings

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Fluttershy yawned quietly. She snuck out of the cottage where she and her friends had spent the night, wincing as the door closed with a click slightly louder than she had expected. Granted, it was hardly early in the morning, but the others were sleeping so peacefully after the festivities of the previous night, she did not dare disturb them.

And if she had still been sleepy from last night, a deep breath of the crisp morning forest air cleared her head right up. The trees, usually glowing gently, were sparkling and glistening in the morning dew. If trees could make a sound, she thought, I bet this would sound like a thousand tiny bells...

But as she started out to meet up with Yarrow for breakfast (her stomach began to flutter just at the thought of it!), she remembered something...

She had no idea where he lived!

"Oh Fluttershy," she muttered to herself angrily, "You airhead, you should have asked where you can find him..."

She wandered around on the platform for a bit, until she found herself on the edge, where two walkways branched off from it, one leading upwards and the other downwards. Picking randomly, she opted for the upper walkway and headed to the higher platform. Aside from a few deer going about early-morning jobs, the tree city seemed virtually silent.

"A! Gi suilon, friend Fluttershy!"

She jumped slightly as a voice called broke through the silence. Was that...? She spun around on the spot, but saw with some disappointment that it was not Yarrow coming to greet her, but simply another deer out and about that morning, a stag of middle-age, his reddish-brown fur showing the first signs of grey. He bowed his head to her as he passed.

"Oh! Umm..." she bowed back. "G-good morning...?" she replied, hoping that she had said the right thing. The stag's smile relieved her somewhat, she apparently had not offended him.

"What brings you to our platform?" he asked, stopping beside her. "As lovely as it is, it's not much more than a handful of houses..."

"A-actually, I was looking for somepo.. uh, someone," she replied. "By any chance do you know a stag named Yarrow? I was s-supposed to meet him for breakfast."

He nodded. "Ah, Yarrow, yes I know him. Nice young fellow. He lives on the next platform up, third house on the left." The stag pointed his antlers at another platform, connected to the treetrunk just above and to the right of the one Fluttershy stood upon. While the platform she stood on was broad and round, with the buildings arranged in a ring with a wide space in the centre, the one above was more narrow, with the buildings laid out more like a twn street, with buildings on either side of a long path.

"Oh, thank you!" Fluttershy said, smiling as she hurried towards the walkway that connected the two.

"Oh, and Fluttershy?"

She stopped a moment and turned back to the stag. He grinned as he called, "The correct Deerish reply is 'Mae g'ovannen', or 'well met' in your language. Just so you know for future."

She nodded in thanks and headed for the walkway. Oh, I hope I'm not late, I hope I'm not late...

At last she found the small cottage that Yarrow apparently called home. It was a fairly simple affair, a thatched-roof bungalow of shimmering silver wood, similar to the house where she and her friends slept, but smaller. In front of it was a small garden filled with all manner of plants and flowers. Coming closer, Fluttershy could see that all of them were some sort of herb, many of which were known for medicinal properties. And most prominent was, big surprise, the feathered leaves and white, pink and red clusters of tiny flowers that made up the plant of Yarrow's namesake.

"Yarrow... A potent diaphoric, antiseptic and astringent, also known to be useful in treating cuts and bruises..." she recited under her breath. It was a passage from an old herbal-medicine book she got from Twilight as a birthday present one year.

"You know your herbalism, Fluttershy. Impressive."

Fluttershy jumped again as she heard her voice. How many times is this going to happen today?! Her racing heart was not helped by who she saw in the doorway. Leaning casually on the doorframe and smiling broadly was Yarrow.

"Le suilon, Fluttershy," he said with a bow.

Fluttershy steadied herself once more and bowed back, smiling. "Mae g'ovannen, Yarrow."

His eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. "Ah, you've been learning our language too, very impressive!"

Fluttershy blushed, saying modestly, "Th-thank you Yarrow. I just learnt it now actually, I passed some deer on my way here. They pointed out the way for me to go."

"Yeah, that was forgetful of me," Yarrow replied, knocking himself on the head with a hoof. "Inviting you to join me for a meal, then not even telling you where I live! But no matter, you're here now so please, do come in."

He stepped aside and Fluttershy followed him through the doorway. Inside was small and a little bit cramped, but generally cosy. Just like her cottage, there was a large central room with smaller rooms to the sides. But instead of a large table surrounded by couches, the middle room was split down the middle. One end was a simple setup of a pair of small couches around a table, with a small kitchen t the left of it, but the other end was dominated by large shelves that lined the walls, with a table in the centre covered in glass bottles, alembics, vials, tubes and a small metal tube with a glass bottle on either end, a simple distillation apparatus. The shelves were filled with jars and bottles, filled with all manner of plants of all shapes and sizes. Stems, seeds, leaves, flowers, bottles of essential oils, jars of thick pastes and every other form was stacked neatly and meticulously on the shelves.

"Yarrow, what is all this?"

"Herbal medicine, Fluttershy," he replied, gesturing to the simple laboratory he had set up in the room. "Sure, a lot of illnesses and ailments can be cured with our magic, but even the magic of the Deerfolk needs help sometimes. And those plants outside were my herb garden. Please, take a seat, I'll prepare some tea."

"Oh, would you like me to help?"

"No, it's alright, you just take a seat and I'll get it." Yarrow said, his horns shimmering as he levitated a jar down from his shelves, labelled 'DARJEELING', scooping a few spoonfuls of the aromatic herbs into a small kettle and setting it to boil. "Do you take milk with your tea, or sugar?"

"Both please," Fluttershy replied. She sniffed the air as the smell of the tea wafted over to her. "Mmm, that smells lovely, what is it?"

"It's a very special kind of tea, it's called 'Darjeeling'. On occasion we have travelling merchants visit us from other lands to trade goods. And one of them had this: a special kind of tea plant all the way from Camelu. He said it was grown in the foothills of the Himallama Mountains. According to him, it's the finest tea in the world, and after I tried a sip of it, I definitely agree."

Within seconds the teapot was ready, and Yarrow carried it to the table, pouring out a cup for him and Fluttershy, adding milk and a spoonful of sugar. She blew on it and deftly took a sip. Her eyes went wide and she gasped. "Oh my goodness, this is delicious! It's all musky and... and a little bit spicy, this is wonderful! Thank you!"

Yarrow smiled. "I'm glad you like it. You go ahead and drink as much as you want, and I'll prepare us some food. How does some fresh salad sound to you?"

"Mmm, sounds perfect," she replied.

A quick trip to the herb garden and the vegetable bowl, and some skilful knifework later, and Yarrow had prepared a simple salad of crisp lettuce, chives, fennel, tomatoes and raisins, which the two of them dug into with eagerness born of morning hunger. They ate in silence, but it was not an awkward silence, where neither knew what to say. Tell me, reader, have you ever had such a moment? Where you and another person could be together in silence, but a comfortable silence, since both of you knew nothing needed to be said?

It was that such silence. Both of them simply sat across the table from eachother, enjoying a fresh crispy salad, some tea and eachother's company. If nothing else, the tea seemed to calm the butterflies in her stomach for the time being. For what may have been the first time, Fluttershy felt completely calm around him, as opposed to a nervous wreck.

"So Fluttershy," Yarrow said, breaking the silence at last. "Tell me about yourself."

"Huh?" she looked up, wiping away a stray raisin that was stuck to her cheek.

"Well, it seems I know much about you and your friends, and your adventures together, but not much about you personally. I'd very much like to get to know you better," he replied, leaning slightly forward in his seat.

She blushed slightly. "Oh, okay... hmm, what would you like to know?"

"Anything really. What you do, where you live in Equestria, just anything interesting about you."

She took another sip of tea, if nothing else, to hide her flushed face as something dawned on her. Is this a... date?! "Well, I live in a town called Ponyville, along with all my other friends. They mostly live inside the town, but I have a cottage on the outskirts..."
And so they passed the morning. Fluttershy told him about Ponyville, about her cottage, her animals, her job as Ponyville's go-to animal expert and vet, the story of her cutie-mark. And no matter how many times she insisted it was nothing too special, Yarrow listened with rapt attention and curiosity. He had rarely ever ventured beyond the forest border, and he had never been to Equestria.

"What about you?" Fluttershy asked as she finished. "What do you do in Cervidas?"

Yarrow put down his tea. "Well as you can see I'm a herbalist, in case you haven't guessed yet. but herbal medicine isn't just a hobby, it's my trade. Ever since I learned what my name means I've been fascinated by the healing powers of plants, so I've learned quite a lot."

"Gosh. Zecora would probably like you," Fluttershy replied, giggling. Seeing the confused look on his face, she added, "Oh, she's a zebra who lives near Ponyville. She knows lots about herbs and plants as well, just like you. If you ever come to Ponyville, I must introduce you to her..."

But she trailed off as she was flooded with memories of Ponyville. Her cottage, her animals, all the friends who were still there...

"Fluttershy?" Yarrow asked, his keen ears picking up her near-silent sniffles. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine, Yarrow..." she replied. "It's just, I've only been away from Ponyville for a few weeks. But with everything that's happened, it feels so much longer..."

Her sniffles gave way to gentle whimpers. Yarrow understood right away, getting up from his couch and coming to stand beside her. "You're homesick?"

Fluttershy nodded. "I... I just... I've been in so much danger s-so many times on this journey. I c-can't even count how many times I've nearly been... What if something happens to me? What would my little animal friends do?!"

She bowed her head, her mane hiding her face as she sobbed. Yarrow felt his spirits fall as well as he watched. Still unsure of himself, he hesitantly knelt down beside her and wrapped his forelegs around her shoulders, holding her gently against his chest.

Fluttershy gasped as she felt him hugging her. The fur on his chest was slightly prickly, but soft and comforting as well, with a faint musky, earthy smell. He was warm as well. He's... hugging me. He's hugging me he's hugging me he's huggingmehe'shuggingme...

Yarrow smiled with relief as her sobbing seemed to die down. He held her for a bit longer before letting her go, his forehooves still resting on her shoulders, the two of them looking into eachother's eyes. "It's going to be okay, Fluttershy. And I swear to you now, by the trees of my home, I swear that you will be okay."

Her face was flushed bright red, and her heart was racing, but Fluttershy didn't care. She leaned in close to him. "P-promise?"

Their faces were nearly touching. Yarrow gulped as she came closer, her eyes closing. He leaned in as well, closing his eyes. "Promise..."

He could feel her breath against his face. She could feel the warmth radiating off his lips...

But the tender moment was broken as a call rang out across the city. They both leapt back as they heard it: a sharp, short song in Deerish that echoed throughout Ostaure from somewhere higher above.

"Ah, that'll be the commanders' meeting," Yarrow said, hastily regaining his breath and clearing his thoughts. It did little to clear the blushing though.

Fluttershy nodded. "Ah, y-yes, I heard Rarity talking about that yesterday! We'd better go meet the others, s-so we can find out how it goes..."

"Yes, yes we sh-should," Yarrow coughed, clearing the dishes and cups away and slipping into his tunic. "Um... Shall we, then?"

He gestured to the door, and Fluttershy headed back out into the herb garden. Once Yarrow had locked the door the two of them headed down the walkway towards the platform where the rest of the ponies were situated. Both now blushing furiously, neither dared to speak up after what had... almost transpired. The tension was so thick it was almost palpable. So much for a not-awkward silence.

On one of the highest platforms in Ostaure, just below the sanctuary where the White Hart lived, stood a small enclosure, surrounded by twisting branches and vines that formed a low wall. Inside the enclosure stood a round table surrounded by five chairs, where the commanders' meeting was taking place. The White Hart himself sat in one chair, he alone representing his people. His golden crown rested on the table before him, as a sign that he did not hold superiority over any who sat with him. King Gideon, his son Gordon and Commander Gellert sat in the chairs beside him, their helmets removed and placed respectfully on the table in a similar gesture. Rarity found herself squeezed in between Gellert and Gordon, and placed her helmet on the table as well.

"Fellow commanders, friends," The White Hart said, "First of all, I would like to extend my gratitude to you all. Even though we may not always see eye-to-eye, your assistance has proven indispensable in fending off the Fainum's threat. And for that, I am eternally grateful."

He bowed his head, and Rarity bowed back. The three griffons nodded as well, albeit slightly stiffer.

He continued. "But now that brings us to a most important question: What do we do next?"

"I think we may be getting ahead of ourselves a tad," Gideon responded. "Before we make any decisions, we should know what is going on. Gellert, you sent trackers to follow the fleeing Blight. Have they had any success in monitoring them?"

Gellert nodded. "I have, your majesty." He stooped below the table a moment and pulled a large sheet of parchment with a simple map drawn on it out of a small bag he had brought with him, detailing the area surrounding Cervidas. With a stick of charcoal he marked a line on the map, starting at Cervidas, trailing south down the map, past forests and mountains, until it reached a large black dot. "Our scouts followed them since they left the forest and have been tracking them quite a while now. They're pretty scattered, what with the rout and all, but they all seem to be heading south, towards this point."

The White Hart looked over the map. As he recognised the position of the black dot, his expression darkened. "Burzkala."

"Beg pardon?" Rarity asked.

"It is what they call it, the Fainum. It is their stronghold, their grand fortress. The Nightmare City of Burzkala."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I have seen it before," he replied, his voice deepening ever-so-slightly as the barest hint of anger penetrated his expressionless face. He sat in silence, all eyes watching him.

"Ahem... your majesty?" Rarity leaned forward, speaking gently. "Are you alright?"

"I... I am fine, Rarity, thank you," he replied, his dour mood lifting slightly. "Forgive me, I was... reminiscing. I have somewhat of a history with these creatures."

"We all do," Gellert replied. "We all have our own personal reasons to want to take down the Blight, but we must concentrate on the bigger picture. They're demoralised and scattered for now, but these monsters are like a column of army ants. You can scare them and send them running all over the place, but before too long they'll be back in line again, ready to devour anything in their path."

"So it's vital we do something about them before they have a chance to regroup," Gordon added.

Rarity raised her hoof. "But what even is this Burzkala place?"

"It's a massive fortress," The White Hart replied, his voice ominously level. "A castle of iron and stone built out of a hollowed-out mountain. It was built thousands of years ago by the servants of the Blight, to house and protect the Source of that foul disease."

"Which is why we need to act," Gellert added. "Destroy them at their source. Cut off the head and the body will die, you know what I mean?"

"A rather grim analogy, but I understand," Rarity replied. "And I'm assuming live-and-let-live is out of the question?"

The White Hart nodded. "Absolutely. The Fainum is not something that can be reasoned or bargained with. They are not some revolutionaries or simple invaders. The Fainum is like a plague, a disease."

"You might as well try combating the flu by trying to reason with it," said Gideon. "So what say you, White Hart? Do we attack the Blight and their Source once and for all?"

He pondered for a moment. "It will be a dangerous attack... my entire kingdom will be at risk. But then again, if we do not, and we simply let the Fainum amass again and return, it may spell certain doom for us all."

"Agreed," Rarity replied. "I know I'm not exactly an expert on armies or military things -well, aside from some of those stylish uniforms anyway- but it would make sense to attack them now, when they are at their weakest. And speaking personally, even if my friends and I returned home I wouldn't feel safe, knowing that those beasts are still out there."

"Oh absolutely," added Gideon. "Well said, Commander Rarity. So then, we have a plan: muster our soldiers, march on this Burzkala place, and destroy the Blight once and for all, removing the threat of them regaining strength or invading forever. All in favour?"

"I'm with you, father!" Gordon said without a trace of hesitation. Gideon smiled at his son.

Gellert threw a sharp salute. "My hawks are yours to command, your majesty! What say you, Rarity?"

Rarity stood up and threw a salute as well. "I'd hardly be living up to my rank if I said no. I can't speak for my friends of course, but you can count me in."

The White Hart stood up as well. "And I as well. It is time to cleanse the world of these monsters. My Deerfolk will fight alongside you, King Gideon."

He extended a pure white forehoof, Gideon took it in his claw, and they shook. "Then we have an alliance, it seems. Hah, I never thought I'd see the day. Just don't disappoint me, branch-head," he added with a grin

"Just as long as you can keep up, feather-face," The White Hart quipped back. "So then we are agreed. When can you have your soldiers ready to go?"

"Give us until tomorrow morning to rest and repair our armour and weapons, and we'll be good to go."

"That sounds good," he replied. Turning to the entire group, the White Hart proclaimed. "So then it is agreed. Come daybreak tomorrow, we march upon Burzkala."

"Seriously Fluttershy, are you okay? You've done nothin' but blush since ya got back from... Hey, here she comes!"

The six ponies, who had been waiting outside the enclosure, stood up as they saw the branches that formed the enclosure writhe and bend, forming a doorway out of the enclosed area. Gellert, Gideon and Gordon left and headed for the lower branches where their fellow griffons were perched, to spread the news for tomorrow. And behind them came Rarity.

Twilight tried to decipher the look on her face. "I wonder what they were talking about."

"Ooh, I hope it went well!" Pinkie Pie squeaked, hopping on the spot in anticipation.

"So Rarity," Starswirl asked, tipping his wide-brimmed hat to the approaching unicorn. "How was the meeting? Did you come to a conclusion?"

"We did," Rarity replied. But she scuffed the dirt nervously as she continued. "Now, I have some possibly good news and some... possibly bad news."

"Let's hear the 'possibly good' news first," said Applejack. "What's this big plan of theirs?"

"Well, Gellert said that his scouts had discovered where these beastly Blight creatures were all heading. Apparently it's some massive fortress that the Blight built out of a mountain. And apparently, it's the home of the Source of the Blight as well."

"The Source?" Twilight echoed. "You mean where the Blight first came from? Like in the story?"

"I suppose so," Rarity continued, as the assembled ponies headed down the walkways towards their cottage. "So their plan is to amass their forces and attack the fortress. Take them down while they are at their weakest and all."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Rainbow Dash replied. "So what's the bad news?"

"Well..." Rarity came to a stop. "You see, with me being a commander in the Griffon army and all..."

"Which I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around," Rainbow muttered.

Rarity shot her a glare, then continued. "With me being a commander, it's my duty to lead them in battle. So... I'm going to have to go with them."

She could see her friends' faces fall as the news hit them. "Now, I made it clear to them that I didn't speak for all of you. If you don't feel that you want to be part of this, you don't have to come with me. You're free to make the journey home without me if you want."

"Oh don't be silly Rarity."

She looked to Twilight, who was frowning back at her. "We can't go abandoning you at a time like this!"

"Yeah, don't think you're gonna get to hog all the glory there, Commander!" Rainbow added, landing down beside her. "You can count me in."

"And me too. I'm just as eager to see them Blight creatures get the what-for once and for all!" Applejack stood on Rarity's other side.

"And how are you gonna have a victory party if I'm not there?!" Pinkie cried. "I'm coming too!"

Starswirl bowed low before Rarity. "I swore to the Princesses when I was resurrected, that I would guide and protect you ponies. You have my word that I will."

"And my axe!"

All eyes turned to Pinkie, who shrugged bashfully. "I dunno, it sounded right. What about you Fluttershy, you in?"

Fluttershy's ears pricked up as the sound f her name brought her back to reality. "Oh! Well... I'd rather not get caught up in any more fighting, but... well, I guess I want to see this ended as much as you girls. Count me in," she said with a firm stamp of her hoof.

"Well there you have it Rarity," Twilight said, turning back to the unicorn. "We're coming with you, to see this through to the end."

"But what about the Tears? I thought we wanted to keep it away from the Blight?" Rarity asked.

Applejack nodded. "She's got a good point. What're you gonna do with it?"

Twilight took the lacquered box out of her bag. The other ponies had been leaving their bags in the cottage, but whenever she went out Twilight had taken hers. Something about the idea of leaving the jewel alone made her feel... uneasy. "Well... it may be kind of dangerous to bring it that close to them, but... well, I don't really feel comfortable leaving it alone. I'd prefer to hold onto it."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to not get captured this time."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Easier said than done."

"Well then, we leave for the fortress tomorrow morning. Whatever happens, at least we'll all be together," Rarity said, to a murmur of agreement from the others. "So there's a bright side to this whole matter if I ever saw one. Not to mention, Fluttershy, I have some good news for you too."

"Oh yes?"

"Apparently almost all the Deerfolk are part of this attack, so at least you'll have your dear dashing stagfriend to keep you company!"

Rarity galloped ahead, giggling as Fluttershy chased after her, the pegasus' face flushing redder than a tomato. The others joined the merry chase down the walkway as Starswirl rolled his eyes.

"I fear I shall never understand mares."

23. The March Begins

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Even if you somehow missed the sight of the mass of towers and walls that was the fortress of Burzkala, you would certainly be able to smell it from miles away. A sulphurous mix of woodsmoke, rotting flesh, rusting metals and other odours too horrible to describe, all coming together in a stench that hung in the air all around.

Once a fiery volcano many thousands of years ago, the mountain now stood quiet and unmoving, with two stretches of black stone walls surrounding its slopes, one around its base, the other around the perimeter of the crater. And down inside the crater stood a massive round tower, which loomed out of the hole and stretched hundreds of feet into the sky.

Between the walls were many more structures built into the slopes of the mountain, none quite as imposing as the central tower but still rather impressively large. Most of them were barracks, with enough room to house nearly ten-thousand blightlings. However, with the disaster that had been the assault on Cervidas, a great many bunks and hammocks lay empty, with only around six thousand stationed in the stronghold. The rest of the buildings were ramshackle prisons, mess-halls, officers' quarters, everything one would expect in a fortress. And then beneath the surface were miles of tunnels, hollowed out from the now-extinct volcanic vents, with hundreds of crawl-spaces and hideaways for some of the smaller blightlings who did not require a bed or a spot in the barracks, as well as larger halls and rooms dug out of the rock.

As Maugoth and the few survivors from his entourage passed through the massive iron gates of the lower wall and into the bailey, many of the blightlings around him spoke in hushed tones. Word had reached the fortress about the massacre that took place in Cervidas, and their flight from the forest in disgrace and defeat. But that was not the reason they whispered as Maugoth walked past them. Word had also reached the stronghold about what he had done to Dushtala.

Now Dushtala had gained himself quite the reputation among the servants of the Blight. He was a brutal fighter, an imposing figure, and a ruthless commander. He was also known as one of the most unlikeable bullies many blightlings had ever seen. Executing his troops for mere mistakes, using the weaker blightlings as meat-shields, doing whatever it took to get the job done, regardless of casualties. He had never been the most popular of officers.

A heavily-armoured blightling with a beaked face and scaly tail approached him, pointing a spear straight at his face. "Maugoth! Your troops are free to go, but you need to come with us. The Allfather wants to speak with you."

Maugoth looked to Laga, who looked expectantly back at him. "You sure you'll be okay, sir?" the horned blightling asked.

"Don't worry. Like I said, I got a plan in the works right now," Maugoth whispered back. "You'll know when the time is right, but until then just keep yer head down and wait."

Laga nodded. "Gotcha. Good luck Maugoth."

With a deep breath, Maugoth turned to the armoured guard and nodded. "Alright. Let's get this over with I guess."

Jostled from behind at spearpoint, Maugoth began the slow trudge up the stepped slopes of the mountain. It was only about five-hundred metres or so up a relatively gentle slope, but each step felt like twelve for him. He had no idea what the Allfather had in store for him as its new 'attendant', but he knew it would not be pleasant. All the more reason he would have to put his plan into action as soon as he would have the chance. He would just need a diversion...

At long last, the doors of the keep swung open and Maugoth and the guard clambered into a makeshift elevator, powered by a group of blightlings that may have been cows at one point in time, who started walking on a massive treadmill, lifting the elevator platform, creaking and swaying past lines of metal pipes and tubes, that led from somewhere underground to the top of the tower.

"Allfather, Maugoth has arrived!" the guard shouted as they reached the landing. Before him stood a large doorway, guarded by two more armoured blightlings.

"Send him in." The deep Voice rumbled from the other side of the door. The doors swung open, and Maugoth was led inside.

The top of the tower was one massive room, practically empty except for two rows of giant glass tanks on either side of the room, filled with inky blackness, and a ragged carpet that led to an even larger glass tank, which connected to the other rows of tanks by a series of metal pipes. And inside this largest tank, suspended by clamps and pipes in the murky blackness, was the Allfather.

At some point many years ago, he may have been a pony, or a stag or some other creature living in the lands surrounding Burzkala. But after being captured and becoming the host of the Blight, becoming the Allfather that all blightlings look up to as their leader and master, any semblance to any living creature was long gone. His skin was bloated and pocked, inflated to bizarre proportions by decades of continued exposure to the Blight. His sunken eyes were rolled upwards in his sockets, and his mouth hung open. A few traces of long, scraggly hair hung from his head and neck, and several bloated limbs stretched out, terminating in hooves, claws, hands and even an extra eye or two. The pipes from the other tanks all connected to a mask that the creature wore over its mouth and nose, constantly feeding the black smokey Blight to him, piping it from the Source that lay just underneath the bottom of the tower. There was only one word to truly describe such an abominable sight: Corruption.

"Maugoth." The hideous, burbling Voice of the Allfather rumbled from a grate at the bottom of the tank. "You are finally here. We can say, with the utmost sincerity, Ashdautas vrasubatlat."

"Nar udatsas luckily for me, Allfather. So then... what have you got in store for me?" Maugoth asked through gritted teeth as he bowed low before the Allfather's tank.

It chuckled. "Oh, nothing too difficult. Just keeping you around where we can see you, so you don't do anything stupid. Maintaining our tanks, cleaning our tower, those kinds of things."

"So this is to be my life then, eh?" Maugoth growled. "Playing nurse and butler for you?"

The Allfather said, with a hint of malicious glee, "Precisely. After all, since you failed to destroy those deer who rejected our Blessing, we can assume they will be coming here for us. So we need all our troops ready to fight."

"If you need as many soldiers as you can get, why are you keepin' me in here, doing menial labour for you away from the fight?" he asked.

"So our other, more capable children do not have to," The Allfather replied. "Besides, in your absence, some of our more capable officers have obtained some new... recruits, from lands to the South-East. Sshh, do you hear that?"

They fell silent as there came a rumbling from far below. Somewhere, deep within the bowels of the mountain below Burzkala, something stirred, growling and grumbling in a voice that made the whole tower shake.

"... Is that what I think it is?" Maugoth whispered, both scared and in awe as he recognised the noise.

"Two of them, in fact," The Allfather said with a chuckle that would make anypony nauseous. "But you needn't concern yourself with them... Now then, time you got to work, wethinks."

Come high-noon that day, the Southlands were abuzz with activity and excitement. There were few creatures who lived out on the plains, with only a few tiny hamlets and farmsteads dotting the landscape. But news travelled fast between them, and soon the whole land was whispering and wondering about the massive army that was marching further south, towards lands where no creature dared to dwell.

They had emerged from the forest kingdom of Cervidas earlier that day, a massive column of armed and armoured creatures, at least a few thousand strong. Deerfolk, in their green and brown tunics and silvery armour, antlers crackling with energy. Griffons, of all creatures, marched alongside them and flew above them, dressed in blackened iron plate-armour and flying-goggles, spears, swords, maces, clubs and strange glowing muskets clenched in their clawed hands. And those among the locals with particularly sharp eyesight could spot a few rather more colourful figures among the massive host.

But their questions were answered, as griffons split off from the army, to fly to the few small settlements. They were representing the allied army of King Gideon of Fjaereir and The White Hart of Cervidas, the messengers said. They were gathering their forces and marching upon Burzkala, the dark fortress of the Blight, to put an end to them once and for all. The mere mention of the yellow-eyed monsters sent shivers through the hearts of many locals who had lost family and loved ones to those creatures. The messengers would continue, inviting anybody who was ready and able to fight, to come join their host and bring the accursed Blight down. Most were too afraid, or not prepared for fighting on such a large scale, but a select few joined the host. A few more families of griffons, a herd of antelopes, and even a pack of diamond-dogs agreed to help (For a fair share of the spoils, of course). They only managed to summon a few hundred of these locals to their aid, but every little helps in war.

That evening, the darkness of the plains was dotted by hundreds of campfires as the army stopped to rest. But there was very little rest to be had, as ripples of tension and anxiety engulfed the camp. They were still a good day's hike away from the fortress, but the ruddy glow of its fires was visible in the distance. The highest peak in a range of low mountains and hills.

In one circle of tents, six of the seven ponies sat around a campfire, a delicious smell wafting up from the flames as they ate.

"I'm still not entirely certain exactly how you did it," Starswirl muttered, biting into a freshly-baked cake.

Rainbow shrugged. "It's usually best not to question how Pinkie does it, it's easier that way, trust me."

"Darn tootin'," Applejack replied. "Besides, I ain't one to look a gift-horse in the mouth when Pinkie's cookin' is involved, even when she's somehow makin' cakes and muffins outta trail-mix, dried fruit and bread!"

"I have my ways, and they gave me alot to work with," Pinkie replied, pulling another tray of the delicious baked goods off of the fire. "I mean, working in Sugarcube Corner I've learned to improvise. When you work in a bakery, sometimes you just have to make do with what you can find."

Rarity smiled. "Well by all means keep it up! Your wonderful cooking is enough to help me forget that we're having to camp out in ramshackle tents in the middle of nowhere. Just don't run out of supplies too quickly. We still have one more night before we reach the fortress, and who knows how long we'll be spending there."

"Any word yet from the other commanders about what exactly's gonna happen when we get there?" Applejack asked.

"None I'm afraid," Rarity replied. "I think Gellert sent out some griffon scouts to survey the fortress, see if they can spot any weak points. Not much we can do but wait for them to return... By the way, where's Twilight? If she doesn't hurry she's going to miss these delicious delicacies!"

Starswirl stood up. "She's in her tent. She wanted to make use of this brief rest, to do some studying of the Tears. I'll bring her some food, no doubt she's starving."

Indeed, in one of the tents surrounding the fire, Twilight sat at a makeshift desk, a few sheets of parchment scattered around the place as she scribbled down notes and sketches, opening the lacquered box for a fraction of a second to glance at the gem inside before slamming the box shut, sealing it off before she suffered the same crushing effects of the Tears she experienced back on the Pillars of Prasinus.

"Pardon me, my dear Twilight, may I come in?"

She jumped slightly at the sound of Starswirl's voice, but smiled with relief as she saw him standing in the doorway of the tent, a platter of cakes levitating before him. "I thought you might be hungry, so I saved you some food."

"Ahh, thanks Starswirl, you're a lifesaver! I was gonna come out and have a bite to eat, but I was getting pretty caught up in my research. I'm sure you know what that's like?"

"Indeed," he replied. "So, what exactly are you studying about the Tears?"

He sat down beside Twilight as she explained. "Well, with everything that's been going on, I haven't really had much of a chance to just sit down and examine it. Not being able to look directly at it for long hasn't made things much easier either. But I have manage to determine one thing."

"And what's that, pray tell?"

"Well, the basic nature of exactly what it is," she replied. "It's literally a reservoir of pure, raw, magical energy, in quite frankly ridiculous quantities."

"Well, it does contain the combined magic of six... well, for lack of a better term, gods, so it's hardly a surprise that it's so powerful." Starswirl replied, lifting up the box and peering closely at it.

"Maybe... but still. I can't even begin to describe how much power they contain. I'd bet even Celestia and Luna wouldn't be able to control this much magic at once." She tapped the sketch of the gemstone on the desk. "And the gem itself is an even bigger mystery. I can't say for the life of me what kind of crystal it is. A gem this small being infused with the sheer amount of raw magic that it contains? Even a diamond the size of a house would explode from the pressure!"

"It's a mystery alright," Starswirl said with a nod. "But if the myth is to be taken literally, the Tears of Gaia are just that. The literal tears of one of these mighty Others, turned into a jewel. It's hardly a surprise that its nature is a mystery to us."

Twilight groaned, plopping her head down on the desk. "If only Celestia or Luna were here. I could just ask them. I'm not gonna be able to sleep until I've got this gemstone figured out..."

Starswirl laughed, "Hahah, oh my dear Twilight! You know, you rather remind me of Celestia when she was young. I was her mentor, you know."

"Oh I know," Twilight replied, the slightest hint of a blush appearing on her cheeks. "I actually... er... I mean, I... well, I've always sorta... well, admired you."

He stared at her, an eyebrow raised inquisitively. "I-it's nothing strange or anything!" Twilight sputtered quickly. "I just mean, when I was young I read about you in old books on magical theory. I'd read about all the great discoveries you made, the spells you created, it just all sounded so fascinating!"

"Indeed it was," he replied. "Of course, I spent much more time on creating new spells than exploration and adventuring. I'd leave that to younger, more proficient ponies. But with Celestia by my side, I was at least never lonely."

"What was it like working with Princess Celestia? And what was she like when she was younger?"

"Oho, some of the stories I have about her," he chuckled. "Such a mischievous mare, she was. Keeping her and her sister Luna under control was probably what turned my mane grey! But despite all that, she was still one of the brightest, most brilliant students I had ever had the opportunity to work with. Smart, curious, and always hard-working. Even if sometimes she could be a bit... impulsive."

Was it a trick of the low light, or for a moment, Twilight wondered, did Starswirl's reminiscing smile falter?

"Honestly, in many ways, she was a lot like you."

Twilight was taken aback. "Really? You think I'm a lot like the Princess?"

"Indeed, my dear Twilight," he replied. "Hard-working, studious, curious, a tad neurotic..."

"Gee, thanks."

"... And fiercely loyal to those closest to you. It's truly admirable in a mare your age," he finished.

Twilight was at a loss for words. Such high praise, from perhaps the one pony she admired as much as, if not more than, Princess Celestia. "... thank you," she said in a low, humbled voice. "Coming from you, that means a lot."

"I consider it an honour to be on this adventure alongside such a pony," Starswirl added. "'Tis almost like being with Celestia once more. Sadly when she and Luna resurrected me, time was of the essence so there wasn't exactly much time for a reunion."
Twilight shrugged as she shuffled her notes into a neat stack. "Well, once we get back to Canterlot, I'm sure they'll be overjoyed to see you again. Starswirl the Bearded, one of the greatest unicorn wizards alive again, working alongside the Princesses!"

This time there was no mistaking it. Starswirl's face sagged as his smile disappeared. "I'm not sure such a reunion will be that possible."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

Starswirl sighed, his limbs cracking and creaking as he got up. "The resurrection spell the Princesses cast upon me was only temporary. I'm not really alive once more, brought back to life for good. Rather, I've been... reanimated. Given a small portion of magic to keep my body and mind alive temporarily. And when my task is complete, and we are all back in Equestria, well... I'm not sure if you've noticed, but since our party was separated after that fight with the Blight, I have not taken off my cloak once."

With a foreleg, he swept the hem of his long blue cloak aside, the bells jangling loudly as he did. Twilight gasped as the cloak unveiled Starswirl's body. His face had changed little, but his torso was emaciated and frail, even moreso than normal. Papery thin skin and ragged patchy fur was drawn tightly against his protrusive ribs, marked with age and the first signs of decay. "Already I am beginning to slowly fade. I predict that I will last until we return to Equestria, but not a day longer."

Twilight rested a forehoof on his shouders. "Starswirl... I'm so sorry..."

He paused a moment, as if in deep thought, then shrugged. "It's alright, my dear Twilight. As I said, it has been an honour to be revived and sent on this quest alongside you and your friends. I see why the Princesses hold you in such high regard. And as for me and my inevitable... fate, do not be too concerned. When I passed on to my final reward all those centuries ago, I was lucky to die simply of old age. When you know it is coming, it isn't nearly as scary as you'd imagine. In fact, it's rather like falling into a deep sleep. And when my task is complete and I return to my tomb, I will welcome that deep sleep again."

Twilight sat back as Starswirl turned and smiled at her. "... Remind me how we got from studying the Tears to discussing the nature of mortality, exactly?"

Starswirl laughed again. "Come now my dear Twilight, these things warrant discussion. You're talking to somepony who has literally died and remembers what it was like. Take this opportunity by the horns, my girl! Ask away whatever you wish to know."

"Pardon me, I hope I'm not interrupting?"

Both unicorns looked to the opening of the tent, where the massive head of Gellert poked through. "I was hoping to talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course, come in Gellert," Twilight said, stepping back to give room. Gellert squeezed into the cosy tent, bowing to the pair of them.

"So Commander, what can I do for you?"

The griffon sat down on the ground. "I was hoping to have a word with you about these Tears of Gaia, if I may."

Twilight could already feel the situation becoming more tense. "I thought you had said you were no longer interested in using the Tears for your people."

"And that is still the case," he replied. "But I am still curious about the stone. Two questions, miss Twilight. First of all, what do you know about the Tears? What have you found out about it?"

Twilight looked nervously to Starswirl, who motioned for her to continue. "Well, aside from what I've already told you, I know that it's a sort of reservoir or container for a... quite frankly, incredible amount of magical energy. The legend states that the gemstone is infused with the combined magic of all the Others, and after studying it I believe it."

"Sounds like quite a lot of power," Gellert said.

"Indeed," Starswirl continued. "And what's more, the jewel itself does not share the properties of any other known gemstone. I'm sure as someone who has used magic-infused gems before, you can understand how unstable they can be?" Gellert nodded.

"Well with as much magic that this one jewel contains," Twilight said, levitating up the box, "It should be incredibly unstable. That much magic compressed into a single point as small as this? The gem should have exploded long ago!"

The griffon nodded again in understanding. "I see... And that leads nicely into my second question. Now, I don't mean to sound accusatory or interrogative or anything of that ilk when I ask you this: Why do you think Equestria should get to hold that much power?"

And there it was again. That nervous tension that always seemed to follow any conversation twilight had with Gellert. So thick a knife would have trouble cutting through it. "Well, Gellert, please understand that Equestria would never intend to use it as any sort of weapon, or to gain leverage over other nations..."

"But then what do you intend to do with it?"

Twilight hesitated. "Well... I guess study it, try to harness its power in a way that everyone can benefit from, pony and non-pony alike."

"Well that makes sense," Gellert replied. "But why should Equestria get to hold it? Why not any other nation? After all, according to your legend, the Tears were made for the benefit of all life, as a way to preserve the memory of Gaia, correct?"

"And that's exactly the reason," Twilight said, sitting down. "The Tears were created by the Others, and the only two Others left in the world and Princess Celestia and princess Luna. So, shouldn't the Tears go to them?"

Gellert frowned. "Perhaps. But then if they get to hold onto it, then who dictates how its power is distributed? How do we know its power can be divided equally? And if it can't be, then who would get more power? And for that matter, how can anyone be certain someone else won't try to use its power for ill reason?"

Twilight opened her mouth, but again found herself in a rare predicament for her: She was lost for any answer. Gellert raised some good points: As much as she liked to think otherwise, not everyone was inherently pure-of-heart, not even the ponies of Equestria. How could she be sure that in future, some calamity or disaster would push Equestria to use the power of the Tears for their own gain, regardless of its effect on the rest of the world?

Gellert got up, heading back towards the entrance. "I don't want to start another fight with you and your friends, Twilight Sparkle. But we are getting close to the Blight's source, so I advise you to be very careful with that little gemstone. And I advise you to think very carefully about what will be done with it when this whole war is over. After all, you hold the power of gods in that little box. No one creature should hold that much power."

And with that, he pushed the tentflap aside and departed, leaving Twilight and Starswirl in deep thought.

Author's Notes:

Well... for once I have no translations to provide in this chapter, that's something I haven't seen for a while now!

We're almost there, my dear readers. I have the rest of the story and the ending all planned out, and hopefully I'll be able to have the entire story done before this month is over. I don't make any promises, but I'll try to aim for that.
In the mean time, until the next chapter comes around, why not check out my other ongoing story, 'The Crisis on Infinite Equestrias'? If you like this story,and you like big grand fantasy stories in general, you'll probably enjoy it :D.

Oh, and to any fanartists out there who are reading this, might I make a request: Any fanart you could make of this story would be awesome. Even if it's just a sketch of a character or a scene or something, it'd be awesome to see how other people interpret this story.

Anywho, catch y'all next time!

24. The Calm Before the Storm

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"Maugoth! Depressurise Tank Five, quickly!"

The white-haired Blightling grumbled to himself as he set to work, twiddling a few valves and dials at the base of one of the massive tanks in the Allfather's room. It had only been his first day and night at his new job, and already he hated every second of it. The bloated monstrosity in the tank had heaped every menial task there was upon him, from maintaining an even concentration of the Black Blessing in each tank, to clearing the gunk out of the older machinery, even dusting and cleaning the room itself! How much of this is regular work 'round here, he thought to himself, and how much is he just making me do to spite me?

"Pressure regular, sire," he spat as the dials on the panel all lowered to what was a safe level. For all his griping and moaning about his menial new job, he was still a fast learner and an even faster planner. Just from one day of working on the machinery that maintained the Allfather, he had deduced a few things. For example, he knew that the creature's body fed off of the smoky Black Blessing that was piped up from the Source below the tower. Whatever He had been before he was bound to the machine, the Allfather was the closest anybody could come to talking directly to the Blight itself. He was the head, the face and the voice of the Blight. He was in complete control over several of the lower Blightlings, and even with the more intelligent Blightlings He at least had a low-power psychic link. In short, He held supreme power over the entire Blight.

And it made Maugoth sick.

That bloated, corpulent wreck of a creature, in command of him?! Heaping endless mindless chores on him, mocking him and spiting him at every turn?! He might be the Allfather, but he's still nothing more than a meat-puppet, some lucky creature who was chosen all those years ago to be the host for the Blight. He gritted his teeth with barely-contained fury, why should he be the one?!

His train of thought was interrupted, however, as there came a knocking on the iron doors of the room. "You may enter," The Allfather boomed.

The doors swung open, and in strode two Blightlings dressed in scaly armour and short black capes. Maugoth groaned with recognition as he remembered the two: They were officers serving here at Burzkala. When he held his former position, they were the same rank as him.

"Allfather, we bring news!" One of them barked, smartly saluting. "One of our watchtowers spotted a small group of griffons flyin' just north o' here. Looked to be a scoutin' party sire. We drove them off before they got too close to us though."

"Then they are close," burbled the Allfather. "Are our children prepared?"

The other nodded. "They are sire. Rested, armed and ready to fight! Shall we begin settin' up on the walls?"

"Yes. We anticipate they will attack tomorrow. No doubt that scouting party will be reporting back to their masters as we speak."

"Should we go after them?" One officer asked.

"Let them go," The Allfather said with a chuckle. "What can they tell them, other than our fortress stands firm and ready for whatever comes. And if they were only glanced by our watchtowers, I'd guess they don't know about our...guests."

Maugoth noticed both officers shifting uneasily at the mention of the beasts that waited, imprisoned inside the tower. "S-sire, are you sure you want to use them? I mean, we've tried giving them the Black Blessing, but no dose is big enough. They're completely wild."

The voice from the tank laughed, a laugh that sounded like thunder blended with the crumbling of stone. "Do not worry, my sons. They will fight for us when the time comes. Their hatred and ferocity is unrivalled by any creature in this world. And We'd imagine the first thing they would want to do is be free from our stronghold. So, we let them loose, let them flee from the fortress, and face-first straight into the enemy's army."

"And... when they are done.. disposing of the enemy? What then?" The second officer asked.

"we can concentrate our efforts upon them then. With the combined power of our entire army, they will be under our control soon enough. Speaking of which, how are our little guests? Hungry for a fight?"

The first officer nodded. "They're certainly hungry, sire. Haven't been fed in about a week now. I'd imagine a few mouthfuls of griffons and deer would be mighty appetising to them right about now."

"We'll find out soon enough," The second officer replied. "If their scouts have already reached here, they can't be far away. So, your orders, sire?"

The Allfather was silent a moment, then rumbled, "See to it every one of our children is well fed and rested. Their attack will begin at daybreak tomorrow, so ensure everyone is well-prepared. Otherwise, stoke the fires, light this fortress up, bolster our defences, and see that our little guests are prepared. Then simply await the attack."

Both officers bowed low in reply and turned to leave the room, but one of them paused as he passed by Maugoth, who was standing to the side out of the way. "Hang about... Don't I recognise you?"

Oh, just kill me now, Maugoth thought with a cringe.

"Yeah," the other officer grinned as he joined his armoured cohort. "Yer Maugoth, right? That commander who was part of the attack on that forest. Well, lookit you now, eh?"

"I mean, I knew you and Dushtala botched that attack pretty badly, but this? Gettin' demoted to being a servant-beast? Wow, ye must have really screwed things up!"

The Blightling ground his teeth and scuffed at the floor with a forehoof as the officers' words bit at him like a knife. Less than two days ago he had been a respected soldier and an officer in his own right. Were these officers so quick to deride one of their own?

After mocking him some more, the officers finally left, chuckling to themselves about Maugoth's new status, which no doubt would become the talk of the stronghold before the night was over. For creatures as vile and monstrous as the Blightling horde, they were strangely adept at gossiping. The slam of the iron doors echoed through the vast room, as the Allfather spoke:

"Come now Maugoth. Back to work, our son."

Maugoth rolled his eyes and got to scrubbing at the crusty grime and gunk that caked the tanks. It was becoming more and more apparent that cleanup-duty was not a regular thing for most servants here. "Allfather, can I ask you something?"

"As long as you keep working while you do so, we see no harm in it."

Maugoth dutifully kept scrubbing as he asked. "So... how exactly did you end up with that host body? Like, how does one go about becoming the Allfather?"

The Allfather was silent a moment, before chuckling. "Aspirations of grandeur, eh Maugoth? Well we wouldn't worry about it, someone like you becoming the Allfather any time soon is unlikely bordering on impossible."

Yeah, just keep rubbing it in, you old fool, Maugoth thought.

"But I suppose I can tell you. Not long ago, when we were first freed from our stone prison with the Draconequus Discord, we were nought but an incorporeal force, with no real strength or body to call our own. So, we ended up returning to the place of our origin, where they first discovered us all those thousands of years ago. And so we waited, biding our time until one fateful day we got lucky, and another creature found us. We blessed him with our presence and took control of his body. The first disciple of our campaign to regain our former strength.

"Before too long, we realised it would be more efficient to spread our blessing to other creatures, bringing them to our vast family, and before long w had an entire army at our command. And that first creature we blessed, he became our body as you see it now. Feeding off the original source of the Blight even to this day, growing ever stronger with each passing moment, and sharing this strength with every other creature who has accepted our blessing. And if what you've told us about that gemstone weapon those ponies hold is true, then our children and us will be stronger than ever before soon enough. So, why do you ask?"

Maugoth gave a non-committal shrug. "Oh, just... curious, that's all."

The Allfather gave a wary "Hmm" as Maugoth got back to work, failing to notice that the blightling now wore a grin the likes of which had not graced his muzzle in a long time. That's all I needed to know, you stupid old weakling!

Meanwhile, only a few miles away from Burzkala, the vast host of Fjaereir and Cervidas' army came to a halt at the base of a small mountain range, around which lay the massive stronghold. The griffon scouts had just returned with their reports, and the army were setting up camp. A great sense of tension and anticipation ran rampant through the campsite. The last night before it all comes to a head. The next morning, the deer, griffons, ponies, and all other creatures who had joined the host, would go to war.

In a ring of particularly large tents in the centre of the campsite, the commanders of the army sat together in a council of war. The White Hart sat to represent the Deer, while Gellert and Gideon represented the griffons of Fjaereir, with Rarity not only representing the griffons as well, but also her pony friends. Also joining them were Chief Lang Horing, who led the antelope herd who had joined them, and the brothers Ziggy and Bowie of the Diamond Dog tribe. Rarity ensured that she was seated as far away from the diamond dogs as possible.

"So then, you've all heard our scouts' reports from Burzkala," Gellert said, beginning the meeting. "They weren't able to get very close, but they could clearly see them preparing their defences. So it looks like a surprise attack is out of the question."

The White Hart leaned forward. "Well to be honest it was never a viable idea to begin with. Burzkala is located at the far end of a valley, surrounded by high mountains. The only easy way to it is down the valley, straight at it. Did your scouts see any weaknesses?"

Gideon shook his head. "Not that we know of. The walls are a good forty feet high all the way around, with a bailey going up the mountainside to another wall, only thirty feet high, which surrounds the central tower, which stretches a good two hundred feet into the air. It's an easy guess that's where the Source of the Blight is."

"Which means that is where we are aiming for," Lang Horing replied. "And From what your scouts have said, it appears we outnumber the enemy, but only by a small number, maybe two-to-one if we are lucky."

"In which case," Gellert said, "I'd suggest we split our forces. Have most of them in a direct assault on the fortress, while the rest prepare for a sneak attack."

"So who would be this sneak attack?" Rarity asked.

"How about us Diamond Dogs?" Ziggy grunted. "We dogs can dig, dig under the mountain, tunnel under the walls and come up from underground! Keep 'em busy inside the walls while you griffons and deer attack from outside and above."

"And my antelopes will join you on this covert attack," Lang Horing replied. "Just be sure to make the tunnels large enough for all of us."

"Are you sure you can do it? I mean, it'll be volcanic rock you're digging through, that's pretty hard stuff," Gellert asked.

Bowie snorted derisively. "Pah, please! Even Volcanic rock no match for diamond-dog picks! Yellow-eyed skulls no match either. We break through one, then break the other, you see!"

Gideon chuckled. "Good show! So then, we have the first pieces of a plan it seems. Gordon and I can lead half of the griffons to attack from the skies, clear out the bailey, keep the monsters on the walls busy. While that's going on, the Deer and the other half of the griffons, led by Gellert and Rarity can attack from the ground to breach the walls, and the dogs and the antelope attack from underground, splendid! It might be a bit ramshackle as it stands but if all goes to plan, we should hopefully be able to end this battle relatively quickly."

"A very good idea," Lang Horing added. "Better to have an attack that is clumsy but swift than one that is efficient and skilful but drawn out. Less chance of exhausting our troops and supplies."

The White Hart nodded. "Agreed. We will have to be swift and to-the-point. Get past those walls, get up the mountain, get to the tower, destroy the Source. This is where it all ends for either us or them, we cannot afford to hold back."

Gellert raised a claw. "I'd like to ask a question. Commander Rarity, where will you and your pony-friends come into the fight? Will they be fighting at all, indeed?"

Rarity nodded. "I had already asked them about this before the meeting. They're admittedly not particularly enthused about the idea of participating in a battle, but they certainly want to contribute. I'd suggest that Twilight, Starswirl and Applejack join me with the ground troops, working on breaching the walls. Rainbow Dash would be more than happy to join the griffons in the airborne attack, and... I'd think Pinkie Pie would be right at home with the underground group."

Bowie scratched his ear. "Why? She good at digging or something?"

Rarity grinned. "Not necessarily, but once she is inside, I guarantee you she will be all the distraction you need to keep those beasts busy while you clear out the inside."

"And what about miss Fluttershy?" The White Hart asked.

"Ah yes, well, I suspect she wouldn't be that much useful in the fight itself. She's a sensitive soul, and not really one for violence. But from what I hear she was rather useful as a healer when your forest was under attack, so I think she would be best suited to the medical unit."

"I'll see to it she's kitted out with some first-aid supplies," Gellert replied.

For the rest of the meeting the commanders worked on the strategy they had, ironing out any imperfections or flaws that might crop up. Rarity, for the most part, sat back and listened to what they had in mind. Even after all this time she was still hardly a strategist. Before she had ever gotten caught up in this war, the closest thing she had ever done to planning a battle or leading an army was that one time Twilight Sparkle and her brother somehow convinced her to join them for a game of Battlemace. And while she could not help but admire the craftsmanship and uniforms of the tiny painted figurines, having to control hundreds of them all at once, along with the endless boxes of dice, rulers, counters and suchlike, and the absolute doorstopper that was the rulebook, filled with complicated charts and statistics... well, needless to say after she was thoroughly slaughtered by Shining Armour and Twilight she gracefully turned down their offer for a rematch.

But as she listened she did pick up a few little strategies and tips: How to fight defensively or offensively, how to divide up one's forces, how to read the enemies' movements and the terrain, and many more little tidbits of information that would no doubt be useful in the day that lay ahead.

"... So that's apparently how it's going to happen tomorrow."

Hours later, Rarity was back among her pony friends in their own little circle of tents. High above them, Luna's gleaming white moon hung in the deep navy-blue sky as they sat around a campfire, eating what would likely be the last meal they'd eat until the battle was over.

"And I realise that after what we've been through on this whole crazy adventure, splitting up again is hardly our first choice," Rarity reasoned, slipping her commander's jacket off. "But given our different skills, it seemed to make sense that we each work alongside different groups."

"Indeed," Starswirl said with a nod. "Magic-users with the magic-users, flyers with the flyers, and so forth. It will be most interesting to see those deer in battle once again, their magic is quite unlike any I've seen performed by any unicorn or alicorn."

"Plus, if I'm gonna be carrying the Tears with me, it'd make sense to stay far back with the long-range people," Twilight added, taking the lacquered box out of her bags. With a gentle sigh, she ran her hoof along the edge of the box absent-mindedly.

"Y'alright, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

Twilight looked up. "Hmm? Oh, yeah I'm fine Applejack. I'm just still thinking about what Gellert said last night. He does have a really good point about the Tears, nopony should have all that power all to themselves. And if any one nation were to have it all, you can bet other nations would get jealous or nervous about that much power..."

"But what other choice is there?" Rarity asked. "It's not as if you can just share out its power evenly, is it?

"No. " Twilight shook her head. "As far as I can tell, it's basically that you use all of it, or you don't use any of it. If only it wasn't just this one gem, then things would be so much easier!"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "If all these adventures have taught me anything, it's that when we're dealing with some weird mystical artefact, things are never easy."

The ponies laughed. "You know, despite everything that's going on," Fluttershy spoke up. "I'm really glad that I'm still with you all again."

"Fluttershy's right," Applejack said, standing up. "I got no idea what's gonna happen tomorrow. I'd like t'think we're gonna win, save the day and be back to Ponyville in a matter of days, but... well, just in case something bad does happen tomorrow... I just wanna say that, if we're goin' down, I couldn't have asked for better ponies to be goin' down with."

Rarity stood up as well. "Here, here! This is possibly one of the most dangerous things we ponies have ever done... certainly up in the top five, at least. So if the worst does come to the worst tomorrow, then I'd just like you ponies to know that each and every one of you are the best friends anypony could have ever asked for. Even you Starswirl, for as briefly as I've known you."

"I'm honoured," he replied with a low bow and a doffing of his wide-brimmed hat. "And speaking as a pony who has only known the modern world for a matter of weeks, I'd like to say that, if most ponies are as kind, brave, noble and true as you six mares, then this world is in good hands. I can see why Celestia speaks so highly of all of you."

The seven ponies smiled to eachother in silence around the campfire. Rainbow was the next to speak. "Well... even though I know that we're gonna be awesome, kick some major tail and win this thing tomorrow," she said with a confident grin, "I just want you to know I've always been super grateful to have met you girls... oh, and guys too," she added, nodding to Starswirl. "We've come this far, so now let's see this thing to its end."

"Darn tootin'!" cried Applejack, pumping her forehoof in the air

"Here, here!!"

"Indeed!" boomed Starswirl in his deep voice

"Absolutely!"

"Yes-indeedily!" Pinkie Pie squeaked with glee. "Now c'mon everypony. We got a big day tomorrow, so we better get some sleep. Can't have us going into battle groggy!"

So the ponies finished their suppers, doused the campfire and retired to their tents. Well, all except one.

"I'll, uh, be right back," Fluttershy said as she trotted quietly out of the circle of tents. "I just have... something to, you know, take care of..."

"You're wanting to talk to Yarrow?" Twilight said with a knowing smirk.

Fluttershy blushed, nodding bashfully.

"Go on ahead," Applejack called. "Go say yer goodnights to him, I'll keep the lights on 'til ya get back."

Fluttershy smiled, waving before trotting off out of the campsite.

In a small campsite not too far away, a circle of white tents were pitched around a now extinguished campfire. Most deer had apparently also retired to their tents for the night, but Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that one particular stag was apparently still up and about.

"Yarrow? Is that you?" she called as she entered the campsite.

"Fluttershy? The stag's antlers lit up with an eerie silvery glow, revealing Yarrow's young face, smiling as he caught sight of the young mare. "Ah, this is a nice surprise. Are you alright?"

She came hesitantly closer. "I'm fine, thank you. I just... wanted to see you one last time before... y'know, it all starts tomorrow."

Yarrow nodded. "I completely understand. Come, sit down with me a bit. The stars are out, and I was just watching them a bit before heading to bed."

Fluttershy smiled back, trotting over to sit down by his side on a soft blanket he had laid out just outside his tent. They gazed up at the clear night sky where, indeed, the stars had come out in full force, dotting the darkness with shimmering little points of light.

"They really are beautiful," Fluttershy whispered. "I-I sometimes go outside my cottage at night back in Ponyville to look at the stars on clear nights like this. They just look so peaceful up there."

"That they do," Yarrow agreed. "Though it does seem rather odd how peaceful they look, considering what's about to happen tomorrow... I doubt there's been a battle of this scale in the Southlands for centuries."

Fluttershy's smile fell a moment as she thought about it. "Umm, Yarrow?"

He looked down to her, his eyes meeting hers. "Yes?"

The pegasus no longer even bothered to try hiding the redness of her cheeks. "Well...umm, I... I wanted to come out to see you... because, well, y'know, with the battle tomorrow, I.. I d-don't know when the next time we'll b-be able to see eachother will be..." She could feel the first signs of tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "S-so I just wanted to... to..."

Yarrow put a comforting hoof around her withers, drawing her in close to him. "Sshh, it's okay. I understand... Actually, heh, I was thinking of coming to visit your campsite tonight as well for the same reason."

Fluttershy giggled. "Heh, that's nice of you... But I guess what I'm trying to say is... I mean, we might not have another chance for a while so... I-I just wanted to say... Yarrow, I..."

Yarrow watched her face expectantly as she hesitated She looked up at his smiling face, and her nerve failed him. "I.. I'm sorry I c-can't say it..."

"It's alright," he replied, rubbing her shoulders gently. "You can tell me after this whole mess is over."

"But what if I can't?" Fluttershy asked, her hoof resting on his. "What if... what if something were to happen to you? or to me?"
Yarrow patted her hoof reassuringly. "Fluttershy, I promise you, here and now. You and I, and all of your friends, will be okay. We're going to get through this battle together, and when it's over, we will sing our victory songs together."

He wiped a single tear from her face. She sniffled. "Promise?"

"I promise."

"Do you Pinkie-Promise?"

He raised a hoof to reply, but paused. "I... would, if I knew what a Pinkie-Promise was."

Fluttershy giggled. "It's a very special promise that you can't break. Here, I'll show you, follow me."
She stood up, and Yarrow did the same. Standing before him, she recited the hallowed Pinkie-Promise, doing the motions along with it.

"Cross my heart..." she started, crossing her heart with a forehoof.

"Cross my heart..." he echoed.

"And hope to fly..." she continued.

He followed, "And hope to fly..."

"Stick a cupcake in my eye." she finished, placing her hoof over one of her eyes. He did the same, barely able to contain his chuckles.

"Stick a cupcake in my eye," he said. "So that's it then? That's a Pinkie-Promise?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well then, " he replied, rolling up his blanket. "I'll be sure to uphold my promise tomorrow. But for now, I think we both should get some sleep."

Fluttershy nodded. "I guess so... So, uh... Aur fuin vaer, Yarrow," she said as she turned to leave.

He smiled, and bowed back. "Aur fuin vaer, mell nin Fluttershy."

Fluttershy bowed once more back and started to make her way back to the campsite. But a lingering thought stuck out in her mind. There was something more she had wanted to do, but forgot. What was it...?

And then she remembered. And she blushed even harder, her knees giving out from the mere thought of it. Surely she couldn't... could she?

She looked back at Yarrow, as he was heading back into his tent. Oh come on Fluttershy, how do you know you'll have another chance?

"Yarrow, wait!"

He looked up, about to ask her what was up, but he managed little more than a muffled "Hmm?!" As his words were stopped by something warm and soft.

Fluttershy's lips against his.

He stood rooted to the spot, unable to move or react as Fluttershy stood before him, kissing him full on the lips. Eventually the shock wore off and he kissed back, eyes slowly closing, feeling as if he was floating away on wings of pure euphoria. For a second that felt like an eternity, they held their kiss, before breaking apart. Both of them red in the face, unable to look eachother in the eye.

"Please, come back to me safe," Fluttershy whispered, finally regaining her speech. Taking to her wings, she fluttered off into the night, barely realising that she was flying backwards in her smitten state, leaving Yarrow dumbstruck and staring mutely after her.
As exhaustion washed over his body he regained the use of his limbs and face, breaking into a wide, content grin.

"Losto vae, Fluttershy," he said aloud. "Guren ninaitha n'i lu n'i-a govenitham."

25. The Final Sacrifice

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Twilight's eyes flickered and twitched as she tossed and turned in her sleep. The thoughts of the final day had lain heavily upon her mind all through the night, filling her dreams with strange images of fires, the blasts of magical weaponry and yellow-eyed monsters. She was awoken from these dreams as she felt a hoof gently shaking her.

"Time to rise, my dear Twilight," Starswirls voice whispered. "The dawn is here."

She stretched her limbs and left her tent, the cool morning air rousing her senses. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes she saw the rest of her friends doing much of the same, stretching their tired limbs, having one last breakfast snack, mentally preparing themselves.
Rarity and Rainbow Dash stood off to the side, the unicorn using her magic to strap on the different pieces of their armour. Rainbow was dressing in the standard dark grey armour and flight-goggles of the Fjaereir griffons, while Rarity strapped on the slightly more ornate armour of a commander, with golden inlays and trims around the edges. A wide-brimmed helmet with brass-plated cheek-guards sat by her hooves.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, was slipping into a thick green tunic, similar to those worn by the deerfolk, and a small satchel hung over one shoulder. Pinkie Pie and Applejack donned simple grey cloaks, and Starswirl was bedecked in his classic blue robes and wide-brimmed hat, bells and all. Beside her own tent, Twilight saw a third grey cloak, folded neatly by the entrance.

"Where did all this come from?" she asked, picking up the cloak.

Rarity levitated it up off the ground and gently slipped it around her dark purple curls. "They were waiting outside our tents when we woke up. I suppose the others want us to look the part if we're going to fight alongside them."

"Heh, no complaints here," Rainbow replied, strapping the goggles over her fringe. "This armour is awesome! It feels pretty tough, but it's still light enough to fly in, perfect for me."

A few minutes later, the seven of them were all dressed up and ready to go. All around them the camps were abuzz with activity as all manner of creatures were getting their armour and weapons together, doing some quick stretches or getting one last bit of food in, before heading off to join their units. Squadrons of armoured griffons flew overhead, hovering in groups above the ground while deer were teleporting to their mustering points, their antlers glowing as they mentally prepared themselves.

"Well..." Twilight sighed, clipping her cloak on over her saddlebags. "I guess this is it."

The others nodded. Then, without a word, the seven gathered together in one final tight group hug. Rainbow Dash hugged Fluttershy, Twilight hugged Pinkie, Applejack hugged Rarity, Starswirl hugged Twilight, and they all hugged eachother, one last time.

"We got this far together," Applejack said firmly. "We'll get through this together."

No more words needed to be said. The ponies nodded and went their separate ways. Fluttershy headed to the support units to join the other battlefield medics, Pinkie trotted over to the diamond-dogs and Rainbow Dash took to the skies to join the swarm of griffons already there waiting. Twilight, Starswirl, Applejack and Rarity followed the rest of the creatures out of the camp to where they were gathering out on the plains. As they rounded the bend, the breath caught in their lungs.

There were hundreds, no, thousands of creatures gathered in the plains. The White Hart stood at the head of his mighty army of stags and does, dressed in his simple green robe and golden circlet, looking barely more ornately dressed than his troops. Beside him stood Gellert, dressed in the same armour as Rarity, albeit considerably larger, with a massive broadsword leaning against his side. And beside them also stood King Gideon, once again clad in his magnificent golden armour, gripping his hooked mace in his iron grip. After exchanging some quiet words, they saw the griffon commander take flight and rise up to the clouds above to join his soldiers.

Scattered among the deer, and flapping in the air just above them were the ground-detachment of the griffon troops, also clad in the same dark armour, most of them holding massive hand weapons and spears, but with some of them wielding their glowing crystal-powered muskets. And in their own small group separate from the others stood the antelope and the diamond-dogs. Pinkie's bright pink fur and mane stood out among the otherwise very grey and brown group like a neon light. There was a low murmuring throughout the host, a wave of nervous excitement and anxiety. And less than a kilometre away, at the far end of the valley, draped in shadows stood the mountain fortress of Burzkala, waiting for them.

The four ponies took their places in the front line of this massive host, as Gideon and the White Hart stepped out in front of the horde. The deerfolk before them, the griffons hovering just above them, the antelopes and diamond-dogs stood just to the side. And scattered among them all, were seven little ponies, far away from home.

"Atten-shun!" Gideon shouted. The entire host fell silent and stood to attention. He took a deep breath as he looked over the swarm of creatures standing before him. "Well, my fellows, my brothers in arms, this is it. No more hiding, no more little skirmishes, this is the big one... At long last we stand before these yellow-eyed monsters, these Blightlings. This time, it's them or us."

He began to pace back and forth, up and down the line as he continued his speech. "And I won't deny we face adversity. Our numbers may be great, but theirs are still greater. And they hide behind their high walls because my friends, they know! They know that by skill, strength and sheer willpower alone, each one of you is worth ten of them!"

The griffons and dogs cheered, rattling their weapons in the air, joined by the stamping and tramping of the deer and antelope.

"We may face a hard day ahead, but we will never face defeat!" Gideon boomed. "We shall never know defeat if we stand together, move as one, fight as one, breathe as one, all with one purpose: To destroy the accursed Blight, and free the Southlands, and indeed all lands, from their vile poison! Already we have won a great victory against them in the forests of Cervidas. Today, we add another, far greater victory to the history of our civilisations! Today, we fight!!"

He swung his mace in the air as the horde roared in approval once again. "Many of us carry deep scars, memories of things that these hated creatures have done to us. For some of us, they are deeper than others."

The White Hart lowered his head, shielding his face from the hordes gaze as he wiped a single tear from his cheek.

"And that is why we are here, my friends! Today we pay them back tenfold for everything they have done to us, and to our beloved lands! Today we look them in their yellow eyes and we say, 'No more!' Who stands with me?"

Not a single creature remained silent. Weapons were raised into the air, deer shot flares and magical sparks into the sky above, and a mighty roar swelled up from the horde before them like thunder. Even the ponies could not help but cheer as Gideon worked up the army. They were ready to fight.

Gideon looked to the White Hart as he stepped aside to let him speak. He stepped up to join the griffon king with a smile. "Honestly, how can you expect me to follow up a speech quite like that?" he said in a clear voice. A ripple of laughter went through the horde. "But in all seriousness, there is little more I wish to add to that. I see before me the bravest creatures I could ever fight alongside, and I honestly could not ask for a greater army to fight by my side. So come, warriors, friends, let us go to war!!"

The horde raised another cacophonous cheer. The griffons took to the air again, flying high into the clouds, led by Gideon and Gordon. The rest of the horde went in a rush like a colossal tidal wave sweeping over the land, rushing down the valley at full force, screaming and roaring at the tops of their voices. Rarity and Gellert galloped at full pelt, ignoring the weight of the heavy armour as the adrenaline took over, at the head of a detachment of griffons all wielding their muskets which fizzed and crackled with magical energy. The White Hart led the deer, sprinting at the head of the massive arrowhead formation. and Pinkie Pie put on her serious determined as she ran alongside the diamond dogs and antelopes. At last, the battle was joined!

The Blight were ready, however. All atop the walls of the fortress came a volley of arrows, slingstones and magical missiles that rained down upon the screaming horde. The antlers of hundreds of deer glittered and glowed and magical force fields sprung up above the army, bouncing the majority of the missiles off, only a few hitting their marks. When they were within firing range of the fortress, the front line of deer used their magic to summon up broad barricades of earth that rose from the ground, blocking off most attacks.

That was the sign the diamond dogs needed. Skidding to a halt behind these barricades, Ziggy and Bowie raised their paws to signal to their troops. "Now, dogs! Dig, dig for victory!!"

Fourscore diamond dogs leapt down and with a spray of loam and grit, began digging deep into the ground as they tunnelled towards the fortress. Pinkie Pie could be heard among them, singing at the top of her voice:

"I'm a pony and I'm diiiigging a hoooole, diggy diggy hoooole, I'm diiigging a hooole..."

As they dug, Rarity trotted up and down the barricades as her griffons set up their muskets along the top. "Griffons, ready!" she barked in her best military-commander voice. "Concentrate your fire on the creatures on the tops of the walls! Keep them occupied while the Deer deal with the walls. First rank, take aim... Fire!!"

The plains between the attackers' barricades and the walls of Burzkala lit up as bolts of crackling green lightning spewed forth from the muskets, blasting holes in the walls and whizzing off over the top. Blightlings fell reeling and burning, collapsing backwards or tumbling down from the walls as more came to replace them, firing back with their own magical blasts and arrows and slings.

High in the air, the griffons watched with readied weapons as the battle raged below. Rainbow Dash flapped impatiently beside Gordon, a sword hanging from her foreleg. "C'mon, when are we gonna join the fight already?!"

"Steady miss Dash, we wait until we're needed!" Gideon roared from above her. Peering down at the melee, he saw an opportunity. "Aha! FIRST WAVE, DIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!"

The front squadron of griffons swooped down from the clouds, screeching and roaring their battlecries as they swung their weapons and fired their muskets down at the fortress. Rainbow watched with bated breath as they flew low over the walls, sweeping through gangs of blightlings before flying up along the mountainside towards the tower, firing at will at the enemy. Many blasts of green energy struck the buildings, setting their roofs ablaze. Then the griffons went up the side of the tower, firing in any windows or peepholes they came across, before fanning out and flying back down towards the attacking horde outside, ready to begin another sweep.

"Hahah! Excellent form, perfectly executed!" Gideon chortled. "Stand by, second wave!"

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and slipped her goggles down over her eyes as she readied herself for once the second wave had gone. Next to her, Gordon did the same, ready to lead his wave into the fray.

"Sire! The walls are holding, but there are griffons coming down from the clouds at us!"

"Light up the skies." the Allfather rumbled from within his tank. "Open fire on those clouds, get them out of hiding. In the mean time, do not let the walls fall!"

The blightling commander nodded and sprinted out of the room. Maugoth sat obediently scrubbing away at the tanks, taking a chance every now and then to peek out the windows down at the battle.

"And if they do get in, we still have our two secret weapons ready to be released."

Maugoth nodded as he skulked away to check on the machines elsewhere in the room, keeping his head low to hide his devious grin. And that, he thought to himself, will give me the perfect diversion to carry out my plan.

Beams yellow magic rocketed up into the air above the battle, into the clouds. Rainbow winced as she saw the beams crash into a few griffons around her, sending them tumbling to the ground below, but most of them stood firm.

"Steady, my hawks!" Gideon cried. "They're trying to flush us out!" He then pointed his mace down at the walls. "SECOND WAVE, DIIIIIIVE!!"

Holding his sword high, Gordon gave a wink to Rainbow Dash and plunged down from the clouds, leading a hundred griffons behind him griffons behind him. He mimicked the first wave, swooping low and raining green lightning down on the walls of the fortress.

"Prepare yourself, Rainbow Dash!" Gideon boomed. "You'll be going down in the next wave!"

Rainbow nodded. "I'm ready!"

The battle raged on for a good hour as the assault slowly surged forward. The griffons had been forced to fall back somewhat as the blightlings brought more of their magic-users onto the walltops, to fire at them any time they got too low or close to the walls. They had already taken out a good twoscore griffons so for now, the griffons hovered high above the fortress, keeping most of the troops on the walltops pinned down with their energy muskets.

Meanwhile down on the ground, slow progress was being made. With the walltop defenders occupied with the griffons, the deer, grounded griffons and the unicorns had taken the opportunity to concentrate on the walls themselves. Coordinating together, they concentrated their fire all on two spots on the walls, blasting away at them with everything they had. Enormous smouldering craters pocked the walls, but they still stood relatively firm.

"Keep it up!" Rarity shouted above the din of battle, as she hurled rock after rock at the wall with her magic, alongside twilight who blasted away with her own magic. "You're doing magnificently! The walls surely won't hold for much longer!"

The White Hart trotted up and sat down beside her, taking a quick drink from a canteen. "How goes the battle on this end, Rarity?"

"Well enough, I suppose," Rarity replied. " The walls aren't falling just yet, but I'd imagine they won't be holding for much longer. How about you?"

The White Hart ran a hoof down his face, ducking as a beam of yellow magic screeched over his head. "Pretty much the same. It's nice of the griffons to keep the fainum distracted for now while we do this."

An antelope suddenly trotted up to them, narrowly avoiding a slingstone whistling between her horns. "Excuse me! Your majesty, we have news from the tunnels! The diamond-dogs have reached under the walls. They're ready to surface whenever you want."

They all ducked behind the barricade as a particularly large magic missile slammed into the earthen wall. A doe fell from the top of the ridge with a scream and a sickening crunch as she landed beside Rarity, an ugly searing wound through to her stomach.

The White Hart frowned and popped up from behind the ridge, conjuring up a barrage of silvery arrows and sending them straight at the walls, catching four blightlings off guard and sending them hurtling backwards off the walls.

"Then go, tell them to surface!" he said to the antelope, who bowed briefly and sprinted back to the tunnels. "Rarity, you keep up the barrage on this end of the walls, I must return to my people at the other end. Good luck!"

With a shimmer of his antlers, the White Hart vanished into thin air, leaving the ponies to continue the battle. Applejack shored up a segment of the barricade that was threatening to fall and expose a group of griffons reloading behind it. "Sheesh, griffons attackin' from the sky, diamond-dogs attackin' from below... are wars always this complicated?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Applejack!" Rarity replied as she helped pack the dirt tighter and denser. "I believe this is a first for most of us!"

Behind the walls of the fortress, blightlings scurried hither and thither in their rush to fend off the attacking horde. So focused were they on the deer blasting away at their walls, and the griffons raining green death from above, that none of them seemed to notice as the ground began to stir.

Small bumps in the ground rose up, finally giving way to broad holes. The grizzled snout of a diamond-dog poked up from one of the holes, looking around before hopping out of the hole and signalling inside the tunnel.

Before the blightlings had a chance to react, more holes burst open from underground, and out poured a pack of forty or so hulking diamond-dogs, some dressed in crude plate armour while the rest sore simple clothing, all armed to the teeth with spears, swords and clubs. The nimble antelope followed behind, charging out of the holes with their heads lowered, horns ready to skewer any monsters that tried to come at them.

And finally, last but certainly not least, a pink blur leapt out of the hole and sprinted off about the bailey of the fortress, pushing helmets over eyes, tripping blightlings over their own spears, and leading them on a merry chase throughout the bailey. "Come on slowpokes!" Pinkie pie cried gleefully. "Yoohoo, come and get me! Tag, you're it! Now you're it!!"

Soon she had a whole line of yellow-eyed brutes chasing after her, finally over the initial shock of this pink monstrosity's appearance inside their own fort. But it was too little too late for the blightlings, as Pinkie proved to be the perfect distraction as the diamond dogs leapt at them, fighting with tooth, claw and any weapons they could lay their hands upon. Soon the lower walls were in chaos, as they found themselves under attack from all sides, blasted from outside the walls by the deer, bludgeoned from inside by the dogs and antelopes, and burnt from above by the griffons.

Rarity and Gellert paused a moment to listen to the pandemonium going on inside the walls, a smile gracing their respective lips and beak. "Sounds like your pink friend is doing her job well!" Gellert said with a laugh. "C'mon you lot, press onward! We got 'em on the ropes now!!"

With a rousing battlecry, the griffons behind the barricade fought with newfound charisma, blasting away at the walls with all their might. All the while the griffons flying overhead fired away at the walltops, some even coming down to land inside the castle to help the diamond-dogs and antelopes. So far, so good.

Maugoth smirked as he watched the commanders hurrying in and out of the Allfather's chamber. He knew he shouldn't be so happy. The enemy was inside Burzkala, the soldiers were being worn ragged by the multiple attacks from every direction, and the walls would only hold up against the near-constant barrage of magic for so long.

It was certainly drastic measures, but in short everything was turning up just as Maugoth needed it. The soldiers were busy fighting, the commanders were busy running about the place and the Allfather was busy organising everything and keeping it all in order. And doing a rather poor job at it to be fair.

"They're inside the walls!" one commander wailed, the very same officer who had mocked him the other day. "They've been diggin' tunnels under the walls! This whole fortress is built on volcanic rock, how is that possible?!"

"How long do you estimate before the lower walls fall?" The Allfather asked.

The commander shrugged. "Who can say, Sire? With the winged ones flying over our defences, the rest of the fortress may end up falling before the walls!"

"We await your orders, sire!" another officer said, bowing low before the tank. "Sh-should we order the troops to fall back to the upper wall?"

"No. The ones on the walls are already lost," It replied. "Only call for our children down in the bailey to fall back to the upper wall. The rest will prove a useful distraction... and in the meantime, we think it may be time to show those attackers our secret weapons."

The officers gasped. "Are you sure, sire? I mean, they aren't fully blessed yet, we can't be certain if they'll..."

"Look around you, our son! The enemy are at our gates and our home is falling! We have no other options at this point. Now do it, release the secret weapons!"

Hesitantly, the officer bowed and rushed to the elevator, calling downwards "Release the secret weapons!"

His words were echoed down the tower to the ground floor, out into the bailey and through the fortress, each blightling carrying the message to the next, until the command reached the bowels of the mountain itself. A single blightling scurried down a narrow tunnel to a massive cave dug out of the volcanic rock, with a vast iron door blocking off one end. "Orders from the Allfather himself! He says to release them!!"

The robed guards, their yellow eyes dim from lack of sunlight for so long, hurried to their posts on the massive door. A large wheel stood off to one side of the door, and the robed blightlings got to pushing it around. With a mighty creaking and scraping of iron on stone, the doors slowly began to open, and a deep rumbling growl emanated from within. Smokey inky blackness poured forth from the doorway, and two massive figures emerged.

"Oh come on, you can't be worn out already!"

Pinkie leaned over a collapsed blightling, smirking and booping him on the nose as he struggled to get back on his clawed feet. All around her, her fellow attackers were cheering as they watched the blightlings retreating up the mountainside, towards the upper wall surrounding the tower. They had them on the run!

But she stumbled and fell backwards as the ground below her feet rumbled and shook. All around her many other creatures were knocked to the ground by the sudden shaking. "What the heck was that? An earthquake?"

The blightling smirked up at her through pointed teeth. "That, little pony... was your doom."

And then the mountainside exploded.

It was almost as if the old volcano was alive and active once more. The entire side of the mountain burst in a shower of dust and rock, sending boulders tumbling down the bailey, crushing any unfortunate creatures who stood in its way, blightling, griffon, dog and antelope alike. An enormous gaping hole was left in the mountain, large enough to push an entire house through it. Surrounded by wisps of black smoke, a claw the size of a tree emerged.

Dragons.

Two enormous dragons emerged from the hole in the mountain, blinking bleary eyes in the daylight. At some time they would have been magnificent strong creatures, on par with the dragon the ponies had encountered at the top of the Smokey Mountain. But whatever the Blight had been doing to them had rotted and poisoned their flesh, reducing them to something out of a horror movie. Ribs and exposed bones poked out from under their rotten blackened flesh and faded scales, and their wings bore huge tears and ragged holes. But their teeth remained razor-sharp and massive as ever, and despite their condition, the two dragons moved with slow determination.

A group of griffons opened fire upon one of the dragons, their lightning guns singeing his flesh. The dragon roared in pain, the sound rattling the timbers of every building within a ten-mile radius, and lunged forwards at the griffons. They tried to flee, but they were backed up against the wall. Before they could move to the side the dragon was upon them, slamming headlong through the wall as its weight carried it forwards. With another earsplitting roar it burst out from inside the wall and stomped through the battlefield, looking for any potential snacks.

At the barricade, Gellert and Rarity watched with slack jaws as the hideous thing that was once a dragon smashed through the wall, following it up by smashing through their soldiers. The dragon swept deer, blighting and griffon alike aside, crushing them underfoot or incinerating them where they stood with great gouts of flame.

"By my beak, where did that monster come from?!!" Gellert muttered aloud.

"They must have had it hidden inside that fortress!" Rarity replied, glancing over at the mountain, where the other dragon was clambering up the mountainside. "And look, there's another one inside the walls! It's heading up towards the tower. What can we do now?"

Gellert watched the dragon on its rampage across the plains, as the battle went on all around it. "Rarity, you and the White Hart take your troops towards that breach in the wall and get inside!"

"What about you?" Rarity asked.

Gellert stood up atop the barricade, letting out a loud screech. His griffons answered his call with calls of their own, and rallied around him. "We're going after that dragon. Try to draw it away from the battle so we can get rid of it safely!"

Rarity grabbed him by the collar. "Are you insane?! That dragon will rip you to pieces!"

"We don't have a choice!" Gellert shouted back. "We might not be able to stop it, but we can at least get it away... Besides, we haven't gotten to test our muskets on dragonhide yet."

He shrugged Rarity's hooves off his collar and took to the sky, several squadrons of griffons following him. He screeched again, and the waves of griffons led by Gordon joined the formation, flying in an arrowhead formation at the dragon.

The beast reared its head, seeing the swarm of griffons heading straight for it, and belched forth another fireball. The griffons broke formation, dodging and ducking around the flames, though a few were not fast enough and tumbled down to the ground with burning wings and tailfeathers. "Muskets ready!" Gellert roared. From all around him came the whirring and clicking of dozens of their guns cocking and powering up.

The dragon slashed at them with its massive claws, knocking griffons hither and yon as they swooped low over its head, all the while roaring and snarling at its assailants.

"FIRE!!"

Again the sky lit up as there came the cracking noise of muskets discharging their bolts of green energy, hitting their mark right on the dragon's flank and belly. It screeched and roared louder as several beams of energy hit weakspots in its armoured scales, scorching its flesh underneath. The dragon thrashed about in fury and pain, its tail and claws batting griffons out of the sky and crushing any creatures unfortunate to be near its feet.

Gellert led a squadron up and around the dragon's head, firing their muskets at any weakspots, in its eyes, its ears, down its throat. But no matter how much of a barrage they fired at the creature it refused to go down. It swiped its claws at another group of griffons flying just past its shoulders, and Gellert felt his heart stop a moment as he saw Gordon among them. The dragons claws mercifully missed him, but the young griffon prince was not fast enough to escape harm entirely. The scaled wrist of the dragon slammed into his back, sending him hurtling unconscious towards the ground with a broken wing.

From high in the clouds Rainbow Dash watched the battle against the dragon, impatient to get in to help the fight herself. Seeing Gordon falling to the ground was the final straw for her.

"Gordon's been hit!" she shouted, standing up and spreading her wings. "I'm going in after him!"

Before anyone could say anything she had taken off, zooming straight down towards the fallen prince. Gideon flew to the edge of the cloud.

"Impetuous mare!" he barked as a grin formed on his beak. "Ah well, who wants to live forever, eh? Hahah!"

He raised his mace in the air, taking to the air. "TOGETHER, MY HAWKS! DIIIIIIIIIIVE!"

Hundreds of griffons screeched in reply and followed him. The clouds burst from within as the entire force of griffons descended from upon high, weapons swinging and muskets firing, to join the battle below.

Gideon himself was the first to join the fray, flying just above the dragon's head as he swung his mace below him once! Twice! Thrice! The dragon screeched in agony, gnashing at the golden-armoured griffon as he flew just out of reach. "Rainbow Dash! Get my son out of here!!"

Rainbow nodded, swooping down to the ground at breakneck speed, as Gordon tumbled downwards just below her. Come on, she thought as she put on a burst of speed, gotta catch him... just a little...faster...

"Gotcha!" She swooped up and away as she grabbed Gordon in her forehooves, his pawed hind legs just scraping the ground as they glided along the ground, narrowly avoiding the battle going on below. Shifting him around a bit, she put on another burst of speed and headed away from the melee, dodging a blast of magic from a blightling on the wall below her.

"There, that should hold it in place for now. Just lie still and let the salve take effect."

Fluttershy wiped her forehooves on her leathery apron. She had been working virtually nonstop since the battle had begun from a small post she and the other medics had set up just outside the battlefield. Most of the medics were out in the fight, providing quick fixes and healing spells wherever they could, and transporting the more serious cases to her for a more thorough healing. She and five deer stayed at the post, while a squadron of griffons had been assigned to help moving the injured to them. Already the ground surrounding the post was crowded with unconscious and resting creatures groaning and grunting with pain.

"Mmph, many thanks pony," replied the grey-feathered griffon who sat before her. He had been flown in with a broken foreleg, and with a splint and bandage applied, he hobbled off to find somewhere to rest before returning to the battle.

"I must say, friend Fluttershy," one of the other medics said as she dabbed soothing-cream onto a stag's burnt thigh, "You're handling your duty remarkably well."

Fluttershy smiled. "I guess I just work well under pressure. And I hate to see anypony suffer, especially like this... Oh, Rainbow Dash! You're not hurt are you?"

Rainbow flapped down to land in the medics' post, Gordon slumped unconsciously on her back. "Hey Fluttershy. I'm fine, but Gordon here needs some help. You wouldn't believe it, but they have a pair of dragons in there! Gordon was lucky to get out alive, but I think his wings are pretty messed up."

The deer hoisted Gordon onto a spare bed and began tending to his injuries, while Fluttershy gave a quick hug to Rainbow Dash.

"Dragons?! Oh my, that can't be good at all! I'm glad to see you're okay though. What's going on out there? How are the others?"

"Well, we've managed to get past the walls," Rainbow replied, pointing to the fortress. "Pinkie Pie and the dogs and antelopes are inside doing their thing, Rarity's leading them through the hole in the wall while the griffons are keeping the dragon occupied... heck, pretty much everything was going pretty smoothly until those dragons showed up!"

"And what about Yarrow? Have you seen him? Is he alright?" Fluttershy asked urgently.

"He's doing fine, little pony."

The two pegasi looked to one of the stags resting on a nearby bed. He raised his head with a strained smile. "Nnngh... ouch... I saw Yarrow out on the battlefield not long ago. He was with your friend Rarity, heading inside the fortress. He looked a bit bruised and battered, but otherwise well."

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh good... And what about Twilight, Applejack and Starswirl?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Last I saw them they were out in front of the walls. I guess they got inside with Rarity too... Well, I'd better get back to my squadron, help with that dragon."

She gave one last quick hug to Fluttershy before flying back in the direction of the battle. "Be careful Rainbow," Fluttershy whispered as she watched her go.

"What is that dragon doing?! It's supposed to be attacking them, not coming back," The Allfather raged. "Somebody get out there and get it away from the tower and out onto the battlefield, now!"

An officer bowed and rushed out of the doorway, taking to its ragged leathery wings instead of bothering with the elevator. "The other dragon is proving troublesome too sire," the last remaining officer said. "It's attacking anything it sees, regardless of what side they're on... Sire, what should we do?!"

The Allfather growled. "We need a moment to think clearly without you lot bothering us. Get out, now!"

The officer needed no second bidding, scampering out of the chamber. In her haste, the blightling did not seem to notice that she had dropped her weapon on the way out, leaving a large iron mace lying on the floor.

Maugoth dutifully cleared it to the side, trying his best to hide the chuckle of malicious glee in his throat. This was all he needed.

"Well, Allfather, it seems things aren't going too well," he said in a patronisingly soothing voice. "So much for your 'secret weapons'."

The creature in the tank glared a bulbous eye at him. "How dare you talk this way to your dear allfather?"

"I'm just saying," Maugoth replied. "That for once I'm glad I'm not in the thick of things out there. All this stress and urgency, it's really too much for a creature to bare. I imagine even you're feeling the strain of it."

The mace gripped in his teeth, he slowly strode towards the tank. "What are you...?"

Death or glory. All the beans in the can, or nothingness and oblivion. The Blight was falling, and he was the only one who could save it. He knew he had to do something, or else this slovenly monster in the tank would lead them to ruin. Well, no more. "Maybe it's time you let someone else take over!"

With a triumphant howl, Maugoth swung the mace at the Allfather's tank. It made a resounding 'THUNK', leaving cracks and dents in the thick glass. Pulling back, he swung again and again, the cracks spreading as the glass weakened. The Allfather inside howled and burbled with shock and alarm, but no aid came.

Finally, with one last swing, the glass shattered, spilling the putrid blackness out of the tank, straight into Maugoth's face. He coughed and sputtered, but breathed deep of the smoke as he turned all the knobs and dials on the control panels up to maximum, and clambered through the hole in the tank. Ignoring the cuts against the broken glass, he leapt onto the Allfather's slimy corpulent body, climbing up until he rested right next to Its face.

"Now," he said with a maniacal grin. "It's my turn!"

He wrenched the mask from the Allfather's blubbering mouth and kicked the bloated thing aside, where it lay wheezing and twitching at the bottom of the tank. He slapped the mask firmly onto his face and breathed deep of the Black Blessing, and it streamed at full force into his lungs. He could feel it. He could feel the power of the Blight coursing through his whole body, changing him. Making him stronger and stronger with every breath he took, every second that passed.

More. He needed more. He could feel and see his body twisting and warping under the power of the Blight being pumped into his mouth and snout, but it wasn't enough. He wanted more, he craved more power!

He looked down at the pathetic blubbering thing that had once been the Allfather. He was the new Allfather, and he would need all the power he could get. Starting with whatever power remained in the thing's body.

Stretching out a limb that sprouted bony spines from under his skin, he reached down and touched the thing, and its body seized up. Maugoth tilted his head back in ecstasy as he felt its body becoming one with his own, being absorbed into his being, his energy being added to his own.

More.

As he grew larger and larger, he smashed the glass tank clean open and strode out, each stomp rattling the timbers of the tower. He needed still more power. He could sense more downstairs, more little pockets of energy that he craved. He could no longer think of anything else. Any plans Maugoth may have had once he claimed the power of the Allfather were gone. Any strategies for rallying the rest of the Blight to his leadership were gone. Now there was nought but the desire to feed.

The creature known as Maugoth was gone. Now, only the Blight remained.

"FIRE!"

A hundred crystal-infused muskets fired, their emerald-green blasts crackling through the air into the dragon that flew not far from them. The sheer force of the blast was enough to send the beast slamming into the ground below, crushing dozens beneath its bulk.

"C'mon, hawks!" Gellert barked as he led the charge. "Recharge and prepare to fire again! We've almost got it beat!"

But he had no chance to give the command to fire. The dragon's thrashing tail slammed full-on into him, flattening him into the ground to join any other unfortunate creatures who had gotten too close. His breathing ragged, and his wings twisted and broken, he coughed and gagged as he desperately tried to drag himself away from the dragon.

Gideon snarled at the beats below. "Damnation!" he shouted. "Will that thing not stay down?!"

"It's no good, your majesty!" a griffon next to him shouted back. "We can hurt 'im, but nothing seems to stick!"

"There is one thing," Gideon muttered to himself. "It would be dangerous, but it might do the trick... Rainbow Dash!"

The pegasus flew to his side. "What's up?"

"Can you keep that beast distracted for a few seconds? My griffons and I will need a moment to prepare for our next attack."

"You got it!" Rainbow threw a smart salute and swooped down at the dragon. Gritting her teeth from the strain, she tucked her wings in and swung in close to the dragon's head, flying circles around it. The dragon snapped at her, but she dodged out of the way just in time, and delivered a flying kick to its snout, which infuriated it further.

It frowned straight at her, and she could see its stomach beginning to swell, and an ominously-familiar glow being emitted from its throat. She quickly began to fly upwards, eager to get out of range. "Whenever you're ready, Gideon!"

"Nearly there!" Gideon cried back as his griffons aimed their muskets at the beast's head one more time. Their muskets began to glow more brightly, as each one hummed with magical energy. They were not meant to build up this much energy in a single shot. "Steady...steady..."

The dragon reared back its head, opening its mouth. "NOW, YOU GUYS!" Rainbow shrieked desperately.

"FIRE!"

A hundred beams of green light, each nearly a foot across, boomed out from the griffons. For several of the griffons, their overcharged muskets exploded in their grip, but the damage had been done. The beams blasted into the dragon's head and body, searing the scales off its skin and sending it flying backwards, screaming in agony, until it collided with a mountain with an earthshattering quake and slid down, its body like a broken doll.

The griffons cheered as the creature's last death throes came to a stop and it lay still, the cheer spreading across the battlefield, all the way to within the walls of Burzkala, where chaos reigned.

The blightlings were trapped. On one side the creatures attacking them were pressing ever inward, having already taken the walls and gaining more and more ground in the bailey. And on the other side was the tower, and the other dragon who coiled itself around the walls of the tower, watching and roaring at anything that dared come closer.

Rarity, Starswirl and Twilight stood watching the battle form atop the walls, firing off bolt after bolt of magical energy. They cheered as well as the first dragon was taken down, before turning and focusing their efforts on the blightlings that remained inside the fortress.

"You know, call me crazy," Starswirl shouted. "But we may just win this!"

Rarity nodded. "I know! And the sooner this whole fight is over, the better! We've already taken some rather heavy damage all around. That first dragon in particular was a bother."

"Hah, that's puttin' it mildly!"

Applejack clambered up the steps to the walltop, a scratch across her cheek and her cloak ragged and torn. "One pony reportin' back! We got the last of those things pinned down in there, but there's still more comin' out of the tower up there! Not enough to change much though."

The ponies peered up at the top of the mountain where the tower stood, and sure enough, there were crowds of small shadowy figures emerging from the base of the tower and sprinting down the mountainside, straight into the battle that raged below.

"Hang on a moment," Rarity said, looking closer at the new arrivals. "None of these new blighters have any weapons! What do you suppose that's about?"

Applejack shrugged. "Dunno, but... hey, is it just me or do they look kinda scared? I mean, more than you normally would be in the middle of a fight like this?"

Sure enough, the blightlings that streamed out of the tower in droves were unarmed and many looked terrifying, some looking over their shoulders and screaming, paying no heed as they ran down the hill to their inevitable demise.

"Now what do you suppose has them so frightened?" Rarity asked. "You don't suppose they have some new secret weapon inside there or something, do you?"

As if on cue, there came a great rumbling and creaking sound as the tower quaked. The cheers and cries of the battle dulled slightly as all attention turned to the tower.

"Oh, ya just had to go and say it, didn't you!!" Applejack shouted at Rarity.

The tower and the upper wall seemed to burst from within as there came a burbling, slavering sound from something inside the tower. Inky blackness poured out from it, the remainders of the Black Blessing, no longer contained to the Allfather's tanks, streamed out freely into the sky and down the mountainside. And from out of this blackness, Maugoth emerged.

Or at least, the thing that had once been Maugoth emerged. For now, It was far beyond recognition as any single creature. A titanic amorphous mass of flesh that defied any accurate sane description rolled and oozed Its way out of the tower, dragged by formless limbs that seemed to grow from its front in an instant. Bulging eyes and screaming mouths covered its skin, and endless limbs, teeth, spines and tails sprouted and receded to and from its body. With a polypous tendril, it reached out to the dragon who had clambered up the side of the tower, wrapping around its struggling form. The dragon roared and screeched and blew great blasts of flame at the thing, but to little effect. In fact, the amorphous thing seemed to enjoy it, growing slightly larger as the flames hit Its flesh. But regardless of the dragon's struggles, it was dragged closer and close to the thing until the dragon was completely engulfed into the things bulk, which grew larger as a result.

"... I'm not sure if that's a relief or not," Twilight said, her voice weak with terror.

The thing burbled and grumbled as it shifted around, facing the mountainside below. Its myriad hundred mouths opened and spoke a single word in a hundred voices, sounding like some demonic choir of forsaken souls. "MORE!"

The mass began to inch its way down the mountainside, any creature It came across being absorbed and adding to its size. The creatures in the bailey below and in the air above all bore down upon It, firing endless beams of green lightning, silver magical arrows and any projectile weapons they could lay their hands on, all at the thing that rolled and shifted to the mountainside. But with every blast that struck home, the thing still got only larger, slowing down only a tiny amount.

"What is that thing?!!" Rarity screamed, unable to tear her eyes away from the abomination.

"Whatever it is," Starswirl replied in a hushed voice. "It's evil."

"And hungry too, by the looks of it!" Applejack pointed to where a group of hapless blightlings were being absorbed by the thing. "It's absorbin' anythin' it touches, and it doesn't look like magic has much effect on it!"

"What do we do, what do we do?!!"

"I'm thinking, let me think!" Twilight screamed above the cacophony all around her. After a moment, she continued. "Alright, for starters, Rarity, Applejack, you go down there and tell everybody to get away quickly! They need to get outside the walls and far away as quickly as possible!"

The two ponies nodded and hurried down the steps to spread the word. Starswirl turned to Twilight. "How can we defeat it Twilight? It seems no matter what we throw at that... thing, it only gets stronger!"

Twilight slumped down on the stone wall. "I... I don't know! I mean, if we keep firing at it, it's just gonna get bigger and stronger... but if we just do nothing and leave then, well, it's still out here..."

Starswirl paced back and forth as he dwelt on the problem himself. "Hmm... Well, that thing looks like whatever it is, it has some sort of physical body, and as you and I no doubt know, a body can only contain so much energy and power. Perhaps if we had everybody all firing at the thing at once, we could give it more power than it could handle, and it would be destroyed by the pressure?"

Twilight shook her head as she watched the thing. It was now halfway down the mountainside, heading for the army that now ran and flew through the breach in the wall and out on the battlefield behind them. "Maybe... but that thing, it came from inside the tower where the Source was, so it's probably already absorbed all that. With a creature that massive and that power... I can't even begin to imagine how much power that would require. You'd practically need the power of..."

The words died in her throat, however, as realisation hit her like a meteorite. Power. Not just power, but enormous amounts of power, more power than anypony could imagine.

She quickly flipped open her saddlebag and pulled it out. The little lacquered wooden box. The little box that had been with her ever since they left the Pillars of Prasinus all that time ago.

Starswirl saw her looking at the box, then to the thing that had once been Maugoth, and realisation dawned upon him as well. "You cannot be serious."

"I am." Twilight stood up, the box held in her telekinetic grip.

"But we've strived to keep that as far away from the Blight as possible!" Starswirl replied. "And now you wish to just give it straight to its source?! That much power..."

"Could be enough," Twilight finished. "I just need to find some way to get it there without getting too close."

Starswirl put a restraining hoof on her shoulder. "But the Tears... all that power, put to that use? Do you really think that's wise?"

Twilight nodded. "You heard what Gellert said that night. Nopony should have that much power made available to them. And especially no one creature."

Starswirl did not look convinced. He turned anxiously to the colossal thing as It inched its way closer to the wall, and back to Twilight, who looked back at him with a look of grim determination. "Please, Starswirl," Twilight said. "I have to do this now, before it's too late."

Finally, the old unicorn released his grip. "I must be out of my mind. Alright, but how will you do it? Anything that gets close to it is absorbed by it! And even if you don't touch it, there is still that poisonous blackness to worry about."

"I have an idea," Twilight replied. "It's a stupid idea and I'll probably regret it later, but it's all I have at the moment. I just need you to throw me at it."

"What?!" Starswirl's eyes went wide as dinnerplates at the idea.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Twilight replied. "Just use your magic to pick me up and throw me right at it, as high up as you can."
Starswirl looked at Twilight as if she had just sprouted a second head. "Are you... sure?"

The young unicorn nodded again. "We don't have much time, do it!"

The thing has driven her mad, Starswirl thought. But we have no other option. His horn glowed, and a yellow aura surrounded Twilight's body and the box. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Me too," Twilight said with a nervous chuckle. "And if I don't make it, or if something goes wrong... if you could tell the girls that... that my last thoughts were of them."

Starswirl nodded. "I will. Ready?"

Twilight gulped. "Just do it."

And so Starswirl did. With all of his might, he lifted Twilight up into the air until she was floating nearly forty feet above the wall.

The amorphous monstrosity had almost reached the wall. Having absorbed all remaining creatures until even the dead bodies were consumed, It turned its attention to the horde of creatures fleeing away from the fortress outside the walls.

"HEY, YOU!"

Something called to It from above. Turning an eye on a stalk to the sky, It could see a small speck, a tiny creature hovering in mid-air, surrounded by a yellow light.

"MORE," the thing shouted in Its earsplitting voices, as It stretched tendrils and arms up towards the thing.

"You really want more?" Twilight shouted down at It, glaring daggers at the monster below. "You really want more power?"

Holding the box before her, she flipped the lid open, gritting her teeth against the enormous pressure of the magic contained within. With a swift motion she flipped the box over, and out tumbled the single tiny jewel.

"Then have all the power you can handle!"

It stretched up towards the tiny thing with tendrils, arms and any other limbs one could think of, reaching for the jewel hurtling down towards It. The power It could sense coming from the jewel was incredible, unlike anything It knew. All It knew was that It wanted it.

A tendril stretched up. A mouth formed at its tip. The jewel fell right into Its mouth and was swallowed whole.

It could feel the power working. More power than It could have ever imagined, coursing through every fibre of its being! It was incredible! The things It could do with this much power! it could spread to all the lands, and anything that lay beyond! It could swallow up the world! It could...

Hurt.

Suddenly, It hurt. Something inside of It hurt.

How could anything hurt it?

But the pain did not go away. It grew and grew, becoming more intense with every second. Its power was increasing more and more, with nothing that It could do to contain it.

It began to swell and pulsate, as if something from within its body was trying to force its way out. It tried to force it back, but the power grew. It was immense, it was overwhelming.

Its hundred voices screamed aloud from the pain as It swelled and bloated, Its corpulent slimy body growing nearly the size of the mountain itself. Its body was crying out from the strain within, screaming, shrieking with agony.

Then, as one, the voices cried out their last time.

"NO MORE!"

And finally, It burst.

It was as if a bomb the size of a castle had gone off, sending a mighty shockwave ringing out across the valley, blasting apart the walls and the tower behind It. Starswirl was sent flying, but the distance he was flung was nothing compared to Twilight, who now careened through the sky high above him at breakneck speeds.

With one last effort, the old unicorn channelled another spell into his horn, aiming it at the purple speck in the sky that was Twilight Sparkle.

All around her, yellow stars shimmered for a moment, and then she vanished.

With a flash of yellow, she reappeared in the air next to Starswirl as the two were hurled bodily by the explosion. Behind them was what seemed like a wave of pure white light, like a supernova. As they neared the ground, Starswirl grabbed into Twilight and held her tightly against his body.

The two crashed into the dirt, tumbling a few meters before finally coming to a stop in a heap. The shockwave continued over them, sending Starswirl's hat flying.

Twilight cracked an eyelid open and looked weakly at the old unicorn. "Did... did I make it? Or are we just both dead now?"

Starswirl could not help but smile, exhausted as he was. He cradled her head in his hooves and held her close as the wave of white washed over them. "No... you did it, my dear, incredible Twilight. We did it," he said coughing and wheezing.

As the white light passed over them, spreading out over the plains, Starswirl could see it hitting the retreating army of creatures, bowling them over and knocking them to the ground. And behind him he could see the extinct volcano that had once been Burzkala, collapsing in on itself and crumbling in a mighty cloud of rock and dust.

Then, there was silence across the plains. The last roars of the explosion echoed off into silence as Twilight smiled back at him, closing her eyes once more as exhaustion and fatigue overtook her.

But before she passed out, she uttered one word that, at this point, quite frankly summed everything up.

"Heh, awesome."

26. Goodbyes and Homeward Journeys

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The first thing Twilight noticed was just how heavy she felt. She strained with all her might to lift or move her limbs, but they refused to budge. And all of her body seemed to be tingling slightly, like when the blood-flow just begins to return to a limb after having fallen asleep.

Her eyelids flickered and twitched as she forced them open, only to squint against the harsh bright light and close them again. Again she opened them, slower this time, all that was around her blurring together into a silvery white mass of light. Gradually her eyes grew accustomed to the light as she saw that she was in a soft white bed, a thick duvet draped over her. She was in a clean, white room that looked very familiar... "Cervidas..." she whispered hoarsely.

She tried to sit up, but felt a twinge of pain in her chest as she tried, falling back against her pillow from the strain.

"I'd lie still for now, my dear Twilight."

A kind, deep voice spoke to her from the other side of the room. Craning her neck she saw a most familiar blue cloak and white beard. "...Starswirl?"

The old unicorn was seated in a silver armchair with dark green cushions at the far end of the room. He smiled and got up slowly, holding onto the armrest for support. "I'm glad to see you're awake at last. Stay in bed though, if you don't mind. You cracked three ribs in that little tumble of ours, and even I ended up with a concussion and a sprained leg."

He lifted up his left foreleg, to reveal that it was wrapped in bandages and held in place with a metal splint. Twilight yawned deeply. "How... how long have I been out?"

"Two days," Starswirl replied. "You caught the full force of that explosion head-on. Honestly it's a miracle that you weren't hurt even worse!"

"Two days... two days!" Twilight shot up again, grunting and gritting her teeth as she felt another bolt of pain shoot up trough her torso. "Nnggh! But... but what happened? The Blight... the Tears... Where am I?"

"Sshh, it's alright Twilight, it's alright!" Starswirl trotted over and gently eased her back down into bed, sitting at her bedside. "We're back at our cottage in Cervidas. The griffons were kind enough to airlift us back here when they found us. And as it turns out, that insane plan of yours actually worked!"

Twilight's eyes widened, as a smile grew upon her lips. "You mean... we did it?"

He nodded. "Indeed, my dear Twilight. The fortress of Burzkala lies in ruins, and the Blight is no more."

"But what about the Tears?" Twilight asked, rolling over to face Starswirl. "What happened to them in the end?"

But before Starswirl could answer, the door beside his chair opened and in rushed a pink blur.

"Ohmygosh, Twilight! You're awake!" Pinkie Pie squealed with joy as she bounced up and down on the spot at the foot of her bead. "Hey girls, Twilight's awake!!"

On cue, the four other ponies trotted into the room, smiles of relief gracing their faces.

"Oh Twilight, it's wonderful to see you awake!"

"You had us worried pretty bad when they found you and Starswirl!"

"How ever did you survive that blast?"

"Everypony, please!" Starswirl chortled. "Give her some space to breathe!"

The ponies stepped back a pace or two, but still gathered eagerly close to Twilight's bed. Twilight noticed that while each and every one of them was alive and well, some were a little worse for wear. Pinkie Pie's face bore many plasters covering up cuts and slashes, Rainbow Dash wore her left wing in a bandage and nursed a long gash down her withers, Rarity's right hind leg and tail were wrapped up in bandages, and Applejack's chest and flanks were covered in bruises and she nursed a black left eye. The only one who appeared virtually uninjured was Fluttershy, and even she looked like she had not slept for days.

"Girls..." Twilight said, propping her head up on her pillow. "You're all okay."

"Heh, more or less," Rainbow replied with a grin. "We're alive, at least!"

"We were so worried, Twilight." Fluttershy stroked Twilight's mane gently. "After we heard that you got caught in that massive explosion... you were knocked out for days! We didn't know what to think!"

Rarity nudged her. "Still, you kept yourself busy, didn't you? Our Fluttershy, the battlefield medic!"

"But what happened?" Applejack asked. "Where'd that explosion come from? What'd you do?"

All eyes turned to Twilight. "Well... I'm guessing you all saw that... thing, that came out of the tower, right?"

"How could we not?" Rarity replied, shuddering. "Just the memory of that monster has been keeping me awake at night! But what was it?"

"As far as I know, it was... well, it was the Blight," said Twilight. "Or, what happened if all of the Blight's power was drawn together into one creature. It was somehow able to absorb all sorts of energy around it, so it was consuming all the blightlings that were left to feed itself and grow."

"Hence why it grew larger whenever we tried to attack it. It just absorbed the energy of any magical attacks, using it to empower itself... I'd imagine if anypony tried to attack it head-on it would have just absorbed the kinetic-energy of the attack as well, before absorbing whomever attacked it."

"But what about the explosion?" Rarity asked. "How did that happen?"

Twilight blushed slightly, hiding her face beneath her bangs. "Um... that would be because... because I gave it the Tears of Gaia."

"You did what?!" Rainbow Dash shouted, leaping up to her hooves. The others flinched and backed away, and she sheepishly sat back down again. "Sorry... But that's completely nuts!"

"She has a point," Applejack added. "We'd spent all this time tryin' to keep the Tears away from these things, and then you decide to just feed it straight to 'em? I mean it apparently worked and all, but what were you thinkin'?"

Twilight shrugged. "Well, I guess in part I was sort of desperate to stop it before it got any close to you guys and the rest of the army. But still, I had a good reason for it. Starswirl was right, that thing was absorbing all sorts of energy from everywhere, making it grow bigger and bigger. But here's the thing, did any of you notice how slowly it was moving?"

Starswirl nodded. "Indeed. It was only moving out of the tower incredibly slowly, and even slower when it began absorbing the Blightlings on the mountainside."

"Exactly," Twilight replied. "Not to mention its body was constantly changing shape and size, because it was adapting. Adapting itself to the constant stream of energy it was absorbing. Even a monster like that needs to adjust itself to the massive amounts it could consume."

"So what did the Tears do?"

Twilight grinned slightly. "It fed it too much at once. When that thing consumed the Tears it basically unleashed all of its power inside itself all at once. It wasn't able to adapt to that much energy all at once, it was overwhelmed, and eventually it couldn't hold onto any more energy and exploded from the pressure."

"So..." Rainbow Dash scratched her head. "Does that mean the Blight's gone then?"

Starswirl nodded. "I believe so. Rarity, have the griffons found anything yet?"

"Apparently not. They've been sweeping over the nearby land for any sign of the Blight, and haven't found anything... not that I'd expect anything to be found. After all, that Blight creature was the centre of the explosion, with a blast that powerful it was probably vaporised... So it looks like... we did it. The Blight is gone."

The ponies sat back as they digested this information. After everything they had been through concerning the Blight, it was hard to grasp that it had been destroyed for good.

"And I'm guessing the Tears are gone too. So much for bringing them back to Equestria," Rainbow said, resting her head on her hooves.

"Ah, now that I'm not so sure about," Starswirl countered, raising a hoof. He pointed to the armchair that stood behind them. "Miss Rarity, would you be so kind as to try to levitate that chair?"

Rarity looked uncertainly at him, then to the chair. Shrugging, she fired up her horn, enveloping the silvery chair in her magical aura. Effortlessly, she lifted it several feet off the ground, flipping it over in mid-air before righting it again and depositing it back on the ground.

"Now, did you notice anything, Rarity?" Starswirl asked. "By any chance, did that chair feel particularly lightweight when you lifted it?"

Rarity nodded. "It did actually, it was light as a feather. But what does that prove? It's probably just a lightweight chair or something."

But Starswirl shook his head. "It's carved from the same wood as all the furniture in Cervidas, and that material is very heavy by hardwood standards. Under normal circumstances you would have at least felt some sort of strain as you lifted it."

Twilight tapped her chin for a hoof a moment, before beaming with realisation. "Of course! Magic is just another form of energy, and you can't simply create or destroy energy, only convert it to other forms of energy. Or, contain a portion of it. That's what happened to the Tears, their power wasn't destroyed, it was just released."

"But then where is it?" Fluttershy asked.

"All around us," Twilight said, spreading her forelegs wide. "I wasn't sure before, but when I woke up I could feel a strange tingling all around me. It's magic. The magic of the Others that was contained in the Tears. When the Blight was destroyed, it released all that energy. But now without any container, it's been released back into the world!"

"And rather appropriate, I'd say," Starswirl added with a wink. "All that raw power was too much for any one creature or civilisation to hold, so now that power has been added to the energy cycle, so instead every single creature in the world gets to share in a small portion of it!"

Rainbow shrugged. "And what does that mean?"

"Probably just that, whatever any creature does that involves magic, they'll become slightly better at it. All unicorns, deer or any other magic users will have slightly stronger magic, pegasi will be able to fly a bit faster, crops tended by earth-ponies will be a little more abundant and fertile, that sort of thing. No one creature is all-powerful all of a sudden, everyone's now just got the potential to be a little bit more powerful."

Each pony dwelt upon this fact, and what it would mean for each of them. "So," Twilight asked. "What about the others? How did the battle go for everyone else?"

Rarity looked down. "Well darling... we did win the battle, what with the Blight blown to bits and all, but it certainly wasn't easy. Alot of the others are rather severely injured, and the death-count is staggering. The entire battlefield was like one big blaze last night when they were burning the funeral pyres."

"Gellert and Gordon are in bed with broken wings, and even Yarrow sprained an ankle," Fluttershy muttered. "I visited him yesterday to keep him company."

Applejack chuckled, "We found her still there, sittin' by his side earlier this mornin'. I guess that explains the sleepless look."

The other ponies chuckled. I felt like it had been so long since the last time they had laughed a genuine laugh. For the rest of the morning the ponies gave comforting but gentle hugs to Twilight, exchanged small talk and stories about the battle, and simply revelled in the fact that, against all odds, they had not only all survived, but they had won!

"So then," Rainbow Dash asked, having perched herself in the armchair. "With the Tears gone and the Blight gone... what are we gonna do now?

Twilight lay back, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, it'll be a while before I'm well enough to travel, but after that, what do you girls say we head home?"

Fluttershy smiled. "Home... I can't wait. It's really been so long since we left! My little animal friends must be missing me so much!"

"Oooh, and Pound and Pumpkin Cake too!" Pinkie Pie giggled. "I can't wait to see how much they've grown!"

"And they'll be startin' to harvest the south orchard back at Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack replied, resting her chin on the bedside. "It's almost cider season too. I'll need to get back in time for that."

"You and me both!" Rainbow Dash said with a wry grin.

There suddenly came a knock at the door. It creaked open and in the doorway stood two large figures.

"Ah, miss Twilight, yer awake!" Gellert said with a smile. "Glad to see you're doin' well."

The White Hart himself entered, the room seeming to become slightly brighter just by his presence. "Indeed it is. And the same to your friends as well. How are you feeling?"

Twilight sat up, bowing her head slightly to the two newcomers. "I'm feeling alright sirs. Just a few broken ribs, they should be fine soon enough. Thank you so much for taking care of us like this."

The White Hart chuckled. "Well what else could you expect? After your efforts in the battle, you and your friends are being hailed as heroes by my people."

"And mine as well," added Gellert. "After all this time battling the Blight, and at last it's been defeated for good. 'Tis a good day to be alive! Though I have to ask, how did you do it?"

Twilight sat him down as she and Starswirl explained to the griffon and the White Hart about how they stood in the end against the Blight monster, facing it down and using the power of the Tears of Gaia to overwhelm and destroy it. As she explained, the White Hart nodded thoughtfully.

"Hmmm, yes, I did notice in the aftermath of the battle, that the magical currents did feel a little strange, a little stronger. So then the power contained in that gemstone is part of the world, where it belongs." The White Hart smiled. "I could not think of a fairer use of it."

Gellert walked over to Twilight's bedside. "So then, once you're up and well what are your plans?"

The unicorn shrugged. "Home, I guess. We've been away from Equestria for way too long, it's time we got back."

The White Hart nodded. "If you like, I can have some of my healers tend to your injuries. They have some spells that would likely speed up the healing process, so you'd be up and about by this evening, and well enough to travel by tomorrow."

"That would be wonderful, thanks," Twilight said with a smile.

Gellert raised a clawed hand. "And perfect timing for what my griffons have planned. Ponies, on behalf of Fjaereir, and I'm sure I speak for Cervidas too, I would very much like for you and your pony friends to join us at our victory feast, as the guests of honour."

The six ponies looked eagerly to Twilight, who simply shrugged and grinned.

"How could we say no to that?"

That night, the valley was lit up by fires once more. But instead of the sombre quiet of the funeral pyres that had burnt through the previous two nights, the land rang with the sounds of merriment and music as hundreds of small bonfires and cooking fires burned, surrounded and tended to by several thousand creatures.

After pouring libations and raising many a toast to their fallen comrades, ale and wine flowed freely and makeshift tables creaked under the weight of all kinds of delicious food, having been flown in and conjured up from Cervidas and Fjaereir over the course of the past few days. From the lighter and more leafy dishes of the deer, to the more stodgy and greasy dishes of the griffons (though they smartly left out any meat-based dishes), to cakes, creamy soups, steaming hot stewpots, bread of all shapes, sizes and colours, cakes, pies, salads, and kegs filled with drinks of all kinds, from ales and beers to deep red wine, fruit juices of endless varieties, herbal teas, fizzy apple cider, and many many more, far too numerous to count.

And interspersed between all this eating and drinking, festivities the likes of which the Southlands had not seen in years! Griffons set up impromptu stages and dance-floors all around the feast, leading the partygoers in songs and dances of every variety. Of all the ponies, Pinkie Pie was the only one who managed to keep dancing through them all, leaping and twirling, bowing and kicking and whooping and leading the dancefloor through song after song, played on guitars, drums, fiddles, flutes and even that set of bagpipes from a previous party showed up. Even the deerfolk brought out a few peculiar stringed instruments, playing strange, ethereal ballads, taking the parties down to slower dances.

As another of these songs drew to a close, Yarrow and Fluttershy bowed to eachother and trotted over to their table, the highest table in the whole feast, where there sat not only the seven ponies, but also Gideon and the White Hart, as well as a few extra seats for anyone who the ponies invited to join them. With most of them tearing up the dancefloor, or going around the feast to meet the others, exchanging thanks and congratulations for the hard-won victory. So, Fluttershy and Yarrow had the table all to themselves.

Yarrow plopped down on a bench beside the pegasus, pulling up a dish of crisp green salad to share.

"I-It's wonderful that we got to spend this one last night together," Fluttershy said as she heaped herself a plate of the salad. "With Twilight on the mend so quickly, it sounds like we'll be leaving tomorrow."

"Well, I'd imagine you and your friends are eager to get home, right?" he asked.

Fluttershy nodded, absent-mindedly scuffing at the tabletop with a forehoof. "Yeah, we are, but... well, it's still going to be so strange, after everything we've been through, just leaving it behind and going back to Ponyville..."

Yarrow nodded. "Hmm, I see what you mean. But now with the Southlands much more free and safe to travel about, I imagine things are going to be very different for Cervidas. I heard the White Hart talking about opening up contact with other nations more, expanding trade routes, allowing in more outsiders. I know that I, for one, would be very interested in exploring the world a bit, seeing what else lies out there waiting."

He placed a cloven hoof upon Fluttershy's. "And if you wouldn't mind, I'd very much like to visit your native Equestria one day."

She blushed, smiling underneath her locks of hair. "Oh, I'd love that! You'd always be welcome to visit Ponyville. When do you think that would be?"

Yarrow shrugged. "I'm not certain. Sometime soon, I'd imagine."

"If you could make it sooner than later, I'd appreciate it," Fluttershy whispered, tentatively resting herself against the stag's shoulder. "I'm going to miss you when I leave."

"Me too." He put a foreleg around her, drawing her in closer. "And I promise, it will be soon. But for now, let us enjoy the night that we have."

Fluttershy nodded, and wrapped her hooves around his waist, pulling him into a gentle hug and resting her head against the warm soft fur of his front.

"Um..." Yarrow stammered a moment before clearing his throat. "F-Fluttershy, I actually have something to... to tell you."

"Hmm?" She looked up to his face, and saw the first signs of a blush creeping onto his cheeks. "What is it?"

He nervously ran a hoof along the edge of the bench. "Well... i-it's something I've been meaning to s-say for a while... but I never q-quite found the words... heh, I'm still not certain I have the words."

Oh my... is he really...? "G-go ahead, Yarrow," she said, sitting up. "Just say what comes naturally to you. I promise I won't laugh."

He smiled and coughed nervously. Taking out a small slip of parchment, he cleared his throat and read aloud in the Deerish tongue.

"Lathron ben ned eryn, glamor uin galan ir govannem.
An uir aewath linnathar a chervess olthad nîn: he bada min nadhras galen a parth lothen.
Trevódiel orath drestennin, broniannem lennath dhuir a charnath arnediad.
A ivorcheneb, gweston le, meleth ú-thinnatha a harthad edlothiatha adwain."

He looked to Fluttershy, who had closed her eyes, a content smile on her face as she listened to the passage. Even now, she Deerish language sounded beautiful to her, like the language of nature itself. When he stopped, she opened her eyes. "That was really pretty... But what did it mean?"

He passed the parchment to her, now blushing even more. "I... I don't know if I can s-say straight up just yet. I translated it for you at the bottom of the scroll."

But before Fluttershy had a chance to read it, the sounds of laughter heralded the return of her friends. From one of the nearby dancefloors there stumbled Applejack and Rainbow Dash, both laughing uproariously and panting from the exertion of the dancing. Right behind them was Pinkie Pie, still bouncing merrily along with no signs of tiring alongside Rarity, who walked hoof-in-claw with Gellert, and last of all Starswirl and Twilight, the young unicorn still bandaged around her waist and walking a bit slower than usual.

"C'mon Applejack!" Ranbow Dash shouted, clapping the earth pony on the back. "You gotta sing that song of yours!"

Applejack guffawed back. "Alright Rainbow, alright, but just this once."

The ponies all sat down at the table as Fluttershy quickly stowed away the parchment in her tail and turned to eagerly listen to their friend's song.

"I won't eat pie or pudding,
With bland old grass and roots,
For me a tart's the way to go,
With lots of nice ripe fruits.
Take some good, sweet apples,
Honey thick and sweet,
In golden crust, all fit to bust,
Now that's the stuff to eat!

Say nay to hay fried in a pan,
Served with tomato sauce,
Unless you think it's better than
An apple salad course,
Sip cider pale, or cloudy juice,
Oh ain't that just a dream,
Surrounded by an apple pie,
With lots of fresh whipped cream!"

This was but the first of many songs that were sung as the party carried on long into the night, until the fires burned low and the revellers lay down to sleep where they stood. The ponies huddled together to sleep as Fluttershy and Yarrow shared one last hug and made their goodnights, everyone now very much ready for a good long rest.

Rolling on her side, Fluttershy slipped the parchment out of her thick tail and, in the low light of the campfire, read the translation of Yarrow's poem.

Blushing profusely at the words, she held the scroll tight with a smitten smile plastered on her face. "That's... that's so sweet," she muttered tiredly as, at last, the veil of sleep fell over her and she drifted off into slumber.

The next morning the host of creatures was gathered once more on the plains, every creatures dressed in their finest uniforms and armour. They filled the valley from one side to the other, with a wide passage splitting the host down the middle. Deer, griffons, antelope and diamond-dogs mingled side by side, standing to attention. And at the far end of this passage stood the seven ponies in a row, and before them stood King Gideon and the White Hart, both dressed in their finest garb and acompanied by Galahad, Gellert and Gordon.

"My friends," Gideon said, his booming voice echoing across the plains. "Here, in witness of these brave and true soldiers, I wish to extend my most heartfelt thanks to all of you. Without your courage and strength, we may never have been able to defeat the Blight, and the Southlands would still live in fear of those yellow-eyed monsters."

The White Hart spoke up next. "The Deerfolk of Cervidas are in your debt, ponies. And to all who stand here! The battle was not easy, and many brave souls were lost. But as we said of those lost when our forest was under attack, their sacrifice was not in vain. SO I believe I speak for all when I say, thank you, dear pony friends."

The ponies turned around and could not help but smile as the thousands of creatures gathered before them raised a mighty, cacophonous cheer. They waved and bowed humbly back. Twilight then felt the White Hart's heavy hoof on her shoulder.

"If there is anything you wish for from us, ask and it is yours," he said with a wide smile.

Twilight thought for a moment. "Hmm.. Well, it is a bit of a long way back to Equestria. The Southlands might be safer now, but there's still dangers out there..."

Gideon bowed low to her. "It would be my pleasure to offer up a score of my soldiers to escort you to Equestria."

Twilight bowed back. "Thank you... And um, your majesty? I heard my friends mention that you were an old friend of Princess Celestia's?"

"That I was, a long time ago," The White Hart replied.

Twilight asked, "Well, is there some way you could contact her, inform her that we're on our way back? I'd imagine she and Princess Luna are probably worried sick about us."

"Not to mention all our families!" Rarity added from the side.

The White Hart nodded. "I'll inform her as soon as you've left. And please know that you and your friend are always welcome to return to our lands. Are you and your friends ready?"

Twilight looked to her friends. Each pony had been laden with parting gifts in the previous night, and they carried them with pride. Rainbow Dash wore her griffon armour with pride as Rarity stood beside her, wearing the cap, jacket and cape of a commander of Fjaereir. Fluttershy wore a simple green and silver dress, made for her by the deer medics she had served alongside in the battle, and carried in a bag an assortment of sprigs of medicinal herbs that were native to Cervidas. Pinkie Pie carried in her bag a pair of thick books, one full of recipes for traditional griffon confections, and the other was a songbook, full of classic ballads and ditties written by the residents of the griffon town. Starswirl stood proudly puffing at a new silver pipe, carved from a branch of the silver trees of Cervidas. And Applejack wore a fine woven cloak made by the antelope herd, emblazoned with beautifully ornate patterns and designs. Even a pony with as little interest in aesthetics or fashion as Applejack could not deny the craftsmanship of it.

And Twilight herself smiled as she thought of the small lacquered box in her bag, and the elegant, shimmering jewel that sat within. It wasn't as stunning as the Tears of Gaia had been, but it was still a marvel to behold. And carved in bands around the edge of the box, words of thanks and friendship in the common script, the Runicorn script and the Deerish script.

The six ponies smiled back at her, and Twilight nodded to the two kings before her. They still bore a few wounds from the battle, but she could see it on her friends' faces. They were ready to go home.

"Then, my noble warriors!" Gideon boomed. "Let us give one more cheer for Twilight Sparkle! Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy! Rarity! Pinkie Pie! Applejack! And Starswirl the Bearded! HAIL, AND FAREWELL, TO YOU ALL!"

"HAIL AND FAREWELL!" roared the thousands of creatures, over and over again as the ponies strode proudly down the passage through the host, followed behind by a score of armoured smiling griffons. Those in the foremost rows reached forward to touch the ponies as they walked past, eager to get a good look at the seven heroes who had helped liberate the Southlands.

And as they strode through the host and rounded the bend at the end of the valley, Pinkie could hold herself back no longer. She had been preparing a song since two days ago, and now was the perfect time!

Striding to the front of the group, she held her head high and led them in her song of victory and homecoming

"Plains green and verdant, mountains so high
Wandering through the forests, flying through the sky,
On still we travelled, following the call,
And through fights and battles  
We've gotten  through  it  all!

Through beauty and wonder, sorrow and fright,
With deerfolk and griffons, and the hideous Blight,
Endless  adventure, never did fall!
Now on our way home,
We'll make it through it all!

All through this journey, we've held our own,
Now back  to  the  hometown  we've  always  known.
One awesome adventure, we're still standing tall!
This journey is ending,
And we've made it  through  it  all!"

The Southlands echoed with her voice as she sang the song again and again, her friends joining in, until the entire group, griffon escorts included, were joyously singing at the top of their lungs.

At long last, they were on their way home!

The journey was fairly easy. The griffons carried plenty of detailed maps of the Southlands, so navigating the safest and most direct path was simple enough. The group travelled across the land in high spirits and good weather, and found themselves greeted every now and then by some local who had heard word of the great battle against the Blight, and the part the seven ponies played. The second night of walking, the group even found themselves roped into a local festival going on in a small village of ponies who insisted they stay the night, and regale them with tales of their adventure.

As they finally traversed across the Macintosh Hills, they bid their griffon retinue farewell and watched as they took to the skies and flew back South towards Fjaereir.

Then, later that afternoon, they reached the peaks that bordered the Southlands, and found themselves looking down at a sight they had not seen in over two weeks of hardship, strife and adventure.

For hundreds of miles there stretched before them vast forests, swamps and plains, rolling hills and rivers, and snow-capped mountains. The thin lines of railroads snaked over the land, cutting through forests and winding around mountainsides. Small settlements dotted the landscape, and in the centre of the vast land there stood a short mountain range, atop the highest peak sat the mighty city of marble towers and golden spires that was Canterlot. And in the shadow of the mountain sat a tiny, but oh-so familiar town of white thatched buildings.

"Equestria," Twilight said, a tear of joy running down her cheek. "We finally made it."

Fluttershy peered out at Ponyville in the distance. "But Ponyville's still so far away."

"We can probably make it there by tomorrow afternoon," Applejack replied. "So girls, y'all ready to go home?"

They needed no second bidding. They hiked enthusiastically through the day and long into the night, until the moon was high in the sky and they set up camp one last time, on the rim of Rambling Rock Ridge, the rocky quarry that sat on the outskirts of Ponyville.

That day started off like any day in Ponyville. The cockerels crowed, the young fillies and colts were sent on their way to school, mail was delivered and the ponies went about their everyday lives.

But that afternoon, anypony who was out and about the outskirts of the town bore witness to a surprising sight.

Into the town, there strode six very familiar young mares. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Wherever it was that they had wandered off to weeks ago, they were apparently back, and with a newcomer, if the strange old stallion in the blue cloak was any indication.

But what in Equestria were they wearing?

Pinkie Pie and Twilight looked normal enough, but Applejack was dressed in some bizarre cloak covered in strange woven designs, which looked vaguely similar to something Zecora might have hung up in her hut. Fluttershy blushed as her elegant green dress drew many a curious eye, but that was nothing compared to the bizarre cape and red jacket Rarity was wearing! And... Was that Rainbow Dash wearing armour?!
They strolled through the town, some of them recoiling from the attention, while others simply smiled and nodded.

"Heh, looks like they're in awe of our awesome uniforms," Rainbwo said to Rarity with a smirk.

Rarity smiled and bowed elegantly to a bemused onlooker. "Apparently so. Though it probably doesn't help that we've been gone so long. So then Twilight, where to from here?"

Twilight turned to the group. "Well, I was thinking of heading back to the library, but you guys are free to go wherever. How about we meet up at Sugarcube Corner later for tea or something?"

"Sounds good!" Rainbow nodded.

"See ya there, the cupcakes will be on me!" Pinkie Pie chirped. "Ooh, I'll bet Gummy's so excited to see me!"

So the group departed, Fluttershy heading to her cottage while Rainbow Dash flew off to her cloud house. Rarity headed for the Boutique and Pinkie bounced merrily off to Sugarcube Corner, and Applejack trotted towards Sweet Apple Acres, where no doubt heartfelt reunions awaited all of them.

"So Starswirl, care to see my library?" Twilight said, heading towards the massive tree.

The old unicorn smiled and followed. "I cannot wait, my dear Twilight."

The door of the library creaked open and the two unicorns stepped in. The old place was exactly as Twilight had left it. The books were all neatly stacked on their shelves, candles stood on small wooden desks and tables around the wooden sculpture of a pony's head in the centre of the room. All in all, everything seemed very well-kept.

"Hold on, gimme a sec, I'll be right out!"

Twilight froze on the spot as she heard that voice. A voice that, several times on her adventure, she was unsure she would ever hear again.

Spike emerged from the kitchen, yanking a stained and burnt apron over his head. "Heh, sorry about that, I was baking something. Now, how can I... help...?"

He froze on the spot as the two ponies came into his view. The apron slipped from his grasp and his eyes turned to pinpricks.

Silence reigned supreme in the library as Twilight and Spike stared back at eachother. Starswirl looked from one to the other in confusion. "Umm... Twilight? Why is there a dragon hatchling in your library?"

But before he could receive an answer he was bowled over as Spike rushed straight at Twilight and grabbed her with both arms wrapped firmly around her. "TWILIGHT!!" He cried, holding her tight. "You're back! Where the heck have you been?! I've been worried sick about you and the others! Why didn't you try to contact me or let me know how long you'd be gone?! Where were you...?!"

Twilight stroked his headspikes affectionately with a hoof. "Sshhh, it's alright Spike. We're all home, safe and sound... And I'm sorry we took so long."

"But where were you guys?" Spike asked through teary eyes. "I thought you were just travelling up north, and when you guys didn't come back after a week, I thought... I thought..."

But his words were muffled as he buried his face in Twilight's fur. She hugged him close, unable to hold back her own tears. It felt like they hugged silently for hours, save for the occasional sniffle or whimper from one or both of them, before Twilight finally said something. "I know, I know... I didn't mean to take so long, but... well, things sorta got in the way."

He sniffled. "Things? Like what?"

Twilight got up, hoisting the little dragon onto his feet. "I'll explain later. But first, I got a letter for you to send to Princess Celestia."

She levitated a small scroll out of her saddlebag and passed it to Spike. In a puff of green flame, it was burnt to smoke and on its way. "Hopefully she's not too busy today, I'd very much like to be able to speak with her in person. I've got some rather big news for her after all."

"Erm, Twilight," Spike tugged at her tail gently. "Speaking of big news... who's this guy?"

She turned to Starswirl, who had been occupying himself with the bookshelves that lined the library walls. Noticing their eyes upon him, he turned and swept his hat off. "Ah yes, ahem, good afternoon young sir... Spike, was it?"

"Spike," Twilight said proudly. "I'd like you to meet Starswirl the Bearded."

Spike's jaw dropped. Silently he padded over to Starswirl, peering closely at him, then stepping back to take him all in. He paced around him, examining his cloak, his tail, his beard, and becoming more and more gobsmacked as he did.

"But... how... Starswirl... alive... What?!"

Twilight grinned. "It's a long story, Spike. I'll explain once we get a reply from the Princess."

As if on cue, Spike retched and belched up a gout of smoke which formed before him into a sealed scroll. Unfurling it, he read aloud. "Ahem, 'My dear Twilight, I am overjoyed to hear you are home safe and sound. I am on my way to see you right now to hear what I do not doubt will be a very interesting tale you have to tell. See you very soon, Princess Celestia.' Huh, that was quick."

Mere seconds later, there was a flash of light outside the door, followed by a gentle rapping sound. Spike opened the door and dutifully stepped aside as in stepped Princess Celestia.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight bowed low before her.

But no sooner had she bowed that she felt Celestia stoop down before her and embrace her in a warm, gentle hug. She could not help but hug back.

"My dearest student," Celestia whispered, her voice cracking with joy. "Welcome home."

Twilight stepped back and smiled deeply. "You have no idea how good it is you see you, Princess. It feels like it's been so long!"

The alicorn smiled back with a smile that could light up the night. "I'm sure it has. And what about your friends, are they all well?"

Twilight nodded, heading out the door. "They're all fine. In fact I was just about to go to Sugarcube Corner to join them for some tea. Will you be joining us?"

"If it means I can hear about your travels, I'll gladly join you for tea," Celestia replied, ducking low under the doorframe. "It would probably make sense to hear the story from all of them. Spike, Starswirl, are you coming?"

"It would be my honour, your majesty."

"Count me in too! I'm still waiting on an explanation about the whole Starswirl-is-suddenly-alive thing!"

That evening, Sugarcube Corner played host to a most peculiar tea party. Mr and Mrs Cake were frantic with surprise as Princess Celestia entered their shop, eager to put on a good show for their royal guest, along with their eight other diners. Breaking out the long dining table, they set them up in a more private corner of the shop, rushing out with trays of freshly baked cakes and A steaming pot of tea.

Spike and Princess Celestia sat with undivided attention as Twilight began to tell their tale. She told of her discovery in the Canterlot Archives, their hiking out in Northern Equestria, their first encounter with Maugoth and his gang. Celestia was particularly intrigued by her description of Rowanoak, but let her carry on. Spike nearly fainted with fright as Rainbow detailed her little encounter with the kelpie, the Timberwolves, and Starswirl's coming to their rescue.

It was here that Celestia took the time to explain Starswirl's presence to Spike. Needless to say, the idea of a resurrection spell greatly intrigued him, as well as Twilight. But they carried on with their story, detailing how they met Tharos, and he led them to the strange place where they found the Tears themselves.

"But what was that thing?!" Rainbow asked. "I'm still freaked out by it, that big massive eye looming over us!"

Celestia chuckled. "If her eye alone disturbs you, you should see the rest of her."

"Her?"

They then shared a sad moment as they recollected Tharos' demise and their separation. Applejack pitched in to explain her side of the story. Spike bristled with fury as they recounted what the Blight put them through as their captives, until Yarrow and his deer rescued them. They laughed and cheered as Twilight explained how Rarity had soundly defeated Gellert at his own games, becoming a commander in the process.

And finally, they came to the story of the final battles against the Blight, and the final sacrifice Twilight and Starswirl had to make to destroy it once and for all.

"I see..." Celestia said, putting her teacup down. "So the Tears are gone then?"

Twilight nodded, looking down. "I'm sorry Princess. I was hoping we could bring it back to Equestria. I figured they could be useful for you and Princess Luna, or at least that you'd want it seeing as how you were actually there when it happened."

But Celestia placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I appreciate the thought, Twilight, but I think in the end you did the right thing. It isn't easy to just let go of that much power when you have it at your disposal. And having that much power at once does lend itself to certain abuses. Returning the power to the world's magic was the best thing for it."

"Thanks, Princess," Twilight said, smiling at her. "Oh, and seeing as we did just release the contained power of several godlike beings at once, things might get a little... weird, down in the Southlands."

The princess laughed. "Duly noted. It is nice to hear that my old friend the White Hart is doing well for himself. He and I were good friends when we were younger, you see."

Applejack raised a hoof. "But Princess, one of the deer told us about how the White Hart has some sorta personal vendetta against the Blight, but we never found out just what. D'you happen to know anythin' about it?"

Celestia thought deeply for a moment, then shrugged. "Not that I know of. To be perfectly honest I haven't actually seen him in person since he left to lead the Deerfolk. It's a mystery to me as well... Hmm, I should really write to him or visit sometime. But for now, I'm afraid I must go, royal duties and all. However, there is one more matter to attend to."

She looked past Twilight to Starswirl, who was taking a deep sip of tea. Twilight looked from one to the other. "Princess?"

"Starswirl, now that your task is completed, are you ready to go?"

The old unicorn swept up his hat and plopped it upon his head. "That I am, Celestia."

"Wait, go? Go where?" Then Twilight remembered. "Oh. You were only staying until your task was over."

"And my task was to see that you and your friends completed your quest and got home alive and well," he replied. "With that complete, it's time for me to return to my rest."

He got up to join Celestia by the door. Twilight grabbed his cloak to stop him. "But wait! Does it have to be so soon? There are so many more things I wanted to ask you!"

He looked back at her with kind, but tired, eyes. "Well, my dear Twilight, I suppose some things will remain a mystery for now then. But sometimes the mystery is more fun than the end result."

Twilight stood up before him. She held out a hoof to him. "I'm gonna miss you."

"And I will miss you, Twilight Sparkle. You truly are a unique mare, and your friends are lucky to have you."

He took her hoof and they shook, but Twilight could not restrain herself and rushed forwards to grab the old unicorn in a hug. Starswirl staggered back slightly from surprise, but steadied himself and hugged back. "Take good care of yourself, and your friends."

They broke off the hug and Starswirl gave a deep bow to the ponies. "Well, I suppose this is farewell to you all. It has been an honour to travel alongside all of you, and I hope you all live long and well. But as for myself, I think by now I've earned my eternal rest."

"Indeed you have, Starswirl," Celestia replied with a smile.

The ponies gave their goodbyes, some longer than others (They had to physically pry Pinkie Pie off of him), but soon he gave one final bow, before sweeping his big blue hat back upon his head and followed Princess Celestia out the door.

"Mr and Mrs Cake, thank you again for your hospitality," Celestia called as she left.

Mrs Cake giggled nervously to herself as she tugged at her apron. "Oh, heheh, anytime y-your majesty. It's an honour t-to have you!"

And with one final wave, and a flash of golden yellow light, Celestia and Starswirl were gone, leaving the six ponies and one dragon at the table. Twilight breathed deep and sat back down.

"So..." Rainbow said, taking a sip of tea. "Blight's gone, Tears are gone, Starswirl's gone, and here we are back home... Hey, is it just me or does anypony else kinda feel like... I dunno, unsatisfied?"

Applejack nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It's like, it's not quite sunk in that it's all over."

"Well, we did just finish a two-week quest that ended up defeating an eldritch abomination from beyond the dawn of time," Pinkie reasoned, bringing up another batch of cupcakes. "It's kinda alot to take in."

Rarity giggled. "That's true. But still... Oh I don't know, I guess I was expecting a bit more fanfare for returning home from all this. That must sound so egotistical of me, but it is how I feel. We get that big grand sendoff from the griffons and deer, come home and, well, it just feels like it's back to business as usual."

The others nodded. None of them had wanted to say anything for fear of coming across as greedy or attention-seeking, but it was the fact of the matter. They come back from this great adventure, help win a war against a deadly foe, and nobody in Ponyville seemed much more than curious about where they had been all this time.

Twilight stood up. "I admit I do kinda feel the same way, but you know what? I'm really not all that fussed. Just because other ponies don't know or care about what we've been through, it doesn't make it any less of a fact that it happened."

"Yeah, good point," Applejack said with a nod. "We went on a grand adventure and we all did some mighty impressive stuff. And we don't need nopony else's to validate that for us."

"And besides," Twilight said, sitting back down, looking to her friends on either side of her, before raising her teacup. "We did gain something from all this. Gifts aside, we gained new friends. We gained new knowledge about other lands, and the history of our own homeland. And I don't know about you girls, but I certainly gained a greater appreciation of all of you. We've been through adventures, war, sorrow, captivity, and we've all come out of it together. Even through the worst of adversities, having you girls as friends by my side has made it a whole lot easier."

Fluttershy raised her cup as well. "In fact, I'd like to think this whole adventure has brought us all that much closer as friends."

The other ponies raised their teacups to clink gently against hers.

"I'll drink to that," replied Rainbow Dash. The ponies drank deep in silence as they felt relief and relaxation wash over each and every one of them.

After every ordeal and conflict, it was finally over. They were home again.

The End

Epilogue: Six Months Later...

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"Spike, where'd you put those old alchemy books I asked about?"

Spike flipped through a comic book as he sat in a beanbag in the library. "Over on the desk, where you wanted them."

Twilight sorted through the pile of books on her desk, until she finally found the books she had been looking for. Slipping it into its shelf, she smiled with satisfaction at how light the book felt. The Tears' effects on the magic of the world were still very much apparent after all this time. It was not anything big, just a lot of little things, levitation is easier, teleportation requires less exertion, she was mastering new spells in only one or two attempts. The magic in the world in general was that much stronger.

She took a moment to dwell upon how things had changed since their adventure had ended. For her friends, it was pretty much business as usual by now. But for each one of them, there were some small changes.

Applejack had gotten back to work at Sweet Apple Acres, though many ponies visiting noted how sometimes, she could be seen proudly wearing her strange woven cloak while she worked.

Sugarcube Corner's patrons celebrated the return of Pinkie Pie, and she returned to work quickly enough, though the bakery now had a new shelf dedicated to strange exotic dishes Pinkie had begun to bake. Every now and then, also, customers could hear Pinkie singing some rather peculiar new songs while she worked happily in the kitchens.

Rainbow Dash was as competitive and thrillseeking as ever, though she rather quickly turned down any offer of trips to swimming holes or river trips. And she was quick to show off her suit of griffon armour to anypony who came to visit her cloud home.

Rarity, on the other hand, had not only returned to normal, but was flourishing! It appeared that her brief stint as a military commander had helped her develop a few new marketing strategies for selling her wares, competing with other designers, haggling with clients, as well as a notable recent range of clothes with a distinctly military look to them. It had been the talk of Fashion Week in Manehattan a few weeks ago.

Fluttershy still liked to reminisce on the days of the adventure. She was in the library at least once a week, reading any books she could find with information about the Deerfolk or Cervidas. At least twice, Twilight had been on her way to visit Fluttershy at her cottage, and overheard her singing or speaking aloud to herself in Deerish, as she would tend to her new herbal-medicine-patch, or simply sit in her backyard, gazing off into space.

And as for her, well, she would still daydream about the all-too-brief few weeks where she had the opportunity to work alongside Starswirl the Bearded, her greatest hero. But otherwise, she had gotten eagerly back to working at her library. The adventure had been fun, but she had always missed her books.

And of course, there was that little box on her dresser, and the simple emerald that sat inside. A little memento from some truly extraordinary creatures.

As she reminisced, she gazed out the window, and saw a strange pair of creatures in the town-square. They appeared to be approaching several ponies who were in the square, asking them something. Recognition glowed in her heart as she saw that one of them seemed to be clad in a dark blue dress.

Rushing out the door to the square, she skidded to a halt as she saw the two figures who turned and spotted her, waving with delight.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle, there y'are!" called Rowanoak, trotting over as quick as her creaking limbs could carry her.

"Rowanoak?!" Twilight gasped. "What are you doing here?"

The old mare cackled. "It's been too long since these old eyes saw ye, Twilight. I'd missed ye and yer friends, so I decided to pay a little visit. And, as luck would have it, I ran into this young fella. Says he's a friend of yours."

Twilight turned to the other and gawped. Clad in a fine green tunic, woven with golden trim, was none other than Yarrow, looking slightly larger and older, and even his antlers seemed to have grown a bit. "Yarrow? Oh Yarrow, Rowanoak, it's great to see you two!"

"Mae g'ovannen, friend Twilight," Yarrow said with a bow. "I was travelling through Equestria, so of course I had to visit Ponyville. It's wonderful to see you too. How have you been?"

Twilight eagerly shook their hooves. "Oh, I've been pretty good, thanks. I've been busy, certainly, tending to the library and all... but what about you two? We all have so much to catch up on!"

"I don't doubt it," Rowanoak replied. "But I'm a mite hungry from the trip here. Ye got anywhere we can get a bite to eat?"

Twilight grinned. "I know just the place. Follow me! Yarrow, you coming?"

The stag smiled back. "I'd love to. But I'll join you two later. For now, could you just point me to Fluttershy's house?"

Yarrow took a long, deep breath the crisp afternoon Ponyville air. It had a very different feel to Cervidas, which always came across as very chilled and clean. But out here, in the true nature of Equestria, it was truly a wonderful feeling. Walking over a small bridge, he chuckled appreciatively as he spotted a small sod-roof cottage just ahead. Of course, he thought, where else could she be?

Taking another deep breath to calm his nerves, Yarrow tapped on the door of the cottage. From inside he heard a muffled "Be right with you!", before the latch clicked and the door creaked open slightly.

"Yes, who is it?" asked a familiar, timid little voice.

"An old friend," Yarrow replied with a grin, "Who's been travelling a long way to visit."

The door swung open fully and Fluttershy stepped out into the porch. She froze in her tracks as she saw the familiar stag smiling at her. "...Yarrow?"

"Hello Fluttershy."

Fluttershy could not stop herself as she hurried forwards and grabbed Yarrow in a tender embrace. "I was wondering when I'd see you again," she whispered in his ear as they hugged. "It's lovely to see you again!"

"And you as well," he replied. "I would have come sooner, but work has kept me busy."

"Oh, well come inside and you can tell me all about it."

Moments later Yarrow was sitting at her dining table, a cup of tea resting before him. He breathed deep of the fragrance with satisfied sigh.

"Mmm, is that Darjeeling tea?" he asked, as she poured him some cream and deposited a sugar-bowl on the table.

"Why, yes it is," she replied proudly. "And I've also got mint-tea, Oolong tea, green tea, chai tea... I, uh, I've become a bit of a tea-nut since I got back home."

He chuckled. "Apparently so! it sounds like I've rather rubbed off on you. Well, you brew it well, Fluttershy."

She blushed from the compliment. "Thank you... So Yarrow, what brings you to Equestria? I mean, I'm guessing you didn't come all this way just to stop by for tea, right?"

Yarrow shifted in his seat. "Heh, well, that wouldn't have been out of the question... I really have missed you..."

Their eyes met briefly, but just long enough for butterflies to rise in the pegasus' stomach. "I've missed you too..."

"B-but you're right, there is another reason. You see, since the Fainum were destroyed, things have been very different in Cervidas. They've properly opened up their borders for the first time. No more secrecy, the White Hart's decreed, we're being open with other lands. For one thing, it's meant trading goods with neighbouring settlements. You wouldn't believe how much some creatures will pay for just a sliver of our silver wood."

"Heehee, well it is beautiful." Fluttershy took a dainty sip of her tea. "What about the whole relationship with the griffons? Has anything come of that?"

"Well, nothing concrete yet," Yarrow replied. "But we're definitely making progress. King Gideon put in a good word for the Deerfolk with the Griffon Kingdom, so we're in new talks about a peace treaty and maybe opening trade routes with eachother. And with all this trading and talking with other civilisations, the White Hart has been sending out researchers to study aspects of these other lands, to see what they may have to offer, that sort of thing. Including, among many others, yours truly."

The pegasus beamed. "Oh congratulations! So this is what you mean when you said that your work has kept you busy."

The stag nodded, taking another sip of the rich tea before continuing. "Indeed. I've been on a business trip around nearby lands, looking for new medical techniques and healing herbs that we could use back in Cervidas. And after my work in the Southlands, where better else to go than Equestria? A useful business trip, and a perfect opportunity to see the filly that I... er, that is, to see you."

His face flushed a deep crimson red, and he suddenly became very interested in his tea. Fluttershy could not help but smile at his bashfulness. "You know," she said timidly. "That poem you wrote for me... I still have it."

"... Really?" he looked up into her eyes. "After all this time?"

She nodded, shuffling around the table to sit a little closer. "I read it to myself sometimes. I've almost got it memorised, the Deerish version and the translation. I just... I wasn't sure I'd ever actually see you again."

Fluttershy began to blush as well, looking down at her forehooves. The two were silent for a moment, neither one all that certain what to say. Wordlessly, Yarrow placed a forehoof upon Fluttershy's, and she looked up into his eyes again. He smiled at her, and she could not help but smile back, before holding him close in her forelegs.

"I'm just... so happy to see you," came her muffled voice from Yarrow's chest-fur. "So... how long are you visiting for?"

"Well..." Yarrow gently prised himself loose from her hug for a moment. "That brings me to a slightly awkward question... You see, this research trip of mine here in Equestria, it's a rather long-term trip, and... heh, this was rather silly of me, I never got around to arranging for a place to stay..."

Fluttershy felt her heart racing. Was he about to ask what she thought...?

"So... I was wondering, I mean, if it's not too much trouble... Would it be alright for me to... you know..."

But he was silenced as Fluttershy bowled into him, knocking him into the floor as she hugged him tightly. "Of yes, yes, yes! Of course you can move in with me, Yarrow! It's a wonderful idea, oh we can have so much fun together! We can try out all sorts of teas, and grow herbs together and..."

Yarrow chuckled. "Well, actually I was going to ask if you could help me find somewhere to live in Ponyville... But you know what, this works even better!"

If it was at all possible, Fluttershy blushed an even deeper read. "Oh... uh, heheh, I mean... well, I care about you, so of course I'd offer to let you stay with... Oh my..." She trailed off into nervous giggles, leaving the two lying on the floor together.

"So..." Yarrow muttered. "What do you want to do now?"

Fluttershy's eyes met his once again, reviving the butterflies in her stomach that had just been starting to calm down. Fluttering her eyelids, she inched closer to him. "I can think of a few things..."

But as she leaned in, her muzzle coming close to his, she stopped as there came a gurgling, rumbling noise from her stomach. She grinned sheepishly at Yarrow. "Heheh, sorry... I haven't actually had any lunch yet."

"Come to think of it," Yarrow replied. "I haven't actually eaten since early this morning, and I have been on the road all day..."

The two looked at eachother, and nodded with understanding.

"I'll get us another pot of tea."

"I'll start putting together some salad from the garden."

As she got to work, Yarrow watched her with a smile, half amused, half smitten. This is going to work out just fine.

Meanwhile, in Sugarcube Corner Twilight and Rowanoak sat around a table. The old pony swigged from a bottle of sarsaparilla as Twilight regaled the story about her journey after she and her friends had departed from Neighagra Falls. Rowanoak was eagerly asking questions and following along with the story, wanting to hear as much as possible. Twilight had never had such an attentive audience before!

"And, well, half a year later, here we are." She finished her tale with a deep sip of cocoa.

Rowanoak nodded thoughtfully. "Well, sounds like ye've had quite the adventure."

"Oh, you have no idea!" Twilight said, sitting back to relax. "But still, things seem to have returned to normal easily enough, though everypony's taken something from it all."

The old mare sighed. "Well, sometimes that's all ye need, y'know?"

Twilight nodded. "Exactly," she said. "We might not have come back laden with bags of treasure or with some super-powerful new artefact for Equestria or anything, but still, I wouldn't change anything that happened for the world. We've gone through a lot, but also learned a lot. Sure it was tough at times, and scary, but it was worth it in the end... And in the end, I guess that's enough of a treasure for me."

"How very deep of ye," Rowanoak chuckled, taking another swig and emptying her bottle. "I wish I could say I've been as busy as y'all, but not so... I have had a few pretty interestin' visitors recently, though.

Twilight got up from the table. "Well, just let me fetch us another of these delicious spongecakes and you can tell me all about it!"

"Ye got it," she said with a nod. "And Twilight, it's good to see ye back safe and sound."

"Heh, glad to be back!" Twilight replied.

The old mare watched as Twilight headed off to the counter. With a twinkle in her eye, she turned and smiled at you.

"Sure am glad to see she's doin' alright after all this time," she said to you. "She and her friends went through quite a bit, and come out stronger and wiser than ever. Well, that about does it, wraps the whole thing up. Things seemed to work out pretty good fer Twilight an' her friends. Not to mention it made for a pretty decent tale, eh? Now I'm not sure she's aware of y'all out there, hearin' this story. But if she did, I'm sure she'd appreciate ye stickin' around as long as ye have. Takes alot of dedication to wanna stick by her, find out where she'd go next, what adventure she'd run into..."

Rowanoak paused a moment and chuckled. "Oh look at me, ramblin' on like the old coot I am. Heh, s'funny, when ye've bin goin' as long as I have, once ye got an attentive audience ye don't wanna stop talking. But I'll let y'all be on yer way now. I hope you've enjoyed yerselves. See you out on the trail."

Rowanoak then turned to Mrs Cake as she passed. "Say miss, be a dear and get me some more o' that good sarsaparilla..."

Author's Notes:

And there you have it. At long last, after 2 years of writing, procrastinating and planning, The Tears of Gaia, at long last, is at an end. There's not much more I can say that Rowanoak hasn't already.

I love how this story has grown organically. Back when I started, I had no idea that it would grow into a story of quite this size. And right now, I definitely consider it my magnum opus, my masterpiece.

I want to extend a thank you to every one of you who have stuck with this story all the way through from the beginning. You guys really make it all worth it. There have been moments when I wanted to just pack the story up and put it on indefinite hiatus or something, but you guys helped me through it. I couldn't live with myself, knowing I was letting you down.

So again, thanks and praise to every last one of you. You guys are awesome. Welp, that's about everything. Hope to see you checking out some of my other stories, and until then, I guess I'll see you around!

Thanks again, thank you all so much, my beloved readers!!