> Realm of the Lost
>  by Orsuros
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: The Vortex
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gallus could feel the crackle of magic around him. The spectral arms reached out and grabbed him out of the air. It felt like suddenly being caught in a river as the sudden force pulled him into the blue sphere of magical energy. Some of his friends were already inside, and the others were right behind him. His feathers stood on end while he floated.

“I tried to tell you to stay away!” Starlight Glimmer said. “Now we’re all stuck here.”

“Uh, what’s that beneath us?” Sandbar asked as he pointed a hoof straight below them.

A vortex of magical energy swirled faster and faster. The magic became darker until the vortex looked like an endless pit. The sphere they were all in slowly began to sink toward the pit while the other students and Cozy Glow looked on from a safe distance. 

They sank beneath where the ground should have been. Soon, they could see very little of the basement except for the roots from the Tree of Harmony that held up the ceiling. 

“No! She can’t win. This isn’t the end!” Gallus screeched. He tried to push his way to the edge of the sphere, but the closer he got, the more he felt a force pulling him back to the center.

The crystal roots above them started to glow but even that faded from view. Gallus saw a brief flash from the roots before darkness surrounded them. A faint voice echoed in his mind.

“Equestria will suffer without its magic. I shall do what I can to bring you all back as quickly as possible, but you must find a way to return from the other side. The place you go is where many dangerous enemies of Equestria have been banished. I will attach Equestria’s magic to Starlight to keep it from being lost. So much magic will overwhelm her and make her weak. Guard her and find a way to return to me as quickly as possible. I will only be able to hold back the flow of time for so long. And as one final gift, I give you each a bit of my magic to help protect you.”

Gallus blinked as the voice cut off.

“Was that the Tree speaking to us?” Ocellus asked.

Gallus was about to answer, but he felt a sudden pull. The sphere of magic was shrinking. The magic was being pulled into Starlight Glimmer. She began to glow. 

Gallus reached out for Sandbar and Ocellus. He felt Yona’s crushing embrace on his flanks. His flailing claws caught hold of Starlight before she was pulled away, but Gallus could see his other friends vanish as they were yanked away. Sandbar vanished into the swirling darkness first. Ocellus was gone next. Silverstream and Smolder flapped their wings furiously and tried to hold each other before they were pulled apart and disappeared.

Gallus saw an approaching circle of light. He had the same feeling in his stomach as when he was diving quickly toward the ground. The light got brighter and brighter until they reached it. A moment later, Gallus had the wind knocked out of him as he slammed into a stone floor.
> Chapter 1: The Bazaar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yona fell through the hole in the sky. She landed hard on her belly, but her thick fur was enough to cushion the impact. Gallus was able to slow his fall with his wings. Starlight hit the red stones hard. Gallus stood up. He wheezed and coughed, but Yona knew he’d be fine. He was a tough griffon. Starlight didn’t move.

(Yona takes 1 damage after damage reduction. Gallus takes 0 damage. Starlight takes 3 damage)

Yona stepped closer and rolled the pony over. The hair near Yona’s hooves stood on end. She could feel the crackle of magic in the air around Starlight. Yona tried to nudge Starlight gently then tried again a little more firmly. There was no response.

Yona looked around to see if anyone or anything nearby could help them. Smooth red stone walkways circled between buildings, stalls, and tents. It was the biggest and most amazing market Yona had ever seen. The sun sparkled on the gold paint that decorated many of the stalls, and the tents were all of the finest fabric. All of Yona’s hometown could have fit in one little section of the market. Yona could see walls and gates in some directions and a huge building with columns in the other direction. The strangest thing about the market was that there were no creatures walking through it. Strange bronze and gold griffon statues stood behind the counters displaying all sorts of wares.

Yona took a few steps toward a tent with a potion sign. Her foot caught on a tent stake and she almost tumbled into the potion tent, but she felt some claws on her back. Gallus was there with Starlight over his shoulder.

“Careful! We should stick together. This place is strange. It almost reminds me of something, but I can’t remember what.”

“Yona find potions for Starlight.” Yona pointed ahead and lifted the tent flap.

“That’s great, but I wonder who owns all this. I don’t see prices. Here, you take her.”

Gallus placed Starlight on Yona’s back and walked around the tent in front of Yona. Yona’s hooves sunk in the thick carpet on the floor. Some magical spell seemed to be chilling the air to help preserve the potions. One of the griffon statues was in the middle of the room. Its eyes seemed to follow Yona. She went behind one shelf, and then it was facing her again when she was on the other side. It made her feel uneasy, so she hurried to catch up to Gallus.

He stopped suddenly, and she accidentally bumped into his flanks.

“Hey! Watch your step. I think I found something that could help.”

Gallus picked up a potion, and Yona read the label.

Panacea

“Yona thinks we should try it.”

“I don’t know. Whoever owns this place might want us to pay for it.”

“But Starlight needs it!”

“Fine. I guess we can pay later.”

Gallus uncorked the potion and poured it into Starlight Glimmer’s mouth. He tilted her head back to make sure it went down. She glowed for an instant and then coughed.

(Starlight healed to full stamina.)

“Ugh… Gallus? Yona? Where are we?”

Yona was too distracted as the statue came to life and stepped closer to them. Its mouth didn’t move, but it spoke in a rich, deep voice.

“Ah, customers! Welcome to The Bazaar! Please do not damage or consume any merchandise until a price is agreed on.”

The statue’s eyes lit up with a golden glow as it looked around.

“Oh, you already got into the potions, didn’t you? Fine, I’ll be there in just a moment. No creature leaves without paying, so stay right there. I’m sure we can make a deal.”

The statue walked to the entrance to the tent and spread its metallic wings as if to block the way. Starlight slid off Yona’s back and sat down.

“Let’s all just wait,” Gallus said. “This place reminds me of the market at Griffonstone. If you break or steal anything there, you’ll be working off debts for years.”

“Yona not take or break anything. But we should tell Starlight what happened.”

Starlight agreed, so Yona and Gallus filled her in while the three of them waited. Starlight thought it all over.

“I have only heard about this place in books and legends,” Starlight said. “Maybe we should run before something dangerous finds us. We seem to have got the attention of whatever is controlling that.”

The statue still stared with glowing golden eyes.

“But maybe he could help us, too. While I was stuck, I got to see Cozy Glow’s spell. If we could somehow find artifacts with enough power and make a similar vortex, we could make it send us back home. We’d need six special magical items.”

Starlight suddenly winced as magical energy crackled from her horn. She curled up and groaned.

“Ugh… there’s so much magic inside me. It’s way more than a pony should be able to handle. That potion helped, but I think we need something more permanent. And I feel like if I try anything too complex, I might just explode.”

“You might as well use up what’s left.” Gallus handed over the potion vial. There was enough for Starlight to drink one more mouthful. The magical surges coming from her settled down after she drank it.

“Yona not like waiting. Yona want to find other friends.” Yona snorted and rolled onto her side. The soft carpet was as good as the softest bed she could remember, but the situation was keeping her from relaxing. “What Gallus and Starlight want to do?”



Gallus: “Let’s wait together and see if we can make a deal.”

Starlight: “It’s our only chance to run away.”

Yona: “You stay and I’ll go find other friends.”

> Chapter 2: Jester's Court
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sandbar rubbed his head. He remembered how his friends had been torn away from him in the swirling darkness, but he seemed to be heading somewhere now. The light got brighter, and he suddenly plunged into cold water. He tried to swim, but the currents were too strong. His legs and lungs were quickly burning. He looked around even though the salt in the water stung his eyes. The current was pulling him down toward something darker than the deepest chasms he had ever seen in the ocean, and what looked like hundreds of eyes glowing red.

Sandbar reached for the magic he had felt from the Tree of Harmony. A light flashed around him. The current shifted and pulled him even faster in the opposite direction until he suddenly found himself washing up on dry land.

(Sandbar uses 2 friendship tokens and gains temporary magical protection.)

It was an unusual place. As impossible as it seemed, he was on the shore of an island that was trapped in a bubble in the middle of a larger sphere of water. The water blurred his vision and made it hard to see any further, but he could make out the dark abyss where he had come from.

The salty spray of the waves gently crashing nearby put him in a good mood. Sandbar still remembered when he had gained his cutie mark on the beach long ago, and maybe it could serve him now. He walked to the edge of the sea and tried to see if any friendly sea creatures were nearby.

He spotted some colorful fish a little further out. The school of fish swirled in strange patterns, almost as if it was creating the picture of something. Sandbar squinted and thought it almost looked like a seapony. The fish swam closer and as they did, the waves suddenly surged around Sandbar.

A pillar of water pressed him upward. He kicked his legs in the salty water but seemed to go nowhere. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. The warmth of the magic within him grew. The pillar of water slowly collapsed and left him on the beach.

The fish retreated and swirled faster and faster. The colors slowly solidified. A figure splashed out of the water and into the sky before landing in front of Sandbar. 

A thin and tall hippogriff spread his wings and tilted his head to the side to stare at Sandbar with his yellow eye. The hippogriff’s fur and plumage were mottled in black and purple with yellow highlights on his mane and wings.

“How interesting!” The hippogriff’s voice was higher than Sandbar expected from such a big figure. “How is a pony like you disturbing my wonderful court of chaos?”

“Oh, uh, I just got here! Have you seen my friends?”

The hippogriff scratched at his beak. “It seems even my inner sanctum brings me unexpected things.”

The hippogriff circled around Sandbar and rubbed his claws together.

“Friends you say? And where did you come from? And why do you have the faintest hints of such wonderful chaos magic?”

“Me and my friends got separated in that magical vortex thingy. We were at Twilight’s School until it got us.”

The hippogriff tilted his head from side to side but always kept his eyes on Sandbar. He laughed, but it was a laugh that made Sandbar’s fur stand on end. He patted Sandbar’s mane and left it messier than before.

“Yes, yes. I can see you’re from Equestria, but I feel Discord’s touch on you. How is that possible? Did he finally break free?”

“Discord?” Sandbar shrugged. “He caused some trouble at the school. And he caused even more trouble in Ponyville when he first got free, but he’s, uh, reformed now. Anyway, what’s your name? I’m Sandbar.”

“Reformed? That can’t be. Or if it is, I have other allies now. I’m Storm Surge. You might say I’m an old disciple of Discord’s. Or perhaps his jester. I was hoping to find a way back to Equestria to free Discord, but it sounds like someone else already did that for me.”

Storm Surge snapped his claws and the sea swirled. A huge wave rose up but it suddenly crashed against an invisible barrier before it could wash over Sandbar.

“Hmm? You seem to have a most unusual magic. As if something much more powerful is protecting you.”

Storm Surge snapped his claws a few more times, but nothing happened. He scowled for a moment before laughing.

“Let’s take another approach. You mentioned friends, right? I haven’t sensed any other unusual visitors, so they must have ended up elsewhere. Maybe if you tell me a bit more about how you ended up here, I could help you. I could always use a good, strong pony to help me with a few things I can’t do.”

“That would be awesome! It’s a bit of a long story, so get comfortable.”

Sandbar began his story about Cozy Glow and Chancellor Neighsay and all the crazy things that had been happening at the school. He kept remembering bits he forgot and added them in as he remembered. He finished and looked at Storm Surge. 

The hippogriff reached forward and held Sandbar’s front hooves.

“Oh, you poor little pony. I’d love to help you, but the magic protecting you requires your permission for me to give you real power. That would help you find your friends. A few little changes, and you could find them so easily. Just think! You could get wings like a pegasus or magic like a unicorn. Let me show you!”

Storm Surge snapped and suddenly transformed. He was an earth pony. He snapped again and changed into a unicorn. His horn lit up with magic before he transformed back into himself.

“Discord was always reluctant to change creatures too much, but why limit chaos with such rules? I’ve used the little power Discord gave me and added to it by breaking other boundaries. The queen thought the pearl was amazing, but now I can do so much more than it could ever do. And for just a little favor for me, you could have some of this same power. Think of all you could be!”

“I don’t know. I’m pretty happy as myself. And how do you choose what you want to be? I’ve seen how much trouble Ocellus has deciding, and it would be even worse for me. Could you just give me something that helps me find my friends?”

Storm Surge’s feathers fluffed out and his eyes narrowed.

“Even when offered so much power, you would choose to be yourself? How boring. But even for a pony like you, I have a gift that could help.”

The hippogriff held out a handful of seeds. Sandbar looked closely at them before taking them. A glowing swirl of light danced just under their surface.

“If you need something grown, I’m good with plants.”

Storm Surge patted Sandbar on the head.

“Yes, be a good earth pony and find the right soil for these. They will help you find your friends, but they will only grow in places that don’t have my magic. And as one final gift, take a feather. Others will recognize it as mine. That could serve you well here.”

Storm Surge plucked a feather from his wing and placed it in Sandbar’s mane. It tickled. Sandbar tried to adjust it, but it was stuck in place.

“Thank you so much, but, uh, how do I get out of this place?”

Sandbar looked around for any obvious exit, but the only way out was beyond the swirling sphere of water. Storm Surge snapped his claws and a tunnel opened in the water. The hippogriff led the way. What had been underwater was now perfectly dry sand and stone. As they reached the edge of the water, Sandbar could finally see what lay beyond. The sphere he stepped out of was contained in a giant fountain. 

In all directions around it, twisted structures of impossible architecture were scattered around. The water from the fountain looped to other fountains in impossible ways, and those fountains seemed to contain other islands. Creatures of all sorts were playing different games of chance, but none of them seemed to stay the same type of creature for long. They flashed between forms every few moments. In just a few minutes, Sandbar saw every type of pony as well as every other type of intelligent creature he had learned about at school. They glanced at Storm Surge before returning to their games and conversations. A single figure stumbled in front of Sandbar and dropped a piece of paper as it turned from a griffon to an earth pony.

Storm Surge transformed into a unicorn and pushed the figure back with magic. Sandbar quickly picked up the piece of paper and read it.

Don’t forget who you are. Don’t forget what you are. I am a hippogriff. They took my name, but I wrote it down-

Sandbar couldn’t read more because the paper vanished in a puff of smoke. Storm Surge patted Sandbar’s shoulder.

“Sorry. My other friends here sometimes don’t handle chaos magic quite as well as I do. It takes a special mind to be open to so many possibilities. But I am just trying to share the same blessings of chaos that I received with everyone. First from Discord, then from the sleeping ones. But some, like the queen, didn’t take kindly to my mission. But let’s get you closer to your friends. This might be uncomfortable, but it will be much faster.”

Storm Surge snapped his claws and a sphere of water appeared around them both. Sandbar felt the uneasy feeling in his stomach of being teleported. He was dry a moment later and three paths were in front of him. 

The path to his right led uphill to a sharp set of mountains. The cliffs cast shadows that seemed darker than they should be. The path was quickly lost in a fog as it climbed higher.

The path to his left continued to a bridge. Beyond the bridge, brilliant green plants quickly blocked his view as the pathway was swallowed up in a thick jungle.

The middle path went to the top of a small hill. Beyond it, Sandbar could see more hills that quickly gave way to the jagged stone cliffs of a desert.

“I’ll leave the choice to you. The Shadow Mountains and Verdant Jungle both contain creatures that might be dangerous to a pony such as you, but the seeds I gave you will grow better in those places. The wastelands in the center are more of a gamble. No great power holds sway there, but many monsters roam the desert. And if you ever want to take my deal for more power, you can always use my feather to call me. Just hold it and speak my name twice.”

Which path should Sandbar take?



The Shadow Mountains

The Verdant Jungle

The Wastelands


> Chapter 3: The Library
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silverstream tried flying one direction then another in the darkness. A bright light appeared and she flew straight toward it. By the time she noticed that a floor was underneath it, it was too late to stop herself. She landed with a thump on a hard stone floor and a few of her loose feathers flew off from the impact. One landed on her beak and she sneezed.

(Silverstream loses 2 stamina.)

She groaned. Nothing was broken, but she could feel where she’d have bruises. She looked around. She couldn’t tell if she was in a museum or massive library. Huge shelves of books lined the walls. Some scrolls were carefully unrolled and weighed down in glass cases. In some alcoves on the wall, inscriptions on stone and tablets were stored under similar protection.

“Wow! Headmare Twilight would love this place! I bet she’d never want to leave. Ocellus, too!”

Silverstream moved closer to the shelves. Many of the books were in languages she could read, but some were in languages she couldn’t even recognize. She was about to pull a book off the shelf when she heard the tap of tiny claws behind her.

She spun around and spotted a group of dragon-like creatures peeking around the corner. They spoke to each other in a strange language. Silverstream had always been good at speaking to unusual creatures. She waved at them.

“Hello! I’m Silverstream. I won’t hurt you. You don’t need to hide.”

Three of them slowly stepped into the open. They did look a lot like dragons, except they were thinner. And they had much simpler horns and fins. The tallest one was red and seemed to be male. He looked to be just a little bigger than spike, but he seemed fully grown. The other two were orange and yellow females, if they followed the same rules as dragons.

Red got bolder and approached, and Orange and Yellow followed behind him. He spoke in a cute squeaks and hisses. He seemed to want Silverstream to see something. The other two joined in.

Silverstream looked back at the shelf and reached out to take the book. The creatures didn’t seem to like that. She tried to think if these creatures had been in any lessons at school.

“Hmm… wait! I think I know what you are! You’re kobolds. But all the kobolds died off in the dragon wars centuries ago. That’s what Smolder and Fluttershy both said. They’ll be so excited if I can bring you back! If I remember right, kobolds live in little tribes that usually serve some big and powerful dragon.”

The kobolds nodded and pointed to a stone archways leading out of the room. A rune glowed above it, but it was different from any of the runes that Silverstream knew about. Red ran over to it and motioned for her to follow.

Silverstream was a little sad to see that Orange and Yellow weren’t going to come along, but the hallway beyond the door was amazing enough to make her wonder where Red was trying to lead her. Massive pillars flanked a huge hallway. Doors led to many rooms full of books that looked similar to the room she had just left. She looked up and could read the signs on metal plates above the doors.

Maps, magic, mankind… she could read the signs, but some of the words weren’t familiar. Red led her quickly down the hall. She gasped as she saw the painted carvings on the walls. They matched the signs above the doors in theme. Whoever had painted them had done an amazing job. 

Red was leading her to the door at the end of the hall. There was no sign above it, but all around it were painted carvings of a dragon with books, scrolls, or stone tablets. The dragon was a faint yellow that reminded her of paper. His claws, tail, wings, and horns looked like they had been dipped in ink. In some pictures, he was happily gathering the books. In others, he was saving them from burning or ruined kingdoms. One scene looked suspiciously like Mount Aris when the storm creatures had attacked. Silverstream hummed to try to keep the bad memories away. 

A rune lit up above the archway as they neared. Red ran through the door. Silverstream tried to keep up, but she stopped in place once she spotted a dragon in the center of the room. It was the dragon from the carvings. Torch was supposed to be the biggest dragon, according to Smolder, but this one might have been just as tall. He wasn’t big and bulky, though. He was long and slender. He was curled up behind a lectern that held a book. To his side, a large glass sphere full of swirling mist was held in a golden stand. The dragon looked through a large magnifying glass to read the small book. His fins and crest looked more like Spike’s than Smolder’s. His huge tail swayed slowly behind him as he placed a bookmark in the book in front of him and looked up.

“Yes, thank you for bringing me our guest, Sumac. Please stay while I figure out what she needs.”

The dragon smiled and beckoned for Silverstream to enter. He seemed friendly, so she tried not to feel intimidated by his size. Silverstream could see that he was resting on a huge bed of soft sand, and a gentle heat seemed to radiate from it.

“Welcome to my library, young hippogriff. In fact, I might be able to guess who you are. You look a lot like a picture I saw in that book about the royal hippogriff lines of Equus when Mount Aris was attacked. Hmm… let me get it.”

The dragon drew a few symbols in the sand. The book in front of him snapped shut and appeared on a small shelf near one of the walls. A book popped into the air in front of the dragon and floated with a yellow glow around it.

“Whoa! You can do magic! I didn’t think dragons could do anything like that.”

Silverstream couldn’t help but shout at the exciting find. The dragon chuckled and looked at the book.

“Ah, yes, my books do mention you. Silverstream. You’re a cousin to the royal line. I hope you have some interesting knowledge for me. My name is Scriptus. And I’ve learned many things over the years as I’ve gathered knowledge from numerous worlds. Rune magic is one of the more useful things I’ve learned.”

Silverstream stepped closer. It was lucky Scriptus kept his head close to the lectern. If he stretched out and stood up, she would have had to look straight up to talk to him.

“It’s great to meet you, Scriptus! You’re the biggest dragon I’ve ever met. I bet Smolder won’t believe me when I tell her how big you are.”

“It seems you aren’t afraid of dragons. Are the hippogriffs and dragons friends now?”

“Of course! Smolder is one of my best friends. And Spike is also my friend. I met them both at Twilight’s school.”

“Oh? Does Twilight have a school now? Her little friendship journal provided me a great glimpse into recent events in Equestria. I can see her ideals in you quite clearly.”

“Do you know Twilight? She disappeared, and then Cozy Glow was stealing all the magic, and-”

“Calm down!” Scriptus’s voice wasn’t angry, but it was firm. “Let’s go over this in a more sensible way. I’d love to hear all about your story, but I think you can tell it better.”

Silverstream paused and tried to think of how to best tell it. She began with the recent changes in magic and wove that into a story of how Equestria needed help. She told about how she had ended up at The Library and about how she needed to find her friends and take the magic back. She tried her best to keep herself calm and dignified.

Scriptus’s blue eyes stared into hers while he listened. He scratched his chin at a few points during the story and seemed to be thinking deeply.

“I would love to help you in what ways I can, but Equestria is only one of my many concerns. I must be ready at any time to pull in knowledge before it is lost forever as kingdoms, nations, and even worlds die. Countless secrets have been lost in the rare moments I have been distracted from my vigil.”

Scriptus looked over at the orb to his side. The mist stopped spinning and the colors revealed a city burning. Scriptus etched runes into the sand, and scrolls and stone tablets quickly began to appear with little pops in a circle of runes on the other side of the room.

“Ah, there.” Scriptus sighed. “Grandeur was nice enough to set up a system that mostly does this automatically, so we do have some time to talk. I sensed a magical disturbance just before you appeared, but you seem to be the only creature that appeared in The Library. Many of the creatures who rule parts of this land have blocked their lands from my scrying. I can sense that none of your friends are currently in the wastelands. I would have been able to feel a magical disturbance there. I hope that helps. If you want to find your friends, you should do a little reading first about this land and its many dangers. It’s the best thing to do before making any plans or decisions.”

“If it’s so bad, then why are you here?”

“To some, it’s a prison. Many call it Limbo. To me, it’s a place of freedom. I have many books on topics that rulers like Dragon Lord Scorch or Celestia didn’t want known. When I had to choose between exile and knowledge or obedience, I chose knowledge. And in Equus, I was limited to books from a single realm. Once I came here, I found ways to get just about any information or books I desire. Take my guide book, and Sumac will take you to one of my guest rooms. Also, if you want copies of any of the books that were burned on Mount Aris, I’d be happy to send them with you once you find a way back. Losing that much knowledge must have been terrible for your people.”

Silverstream shivered as she remembered the fires and screaming of the attack. She took a deep breath and put it out of her mind. Sumac tapped her shoulder and held out a book.

A Guide to The Realm of the Lost
By Scriptus

Silverstream took it and started to follow the kobold.

“Sumac will see to your needs,” Scriptus said. “Just ring the bell in your room, and he will come. You are free to go look for your friends or read my books. I would also like to hear more about events on Equus in recent years, but I would hate to keep you from your own important goals.”

“Thank you, Scriptus.”

Sumac seemed a little impatient now as he led her down the long hallway with pillars and painted carvings. They walked past all the rooms with books and out a doorway opposite to Scriptus’s room. A new hallway split into three. To the left and right were guest rooms. Those hallways ended in large balconies that overlooked a volcanic landscape in the distance. The final hallway led to an entry hall full of huge statues of Scriptus. Stairs led down to three gateways, but Silverstream didn’t get a good look at them.

Sumac unlocked the closest room on the right and made his cute noises until Silverstream stepped into the room. He bowed and handed her the key and pointed at a bell on a table in the center of the room. 

Silverstream nodded and smiled at the kobold before he ran off. She opened the book and was immediately astounded by the detailed map. The Library was one of seven locations listed on the map of The Realm of the Lost. Six outer realms were divided into what looked like little kingdoms, and those all connected to a place called The Wasteland in the center. The Library was to the northwest of the center. To the west of the center was a place called The Nexus. It shared a border with The Library. To the northeast was another neighboring section called The Bazaar. To the east were the Shadow Mountains. To the southwest was the Verdant Jungle. And finally, to the southeast was a place called Jester’s Court.

The book was well written, but Silverstream had trouble with all the strange new terms in it. She put it down in frustration after trying to skim through it. Some things were familiar and seemed to make sense. She learned that Grandeur was a griffon and lived in The Bazaar. The guide book also said that it would be better to stay away from anywhere but The Library and The Bazaar without proper magical protections. Silverstream couldn’t make heads or tails of what the book was saying about what specific protections she might need.

It was too hard to focus. Silverstream felt like she had to do something besides sit and read while her friends might be in danger, and she had a few options.



Try to get other helpful books from Sumac

Return and speak with Scriptus

Explore the library without help

Travel to The Wastelands

Travel to The Nexus

Travel to The Bazaar

(Costs 2 friendship tokens) - Learn how to speak with the kobolds

> Chapter 4: The Shadow Mountains
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smolder could feel something pulling her toward the light, but she flapped her wings to try and fight it. All her friends had vanished, but she’d keep fighting. She was able to slow herself down, but the magic kept pulling her down. She was pulled past the light. The portal closed above her before she could try to fly back into it.

Swirling winds caught her wings and almost threw her into a mountainside. She tucked and flapped to counter them and landed gently on a plateau. Dark mists and clouds covered the mountains, so Smolder couldn’t see far, but she almost couldn’t believe what she could see. 

A huge fortress filled the center of the plateau. It looked like it had been partially built and partially carved out of the mountain rocks. It was all sharp edges. Some pony-like figures were on the ramparts. They looked down at Smolder before turning into smoke and floating down toward Smolder. The closer they got, the more she could see their nightmarish features, skull-like with eyes glowing red in the dark.

They didn’t look friendly, and Smolder wasn’t about to find out the hard way whether they’d attack her. She stuck out her tongue before twisting around.

“Catch me if you can, losers!”

Smolder took off and was happy to see that they couldn’t keep up. She flew off into the howling winds and fog surrounding the plateau. She couldn’t see any good landmarks, and the mountains all looked the same. Even if the fortress wasn’t safe, it was still her best chance at finding some clue to what was going on. Smolder looped back around after she made sure nothing was following her.

She landed on a tower of the fortress after making sure it was clear. She could see a group of the creatures gathered below. Smolder’s heart raced as they suddenly turned, but she heard two voices down below and decided those had drawn their attention.

“A dragon? Here?”

The deep masculine voice came from a large shadowy figure in the shape of an alicorn stallion. Beside it, a slender and feminine shadow of an alicorn walked with more elegance.

“It couldn’t have been one of Scriptus’s kobolds. They’d never make it this far, and it had wings. Maybe it was tied to that magic we both felt. Keep searching, umbrum. Something came here from Equestria. I want it found.”

The shadow stamped her hooves and cracked the stone. The two leaders turned to go back inside the fortress while the other spirits spread out in pairs. Smolder briefly thought about attacking the two leaders. She was tough, but fighting so many seemed like the wrong approach. Instead, she’d sneak around and figure out what was going on.

Smolder found a set of stairs that led down from the tower. She stepped slowly and tried to curl her toes up to keep her claws from scraping and clacking on the stone floor. The stairway was dim, but it ended in a hallway lit by flickering blue torches. Smolder’s claws tapped loudly as she misjudged a step.

A shadowy form billowed out of the darkness. Smolder tried to swipe at it, but her claws went right through it. The creature’s hooves solidified a moment later and gave her a sharp kick in the side. The pain was enough to make Smolder angry. She could feel the flame inside before she let it out. The creature shrieked in pain. It tried to flee, but Smolder wasn’t going to let it blow her cover. The bright fire charred the umbrum until it collapsed on the floor.

(Smolder loses 2 stamina in the fight.)

After all the fire, smoke, and noise, Smolder felt wound like a spring. She kept listening for anything else approaching, but after a few minutes of hiding around a corner, nothing came. Smolder slinked down the hallway to see what else she could find. The hallway led to another room, and she saw two ornate doors along with a huge stairway going down to the lower levels of the fortress. One of the two doors was made of glistening onyx. The other was made of a mix of onyx and purple gems. That one seemed more promising.

Smolder tried the door, and it was unlocked. None of the creatures were inside, either. A large table had stacks of papers, but what drew Smolder’s eye immediately was the set of armor on display in the corner. It was a deep bluish color that seemed to shimmer in the dark. A crescent moon adorned the center of the breastplate.

“Nightmare Moon’s armor?”

Smolder whispered to herself as she ran a claw down it. She could feel the magic in it, almost as if it was calling to her. The magic was dark and powerful. It overwhelmed the sense of protection that Smolder had felt inside, but it promised a magic that might be just as powerful. Smolder’s tongue flicked out as she imagined herself triumphant over her enemies with this armor.

She hadn’t noticed grabbing the armor with both hands. She let it go and took a step back. Nightmare Moon had been powerful, and she had beat Celestia before Twilight and her friends had used the Elements of Harmony on her. Luna was back in Equestria. Smolder was sure of that. Maybe Luna had banished the armor here because she hadn’t wanted the temptation to use it? And if Luna didn’t want it, Smolder could have it.

Smolder shook her head. She was supposed to find her friends, and this armor was distracting her. But it could also be a great help in finding them if she had to fight more creatures like the ones outside. She wasn’t afraid of a little dark magic. A tough dragon like her could handle it.



Take the armor.

Search for a way out of the fortress.

Search the other room.

> Chapter 5: Verdant Jungle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ocellus felt each of her friends vanish in the dark. She didn’t need their love to survive, but it always made her feel stronger and more confident. She spun until she caught herself with her wings. Something was still pulling her down. She tried to fight it, but she wasn’t strong enough, and there wasn’t time to try to transform into anything. She reached the light and crashed into a huge tree a moment later.

(Ocellus loses 1 stamina.)

A few massive leaves fell down as Ocellus flopped onto the ground beneath the tree. It smelled rich and earthy. Once Ocellus could focus her eyes again, she saw a canopy far above her. Bushes, vines, and trees in brilliant shades of green were all around her. Flowers in all the colors of the rainbow glowed in the dim light on the forest floor.

Something shook the nearby bushes. Ocellus let out a quiet squeak of alarm and ran the other way. She had to fly around bushes and bend branches out of her way with her magic. She stopped when she suddenly found what looked like a path.

An earth pony with a blissful expression was walking toward her. His mane was a light gray, and the rest of him was a sandy yellow. Glowing green mushrooms were sprouting from under his mane. His eyes suddenly went wide and he waved wildly at Ocellus.

“Watch out!”

Ocellus tried to spin around to see, but she tripped over her hooves. A moment later, a huge sticky tongue flicked out of the bushes and hit Ocellus in the face. The tongue snapped back. Ocellus got a brief glimpse of a huge frog covered in glowing fungi before darkness surrounded her. She tried to transform, but she suddenly felt her muscles go limp. She couldn’t move or use magic. Something shifted around her, and she suddenly found herself in a transparent green sack of some kind.

(Ocellus loses 1 stamina.)

“Hey! Did you just eat a changeling? Bad frog!”

Ocellus watched as the pony galloped up. She could still hear the pony’s voice, even if it sounded somewhat muffled now.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t think it would get you, but you are a very unusual changeling. Um, I’m Dusty Tail. Let me help you.”

Ocellus could feel the pony giving up his love to her. He suddenly looked very drained and relaxed.

“Ah, there. You should be able to move around a little with that. The Harvest Frog’s venom shouldn’t be so bad now.”

Ocellus could move again, but her head was still feeling too fuzzy to use magic. She looked around and was disgusted at what she did see. The giant frog was holding her in a transparent green pouch at the front of its belly.

“How do I get out of this thing?” Ocellus hit the rubbery edges of the pouch with her hooves.

“I’m not sure,” Dusty said slowly. “Maybe… just command it? That’s what the other changelings do.”

Ocellus’s view shook as the frog started to hop down the trail.

“Hey frog! Stop!”

Ocellus’s words did nothing to stop the creature. She flailed against it, but her hooves kept slipping when she tried to position herself for a stronger kick.

“Oh, that isn’t working?” Dusty trotted along beside the frog. “I’m sure the queen will sort things out. It works for her.”

The way Dusty said queen made Ocellus shiver. It reminded her of how all the drones would talk about Queen Chrysalis. But now it was a pony with the same unquestioning devotion to whoever this queen was.

“And who is the queen?” Ocellus asked as the frog readied itself for another hop.

“Queen Cordys. She’s amazing. She rules the jungle and takes care of us ponies. Without her, we’d have to fight off all the creatures here.”

Either this queen was good or this pony was very convinced of her goodness. There was no doubt or fear in his emotions.

Trees, bushes, and brilliant flowers went by as the huge frog kept hopping deeper into the jungle.

“I’m surprised a changeling like you doesn’t know who she is,” Dusty finally said. “I thought all the changelings worked directly for her.”

“Are there other changelings here? Are they like me?”

“There are a few changelings. They are all smart and strong, but they aren’t all smooth and blue like you. They’re more of a black color and have holes.”

“Black?”

Dusty Tail nodded and smiled. He wasn’t worried. The forest slowly thinned as the frog approached a spire of wood and green goo. Ocellus could feel the faintest spark of her magic returning. If she used some of the power that the Tree of Harmony gave her, she might be able to gather enough energy to transform and escape. Or she could try one more time with all of her strength to slip out. But it might also be good to meet this queen she had never heard of. She could try to bring the magic of friendship to these changelings.



(Costs 2 friendship tokens) - Draw on the magic of Harmony to escape.

(Stout Heart roll to escape) - Try to force her way out.

Wait until the frog takes her to Queen Cordys.

> Chapter 6: Negotiations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gallus: “Let’s wait together and see if we can make a deal.”

Gallus didn’t have to wait long, but Yona seemed to already be bored and impatient. He convinced Starlight that they would be better off dealing with whoever owned this market honestly. He heard sounds like metal on stone outside before the statue watching them stepped to the side. Several other griffon statues were standing in the street outside.

From behind the statues, a large dark gray griffon stepped into the tent. He had a streak of silver running down his back and the tips of his wings and crest glistened in what looked like real gold. He wore many rings with precious stones on his front talons, but those were nothing compared to the magnificent golden chain around his neck that led to a signet in the center of an amulet. Massive gems of all sorts were set into the edges of the amulet. He reminded Gallus of the images of the old griffon kings.

He looked them all over with an appraising eye as shrewd as any griffon merchant Gallus had seen. He set down the small bag he was carrying and gave a small bow of politeness.

“Welcome guests! I am Grandeur, and this is my bazaar. Make yourself comfortable. You all look like you could use a little refreshment. Tell me all about how you found yourselves here. It has been ages since I’ve been able to make any deals with anyone in Equestria.”

Grandeur opened up his little sack. It was made of a very fine and sturdy black canvas cloth with silver buttons. The griffon pulled out fresh salads and gave them to Yona and Starlight. He poured out some cups of fancy fizzing drinks from bottles. He offered a roasted rabbit to Gallus. The food seemed to come from nowhere, but it looked like it belonged in the fanciest restaurants. The plates and silverware alone would cost a fortune.

(Yona gains 1 stamina)

Gallus wasn’t one to pass up such an amazing meal, and it had been forever since he had any meat besides fish. He felt a brief twinge of guilt over what Fluttershy might think, but he pushed that away. She wasn’t here to judge him, and rabbit had always been one of his favorite things to catch outside of Griffonstone as a kid. He had often been too poor to buy a meal or too proud to rely on charity too often.

Grandeur nibbled on a few smaller snacks and sipped his drink as they told him about how they found themselves in his marketplace.

“You have my condolences. You’ve all been through a lot. For that, I’m willing to ignore the price of the potion you used to help Starlight. But only if we can come to some other agreement. I’m a griffon of business, and it always helps to be kind. It was a rare panacea potion. It can cure any illness or injury, but it’s not quite the right thing to keep the magic contained. For that, you’ll need something a little more costly and a little stronger. And I think you could use a few other things to help you here in Limbo if you are to find you friends. I have many useful things from many lands. Items from the common to the impossibly rare. I’m sure we can make a deal.”

“So that potion wasn’t enough?” Starlight asked. “I feel okay for now.”

Grandeur shook his head. “It can cure almost anything. It cures the damage and side effects of so much magic, but it can’t remove the magic that is tied to you. You’d have to take a new dose about every hour, and that would quickly add up. It would be far cheaper to buy a nice magical stabilizer.”

He reached into his bag and pulled out a necklace with a series of glowing white crystals. Starlight’s eyes widened.

“Or for even more, I could give you an amulet that would let you tap into all that power. That won’t be cheap, though. It’s rare to find more than one or two items like this any world.”

Starlight gasped as Grandeur pulled out a large platinum amulet. A massive purple gem etched with runes filled the center of it.

“How do you have all this? Not even Twilight… probably not even Celestia have magical artifacts like this.”

Gallus frowned. This merchant was being a little too friendly for a griffon.

“Why are you showing us all this?” Gallus asked. “You barely know us.”

Grandeur smiled and placed his front foot on Gallus’s shoulder.

“Because I love Griffonstone and Equestria. It’s unfortunate that Celestia barred me from doing business in Equus after a few customers misused a few items they obtained from me. In fact, you’re probably something like my great, great grandson, many times removed of course. I’m sure most griffons alive are related to me in some way. You’re like family.”

Gallus raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You don’t look that old.”

Grandeur’s booming laugh filled the tent. “A good merchant can buy anything, even immortality. Another reason Celestia doesn’t trust me is because I’m older than she is.”

“Wait? So you’re The Grandeur? Like the one in the old stories I used to hear as a kid?”

“Yes. I think my legend still lives on, even if it’s in legends and fairytales. But let’s get back to our business. I can see you’re clearly interested in what I offer. After all the sacrifices and work I put in, I need some way of recovering the cost of such valuable items. Since you’re family, I’ll give you a deal, but we’ll still need to make a trade of some sort. I’d gladly take some of that magic that’s protecting you. I haven’t seen any magic quite like it. Or we could arrange a contract for you to do some work to repay me. I think you’ll find my offers very generous.”

Grandeur went over various options. Starlight seemed content to accept the deals as is, but Gallus tried to bargain with Grandeur. He couldn’t seem to charm the griffon to lower prices, but then he decided to play off what the griffon mentioned earlier.

“It means a lot to know I have some family somewhere,” Gallus said. “I’ve been an orphan for a long time.”

“The best of my descendants have been great merchants and leaders. Sometimes even kings. I can see you have the potential to be like them. Maybe you could even renegotiate with Celestia on my behalf. But that’s a lot to ask of a young griffon. I’d have to see you prove yourself first, and I’m willing to give you a chance to do that. I have many little jobs around here that you could do for me as part of payment for the help I’m giving you and your friends. I’d love to give a griffon like you a chance for greatness.”

After the long discussion, Gallus looked around.

“Hey, where’s Yona?”

Grandeur pointed outside. “She didn’t have much patience for our negotiations. She wanted to go look for your other friends. But don’t worry. I’ll deliver a package to help her as part of our deal. But it’s up to you what that deal is.”

Grandeur had the solution to Starlight’s immediate problem, so Gallus wasn’t going to leave without taking one of the deals. And once that was done, he could try to catch up with Yona.



The deluxe package. Powerful artifacts and items for Starlight, Gallus, and Yona. (Costs 3 friendship tokens and 1 contract job for Grandeur.)

A good deal. Starlight gets the better amulet, and Gallus and Yona get good items. (Costs 1 contract job for Grandeur.)

The basics. Starlight gets the basic inhibitor, and Gallus and Yona get basic items. (Costs 2 friendship tokens.)

> Chapter 7: The Wasteland
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yona ate the wonderful salad the fancy griffon provided then dozed off. When she woke up a short time later, Gallus and Grandeur were still talking. She was tired of sitting and talking. She wanted to go look for their friends. She walked outside the tent. The griffon statues watched her with their golden eyes. As she walked past the last one, it spoke in Grandeur’s voice.

“You may go. Your friends will handle our business. Follow the main road to the outer gates.”

The statue pointed at a wide avenue between all the tents and market stalls. Yona trotted quickly down it. There were all kinds of amazing items in the market, but Yona didn’t have time to look at them. She was going to go find their friends.

The avenue came to a large outer plaza. On the far side of it, several open gates led in different directions. She approached the middle one. A griffon in a tower near the gates noticed her and flew down to talk.

The griffon was black with red and yellow feathers on her wings. She looked Yona over then whispered something while holding her silver necklace. It glowed and she stepped out of the way.

“Grandeur says you’re free to come and go. Do you need any help? I could tell you where you might want to go.”

Yona snorted. Like most Yaks, she disliked creatures who assumed she needed help.

“Yona good. Yona find friends on her own.”

The griffon shrugged. 

“At least take this. We’ll be able to find you as long as you have it.”

The griffon handed Yona a coin with the likeness of Grandeur on both sides. Yona tucked it behind her ear and thanked the griffon.

Yona said goodbye and walked out of the middle gate. The brick road quickly switched to a dirt path. Short grasses and bushes quickly thinned as the landscape changed from gentle plains to a sharp desert. The dirt path ended, and Yona had to decide which way to go. Rocks, cliffs, and canyons broke up the terrain. Yona charged down what looked like the best way to go.

After wandering through the desert for a short time, Yona climbed up one of the smoother rock formations. From the top, she could see mountains in the distance. They were surrounded by swirling dark clouds. It looked like the sort of place Smolder might like, so she headed toward it.

Yona found herself in the bottom of a shadowy canyon as she continued forward. A small stream ran down it. Yona found a pool with ice near the edges. She tried to walk around it, but a rune in the middle of the pool glowed with a blue light. Yona stared and was suddenly zapped by a bolt of magic. It knocked her down, and Yona’s side burned.

(Yona loses 4 stamina to magical damage.)

Even though she was only down for a moment, walls of ice had formed and trapped Yona in the narrow canyon.

Yona was angry from the pain. She charged and smashed the ice. It reformed quickly. She kicked again, but the same thing happened. She turned around and looked at the glowing rune. She gave it a hard stomp, and it shattered. The magical glow quickly faded, and the icy walls cracked and fell apart.

“That wasn’t very nice. Yona no like traps.”

A whispering voice answered her.

“I’m so sorry. I would have warned you, but you charged right in.”

Yona looked around. It took her a moment to see the ghostly blue figure that was speaking.

“You’re a Windigo! Yona know not to trust ice spirits.”

“Don’t be like that. I’m trying to help you.”

All yaks knew not to trust any ice spirits, but maybe this one was friendly. Yona sat down and looked up at it.

“Okay. Yona give you a chance.”

“Excellent. I can help lead you to the mountains. That’s where you wanted to go, right?”

Yona nodded.

“Just follow me. I’ll make sure you don’t run into any more of our traps. We put them here to keep the dangerous creatures out. You’re lucky that you ran into me instead of them.”

It felt chilly near the windigo, but Yona’s thick fur kept her warm.

“I am Yona. What is your name?”

“Rime is my name. Now come along.”

Rime led the way. The canyon walls grew taller, and the bottom was deeper in shadow. Even in the daylight, it felt cold. The canyon sloped upward after a few miles.

Yona was tired, so she stopped for a little break. Her side still hurt a little from where the magic had zapped her. Yona wished she had something to put on it.

Rime wasn’t very talkative, so she floated up ahead while Yona rested. In the bushes, Yona noticed a big spider web. She bent down until she spotted the spider.

“Hello spider friend!”

The spider responded with his little chittering voice. It wasn’t quite words, but Yona could understand him. She asked him about things. He didn’t like the sudden cold the windigo had brought, and he left her with a warning. The mountains ahead were full of other spirits like the windigo. There were few spiders or bugs there. It was a bad place.

Yona got up slowly. After the spider’s warning, she wasn’t quite as eager to follow Rime, but the spirit seemed impatient to get up to the mountains. Yona thought over what she should do next.



Follow the windigo.

Go slowly and hope Gallus and Starlight can catch up.

Try to escape the windigo.

> Chapter 8: Sowing the Seeds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Split vote. Dice rolled and Sandbar goes to the Shadow Mountains.)

Sandbar waved goodbye to Storm Surge as he headed toward the mountains. The strange hippogriff had followed him until the unusual terrain turned into more regular hills. The hippogriff vanished in a flash of magic, so Sandbar was left on his own to approach the formidable mountains.

The foothills here weren’t so bad. Streams broke up the rocky hills. Sandbar easily hopped over them. A few pine trees grew on the lower slopes of the mountains. It was easy enough to pick out a good path between them. Plants always seemed to bend out of Sandbar’s way when he was determined to get somewhere. It might be some earth pony magic or maybe just his instincts with plants.

It was a tough hike, but Sandbar made his way up to one of the lower ridges. He was nowhere near the mountain peaks, but the wind was already blowing harder at this elevation. It was colder, too, but his thick fur would be enough. He stopped to catch his breath and looked up above. He could catch glimpses of jagged peaks and maybe something else up in the dark swirling mists that were above him. It didn’t look like a very good place to plant one of the seeds that Storm Surge had given him, so he looked to see if there was a better place to plant it nearby.

As he looked around, he could see something flying down from the mountains toward him, but it was still a long way off. He’d have time to plant the seed if he hurried. He spotted a nice mountain clearing with a little waterfall and pond. He quickly galloped to it and focused his mind as he pulled out one of the seeds.

He reached out to feel the magic of the land. There was a perfect spot on the edge of the pond. Sandbar pawed at the ground with a hoof until he broke through to the softer dirt deeper down. He made a little mound and placed the seed into the dirt.

“There you go, little guy. That should be a good place to grow.”

Sandbar’s eyes widened as he felt a flash of magic and energy from the seed. It burst into a small plant. It drew a little of Sandbar’s earth pony magic, but it had more magic of its own. Sandbar could feel it quickly expanding its roots inch by inch. The top of the seedling unfurled into a thorny bush. A flower shaped like a lily bloomed on top. A rainbow of colors shimmered and glowed from within its white petals.

Sandbar could feel this was no normal plant. The roots were reaching out to Storm Surge’s power. The flower was what the hippogriff had said it would be. Sandbar plucked the flower, and the petals on one side of the flower lit up brightly. It pointed toward the mountain peaks. One of his friends would be up there.

As he looked up, he could see the creatures in the sky circling above him. Now that Sandbar could see them better, he really wanted to run away, but it was too late. Sandbar barely had time to hide the flower under his mane and trot away from the strange plant. He somehow felt that these creatures wouldn’t like the magic of the plant he had just grown.

The three ghostly creatures looked barely like ponies. Parts of them seemed almost like thick clouds. Their skull-like faces and glowing eyes were fixed on Sandbar as they landed. The smallest one floated forward. It was a faded dark blue color and looked a little more like a mare than a stallion.

“You, earth pony, stay right there!”

The creature radiated an aura of malice and despair that Sandbar could feel. His ears flattened instinctively, but he stood still instead of following his instinct to run away as quickly as possible.

“We weren’t looking for a pony,” said the large sickly green creature in the back.

The smaller one glared at her companion.

“I know, but a pony is far more valuable than some dragon. Now let’s introduce ourselves to our guest.”

“Oh, hey. I’m Sandbar. Nice to meet you.”

“A pleasure.” The blue one reached out a hoof and Sandbar shook it. At least the hoof was solid. “I’m Hypotha. The big green stallion is Venin, and the quiet gray mare is Ash. Shade and Nightmare would love to see you up in the fortress. It will make things easier if you follow us back there right now.”

An undertone of threat laced all of Hypotha’s words. Sandbar could feel something bad would happen if he said no.

“I think my friend might be that way,” Sandbar said.

Hypotha’s eyes lit up like flames as she stared at Sandbar. “Oh really? Was this friend a small dragon?”

“Yeah, that’s Smolder.”

They all were silent a moment before Venin floated to the start of a rocky path that lead into a cave.

“Come along, Sandbar. It’s quicker by air, but we know the best route through the caves. Follow us.”

Ash crowded Sandbar from behind while Hypotha floated next to him. Venin led the way. They floated quickly, so Sandbar had to practically trot to keep pace. The creatures used some sort of magic to create a dim glow. Sandbar could see enough of the cave to not trip over any rocks, but it was still a rough path. He had to hop across deep chasms in the dark and crawl up loose rock. Sandbar tried to memorize the path, but there were so many other tunnels. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to come back this way without a bit of luck.

He was breathing hard when the path flattened and they stepped out of the dark cave. Icy winds blew wildly, and dark mists swirled around jagged peaks. A huge fortress loomed out of the mists up ahead. During the hike up, Sandbar had learned these creatures were called umbrum. If he had read as much as Ocellus, he might know what that meant.

They led him to the huge metal gates of the fortress. The gates creaked open just enough for them to slip through before slamming shut behind them. Torches with blue flame lined the entry hall. The entry hall was sparsely decorated. Two banners hung on the wall. One was deep purple and black with a white crescent moon. The other showed a spiral of black covering up six smaller gems of color.

The umbrum led Sandbar through the hall. They passed a few side halls before stepping through an archway and into a throne room. Two thrones were on a raised dais, but they were both shrouded in darkness. The torches flickered. Instead of darkness, there were now two pony-like figures on the thrones. 

An alicorn mare with feathers and fur the shade of darkest night sat on the right throne under the crescent moon banner. She was thin and graceful, but staring at her mane and tail was like trying to make out something with too little light.

On the left, an alicorn stallion sat under the spiral banner. He was huge and muscular. His mane, body, and tail were like a swirling mix of shadows and dark clouds, and his eyes glowed a bright white.

Neither of the two seemed entirely solid. Their presence felt more real than their bodies. The umbrum bowed. Ash pushed Sandbar down into a bow when he was too slow to react.

“You may rise,” Hypotha said. “Welcome to the court of Shade and Nightmare.”

Sandbar shivered at the overwhelming presence of the two rulers. Shade stared directly at him while Nightmare seemed distracted. Shade pointed at Sandbar.

“Instead of a dragon, you bring me a pony. And this one bears the mark of Storm Surge.”

Magic tried to pluck the feather out of Sandbar’s mane, but it stayed in place.

“Tell me pony. What deal have you struck with that trickster?”

Sandbar kicked nervously at the stone floor and bit his lip before responding. He was terrible at lying most of the time, but he felt that the whole truth might be bad to say here.

“He gave me the feather as a way to contact him if I wanted to make a deal with him.”

Sandbar tried to smile. Nightmare barely glanced at him, but Shade stared right at him.

“If that was all, then it should have lost most of its power when you crossed over into our domain. I can sense more chaotic magic on you.”

Shade’s horn glowed and a spike of shadow shot out from the swirling shadows around his chest. It stopped inches from Sandbar’s neck.

“Let’s try this again. What deal did you make with Storm Surge?”

Sandbar’s heart was racing. He reached for the flower but quickly put his hoof back down.

“And it seems you have some connection to the dragon that got away, too. Do you know where it is hiding? It will be painful for you if you don’t tell us the truth right away.”

Sandbar could feel the magic of the flower pointing him to the floors above him. There had been a staircase on the side of the entry hall. He could try to find Smolder, but he’d have to escape the umbrum and their leaders. Or he could stay here and buy Smolder more time. He had a few options, but he’d have to decide quickly, and that was something he always hated doing.

(Sandbar has 14/14 stamina and 5 friendship tokens.)



Tell the truth

Try to buy time

Escape and try to find Smolder

Call on the magic of Harmony for protection (costs friendship tokens)

Use the feather to call Storm Surge and make a deal with him.

> Chapter 9: New Information
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Split vote. Dice rolled to break the tie. Silverstream decides to travel to The Bazaar.)

Silverstream would have loved to stay in the nice guest room with its ornate bed and massive study desk, but she wasn’t going to rest until her friends were safe. The guide book had mentioned The Bazaar as being somewhere safe to explore, so she decided to go there next.

“Sumac, it was nice meeting you, but I need to go find my friends.”

Silverstream patted the red kobold on the head. He made his cute squeaky noises. He sounded annoyed, but he seemed to understand what she said. He locked the room behind her after she walked out the door. He helped guide her to the entry hall and the gateways there. One had a sign saying it would lead to The Bazaar. Silverstream walked through it.

Once outside the massive building, Silverstream could get a better view of the landscape. Volcanoes surrounded The Library. Some of them were slowly leaking lava, but a system of stone channels kept it away from the roads and The Library. The path led to a pass between two of the volcanoes then down to the surrounding plains. Silverstream took off and flew in that direction.

A series of lakes dotted the landscape below the volcanoes. Lush green bushes and trees grew in the volcanic soil. Different villages full of kobolds dotted the shores of the lakes. Silverstream landed in one of these villages that was built around the path. The kobolds squeaked and looked very cute, but Silverstream still wasn’t able to communicate more than the fact that she was a peaceful guest of Scriptus. Once she told them that, they gave her a small meal of fish, fruit, and vegetables.

The meal was like what she’d have back at Mt. Aris. The food was all of more tropical varieties than what the ponies had in Equestria. The kobolds seasoned the fish with something very spicy, and Silverstream enjoyed that.

While she ate, she opened the guide book up again. She was thinking more clearly after the exercise. She got to an interesting section on how creatures ended up here and how some managed to get free. No known creatures originally came from The Realm of the Lost. All had migrated here or had been banished from other worlds. A few of the more evil creatures found their way here because it had less resistance to their intrusion than normal worlds. Such creatures were last seen by Scriptus in the ocean depths near Jester’s Court, and they hated the light of the sun.

The book mentioned that many creatures used to be able to come and go freely between here and Equus until Celestia had strengthened the magical barrier between the two realms. Many other worlds had similar barriers in place, but both Grandeur and Scriptus had deals or magic to get around some of the barriers. And still other worlds had no barriers and could be accessed by anyone with powerful magic, but most of these realms had already been invaded by dark creatures.

Silverstream skimmed again until she found a section on Equus. The Pony of Shadows was held in Limbo in stasis with the six heroes of Equestria until the spell that kept them here was ended. Scriptus knew that the ponies of Equestria had won the battle with the Pony of Shadows because the dark spirit that possessed him had returned in a weakened state, and Stygian had written a book about his life. Another spirit named Nightmare had been banished from Equestria several years ago. Before that, the previous history of anyone going between here and Equus was before Celestia put the barrier in place.

Silverstream shut the book and thanked the kobolds for the meal. Silverstream wasn’t good at magic theory, but maybe there could be a way back to Equestria if the barrier was weaker now. They had all of Equestria’s magic here with them, so maybe there was some way to use it to get back. Starlight might know a way, but Silverstream would have to find her first.

A small blue kobold stepped forward as Silverstream got ready to take off. He squeaked and gestured. Silversteam didn’t understand the words at first.

“Do you want to come with me?” Silverstream asked.

“Saffron g-go. Go with birdhorse.”

Silverstream’s eyes widened.

“You can speak Ponish!”

She gave him a hug. He squeaked out a few words in his kobold language before talking.

“Yes. You smell like dragon friend. Saffron help dragon friend.”

Saffron had the same slender build of most the kobolds. He had the horns that the males all had, but his were smaller than the older males. He put on a small backpack and strapped a small obsidian-tipped spear to it. He pointed to Silverstream’s back and sputtered as he tried to think of what to say.

“I’m Silverstream. And if you want to come with me, you can ride on my back. That’s what you were going to ask, right?”

Saffron nodded. Silverstream had to crouch down for the little guy to hop on, but once he was on, she started to flap her wings. Silverstream was reminded of the few times she had seen Spike ride on Twilight’s back.

A small group of blue and green kobolds came and gave Saffron hugs. They looked like his family. The kobolds all smiled and waved as Silverstream took to the skies again.

The landscape slowly changed from volcanic and tropical to green plains with long grasses waving in the breeze. The winds made it hard to talk to Saffron, so Silverstream focused on moving ahead. The little kobold was easy enough to carry. He weighed about as much as a saddlebag of school books. Eventually, a distant walled city full of colorful tents and buildings appeared on the horizon. A massive bank took up an entire section of the city. It looked exactly like the descriptions of The Bazaar in the guide book.

Silverstream approached The Bazaar. She tried to fly over its walls, but a sudden burst of wind came out of nowhere. She was forced to land just outside the gates of the city. A black griffon with red and yellow wing feathers ran out.

“You’re lucky the wind barrier didn’t slam you into the ground. Sorry about that. We keep it around to protect our goods. Any who wish to enter or leave The Bazaar need to go by me first. My name is Glissanda. We love to have more customers. Are you looking for anything in particular?”

Glissanda was lean and small. She looked fierce, but she also had a friendly smile.

“I’m looking for my friends,” Silverstream said.

“And what do your friends look like?”

Silverstream quickly described them. The griffon nodded.

“A yak left not too long ago. There’s a pony and griffon like you described who are currently doing business with Grandeur. I’ll take you to them.”

Silverstream followed Glissanda through streets with rows and rows of tents and shops filled with all sorts of things. Bronze griffon statues were scattered around the market. Their eyes gleamed with a golden glow as Silverstream walked by. The things for sale here would have made even the pickiest of the royal hippogriffs proud. A shimmering gold paintbrush studded with gems of every color caught Silverstream’s eye.

“Whoa! Is that the paintbrush of Tranquil Shoal? I thought it was just a legend. Can I touch it?”

Glissanda stopped Silverstream from grabbing the brush. “No touching sensitive magical merchandise. But it did belong to her until her children sold it off to Grandeur. If a skilled painter paints from the heart, that paintbrush has the magic to help their paintings take life. If you’re interested in it, I’m sure Grandeur would be happy to make a deal.”

Silverstream stared at the brush. She’d love to have it, but her friends were more important. She walked away but made a mental note of which shop the brush was at. They arrived at a tent with several of the statues. Glissanda pointed past them.

“Here we are. Grandeur and your friends are in there. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

Glissanda walked away. Saffron hopped off Silverstream’s back and sniffed the air. Silverstream could already hear Gallus talking with someone. Just hearing his voice made her feel more relaxed. She walked into the tent.

Gallus and a huge gray griffon were talking. It almost seemed like an argument until Silverstream listened in. They were haggling over something. Starlight was sitting to the side and listening in, but she looked a little bored. She looked up as soon as Silverstream entered.

“Silverstream! You found us! I hope everyone else is okay. Twilight will kill me if anything bad happens to her students on my watch.” Starlight looked over at Saffron. “And who is this? Did you find a new friend?”

“Yes! His name is Saffron.”

Saffron cautiously sniffed the air and flicked out his little forked tongue.

“Pony and young griffon smell like dragon friends, too. Greetings!”

The large griffon smiled and waved them in.

“Ah, more friends. This might change our deal somewhat. Welcome to the both of you. Have a seat and enjoy some food. I am Grandeur, and I extend my hospitality to all potential customers.”

Grandeur pulled some very fancy food out of his bag and poured a drink for Silverstream into a crystal chalice. He pulled out something similar for Saffron.

The plates the griffon used were as good or better than Queen Novo’s finest sets of dinnerware. They would have fit into the finest royal dinners. Grandeur’s smile hinted that he knew how impressive they were.

Grandeur paused the haggling with Gallus while Silverstream shared what had happened to her with her friends. His ears perked up when Silverstream mentioned the barrier that Celestia had created.

“You could break the barrier,” he said. “If it’s already weak on Equestria’s side, you’d just have to find what Celestia tied the barrier to on this side to break it. But removing the barrier would also leave your world open until it could be restored. I’d love the chance to do business in Equus again, but you would have to hope that less friendly creatures don’t take notice of such a weakness. Or you could find a way to distract them.”

“I have other ideas, too,” Starlight said.

“I’d be happy to help as long as you can repay me for my help,” Grandeur said.

Silverstream patted Grandeur’s front foot. “I’m sure if you help us, we could ask Celestia to let you come back to Equus.”

“She is quite firm in her decision about keeping me out, but I would welcome the opportunity to have some allies who could convince her that I will do better. You all are connected to Princess Twilight, and I think Twilight could convince Celestia to let me back in. Good friends lead to good business. To show you that my friendship is genuine, I’m willing to give you a better offer and include Silverstream and Saffron in our previous offer. It’s been centuries since I offered anyone a deal this good.”

(No vote this time, but the previous vote for a deal with Grandeur will now cost less.)
> Chapter 10: The Trap
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Search for a way out of the fortress.

Smolder turned away from the magical armor. It took most of her will to walk away from it, but she was already feeling more like herself. She walked back over to the desk with papers and books. She looked through them quickly to try to find something useful.

She quickly found a nice map. It showed the fortress as well as some of the main paths through the mountains and caves nearby. The map only covered the mountains, but it would be a great help in finding a way out. Smolder folded the map up and tucked it under her arm. 

The floor around the desk was starting to glow with magic. The same magic glowed around the door of the room. Smolder tried to step away from the glowing floor. A bolt of black energy shot out. Smolder gritted her teeth to keep from screaming from the overwhelming pain. Her muscles and wings twitched as the last of the dark magic faded.

(Smolder loses 6 stamina from the trap.)

Black chains made of the same dark energy wrapped around Smolder. She squirmed and tried to break free, but the chains were far too strong. She took a deep breath and breathed flames on the chains, but her fire did nothing to the magical bonds.

Smolder felt the sudden disorientation of a teleport spell and the room vanished. She found herself on the cold stone floor of throne room. Two shadowy figures sat on thrones. They looked like alicorns, but both of them were made of smoke or shadows. Smolder glanced to the side and finally saw someone familiar.

“Sandbar! What’s going on?”

One of the guards gave Smolder a quick kick. 

“Quiet dragon. Speak only if Nightmare or Shade ask you a question.”

Smolder growled. The kick didn’t hurt, but she decided that it would be better to follow the guard’s demands.

Nightmare stood up and stared at Smolder.

“You did well to get past our guards, but going into my room was a mistake. Now what should we do with both of you?”

Shade stomped a hoof. A sphere of darkness surrounded a colorful feather that Sandbar had in his mane. Sandbar gasped painfully as the magic slowly burned the feather away.

“First, let’s be rid of that trickster’s magic.”

The ashes fell to the ground. A black and purple hippogriff appeared in a sudden pop of magic.

“I’m hurt,” Storm Surge said. “I’m so much more than just some trickster, and I find it insulting that you’d destroy the gift I gave to my new friend.”

Black magic flickered around Shade’s and Nightmare’s horns as they turned to face the sudden intruder. Storm Surge summoned a sphere of water and quickly shaped it into floating spikes of ice.

“I’d love to test which of us is stronger,” Nightmare said. “But now is not the time or place. It seems that several creatures from Equestria have come here. Tell us what you know, and we’ll forgive this slight.”

Sandbar quickly turned to face the hippogriff.

“Storm Surge, you don’t have to tell them anything!”

Storm Surge scratched his chin. “Hmm. I think that depends on you and your dragon friend.” He snapped his talons and the magical chains around Smolder vanished. The hippogriff held them both close and whispered. “Keep planting those seeds and I might be able to get you and your friends back home. But don’t mention them to Shade or Nightmare.”

Smolder didn’t quite know what he was talking about, and there wasn’t time to ask.

“We won’t give you time to trick us!” Shade shouted. “Leave now and quit interfering with our prisoners. Or do you think you can fight us here, in the middle of our stronghold?”

Smolder smiled as she got a sudden idea. It might not be the most friendly thing to do, but starting a fight would give them plenty of options. They could escape or help this strange hippogriff that seemed to know Sandbar. Smolder looked over at Sandbar and tried to clue him in with a knowing grin, but he didn’t seem to get the hint right away.

(Smolder has 6/14 stamina and 7 friendship tokens.)



Wait to see what Sandbar does

Start a fight and try to escape in the chaos

Start a fight and try to help Storm Surge

Use the magic of Harmony to escape (costs friendship tokens)

> Chapter 11: The Queen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wait until the frog takes her to Queen Cordys.

Ocellus hated her sticky, slimy prison, but Headmare Twilight always said that knowledge was the first step to solving any problem. Usually Twilight meant friendship problems instead of getting captured in some strange world, but Ocellus was confident that the same principles applied.

The bouncing rhythm of the frog’s hops halted as the creature stopped at the edge of a cave. Ocellus gasped as two black changelings stepped out of the shadows. They were lightly armored and looked as fierce as any of the old guards and warriors that patrolled the hive when Chrysalis was in charge.

The frog spat up Ocellus. She quivered in fear as flashbacks to the old hive played through her mind. Her wings buzzed to try to get the slime off. The guards stepped up to her. The larger one looked over at Dusty Tail.

“Servant, who have you brought us?”

The mushrooms growing around Dusty Tail’s mane glowed brighter and his voice came out in a flat tone as he answered.

“A strange changeling. I found her out in the forest before the frog captured her.”

“Good work. Accompany her to the queen and receive your reward. I am curious about this outsider, but the queen will question her first.”

The guard locked manacles on Ocellus and Dusty Tail. A chain tied them together. Dusty Tail helped Ocellus up and smiled. Ocellus could feel his excitement at getting this reward, but her own heart was racing for much different reasons.

Ocellus got a better look at the guards as she walked past them. She could feel the aura of strength they had. These changelings had the powerful look of being well fed on genuine love. They both looked at her with curious glances, but their discipline kept them at their posts.

“Sorry about the awkward chain,” Dusty Tail said. “But you’re going to love the hive. It’s up ahead.”

The subterranean tunnel was lit with mushrooms glowing brightly in many colors. They grew thickly in the roots and rotten wood that lined the walls. The cave widened until the mushrooms growing on the ceiling were distant dots before it suddenly opened up. Ocellus shivered at what she saw. In the center of the cave was a massive conical pillar made of stone, wood, and hardened changeling goo. It was exactly like the old hive.

Ocellus had to look closely before she started to see the differences. It was less sharp stone blocks and more wood pulp. The colorful mushrooms grew all along it. Drones and soldiers flew in and out of the many holes. Huge fields of the blue mushrooms grew in neat rows. Ponies tended the mushrooms while changelings watched them. A large staircase led to a small hole at the top of the cave. A little sunlight came in through the small hole, and Ocellus could see ponies going up and down the staircase. They were all earth ponies, and each of them had the glowing blue mushrooms in their manes.

“Why do all of the ponies have those mushrooms?” Ocellus asked.

“Everyone has them except for very young foals. They help link us to the queen. They make us part of the hive.”

Dusty Tail said it proudly. Ocellus was shocked. The ponies all looked so happy in their work while Ocellus walked by them in the fields. They joked with each other as they tended the mushrooms.

They passed more guards, but the guards said little. The guard at the entrance to the hive stepped in front of them and led the way through the tunnels that shifted with changeling magic. Every tunnel and room reminded Ocellus of her childhood in the old hive, but the guards here seemed more relaxed and more intelligent than Chrysalis’s. There weren’t as many of them, though, and there also seemed to be fewer workers, too. Finally, they rounded the final bend and stepped through a large hole that led to the throne room at the center of the hive.

Ocellus nearly tripped as she saw the changeling queen on the throne. She hadn’t realized she had stopped walking, but Dusty Tail kept pulling her forward. Ocellus reminded herself that it wasn’t Chrysalis, even if this queen looked similar. She was tall and graceful, although she lacked the starved and thin look of Chrysalis. She had a thicker and more rounded figure, and her carapace was more purple and light blue than Chrysalis’s. Her crown was larger, too. It was made of silvery metal. Small black gems surrounded a huge blue sapphire in the center that was the same color as all the blue mushrooms. The queen’s horn glowed and the manacles unlocked.

The guard and Dusty Tail both bowed. Ocellus did the same as she remembered old habits from the old hive.

“Welcome to my hive, young one. I am Queen Cordys. Step closer. Let me get a good look at you. And a reward for the pony who brought you here.”

The queen’s crown glowed, and the mushrooms on Dusty Tail lit up. He sat down and sighed happily. Clearly something was making him feel amazing. Ocellus could feel the strength of his happiness.

“Ah, yes,” Cordys said. “You are a strange one. Are you one of Chrysalis’s? I sense her mark on you, yet I also sense so much more.”

Ocellus fought with her old instincts to obey a queen. She sputtered and had to clear her throat to buy a little time to properly reply. Being friendly might get her some good information about this strange queen who already seemed to know so much about her.

“Y-yes! I was part of Chrysalis’s hive.” The sudden urge to tell everything came over Ocellus, and she couldn’t fight it. “But she’s no longer our queen. Now we follow King Thorax.”

“A king?” Cordys laughed. “That explains things. I wouldn’t think Chrysalis would be willing to give up so much control to change you into what you are now. So your hive found a way to feed your hunger without draining love from others?”

“King Thorax found it first, and we followed his example. I’d never want to go back to the way things were. Now I share love with my friends instead of taking it.”

“It sounds like an interesting story, and I have time. Why don’t you tell me all about yourself and how you got here?”

Ocellus felt a little guilty at the pleasure that obeying a queen was giving her, but the pleased look on the queen’s face made her feel amazing. She eagerly shared the story of the changelings in Equestria and her own story of going to the School of Friendship. She finished with the most recent information about the magic that had brought her here.

“And now the magic of Equestria is bound to Starlight Glimmer. But I don’t know where she went after we got separated.”

Ocellus clapped her hoof over her mouth. She had said way too much. She was stupid for giving in to the queen’s simple tricks, but it was so hard to disobey a queen that seemed so powerful and full of love and magic.

“Ocellus, you are such a helpful and intelligent young drone. I can see why your king chose you to represent the changelings at the school. And I can think of many opportunities that your information will provide for me. I hope you can see that I run things differently than my cousin, Queen Chrysalis. I have ways to bring other creatures into my hive so they can share their love freely and benefit from our guidance. We help them adapt and grow. Dusty Tail is a good example. He and his friends and family are happy and protected up in their little village above the hive. We provide all the work and purpose that they’d ever need.”

Dusty Tail muttered softly. “It is as you say, my queen.”

Ocellus could feel the magic passing between the mushrooms growing on the pony and the queen’s crown. It was unlike anything she had studied, but she had a sudden idea. Cordys was using the mushrooms to somehow control and pacify the ponies and even creatures like the frog that had brought her here. She said nothing as the queen continued to talk.

“With the magic you brought, we could return and bring the same peace and prosperity to Equestria. You won’t even need a school of friendship. I can make any creature be our friend. And it sounds like your king needs a queen to help him rule.”

Ocellus felt dirty. She had betrayed her hive and her friends by saying too much, but she had figured out something very important. She trembled as she felt the powerful emotions of Queen Cordys. This queen wanted power and control in a more absolute way than Chrysalis ever had.

Ocellus would have to warn her friends, but a small part of her wondered if she’d see them again anytime soon.

“I will prepare an expedition to find that magic,” Queen Cordys said. “And you will go with them to convince your friends that we mean no harm. I will be happy to adopt you into our hive if you swear your loyalty to me. Pince, gather the materials for the allegiance ceremony. And have a guard take Ocellus to the guest quarters. Oh, and take the pony with you. He will help you with any comfort or food you might require.”

The queen stomped a hoof on the edge of her throne. One of the largest changeling warriors at her side ran off into the tunnels. The guard that had brought them in led them down a short tunnel and into a brightly lit room. The guard stayed at the entrance while Ocellus and Dusty Tail walked inside. A few paintings were hung on the walls, and some fine pony-made furniture lined the walls.

Ocellus paced around the room and looked at the paintings. They were all of Queen Cordys. In some, she was the graceful ruler of the hive, and in others, she was painted as the benevolent protector of the earth ponies. Ocellus sighed and flopped down on a soft couch.

If she stayed and went through the allegiance ceremony, she’d have even more trouble resisting Queen Cordys. King Thorax had refused to use that sort of magic, but he had explained it to Ocellus once. The ceremony magically bound a changeling to a certain hive and its ruler. The queen had assumed Ocellus wouldn’t refuse it, but if Ocellus stayed, she might be forced to go through it.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Dusty Tail interrupted Ocellus’s thoughts.

He set down a tray with a few bottles. Ocellus recognized them. The love-infused nectar was similar to what Chrysalis had given to her best drones and soldiers. Pharynx still had bottles of the stuff that he’d sometimes drink, although now it meant that he’d get too much love and get a little drunk on it. Usually that meant a night of wandering the hive and singing his war songs until he passed out. King Thorax was always a little embarrassed when that happened.

“I’d like just a little.”

Dusty Tail carefully poured a small glass of the nectar. He didn’t spill a single drop. He held the glass out until Ocellus took it.

“There you go. I’d be happy to provide anything else you need.”

Ocellus sipped the nectar. Even if her body no longer used love in the same way as the old changelings, the energy in the nectar was enough to wipe away most of her fatigue. She drank the last of it and was feeling almost bubbly.

(Ocellus heals 2 stamina.)

She took a deep breath to clear her mind and sat in her pose she used for meditation as she quickly thought through what she could do.



Experiment on Dusty Tail and see if there’s a way to remove the mushrooms and magic controlling him.

Find a way to fake the magic of the allegiance ceremony and use Queen Cordys to help find and warn her friends.

Find a way to escape.

Convince the guard to transform into a new type of changeling and rebel against the queen.

> Chapter 12: Search Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A good deal. Starlight gets the better amulet, and Gallus and Yona get good items. 

Gallus was happy to finally be done with the negotiations. It felt wrong to give up the limited and special magic that the Tree of Harmony had given to them, so Gallus and his friends decided on the more moderately priced option.

“Here’s the contract for the one favor you will all owe me,” Grandeur said. “Once signed, it will also include Yona. She agreed to have you negotiate for her, so my magic can extend to her in this situation.”

Gallus looked it over. They’d owe Grandeur one specific task of his choosing before they went back home. Gallus had made sure that the task couldn’t take longer than three days, but he hadn’t been able to get Grandeur to budge on the clause stating that the task might be dangerous. He had got the concession that it wouldn’t be anything against their morals. A small addition at the bottom of the contract made them promise to try to convince Celestia to let Grandeur do business in Equestria again. 

Grandeur produced a quill and ink, and Gallus signed the contract. Starlight and Silverstream signed it, too.

“Now we’re in business,” Grandeur said. “As agreed by word and contract, I seal this agreement on you.”

The griffon held up the signet hanging around his neck. He stamped the paper with his mark. The stamp glowed golden and a beam of magic shot out from it to Gallus’s front foot. The same stamp that was on the paper was now in the center of Gallus’s foot. Silverstream and Starlight both stared at the same mark on their own front feet. A stream of the golden magic shot off into the distance, probably toward Yona.

“What did you just do?” Starlight asked.

“A simple but powerful magic.” Grandeur held up his signet. “This makes sure that you can’t break the contract. I can’t either. It’s good business to make sure everyone stays honest. And now for me to fulfill my part of the deal. Glissanda, bring me seven basic packs of supplies for our friends and their lost friends. While you do that, I’ll figure out what other items I’ll be parting with. Here’s the amulet I promised.”

Grandeur carefully placed the platinum amulet around Starlight’s neck. The gems on it crackled with magical power but settled down a moment later.

“It should allow you full access to all the magic you carry, but only in limited amounts. It may take time to recharge if you use it that way. It will also allow you to use your own magic normally and remove any of the negative effects of holding in so much magic.”

Starlight rubbed it softly with a hoof and smiled.

“Thank you. It will be a great help in protecting the students and Equestria’s magic.”

“And for you, Silverstream, I was told you took an interest in the Paintbrush of Tranquil Shoal.” Grandeur pulled the golden paintbrush out of his bag and handed it over. “It’s said that paintings that come from the heart take special life with the magic in this brush. I’m not a good enough artist to make it work for me, but I’ve seen what it can do. And it doesn’t need any paint.”

Silverstream waved the brush in the air. “Wow! This is so cool!”

She quickly painted a little pony on the ground. With a flash of magic, it turned into what looked like a real miniature pony. It galloped around the tent, but it vanished after a minute.

Grandeur chuckled. “That’s more than I could ever do with it. It could be very helpful if you think creatively. And for your yak friend, I have these horn rings. They disperse harmful magic and should be valuable in protecting her. Starlight, you can hold onto them for her.”

Grandeur handed over two large golden rings. They were studded with small emeralds. The last item he pulled out of his bag was a thin golden circlet with a sapphire in the center. He placed it on top of Gallus’s head.

“And for such a promising young griffon, I present the Circlet of Leadership. With its magic, you should be able to inspire those around you to do great things.”

Gallus couldn’t help but smile as the older griffon patted his shoulder.

The faint rustle of feathers outside the tent indicated that Glissanda had returned. She tossed a pile of saddlebags into the tent.

“Here you go,” she said. “Basic supplies for you.”

“And your lost friends,” Grandeur added. “I shall expect you to do your part of our bargain once you find them and return here. For now, Glissanda will take you to Yona. I wish you all the best of luck in finding what you need, but I have other business to see to.”

Grandeur picked up his bag and rubbed one of his rings. The leftover food and drink vanished along with the fancy plates. Saffron squeaked as the plate in his hands vanished. As Grandeur left, several of the bronze statues followed him.

“Okay, I don’t have much time to waste either,” Glissanda said. “Here’s what we’ll do. With a powerful unicorn like you, we can use your magic to teleport to the linked coin I gave to Yona.”

Glissanda held up a gold coin. Starlight took it and studied it closely. She touched her horn to it and nodded.

“I can feel the connection. I should be able to teleport us all there. Everyone get close to me.”

“You’ll need to try from outside the walls. We have wards in place to prevent teleportation into or out of here.”

They followed Glissanda until they passed through the gate. They looked out over the plains outside The Bazaar. They stepped closer to Starlight as her horn crackled and glowed. With a loud pop, they appeared a few miles further down the brick road. The grassy plains were thinning to a dry desert.

“Sorry,” Starlight said. “I didn’t quite get it. One more try should do it.”

She grunted from the effort of focusing her magic and tried the spell again.

(Starlight loses 1 stamina.)

Gallus closed his eyes. The unsettling pull of the teleport tugged at his stomach. He opened his eyes a moment later as colder air suddenly surrounded him. They were in a set of rocky hills that rose above the distant desert. Sharp mountains climbed higher in front of them. The heavy steps of Yona nearby were hard to miss. Gallus looked around one of the pine trees and spotted Yona. A strange spirit was leading her up a dirt path.

Go slowly and hope Gallus and Starlight catch up.

The creature hissed as it spotted their group. It waved its hooves in the air. A small swirl of icy air blew through the trees, but it wasn’t cold enough to hurt Gallus.

“Let’s save Yona!” Gallus shouted. “Get it!”

The wind seemed to have startled Silverstream. She did nothing, but Saffron rushed forward with Gallus. Gallus swiped with his talons, but the misty form of the spirit swirled around his attack. Saffron’s spear didn’t do any better. The windigo faded from view. Gallus looked all around to see where it had gone, but he saw nothing.

“Friends back!” Yona shouted. “You scared away the windigo!”

“Not quite,” Starlight said. “It’s up there!”

Starlight pointed to the top of a nearby hill. The windigo was glaring at them.

“Yona was following the windigo. Yona think mountains good place to find Smolder.”

“So you were following an evil ice spirit?” Gallus asked.

“Yes. Yona knew she was bad, but she knew the best ways to go up to the mountains.”

Starlight pointed up the path. “We better go after her quickly if we don’t want her to get away. But are you sure anyone ended up in these mountains?”

“Yona not sure, but windigo had trap ready. Yona think windigo was looking for someone.”

The windigo was starting to fly away, so they’d need to move quickly to catch up to it.



Capture and question the windigo.

Follow the windigo into the mountains.

Try to convince Yona to look elsewhere for missing friends.

> Chapter 13: Battle Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sandbar: Try to buy time.
Smolder: Start a fight and help Storm Surge.

“Hey, can’t we all just be friendly?” Sandbar asked.

He rubbed a hoof through his mane and stepped away from one of the floating ice spears nearby. His hair was standing on end from the magical energy he could feel coming from Shade and Nightmare. The two shadow alicorns motioned to their guards to form up. Sandbar tried to spin around to keep any enemies from being behind him, but they were surrounded.

“I think we can take you!” Smolder shouted. She breathed a blast of fire at the nearest spirit, but it was far enough away to easily dodge.

“So you choose pain!” Nightmare shouted. She stomped a hoof. “Get them!”

Storm Surge snapped his fingers and two dark voids were torn in the air next to him.

“Let’s make this a little more even,” he said.

Four of the strange hippogriffs from Jester’s Court walked out of one of the voids. A moment later, they changed into a dragon, an unbrum, a yak, and an earth pony. Storm Surge pointed to the side.

“You four fight the umbrum over there. Fight well, and I just might have a memory or two to give back to you. And my other friends will fight those windigos.”

Sandbar almost froze in terror as he saw what crawled out of the other portal. Two squid-like creatures crawled out of it before it closed. They had glowing red eyes scattered across their long faces. Their huge maws roared out in a series of terrible sounds while their many tentacles and claws pulled them rapidly across the floor.

Shade lifted into the air on his wings. “You’ll pay for bringing such filth to our throne room!”

Sandbar felt the familiar tap of a dragon claw on his shoulder.

“Hey, get your head in the fight!” Smolder said. “I’ll take those two umbrum. You get that extra windigo.”

Sandbar watched the fight as he hesitated. Storm Surge’s first attack was blocked by a barrier of darkness that Nightmare created. Shade slashed the hippogriff with a black spike of shadow. Storm Surge morphed into a medium-sized dragon and added flames to his barrage of claws and ice spikes. The three leaders traded vicious blows until the dark spikes pinned Storm Surge down. He was blasted with a barrage of dark rays until he collapsed.

A burst of magic drove back the magical attacks. Storm Surge rose again in his hippogriff form, but his eyes were glowing yellow. The yellow spots on some of his feathers glowed and blinked like eyes, and dark tentacles wiggled on the edges of his body and wings. He screeched and charged at Shade and Nightmare.

Sandbar was blasted with a wind so cold that his hooves went numb. The windigo he was supposed to be fighting laughed and danced away as Sandbar tried to kick at it to drive it away. Sandbar was swaying on his numb hooves. He should have been paying better attention to his own fight.

All around him, the confusion of battle continued. The terrible shambling creatures that Storm Surge had brought were frozen solid beneath the two windigos. The shapeshifting hippogriffs all shouted triumphantly as the last of the four umbrum went down.

At Sandbar’s side, Smolder fought the two umbrum with her fiery breath. She dodged their hooves by gliding and jumping. 

“You’re almost as easy as that other guard I fought!” Smolder shouted. She took a deep breath to ready another fiery burst.

One of the umbrum circled behind her. A swift kick hit Smolder in the back of the head. She gasped and crumpled to the floor. The flames around her mouth quickly sputtered to smoke then nothing.

“No! Smolder!”

Sandbar ran toward her, but the windigo blocked his way. He could barely move his hooves until he reached deep inside. He still had something left inside him, but it wasn’t much. He focused and bucked with all his might. His aim was true. His hooves connected with something solid this time. The windigo was knocked back. Sandbar ran past and put a hoof on Smolder.

“Please be okay! Get up!”

He focused on her. He could feel her energy. It was almost like she was a seed or plant he was trying to help grow, but the connection was very faint. He tried to transfer energy to her. He felt something go from his hooves and into her. She coughed and steadied herself by supporting herself on one knee as she tried to stand up again.

“Smolder!”

He gave her a quick hug even as their enemies circled around them.

“Hey, no hugs. We still have a fight to win.”

She pushed him back and stood all the way up. She clenched her claws into fists.

Sandbar was breathing hard and his entire body felt like it had been burned by the extreme cold of the windigo’s first attack.

“I don’t know if I can fight much more.”

“Heh. I don’t know if we have a choice.”

“We could fall back and let Storm Surge’s friends fight them.”

“No way. I’m not a coward. I won’t let some weird hippogriffs fight when I can still keep going. Now let’s get back in there and kick some spirit butt!”

Sandbar hesitated. He could try harder to convince Smolder to stop, or he could focus on himself. He didn’t think he could heal her if she got hurt again. Another dumb idea popped into his head. He could try to create a distraction to help Storm Surge beat the two shadow alicorns, but all the crazy magic destroying that half of the throne room might easily tear him apart with one wrong step.

(Sandbar is at 1/14 stamina and 5 friendship tokens. Smolder is at 3/14 stamina and 7 friendship tokens.)



Fall back and see how the fight goes.

Convince Smolder to fall back.

Help Smolder fight.

Distract Shade and Nightmare.

Draw on the magic of Harmony to help Smolder (costs friendship tokens).

> Chapter 14: The Ceremony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fake the magic of the allegiance ceremony.

Dusty Tail brought Ocellus paper and a pencil for her to try to sketch out her plans. She tried to list what sort of magic or spells might mimic the sort of magical bond the ceremony would normally create. It was very difficult to have a good idea of what to do because she had never seen the ceremony take place, but she thought it would make something like the bond she used to have with Queen Chrysalis.

Even thinking about that made her shiver. Dusty Tail sat nearby and his ears perked up.

“I’m here if you need some love or even a warm pony to snuggle. Some of the nicer changelings sometimes like to harvest our love that way.”

Harvest. Ocellus hated that word. She waved him back with a hoof and went back to her lists and plans. Eventually, she had what she thought would work and practiced it for a few moments. Dusty Tail kept watching her the entire time, but he didn’t seem to understand much about the magic she was trying to do.

Ocellus could have spent hours experimenting, but the guards returned after about half an hour. They both looked more friendly now that Ocellus was about to become part of the hive. They marched Ocellus back to the throne room.

Queen Cordys sat on her throne with a confident and welcoming smile. A small table in front of her held a small vial of royal jelly. It glowed with a brilliant green light. If a female changeling was given enough of it, they could become a queen, but this amount was too small for that. It made sense that it would be used in the ceremony, but Ocellus hadn’t planned for it.

“Ocellus, spawn of Queen Chrysalis. Come forward and become part of my hive. We welcome you as part of our swarm. Let the love you gather serve the hive well.”

The queen used her magic on the royal jelly. Ocellus could feel the magic radiating off of it, but she knew that many of its effects wouldn’t be magical. She took the vial in her hoof and cast her own spells to protect her from it. She hoped they would be enough as she raised the thick fluid up and drank it.

The effects of it were like ice and lightning traveling through her body. She collapsed to the ground and shut her eyes as the unnerving sensations made her chitin itch. She knew immediately that her little hidden spells had done almost nothing. She could feel her mind connecting to the hive here and tried to draw back from it. She felt another magic deep inside her that reacted against the changes in her mind and heart. Ocellus called on the magic of Harmony.

Ocellus could feel the changes slow down. The connection to this new hive was still there, but it hadn’t entirely replaced Ocellus’s connection to Thorax’s hive. And Ocellus could suddenly sense the changelings around her in a way that she hadn’t felt since Queen Chrysalis was in charge. The presence of the queen was now like a brilliant sun, and Ocellus relished the sense of pleasure that the queen radiated. The words to say suddenly came to her through the new bond.

“My hooves shall follow the queen’s path. My heart will follow her desires. My wings will carry me where she commands. My love for the hive.”

Queen Cordys laughed and got up from her throne to give Ocellus a gentle pat on the head. “Very good. Now I know you will be loyal to me instead of to others. Of course, you’re a little different than my other drones. I don’t think you can harvest love in the same way that they can.”

Ocellus felt two sets of emotions. Part of her rebelled at the thought of harvesting love, but part of her was disappointed that she couldn’t be useful to the hive in that way. Cordys lifted Ocellus’s chin up and looked into her eyes. 

“Instead, you will do as I commanded earlier. Go with my expedition. Convince your friends to come here. Then I’ll be able to see to all their needs, like I do with my ponies. There’s no need to violently take love like Chrysalis did. My way is much more steady and sustainable. Bring them here, and they’ll be safe and happy. Pince will lead the expedition, so follow his orders as you would mine.”

The massive changeling warrior saluted the queen before motioning for Ocellus and a few other drones to follow him. Ocellus took one last look at Dusty Tail. She could feel a new connection between her and him. She wanted him to stay with her, and the thought of that command suddenly called a little magic from her. Dusty Tail followed her saying a word, but Pince glared at the pony.

“You are dismissed,” he said. “Go back up to your village.”

Dusty Tail smiled and bowed before quickly trotting off toward the hive’s exit.

Pince looked Ocellus over and snorted. “I hope they taught you how to properly infiltrate in that hive you came from. If you can’t carry your weight on this mission, I’ll find a way to make sure you don’t hold us back. Am I clear?”

The way he spoke and yelled reminded Ocellus of Pharynx. Pince was definitely the tough military type of changeling. Ocellus saluted.

“Uh… yes, sir!”

“Good. And welcome to our hive. We’ll be traveling in a small infiltration unit to avoid notice. I have reports from the spies and scouts that something big is happening at the Shadow Mountains. We’ll need to sneak in until we find an umbrum or windigo and transform into them. That should let us in to see what’s really going on. If you find any of your friends, let me know.”

Ocellus could feel the excitement from her fellow changelings, and she felt it herself. This would be her big chance to prove her worth to the new hive. Yet, wouldn’t following these orders be betraying her friends? Ocellus’s feelings seemed more divided than ever.

Besides Pince, only three other changelings had followed. There was one other big male drone, but he wasn’t quite as big as Pince. The other two were slender female drones who moved with the dangerous grace of well-trained soldiers.

Pince pulled out a map and traced out the route they’d be flying. It led through and over the many canyons of a place called the Wastelands and then through some forested hills that led up into the mountains. It would be the perfect approach to fly quickly while avoiding notice.

“I estimate we’ll get there early tomorrow,” Pince said. “Everyone but the new drone gets one of these. The queen said you don’t need love in the same way that we do.”

Pince handed each of the other changelings a vial of love-infused nectar and put the map away. He led the way out of the hive. Once they were out into the large cavern full of mushroom farms, he buzzed his wings in preparation for takeoff. Ocellus followed his lead, and soon they were circling toward the small opening at the very top of the cave that led up to the sunlight. While they climbed, Ocellus got one last glimpse of Dusty Tail walking up the stairways. He stopped and waved.

Ocellus blinked to adjust to the bright sunlight. The jungle had been cleared from the area around the cave. A small pony village with fields of crops was surrounded by thick jungle on all sides. Ocellus got only a moment to look. All but the youngest ponies had the same blue mushrooms in their manes as Dusty Tail.

The village disappeared behind them as they flew over the thick jungle. The miles passed quickly. After a few hours of flying, the jungle ended in a sharp cliff that rose up to a desert plateau. They landed on the cliff’s edge to take a little break from all the flying.

Ocellus would need a good plan for what to do when she found her friends, and a few ideas came to mind. It felt wrong to plot against her new queen, yet Ocellus wondered why she was thinking about helping Queen Cordys instead of her friends.

(Ocellus is at 12/12 stamina and 5 friendship tokens.)



Try to give subtle warnings about the changelings.

Slip away from the group and warn her friends.

Play along with Queen Cordys’s plan until later.

> Chapter 15: The Chase
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow the windigo into the mountains.

Yona watched as the others started to fly after the windigo. Starlight teleported past the bushes or rocks in the way, but Yona would have to smash her way up the path. Yona scraped her right hoof against the ground and lowered her head as she prepared to charge. The bushes were no match for her horns, and she sent several small boulders rolling down the mountain behind her as she kept up with the rest of her friends.

An icy gale pushed Gallus into one of the cliffs. The griffon was scraped up. Yona offered him a hoof to help him back up.

“No fair. All friends have magic or flying. Yona just have hooves.”

Gallus lifted himself back into the air with one of Yona’s horns. “Hooves might be better here. I’m a good flier, but that windigo is making the winds hard to fly against. But I’ll show her!”

Silverstream was getting ahead of everyone even while carrying the little kobold, and Gallus raced to catch up. Another icy blast blew him into another mountainside. Yona ran to where he had crashed.

“Is Gallus okay? Yona can carry Gallus if flying is too hard.”

“I’m fine! It just caught me off guard.” Gallus huffed and flapped his wings. 

Yona started to gain on the windigo again, but Starlight and Silverstream were still ahead of her as she leaped and trampled up the mountain paths. The swirling clouds thinned and revealed a massive fortress. A small plume of smoke came from the open gate.

The windigo raced inside. Starlight held out a hoof to motion for the group to stop, but Yona’s hooves slipped on the loose gravel and she smashed into a large rock. The rock cracked loudly enough to make Yona’s ears ring.

A group of dark spirits stepped out of the gate upon hearing the noise.

“Umbrum?” Starlight gasped. “Everyone, gather close. Let’s try an invisibility spell. Hold your breath.”

Starlight’s horn sparked. Yona and her friends took on a faded look, but the magic fizzled.

“Intruders!” An umbrum shouted. “We’re being attacked from outside, too!”

The windigo they had followed stepped out behind the umbrum guards. “They are ponies and other creatures. I was trying to bring them here for our rulers. Capture them!”

“I can sense Smolder and Sandbar nearby,” Starlight said. “Run in and find them. I’ll take care of these guards.”

“Wait! Saffron help brave pony!” The little kobold hopped off Silverstream’s back and ran to Starlight’s side.

Starlight smiled as her horn glowed. She shot several blasts of magic near the guards. Each shot caused the guards to move away from the gate, and soon it was wide open.

“Starlight is so cool!” Silverstream said. “I wish I could do magic like that!”

“Less talking and more flying!” Gallus said.

Yona watched as the umbrum and windigo fought with Starlight. Her spells and shield flashed, but one of the umbrum slipped in and kicked her in the side. Starlight grunted and yelled out in frustration.

“Back off!”

A burst of magic stunned the guards.

“Follow smoke to Smolder!” Yona yelled as they ran through the huge metal gates.

The smoke streamed through the top of an archway at the end of the entry hall. Yona ran with her friends past the pillars, but she skidded to a halt as she saw Sandbar and Smolder backing up through the archway.

Convince Smolder to fall back.

“Stay back!” Smolder shouted. She breathed a small plume of fire, but it was barely strong enough to get past her snout. Two umbrum and one windigo held back and watched the fire carefully.

“The cavalry has arrived!” Gallus said.

“Go Smolder! Don’t let them get you!” Silverstream shouted.

Smolder looked back and smiled as she saw her friends. She breathed in. She started to cough.

“Come on Smolder!” Silverstream cheered. “Don’t choke now!”

Smolder took another breath and let out a huge pillar of flame. The windigo dodged most of it and was barely scorched. Both of the umbrum were hit by the full flame. One collapsed. The other looked to be barely holding together.

“Yona will protect friends from evil spirits!”

Yona stepped in front of Smolder and Sandbar. They both looked exhausted and beat up. Yona wasn’t going to let these spirits hurt her friends more. Gallus and Silverstream flapped in the air above her.

The windigo screeched. An icy vortex swirled around it. Gallus charged in and slashed at both spirits. The umbrum collapsed, but the windigo still stood. It waved its hooves. The icy winds around it howled. Ice crystals formed on the floor and walls around them.

“Yona protect friends!”

Yona jumped forward and pushed Gallus and Silverstream out of the way. Yona’s ears, hooves, and nose went numb even beneath her thick fur. It was colder than the coldest winter winds at Yakyakistan. Yona’s hooves and legs froze to the floor. Yona twisted her legs and the ice cracked, but she felt like she could barely stand up.

“Smolder! We need your fire to take that thing down!” Gallus shouted. He pressed a talon to the sapphire at the center of the circlet on his head. It glowed blue. The same faint blue glow surrounded Smolder.

Smolder clenched her claws. “We aren’t giving up!”

The windigo waved a hoof and sent the howling winds at them again. A flash of magic from each of them blocked the freezing gale. Smolder’s bright flame pierced through and shot the windigo out of the air. It crashed into the wall and didn’t get up.

Yona stared at the room past the archway. The banners and thrones were in pieces on the floor. A dragon, umbrum, yak, and earth pony fought two windigo until they brought one of the two down. On the far side of the throne room, blasts of darkness and chaos met. The magic flashed so quickly that Yona felt like she was a few steps behind what was actually happening. Ice spears formed in the air and flung at two shadowy alicorns while the two fought back with rays, spikes, and shields of pure darkness.

The unsettling chaos that warped that half of the room twisted things in unnatural ways. The male alicorn dodged several spears of ice, but the chaos warped the room. He suddenly ran into the attacks he had just dodged. He yelled out in pain. The shadows he was made of swirled until his body wasn’t pierced, but then he collapsed.

The female alicorn growled and flashed her sharp teeth at the hippogriff at the center of the swirling chaos and madness. “Storm Surge, you’ll pay for this!”

The windigo that was still fighting pulled back. A bubble of darkness surrounded the two alicorns and the windigo. With a loud pop, they vanished.

The hippogriff landed on the floor. He was breathing hard, but he looked at where the alicorn had been. “You can run from the future lord of chaos, for now.”

The other creatures in the room morphed into hippogriffs and surrounded their leader. He waved a talon and they relaxed.

“They’re friends,” Sandbar said.

“Is Sandbar sure?” Yona asked. Staring into the madness and chaos around their leader had felt wrong in too many ways for Yona to trust these strange hippogriffs.

“Yeah, Storm Surge helped me. It’s so good to see you all.” Sandbar gave each of them a quick hug.

Smolder sat against the wall and waved weakly. “Thanks for the help. Those windigo were tough.”

Starlight and Saffron ran into the room. Starlight created a barrier around them. “Don’t trust him. I sense ancient and evil magic.”

The blinking eyes on Storm Surge’s wings turned back to regular yellow spots. The aura of chaos and madness around him faded to nothing.

“I’d rather not fight you right now,” Storm Surge said. “With Shade and Nightmare on the run, I can claim this territory and some of its power for myself. In exchange, you can take these two artifacts. They’re part of what you’ll need to get back home. If you promise to avoid wearing them, they’re yours.”

Storm Surge snapped his talons. A suit of dark armor and a cape made of flowing shadows appeared in front of him.

Yona didn’t like the look of either of them. She looked over at Starlight to see what to do.

Starlight took a careful look at both items. “Nightmare Moon’s armor and the Pony of Shadow’s cape?”

Storm Surge nodded. “Right. Avoid wearing them. They corrupt those who wear them until Shade or Nightmare gain control. But they have enough magic to help you in other ways. If you promise to continue helping me, they’re yours.”

“Those could be part of the spell to get back, but what do you get out of it?”

“You’ve managed to upset the balance of power in this realm. Sandbar was already so helpful in gaining me a foothold here, so he deserves a reward for his service. I think we all need a rest after that fight. My guards will keep you safe.”

Yona didn’t trust these strange hippogriffs, and the unconscious monsters in the throne room looked like terrible abominations. But most of her friends were hurt and needed to be cared for.

Starlight gathered all of them around her and whispered. “Sandbar, should we trust him? I could fight him.”

Sandbar shook his head. “That wouldn’t be friendly, and he helped me. Let’s take the armor and cape and get some rest. I can barely keep standing.”



Take the offer.

Fight Storm Surge and his guards while they are weak.

Refuse the offer and walk away.

> Chapter 16: Making Plans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Take the offer.

“We’ll take them,” Starlight said. “But I’ll need to make sure I can get the right magical protection on these. Students, you can rest while I take care of that.” Starlight focused and a barrier formed around the armor and cape.

Storm Surge kept rubbing his beak. Silverstream thought he looked very tired, and the way he had looked in the fight had been as frightening as any storm creature. He had a regal but dangerous look to him. 

He laughed softly. “If you can keep those away from Nightmare and Shade, it will make things easier for me, but they might also come after you. It will take them some time to regain their strength after that fight. Now I have some redecorating to do.”

Silverstream followed after the unusual hippogriffs, but Saffron ran over to Smolder.

“Wait! Maybe I could help? I’m Queen Novo’s niece, so I’d be happy to help hippogriffs like you get back to Mt. Aris.”

Storm Surge broke into a fit of uncontrolled laughter. “Mt. Aris? The queen? I serve far greater beings now.” He stepped back into the throne room and snapped his talons.

The hideous tentacled monsters slowly began to stir as he channeled his chaotic magic around them. They rose and started clearing away the rubble. Silverstream watched as they dug out glowing stones etched with runes and crushed the stones to dust. Even watching them move made Silverstream shiver, so she turned to look at Storm Surge’s guards.

They were all adult hippogriffs, but they’d sometimes transform into other creatures. She watched for a few moments. It didn’t look like they had more than a little control about when they changed or what they changed into, and they all seemed to be in a slight daze. Two of them spoke quietly between themselves.

“That fight…” A seafoam green hippogriff mare said softly. “It reminded me of something. Only just a flash of memory, but I remember standing guard in a nicer castle than this.”

A red and pink hippogriff stallion nodded. “I remembered a little, too. I think I fought windigos in a storm on some island. It seems like another lifetime.”

“Hey! If you need any help remembering, I can tell you all about Seaquestria or Mt. Aris!”

They both stared at Silverstream. Their dazed looks vanished for just a moment.

The mare put a wing around Silverstream. “We’d like that. It’s been so long since we’ve been outside of the chaotic sea we call home now.”

“Oh! I have so much to tell you! And things are so much nicer now that we don’t have to hide.”

Silverstream quickly launched into a long story about her home. The hippogriff guards all gathered around to listen. Silverstream hardly noticed the time passing, but Starlight soon approached.

“We have some food and beds in the other room.”

“I better go. What are your names?”

The hippogriffs all looked confused. The red and pink stallion shook his head. “We are nameless now. A price we paid to chaos… but if we keep going, we can earn new names, like Storm Surge did.”

They certainly were an odd bunch, but Silverstream was happy to meet them. She parted with a quick goodbye. Starlight led the way to the room everyone was staying in. The others were already eating. Silverstream looked over their injuries. They had all fought so bravely. Silverstream felt a little guilty. She had tried to be as tough as Smolder or as fierce as Gallus, but she hadn’t been able to help much in the fight. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any more big battles.

Starlight slid a plate to her. “After all that, eat a good meal. I tried a little food magic to make our meals better. Hopefully it’s as good as what you’d have in Ponyville.”

Silverstream quickly dug in. Starlight had made a passable version of the hayburgers and fries. Her cake wasn’t nearly as good as what Pinkie Pie always made, but her tea was very good. It was a nice chamomile with a hint of orange and spices. With the fresh meal in her stomach, Silverstream could barely walk over to where her friends lay in a pile. She slipped into the space between Gallus and Smolder.

Saffron was sitting next to Smolder. He cleaned off small gems before putting them on Smolder’s plate. Smolder smiled and leaned over to whisper to Silverstream.

“Where’d you find a kobold? You should have seen this guy right after the fight. He told me how awesome I was in the fight and promised to serve me. He said he has a whole tribe at his home that would be happy to go back to serve the dragons in the Dragonlands.”

“Saffron serve strong Smolder,” he said. He finished placing the gems on her plate.

“If you’re done with those gems, you could work on that sore spot on my left wing.”

Silverstream raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t this a bit much? Is he your servant now?”

Smolder laughed. “Basically. But he likes it. The stories all say that kobolds loved to serve strong dragons who could protect them. Ah… that’s the spot.”

“Okay. Just promise to take good care of him.”

“I will. I’d be an idiot to lose the first kobold that any dragons have seen in ages. All the ones in the Dragonlands went extinct in that war we fought with the griffons way before I hatched.”

Starlight looked at all of them. “Before you all sleep or relax, we need to decide what to do and talk about what has happened so far.”

They all spoke about what they had been through, although it seemed like Sandbar didn’t have a lot to say about how he helped Storm Surge.

Slip away from the group and warn her friends.

A dainty knock sounded on the door. Starlight blinked and looked up. The light from the lantern reflected off the light blue chitin and eyes of a changeling.

“Ocellus!” Starlight rushed over and let her in. “Where you’d come from? At least you’re here now. No more missing students.”

“I’m here for now, but I don’t think I can stay. I was barely able to slip past Pince and the other guards.” Ocellus furrowed her brow. “Ah, it’s hard to talk about it. I suppose that’s because of what happened. It might take a while to tell you.”

Ocellus began her story of what happened. She often had to pause and rub her forehead, as if she had a sudden headache. She finally got to the end.

“And so that’s why I can’t stay here. They’ll know I’m missing in the morning.”

Starlight held Ocellus’s hooves. “We could protect you from them. Unless you feel it’s better if you go back.”

“It’s hard to trust myself anymore.”

Silverstream gave Ocellus a hug to cheer her up. “We’re here for you.”

“Thank you. It feels nice to have some honest friendship and love. Dusty Tail gave me something close, but it wasn’t the same.”

Sandbar walked over to the door. “I, uh, need the bathroom.”

Starlight unlocked the door with her magic and let him out. “Okay, Ocellus, have some food before you do anything. And now I’d like a little time to look at that book of yours.” Starlight pulled out the guide book and started to look through it. “This book has all sorts of fascinating information. Different creatures control different territories here. I suspect each of them must have a powerful artifact that could help get us back, like that seal that Grandeur had, but I doubt he’d part with it easily.”

“Scriptus had a magical orb that looked very special,” Silverstream said. “But he also didn’t want to stop using it.”

The faint pop of magic alerted them all to someone in the corner. A lean black griffon stepped out of the shadows.

Starlight’s eyes went wide. “Glissanda! How did you get here?”

Glissanda smiled. “The signet that marks you all created a connection. We have items that can use that to bring me to you. I’m just here to check on you all and remind you of the work you owe Grandeur. You still have a few days to start if you have more urgent things going on, but don’t put it off. The price is always very high for those who go against their contracts.”

“Yes, we know,” Gallus said.

“I’d expect no less from such a promising young griffon.” Glissanda walked over and put a wing on Gallus’s shoulder. Gallus blushed, and Silverstream felt a strange mix of admiration and jealousy for Glissanda.

Glissanda stepped back into the corner and pulled out a golden amulet with a large diamond in the center. “I’ll leave it to you to decide. I have work to go finish.” She vanished with a loud pop.

Sandbar came running back in a few minutes later. “Guys! This strange thing is following me!” As he ran through the door, a floating creature made of crystal zipped in behind him. One of the crystals was shaped like an eye. It glanced around the room and sent out a small wave of magic that swept across the room.

“Pony Sandbar’s information is confirmed,” it said in an odd, humming voice. “Seven creatures from Equus confirmed. Source of temporal and magical anomalies located. Message from Hedron incoming.”

Beams of magical light shot from the floating crystal probe. They slowly formed into the image of a yak, but the yak seemed to also be made of crystal in the image.

“Yes. I think this form will work best for communication. Greetings creatures of Equus. I am a magical construct, designation Hedron. My probe detects that Harmony sent you, but Harmony is also bending time to speed your return home. If this continues too long, temporal damage to this plane will occur. I cannot allow this. I will need the unicorn and at least three of you to come to The Nexus to prevent a temporal desync cascade.”

Starlight scrunched up the end of her nose. “It’s not like we wanted to come here. But, what are you? Your magic is unlike anything I’ve seen. It’s like a mix of the Tree of Harmony, the Crystal Heart, and time magic.”

“The Crystal Empire was built on the ruins of my old chassis in Equestria. Sombra figured out some ways to use what little was left of my magic in those abandoned structures. And Starswirl used old studies about me to help fashion the Tree of Harmony. But I am greater than both those things. However, for the safety of organic creatures, my core was relocated here. Long-term exposure creates changes and dependence in living creatures, such as the changes seen in a small degree among the crystal ponies. To be more precise…”

Silverstream didn’t know what all the magical terms meant as Hedron went on about what he was exactly. Starlight asked plenty of questions and finally seemed satisfied.

“Okay, I think I’m finally understanding the basics,” Starlight said. “Twilight is going to lose her mind when I tell her about you.”

“Why you turn into magic crystal yak?” Yona asked.

“It’s my preferred form when talking to creatures such as you. And I do it to honor Prince Clarion. He and the yaks were essential in helping set up my original core.”

“Prince Clarion?” Yona scratched her chin. “Oh! I remember stories about him! He was a great yak warrior and protected the yaks with magical talismans.”

“Yes, he did use some of my powers to drive off windigos and other creatures, but he is long past. The important thing now is to restore the temporal harmonics. If you help me with that, I can do more to aid you.”

Silverstream flew up and poked at the crystals on the probe. “This thing is so cool!”

“Please refrain from poking it. It is a simple probe, capable of following preset commands or receiving more direct instruction. When you are ready to help with the temporal harmonics, use this crystal to contact me. I cannot leave my probe here, or Storm Surge may destroy it.”

A crystal floated out from the probe. Silverstream took it gently. It was almost clear with a blue coloring to it.

“I better hold onto that,” Starlight said.

“Aw, but it’s so pretty!”

“Yes, but like Hedron said, it has magic that might affect you over time. I’ll hold onto it.”

“Umm, but what about the changelings?” Ocellus asked. “Ah… it’s getting harder to disobey the orders not to take you in. If we don’t fix what’s wrong with me, I might get in the way more than helping.”

“We have a few options,” Starlight said. “It might be best to split up into two groups to get more done. We’ll rest before we head out, but we can’t waste much time. I want everyone to decide what we’re doing before we sleep.”



Travel to The Nexus to fix the temporal harmonics.

Find a way to free Ocellus from her bond to Queen Cordys.

Head back to The Bazaar to complete the contract job for Grandeur.

> Chapter 17: The Unexpected
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Send half the group to The Nexus and half to do the contract job for Grandeur.

Starlight tried to explain why Hedron had convinced her they had much less time to get back, but the things about magic and time went way over Smolder’s head. In the end, they decided to send half the group to visit Hedron with Starlight and half to go back to Grandeur. Starlight would pick the final groups in the morning, so they all went to bed.

When morning came, Ocellus was so nervous she was shaking, so Smolder sat with her and put a wing around the small changeling. It was always embarrassing to be seen like this in public, but she knew that a gentle touch always calmed Ocellus down.

“You doing okay?” she asked.

Ocellus tried to smile. “I think so. I should have gone back during the night, but then I would have told Pince about all of you. I’ve never felt like this. But the queen had even worse things planned for all of you. I… I won’t go back to Pince. I don’t want to.”

Smolder pulled Ocellus against her chest. “I’ll protect you. Just like at school, right?” Smolder blushed as Ocellus cuddled against her while her other friends and Starlight watched.

“Once we split up, one of our groups will probably run into those changelings,” Starlight said. “And Ocellus is the only other one who can do magic besides me. Smolder and Gallus will go with Ocellus. If you run into trouble, use a messaging spell to tell me right away. Yona, Silverstream, and Sandbar are with me. Let’s pack up and head out.”

“Saffron go with Smolder,” the kobold announced.

He was a very helpful little guy, and Smolder would be glad to have him along. He packed up his things then helped Smolder pack up hers and Ocellus’s stuff.

“Be careful,” Starlight said. “I want to get back to Equestria with all of you.”

Gallus puffed up his feathers. “With me, there won’t be anything we can’t handle.”

Sandbar booped Gallus on the beak and laughed. “Just don’t pick too many fights.”

Silverstream flapped her wings. “You’re going to love the Bazaar. It has so much cool stuff! But I’m excited to go see this new place, too!”

“Yona want to learn more about strange crystal yak thing.”

They said their goodbyes and parted ways as they took different paths through the mountains. The map that Smolder found showed easy paths and clearly marked any dangers, so they were able to the edge of the Shadow Mountains easily. The forests thinned to small groves separated by rolling hills covered in tall grass. Smolder flew a little higher and looked around. Anything could easily sneak up on them in a place like this.

As the day dragged on, it was hard to remain vigilant all the time. Smolder landed next to Saffron.

“So, I know you like dragons, but what do you get out of helping us?”

“I find more dragons for kobolds to follow. You said there were lots of dragons where you come from. I find way to take tribe to your dragons. Here there is only one dragon, so only a few kobolds get work from him.”

Saffron wrinkled his scaley nose and pointed his spear at some nearby trees. Bolts of magic shot from behind the trees. Two nearly hit Smolder, and Gallus had to dodge another. Tall dark changelings with holes in their legs stepped out from behind the trees. Their wings buzzed as they flew forward.

One stopped next to Ocellus and shouted at her. “Ocellus, did you think I wouldn’t notice your absence? You left against orders, but now it’s time to obey. Help us subdue these creatures and bring them back.”

Gallus pulled Ocellus back and growled. “She’s our friend. Leave her alone!”

The changeling warrior laughed and charged at Gallus.

Smolder could no longer pay attention to them because two other changeling warriors were flanking her. Saffron stepped in to cover her back, but the changelings paid little attention to the kobold. They aimed their horns and kicks at Smolder.

Smolder fought back with her fire and claws, but these changelings were well trained. They pulled back and were only singed by the edges of her flames. They transitioned smoothly into devastating attacks. A hoof caught Smolder in the side. She crashed to the ground. A second hit knocked her face into the dirt. Smolder nearly blacked out, but the magic of Harmony within her suddenly warmed her entire body. 

Smolder stood back up and used the magic to power up her flames. She felt unstoppable. She caught one of the two changelings with her fire. The soldier yelped in pain and fell in a smoking heap.

“Hah! You picked the wrong fight when you decided to fight with a dragon!”

She glanced over and saw Gallus take a vicious hit. He got back up slowly. Ocellus had transformed into a bugbear, but she switched between attacking Gallus and the other changeling. The glow of the magic of Harmony surrounded Gallus and Ocellus, and Ocellus no longer fought against Gallus.

Smolder returned her focus back to the changeling still fighting her and Saffron. He charged at Smolder. She rushed to meet him, but he suddenly buzzed his wings and flipped into the air. A black hoof smashed into Smolder’s snout.

Everything went fuzzy after that. Smolder thought she remembered Saffron yelling and running forward to drive off the changeling warrior. She collapsed to the ground. She was too tired, and all the magic keeping her going was gone. She couldn’t keep her eyes open.

She closed her eyes for what seemed like a moment, but it must have been longer. She had an awful headache, but someone was rubbing her with something. She opened one eye and saw the blurry image of Saffron rubbing her worst bruises with some healing ointment. He dabbed a little on her forehead and rubbed it in. Two blobs with the colors of Ocellus and Gallus stood nearby. A hoof shook Smolder’s shoulder.

“Smolder! Smolder!” Ocellus said.

“Ugh… not so loud. My head hurts.”

“Thank goodness! You’re okay!”

“Here, I’ll help you up,” Gallus said.

Smolder blinked until her vision cleared. Gallus was offering his talons to help her up.

“Leave her there,” a musical voice said.

A creature stepped out of the grass. It took Smolder a moment to remember what sort of creature she was. It was a kirin mare. The scales on her back were a shiny golden yellow that faded to a lighter yellow in her fur. Her horn shimmered in silver and blue, and her mane was a faint brown.

“I saw that fight. You all fought well against the soldiers of Queen Cordys. You deserve a reward for your bravery. I am Mirage Chaser. Let me heal your friend.”

The kirin pranced toward them then stopped. Her horn glowed as she lowered it toward Smolder. A soothing blue light surrounded Smolder. All the bruises and pain of the fight quickly faded.

“There. That should have you back up and ready for whatever comes your way. You can never be too careful in the Realm of the Lost. I’ve been here a long time myself. I always was a bit too curious to stay in our village. I’ve never seen a shiny blue changeling like you! What brings three creatures as different as yourselves to this place?”

Smolder dusted herself off and stood up. Her headache was gone, and she only felt a little tired.

Gallus stepped forward and spread his wings, like he always did when trying to look impressive. “We’re here on a special mission from Equestria. Celestia herself sent us!”

Mirage Chaser laughed. “A good story, but I don’t think that’s the truth.”

“Fine. Celestia didn’t send us, but we are here to help save Equestria. We needed some help from Grandeur, so now we owe him.”

“That rings true to me. And if you have a contract with that old griffon, you better stick to it. But if you have time, I could use your help. If you’re against Queen Cordys, I’ve been helping a few ponies break free of her control. I want to save more of them, but I can’t do it myself. We’ve been working on something to get rid of those mind control mushrooms, but the ingredients are hard to find. And I’m not the best at sneaking into the village either.”

“I’m sort of under her control,” Ocellus said. “I can fight it, but maybe… you could help me break free?”

Mirage Chaser frowned and her horn glowed. She pressed it against Ocellus.

“Ah hah! I can sense it. Not quite like the ponies under her control, but it’s similar. Maybe me and my friends could find a way to undo it, but you’d need to get a few things for the potion and spells.”

Gallus scratched his chin. “That sounds nice, but we’re supposed to be going to Grandeur. But our contract with him still has a few more days. Maybe we could help Mirage Chaser.”

“I could send a message to Starlight to tell her about the change in plans,” Ocellus said. “I don’t want to hurt my friends anymore.”

“Yeah, you hit me pretty hard.” Gallus rubbed his side. “It would be nice to not worry about that. What should we do?”



Travel quickly to the Bazaar to finish the contract work with Grandeur.

Send a message to Starlight and wait for her reply before deciding.

Help Mirage Chaser.

> Chapter 18: The Stony Path
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sandbar hated to see his friends go, but Starlight was a powerful unicorn. And she had a good plan. He waved until he could barely see Ocellus, Gallus, and Smolder. He turned back to his other friends. Yona and Silverstream were staring at a floating crystal as Starlight spoke to it. Sandbar sat next to Yona and watched.

“Okay, we’re ready to come to you,” Starlight said.

“Good,” Hedron’s voice answered. “Here’s a map of the best route to the Nexus. Do you have paper to copy it?”

“Here’s some!” Silverstream pulled out a quill and paper and put them down in front of Starlight.

The crystal flashed. A detailed map appeared on the paper. Sandbar looked it over. The route through the Wastelands went around areas marked as dangerous, but the naturally difficult terrain meant they’d have to take plenty of twists and turns through the rocky canyons.

“Map transfer complete. If you run into any issues, contact me again.”

The crystal stopped glowing and floated down. Starlight placed it in a box and placed a protective spell on it.

“Okay, it’s going to be a long day. I can teleport us past a few of the more difficult parts, but we’re going to need to do a lot of walking and flying, too. I’ll keep the map and guide us. You three can keep an eye out for anything dangerous. Yona, you get the front. Silverstream, you get the sky. Sandbar, you keep an eye on what’s behind us.”

“Sure thing!” Sandbar smiled and took his place at the back of the group.

It was a warm day, and the Wastelands reminded Sandbar of what he had heard of places like Appleoosa or Dodge Junction. The dry, sandy paths were difficult, and the tall sandstone cliffs made it hard to see more than a short distance.

“Hey Yona, do you think that rock looks like a yak?”

“It looks like old grandma yak with big frown.”

Yona and Sandbar laughed. They kept walking until the narrow cliffs surrounded them in shadow. Silverstream perched up above on the edge of a cliff.

“I like how it echoes!” she shouted. Her voice repeated back several times but was fainter each time. “Hello!”

Starlight frowned and looked up from the map. “It’s good that you’re having fun, but we should be more careful.”

The smallest flicker in the shadows caught Sandbar’s eye. His fur stood on end as two blasts of black energy shot from the darkness in a large crack on the side of the canyon. Both hit Starlight. She crashed into the rock wall and collapsed.

“No! Starlight!” Silverstream dove down to check on her.

Yona snorted and charged at the figures made of shadows that materialized in the dim light. Sandbar hesitated. He had seen what Shade and Nightmare could do already. He took a deep breath then yelled as he galloped to Yona’s side. He stared at Shade while Yona watched Nightmare.

“Ah, the little follower of chaos!” Shade’s laughter made Sandbar’s hair stand on end. “But Storm Surge is busy at our old stronghold. He won’t be able to help you here.”

“You hurt Starlight! Say sorry or Yona smash!”

Nightmare’s horn glowed. “A clumsy yak like you will do little against the graceful power of the shadows.”

“They aren’t going to listen, Yona.” Sandbar said it more to convince himself as he scraped a hoof against the ground and prepared to charge. If they could keep these two busy, maybe Silverstream could wake Starlight back up.

Sandbar braced himself as he saw Shade’s horn charge up. He jumped, but the bolt of black energy still grazed his shoulder. He gritted his teeth and ignored the searing pain as he spun and aimed a kick. Sandbar put everything into the attack, and his hoof hit something solid. Shade rolled and crashed into a large rock.

“Leave us alone!” Starlight shouted.

Sandbar could feel an immense amount of magic behind him. Silverstream flew to his side and they both flew at Shade. The shadowy alicorn growled and charged his horn, but a barrier flickered into place and stopped Shade’s attack. Sandbar kicked him in the side while Silverstream distracted him.

“Good hit, Sandbar!” Silverstream said.

Sandbar glanced over to the other side of the canyon. Yona and Starlight were facing Nightmare. Nightmare was smoking from where Starlight’s attack had hit her. She screamed in rage and shot at Starlight. Starlight skidded backwards then stumbled. She fell on her side and didn’t get up.

“Silverstream, keep this guy busy,” Sandbar said. “I’m going to try to help Starlight.”

Sandbar sprinted over. He closed his eyes and placed his hooves on Starlight. Her breathing and heartbeat were both faint.

“Please, by Harmony, you have to get back up!”


Sandbar felt a sudden massive flow of energy from himself to Starlight. He focused on healing her magical injuries and burns. Sandbar was breathing hard when he opened his eyes. Starlight was staring up at him. He helped her up.

“Sandbar, what was that?”

“A little of the magic of Harmony. I don’t think I can do it again.”

“Let’s get back in the fight. Yona and Silverstream can’t do this alone.”

Sandbar ran to Yona’s side. Yona was breathing hard, but she had no other marks from the battle. Silverstream screeched in pain as a black beam from Shade’s horn caught her wing. She nearly fell to the ground, but a faint glow surrounded her. She landed softly and groaned in pain.

“Sandbar, watch out!”

Yona dove in front of Sandbar. Her magical horn rings flashed as Nightmare’s magical attack hit Yona. The dark spell dispersed.

“You are all much more troublesome than I expected,” Nightmare said. “We will have our kingdom back. And what you took from us. But you have won this battle.”

Silverstream and Starlight had somehow locked Shade in a magical cage. The wet paint from Silverstream’s magical paintbrush glistened on the ground in fresh runes. Nightmare teleported over and blasted away one rune. The cage fell apart. Nightmare pulled Shade close to her then teleported away in a loud pop. Starlight’s stun ray blasted the rock where they had been standing.

“I hope that’s the last we see of them,” Starlight said. “But I think they’ll keep coming after us as long as we have their items. We need to hurry and get to the Nexus. Hedron will be able to protect us there with his full power. Silverstream, are you okay?”

“I might have lost a few feathers, but I’m fine. See?” Silverstream flapped her wings then winced. “Ow. Maybe it’s worse than I thought.”

Sandbar held out a hoof. “Here, let me see it.” A portion of the feathers were in bad shape. Sandbar tried to smooth them back in place. Silverstream’s wing was so soft and warm, but also so delicate. He blushed and took his hoof off of it. “It should heal up soon. I’d heal it myself, but I used everything I had on Starlight.”

“I can walk for now.” Silverstream folded up her wing and gave Sandbar a pat on the shoulder.

Starlight pulled the map back out and looked at it carefully.

“I think we have a few options. If we go a little out of our way, the map has a place marked ‘bats’ that is marked as safe. But I think we should use a little of my magic and hurry ahead to the Nexus. It’s even safer there, and Hedron needs us to do something important.”



Go to ‘bats’.

Hurry ahead, even if it might be tiring.

Go slowly and try to recover from the fight.

> Chapter 19: The Refuge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ocellus could feel that the kirin’s emotions were genuine. Mirage Chaser did want to help Ocellus, her friends, and other ponies. Ocellus discussed their options quietly with Gallus and Smolder before turning to Mirage Chaser.

“We’ll go with you. I want to be free of Queen Cordys’s control. I don’t want to be forced to betray and hurt my friends anymore.”

Ocellus was surprised by how forceful the last part of what she said came out, but it was how she felt. Mirage Chaser nodded, and Ocellus could feel a surge of confidence from her.

“Follow me, then. I know the safest way back to our little village. We call it Refuge. At first, it was just me, but more ponies joined once I freed them. This way!”

Mirage Chaser bounded and hopped along the rocks and trail and waited for them to follow. She sang an energetic traveling song that Ocellus hadn’t heard before. After a few hours, they had all memorized it and could sing along. They traveled on a steep trail up a series of rocky ledges. Mirage Chaser held out a hoof to stop the group. 

“Okay, we’re at Refuge. The ponies here are suspicious of outsiders after being controlled by the changelings, so be careful of what you say, especially you, Ocellus. I’ll go ahead. You follow after a few minutes.”

The trail made it impossible to see the village from where they were at, but they waited before they went up to the final ledge. Once they did, they saw a small village in a series of caves dug into the rocky bowl below. A small stream filled a pond in the middle. About two dozen ponies gathered around. A few were adults, but many more were younger. A grizzled gray stallion stood at the front of one group. Ocellus could feel their distrust and anxiety even from here.

Gallus led the way. Smolder stayed close to Ocellus, as if trying to protect her. Ocellus always loved the strange mix of emotions Smolder gave off when she was protective like this. Smolder patted her shoulder.

“We got this, and if they don’t like you, I’ll show them.”

“They’re ponies, so don’t scare them,” Ocellus said.

The entire village stared as they walked down the path. Some of the youngest fillies and colts hid behind larger ponies. Ocellus could feel fear and hatred even before the old gray stallion spoke.

“Mirage Chaser! You expect us to welcome a changeling into our village after what they did to us? I know she looks different, but that could just be a new trick. We won’t let her stay here unless you let us lock her up.”

Smolder growled and stomped up to the stallion. She pointed at him with her sharp claws.

“We came here to help you, and this is how you welcome us?”

The stallion pushed her back, and he didn’t do it gently. Smolder flared with rage and pushed him back as a few flickers of flame escaped from her mouth. The sudden burst of fear, anger, and panic from the crowd left Ocellus cowering on the ground. Smolder and Gallus both jumped in front of her to keep the ponies off of her as the mob went wild. Ocellus heard a few sharp kicks.

“Enough!”

Mirage Chaser levitated several ponies with her magic, and a few flickers of flame danced on her horn, but she didn’t transform into a nirik. The crowd calmed down, but Gallus and Smolder both had new sets of bruises and scrapes.

“Bring me some bandages. This is no way to treat guests. Are we going to have any further problems?”

The gray stallion nodded. Mirage Chaser motioned for him to come to her, and they spoke quickly but quietly until they reached an agreement. 

“Fine, they can stay with you, but only until you finish your business with them.”

The ponies stepped back, leaving a clear path to one of the larger caves. They all stared as Ocellus and the others walked by. Ocellus could feel that most of their hate was gone, but the distrust was even stronger.

Mirage Chaser held a curtain of beaded strings to the side and motioned them inside. It was dark until she lit a lamp with her magic. Various herbs, crystals, and other magical and medicinal items covered the shelves around the room. A large cauldron sat in the cold fireplace.

“Sorry about that. Slate Breaker is a hard old stallion. I hope you aren’t too hurt. Let me get you some food to help you feel better.”

Ocellus could feel Gallus’s pain and exhaustion, but he was trying to be strong and not show it. Smolder was mostly still angry, but she was in far less pain. They both perked up once Mirage Chaser pulled out some bread and honey.

“I don’t want to rush this, but the villagers aren’t happy with me. I’ve helped ponies break from the changelings’ control, and I think a similar spell will work for Ocellus. Two of you will need to travel to the sea near Jester’s Court and get one of the black crystals that the chaos creatures drop on the shore. Well, they’re really more of a rainbow mixed with black, like oil. And they don’t quite look right when you stare at them. You’ll know them when you see them. Oh, and one of you will need to stay with me and gather a few things near here in the wastelands. That should be a little bit safer.”

Ocellus thought about it. It would be fun to go with Smolder, even to somewhere dangerous, and she could feel how tired Gallus felt. It would be nice to give him a break. 



Leave Ocellus with Mirage Chaser

Leave Smolder with Mirage Chaser

Leave Gallus with Mirage Chaser

> Chapter 20: The Nexus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hurry ahead.

“Yona want to get back to School of Friendship. No more wasting time where we get attacked.”

No one argued with Yona’s firm declaration. Starlight made a few markings on the map then her horn started to glow as she gathered up the magic for a spell.

“We’ll teleport past the parts that would take the longest to walk through,” she said. “Gather close to me.”

Once they were in a small circle, the sudden darkness and stomach pulling of the teleport spell hit Yona. She hated teleporting, but she was too tough to say anything about it. The pop made her ears ring as they reappeared on top of a distant cliff. Starlight rubbed her horn and was breathing hard.

“That fight must have taken more out of me than I thought. Let’s walk for a bit.”

Yona kept looking around the desert, but no dangerous creatures came anywhere near them. Sandbar kept close to Yona and smiled when she looked at him. They made small talk about what they’d do when they got back to Ponyville to pass the time.

After a few hours of walking and teleporting, they went up a steep hill. Yona was glad to see that there was no more desert ahead. Meadows full of flowers and ponds filled the space between glades of pine trees. The pine trees glimmered strangely in the light. Yona walked closer, and she could see that it looked like it was partially made of crystal.

“Wow! Look at that!” Silverstream pointed ahead.

A paved road lined with massive crystals growing to its sides stretched on for miles. In the far distance, the crystals grew larger and looked like buildings. Yona ran ahead to the path. The crystals around hummed in a tone that Yona could barely hear, like a distant yovidaphone being played. Yona pressed an ear to a large red crystal and everything blurred.

“Hey! Be careful with the crystals!”

Yona couldn’t recognize the voice, but someone pulled her away from the crystal. She shook her head and turned around. A strange shimmering pony stood there, like one of the crystal ponies, but with bat wings and small fangs. The deep blues and purples of his mane and coat matched many of the crystals, and the red of his eyes matched the crystal that Yona had touched. His mane almost covered his eyes, and he looked thin.

“Thank you, Crystal Cantata,” Starlight said. “I tried everything to undo the stasis spell on Yona, but nothing worked.”

He winked at Starlight. “It’s magic beyond normal ponies. These crystals are part of Hedron’s network, and he has powers that not even the greatest alicorns could copy.”

“Wait. How long was Yona stuck there for?”

“About half an hour,” Sandbar said. “You just froze, like time stopped. It was crazy.” Sandbar gave Yona a quick hug.

The bat squeaked at the crystals around started to glow. A flat crystal rose from the ground and floated above the road.

“Hedron also has something like a train, but faster. Hop on and we’ll be at the Nexus in no time.”

“Are you sure this is safe?” Yona pressed hard on the floating crystal, but it didn’t sink or wobble.

Silverstream was the first to jump on. Sandbar jumped up a moment later then held out a hoof to help Yona up. Starlight looked carefully at the platform.

“Advanced levitation and protection magic? This place is already putting even Canterlot’s best trains to shame.” Starlight chuckled and jumped up. “But how are you controlling it?”

“Harmonic magic,” Crystal Cantata replied. “The right sounds and songs control it, but you need a connection to Hedron. You can’t get that without a few permanent changes. That’s why we have this crystal sheen, among other things. And it’s easier for bats.”

“But aren’t bat ponies just part of Nightmare Night or old stories?” Yona asked.

“After what happened between Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, the bats left Equestria. We tried to bring back the Crystal Empire to see if King Sombra could help free Luna, but instead we found other crystals in the far north. With their magic, we ended up here. But that was at least a few generations ago.”

Yona thought over the story. “If bats leave because Princess Luna gone, then bats can come back now. Moon Princess is no longer on moon.”

Crystal Cantata hummed a few notes and a forcefield formed around the platform before it flew down the road. The trees and crystals near the road passed by in a blur, but Yona couldn’t hear the air rushing past.

The bat sighed. “It’s not that easy to go back. Hedron’s magic changed us, so we need to remain near his crystals. But maybe there’s a way to bring that magic back to Equestria. Hedron said the Crystal Empire returned from being displaced in time, so if those structures are back, we could find a way to reconnect them to Hedron’s power. But that’s not what we need to worry about now. Your group and the Tree of Harmony are causing some temporal distortions. Let’s get those fixed first.”

Yona looked ahead as something massive caught her eye. The crystals formed huge buildings in a neat grid. As the platform rushed ahead, Yona could see other crystal bat ponies flying between them.

“Whoa, are those crystal mango trees?” Sandbar asked as he pointed to an orchard.

“Welcome to the Nexus!” Crystal Cantata waved a hoof and smiled. “You’re right about the mangos, but you can’t eat them without becoming more like us. It would probably be best if you stick to food grown outside the city. And there’s the station!”

The platform slowed then stopped. It floated into a depression on a platform much like a train platform. Yona gladly stepped off. The ground felt like solid stone, but it glittered like gems. Everything here had a magical sparkle to it.

“Terramar is never going to believe me when I tell him about this!” Silverstream shouted.

The city reminded Yona of the old yak stories of yak princes who lived in crystal palaces and were given powerful totems by the spirit who lived in the crystals. But even the best drawings in the story books fell far short of this place. It was like someone had taken a huge city and mixed it with the beauty of the Crystal Empire.

“I’d give you the tour, but Hedron wanted you to come to him immediately.”

“I’m betting he’s that way,” Starlight said. “I’ve never felt so much magic in one place before.”

Cantata draped a wing over her back. “You’re right. Once we get down the road a little, you’ll be able to see the Central Spire. Maybe once you’re done in there, I could show you around.”

Starlight used magic to pull his wing off her. “Thank you, but we’re quite busy trying to get back home.”

As they stepped onto the wide street, Yona could see a massive pyramid of white crystal. Flashes of light or magic lit up the sides of it. A few more bat ponies flew down.

“Hedron wanted us to go with you when you arrived,” a dark gray bat explained.

The pyramid was only a few blocks away. Yona kept staring at the dizzying crystal spires and buildings that surrounded them. A magical barrier filled the large archway that led into the pyramid, but it faded away as they approached. The same crystal yak from before appeared on the wall as they stepped inside.

“I see my friends helped you arrive quickly. Let us quickly rectify the temporal issues, and then we can discuss how I can help you get home. Follow the lights into the temporal array.”


The entry room lit up. There were several doors blocked by crystal doors, but one opened and the walls and floors around it lit up. Crystal Cantata stayed in the first room, but the other bats disappeared down some of the halls that led deeper into the pyramid. The lights led Yona and her friends to a room with a huge magic circle in the middle. Floating crystals surrounded it. Yona could hear the crystals thrum in deep tones as they started to glow.

“Okay, Hedron explained this to me,” Starlight said. “We all need to stay in the circle, and he’ll do the rest.”

Yona’s hair stood on end as she sat and waited. The floating crystals pulsed in different colors. The circle on the ground started to glow. The bats that had disappeared into the dark hallways reappeared next to the floating crystals. Yona watched as the dark gray bat pulled out something and smashed it into the side of one of the crystals. The other bats did the same to the other crystals.

The pulsing in the crystals changed to a wild rhythm. The resonant deep thrums changed to a harsh high note. The room flashed and all the bats yelled in pain. With flashes of green magic, they transformed into black changelings with holes in their legs. Bubbles of magic held them in the air and they stopped moving. The magic had frozen them in place like it had frozen Yona.

“Intruders neutralized,” Hedron said. “I don’t know how they slipped past my detection, but they have compromised the spell. I can’t stop what was already started, so I’ll need you to get through whatever side effects happen now. You may experience some temporal displacement.”

“What does that mean?” Starlight said. Her horn glowed as she placed a shield around their group, but the entire room vanished the next second.

Starlight dropped the shield. Wherever they were, it was night. Huge stone cliffs and trees filled with colorful buildings surrounded them. Silverstream’s eyes went wide and she ran ahead. Yona chased after her.

“This is Mount Aris!” Silverstream said. “But… it’s like how it was before the Storm King attacked. See? That’s my old house!”

Silverstream stopped at a gate. A huge house was built into a tree, and up ahead was a large palace. A few hippogriff guards waited near the house, and many more were standing around the palace. Sandbar and Starlight caught up. Yona looked around, and a sudden shadow blocked a section of the starry sky. Yona squinted and saw the moon glint off metal and wood. Shadowy figures began to drop into the large garden near Silverstream’s house.

“Anyone else see strange airship over there?” Yona asked. “And over there.”

Yona pointed a hoof at a couple of the closest ones. Silverstream gasped.

“Those are… they’re… the Storm King’s ships!”

Silverstream folded her wings around herself and shivered. Yona pulled her close.

“Yona not care. Yona protect Silverstream.”

“We might be in the past,” Starlight said.

Silverstream nodded. “I think we are. It was awful! I remember waking up, and there was fire and fighting, but someone fought the storm creatures. We escaped to the palace.”

The guards around the palace started shouting. A few muffled explosions sounded inside the palace. One of the storm creatures raised a small staff and a bolt of lightning lit the top of the nearby tree on fire.

Silverstream clasped and unclasped her talons. “If we go over there, that’s where I saw our saviors fight off the storm creatures. We’ll be safe there.”

She led the way to a corner of the garden. More and more of the storm creatures were dropping from the airships, and if they stayed here, they’d be noticed soon. The guards were holding their ground near the front door and shouting to wake up Silverstream’s family. Silverstream’s dad briefly poked his beak out the front door before shutting and locking it behind him. 

A squadron of storm creatures was running toward the back door. Yona didn’t see any other guards. If they were going to stop the storm creatures from getting in Silverstream’s home, they’d have to fight them here. Yona stamped the ground and snorted.

“We already fought awful shadow creatures!” Yona shouted. “We can fight storm creatures, too! We are stronger than them.” Yona looked at her friends to see what they would decide to do.



Hold our ground and fight here.

Help the guards at the front door.

Try to find somewhere safe.

Go see what is happening at the palace.

> Chapter 21: The Shores of Chaos
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mirage Chaser led them to where the path split into two branches about a mile out of the hidden village.

Gallus grinned and waved goodbye. “With you and Smolder, you two should be able to out-think or out-fight anything, but stay safe.”

Smolder put a hand on Ocellus and nodded. “With a dragon like me, we can’t go wrong.”

The path soon disappeared, but Smolder was able to read the map that Mirage Chaser gave them without trouble. And they both had wings, so it made flying over the rough desert landscape quite easy. Nothing below gave them trouble. Sometimes Smolder’s mind would wander as she watched Ocellus fly, and Ocellus would give Smolder a knowing smile. But then the weight of their situation would come back and ruin Smolder’s pleasant thoughts.

“We dragons don’t mind some danger, but I’m looking forward to getting back home,” Smolder said. “And it’ll be great to fix whatever that changeling queen did to you. If I see her, I’ll give her a good kick for you.”

“The connection seems to be giving me less problems now, probably because there aren’t any orders I’m working against. Hey, looks like I can finally see the ocean!”

Ocellus was right. The sea sparkled ahead of them on the horizon. As they got closer to it, Smolder could see that the waters swirled in unusual currents and sparked with lights from the dark depths. It gave her a sense of unease to look at, but they soon landed on the shore. Smelly black seaweed washed up with the waves. For a beach, it seemed unusually quiet, and Smolder soon thought of one reason why. No seabirds flew above it.

“Finding a gem should be easy for a dragon, right?” Ocellus said.

“It should be, but this place is throwing me off.”

They walked along the beach. Smolder kept seeing swirling dark shapes in the deeper waters, but she thought it might just be her eyes playing tricks on her. Still, she didn’t want to let the ocean out of her sight. It felt like it was watching her.

“Hey, there’s a crystal!”

Ocellus ran ahead to where the surf met the beach and started to dig the strange black crystal out of the sand. Its shape seemed to somehow warp as Smolder stared and bent down to help dig. The crystal popped out of the sand with a squelching noise as the water filled in the void it left. Smolder glanced back at the water and pulled Ocellus back as a black tentacle swung right where the changeling had been.

A tentacled monster surfaced and let out an ear splitting roar. It slid from the waters but stopped as a crack and flash of magic filled the air. Storm Surge flapped his wings in the sky between them and the monster. He motioned for it to back off.

“Ah, hello! It’s nice of you to visit me, but you really shouldn’t be taking my chaos crystals without permission.”

Smolder growled. “We found it, so it’s ours.”

“But you found it in my domain, so it really is mine. You know you don’t want to fight me for it, so how about we make a deal instead? I can sense my other plan isn’t going to work out, so I’m passing it on to you two to carry out.”

Smolder hated the hippogriff’s sly smile, but it did seem like the best option.

“Fine, what’s your deal? If it’s good, I’ll think about taking it.”

“But… we shouldn’t be making deals without talking to Starlight…” Ocellus said quietly.

“It’s okay. I think I can judge things for myself without her help.”

Storm Surge landed on the beach next to them. “Good, I like a dragon who can think for herself. My deal is simple. Take these seeds and plant them in places where others have created villages or fortresses. The first one should be planted back in that village you came from, and to speed things up, I’m willing to send you back there immediately as part of this deal.”

“That doesn’t sound so hard.” Smolder held her hand open to take the seeds.

“Ah, yes, one more condition. Keep these seeds a secret from anyone except Sandbar. He took a similar deal, but I fear that the seeds I gave him may soon be destroyed.”

“Okay, I promise not to tell.”

“But I don’t like how they feel,” Ocellus said. “The magic inside is so forceful and chaotic.”

“It’s the easiest way for me to help you get back home, so think of it as a better plan than whatever that unicorn is going to do with those artifacts. I can guarantee you all get home if you are able to plant one of these in each section of this place. Now, can I have your promise to not say a word?”

Smolder watched Ocellus think it over. The way her nose scrunched up when thinking always made Smolder want to boop it, but Smolder resisted that urge except when they were only among close friends. Ocellus relaxed and nodded.

“I promise.”

“Excellent.” Storm Surge snapped and a bag appeared. He carefully placed the seeds inside and pulled it shut with a string. “Oh, and protect the seeds until they can grow deep enough and take full effect. Now I better send you off before these creatures of chaos get too hungry. Best of luck!”

Storm Surge snapped. With a loud pop and sickening whirl of color, Smolder’s view shifted from the beach to the edge of the hidden pony village. She shook her head to clear the vertigo and pulled Ocellus behind a rock as a pony walked nearby.

Smolder reached into the bag and pulled out a seed. “Well, we should plant this, but is it okay to plant it anywhere in the village?”

Ocellus’s horn glowed and she nodded. “Yes. It has powerful magic. Anywhere around here should be good.”

Smolder scraped out a little furrow in the dirt and placed the seed in it. She created a little mound around the seed like Applejack had taught her to do in one of her classes. The seed glowed with a sickly greenish light as black vines with green thorns burst out and burrowed into the ground.

“Hey, did anypony else feel that?” The gruff voice of Slate Breaker sounded from nearby. “We’re under attack, somehow. It’s over this way!”

Smolder glanced around the rock they were hiding behind and saw a crowd of ponies heading their direction.

“Earth ponies can sense when something changes the land,” Ocellus said.

“Yeah? You better change into something tough. They look ready to fight.”

Ocellus changed into the shy dragon that she had tried a few times at school. Smolder glanced at her thin body and shrugged. It wasn’t the best for fighting, but she did like how it looked.

“Try not to slouch and you’ll look scarier. Let’s try a blast of fire to keep them back.”

The clatter of galloping hooves drew closer. Slate Breaker spotted them and pointed.

“Mirage Chaser brought you here, and you’re already betraying us to the forces of chaos. Quick, tear up that seedling and stop them!”

Ocellus let out a puny wisp of flame. Smolder wasn’t able to breathe deep and get a good flame going. The ponies jumped to the side then spun to kick Ocellus. Ocellus squeaked in pain, but she held her dragon form.

“Rrr! Put some anger into your fire!” Smolder shouted.

They both took a deep breath and breathed out a curtain of flame. Several of the ponies attacking ran back in fear, leaving only the strongest stallions and mares to face them. Slate Breaker had a few burnt patches of fur, but he gritted his teeth and spun for another kick. His hoof connected with Ocellus’s chest. Smolder’s heart sank as the changeling slammed into a rock.

“You’ll pay for this! I’ll tear off your tails! I’ll-”

Smolder’s rant was cut short as a flash of white light surrounded Ocellus’s unconscious form. Ocellus rose and transformed into a male pony about Sandbar’s age. The young stallion had a light gray mane and sandy yellow fur.

“Everypony, stop!” Slate Breaker held up a hoof to stop the villagers from advancing. “How? How do you know what my son looks like? Have you seen Dusty Tail?”

Ocellus nodded. “He’s under Queen Cordys’s control, but maybe we can save him if we work together.”

A villager shouted. “She’s trying to trick us!” 

Slate Breaker shook his head. “No, I can feel that she’s being honest.”

“I… need Mirage Chaser’s help first. I’m under the queen’s control to some degree, too, but I’d never hurt your village.”

“Then why did you plant that?”

The crack of stone and ground distracted everyone from the conversation. The seed’s roots were massive and breaking through the rocky ground. With a loud pop, a familiar hippogriff appeared.

“Sorry to cut your little realization short,” Storm Surge said. “But it’s time you ponies learn who controls the Wastelands now. I’m sure you’ve heard of me. The judge of Jester’s Court. The hippogriff of madness. And soon, the ruler of this entire realm. I shall start by requiring a simple pledge of loyalty, and perhaps later, you could make the same promises and gain the same powers as my other friends.”

Some ponies tried to back away quietly. Storm Surge snapped and his horrific monsters and followers appeared on the edges of the town. The ponies quickly gathered into one herd in the center as they stared at the tentacled monstrosities.

Smolder pulled Ocellus close and stayed with the group. Ocellus leaned against her and whispered.

“Gallus and Mirage Chaser are still out there. Should we wait for them or try to find a way out of this ourselves?”
> Chapter 22: The Fears of the Past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yes! We’ll be safe here!” Silverstream ducked with every burst of lightning magic. “Our saviors will come, and they’ll fight them off!”

Sandbar patted her shoulder. “Whatever happens, you need to breathe. You’re hyperventilating.”

Starlight barely put up a shield in time to intercept a lightning bolt.

A loud crack and blinding light kept Silverstream from seeing anything. She screamed and started running the other direction. By the time she could see anything again, her feet had taken her down the familiar roads to the gate of the city.

“Yona! Sandbar! Starlight! Where are you?”

The grunts of nearby storm creatures was the only response. Lightning from the storm in the night sky flashed, and Silverstream saw several airships anchored at the edge of town. The storm creatures guarding them pointed in her direction. Silverstream saw some bushes and dove behind them before the soldiers could investigate. She squeezed her arms and wings around herself, trying to be as small as possible.

“Okay, you have to be strong,” she whispered to herself. “My friends are out there in this fight. You can do this. For them.”

Silverstream repeated the line to herself many times. Cold rain slid off her feathers, but she couldn’t seem to move. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she hid. She took a few deep breaths quietly. A huge flash of light at the palace lit up all of the city. Silverstream remembered that flash from her childhood. Queen Novo had used the pearl to drive off the intruders and change all the hippogriffs. Maybe her younger self was already sliding down into the ocean depths, but that didn’t help her here.

She peeked through the leaves. The storm creatures were distracted by the sudden flash. Silverstream hopped and glided behind a pillar. The stomp of boots on the road made her go back to crouching low.

A dark purple pony in thick armor plates cursed and blasted a fence to pieces with the magic from her broken horn.

“Damn it. All our work for nothing. The Storm King isn’t going to be happy that they slipped away. Search the city. See if there are any prisoners or treasures we can bring back to make up for missing the pearl.”

The group walked closer. Silverstream grew hopeful as they almost walked past her, but one of the storm creatures grunted and pointed right at the pillar she was hiding behind.

Silverstream wanted to run, but her body locked up. This had to be some nightmare. She covered her eyes with her wings. A hoof pulled one wing back. Tempest Shadow scowled at her.

“You didn’t slip away with the rest of them. Come with me, now. Unless you want to do this the hard way.”

Tempest pulled her up and gave her a push toward the airships. The group escorted her up the loading ramp of the largest ship.

“You saved yourself a lot of pain by coming easily. You two, take her to the brig. I have many questions for her later. But I need to go check on something in the city right now. Squall Squadron hasn’t reported in.”

The two storm creatures shoved her if she went too slow as they marched her into the depths of the airship. It was almost better once they finally left her alone in a huge metal cage. At least that didn’t remind her of the most awful event in her life, but now she was captured and her friends didn’t even know where she was. She thought carefully. She had to find some way to tell them. The guards had been in a hurry and had left her with her things, so she looked through her bag. She pulled out the magic paintbrush and thought over what to do. If she had something small, like a messenger bird, it could get out through the bars of the cage.

The more she thought about a cheerful little bird with a message tube, the more clear its image became in her mind. She painted from the image in her mind, and the magic of the brush brought the idea to life. The bird chirped, and the shroud of fear suddenly weighed Silverstream down less. She pulled out a paper and quickly wrote a note about what happened and where she was being held.

“Okay little birdie, make sure this message gets to my friends.”

She explained how to get to them. The bird nodded and patted the message tube with one wing. It was a small hope, but Silverstream knew she could always count on her friends. She hoped they would get here before Tempest returned.
> Chapter 23: Ingredient Gathering
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gallus had only heard about kirin from the professors at the school, but he quickly grew to like Mirage Chaser as they traveled to different parts of the Wastelands. She was friendly and energetic but didn’t try to pry into his past. And she knew some fun songs when they ran out of things to talk about.

They started near the village. Gallus helped gather some pieces of plants that grew on various cliffs or tall trees. He grabbed a seed pod and flew back down to Mirage Chaser. She smiled and stroked her chin as she thought.

“If I were in your position, I’d probably stick to getting help from Grandeur, Scriptus, or Hedron, but each of them have their costs.”

“Grandeur seems to like me a lot. I’m happy to work with him, but what do the other two want?”

“Scriptus is all about gathering and preserving knowledge. If you can’t figure out a way to fit what you need into what he wants, he’s likely to politely send you on your way. But I also think he’s a bit lonely in some way. He has plenty of kobold servants, but I think he wants a friend or companion more like him.”

“And Hedron? My friends went to visit him.”

“I still haven’t got my head around exactly what he or it is. He’s intelligent, but he doesn’t really have a normal body like most creatures. He’s some complex array of intelligence spread out among magical networks and artifacts. He seeks order, but his magic tends to slowly change the world and creatures that stay close to him for long. I believe he’d love to reach out to more places than this realm.”

“A dragon is a lot easier to understand than that.”

“Exactly. That’s why the ponies here have stayed away from Hedron. But anyway, we’re almost to the last ingredient. A type of crystal forms on the rare mushrooms that only grow in this cave.”

Mirage Chaser pointed ahead. The stream of water they were following retreated into a shadowy alcove. She lit her horn. Gallus looked down at the water and sniffed the air. A yellow film covered many of the rocks near the stream. The sharp tang in the air almost made Gallus’s nostrils itch.

“Does the cave usually smell sour?”

“No. That’s bad. It’s supposed to be fresh. Let me look at that closer.”

Mirage Chaser gently scraped some of the gooey film off with a hoof. Her eyes narrowed.

“I’ve seen this before. Probably an ooze infestation, but not big enough to spawn too many small oozes yet. But I bet it got most of the mushrooms. It shouldn’t be able to dissolve the crystals. Anyway, better wash this off before it dissolves part of my hoof.”

Mirage Chaser scrubbed her hoof in the stream until it was clean.

“So do we have a plan to get the crystals from the ooze?”

“I specialize in illusions, but we’ll need more basic magic to safely get this last ingredient. You still look in bad shape, so I’ll shield you. If the shield breaks, you get to safety. You keep any small oozes from distracting me while I take on the big ooze. But if something goes wrong, go for the nucleus. It’s a special core to the ooze. Without it, the big ooze will fall apart.”

Mirage Chaser touched Gallus with her horn. He felt a protective barrier around him, almost like wearing an invisible blanket. She led the way into the narrow cave entrance. They stepped past the first columns, stalagmites, and stalactites. The cave widened into a large room. The light from the kirin’s horn lit it dimly. Gallus could definitely smell the musty fungal odor, but the slime covered the wilted remains of the mushrooms. 

Mirage Chaser brightened her light. A wet squelch came from the side as Gallus spotted a small purple ooze creeping toward them. A much larger pile of slime filled a moist basin in the cave floor.

“Okay. Stick to the plan. We’ve got this.”

Gallus circled the small ooze. It slid and sometimes even jumped toward him. He crouched down and wiggled his tail and flanks as he prepared to pounce. The ooze inched forward and Gallus struck. It smeared across the stone and shrieked. It tried to run, but another swipe spread it into harmless slime across the floor.

Mirage Chaser blasted the yellow ooze with a ray of fiery magic. It quivered and stood still. Half of it suddenly formed into a thick tendril that smacked Mirage Chaser in the side. She grunted in pain and jumped back before the tendril could grab her.

Gallus leapt in to help. He tried to swipe the nucleus, but the slime shifted it out of his reach. His claws bounced uselessly off the jello-like mass.

Mirage Chaser charged up another bolt of flame, but the tendril intercepted it in the air and dispersed it without taking harm. The ooze surged forward as the tendril smashed Mirage Chaser. She screamed in pain. Her body burst into flame, but she slumped onto the cave floor. The ooze covered her and drew her into itself. 

“No! Give her back!”

Gallus swiped at the core of the ooze. His claws connected and tore out the grainy nucleus. The rest of the ooze instantly vaporized as a surge of fire came from the unconscious Mirage Chaser before her flames went out.

“Ugh. This is awful.”

Gallus cleaned off the slime as best he could. The nucleus was quickly falling apart, but the glowing crystals inside it looked like what they were here for. He set them aside and tried to see how he could help Mirage Chaser.

He cleaned her off and rubbed some pony balm on her nose and hooves. She coughed and opened her eyes.

“Hey, Gallus. I guess you pulled through when I couldn’t. That was sloppy of me.”

“That was a tough monster, but a griffon like me is tougher.” He smiled and puffed up his feathery chest.

Mirage Chaser slowly got on her hooves and looked at the crystals Gallus had saved.

“Good. That’s more than enough crystals for the potion for your friend. With the oozes gone, the mushrooms should grow again. Let’s get back to the village and rest.”

The trek back to the village was much slower and more subdued. Both Gallus and Mirage Chaser needed some rest and a good meal. As they neared the village, the clouds above them swirled and darkened. Mirage Chaser’s horn glowed, and her mouth dropped open in shock.

“Storm Surge is here. How did he get one of his seeds into the village to break the protective spells?” Mirage Chaser frowned. Little flames jumped from her mane and hooves, but she took a deep breath and calmed down. “Sorry to ask for help again, but we’re going to have to save my friends. Let’s sneak closer and see what’s going on.”

Mirage Chaser knew hidden paths in the cliffs that led them to a sheltered vantage point overlooking the town. Storm Surge’s abominations circled the town and slowly moved in on the circle of ponies in the center. Gallus’s sharp eyes could pick out Smolder and Ocellus on the edge of the crowd.

“My friends are down there.”

“Maybe Storm Surge tricked them into letting him in. But everyone here is in danger if he takes over. The beings he works for play cruel games with any creatures that fall under their power. But you and your friends have a special magic that could drive him off. We’ll need one of you to damage the seed he planted, and I’ll need two of you to help me with a spell. I can send a message to your friends to tell them what’s going on, but it’s going to have to be simple. If you think you can still trust your friends, one of them could get the seed, or you could do it.”

“Hey! They’re my friends. We wouldn’t have got this far if we didn’t trust each other. I know what we should do."
> Chapter 24: The Rescue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sandbar’s hooves were covered in mud and grass, and maybe a little fur. He wiped them off as he looked over the downed storm creatures. His flurry of kicks had all landed solidly. Yona had charged many of them with her horns, and Starlight’s magic had blasted the others. The few remaining after that had all ran off.

“I know the School of Friendship discourages violence whenever friendlier solutions can be found,” Starlight said. “But you both fought well. We need to find Silverstream and get out of here. I’m sure Hedron will fix things, but I don’t know how long that will take. We need to get somewhere safe.”

“Yona no like zappy staffs. They make Yona’s hair get all frizzy.”

Yona tried to pat her hair back in place from where the storm staffs had hit her. Sandbar walked up to help.

“They didn’t hurt you, though, right?”

“No. Lightning magic mostly miss Yona. It only tickled and made hair look silly.”

Sandbar leaned against her until his own hooves stopped shaking. Starlight muttered to herself and drew a little map on the ground.

“We should be here, if I remember that map from the tourist brochure of Mount Aris correctly. Silverstream ran that way…”

At that moment, a little bird fluttered to the ground in front of Starlight. It chirped and held up one leg, which had a small tube tied. Starlight used her magic to undo the tube and pull out a small paper.

“This is from Silverstream! She’s captured in the main ship. That means we need to go that way, and quickly.”

Starlight pointed and Sandbar stepped away from Yona’s softness and warmth with a quiet sigh. He caught an amused glance from Yona, but neither of them said anything as they moved to follow Starlight.

The road she picked circled around the edge of town. The majority of the storm creatures still seemed to be near the palace, so this road near the big protective cliff offered a great chance to sneak to the city gates without being seen, or at least it would have if they weren’t spotted.

A storm creature shouted at them at the first intersection they crossed. Starlight swore quietly and tried to blast him with magic, but she only succeeded in blowing up a tipped over cart. A flare shot up one street over.

“Shouldn’t we run if they spotted us?” Sandbar asked.

Starlight nodded. “Good idea. Let’s go!”

They galloped down the narrow street. Yona took the lead. Sandbar hoped no one would be foolish enough to get in her way, and she could push any blockades out of their path. The narrow road had a few carts in the way where the hippogriffs had tried to make a stand, but it was mostly clear.

Sandbar spotted a few more storm creatures running on the road parallel to them, but none of the enemy soldiers moved to block their path. They reached the final open square near the gates. Beyond it, airships were anchored to the mountainside. A squad of enemy shieldbearers stepped out and readied their shields. A blast of magic cracked the stone in front of Yona. She hopped over the hole then slid to a stop.

Tempest Shadow stepped out from between the storm creatures with a fierce grin on her face. She looked over each of them.

“Two ponies and one yak. I’ve never fought a yak before. What are you three doing here? Do you know where the hippogriffs have hidden themselves?”

Yona snorted. “Did you capture our friend? Yona not like mean pony.”

“I did. If you surrender quietly, you won’t be hurt. But if you want to do this the fun way, I’m ready for a fight.”

“Please, Tempest, you don’t have to do this!” Sandbar said. “We’re ponies, like you.”

“We know you’re with the Storm King,” Starlight added. “But we can help you more than he can. We know about your past. We know your name is Fizzlepop-”

Tempest stomped her hooves on the stones hard enough to crack them. “Ponies could do nothing for me! But I have the Storm King’s promise, and that’s worth fighting for. Enough talk. Surrender now, or face me.”

Starlight’s horn crackled. “We’re not giving up”

Sandbar stepped between the two unicorns. “Uh, maybe… we could agree to some rules before we fight?”

Tempest motioned to the soldiers and they fell back into line. “I’ll leave them out of this. I need some fun after the frustrations of tonight. I don’t hold back, and if you use any magic, I’ll use my own. I think I can take you all on at once. That’s more than fair, isn’t it?”

Sandbar could hardly meet her fierce gaze, but he nodded and backed up behind Starlight. “Uh, Starlight, how strong is she?”

“It doesn’t matter. We need to save Silverstream. Just do your best.”

Tempest sprinted across the square. Yona tried to tackle her, but the yak’s hooves caught nothing but air. Starlight charged up a blast of magic, but Tempest’s own burst of lightning caught Starlight in the side. Starlight screamed. 

Her hair was smoking from the magical attack. Sandbar pulled her up. She could still stand, even if she looked shaky.

“That was fun,” Tempest said as she circled around them. “Ready for round two?”

There was no time for a reply as Tempest charged forward. Yona’s magical horn rings dispersed a bolt of lightning from Tempest’s horn, but the unicorn’s speed was harder to stop. She slipped past Yona and Sandbar. The thud of a hoof hitting Starlight’s head echoed behind them. Sandbar gasped in surprise and caught Starlight before she could fall over.

“Starlight! Wake up! We need your help!”

Sandbar tried to shake her, but she was out cold. Sandbar placed her on her side and tried to see what Tempest was doing. A purple hoof nearly hit him in the head, but he moved back enough for it to hit his shoulder instead. His entire right leg went numb.

“No! Stop hurting Yona’s friends!”

Sandbar could feel the power of Harmony in him and Yona. Yona’s hooves blurred as she moved to intercept Tempest’s next attack. Yona blocked a kick by redirecting it to the side with her horn then swung her head the other direction and hit Tempest directly in the chest.

Tempest laughed. “If that’s what it takes to get a good fight, it was worth it.”

Sandbar was terrible at fighting, but he stayed at Yona’s side. Yona growled and watched Tempest carefully. The unicorn’s kicks and spins were almost too fast for him to see. He turned upon hearing the clack of a hoof on a horn next to him. Yona had caught Tempest’s kick. Yona reared up and unbalanced Tempest before counterattacking. Yona’s front hooves pushed Tempest to the ground. Tempest tried to get up, but Yona stomped right next to her. Tempest’s hooves slipped, and she stayed down.

“No! More! Hurting! Friends!” Yona shouted.

Tempest stared up at Yona in surprise. The storm creatures started muttering, and a few started charging up their magical staffs.

Sandbar’s ears folded back and his mane stood on end as electrical energy built up. “Wait! Tempest! We won. Call your soldiers off and take us to see our friend.”

Tempest thought silently. Some of the longest seconds of Sandbar’s life passed as he waited to see if she’d try some trick, but Yona’s angry scowl was enough to deter her.

“I’m impressed,” Tempest said. “I shouldn’t have agreed to that rule about magic, but I didn’t think I’d need it against a young yak. Fine. I’ll let you see your friend. I might also trade your friend’s freedom and safety for the right information, but I will show you that she is unharmed first.”

Yona took out a small vial of ponybalm and handed it to Sandbar. “You help Starlight. I’ll keep close to Tempest to make sure she keeps her word.”

“Thanks Yona. You did great. I was too scared, and I’ve never been good at fighting.”

Sandbar applied the ponybalm to Starlight’s bruises.

“Yaks need to be strong to defend village from monsters in the mountains. Yona practice stomping and fighting.”

Starlight opened her eyes slowly then rubbed her forehead. “Ugh… did I get kicked? Ow… I haven’t had a headache this bad since that drinking contest with Trixie. Oh… Sandbar! Sorry. Ignore that. What happened with Tempest?”

“We won the fight. Or well, Yona did. I didn’t help much.”

Sandbar helped Starlight to her hooves. She locked eyes with Tempest for a moment then looked away.

“Yona beat Tempest?” Starlight whispered. “Anyway, as long as we get Silverstream back, that’s all that matters.”

The soldiers parted as Tempest walked toward them. She motioned for the group to follow behind her. “Your friend is on my ship. Come this way.”

Sandbar could still remember the huge airships from when they invaded Equestria, and Tempest’s flagship was especially huge. They climbed up a metal ramp and into a huge room meant for quickly dropping soldiers. Ramps, ropes, and ladders all waited. Tempest kept them moving quickly through the large wooden corridors of the ship. 

A smaller storm creature with a basket full of food sauntered up. “Hey Tempest! Is this the yak that beat you? All the guys are talking about it.”

Tempest glared at the newcomer. “Quiet, Grubber. I’m negotiating here. Go stuff your face with whatever you found. I’ll figure out a way to make everyone keep quiet later.”

“Uh, sure, Tempest. I mean, you should try some of these crab cakes before they’re gone, but your loss.”

Grubber disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. They walked down a large staircase and into a room close to one of the ship’s boilers. Several large cages hung from chains, but only one was full.

Silverstream held the bars and stared at them. “Over here! I’m so glad my message got to you!”

“Now for the hard part,” Tempest said. “You beat me, but I have an entire army. I’m not letting my only source of information on the hippogriffs get away without some answers!”

Sandbar felt a strange pulling sensation in his stomach. Starlight smiled and pulled Yona in closer.

“Sorry, Tempest,” Starlight said. “But our time here seems to be up.”

Tempest looked confused then charged up her horn until it crackled with electricity. Sandbar huddled against Yona in fear. He blinked, and the angry unicorn and airship were gone.

The massive crystals and etched walls of the Nexus surrounded him again. Sandbar sighed in relief.

A portion of the wall lit up, and the crystalline yak-like figure in it spoke. “Welcome back! It seems some of you have sustained some damage in your temporal journey. I can fix that to a minor degree now.”

A surge of healing magic from the surrounding crystals made Sandbar feel stronger. He stood up taller and smiled.

“The interruption of those infiltrators nearly ruined my more complex magic, but I’ve managed to stabilize the temporal fields enough to buy you three more days. It is the best I can do without inflicting more dangerous temporal displacement upon your group. I have some other business before we go on, but we must hurry. Storm Surge has been moving. But before I ask for your help against him, I must ask the earth pony something. Why are you carrying seeds of chaos tied to Storm Surge’s magic?”

Sandbar’s ears folded back and he scuffed at the floor with a hoof. “I… he promised a way to let us go home! If I spread the seeds, he’d send us back.”

“I don’t doubt that he would do that, but the cost would be terrible to your world. Give me the seeds. I will dispose of them safely. In exchange, I will pledge my own support for returning you to your world.”

Sandbar didn’t want to see any innocent creatures hurt by Storm Surge, so he dug into his saddlebags and placed the seeds on a floating tray that appeared. The tray floated up between the crystals. Each crystal shot a brilliant beam of magic at the seeds until the seeds turned to ash.

“I trusted Storm Surge too quickly,” Sandbar said. “I had never met an evil hippogriff, so I thought he’d be nice and helpful, like the ones from Mt. Aris.”

“You have my promise now. Take this. It will enable me to help you in times of need, but its magic will have to be recharged from time to time.”

A circlet of crystal and metal appeared on the tray as it floated back down to Sandbar. 

Starlight whistled as she looked it over. “That’s like some of the old relics from the crystal empire, but far more advanced.”

It tingled as Sandbar slipped it into place above his left front hoof. A smaller version of Hedron appeared on the tiny flat crystal in the center of the circlet.

“It is a conduit and communicator,” Hedron said. “Call on me with it, and I can aid you with my magic, but the device only carries so much power at a time, so greater magic will drain it quickly. But let’s get to the next situation that requires our attention. Even now, Storm Surge moves to take control of another place. I sense others moving to counter him. I shall send a few of my helpers with you to stop him. There is no time to waste, so I must teleport you all now.”

They gathered in the center of the room where a magic circle lit up.

“I’d love to get some rest,” Starlight said. “But in this crazy place, we’ll have to wait until we’re safe.”
> Chapter 25: The Village
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ocellus looked around as the monsters and mutating hippogriffs closed in.

“Hey, what happened to our kobold friend?”

Smolder scratched at her chin. “He said he needed to go back home when we decided to go get those crystals. Ugh. Those crystals are why we’re in this whole mess.”

A voice suddenly spoke in their ears. “Ocellus, Smolder! This is Mirage Chaser. I have a spell that should drive out these monsters and protect the village. Ocellus, I need you to find the seed you planted and destroy it. Smolder, you need to come with me and Gallus to help with the spell. I’ll create a distraction in a moment, so be ready to move.”

The illusion of an army of nirik surrounded the village. The fiery figures charged toward the enemy. Gallus swooped in, and Mirage Chaser followed a moment later.

“Get rid of the seed, and Storm Surge will lose a lot of his power. Do your best!”

Mirage Chaser cast a few more illusions and pulled Gallus and Smolder away. Ocellus was alone, but often changelings worked best when alone. She transformed into a short hippogriff and made her way to where the seed was planted. She slipped past almost everyone, but a single corrupted hippogriff stood guard near the seed.

“I don’t remember you,” he said. “You’re not one of us.”

He was about to call out, but Ocellus charged forward and knocked him over. She tried to aim another swipe at him, but he stepped back and clawed at her.

Ocellus felt Harmony’s magic growing fainter within her, but it flashed and created a crackling shield that blocked the attack and knocked out the hippogriff. Ocellus quickly ran to the seed. The thorny roots grew and twisted deep into the ground. She tried to think of a way to remove it easily, but nothing came to mind. Before the last of Harmony’s magic could fade, she focused it at the seed. A small rainbow shot from Ocellus’s horn as her disguise disappeared. The light hit the roots. They started to glow brighter and brighter before turning to dust.

Storm Surge appeared with a loud pop and glanced at the crater where the seed had been. He glared at Ocellus.

“You destroyed my chaos seed? I thought we had a deal. I suppose I’ll need to win with what I’ve already brought here. Give up and save yourself some pain.”

Storm Surge waved his claws and ice spikes began to form in the air around him.

“No! My friends aren’t giving up, so I’m not either.”

“Very well.”

Storm Surge motioned forward with a claw and the ice spikes shot forward. Ocellus jumped to the side to dodge the first. Another was coming straight for her, but a tingle went through her entire body as a burst of magic filled the entire village. The bubble of magic dissolved the ice. Ocellus looked to her side and saw the same bubble pushing back the forces of chaos.

The bubble covered the village then solidified into a barrier. The monsters and hippogriffs attacked the barrier, but it held strong. Storm Surge shrieked in anger and flapped in the air above the barrier.

“Your friends seem to have figured out a way to keep us out, for now. Wait. I’m sensing something.”

Ocellus looked at the center of the village as a flash of light lit up the area. Starlight, Sandbar, Yona, and Silverstream were back, and a swarm of floating crystals surrounded them. A voice came from the crystals.

“You have done well to use Harmony’s magic to protect this place. Allow me to amplify your magic with my own and drive these puppets of chaos away.”

The floating crystal drones spread out. An incredibly complex series of magic circles and runes appeared as the drones used their magic. A soothing hum filled the air as the new magic resonated with Mirage Chaser’s spell. Beams of light shot out of the barrier. Storm Surge’s troops vanished as the beams hit them. With all the monsters gone, the same lights all focused on Storm Surge.

“Rrr! You know I’ll get around a banishment spell sooner or later, no matter how powerful!” 

Storm Surge vanished.

The crystal drones circled around them and spoke. “There. Now the village should be protected, but I must withdraw my probes and recharge them soon.”

Ocellus walked back to the center of the village where her friends and Mirage Chaser were waiting. 

Mirage Chaser looked up at the probes. “Thank you, Hedron. Perhaps we misjudged you after seeing the changes you made to the bat ponies that live with you. I’m sure we could make an agreement that could help both our groups. For now, we need to repair our village and rest.”

“Of course. Use this crystal to contact me when you’re ready.”

A small crystal dropped from one of the probes into Mirage Chaser’s hooves. The probes flew off. Mirage Chaser started giving orders for the villagers to work on fixing the damage done in the attack. After getting things moving, she turned back to Ocellus.

“I promised you a potion, so come along. I’ll need you there while I make it. The rest of you should come to my place. The villagers still have mixed feelings about all of you.”

“This mess is sort of our fault,” Smolder said. “I hope they realize we’re sorry.” Her tail drooped until Ocellus gave her a reassuring pat on the side. 

“Storm Surge is tricky,” Sandbar added. “I trusted him, too.”

Starlight looked them over. “Yes, I hope you’ve all learned a valuable lesson about why it’s important to build trust over time. Anyway, we have less than three days, but we need to rest.”

They all crowded into Mirage Chaser’s cave. Her workshop took up one level, but she had quite a large bedroom up some stairs. Everyone was quickly relaxing on what pads, blankets, or cushions Mirage Chaser could find. After that, Mirage Chaser brought Ocellus down to the workshop as she worked on the potion. Starlight and Smolder accompanied her to provide some extra support.

Mirage Chaser heated up her cauldron and began to stir in the first ingredients. “This would be much easier to undo on a pony or other creature with just the mushrooms attached. Your magical bond is much stronger and deeper, but I think I can break it. Actually, Starlight, I think you can help. You’ll need to attune the frequency of this to Ocellus’s frequency.”

Starlight took the crystal from the kirin. It was the crystal they had found on the shores of the sea. Ocellus nibbled on her hoof nervously and cuddled up against Smolder. She looked into Smolder’s eyes. Smolder nodded.

“Actually, we need to confess something,” Ocellus said. “We did take a deal with Storm Surge to plant the seeds he gave us. We’ll need to destroy those. Here they are.”

Smolder took them out of her bag and placed them on a shelf.

“Honesty fixes mistakes,” Starlight said. “But I’ll deal with those later. I need to focus on this. Magical frequencies aren’t the easiest thing to calibrate.”

Ocellus was so tired, and Smolder was so warm. She dozed off while snuggling with her friend. A light tap on her shoulder woke her. Ocellus blinked as Smolder smiled at her.

“Ocellus, they’re done.”

“Yes, it’s time for you to drink this.” Mirage Chaser set the potion down in front of Ocellus. It shimmered like oil, and flashes of purple magic lit up the glass cup. “Oh, and here’s a bucket, in case there are any unfortunate side effects.”

“Like what?” Smolder asked.

Ocellus didn’t care, though. She picked up the potion and drank it. It tasted like mushrooms at first, then various bitter herbs. The taste after that kept morphing but became less and less describable. The magic of the potion felt like lightning that burned through Ocellus. Her stomach tightened and felt like fire until she started to throw up.

Orange claws held the bucket up to her face. Smolder’s other firm hand stroked Ocellus’s back as she threw up a few mouthfuls of green goop. It looked much like the royal jelly that had caused the problem, except it looked polluted and spent. It no longer glowed with power. Ocellus spit out the last of it then collapsed as a terrible headache came over her.

Darkness blurred Ocellus's vision. It seemed for just a moment, but when she opened her eyes, all her friends were sleeping. Starlight and Mirage Chaser were talking quietly. Starlight came over as soon as she noticed Ocellus stirring.

"How are you feeling? We were all worried about you, but Mirage Chaser said that the potion worked. Smolder hasn't left your side since you passed out."

Ocellus turned her head. The sleeping dragon was curled protectively around her, and Ocellus could feel the wonderful glow of her friend's love.

"I feel tired and weak, but with all of you around, I should be strong again soon."

Mirage Chaser brought over a bowl of lentil and vegetable soup. It smelled fresh. She handed it to Ocellus.

"Eat this. It should give you your strength back. I made it less spicy than normal, so I hope it isn't too bland."

Ocellus ate a spoonful. It was spicy enough to make her entire body feel warm, but the other flavors were so good that she didn't slow down to let her mouth cool. While she ate, Starlight looked her over.

"You look fine, but how are you doing? Everyone has had a rough time here, especially Sandbar and Silverstream."

"I'm fine. It's not much worse than how things were at the hive when Chrysalis was in charge. We changelings don't like our past, but it did help make us strong."

"While you were out, we got some important news and talked about what to do next. Let me start with the news. Glissanda came with a note from Grandeur. He wants us to pay our debts and promises us further help if we finish his mission. Saffron also showed up again with a surprising note from Scriptus. The dragon wants to meet Smolder. I think it's something personal because I've never seen Smolder blush like that. She wouldn't let the rest of us read the note. But I wanted to ask you one thing before we decide what to do. You mentioned a village of ponies under Queen Cordys's control. I think we could save them and get an item that could help us get back, but we'd have to be ready to fight."

Ocellus thought it over. Yona, Smolder, and Gallus were always ready to fight if needed. She was, too, even if she didn't like it. But it would be hard on Sandbar and Silverstream. Ocellus wanted to free the village, but it didn't feel like the right time.

"I want to save them, but I think we all need a break from fighting."

"In this place, I'm not sure we'll get that."

Mirage Chaser shook her head. "You've broken the stalemate between the great powers of this place, so there isn't going to be peace until the evil rulers are stopped or a new status quo evolves. My village tried to avoid that by hiding, but we didn't hide well enough. Everyone seems to know where we are."

Ocellus yawned and her eyelids began to get heavy. Starlight tucked a blanket around her.

“You can rest Ocellus. I think I’ve decided. You, Smolder, and Sandbar will go see Scriptus. The rest of us will go take care of our debts to Grandeur.”
> Chapter 26: Grandeur's Job
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yona yawned and was about to stretch, but then she remembered that Sandbar was cuddled up against her and still asleep. He got all blushy when Yona had said they should sleep together last night. Ponies were often strange like that, but once she explained that it would be friendly cuddling, he gave in. All her friends were special, but Sandbar was even more special to her after how he had helped her after the dance. Yona carefully placed a pillow under Sandbar and left him sleeping as she got up.

Smolder and Ocellus were curled up together nearby. Gallus was now sprawled out around the spot where he and Silverstream had slept. Silverstream was already up and helping Mirage Chaser make breakfast. Starlight sat at a table with a lifeless look in her eyes as she sipped from a cup of coffee.

“Yona, you’re up,” Starlight said. “Morning.”

“Yona want to help. Yaks always get up early and work hard.”

“Why don’t you wake up everyone else? Breakfast is ready.”

Yona took a deep breath then yelled. “Wake up, sleepyheads! The early stomp flattens the path!”

“Stop! I’m up! I’m up!” Gallus held his claws over his ears. “Who needs an alarm clock when we have whatever that was?”

Sandbar stretched as he got up. “Yeah, that was loud. Anything going on?”

“Breakfast time!” Yona replied.

Smolder and Ocellus got tangled up as they both woke up. A moment later they were both looking away from each other as they sat on the cushions.

Silverstream walked over with a stack of small plates. “I hope you all like it!” She placed delicious looking pastries on each plate. She placed a vegetable quiche on most of the plates, but substituted a gemstone quiche for Smolder.

“Wow! That looks great!” Gallus said.

Mirage Chaser placed a hoof on Silverstream’s back. “Silverstream was very helpful. Eat up.”

The food was soon gone. Mirage Chaser handed out cups of herbal tea while they started packing up.

“Sandbar can contact me if you run into any trouble,” Starlight said. “The magic of your crystal circlet should be able to reach me. And before we split up, I’ve recharged enough of Harmony’s magic to give you all a little more of it. I’m hoping we won’t need it, but you can use it to get out of any difficult situations.”

“We’re just talking to a nerdy dragon,” Smolder said. “We should be fine. It’ll be like Spike and his comic books.”

Starlight chuckled. “I hope so. I’m not sure what Grandeur will have us do to repay him. I hope it isn’t too difficult. Anyway, those of you going to see Scriptus gather around Saffron. I’ll teleport you as far as I can.”

Smolder, Ocellus, and Sandbar gathered around the kobold while Starlight created the teleportation circle. The magic always made it feel like Yona’s hair was standing on end. The group disappeared in a bright flash.

Starlight looked at everyone left in the room. “Mirage Chaser, thank you for providing us shelter. I hope we see each other again in better circumstances. Everyone gather near me.”

“It certainly was interesting,” Mirage Chaser said. “We could have gone without the whole chaos seed incident, but it’s natural for youthful creatures to make mistakes like that. Safe travels!”

Starlight cast a second teleport spell that took them to within a mile of the walls of the Bazaar. Glissanda met them once they walked closer, and soon they were being shown to Grandeur’s huge mansion in the middle of the market.

Rows of griffon statues stood guard around the mansion. Glissanda led them to a walled off garden where Grandeur was waiting in a fancy gazebo. Yona liked the red and gold paint, but the entire thing seemed so big.

“Ah, there you all are!” Grandeur said as he waved a hand in the air. “It’s so good to see you again. I’ve been hearing very interesting things about you. One of my contacts said you have less than three days in this world, unless you find other ways to stabilize your temporal placement. But that’s a difficult topic to discuss. Instead, let’s talk about how I hope you can repay me. Come! Let’s have some drinks and snacks while I explain the work I have for you.”

Grandeur offered Gallus the seat next to him. He used his magical bag to produce very fine porcelain cups along with some tea, coffee, and sweets. Yona tried to sip the tea quietly, like Rarity had taught her, but she got tired of that and moved to munching on the cookies. Formal things like this always made her feel impatient.

“I looked over the jobs I need done, and I think I’ve found the perfect one for your group. A powerful unicorn necromancer made a deal with me and borrowed a valuable item, a crystal ball called the orb of spirits. He died, but he continues on in undeath through his magic. The deal we made came due at the end of his life, but he’s arguing that it hasn’t ended even though the contract makes things very clear. Your job is to get into the crypt that he resides in and collect his horn and the orb of spirits.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Starlight said.

“It’s easier than the other jobs I have, especially for nicer creatures such as yourselves. And the contract doesn’t really allow you to refuse a reasonable job like this when it comes to repaying your debts. If you do especially well, I might have another job that will allow you to get two items that can help you return home.”

“It really is a good job,” Gallus added. “Let’s do it. I’m not afraid of a few old bones.”
 
A yak always kept her word, so repaying her debt seemed perfectly reasonable, even if the work would be difficult and dangerous. 

“Yona fine with job, too.”
 
Silverstream fiddled nervously with her talons. “As long as I can stay with you three, I’ll be okay.”
 
One of the living statues brought in a large mirror with a golden frame. Large gems and runes covered the edges. Grandeur fiddled with the gems and runes until the mirror stopped reflecting him and showed a foggy graveyard on a steep hill. The image vanished and Grandeur stepped aside.
 
“Okay, I have this thing configured to take you near his crypt. Starswirl’s mirrors are always so useful, especially my upgraded version. I’ll watch from this side, but if I have to waste workers or items to save you, it’ll cost you extra. The old necromancer would usually get too focused on his magic, so it shouldn’t be too hard to sneak up on him, unless he decided to put in some traps or other things to try to stop me from reclaiming what is mine. Anyway, you’re all strong and smart. You can figure it out as you go.”
 
Starlight checked the mirror over and stuck her head through before pulling back. “Okay, the mirror is safe. Let’s go.”
 
Yona didn’t really like warping around with magic very much, but the mirror didn’t feel as bad as a regular teleport spell. Yona looked around the graveyard. The thick fog made it hard to see much. A few mausoleums and larger gravestones were silhouetted at the edge of where Yona could make out. The entire graveyard was on a steep slope, and the hill quickly gave way to a cliff that Yona couldn’t see the bottom of.
 
“Let’s look around quietly,” Starlight said. “He said the entrance should be nearby.”
 
Silverstream poked the lock on one of the mausoleums. “Crypts are usually in underground tunnels, right? Maybe one of these buildings has a way in.”
 
Gallus pointed down the foggy cliff. “Or I could try flying down there.”
 
Yona spotted a large spiderweb as the light from Starlight’s horn caught the small droplets on it. A big brown spider sat in the middle of it.
 
“Hey, spider friend,” Yona whispered. “Do you know about crypts nearby? Or where to get in?”
 
Yona watched the spider gesture with her legs. A large entrance was at the bottom of the cliffs, but it was mostly blocked by heavy stone doors. A second entrance was hidden behind a nearby mausoleum. Many bugs would crawl up from the cracks to it.

“Thank you, spider friend.” Yona trotted back to the group. “Yona know way in! Spider friend tell Yona to look over here.”
 
Yona followed the spider’s directions to the back of one of the small rectangular buildings. Various cutie marks were etched into the wall, and slabs of stones created a small walkway around the building. Yona pressed a few of the cutie marks until one pushed in further. It clicked, and the stone slabs slid down to form a staircase into a small, dark tunnel.
 
“Uh, do we really have to go this way?” Gallus said. “I’m not scared or anything, but can we really trust that tunnel. Hey! Yona! What are you doing?”
 
Yona pushed Gallus toward the opening. “Yona help Gallus conquer fear.”
 
Gallus stopped himself from sliding and walked down the stairs as Starlight led the way with her magical light. The tunnel had stone supports, but the sides and sections of the roof were dirt. Roots and small piles of dirt made the footing difficult as they sneaked forward.
 
“See? Gallus already getting better at facing it.”
 
“I’m not scared.”
 
Yona stumbled on a root, and green runes suddenly lit up. The roots all around them came to life and grew jagged thorns. Yona kicked and stomped as she ran forward to get free from the roots. Her friends and Starlight were less lucky.
 
“Ouch! These are poking me!” Silverstream said. She slashed at the roots with her claws, but the roots continued to grow and hold her.
 
Yona was about to run back to help, but a clattering sound behind her caught her attention. Three sets of flaming blue eyes appeared at a bend in the tunnel. As the eyes got closer, Yona could see that they belonged to three pony skeletons. They stared silently at Yona before charging at her. They tried to kick and bite, but Yona smashed one before any of their attacks could hit. Yona grunted as one skeleton pulled out a chunk of her fur with a bite. The other kicked her in the side, but her coat softened the blow.
 
Yona was angry now. She reared up on her back legs and slammed her front hooves down. The skeletons were both smashed to pieces. Yona kicked the bones away to make sure they wouldn’t get back up before looking back at her friends. They were free of the roots and thorns, but they all were covered in bruises and scrapes.
 
Silverstream held Yona’s hoof. “Wow! You smashed them to pieces! That was so cool!”
 
Gallus scratched under his feathers. “I think those thorns were poisonous. It burns and itches where they poked me.”
 
“Not much we can do about that,” Starlight said. “That trap was definitely magical. Let’s hope those skeletons didn’t alert the necromancer about us.”

They explored the tunnel the skeletons had come from. It slowly changed from dirt to stone, but many suspicious roots still grew out from between the stones. Starlight would stop every few moments to check for any magical traps, but she didn’t find any. The tunnel sloped down and split into a few paths.

One path had a metal door. Gallus opened it and looked inside before shutting it quietly. “This way seems to be the main entrance. There are some skeletons guarding the door. Should we surprise them and take care of them now? Or hope they don’t come after us later?

Silverstream pulled him back from near the door. “Let’s not fight any more magical undead, please. They’re gross and scary.”

A tunnel opposite to theirs led back up and seemed to mirror the tunnel they had just come down. Starlight looked at it a moment before going back to the dark staircase that led further down.

“I’m sensing a lot of dark magic up ahead, but it’s still far away. A lot of this type of magic is banned in Equestria, for good reasons.”

“Yona remember stories of bad ponies that hid in the mountains near Yaktakistan. They had magic like this, but the yaks stomped their undead apart and sent them back to the princess’s dungeons.”

Gallus raised an eyebrow. “Really? You should tell us more about that one sometime. It sounds like one of the better yak stories.”

Yona snorted and glared at the griffon. “All yak stories good. All tell about greatest yak warriors and leaders.”

Starlight held out a hoof to stop them as the stairway ended. A room that was barely tall enough to stand in spread out into a grid of tiles. Each tile was big enough for one creature to stand on, and each tile had a sickly green rune glowing on it.

Starlight looked it over and started thinking. “I can sense the spells. The right tiles have magic that holds them up, but the wrong ones have spells that will only hold until someone steps onto them. It’s all too close together for me to tell which is which. We’ll have to think through this carefully. Maybe there’s a pattern.”

Silverstream had to hunch down to keep her head from scraping the ceiling. “It’s too tight in here to fly, but me and Gallus could test it out. We could catch ourselves with our wings if we fall. Hey, Gallus! Quit hiding by the stairs.” Silverstream pulled Gallus in, but the griffon’s eyes were wide and he was breathing hard.

“I don’t like this room. Maybe we should check out the other tunnel.”

Yona gave Gallus an encouraging pat. “Everything fine. Yona will protect Gallus.”

Yona expected some snarky remark, but instead Gallus slumped in place and kept glancing back at the stairs. Starlight pulled out a paper and wrote down the runes. She made copies with a spell and handed them out.

“Here are all the symbols. Each row has 5 of them, and there are 15 total. We have 6 rows to get past to reach that stairway on the other side.”

Gallus pointed at Starlight’s horn. “Why not just use magic to float across?”

“I can sense a trap that will activate if we try to use magic or disturb the tiles or walls too much. We’re going to have to outsmart this unicorn lich.”

They all looked for patterns in the symbols. Yona didn’t really see anything special, but after a few minutes, Starlight and Silverstream seemed to think they had answers.

“I’ll try mine!” Silverstream said.

She hopped onto the first block, but it immediately collapsed under her. Her yelp of surprise was cut short when the block flipped back up and locked into place again.

“Silverstream!” Gallus was about to rush out onto the blocks, but Starlight held him back with her magic.

Yona thought she heard something nearby, but she couldn’t seem to figure out where it was coming from.

“We’ll have to trust she’s okay,” Starlight said. “But if you want to help her, why don’t you try my first idea? Step on the sun symbol, then hop over to the cloud, then rain, then earth.”

“I won’t leave her alone in this place, so I’ll do it.”

Gallus padded out onto the sun, and it held. 

“So far so good!” Starlight said. “Keep going.”

He crouched and pounced over to the cloud block. It flipped downward in an instant, and Gallus’s squawk of alarm was cut off as the block rotated back into place.

Starlight crossed out a few things on her paper. “I feel bad putting you all in danger. I’ll go next. If my next idea doesn’t work, take your time and figure this out.”

“Yona will save friends and Starlight, no matter what.”

Yona tried to stay confident as Starlight took a shaky step onto the sun block. Starlight closed her eyes and stepped onto the leaf block that came after that. She paused and took a deep breath. She took a step to the right. Yona watched that block flip down, and Starlight vanished. The room went dark.

Yona wasn’t sure what to be angry at. She wanted to stomp the stupid blocks, but if she did, she’d just end up falling like her friends. She took out a small lamp and lit it. She growled and kicked a loose rock into the corner. A faint, annoyed chittering came from the darkness.

“Hello? Is someone there?”

A fuzzy brown spider even larger than Yona’s hoof walked out of the shadows. Yona crouched down and apologized as she tried to understand him.

Yona tried to make sense of the complicated idea the spider was trying to communicate. If she understood correctly, the spider was saying that the tiles were meant to trap any clever intruders. There was a correct path, but it was something that would have to be memorized. The symbols on the tiles were meant to throw off intruders.

Yona decided to trust the spider. He drew a little pattern in the dust to show Yona how to get through.

“Thank you, spider friend. Yona wish she had a tasty bug snack for you.”

Yona hated falling, so she tiptoed onto the first few tiles. She kept expecting to be dumped into whatever was below the tiles, but her confidence quickly grew as the spider’s map guided her safely through.

“Phew! Now Yona go find friends.”

A spiral staircase led sharply downward. It was long, and it seemed even longer because each step Yona took had to be quiet and careful.

A sense of wrongness filled the air as Yona stepped into the next room. A skeletal unicorn with flaming eyes sat on a black throne. He held a crystal ball that glowed with a green light under one hoof. He seemed to be talking to someone.

“I sense Grandeur’s magic about you. I yet live, so I reject his attempts to reclaim this magnificent orb. Maybe once I pull away your spirits and control them with my magic, I can send them back as messengers. He might get the point then.”

The unicorn lich laughed. It was a grating, harsh sound. His horn glowed with the same sickly green magic as the orb, and two large earth pony skeletons rose up from the bones scattered around the floor of the room. The lich touched the orb. A green laser hit Silverstream.

Silverstream screamed in pain as magic pulled at a ghostly version of her.

Yona flattened her ears and looked around. Gallus, Silverstream, and Starlight were all in a cell, but the bars looked old and rusty.

Yona charged. The bars snapped under her weight.

“Friends free! Starlight, what do we do now?” Yona had never seen Starlight look so worried.

Starlight stepped between them and the lich. “I’ll do what I can to stop his magic.”

“Maybe you can.” The lich spoke with amusement in his voice. “I sense you’ve dabbled in a little of the dark arts.” 

Starlight put up a magical shield and started charging her attack.

“Simple dueling magic will only get you so far. Your shield may protect you from normal magic, but can it protect your soul?” The lich touched the orb. 

The green ray hit Starlight’s shield. The shield stopped most of the attack, but Starlight groaned in pain as the magic tugged at her soul.

Starlight pointed at the lich. “You three stop him or get that orb away from him. I don’t know how long I can stop his magic.”

The lich motioned his own skeletal guards forward. “Let’s see if your friends like my friends.”

Starlight was blasted into the wall as the lich’s next magical blast broke through her shield. She stood back up and resumed the magical duel.

Yona ran to stop the large pony skeletons from reaching Starlight. She dodged their kicks. Gallus did the same.

“Jump to the side,Yona. Now!” Silverstream yelled.

Yona followed her friend’s advice. The skeleton stumbled past her and fell into a large pit that Silverstream had painted with her magical brush.

The lich waved a hoof in the air, and a faintly glowing pegasus spirit appeared. It flew after Gallus and kept him from getting closer to the orb. Another large earth pony skeleton pieced itself together and shambled forward.

“These guys keep coming!” Gallus said.

“Then Yona keep stomping until they go away!” Yona slammed the ground and pushed the second skeleton into the pit.

Starlight was breathing hard as she dodged, shielded, and teleported. She weaved in her attack spells when she could, but the lich’s dark magic was still draining her spirit. She looked over at Yona.

“I can’t hold on. I’m going to use as much magic as I can. That’s going to be your opening to stop this lich. Gallus, Yona, Silverstream, I know you can beat him!”

Starlight’s horn sparked as she drew in more and more magic. She glowed white with the immense power. The lich threw up a shield, but Starlight’s attack obliterated it. 

Yona closed her eyes until the brilliant light was gone. The skeletal unicorn grunted in pain as he stood back up. His helpers had been reduced to nothing. Starlight slumped to the ground.

Gallus swiped at the orb, but the lich pulled it away. Yona lowered her horns and toppled his throne. It fell on top of him and cracked his bones.

His horn glowed. The throne almost hit Silverstream as it flew across the room. The lich’s bones knit back together. 

“You should have used her distraction to run away. Now you’ll serve me in death.”

The lich readied his magic. Yona said a short prayer in her head to the ancient yak spirits for protection as she scraped a hoof against the ground in preparation for her next charge. 
> Chapter 27: A Dragon's Desire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smolder thought over what she knew so far. Silverstream had gone on for quite a while about the dragon named Scriptus and his library. Now that they stood before the library, it was a truly impressive building. Dragons usually didn’t build much, but the massive stone structure felt imposing. It was built to easily let those with flight come and go while also offering some entrances for the kobold servants.

She tried to guess what might interest an old dragon like Scriptus. He had an army of kobold servants. He had a massive hoard of books and information. Unfortunately, Smolder couldn’t think of any especially secret or rare knowledge that she might be able to offer. That was why his note to her had been very surprising. She still hadn’t told her friends what it said. She didn’t want to explain certain dragon innuendos to them, but the letter had been full of them, even if they were very old fashioned and poetic.

Saffron seemed to get more impatient the closer they got. He motioned for them to follow. “Master want to meet all of you. Come.”

“Do you really think it has as many books as Silverstream said?” Ocellus asked.

Sandbar shrugged. “We’re here to try to get Scriptus to help, so I don’t think we’ll have too much time for reading.”

They stepped inside. Saffron led them quickly toward the center of the massive building. Smolder got a few glimpses of rooms filled with books, scrolls, or other things. The massive depictions of Scriptus almost made her want to stop and admire them. The dragon certainly knew how to decorate his place. Saffron was getting further ahead, so Smolder had to pull Ocellus away from staring at so many books. 

“Whoa!” Sandbar said. “This place is huge! It’s a good thing we have Saffron to guide us.”

“Library is made to make sense,” Saffron said. “Very hard to get lost. But now you meet with Lord Scriptus. Do not be rude or lie to him.”

Saffron took a deep breath and marched through the huge doorway. Across the room, Smolder could already see Scriptus. Silverstream had described him well. He was massive, which meant he was very old. He was lanky and thin, so that meant he probably didn’t work out or fight much. His coloring looked like yellowed paper dipped in ink.

Next to Scriptus, kobolds of all colors were arranging the books and other items that were magically appearing as Scriptus tapped on the orb and runes in front of him. He glanced at their group before going back to whatever he was doing with the orb.

Saffron walked close to Scriptus and knelt on one knee. “Great Scriptus! I have returned with the visitor you requested.”

Scriptus looked up. He looked over Sandbar and Ocellus, but his gaze lingered on Smolder. She stood straighter and stared back at him.

“Ah, there’s the fiery young dragoness you mentioned in your reports. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Smolder. As well as your friends, Sandbar and Ocellus. It has been far too long since I have had a fellow dragon’s company to enjoy, especially one who values learning as much as you.”

Smolder felt her cheeks grow warm at the unexpected compliment. “Well, we’re here like you wanted. You have some nerve to send me a note like that, but I’m willing to listen.”

Scriptus smiled and stretched out his body, as if putting it on display for Smolder. His scales gleamed as if recently polished. He wasn’t all just scales and bones, now that Smolder got a closer look. He did have some lean muscle, and he looked like he could be very fast. He wasn’t being shy about showing himself off. She growled and turned her head to the side. He was way too old for her, even if he did know how to write the sort of letter she wished she could get from Spike or Ocellus.

“It’s great to meet you!” Sandbar stepped forward. “I hope we can be friends, but I still don’t know what you want. Smolder wouldn’t share why you wanted us.”

“Friends is a good place to start, but I was hoping for a bit more, perhaps. At least from Smolder.”

Ocellus was blushing and glancing between Smolder and Scriptus. Smolder gave her a fierce look, but she knew the changeling would continue to sense the hidden emotions. Luckily, Sandbar was very oblivious to any hints that had been given.

“But we shall deal with more private matters later,” Scriptus said. “For now, I have many questions. You know things that have yet to be written down well. Especially a changeling that has undergone a new transformation.”

Scriptus began to ask them questions about recent events and other things. He quickly stopped asking Sandbar questions after the pony gave a few vague responses about recent events in Equestria. He asked Ocellus all sorts of questions about the changelings and all that had happened after Thorax confronted Queen Chrysalis. When he finally got to Smolder, he only had a few questions about the new dragonlord and some dragons he knew in the past. She knew of some of the dragons he named, but they were all old or dead. Not the sort of dragons Smolder would hang out with.

“I think that satisfies my curiosity for now,” Scriptus said. “Two of you didn’t disappoint me. I’m lucky to have better ponies writing things down, though. Saffron, take Sandbar and Ocellus on a tour of the library. Feel free to stop and look at any books that interest you. I have other things to discuss with Smolder.”

Ocellus’s wings buzzed in anticipation of seeing so many books. Sandbar tapped his hooves and swished his tail. Saffron took them away to start the tour.

Smolder’s heart was beating quickly now that she was alone with Scriptus. It was unusual for a dragon to use words to try to win a mate, but Scriptus was far from ordinary. He put one huge hand behind Smolder’s back.

“Did you enjoy my little poem? Unfortunately, Saffron overestimated your age and size, but he is a kobold. They tend to do or say whatever they can to please me and fulfill my wishes, even when it bends the truth a little.”

Smolder held her hands together. “So you wrote that only based on what he told you?”

“He is a good judge of some things. You are a unique dragoness. Very few dragons would want to study anything, let alone friendship.”

“I wasn’t so sure of it when Ember picked me, but I had heard stories of how the ponies used friendship to beat powerful enemies like Discord or Tirek, so I wanted to see if it would make me stronger.”

“Yes, I was surprised by the many accounts of those same stories. But I feel we’re getting distracted. Had you been older, perhaps I would make good on what I hinted at in my poem, but you are too young.”

“Hey! I’m old enough to ‘twist tails’ or do some of those other things.”

“True, but what I truly want isn’t just that.” Scriptus sighed. “I have almost everything I could want here. I have loyal kobold servants who help me categorize and save the knowledge of countless worlds and civilizations. I have plenty of treasure and gems in my hoard. But what I need now is someone who can continue my work should something happen to me. I want a hatchling that I can raise and teach to do what I do. That is why I want a few eggs. You are old enough to provide that, if barely, but your time here is too short. And if I understand your connection with Harmony, then you are still needed to bring Equestria’s magic back.”

Smolder’s nervous bravado faded. She patted Scriptus’s hand. “It’s a relief, actually. I wasn’t sure how far you’d go to try to claim me.”

“Oh, come now. I’m not like those brutes who think that’s all there is to a relationship.”

“But it is part of the fun.”

Smolder laughed as the old dragon blushed. He quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat.

“Yes, but anyway, I have a new offer for you. Promise to convince Dragonlord Ember to send me three eggs to raise as my own. If you do, I’ll offer you my full support in getting you, your friends, and the magic of Equestria back to where you all belong.”

“Can I have some time to think it over?”

“Of course. And while you’re here, perhaps you could enjoy the library. It truly is magnificent, almost as much as me.”

Scriptus stretched in a way that made the muscles on his chest and shoulders stand out. For such an ancient dragon, Smolder did have to admit he did look sleek and healthy.

“Actually, I was hoping you could maybe teach me about the magic runes, like the ones around your orb, or the ones etched on your scales.”

“I’m not a terribly good teacher, but I could create a copy of a few books that go over the basics. I’ll include it as a free addition if you accept my deal.”

The thought of doing magic made Smolder feel eager and almost greedy to possess such knowledge. She took a deep breath to calm her feelings.

“Let me talk it over with my friends. They help me when I have a tough decision to make.”

“I shall be waiting here for your answer.”

As Smolder walked away, Scriptus summoned a kobold to guide her and went back to his work of collecting information. She walked past the heroic depictions of Scriptus saving countless books as civilizations burned or were destroyed in various other cataclysms. She tried to remember the old stories about the dragon. Legends told of a dragon who was banished for learning and teaching forbidden magic. Perhaps that was Scriptus, but he seemed good-natured and trustworthy. Why would Dragonlord Torch banish someone like him?

Smolder thought through the pieces of the legends she could remember, but none of them seemed to be particularly helpful, except for one that talked about a disagreement between the dragonlord and a scholarly dragon. 

The scholarly dragon’s magic had killed some of the younger dragons when they practiced it foolishly. The dragonlord forbade the strange magic and banished the scholarly dragon. The scholarly dragon took all his books with him, and that was why dragons kept no books in the Dragonlands.

The story had always seemed a little silly. Smolder always thought that the real reason why dragons kept so few books was because they didn’t hold up well near the volcanoes and lava in the Dragonlands, but maybe the old legend had some truth to it.

The guide kobold squeaked and pointed at the door to a room. Three large beds were waiting, and a special basket of fine gems sat on a table between three chairs. Smolder sat down and started to munch on the gems. From the first bite, she could tell they were special. They seemed to be aged perfectly, with the right amount of heat and pressure. It seemed even here, Scriptus was still trying to impress her.

The basket was mostly empty by the time Ocellus and Sandbar returned from their tour. Sandbar pulled a small cart full of books, and Ocellus had a huge grin on her face.

“Smolder! You won’t believe how many amazing books I found. Some of these might even have the true origins of the changelings instead of that silly myth with the acorn and magic pond that Chrysalis told everyone. There were all sorts of books on many types of magic, but I had to only take the ones about changeling magic.”

“I found some good ones, too! Earth ponies can make plants grow better, but some of these books are supposed to teach me how to use that power differently.”

“Saffron said we could get copies of them, but he said it depended on something between you and Scriptus. Did he-” Ocellus made a gesture with her hooves.

“No.” Smolder blushed. “Is that what you thought we were doing while you toured this place? He’s several times bigger than me. Find a book on dragon anatomy if you can’t see why that would make it impossible.” Smolder felt immediately guilty as her sudden outburst made Ocellus wilt.

Sandbar’s ears flattened. “Hey, no need to shout. What did he want?”

Smolder sighed and scratched at the fin on the side of her head. “He wants an egg. Or at least some dragon hatchlings to raise to follow in his footsteps.”

Sandbar blushed as he finally put things together.

“He wants me to promise to convince Ember to send him some eggs, but I wanted to talk to you guys about it first.”

Ocellus shrugged. “Does it really matter? As long as the hatchlings have someone to love and raise them, they’ll be fine.”

“But what about their parents?” Sandbar asked.

“There are always some eggs or hatchlings that the parents don’t come back and claim. Like Spike’s egg. And he seems to have turned out okay, even if he acts like a pony half the time. I wouldn’t really think it would be a problem, but in one of our old stories, a dragon like Scriptus was banished because some dragons died when trying to learn magic from his books. Do you think he’d push young dragons too far again?”

Sandbar put a hoof on Smolder’s shoulder. “It’s an old story. We should see if he’s honest and ask him the truth about what happened. That’s the only way we can be sure he’d be a good parent.”

“Maybe we can help him somehow,” Ocellus added. 

Smolder pulled them both in for a tight hug. “Thanks, you two. I wasn’t so sure, but now I feel like it’s the right thing to do.”







Scriptus listened carefully as Smolder explained the old story and why it was important to her decision. Smolder thought she saw him quickly wipe away a tear as he sat in silence for a moment once she finished speaking.

“That story is true. It is one of my deepest regrets. I freely give knowledge to those who seek it, but some knowledge is very dangerous to those who are unprepared for it. Three dragons were corrupted when they sought to dominate some void spirits and use their magic. The three attacked the other dragons. The corruption would have spread, but I worked quickly and contained it. Dragonlord Torch was furious. Even Celestia came when she sensed the void spirits. Torch and Celestia sent me and the corrupted dragons here to protect Equus from further corruption by the void.”

“Void spirits?” Sandbar asked. “But isn’t that what created Nightmare Moon or the Pony of Shadows?”

“Yes, it is similar, but those two void spirits amplify the power and pain of the ponies they control. The void spirits that the young dragons called were stronger and more dangerous. But you have given me an idea. You three possess the magic of Harmony. If we use that when the void spirits are weakened, we could purge the three dragons. I could undo my mistake and ask for forgiveness.”

“But those dragons should be almost as old as you,” Smolder said. “And I haven’t seen any other huge dragons around, especially not corrupted dragons.”

Scriptus pointed down. “They are sealed deep beneath this place. Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to lock them away. They have not aged while caught in that prison. To atone for my mistake, I have guarded the seal all these years. But now, we could try to fix things. The void calls to its own, though. Even if Nightmare and Shade have been driven into hiding, they will try to come to help their fellow void spirits. My golems and kobolds will be able to slow them down, but if we break the seal, things will get very dangerous.”

Smolder flew up and looked Scriptus in the eyes. “Friends help each other, even when it gets tough. And you can consider us your friends. Let’s get started.”
> Chapter 28: Trying Her Best
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You should have used her distraction to run away. Now you’ll serve me in death.”

The lich’s grating voice made Silverstream want to run and hide, but she wasn’t going to give up. She had let her friends down by letting fear overcome her in that strange time travel thing, but she was going to be brave, like her cousin Skystar, or Yona, or Gallus. Everyone around her seemed so much braver than her. She faced their enemy and looked into his eyes. They blazed with cold, blue flame.

The orb flashed in the Lich’s hooves. It shot a ray at Gallus, but the magic of Harmony flashed around him for a brief moment. The siphoned energy drew back to the lich and was redirected to a pile of bones. A large earth pony skeleton rose with a moan. The sound made Silverstream shiver.

“Ha! Too slow!” Gallus shouted. He held the strange green orb in his talons and hopped back a step.

The lich’s horn glowed brighter and brighter. Yona tried to charge, but a forcefield held her back. The lich turned his horn toward Gallus.

Silverstream cried out. “No! Gallus! Look out!”

She was too far away to try to redirect the attack. The only tool she had to protect her friend was the magical brush in her talons. She put all her feelings of wanting to see Gallus safe into a quick doodle of a shield.

The cartoony shield popped into existence in the air in front of Gallus. The blinding ray shattered it. A smaller portion blasted her friend. He grunted as a patch of feathers and fur burned off his right wing and shoulder.

The lich charged another blast before Silverstream could think. Yona knocked aside the large skeleton and jumped in to shield Gallus. She was too slow, but the skeleton fell into the lich and spoiled his aim. Another patch of fur burned on Gallus’s side, but Silverstream breathed a sigh of relief. She ran to his side and painted seaweed bandages on his shoulder. The wet plants became real and covered his wound. It wasn’t much, but it was the best help she could offer for the burns.

“He’s going after me,” Gallus said. “I’ll try to get this orb away from here, and Yona can focus on finishing him off.”

“But what can I do?” Silverstream asked. She hated feeling less useful because she wasn’t as strong or as brave as her friends.

Gallus put a wing on her shoulder. “Do something unexpected. You’re the best at that. He won’t see it coming.”

Her shoulder felt warm even after Gallus removed his wing and hopped into the air. He rushed to the far side of the room. She looked back at the lich and cleared her mind and tried to draw in creative energy. Nothing stood out that would help against the undead unicorn.

The lich vanished. The loud crack of a teleport spell was the only warning they got. He appeared in front of Gallus and readied his next magical blast. The griffon spun to meet the lich. His claws broke apart the undead’s ribcage, but he shrieked as the searing blast of magic hit him in the chest. He fell to the ground with a loud thump.

Yona knocked the earth pony skeleton over with one horn. Silverstream rushed over it to get to Gallus.

“Gallus! Get up!”

She rolled him over. He was still breathing, but the fur on his chest had been blasted away. An angry red burn covered where the spell had hit him. A faint rattle caught Silverstream’s attention. The lich’s bones were shaking and slowly rolling back together.

“No! I’m not letting you hurt my friends again!”

Silverstream kicked the bones away. They were all trying to roll or move back to the lich’s skull. The burning blue flame in the eyes was almost gone, but the faintest glow of it was still there. She needed to help Gallus, but she couldn’t let the lich reform, either.

“Come on. Think, Silverstream.”

A sudden idea came. Evil, dark things hated the sun. She painted a bright sun on the wall and prayed for the brush’s magic to work. She thought of how amazing it had been to see the sun after years spent in the deep ocean. As she thought of the warmth and blinding rays, she began to feel them. Her little painted sun glowed with a brilliant warmth and light.

The bones hissed in the bright sun and a shadowy mist around them burned off. They no longer were moving.

“Take that, you mean old lich!”

Silverstream flicked away a smaller bone. When nothing more moved, she walked back over to Gallus. Yona was at his side and had picked up the orb.

“Starlight trapped inside orb,” Yona said.

A ghostly form of their counselor waved her hooves and pointed.

“Did the lich suck out her spirit?” Silverstream asked.

Yona nodded. “That sounds like forbidden magic from old stories. Yona fix things. Take this and help Gallus. It harder to spread with hooves. Yona will fix Starlight.”

Yona rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small jar of ponybalm. She shoved it into Silverstream’s talons. The yak grabbed the orb and went across the room to where Starlight lay unconscious.

Silverstream checked Gallus one more time. He had a few smaller burns, but his chest was where he had been hit the worst. She popped the lid off the jar and scooped up the creamy salve in her talons. It smelled like herbs and honey. She placed a generous portion of it in the center of the large burn and started to spread it with circular motions.

She wondered what Gallus would say if he was awake. He always seemed a little jumpy if she touched or hugged him for too long. She blushed as she felt the muscles of his chest. He felt strong and solid, even if his skin felt dry and scorched. She hummed and dabbed dollops of the salve on his other burns and rubbed it in.

“Silverstream like touching Gallus?”

Yona’s sudden question nearly made her jump. Starlight was also watching her and leaning against Yona. Silverstream nodded slowly, even as she felt her cheeks flush.

“It okay,” Yona continued. “Yona like touching Sandbar, too.”

“Just don’t tell Gallus, please. You know how he is.”

“On yak’s honor, Yona will not tell.”

Starlight was closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead. “I’ll keep it confidential. My head hurts too much to think about it.”

The healing power of the ponybalm was already working. Silverstream worked more of it into Gallus’s skin. The burns didn’t look as red. Gallus’s feet twitched. He rolled to his side and groaned. He opened his eyes and looked at everyone, but his gaze lingered on Silverstream and where her talons lingered on his chest.

“Ugh… it looks like we made it, even if half my fur didn’t.” His talons met Silverstream’s. She felt him almost push her away, but he stopped. “That does help with the pain. Thank you, Silverstream. Just a little more, and I should be good.”

“Does it hurt anywhere else?” She asked. “You crashed pretty hard. I could help check.”

She rubbed his shoulder and front legs. He stopped her as she tried to feel where she thought he might have some bruises on his belly or side. He chuckled nervously.

“I-I’m fine! Just finish treating the burns.”

Starlight and Yona both smiled when Gallus wasn’t watching them. A slow vibration and a barely audible purring came from Gallus as she gently treated him. She knew that saying anything would spoil the moment, but it only lasted a few seconds more.

Gallus slowly stood up. “That’s enough. We should get back.” 

As they carefully made their way back to the surface, Yona found a moment to whisper to Silverstream.

“Was Gallus purring?”

Silverstream nodded. “Wasn’t it cute?”

They both laughed. Gallus looked back at them with his usual suspicion. Soon, they were back at the magical portal that floated in the air. They hopped through it.

The pleasant warmth and dry air of the Bazaar was a huge relief after the stifling cold and fog of the crypts. The animated statues stood guard, but Grandeur appeared a few moments after their return. He adjusted the mirror and closed the gateway before speaking.

“That’s one big task settled,” he said. “Congratulations on a job well done, and on repaying your debt.” He held a talon out.

Starlight placed the orb in his claws. “We’re glad we could help, but what was the idea of giving something like that to a necromancer who was sure to misuse it?”

Grandeur put the orb into his magical bag before answering. “We made a fair agreement. The orb is easy to use in bad ways, but I can’t judge everyone who does business with me. He was a better pony when he rented it from me. There are many good ways items like that orb can be used.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

The large griffon ignored the verbal jab and focused on Gallus. “Oh, you poor boy. Let me get you something to fix your looks. It won’t do for a fine griffon like you to go around looking all beat up and ragged. Drink this.” He pulled out a red potion and handed it over.

Gallus chugged the potion. A faint golden glow surrounded him. His fur and feathers regrew until all hints of his injuries were gone.

“That worked great! Thank you!”

“It’s the least I could do. You all deserve a quick rest and what healing and food I can provide. You saved me a great deal of trouble.”

“And you’re going to help us get home?” Silverstream asked. She was tired of the constant battles. She wanted to go back to their regular classes at school, even if this place did have lots of amazing things.

“Yes. I keep my word. You shall have my help when the time comes. It will be the fourth artifact of the six you need. If your friends can convince Scriptus to help, you’ll have five. We should wait to see how things go with them before you make your final plans. Queen Cordys and Storm Surge have artifacts of great power that could work for your spell, but I don’t think you want to face them both if you don’t have to. You should all rest here and make your final move tomorrow.”

Silverstream felt exhausted from the day’s adventure. She was dirty and beat up. Starlight looked terrible, and she could tell that Gallus was trying to look strong even though he was probably about to collapse from exhaustion. Yona looked almost like normal, but the yak always did seem to have a strength and stamina that few could match.

“It’s safe here,” Silverstream said. “We won’t find a better place.”

Starlight nodded. “Let’s hope that their mission went as well as ours. I hope Sandbar remembers how to use the long-range messaging spell.”

“That’s hoping for a lot,” Gallus said. “He forgets his homework half the time when I don’t remind him about it.”

Silverstream sat next to Gallus and chuckled at his joke, even if it was a little mean. She looked over at the sunset and hoped for the best for her three missing friends.
> Chapter 29: The Price of Redemption
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A large metal door layered in magical circles and gems sat at the far end of the room. The magical energy coming off of it made Sandbar’s hair stand on end. Scriptus sat to the side and looked them over.

“This won’t be possible without your help,” he said. “But we need to do things right. We can’t let the corrupted dragons escape, and I’ll need to protect my library from outside attack at the same time. The three dragons were only slightly older than Smolder. One was large and strong. One was cunning. And the last had a way with words and charm. The void spirits will use those attributes against you.”

Smolder clenched her fist. “I’m tough, so it sounds like I should fight the big one. Ocellus, you should take on the smart one. And Sandbar, you can take on the last one.”

Sandbar didn’t really want to fight a dragon, but he’d do it to get everyone safely back home. And he’d be doing it to help save Equestria. It was just hard to feel brave about it, even if his reasons were good.

“Sure,” he said. “But how are we going to know when to use the magic of Harmony on them?”

“You must weaken them first,” Scriptus said. “I wish I had a better way than fighting them, but that is the easiest way. It would take far too long to exhaust them in any other way.”

“And we don’t have to worry about getting corrupted by them?” Ocellus asked.

Scriptus shook his head. “No. The magic of Harmony and the seals in this place will stop that. As long as either of those two remain, you won’t have to worry. Here is the key that will unlock the seal. Use it in five minutes. I will have my defenses ready by then. Sandbar, Ocellus, drink these potions. They’ll protect you from dragonfire.”

He handed a golden key over to Smolder. It had similar intricate magical circles to the door. He pulled out two potions then turned to leave.

Sandbar uncorked the potion and drank it slowly. It tasted like mint, but the cold feeling spread throughout his entire body.

“Let’s hear a growl from you two before we start,” Smolder said. “That always gets me fired up.”

Smolder’s fierce growl echoed in the room. Ocellus tried to growl, but she sounded more like a cute puppy. Sandbar thought his own attempt sounded more frustrated than angry.

“Sorry,” Ocellus said. “I can do better.” She transformed into a bugbear and let out a fierce bear-like growl. “There! I’m ready now.”

He wished he could transform into something with wings and claws, like his two friends. He looked down at his hooves. It would be up to his old reliable bucks and kicks to do the job.

Smolder pressed the key against the single slot in the door. “That should be enough time. Let’s get the fun started!” She turned the key.

A loud click came from deep within the door. The hum of spells activating and deactivating came from the huge door as the spell circles lit up and faded. More of them went dark until a final huge circle across the entire door flashed. It started to dim. The central seam of the door appeared before the two halves swung open.

The room beyond the door lit with the harsh white of magical lights. Three dragons shook their heads and looked at the open door. In the bright light, it was easy to see that each dragon had black where the whites of their eyes should have been. Their eerie gaze made Sandbar want to shiver.

“I’ll take Ignis.” Smolder pointed at the center dragon. 

He stood a head taller than her and flexed his large muscles. He was a deep red color. He smiled at Smolder’s challenge.

Ocellus pointed with a claw. “Sandbar, you get the one on the right. That’s Risk. I’ll take on Tremor, like we planned.”

She turned to face Tremor. He was a thin black dragon with calculating eyes.

Sandbar looked at his opponent. Risk was a beautiful silver dragon, but her icy glare spoiled her elegant, smooth complexion.

“Remember,” he said. “We’re here to help them.”

Risk took a step toward him. Her every movement was mesmerizing as her scales shimmered in the light. “We aren’t the ones who need help. A strong pony like you should put that strength to use for those who need help, like your friends.”

The words echoed in Sandbar’s head. He chased after Risk, but she slipped away like water. He reared up and aimed a kick at her, but he blinked and found his kick aimed at Ocellus. He stumbled backward to avoid hitting her.

“Ah! A fight!” Ignis road and pounded his chest. “It’s the perfect way to wake up. I will take on any challengers! Give me all your rage!” He roared at Smolder.

The two dragons met with a loud thud. Smolder grabbed his arm, but he got a grip on her tail and slammed her into the ground. She grunted as the air was knocked out of her. She kicked his arm to break the hold. She stood back up and backed up as she tried to catch her breath.

Tremor grinned as he circled Ocellus. “The great game of battle is set. Choose your moves well. I hope to at least have some fun. It’s so boring when my opponents can’t match my strategies.”

“If you think you can trick a changeling, you’ll be very disappointed.”

The two danced back and forth. Dragon and bugbear claws were inches from hitting their targets. After a flurry of swipes, Ocellus scored a light hit.

“Is my little pony playmate getting distracting, or scared?” Risk’s voice sounded like it was right behind him.

He tried to kick out with his back legs, but a push from the side toppled him. He fell hard on his shoulder and had to untangle his legs.

“Hey! Stop that. Fight fair!”

Smolder’s roar sounded from across the room. Ocellus gasped in pain. But Sandbar had to focus on his fight. He’d help them once that was over.

Risk laughed. "Fair? We all have our own ways of fighting. Are my words too strong for you to resist?"

"If you're going to use your power, then I'll use mine!"

Sandbar dug deep until he could feel his own strength and the magic of Harmony. He used both and charged after Risk. She danced away from his stampeding kicks, but he clipped her with the edge of his hoof on one kick.

She rubbed her snout and growled. “How dare you bruise my beautiful face! You surprised me, but you won’t hit me again.”

The surge of power within him was fading, but it had shown him something. As long as he could see or hear Risk, her powers would make her very difficult to hit. He hummed one of his favorite songs about the Wonderbolts and used his hooves to feel the dragon’s nearby steps. She darted in for an attack, but he twisted and bucked her right in the chest.

“If you stop fighting, I won’t have to hurt you.”

She was breathing hard through her clenched teeth. “We won’t stop until we’re free. After ages of imprisonment, we won’t be caged again.”

Sandbar couldn’t look away from her. Any tactical thoughts slipped away, and he stared. She walked closer and grabbed his muzzle.

“You can obey! Let’s put those kicks of yours to better use. Your dragon friend, for example.”

The shadow behind her eyes filled his mind. He watched himself charge at Smolder’s back.

“Yes! More!” Ignis shouted as he continued the fight with Smolder.

The two dragons had deep scratch marks across their scales. Smolder was bleeding in a few places and was barely keeping up. Ignis was fueled by the pain and the battle. He hit Smolder across the chest with a swing of his tail. She was about to get up when Sandbar knocked her back down. She didn’t get up this time.

“Smolder! No!”

He broke free of whatever was holding him. He picked her up and prayed for Harmony’s strength as he tried to connect to her fading energy. It blazed up, like a fire, and Smolder opened her eyes.

“Thanks, Sandbar. I can keep fighting that brute. You finish her off and then you can help me. And it looks like Ocellus is doing fine. We shouldn’t distract her.”

Sandbar wanted to say something, but Smolder charged back into the duel with Ignis. He tried to hold on to his connection with Harmony as Risk approached him. She was avoiding putting much weight on one foot. She looked weak, and if he could find another opening, he might be able to use Harmony’s magic to end the fight.

He tried his trick of humming a song and closing his eyes, but she sang her own tune that twisted with his own. His mind went blank. He watched as he kicked Smolder in the side after she scored a heavy blow on Ignis’s wing.

“What in the sulphur pits are you doing, Sandbar?” Smolder glared back at him for just a moment.

“Sorry. She’s twisting something inside me. It’s hard to fight that.”

“Get your head in the game and out of the clouds. Ignis seems to be getting stronger the more I hurt him. I hate to say this, but I don’t think I can take him by myself.”

Sandbar took several steps back as he stared at the blazing eyes of the red dragon. He retreated behind Smolder and looked for his opponent. She was just out of reach.

“Scriptus said you’re like Nightmare Moon. Deep down inside, there’s still that young, curious dragon waiting to find great things in the world and make great friends while you do it.”

“That’s wrong. The only thing we ever wanted was power. I wanted the power to turn all hearts to me with my words and my beauty. And that is exactly what I got.”

“No. It’s not. These spirits turned you against your friends. But it’s not too late to go back and start again.”

Sandbar focused again as the strange pressure of her words started to twist his heart and mind again. He thought of his friends and the lessons in friendship that they had learned together. The magic inside him grew stronger and stronger. A faint glow appeared around him. He rushed forward and trapped Risk in a big earth pony hug.

She cried out in what sounded like two voices. She struggled and tried to escape. She cursed and tried to breathe flame, but the potion did its job. Sandbar only felt a pleasant warmth from the flames. Harmony’s magic flowed through him. The shadow in Risk’s eyes faded, and an inky shadow evaporated from around her. Sandbar set her gently on the floor as she collapsed.

Even if he was victorious, he could feel the magic inside him weakening with each use. He rushed in and had to use part of that magic to bolster his strength as he grabbed one of Ignis’s arms. Smolder held the other, but the two of them were shaking from the effort, even with the magic helping them. On the far side of the room, Ocellus used the same magic to defend herself from the darkness that was swirling around her head.

“Yes! Finally a fight worthy of my strength!” Ignis roared. “My claws shall tear the strongest to shreds!”

Smolder tried to twist his arm, but he nearly pushed her off her feet. Sandbar coughed as the dragon’s hand caught hold of his chest and almost crushed it. They were burning all of the special magic they had just to hold on.

Ignis pushed Sandbar back. He caught Smolder as she tried to jump away from a blow. His fist smacked her into the wall on the other side of the room. She wasn’t moving.

A flash from the other side of the room distracted Sandbar for a moment. Ocellus collapsed, but the void spirit’s link had been severed from Tremor. The dragon fell unconscious at Ocellus’s side. Ocellus looked over at Sandbar.

“I can’t hold on! Take the power I have left.”

Sandbar felt the fading magic of Harmony grow a little brighter as Ocellus shared it with him. It wouldn’t be enough to overwhelm Ignis without finding a weak point, but it was enough to keep going. Ocellus slumped and didn’t try to get up again.

He rubbed the crystal circlet. His friends were down, but he had one last trick. And he had to figure out what to do with it before the battle-crazed dragon could attack.

“Link established. How may I be of assistance?” Hedron’s calm voice was a relief.

“I’m not sure. What can your magic do against a corrupted dragon?”

“Void magic detected. It is hard to contain, but I will do what I can to slow him down.”

“I could use any help you have. Thanks!”

The circlet lit up the air in front of Sandbar with a kaleidoscope of magic circles. They settled to the ground around him.

Ignis charged into the magical circles with no hesitation. He lunged for Sandbar. 

His eyes went wide as the dragon’s claws reached for him. He saw no way out. The second before the dragon tackled him, everything stopped.

“Move out of the way,” Hedron commanded. “Every second I buy you burns up the power in the circlet.”

Sandbar jumped to the side. He thought he was clear, but a thick red tail swung at him as Ignis spun around. It swept his legs out from under him. He gasped as he hit the hard stone floor. He’d have a bruise there later, but everyone was counting on him. He wouldn’t let a little pain stop him. The dragon was at the center of the circle. He hadn’t planned it, but it was right where he needed him to be.

“Use all the power left, now!” Sandbar shouted and charged.

He felt claws rake his side as he slammed down on top of Ignis. Hedron’s magic stopped the dragon in place, but Sandbar could barely focus. His side felt both like it was on fire and like it was wet with something warm and slick. He called on the rest of Harmony’s magic and forced it into the dragon from his front hoof. The dragon knocked him away. The last thing he saw was the room flying by. He bounced once before all went black.







A warm feeling was the first thing Sandbar felt. He opened his eyes slowly. Scriptus stood over him and held a burning scroll in his hands.

“Good. You survived. My healing magic is a bit rusty, so I wasn’t sure you would.”

He looked around. Smolder was lying in a bed next to his. She was bruised, bandaged, and had one wing in a sling. Ocellus was sitting next to Smolder. She had a few bandages on and had a blindfold over her eyes.

“Did we win?” Sandbar asked.

Scriptus nodded. “You did enough. The magic you used trapped Ignis and started to purge the void spirit within him. When I arrived, I only had to complete the spells to free him. The three dragons are all resting and being tended to.”

He looked over at his friends. “And how are you two?”

Ocellus groaned. “This headache is the worst I’ve ever had.”

Smolder laughed as she tried to lift an arm. “I’m so sore, I can barely move. And you should have seen the slash in your side! There was so much blood! Without healing magic, you would have had a nice scar.”

Sandbar lifted the blankets and glanced at the bandages that covered almost half his body. At least Smolder thought it was cool. It felt numb at the moment, probably from the magic that Scriptus had used.

“I shall see that you are all healed and cared for,” Scriptus said. “And you shall have the use of my Orb of Finding when the time comes. You have done something priceless for me.”

“Do you think you could contact Starlight Glimmer for us?” Sandbar asked. “I was supposed to use my circlet to tell her how things went, but I used up its magic in the fight. It needs time to recharge.”

“I have plenty of sending scrolls, so I can get a message to her. Write it down and get some rest while I wait for her reply.”
> Chapter 30: Assault on the Hive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gallus stretched and quietly slipped away from his sleeping pile of friends. He had been exhausted last night when Starlight had returned with their other three friends. The story of how they fought three corrupted dragons had been exciting enough to keep him awake until the end. The discussion about what to do next that came afterward had quickly lulled him to sleep.

“You’re up early,” Starlight said. “Grandeur let us borrow a food creating bag, so just let me know what you want and I’ll get you breakfast.”

He groaned and rubbed his face while he tried to think. “One of those cheesy egg sandwiches sounds good. And some waffles and fruit. And a glass of milk.”

“Coming right up!” Starlight focused on the magic and pulled a plate out of the bag with exactly what he requested.

“Nice! Thanks!” He started to gulp down the breakfast to sate his grumbling stomach.

“You fell asleep, but everyone agreed on what we should do next. Grandeur had information that made it easy to decide. We can probably free the ponies if we deal with Queen Cordys, but it would be much harder to restore the hippogriffs that have lost their true names and memories to the beings of madness and chaos that Storm Surge serves.”

Gallus took a swig of milk before responding. “Do we have a good plan? And is everyone okay with more fighting?”

“This entire experience has been wearing some of them down, especially Sandbar and Silverstream. But they’re willing to fight if it’s for a good reason. We don’t have the best plan. Queen Cordys has changeling spies and scouts and probably knows a lot about what we’ve been up to. She’s going to be ready for us. We can only free the ponies if we defeat her and take her crown.”

“We could split up and divide or distract her forces, or we could stick together. I think the first would work best. If we stay together in one place, we’ll have to face down an entire hive of changelings.”

“But if we split up, it will be easier for them to trick us by copying our friends. We’ll need to come up with some code to keep that from happening. Ocellus wrote down what she could remember of the hive, so we have a rough map. But it’s also a changeling hive, so things can shift around over time.”

“A tricky situation, regardless of what we do. Maybe we should talk about it with everyone over breakfast.”

Gallus pulled out a seat for Silverstream as she approached. His other friends soon followed, and they all began to eat and talk about how to make their plan of attack better.

After brainstorming and breakfast, he looked over their plans. The notes might have a few syrup spots, but they had all pitched in and made something that seemed solid.

“Okay, let’s go over this one last time. Starlight will teleport us far enough away from the hive to avoid magical detection. After that, we’ll split up. Me and Silverstream will take the upper entrance by the village and see what we can do to draw their attention. Yona and Sandbar will take the main cave tunnel and create another distraction. Ocellus and Smolder will take another tunnel and slip into the hive. Starlight will help us with communication and will pull us out if any group is getting overwhelmed or is about to be captured. Once someone reaches the queen, Starlight will have a brief window of time to teleport everyone there. We’ll need to win quickly before the changeling forces can regroup and trap us in the throne room.”

Ocellus nodded. “That’s good, but you forgot a few things. The hive’s tunnels may shift around and may have traps. I know our old hive had all sorts of things designed to confuse and separate invaders. We’ll also need a few passcodes that won’t be easy to guess or fake. If you lose sight of someone, a changeling could replace them quickly. They could even try to replace several of us at once. Each of us should pick a codename and number. Make sure someone gives you those if you lose contact with them.”

“What about a backup plan?” Starlight asked. “Things didn’t go as planned when I tried to attack Queen Chrysalis on her home turf.”

Gallus tapped his beak and thought. “We need to figure out what our main failure points are. We’re relying on you for a lot of magic. What happens if your communication or teleport spells don’t work?”

“We made a plan that can work even without those,” Ocellus said. “As long as we can teleport in, we can do the rest without magic. If you lose contact with Starlight, continue with your part of the plan.”

Sandbar nodded. “I wish we had more, but it sounds like the best we can do. And let’s not forget the extra ponybalm and antiparalysis potions that we got from Grandeur.”

“Those should come in handy against those giant frogs,” Ocellus said.

“There is a little more of Harmony’s magic left,” Starlight said. “I’ll give you what I can, but I’ll have to save most of it for getting us back home. And I’ve also made a few magical shielding amulets. They only have a few uses each, but they will protect you from any strong attacks.”

Her horn glowed and a faint shimmering rainbow glow flowed out from it to Gallus and his friends. The magic made him feel strong and powerful. He felt memories and emotions about his friends welling up from deep inside him. He walked over next to Silverstream and placed his talons around hers. She leaned against him.

“I’ll protect you. We can do this. Together.”

The other two pairs gathered together as Starlight readied her teleport. The sudden jolt of the spell made Gallus blink. The thick jungle around them would be difficult to get through on foot, so it was good that Silverstream and him would be flying as soon as they found somewhere with enough room to take off.

“Best of luck,” he whispered to his friends as they started to split up. “Don’t get caught.”

The foliage made everyone else but Silverstream disappear in just a few moments. They started to look for an opening to the sky somewhere in the thick canopy, but they had to work their way around some thick bushes first.

“Testing. Can you hear me?” Starlight’s voice sounded inside Gallus’s head. “Answer quietly and I’ll hear you.”

“This is Blue Skies 2,” Gallus said.

“Pink Coral 3,” Silverstream added.

“Avalanche 1.”

“Shell Shocker 4.”

“Lava Bomb 5.”

“Bug Out 6.”

“Good. That’s everyone. If this spell cuts off, remember those. I have a location spell running. Gallus and Silverstream, turn to your right and go straight. There should be a clearing there. The village is also that way.”

They followed Starlight’s directions, but a large dead log was in the way. They tried to go over it quietly, but Gallus stepped on a dead branch on the other side when he leaped. He hoped the loud snap didn’t carry too far in the hot, humid air of the jungle. He held some bushes out of the way for Silverstream as they reached the edge of the clearing. A small patch of ground around a small river and a corresponding hole between the trees would give them just enough room to take off.

Silverstream froze in place. “Did you hear that?”

Gallus jumped back as a changeling warrior crashed down where he had just been standing.

“Give up now,” the changeling said. “And I shall take you to my queen without any pain.”

Gallus crouched and readied a pounce. “Quick! Get him before he sounds the alarm!”

Silverstream fluffed up her feathers in surprise. Her shield amulet flashed as the changeling hit her with a solid kick.

The soldier was wide open, and Gallus was going to make him pay for hurting his friend. He heard a loud thump and looked over just in time to see a massive frog open its mouth. The sticky tongue wrapped around him. He tried to get it off and slip away, but the warm darkness of the frog’s mouth surrounded him the next moment. It smelled gross, and everywhere the frog’s saliva touched suddenly felt dull. It was getting hard to move his paws or wings.

Gallus was spat out in a sticky tangle of his own limbs. He could see the frog hopping around, partially on fire. Silverstream had dropped a torch on it. Or maybe created it. She had out her magic paintbrush. She was doing a poor job of avoiding the changeling’s attacks, but her shield pendant protected her again.

“Rrr… just gotta get up!”

He wanted to help Silverstream, but his body wasn’t moving right. He focused until he could feel the magic of Harmony overcoming the venom. He pulled out one of the potions meant to neutralize it and felt relief as soon as he drank the syrupy liquid. His little vial of potion was smashed out of his talons as the frog jumped on him.

His shield amulet flashed. His side hurt, but he kicked the frog with his back legs. It flew into a nearby tree and didn’t get up. He rolled over and watched Silverstream deliver two excellent kicks to the changeling. She gave him the perfect opening to pounce. He slammed down onto the changeling guard right as its horn flashed. The spell either finished or was cut off. The light around the bug’s horn dimmed.

“Are you two okay?” Starlight asked.

“A little beat up, but we’re fine. I’m a tough griffon. Ugh, this slime is going to take a while to get out of my feathers.”

“What was that spell?” Silverstream asked.

“It was small, so give me a moment. Oh. That’s not good. Basic changeling telepathy spell. Sort of like this spell I’m using, but simpler. They’ll be looking for you now. I can get you out of there soon, but we still need you to drop the smoke bombs on the village to confuse the changelings. Do you think you can still do that?”

Gallus looked over at Silverstream. She nodded and pulled out the four magical smoke bombs. Starlight had designed them to be similar to Trixie’s smoke bombs, except these were magical and would make much more smoke and last longer.

“We won’t fail everyone,” Gallus replied. “Let’s get going.”

They both jumped into the air and circled around the clearing to gain height. They lifted up through the hole in the trees. Three changelings were buzzing in the air nearby. One of them pointed.

“Uh, Gallus, I think we’ve been spotted.”

“Just fly as fast as you can.”

Silverstream was about as good as he was with flying maneuvers. They flew low over the canopy and tried to bank sharply around some treetops to lose their pursuers. The trick didn’t work, but they stayed ahead of the changelings as the village came into view. The ponies in the village all stared up, as if suddenly controlled by something. It was creepy. 

They flew over the center of the village and dropped the first smoke bomb. It exploded and filled the sky with a pillar of smoke. One changeling fell behind to investigate the smoke, but the other two kept coming.

“Keep dropping those. I’ll protect you.”

Gallus curved his flight path to intercept the two changelings. They came in fast and hard. One tackled him and nearly knocked him out of the sky, but his shield amulet softened the blow enough to keep him aloft. Another nearby boom sounded as Silverstream dropped the second smoke bomb. Four more changelings emerged from the cave entrance at the middle of the village.

“Crap.”

Silverstream looked over at him. He could see the worry written plainly on her face. He also knew she’d want to come help him. That was how Silverstream was, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. But he also needed to keep her focused on her mission.

“I can handle them. Remember our mission!”

She flew close enough to brush Gallus with a wing tip. “Are you sure? There’s so many.”

He winked at her and grinned. “It’ll be just like the street fights I’d sometimes get into back at Griffonstone. Now go! They’re catching up again.”

“I want you back in one piece. Now go get them!”

Her little cheer warmed his heart. He knew what he was about to do would be stupid and painful, but seeing Silverstream made him want to try his best. He screeched and swooped down at the swarm of changelings. Harmony’s magic filled him and kept him from falling from the sky as the guards attacked his wings. He slashed with his talons to drive them back, but he was breathing hard as he flapped to regain altitude. The distant boom of another smoke bomb let him know his efforts had paid off, but the bugs had managed to block off every direction around him.

The guards stopped trying to go in for attacks. Gallus got a sinking feeling as their horns glowed. He dodged the first magical rays, but one grazed his back. Another hit his side, and one more hit his wing. He shrieked from the small painful burns. A massive pop of pressure nearby sent him spinning. In the thick smoke, he couldn’t tell up from down. He strained his wings to try to stop the rotation.

“Got you!”

Warm, soft arms grabbed him out of the air and wrapped around him. He looked up and saw Silverstream looking down at him.

“That’s the final bomb. I had to throw it close to you to create an opening. I hope they didn’t hurt you too badly. Starlight! We’re ready to get out of here. The changelings are confused for now, but they’ll find us again soon.”

“It’s always tough to teleport a flying creature. Give me just a moment. There! Teleport in three, two, one!”

The sudden snap of the teleport made Gallus feel like his stomach had been left behind, but Silverstream placed him on the ground before landing. She immediately started to look at where the attack spells had hit him. Her talons pushed aside his feathers or fur as she closely examined the spots that made Gallus wince or groan when she touched them.

“You’re bruised and burned. The bruises are worse than the burns.”

Gallus blushed as Starlight watched them. Silverstream took a deep breath and started to hum.

“Sandbar and Mirage Chaser tried to teach me how to heal others. Let’s see if I can do this.”

She closed her eyes and her humming grew louder. A warm glow surrounded her talons. She pressed her palms against each burn and bruise, and the pain suddenly vanished.

“I… I think it’s working! That feels great.” Gallus sighed in relief. “Thank you, Silverstream. I think that’s enough.”

If the situation were better or Starlight weren’t there, he would have enjoyed Silverstream’s touch a little longer. But it felt both embarrassing and selfish to try to do that now. 

Silverstream clapped and pulled Gallus into a hug. “Wow! That worked so much better than I thought it would! I had to use some of Harmony’s magic to make it work, but I’m glad I could help.”

Gallus slipped out of the hug before Silverstream could crush the air out of him in her excitement. He tried to play things cool, so he found a few misaligned feathers on his wings and fixed them.

“Now we wait,” he said. “We have to be ready to fight their queen.”
> Chapter 31: The Second Distraction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Once we get in, we trample the mushroom fields and get out once we attract too much attention.”

Yona nodded and stepped on a bush that was in their way.

“It will be just like helping Grandma plow the fields. Yona was always the best at that.”

“I should learn more about your family. You already met mine, but now’s probably not the best time for talking about that. We’re supposed to be sneaking in.”

Sandbar’s ears swiveled in the cute way that pony ears always did. His ears fixed on something he heard. Yona stood behind a large tree and peeked around the side. Some changelings were standing near a tunnel, but they had left their posts and were heading toward her and Sandbar.

“Changelings coming soon. Should we hide?”

“Great idea, but let me do something first.”

He stomped some hoofprints into the mulch on the jungle floor. He pulled a few vines loose from a tree and snapped off some leaves on a bush. He pointed another direction.

“Let’s hide over there. I hope my fake trail is convincing.”

They slipped into a better hiding spot and watched as the two guards found Sandbar’s tracks and started to follow them.

“How did Sandbar learn how to trick guards with plants?”

“I used to do the same thing to the other foals when we played hide and seek.”

They got up once the guards had moved out of sight. Yona had to go first in the tunnel, but she could hear Sandbar galloping behind her as they rushed toward the central cave. The tight dark cave made her nervous, but she didn’t trip on any unseen rocks. The cave opened up suddenly. Small fields of glowing mushrooms spread out around the spire of the changeling hive. A few shouts behind them made it obvious they had been seen, but she wasn’t going to slow down.

She dipped a horn to the side and plowed it through the soft dirt. The neat rows of mushrooms were trampled under her hooves or dug up by her horn. Sandbar kept up and trampled two more rows. It wouldn’t be enough to ruin the mushroom fields, but it was definitely enough to attract the attention of all of the guards. The buzzing of changeling wings echoed from near and far in the cave. Yona lifted her horn out of the dirt and looked around. Three guards boxed them in with a triangular formation as the first of the changelings caught up. Yona slowed down and looked over at Sandbar.

“If we can’t run, we fight! Yona stomp!”

“But only until we can run again!” Sandbar added. “Starlight, are you still listening?”

“What?” Starlight’s voice started to cut out. “Something’s stopping- spell. Hold on!”

“Uh, Yona, that’s not good.”

“Plan still the same. Even if magic fail at worst time, like magic always does. Yona and Sandbar complete mission then worry about the rest.”

Yona felt Sandbar’s flanks bump against her own as they stood back to back and faced their opponents. For a small pony, he was remarkably sturdy. If he had Yona’s back, she’d only have to worry about the two bugs in front of her.

One of the guards charged Sandbar. Another charged Yona while the third stayed back and powered up an attack spell. The magical blast was too weak to hurt Yona. She reared up on her hind legs and headbutted the bug in front of her. He staggered back. She pushed him down before he could recover.

“Yona! A little help!”

Sandbar got a light kick in but got singed by magic. Yona charged after the one using spells. One horn twist and kick later and the bug was down. Sandbar yelped as a powerful kick hit him in the chest.

“Sandbar must learn to fight better. Yona help.”

She smiled as his hoof met hers. She lifted him up and gave him a nudge toward their remaining opponent. He jumped and spun and finally got in a powerful kick with his back left hoof. Yona used the distraction to bowl the changeling over.

“Phew. Thanks, Yona! I don’t know what I, um, what we’d do without you.” Sandbar gave her a quick hug. “But I think we need to start running. More of them are coming.”

Four more changelings flew at them from nearby fields. They ran back toward the tunnel they used to enter the cavern. The nearest changeling caught up and tried to grab Sandbar, but her friend slipped away and sprinted ahead. Two more changelings appeared at the tunnel entrance.

“No slowing down,” she said. “Smash any bugs that get in our way.”

The tunnel guards tried to block them, but speed and weight was on their side. She tossed one aside while Sandbar bucked the other into the wall.

The cave walls were tight, but there was still plenty of room to run in the dim tunnel. A small root almost tripped Yona, but she scrambled and caught herself without losing much speed. A blinding light marked the end of the tunnel. The cool subterranean air changed to the stifling humidity of the jungle as they leaped small bushes and dodged trees. They stopped when they were both gasping for breath.

“Yona, Sandbar, can you hear me now?” Starlight’s voice in their heads made both their ears perk up. “I think you’re further away from the interference. I can locate you now. Hold on. We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”

Yona found a tight group of trees to hide in. They hid under a large, leafy bush when they heard the buzzing of changeling wings overhead, but the noise soon faded. A few minutes later, Gallus and Silverstream flapped down from between the trees. Gallus was holding Starlight and set her down. They exchanged their secret code names and numbers and breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s good we found you,” Starlight said. “I think the queen is messing up my magic, somehow. The closer any of you get to the hive, the worse the interference gets. I’ve lost touch with Ocellus and Smolder. If I use the amulet, we’ll get one shot to teleport to them. Unless I can reach them with my communication spell, we’ll be going in five minutes.”

Yona hated trusting magic so much, but she trusted Starlight. Sandbar had a few little welts from the recent fighting, but they were both ready for the next battle. She was looking forward to it.
> Chapter 32: Facing the Queen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ocellus scrunched her eyebrows and concentrated. She tried again then shook her head.

“It looks like something is stopping Starlight’s magic. I can’t reconnect to her communication spell.”

“That’s what we get for trusting magic too much. I don’t think those two are moving either.”

Smolder pulled back one of the huge leaves of the bush they were hiding in and glanced at the two changelings guarding the tunnel. The guards had gone back to chatting about something while glancing around slowly.

“We should have tried to slip in when one of them left earlier.”

“I have an idea. Why don’t I become a guard like them and distract them while you slip in?”

“It’s better than my ideas. Let’s try it.”

She focused. It was easy to remember all the tough, mean guards from before the Change. They had always kept Ocellus from going outside, even though she had always been very curious about things outside the hive. She channeled her old frustration into making the perfect disguise.

“How do I look?” she said in her new gruff voice.

Smolder laughed softly. “You even sound tough. It matches how you look.”

“Good. You get ready to slip in once I have them distracted.”

Smolder climbed up some vines and clung to the side of a tree. Ocellus left her behind and walked over to one of the nearby dirt paths. Her heart was racing, but she tried to look commanding as she stepped out onto the path and galloped toward the guards. She skidded to a stop and saluted.

“Did either of you two see some intruders run by? I was trying to follow their tracks, but the ground isn’t as soft here.” The guards shook their heads. “Well, in that case, I need your help. Come over here, that’s where the tracks leave off.”

“We should stay here,” the smaller guard said. “The queen has others scouting the forest.”

Ocellus stood tall and glared at him. “That may be true, but they aren’t right here. You are. The tracks are just a short way down the path.”

The larger guard stepped forward. “I’ll go. You stay at your post.”

She led him further away down the dirt path to where she and Smolder had crossed it earlier. She could barely see the other guard, but she used her magic to rustle some bushes at the edge of the clearing near the tunnel.

“Yes, these are fresh,” the bigger guard said. “And they go over here.”

She could only hope her little distraction had allowed Smolder to get in. The guard followed the tracks to where they had been hiding only moments earlier. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Smolder was gone.

“They end here,” she said.

“These circle back to the path.”

“Hmm, that’s true. Keep an eye out for them. I need to report to the hive.”

She accompanied the guard back to his post and saluted before stepping into the dimly lit tunnel. Little glowing mushrooms lit the sides, but only enough to barely see. As Ocellus continued toward the hive, Smolder stepped out of the darkness and breathed out a little puff of flame.

“Heh, that was fun. I slipped right past them. And you’re sure this tunnel leads into the hive?”

“Yeah, there’s always at least one deeper tunnel to escape out of, in case anything attacks the top of the hive.”

As they continued, the glowing mushrooms were more plentiful, and glowing pods of changeling goo started to appear in larger and larger amounts. The tunnel opened up into a large room. Jagged rock, wood, and changeling goo formed the walls and ceiling. Several curving pathways all led deeper into the hive. Ocellus walked a few steps down one. She stopped as her mind flashed back to her past.

She chased the other little changelings as they hid in the tunnels. One of the patrolling guards yelled at them and told them to practice their disguises. They were forced back into their main learning chamber, and the guard drilled them in disguises. They flashed between different colors and types of ponies.

A hand on her shoulder shook her out of it. Ocellus looked over. Smolder looked concerned, but she also had the smug look that she had whenever she thought she was winning.

“I checked out the paths. I think we should take that one. It looks like it goes down, but then it goes up some stairs. Are you alright? You’ve just been standing there.”

“I think so. Sorry. This is reminding me of my childhood in the old hive. It’s strange to look back on those memories now. We were taught how to copy ponies and steal their love. Chrysalis never gave up on her goal of conquering Equestria. It’s strange to think she’s still out there, somewhere. But without a hive, I don’t think she can cause too much trouble.”

“I hope so. But I’m glad things changed between dragons and changelings. I once met a very old dragon that said he almost had a whole hive of changelings to snack on, but they tricked him and escaped.”

They stepped into a smaller room with a large pillar in the center. As they walked by it, the pod of changeling goo in the center flashed green then red. A loud pulsing buzz filled the room.

“An alarm trap!” Ocellus raced over to it and touched her horn to the goo. Her magic stopped the alarm.

Smolder carefully looked at each of the many entrances. A bit of smoke escaped from her nostrils. Someone would be coming soon. Ocellus’s ears perked up as she heard the sound of hooves coming closer. Yona and Sandbar trotted into the room.

“Thank goodness we found you!” Sandbar said.

“I heard that loud noise and knew it had to be our friends,” Yona added.

She glanced over to Smolder, who raised an eyebrow. She nodded and transformed into a bugbear. It definitely wasn’t their friends. The two changelings turned back into their normal forms and attacked. A hoof hit Ocellus in the face. She stepped back and shook her head to clear the pain.

“How dare you copy our friends!” Smolder shouted. Flames licked at the corners of her mouth and she breathed a blast of fire at the two soldiers.

One got charred, and the flames caught part of the wall on fire. The fire distracted Ocellus as the guard hit her again. Smolder kept breathing flames at the other guard, and he wasn’t doing a good job of avoiding them.

She paused to wonder how flammable this hive was. It was made of wood, goo, and stone, so it was definitely more flammable than the hive in Equestria. That one was mostly stone. She tried to jump back as the guard swiped at her, but the tip of his hoof caught her leg.

Smolder sent one guard running. He was smoking from the flames. The fire had spread over the entire wall. The other guard fled when both Smolder and Ocellus went after him. Another burst of flames hit the wall near the guard as he ran away.

“It’s a good distraction, but isn’t all this fire going to attract more changelings?”

“Probably, but we’ll be gone before they get here to put it out. Let’s go that way.”

Smolder’s luck in picking good paths continued. They looped through a few confusing rooms and climbed a few more stairways before arriving in the hallway outside the throne room. Another set of guards stood at the entrance.

“There’s no way we’re sneaking in,” Ocellus said. “But I have an idea.”

She transformed to look like one of the guards and tied a loose band of rope around Smolder’s wrists. Her friend could easily slip out of it if needed, but it would look convincing. She marched forward and pulled Smolder along with a rope.

"I've caught the dragon that started the fire!" She yelled to the guards as they spotted her. "The queen shall decide her punishment."

The guards saluted and stepped aside. They opened the large stone doors then shut them just as quickly once they were through.

The throne room looked the same as it had the last time Ocellus had visited. Mushrooms and pods of changeling goo covered the walls. A large stone throne on a raised platform overlooked the room. Half a dozen alcoves held pony servants waiting for the queen's next command. Strangely, no guards were present. The fire must have distracted them all.

“So, you’ve brought me this dangerous dragon who started the fire?” Queen Cordys said as she looked them over. “How very convenient.”

Ocellus had to stop herself from shivering as the queen’s eyes met her own. The queen’s horn flashed and her calm smile creased into an annoyed frown for a moment.

“Very well. Bring her forward. Make her bow before your queen.”

She shoved Smolder down to one knee. The queen’s horn began to glow with a blue light, like the mushrooms, and the light slowly grew brighter as she paced around Smolder.

“Do you think I wouldn’t notice a traitor returning, even in a different disguise? Ocellus, it’s time for me to show you the price of slapping away the hoof offered in friendship and peace to one of my own kind. Will you obey once your friends are under my control? Or will I finally have to try using my mushrooms on a changeling?”

She laughed. Ocellus yanked Smolder back with her magic. The blue beam from the queen’s horn hit where Smolder had been kneeling. Blue mushrooms immediately sprouted and glowing blue spores hung in the air. The queen glared at Ocellus and cast another spell that broke her disguise.

“It was smart of you to distract my guards with so many things. But they shall come to aid me shortly. For now, it’s just you two and me.”

Smolder clenched her fists and flexed her wings. “If you think you can control a dragon, you’re in for a world of hurt.”

“My friends mean more to me than any hive or queen,” Ocellus said. “That’s why I was able to resist your control.”

She tried to change into a bugbear, but the queen’s magic somehow stopped her. Smolder charged and tackled the queen into the throne. She grunted and scowled. Smolder had to hop away to avoid her magic. A faint web of love energy appeared, flowing from the ponies to the queen as she drew on their energy to heal her scratches and bruises.

“Do you see how much power and love I can get from my adoring subjects?” Cordys asked. “As long as they’re here, they’ll give me all they have until they collapse. But if you’re not above hurting innocent ponies, you could go after them to weaken me.”

The queen chuckled and it made Ocellus’s skin crawl. It all felt so wrong, and it reminded her of the many times she hadn’t stood up to Queen Chrysalis.

Ocellus, focus!

She gritted her teeth and dug her hooves in as she charged at Cordys. As the queen danced back, she hit her with a good kick.

“It’s wrong to take away their freedom like this!”

More love flowed to the queen and healed the bruise from the kick. “Is it? They know nothing but the purpose and happiness of serving me. What more do they need?” 

Cordys growled and her horn glowed. A sudden popping noise sounded from near the door, and the shouts of two changeling guards grew closer. Ocellus spun around to see what was happening. Starlight was catching her breath as her horn stopped glowing.

“Phew.” Starlight wiped a drop of sweat off her forehead. “It took all I had to get us in here, so we better make this quick. Ocellus, Smolder, are you okay? We’re here to help.”

Cordys sized up Starlight with a glance. “So that’s the one I’ve been blocking with my counterspells. I’ll be more than happy to control someone so magically powerful. Guards, help me capture these creatures.”

The two changelings moved to fight the pairs of Yona and Sandbar and Gallus and Silverstream. Starlight moved forward to help face the queen. Ocellus charged again.

“I’m not letting you control them!”

She was swatted aside by the queen’s hoof. Magical blasts flew in the air until one hit Starlight. A burst of the mushrooms started growing from under her fur. Smolder jumped and scored a good slash across the queen’s flank, but it started to heal immediately. Cordys stepped back as four more changeling soldiers rushed in.

One of them stood between Ocellus and the queen. He was smaller, but he looked lean and fast. She could feel her transformation magic was no longer blocked, so she roared as she transformed into a bugbear and swiped at the soldier. 

He stepped back and bared his fangs after she scored a few hits. Behind him, she thought she glimpsed Starlight turn to attack Yona as the queen’s crown began to glow with a blue light, but she had to go back to focusing on the fight as the soldier ran at her. She knocked him back with a flurry of swipes. He came at her again and kicked her hard in the stomach. Her shield amulet activated and stopped most of the hit. He kicked her shoulder as he backed away from her claws. A flash of magic hit his side and blasted him away.

“I’m fighting her control,” Starlight said. “But it’s hard. At least I could help you.”

She had a moment to catch her breath and looked around at the chaos of battle. Silverstream and Gallus ran up to Starlight and helped her remove the rest of the glowing blue mushrooms. Several of the guards were down. Yona and Sandbar were fighting the one that remained. Yona headbutted the changeling and it went down. Across the room, Smolder grunted as the queen shoved her back. A patch of blue mushrooms was spreading across Smolder’s side.

The queen’s horn and crown glowed blue. Smolder’s eyes faintly glowed the same color as she turned toward Ocellus.

“Yes, go attack your best friend. Show her the cost of defying me!”

She took a step back. “Smolder? Smolder! Please. Fight this!”

Smolder growled. Smoke curled up from the sides of her mouth. She jumped back a moment too late as a dart of flame came directly from her best friend’s mouth. The burn hurt where it had scorched her chest carapace, but the situation was what hurt more. 

Yona slammed down onto the queen. Cordys yelped and pushed the yak off her with magic as she drew in love. The faint lines of love energy came from the ponies, but also from Smolder. The dragon slumped as part of her emotional energy was siphoned off.

“Sandbar! Listen to Yona! Not to those evil mushrooms!”

The queen had hit Sandbar with her magic when Ocellus hadn’t been looking. He and Smolder both faced off against their friends while the queen threw spells. Yona pinned Sandbar and scraped off a few of the mushrooms. Smolder growled and took a deep breath.

“Please, no!” Ocellus yelled. “You’re my best friend, Smolder. We can fight this!”

Smolder fought her as they embraced. She called up the memories of all their happy times together, even the simple ones, from their shared life in their dorm room. Harmony’s magic welled up inside her and connected to the same magic in Smolder. Smolder blinked.

“I… I’m trying to fight it. It’s so strong. Sorry, Ocellus. I’d never want to hurt you, but now, I can’t stop myself.” A small tear fell from each of the dragon’s eyes. Smolder’s eyes glowed blue again. She hissed and growled. 

She bent backward as a puff of flames hit her face. Her carapace cracked from the heat. She transformed into a dragon to resist the heat and held tight to Smolder. Her friend’s violent struggles calmed as they called on Harmony’s magic again. She clawed away the mushrooms from the orange scales.

“I know this isn’t you, Smolder. Let’s get you free from her control.” She swept off the last of the mushrooms.

They got up. Sandbar was barely standing, but he was free from the mushrooms. Silverstream had her talons locked with Gallus as they wrestled long enough to regain control as Harmony’s magic glowed around them and disintegrated the mushrooms.

“Yona has had enough! No more fighting friends!”

Ocellus gasped as Yona charged straight toward the queen. 

Cordys sneered and charged up her spells. They shot at Yona. The white glow of Harmony surrounded the yak and deflected the magic. The queen met the wall in a massive crunch. The stone cracked around where she had hit. The ponies powering the queen with love all collapsed.

Yona grabbed the queen’s crown. “There. Now there will be no more bad magic.”

The queen took several rasping breaths before the last of the love she drained repaired the worst of the cracks in her chitin and stopped her from bleeding. She wiped away the green ichor and bowed her head.

“I give up. It seems you’ve all found a way to overcome my control. What are the terms you want for our surrender?”

“We will be taking your crown,” Starlight said. “There can be no negotiation about that.”

“And you will need to free the ponies who have been under your control,” Ocellus added.

“Free them? That would be terrible for them. I know things are different in Equestria, but here, I gave these ponies a safe place to call home. I gave them purpose. They never needed freedom because there were never any other good places for them to go to.”

She lowered her face and glared at Cordys. “That’s not entirely true and you know it. We found a village of ponies, and they could always choose to go live with Grandeur, Hedron, or Scriptus.”

“Most of those would be worse than living here. That village in the Wastelands barely scrapes by. At least I have a fertile jungle that supports good crops. Unless you’re a dragon or kobold, there isn’t much in Scriptus’s lands. And any who go live with Hedron will inevitably be changed to rely on his magic. He can’t stop that from happening. And Grandeur would put them to work on his schemes. Only those willing to work hard for the griffon would do well there.”

“It matters that they have the ability to choose. If they choose to stay here, then that’s their choice. I’m so sick of queens who want to take the ability to choose away.”

Cordys snorted and slowly stood back up. “Fine. As part of my surrender, I’ll let them choose. But I doubt many will want to leave. You can tell them of their other options, but I’ll remind them of how I’ve taken care of them here. And there are worse masters out there who would still seek to enslave them, like Shade and Nightmare or Storm Surge. Even with all your magic, I don’t think you’ll have a way to take them back to Equestria with you.”

Ocellus looked over at Starlight. Starlight frowned.

“It’s true. We can only cast a version of the spell that brought us here. It won’t have the power to bring others.”

“At least we’ll give them a choice.” She sighed and went over to see how Smolder was doing.

They were all in rough shape after the fight, but Smolder had a lot more energy than her. She hugged her friend.

“Ocellus, are you doing okay?”

“Yeah. It’s just tough to face all this. I imagined what I’d say or do differently if I were to face a changeling queen like Chrysalis again. Cordys is both very similar and very different. I thought I’d be able to make some bold statements about freedom, but the queen has a good reason for much of what she’s done. At least I can tell the ponies and changelings here about what choices they have. That’s enough for me.”

She slumped against Smolder. Warm dragon claws rubbed her back. She nestled in Smolder’s lap as she tried to focus on what she’d say to the village and the other changelings. She had to choose her words carefully, and she wouldn’t have long to convince them. Now that they had six powerful artifacts, they’d be preparing to go home as soon as possible.
> Chapter 33: Final Words
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goodbyes always felt awkward to Smolder. Dragons usually weren’t big on tearful or emotional farewells. If a dragon was in a good mood, you might get a ‘see you later,’ but if they were in a bad mood, they definitely wouldn’t be saying anything friendly. She watched as Ocellus finished her speech in the center of the village.

“I wish I could stay with you to show you how wonderful the freedom to choose your own path is, but me and my friends must go. The greatest wonders of the world and of life are out there waiting for those who choose to look for them.”

Ocellus stepped off the stage and Smolder stepped closer. She paused as a sandy yellow pony approached.

“Ocellus! You’re back! And you beat the queen. I’m not even sure what to think about that.”

“Did you hear my speech?”

“I did. I think I’d like a little more freedom, but if I can have that and still live here, I’d be the happiest.”

“That’s great to hear! If I find a way to write, we can be pen pals!”

Smolder chuckled as they smiled and hugged. Ocellus answered a few questions from the freed ponies and changelings before she came to join her.

“I think I did well. I left some instructions on how to transform into a changeling like me. The queen won’t be happy about that, but it’s the least I could do.”

“It’s always funny to see how friendship changes things in so many different places. It's even been changing the Dragon Lands, and dragons usually are very slow to change. But the best change has been my friendship with you."

She breathed out a puff of smoke as her cheeks suddenly felt warm. Ocellus blushed and nuzzled against her.

“Dragons need a lot of love, but they’re some of the most loyal friends.”

“Is that what you’ve discovered? But it’s true. We’re greedy like that.”

They laughed and walked back to Starlight and their other friends.

“The queen seems to be keeping her word about her surrender,” Starlight said. “But I’d rather not stay here too long. We need to be somewhere safe where I can set up the spell with few interruptions. It’s a very difficult spell to copy, but we have everything we need to take us back. I’ll teleport us back to Grandeur’s Bazaar. Out of everywhere we visited, he seems to have the best security. We still have a few enemies out there who would love to mess things up.”

“I’ve said my goodbyes,” Ocellus said. “Let’s get going.”

Starlight etched out a teleportation circle in the dirt. Once it was complete, they all huddled together in the center. The itch of magic made Smolder’s scales tingle as the world flashed from a humid jungle to the dry grassland outside the walls of the Bazaar.

“Hedron and Scriptus should be coming to help with the spell tomorrow. It would have been nice to say goodbye to Mirage Chaser and her village, but it would have been too draining to do two big teleport spells.”

They walked through the gate and were greeted by Glissanda and Grandeur in the open area just past the gate.

“Congratulations! I was worried about whether you could face Queen Cordys or Storm Surge, but you managed to beat her even at the heart of her stronghold. This calls for a celebration! I have the perfect place to relax and set up your spell at my manor. Follow me closely, or you’ll never find the way there.”

Grandeur chuckled and grinned. He pulled out a necklace with what looked like a compass. He adjusted it a few times as they walked down various roads, paths, and even alleyways through the market. They rounded the corner of another building, and a massive manor waited beyond it. A tall brass fence tipped with sharp crystals surrounded the entire place. A gate made to look like a fierce griffon curled its wings out of the way as Grandeur approached.

Beyond the fence, a magnificent oasis surrounded the huge red manor. Tiled pools were shaded underneath large palm trees. Carefully tended hedges, gardens, and lawns filled up the rest of the space. It was comparable to even the fanciest of castles that Smolder had seen in Equestria, although it seemed built to be more imposing and less graceful.

The inside was equally opulent. The finest seats, silverware, and table decorated the dining hall, along with many statues, portraits, and other objects that looked quite magical or very valuable. Her dragon greed threatened to well up when she thought about it all, but she focused on what they were doing instead. Grandeur sent Glissanda to organize things, and soon she returned with a few other griffon servants as they began to set the table.

“I know you don’t have long, so eat and enjoy yourselves. Scriptus and Hedron will be along shortly. Gallus, I’d love to discuss some things with you, so please, have the seat next to me.”

Smolder soon lost herself in some amazing gem cuisine. It gave her a few ideas she’d definitely have to try, or at least pass along to the school cooks. She chatted with Ocellus for what seemed like a short while, but the meal was over far faster than she expected. At some point during the meal, Starlight had left to go prepare the spell.

One of the servants announced the arrival of Scriptus and Hedron, so the other servants quickly cleared away most of the dishes and leftovers. She never really liked the strange floating crystals, and it was still hard to get her mind around what Hedron really was. Luckily, the other guest was much more to her liking. Scriptus smiled at her as he walked in and sat next to her.

“I never got a good chance to thank you for returning my three students. In all my studies, I never found a way to restore them to their proper selves, but you and your friends… you did what all the books couldn’t do through your friendship and determination.”

“I hate to see good dragons suffering. So… you’re welcome. I remember how terrible I thought things would be when Ember told me I was going to go to a school with ponies and other creatures. I thought they’d be weak, boring, or soft. But I quickly met my friends, and they showed me that all sorts of creatures can make great friends and do exciting things together. It’s not all the tough, competitive stuff we do in the Dragonlands, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“You remind me of what other wise creatures have told me. Knowledge can be found in books, but true wisdom must be learned by doing. But I’m still going to collect all the knowledge and books I can get. Who else can save it from being lost?”

They both laughed.

“Well, perhaps you should write to me. I’d like that. Many of my kobolds also wish to go with you to serve other dragons, but the spell won’t be able to take them. Saffron sends his best regards and wishes you good luck. Maybe we can work out a way to send them to Equestria later. For now, I think you need to get ready for the spell that will return you home.”

Yona was chatting happily with Hedron, and Gallus was still over with Grandeur, but the conversations slowly came to an end once Starlight returned.

“Okay, I have everything in place for us to return. Grandeur, Hedron, Scriptus, thank you for your help and for lending me your special artifacts. I will leave the other three artifacts in your care. We can only take a few small extra things with us, and no other creatures will fit with the spell. Say any final goodbyes. It’s time to go home, to Equestria.”

“And my temporal magic is reaching its limit,” Hedron added. “If you stay any longer, I can’t return you to the time when you left your world. And leaving your world without its magic for long would be disastrous.”

“That’s all the time we have for goodbyes. This way.”

Starlight took them to a large magical laboratory in the basement of the manor. They passed through a large metal door with some magical runes on it and into a reinforced chamber. A few marks on the walls indicated that Grandeur had previously used this room for other tests. A massive magical diagram was painted on the ground. Each of the six artifacts was placed in a circle on the edge of the large hexagonal lines. Many more complicated lines and runes were in place, but Starlight had a clear space for each of them to stand. Another empty space waited for her in the middle. 

Starlight pointed out where they should each go. Smolder stood by Scriptus’s orb. Ocellus stood by the queen’s crown. Yona was next to a complex crystal machine. Gallus glanced down at Grandeur’s signet ring. Silverstream was staying far away from Nightmare’s armor, and Sandbar was looking away from the Cloak of Shadows.

“Okay, everything is in place. No matter what happens, hold on. We’re going home!”

Smolder could feel the magic in the air as Starlight’s horn glowed. The spell was so complex that Starlight had to power it up in several sections. More and more of the giant spell circle glowed with a blue-white light. Starlight took off her amulet and tossed it over to Grandeur. The magic of Equestria, which had long been trapped inside of Starlight, slowly expanded into a transparent blue bubble around the spell circle. A vortex appeared beneath them and drew the bubble into it.

The Realm of the Lost faded from view. They seemed to be moving, but Smolder couldn’t really make out anything right away. A colorful streak of purple and yellow chased them and slowly took form outside their barrier.

“Welcome to where my masters reside!” Storm Surge said. “I couldn’t get to you in all that security at Grandeur’s place. But I thought I’d take one last chance here.”

He snapped, but whatever was supposed to happen didn’t. He summoned massive shards of ice and threw them at the barrier. Smolder ducked as one flew at her. Instead of hitting the barrier, it swirled into a blur before solidifying on the other side and flying out of view.

“Hmm, I have to admit, that’s very good magic. I can do nothing more, but I am merely the servant of those who have been watching.”

In the darkness around them, shapes began to form. They made little sense as a whole. Swirling tentacles, jaws, and spikes unfurled. Hundreds of eyes gazed out of the darkness. She trembled as she felt the burning cold and hatred of their glare.

“Stay strong!” Starlight said. “Harmony’s magic is empowered by hope and friendship. I’ll do what I can!” She closed her eyes to concentrate as sparks of magic shot off her horn.

The creatures of madness and chaos lashed out at their little bubble of life and light. Tentacles mercilessly drummed against the side. The attacks came harder and harder. Ocellus squeaked in fear and ran over to Smolder. As she held her best friend close, she began to doubt they’d make it. The bubble around them slowly began to dent inward. Gallus and Sandbar were having similar trouble on their side.

They all backed up toward Starlight. She was still entirely focused on the spell, and the magic around her was enough to make Smolder’s scales itch.

“We need to keep going!” Silverstream said. “Harmony’s magic is strongest when we work together! I have plenty of it to share. Take my talons.”

Gallus was the first to jump up and link talons with her. Smolder took the other side. She could feel something faint that was more than the warmth of the hippogriff’s touch.

“Yona also have lots of magic! Ocellus, Sandbar, take some!”

Yona pulled the two of them to their sides and they pressed their hooves together as they sat in a circle. Gallus took Sandbar’s hoof in his other hand.

She grabbed onto Ocellus’s hoof and completed the circle. The faint feeling now turned into a feeling of warmth and peace. Her friends were here. They had been through so much, and Harmony’s magic had grown stronger each time they were loyal, kind, generous, honest as they helped each other and the creatures they had met. Each time they laughed in spite of the terrible things they had faced, it had grown. And the magic of friendship was the key to it all.

They all smiled at each other. Despite the otherworldly howls of rage and hunger at their backs, they focused on the power of their friendship. The barrier grew. It flashed. A nova of light drove back the horrors. The terrible monsters screeched and fell away.

“How is it possible?” Storm Surge asked.

A moment later, he vanished as their bubble of magic and light flew rapidly upward. It approached a small point of light. It grew larger until they could see the ceiling of the school’s basement through it. Something invisible tried to push them back, but they slowly rose up from a magical vortex. They were back where this entire journey had started.

Smolder growled as she spotted Cozy Glow. She clenched her claws. The evil little pegasus had been the cause of all this. She had turned the school against them with her words.

Starlight put out a hoof to stop her from pouncing on the brat.

“That’s not Harmony’s way. Each of you take the artifact from your race. I’ll make sure Cozy Glow is dealt with once we’ve undone her spell.”

She had to let go of the anger to feel the combined magic of their friendship again. She floated down to the artifact. She nodded as she glanced at all of her friends. They each grabbed the artifacts at the same time, and the spell was broken. Someone shouted for the other students to run. The barrier holding in the magic was quickly failing.

Starlight teleported them away from the shockwave as the barrier collapsed. The magic of Equestria rushed back out into the world, and Smolder watched with her friends at her side as it spread out across the world. She pulled Ocellus in for a hug and watched the colorful swirls of magic spin through the air.
> Epilogues: Glimpses of the Future
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sandbar sat to the side as Starlight gave a full report of all that had happened. Twilight, Celestia, and Luna all listened and gave the report their complete attention. Twilight seemed excited. Many old things from books and legends had become much clearer now. Celestia looked worried, though. Luna shared her sister’s concern.

“Do you have anything to add to this, Sandbar?” Luna asked.

“I’ve mostly tried to not think about it all too much. I didn’t like all the fighting or danger, so I’m glad to be back in Equestria. But I did find it strange. I thought that Nightmare Moon was part of you, and the Pony of Shadows was also part of Stygian. Could ponies somehow invite more of these dark spirits into our world? I’ve been worrying about that.”

“A sensible worry,” Celestia said. “For that reason, I try to keep Equestria peaceful. I strive to encourage its citizens to be happy and helpful. Pony magic depends on emotion as well as skill. If a powerful pony gives in to their darker side and negative emotions, then they can bring such spirits over to our world.”

“But it’s very rare,” Twilight added. “There’s only two times that we know of. I suppose the windigos happen for similar reasons. They feed off of the powerful negative energy created when ponies argue and fight.”

Sandbar nodded. “Well, I’ll do my best to keep Equestria chill and happy. I have a few semesters left at the School of Friendship, so I’m sure I still have a lot to learn.”

Twilight put a wing on his shoulder. “You have a bright future, whatever you decide to do. Treat your friends well, and you’ll help do your part in Equestria.”

Luna put a wing on his other shoulder. “But Equestria also has need of ponies willing to fight against darkness. You’ve seen a lot more of it than most. If you ever wish to help, you can apply to be one of my special knights.”

“I don’t know if I’m any good at fighting, but I’ll think about it. Thank you, princesses. It’s good to know you watch over us all.”

Starlight tapped a hoof on the floor. “I don’t think we should keep you. Go join your friends and have fun in Canterlot. I still have a lot to discuss with the princesses.”

“Cool. I’ll see you back at school!”

Sandbar walked quickly out of the throne room. The meeting had him all nervous and sweaty. He sighed in relief as he walked out to the palace gardens where his friends were waiting. It was a bright, sunny day, and it was the perfect time to enjoy the city and have fun.







A few weeks after returning home, Smolder scheduled a special appointment with Twilight. She had been telling Spike about the runic magic used by Scriptus. He was excited about it. If dragons could do a little magic, it would be awesome! Now she just had to convince Twilight.

Spike cracked the door to the main office open a few minutes before the scheduled time. “Hey, Smolder! You can come in. Twilight’s taking a break for a few minutes, but she’ll be back.”

Smolder took a seat and looked around. It wouldn’t be Twilight’s office without tons of books both on and off the bookshelves. A few other instruments both magical and mundane were on shelves and side tables. Twilight’s desk was filled with all sorts of notes and papers. 

She looked over at Spike. She could never decide how to feel about him. He was cute, even if he didn’t act like a dragon should most the time. She could never decide if he was like a little brother or something else. With all the gems he ate, he had a bit of pudge, but she was sure that would melt off as he grew into a more mature dragon. It might not be bad to have him and Ocellus, but maybe that was being greedy.

Spike gave her a questioning look as she stared at him. He blushed and stammered. “So… besides convincing Twilight about dragon magic, do you have other plans this afternoon? I could use a good player two at the arcade if you’re open.”

“Sure! I bet we can beat the highscore this time!”

“And maybe we could-”

The pop of Twilight teleporting into the room interrupted him. She pulled out her chair and took a seat. She opened a drawer and took out a paper and a few very old books.

“I’ve read your petition. I know how badly you want to learn the runes and magic that Scriptus used, but Starlight’s report on the matter has me hesitant. Most magic here in Equestria is bounded by the user’s skill, emotions, and intent. Runic magic has very different rules, dangers, and limits than the types of magic we understand well."

She could tell from the look on Twilight's face that the answer was going to be no, but she had to ask anyway.

"So you aren't going to teach it? You aren’t going to let us learn it because you're scared of it?"

She hoped that last bit wasn't too much, especially with how she had said it with a fierce growl afterward. Twilight had her ears back. That was usually a sign of a scared pony.

“No! It’s not that at all. I mean, I’m not going to teach it. But that’s because we don’t have anyone qualified to teach it. But I’ve already have a solution. With the right magic, I could set up a correspondence course with Scriptus. He’ll oversee what you learn, and he should be able to send you copies of books or notes that he has. Starlight will oversee the course to make sure you are progressing well and to make sure you don’t try anything too dangerous. It will take up one of your elective classes next semester, and it’s going to be a tough course.”

Smolder grinned. “I accept your challenge. I’m ready for anything.”

“Can I join, too?” Spike asked.

“I suppose, but only if you can keep up. Magic, especially this type, isn’t something to be taken lightly. I’ll let you know more once I have things figured out. Contacting Scriptus is going to be the most difficult part, but that circlet that Sandbar brought back should help. Any other questions?”

Smolder shook her head. Spike gave her a thumbs up as he started to gather up a pouch full of bits.

“You’ve been a great student, so I’m looking forward to seeing you do even more great things. Now, go have some fun at the arcade. It’s good for Spike to spend time with a fellow dragon, but be back in time for dinner.”

“Actually, I was hoping to take Smolder to one of my favorite places in Ponyville for dinner.”

“Hmm.” Twilight thought for a moment then smiled. “That’s fine. Be back no later than eight. It’s a school night, after all.”

As they walked out, Smolder whispered to Spike. “How’d she know where we were going?”

He shrugged. “She knows me too well, but the bag of bits was probably what gave it away.”

“Do you mind if I invite Ocellus to the arcade? I don’t want to make you pay for an extra dinner, but I’d like to spend time with both of you.”

“Honestly, I haven’t spent much time with her. Feel invite her for the games.”

She smiled. It was going to be a great night with some of her best friends.







The two hippogriff guards pulled up their spears and let Silverstream pass. It was always great to visit her aunt. She was elegant and energetic, and she always knew what to do. Queen Novo combed a few feathers back into place on her wings and motioned for Silverstream to approach.

Novo jumped up and gave Silverstream a big hug as soon as she got close to the throne. “Silverstream! I hardly get to see you anymore! Have you grown taller? Your eyes look a little baggy. Are they keeping you up too late studying at that new school?”

“No. School is going great! I have tons of fun new friends, and there are so many new things to see! But I often stay up late with my friends.”

“Any cute boys you have an eye on? You can trust Auntie Novo to keep a secret.”

Silverstream’s mind immediately strayed to Gallus. She blushed and her feathers fluffed up involuntarily.

Novo laughed. “I can definitely tell there’s someone you like.”

Silverstream leaned close and whispered. “I’ll tell, but you have to keep it a secret. My friend, Gallus, he’s a griffon. He’s brave and strong. He tries to be tough instead of cute, but he is cute, especially when he purrs. Or when he relaxes and smiles for real.”

“He sounds very special. Maybe you can introduce him when you bring him home.”

“Bring him home? Oh! I hadn’t even thought about that. What would Mom and Dad think? Would they like him?”

“I bet they will. But I shouldn’t be getting you worked up over that. It’s not something you need to rush. You had other important questions about Storm Surge. That’s a name I haven’t heard in ages, and one I had hoped would remain forgotten.”

“So you knew him?”

“Yes. He used to be a regular hippogriff and had another name, but he changed that as he became corrupted by chaos magic. He tried to corrupt the Pearl of Transformation, but I stopped that. He was a fanatical follower of Discord back when Discord was still attacking Equestria. He drew away a few hippogriffs to follow him, but I banished them all with Celestia’s help. I wish I could have saved them somehow, but they were too far gone. They sacrificed their names, memories, and identities to gain power from beings of chaos.”

“So there’s no way to rescue them?”

Queen Novo was silent for a minute. “There might be, but it would be very dangerous. They are where they can’t hurt us or our world. Until we have a way to safely visit them and contain the power of the creatures that control them, we would only be putting ourselves and our kingdom in danger.”

Silverstream’s ears drooped. It would be awful to be stuck like that, but if Queen Novo didn’t think there was a good way to help them, then there probably wasn’t one. At least not yet. Maybe she could find something that would do what the queen said. A hoof lifted her chin.

“Don’t you worry about that too much. You should be focusing on school, and maybe on that cute griffon you like.” Queen Novo gave her another big hug. “If you have any ideas on how to help those hippogriffs, bring them to me. I’ll do what I can. But now I have some other court business to deal with. Maybe if I get it all done, we can have a nice little family dinner tonight.”

“Thank you auntie.”

When Silverstream returned to school after her visit home, she found a hidden gift in her luggage. The little card on the outside said it was from Novo. She quickly opened it. Inside was an issue of Ponypolitan magazine with a handsome griffon on the cover. 

10 Tips to Win Your Lovebird’s Heart (and some extra tips for after you do)

Auntie Novo loved to laugh at all the silly advice in magazines like this. But how had she found one with that cover article? Silverstream blushed. If Gallus posed like the griffon on the cover, she bet he’d be even more handsome. She heard the stomping of hooves in the outside hall and had to quickly hide the magazine. She slipped it under her pillow and stuffed the wrapping paper in the trash can. 

Yona probably wouldn’t notice anything. Or if she did, she wasn’t really the type of roommate to ask too many questions.







Summer break began. Ocellus was worried about her friends all going off and forgetting about her, but they had come up with a much better plan. Each of them would host whichever friends could come and show off their homes. They had started in Ponyville with Sandbar’s family, which hadn’t been much different from weekends off of classes, and now they were all at the hive.

She quietly slipped out of Smolder’s loose embrace. The love she shared with the dragon seemed to be changing lately in a way that made her feel both excited and flustered. She gave the sleeping dragon a quick little nuzzle before getting out of bed. 

Her other friends were in the hive’s guest rooms, but she had wanted to share her room with Smolder. Unlike their school dorms, there was only one bed, but Smolder had been fine with sharing it. She tucked the blanket over her special friend before heading to visit King Thorax.

Thorax said that important things should be dealt with early, so he left time on many mornings for changelings to come talk to him about issues that might affect the entire hive. He looked bright and ready as he sat on the throne. Pharynx sat to the side of the throne and sipped a mug of dark coffee. He looked tired and grumpy, but she could feel that he enjoyed the bitter pony drink.

“Pharynx, you can’t have coffee without donuts,” Thorax said. He levitated a donut toward his brother.

“I can, and I will. They’re too sweet.”

Thorax sighed and took a bite of the donut before noticing Ocellus. He motioned her forward.

“Ocellus! It’s good that you came to visit this morning. Are your friends happy with their food and rooms here? Feel free to have some donuts.”

She took a chocolate donut. It was a little more dense than a donut normally would be, but it was good. The changelings were getting pretty good at imitating pony foods.

“I think they’re getting used to everything, but they liked their rooms just fine. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. I was wondering if you, or maybe Pharynx, knew more about Queen Cordys.”

“No.”

Pharynx set his mug down. “I heard a little, just once. Chrysalis mentioned her as an example of how not to run a hive. She said that Cordys wouldn’t have been caught if she had focused more on disguises and infiltration instead of control and sustained love harvesting. That’s all I ever heard of her. I think your earlier report told us all we needed to know about her. Is there something we missed?”

“Well, it’s just an idea. We changed into something new when we changed how we get energy from love. Cordys and her hive were similar. They weren’t quite the same as how we were when Chrysalis was in charge. What if there are other forms that we haven’t discovered yet? And what if we could use what Cordys was trying to do, but for good?”

“We’re still rediscovering who we are,” Thorax said. “I don’t think we need to try to go down other paths yet, and the magic that Cordys used is the sort that might make the other creatures afraid of us again.”

She frowned. “We wouldn’t use it to control ponies, like she did. But if magic combined with those special mushrooms could induce love, contentment, and obedience, maybe we could use that for something good. I’ve seen depressed ponies, and it was hard to even be around them. The emotional energy was so negative, it felt like it was draining me. But maybe we could learn from Queen Cordys and use her magic to help ponies who are depressed or suffering.”

“A good idea,” Pharynx said. “It would help build good will with the ponies and other species. But you’ve overlooked something important. We’d need the mushrooms, at the very least. And getting anything to or from the Realm of the Lost isn’t easy. Maybe if we work with the ponies on this, it might be possible.”

Thorax got up and patted her shoulder. “You have a great heart, and you’re in a much better position to look into this. Work with Twilight or Starlight. They might be able to cross the boundaries between worlds. Once you’ve made progress, report back to me.”

“And your time with ponies is making you sloppy,” Pharynx added. “I can taste the normal friendship love all over you, and I can also taste a love for one of them is something more.”

Thorax gave his brother a sharp look. “We don’t need to tightly control our emotions, like in the past. Ocellus, if you want to explore the many types of love with your friends, you have my blessing. But I’m curious. Which friend do you feel this love for?”

She blushed. Her wings buzzed as thoughts of Smolder bubbled up. “It’s… Smolder.”

Pharynx sighed. “At this rate, all the best changelings are going to fall in love with dragons.” Thorax chuckled nervously. Pharynx pointed a hoof at him. “Don’t think I can’t sense the love on you after your ‘special’ diplomatic sessions with Dragon Lord Ember.”

Thorax stood tall and glared at his brother. “I do what I must to create strong diplomatic ties with our allies. You shouldn’t say something that might start rumors. Ocellus, you may go. Don’t mention that last part to anyone.”

Ocellus was blushing even more as she trotted out of the throne room. She tried to fight off her imagination as images of King Thorax and Dragon Lord Ember suddenly filled it. When she got back to her room, Smolder was stretching and slowly waking up.

“Smolder, you have to keep this a secret, but do you think there’s anything going on between King Thorax and Ember?”

She yawned and pulled Ocellus back into bed. “Do the changelings not know? Everydragon knows that King Thorax is her consort, even if she’ll bite your head off if you mention it. We could try out their style of diplomacy. We have 30 minutes until breakfast is ready, right?”

Smolder’s kiss surprised Ocellus a moment later. But Smolder was right. They didn’t have anything else to do at the moment, and the love Ocellus was sharing now was some of the sweetest she had ever tasted.







As soon as they graduated, Yona asked Sandbar to come with him to visit her family in Yakyakistan. Once they were there, she had bigger plans for both of them, but there were certain ceremonies and times that were lucky for a young couple. For now, they were both stopping off in the Crystal Empire for a brief rest before continuing on. Princess Cadence had insisted they come to visit, but she didn’t know why. Sandbar didn’t know either, but that was pretty normal for her cute but often clueless coltfriend.

A royal porter took their luggage as soon as they stopped at the train platform. A guard greeted them and led them directly to the castle. He offered them snacks and water while he checked on the princess’s schedule. Either there was an opening or a meeting got canceled because they were in the throne room about ten minutes later.

Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were both there. They had the look of ponies trying to appear calm. Yona could always tell when ponies were nervous about something, and ponies were nervous very often. The guards stepped outside, which left the four of them alone. Cadence smiled and stepped forward to give them quick hugs.

“Yona, Sandbar! Congratulations on finishing your degrees at Twilight’s school. Even if she’s not directly in charge of it anymore, she still follows all of you closely. She recommended I talk to you both. She said you’d be able to tell me more about Hedron.”

Yona’s eyes went wide. That was a name she had barely heard since they returned to Equestria.

“I’m asking,” Cadence continued, “because I remembered something about that name in one of Twilight’s reports, from that time you went to that other place. Flurry Heart… she says she has a friend who lives in the crystals. His name is also Hedron.”

“He hasn’t told her to do anything wrong or dangerous,” Shining Armor said. “But we wanted to know who he is and what he might want.”

Sandbar smiled. “Oh, Hedron! I used to have the circlet thing he gave me, but Starlight kept that for study. And I think she said she sent it up to Sunburst because he lived up here.”

Shining Armor rubbed his chin. “I do recall him handing over a crystal circlet before he moved to Ponyville to help Starlight with the school. Is it important?”

“Yeah, it’s one way I communicated with him and used his magic to help us.”

“So if we find it, we might be able to do something?”

“I’m not sure. I could only get it to work once or twice after we brought it back home.”

“Okay. Why don’t we go look for it? I think it should be in the magical artifact safe.”

Shining Armor left with Sandbar, which left Yona alone with Cadence.

“Hmm, I can see you like him. Young love is always so cute. Don’t let others say it won’t work out. But enough about love. Even if I’m the princess of it, I’d rather know more about Hedron. I can give advice about love later.”

Yona’s ears perked up. “Yona can tell you a lot about Hedron. He is an ancient magical spirit. He helped yaks against ice spirits like the windigos. He is very powerful, but his power can also curse yaks unless they have the proper runestones and totems in place. When we met him, he could be a magical floating crystal thing or appear as a yak spirit stuck in the crystal. He is a spirit of order and balance.”

“He doesn’t sound too bad, but I’m still worried. Flurry Heart enjoys talking to him, but we got a little scare when she suddenly was using special crystal magic we didn’t know about. She says that she has to fix the castle for her friend.”

“Hedron said that he lived here in the past, but Sombra corrupted what he had built to power his evil magic.”

“So if Flurry Heart fixes it, will Hedron be able to use the magic of the crystal heart?”

Yona shrugged. She had learned a little more about magic in some of the classes that covered the basics. Part of friendship was understanding others, including their magic. But Hedron’s magic went far beyond that.

They silently thought about things until the door was shoved open by magic. Shining Armor cantered to his wife’s side.

“Honey, we found it! And it might work!”

Sandbar walked over to Yona’s side. He had the circlet around his front leg and was tapping at some of the crystals. They went from dark to a dim glow. A familiar voice came out of the circlet.

“Sandbar! Yona! I knew I sensed some familiar presences. My power is limited with such a divide between us, so I can only speak for a short time.”

Shining Armor leaned toward the circlet. “This is Shining Armor, father to Flurry Heart.”

“And Princess Cadence, her mother. What do you intend to do with my daughter and my castle?”

“I hope to reestablish some connection with Equestria. The crystal heart would be able to power brief interchanges of magical connection and physical teleportation. I have been instructing Flurry Heart in how to repair the matrices and conduits on your side. We could both benefit from such an exchange, especially since Harmony has become dormant.”

“But is what you’re doing safe? My daughter is far too young for any dangerous or advanced magic.”

“It is merely the work a magical technician would do. It is simple and safe with my instructions. Keep the circlet, should you wish to communicate with me more. It’s running low. That is all for now.”

The last syllable faded almost to silence as the magic ran out. Sandbar handed the circlet over to Cadence.

“He said to keep it, and it seems like you guys need it here.”

“This is a lot to take in,” she said. “We’ll need to talk to Flurry Heart about all this. Of course, I don’t want to show you any less hospitality either. I have more advice for you, as a pony and yak couple. But we’ll discuss that over lunch. Why don’t you go enjoy the Crystal Empire for a few hours?”

Yona gave Sandbar a hug and smiled. All the ponies always worked themselves up until they were nervous and scared. He sighed and relaxed as she held him tight. A few ponies gave them questioning looks.

“If we’re going to be hugging, we probably should do it somewhere besides the castle’s waiting rooms.”

“Yona not care. Yona think ponies who do care should rethink attitudes.”

“That’s one thing I love about you.”

He took her hoof and led her outside. She smiled fiercely at the ponies who gave them strange looks. Pony and yak couples were very rare but not unheard of, and she was determined to show them all how happy she was with Sandbar.







“So do you have everything we need?” Silverstream asked.

Gallus gave her a thumbs up before settling in on the couch beside her. “Yep, everything’s packed and ready.”

She preened a few of his feathers back in place. “It feels like we haven’t been together with all our friends since we fought off that monster.”

“It’s mostly been peaceful. That’s why I’m retiring from being Twilight’s guard captain if this works out. And I’m happy to do it all for my lovely wife.” He nuzzled Silverstream and put an arm around her.

“I keep telling you that you don’t have to do anything special. I’m only a cousin to the royal family, it’s not like I’m directly in line for the throne.”

“You are special! And you’ve been better than any princess to me. And if we find the Idol of Boreas, you’ll be my queen.”

“And you think we have a good chance of finding it? Haven’t a lot of griffons gone missing or got hurt while searching for it? Maybe we should just be happy with what we have.”

He looked around at their little home. It was a nice cottage in Ponyville, with a few modifications to the second floor to suit landings or takeoffs. Above the fireplace were pictures of them and their friends. Looking at them always made him feel warm inside. They were all gathered together during the important events, such as Equestria’s triumph over the evil three. A few medals for their bravery and service were also there. And at the center was a picture from their wedding. It was a perfect little life, especially considering how he had come to Ponyville with next to nothing.

But now he had a chance to do so much more. To help so much more. He wanted to bring the happiness and prosperity he had found to Griffonstone.

“Those other griffons didn’t have friends like I have. And they didn’t have a wealthy, powerful benefactor like Grandeur helping with their expeditions. He’s letting us borrow a lot of powerful magical items for free.”

Silverstream smiled and tapped the tip of his beak. “Not entirely for free. He made you sign those agreements for his business and trading terms. Of course, those only go into effect once you’re the ruler of Griffonstone, but I know my politics. He’s going to make a lot more money by having somewhere to do business that isn’t as heavily monitored as Equestria. Princess Twilight checks his wares carefully whenever he sends anything to be sold here, and you should do the same in Griffonstone. Remember that necromancer?”

“Yeah, I do. I’ll make sure stuff like that doesn’t happen.”

“You’ll do great!”

Gallus rubbed beaks with her and purred. He had never been relaxed enough to purr around anyone until he met her. She was his shining star and had always been there during their years at school to lift him out of any self-doubt or depression. He often felt amazed to have someone like her as his partner in life. He sighed as someone knocked on the door.

“That’s our friends. But I’d gladly pause our adventure a few minutes to appreciate my lovely wife.”

She laughed and pushed his talons away. “Get the door. That can wait for a better time.”

“Adventure never calls at a convenient time. I’m excited to begin.”