Chapter 1: An evil plan

“No sign of the old goat.” Cozy thought to herself as she looked through the cavern´s windows.

She flew back into the cavern. From the mainhall, she could see Tirek, who was busy reading a book on the table.

“So… Anything new?” she asked while taking a quick glance of the book.

Tirek groaned in annoyance and frustration. Cozy widened her eyes in surprise.

“I´m going to take it as a no.” she mumbled.

“I give up!” yelled Tirek while standing up. He took Cozy with his magic and sat her on his seat. “Go on with this! I´m going to take a break.”

“I told you already, I don´t understand this! It´s impossible to read.” Cozy complained.

Tirek sighed frustrated. He massaged his temples.

“We´re never going to learn how to use that darn bell… Anything could be written there. It could be just a book about different types of bells and we don´t know it!”

Cozy narrowed her eyes.

“Sure, because an enchained book in a hidden spot between Canterlot´s archives with the Bewitching Bell in the cover is just a simple book about bells.” she said sarcastically while showing the book´s cover.

Tirek rolled his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes perked up.

“What? What´s wrong?”

“Do you hear that?” Tirek asked in response. Cozy tilted her head to hear better, but didn´t hear anything. “Fly up there. I think he´s coming.” Tirek ordered the confused filly.

Cozy nodded. She quickly flew to the windows and hid behind. Tirek was certainly right. She could see a blue figure approaching.

“Golly! Code red! Code red! Hide the book, quickly!”

Tirek closed the book in a second and ran to the shelves.

“Nice hearing, by the way!”

“Shut up.” Tirek ordered her as he took some bottles from the shelves to hide the book behind as fast as he could.

Once he was done, he joined Cozy to greet Grogar.

“Well hello almighty Grogar!” said Cozy cheerfully. “How did your expedi-”

The ram didn´t reply with words. Rather, he laid his hoof on the filly´s face to get her out of his way. She glared at him while rubbing her face. Grogar directed towards his orb and laid his hoofs on the table.

“Come here! I have something important to say.”

Tirek and Cozy exchanged a look of exhaustion. There he goes again, they told each other with just their eyes. Then, they approached the table.

“Listen carefully. Twilight Sparkle´s coronation is just about to happen. I think it´s time to tell you the plan.”

Before continuing, Grogar took a quick glance of his surrounders. He noticed that a certain changeling ex-queen was missing.

“Where is Chrysalis?”

Tirek entered in a slight state of panic, but Cozy managed to take control of the situation.

“She uh… went to take some fresh air!”

Grogar raised an eyebrow.

“I´ll tell you what happened: Chrysalis complained that it wasn´t fair that you went out whenever you wanted, and she had to stay here. Tirek and I tried to reason with her, although it was impossible, you know how stubborn Chryssy is, so-”

Tirek chuckled slightly at Cozy´s nickname for Chrysalis. she would get so mad if she heard her. Grogar, however, didn´t take it the same way Tirek did.

“I don´t care why she´s not here! I just want her to listen because I´m completely sure that you two won´t be able to tell her the instructions with the same accuracy.”

Tirek´s and Cozy´s faces fell flat.

“But we have no time for waiting her. So, I have no choice but to trust both of you to explain everything to her.” he cleared his throat. “Tirek. This is some crucial information for you. Your brother´s back.”

Cozy and Tirek gasped.

“That traitor? Where is he?” he asked, smacking his fist against his hand in anger.

“With the pillars. Twilight took them back from Limbo. He made amends with Starswirl.”

Grogar felt some satisfaction when he watched the anger growing inside Tirek.

“Which is related to your mission. I want you to deal with them. It would be a great way to make some justice to yourself.”

“I´d love to. But in this shape…” Tirek pointed his own body. “I doubt so. Some of your magic would help.”

“Absorb some ponies´ magic, instead. It´s as simple as that. It seems that as far as brute strength goes, you had your centaur´s share but when it comes to brains…. I´m afraid you´re at the shallow end of the genes´ pool.”

Tirek clenched his teeth at the ram´s comment. Cozy noticed his horns glowing slightly. She flew in front of him and shook her head. Just by looking into her eyes, he understood the filly´s message: He´s trying to get through you, so calm down before you do something stupid.

“Cozy. I know you have a personal vendetta against those six students, am I right?” Cozy nodded in response. “Well, I´ll let them at your hoofs. Keep as many hostages as possible.”

“Without any magic.” Cozy said dryly.

Grogar nodded.

“Well, how am I supposed to do that?”

“You tell me. Weren´t you the same filly that turned the whole school against that Neighsay and those students?”

“But that was different! Ponies saw me as cute and adorable. Now they see me as a psychopath! Do you really expect me to enter there as if nothing without any power?!”

“Whoah whoah, easy there. Quite the debater. I thought you were the cooperative one.” Grogar smirked.

Although Cozy wanted nothing more than to slap Grogar at that moment, she maintained her composture.

“Yes, Grogar. Whatever you say.” she said with a fake smile.

“As for Chrysalis… That bug is the key to turn Equestria´s allies against Equestria. I´m sure she´s turned ponies against each other before, why not the same with other creatures?”

Cozy and Tirek looked at each other surprised. How didn´t they think that before? Attacking Equestria directly, would be imprudent, now that it has countless allies. Grogar´s plan would be such a humiliating and cruel way to weaken Equestria, apart from creating conflict bewteen its citizens. With the bell, that would be an easy task.

“Besides, it wouldn´t be bad for her to have some allies after losing her kingdom. Real creatures are much more adept for communication than a piece of wood.”

Cozy was thankful that Chrysalis wasn´t there. Because if she had been, she would have snapped. She knew perfectly well that her management of emotions is poorer than Tirek´s.

“In the meantime, what will you be doing?” asked Tirek, who was pretty sure that Grogar wanted them to do all the dirty work.

“I still have some personal business to do.”

“Personal? Were your expeditions just excuses to reflect on your thoughts?” asked Cozy.

Grogar violently smacked his hoofs against the table, making the little Pegasus jump back, just like the first time they met.

“OF COURSE NOT, YOU IDIOT! My mind is much more put together than all of yours will ever be. Specially Chrysalis´.” He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I´m surrounded by idiots.” he mumbled, but it was loud enough for Tirek and Cozy to hear it and get annoyed by that comment. “Is everything understood?”

Cozy and Tirek nodded their heads quickly. All they wanted more anything was Grogar to leave.

“Then, without further ado, prepare yourselves to make history. It´s much closer than you think.” he said with a smirk as he left the cavern.

Making sure he didn´t notice her, Cozy followed him and hid behind the main entrance. Once he was out of sight, she sighed relieved.

“Finally! The old goat is out! Who does he think he is? He´s practically been throwing insults in or faces! He thinks he´s much better than us, but once we use the bell on him,” she gave out an evil chuckle. “We´ll prove him wrong.”

“But in order to do that, we need to figure out how to use the bell first!” exclaimed Tirek. He put his hand under his chin.

“Do you think Chrysalis could lend a hoof on this?” asked Cozy.

“Honestly, I doubt it. By the way, she´s been days outside. I wonder when she´ll come back.”

“Right now.” a female voice joined the conversation.

Both Tirek and Cozy turned their heads around to find a ginger haired green unicorn carrying a camera around her neck. After she ignited her horn, she went back to her original form.

“Chryssy!” exclaimed Cozy as she flew towards the changeling to give her a huge hug. “I´m so glad you´re here! We need your help!”

Chrysalis blushed slightly when Cozy called her Chryssy. She tried to undo Cozy´s hug, finding it a little bit difficult, as the filly held tight onto her.

“Hold on, hold on. What did you just call me?” she asked somewhat intimidate.

“Chryssy. I came up with that nickname for you. I also have one for Tirek. Wanna know it?”

Tirek´s eyes widened in surprise. He prayed that Chrysalis told her no so he could maintain his dignity.

“No.” she bluntly responded, which mad Tirek sigh in relief. “So, how does the-”

“T-rex!”

Tirek buried his face in his hands.

“Please don´t ever call me that.”

“But why?”

“Just don´t, ok?”

Cozy sighed disappointed.

“Fine..”

Meanwhile Chrysalis struggled to keep a straight face. She came back to the topic of the conversation so she could remain serious.

“As I was saying, explain me how the bell works.”

Cozy scratched the back of her neck.

“Yeah… About that…”

“We haven´t figured out.” Responded Tirek.

“WHAT?” asked Chrysalis angrily. “I´ve been outside days. WHOLE DAYS! That´s more than enough time to learn how to use the bell.”

“But it´s impossible to understand. We´re not even sure if it´s Ponish! It´s not our fault!” Cozy said in defense.

“Oh please. It can´t be that difficult.” Chrysalis muttered.

“Well, if it´s so easy for you, why don´t you try figuring out yourself, huh?” Tirek challenged her.

“Fine! I´m sure I´ll do it better and faster than you.” stated Chrysalis confidently.

“Yeah, yeah, I wouldn´t be so confident if I were you…”

“Well, let´s hope she does.” said Cozy. “As Grogar said, Twilight´s coronation is on the arrive. Besides, we don´t know when how much it will take for him to return. We can´t afford to waste time!” Cozy put her hoof against the other to emphasize her point.

Tirek scoffed.

“Don´t you see? It took us days to decipher that and we still haven´t got results! Do you really think that in a matter of seconds she´ll decipher it?”

“I´ve already deciphered it.” said Chrysalis as she stood before the two of them.

Tirek widened his eyes.

“Told ya.” Cozy bragged.

“B-but. How?!”

Chrysalis shoved Tirek´s face into the book.

“Easy. This is a very primitive form of Ponish. I used to study it back when I was a princess. Luckily, I still remember my tutor´s lessons.” she sighed happily. “It was my favourite subject.” she remembered nostalgically.

“I didn´t know you were quite the intellect, Chryssy!”

Chrysalis frowned. She grabbed Cozy with her magic.

“Firstly, don´t call me that. Next time you call me that, I´ll throw against the wall. Secondly, are you insulting my intelligence?”

“No no! It´s just that I´m glad to learn more about you Chryssy- I mean, Chrysalis!”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and dropped Cozy.

“So, what does it say?” he asked impatiently as he laid the book on the table again.

Chrysalis cautiously read the book. She muttered the words in the ancient language.

“Ok. From what I can see, there´s few information. I guess this was because Gusty took the bell away from Grogar as fast as possible, so nopony had time to study it in depth.” Chrysalis cleared her throat. “Apparently, the bell has many abilities: magic absorption, corruption, destruction, magic storage… It all depends on the owner´s intention in mind. But most importantly, it grants endless power.” she explained, showing Cozy and Tirek some drafts of the bell. “Apparently, the book has some sketches made by Grogar while he was developing the bell.”

“Oooh…” Cozy mumbled as she appreciated the detailed drafts.

“And how do we activate it?” asked Tirek.

Chrysalis took a quick glance of the pages.

“The bell can be activated by magical stimulation.”

“Which means…” Cozy said in order to understand better.

“It´s not explained! There´s very few information, but I think it means that a ray of magic is required.”

The three of them blinked.

“I´ll be the first one to try.” Chrysalis offered herself.

She ignited her horn and blasted the bell with all her strength. There were no results. Chrysalis grunted and tried again and again but it still didn´t work. Carefully, Cozy approached the frustrated changeling at patted her back.

“Ok, ok. Your magic isn´t working.”

“Are you calling me powerless?!”

Cozy rolled her eyes.

“NOOO… I´m just saying that maybe Tirek can activate it.” she rubbed her forehead. “Why do you take everything as a personal attack?”

“You never know when a subject is planning to overthrow you.”

“Girls… The coronation! This is for today!” Tirek interrupted.

“Yeah… sorry.” apologized Cozy. “Go on.”

Tirek focused all his energy to originate a huge blast of magic. It was so intense that Cozy and Chrysalis had to close her eyes. Still, no results. Tirek looked at his partners in crime and shrugged. Cozy sighed.

“Here we go again…” she muttered under her breath. She flew in front of Tirek and Chrysalis. “As you can see, when you did it alone nothing happened. Oh no. What shall we do?”

Chrysalis and Tirek shared confused glances.

“Come on guys! We´ve been doing it for weeks! Seriously? Nothing comes to your mind?”

Silence. The only noise heard was Chrysalis´s cough.

“Cupcake´s crumbs.” she said softly to Tirek and then coughed again.

“Joining forces!”

“Aaaah!” both Tirek and Chrysalis exclaimed.

“Well of course I knew that…” Chrysalis lied.

“It was pretty obvious.” Tirek said as he darted his eyes from one side to the other.

Cozy flew in between them.

“Hope this works.” she mumbled as she laid Chrysalis´ hoof and Tirek´s hand together.

Although initially surprised that Cozy laid their hoofs together, Tirek and Chrysalis quickly forgot about it. Both of them took deep breaths.

“Ready?” asked Chrysalis to Tirek.

“Ready.” claimed Tirek.

Nervously, Cozy held onto their arms. At the same time, the two powerful creatures blasted the bell. Although it took some time, and got some drops of sweat out of them, finally something happened: The bell illuminated and levitated. The three of them got excited.

“It worked! It worked!” exclaimed Cozy cheerfully.

Once the bell was in the air, it rang and liberated some magic, which directed towards Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy. The three of them laughed maniacally as they felt the magic flowing through their veins. It also changed their forms. For instance, Tirek got bigger, Chrysalis´ eyes became greener and wore different regalia, whereas for Cozy…. she earned a horn.

“IT FEELS SO GOOOD!” yelled Tirek at the top of his lungs.

“I feel so powerful!” Chrysalis said.

“I´m an alicorn!”

Differently from what she expected, Chrysalis and Tirek didn´t share Cozy´s happiness. Rather, their expressions were blunt.

“What?”

“Seriously? An alicorn?” asked Chrysalis sarcastically.

“Aren´t five enough?” continued Tirek.

“Say what you want, but I depart from a great disadvantage unlike you two.” she pointed at them as she defended herself. “I´m a Pegasus! The only magic I have is weather control and flying. That´s if we´re talking about my pegasus´ abilities, cause I also consider my intelligence a superpower. Only ten but my mind is older!”

“Yeah, whatever.” said Chrysalis, which annoyed Cozy a little.

“So… what do we do?” asked Tirek. “Do we wait for him-”

Chrysalis smacked her hoof against the ground.

“NO! I´m tired of waiting for him! It took me days coming back here, who knows how much time he will spend outside. You said it countless times, WE. CANNOT. AFFORD. TO. WASTE. TIME!”

Tirek raised an eyebrow.

“As reckless as it sounds, I agree with her. Now it´s the time to take action.” argumented Cozy.

He sighed defeated.

“I suggested waiting for him because I thought the sooner we got rid of him, the more effective our conquest would be, but I´m afraid you´re right. What´s the plan?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, Grogar had a pretty good conquest plan.” added Cozy. “Maybe we could take some ideas…” she smiled mischievously along with Tirek

“Do tell…” Chrysalis encouraged with an evil grin.

Chapter 2: Something wrong

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Canterlot was as lively as never before. There were colours and decorations everywhere. This was a very important day, for the day of Twilight´s coronation had finally arrived. And just as there was happiness and illusion, there was also lots of nervousness and paranoia.

“NOOOO!” a big scream was heard from Canterlot´s castle. It was so loud that the ponies who weren´t present at the castle could hear it. It even made Fluttershy´s birds fly away.

“Hey, wait! Don´t go!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she pursued the birds.

“What? What´s the matter?” Twilight asked worried after opening the door abruptly.

Rarity, who was inside the room Twilight had opened, threw herself dramatically at Twilight.

“It´s awful!”

“Tell me, tell me! I´ll do anything!” Twilight reassured Rarity desperately. “Just tell me what´s wrong!”

“The cloth stretched… and the machine broke.” replied Rarity while pointing the broken sewing machine.

Twilight sighed in relief.

“Ok, don´t worry. I´ll make sure that they bring you another one. Guards!”

A female guard nearby heard the call. She gasped and immediately ran to Twilight and Rarity. When she felt it was too near, she abruptly slowed down. Her eyes were closed when she stopped running, so she felt relieved that she didn´t hit the princess or her friend when she opened them. Or both!

“Phew...” she muttered. She noticed Twilight and Rarity raising their eyebrows at her, so she quickly came back to her “guardian” mode.

“Your majesty!” she elevated her hoof.

“Could you take this sewing machine and replace with another new?” she laid the broken sewing machine at the guardian´s back.

“Yeah sure! I mean.... Yes, your majesty!”

“Oh no no! Please, it´s not necessary. I can go by myself.” Rarity stepped in front of the guardian. “Besides, I need some new materials.”

“Are you sure, Rarity? I wouldn´t want you to get hurt.” Twilight said a bit sadly.

Rarity widened her eyes in surprise.

“Hurt? But, why?”

“Well, you know. You might bump against somepony and suffer some minor injuries. Not great, not terrible.” Twilight laughed nervously.

Rarity blinked.

“Ok… Well, I´m sure that I´ll be fine.”

“Oh, and if you´re going, please check on the others. Just to… make sure that they´re relaxed and they don´t feel too burdened.”

“Sure, don´t worry, darling. See you soon.” Rarity said as she put some bits inside her bag.

She was relaxed until she looked at the hour. She gave out a huge gasp.

"OH MY! The shop closes in fifteen minutes! I´ve got to go."

“So… Do I get another machine or…?” the female guard asked confused as she watched Rarity leaving.

“No, it´s not necessary. You can rest. But before you go, what´s your name?”

“Oh! Meghan, ma´am. I´ve recently joined the royal guard.”

“Well, Meghan, you don´t have to be nervous. I appreciate that you want to do your best, I can see, but it´s ok to take it easy. Just make sure everything´s done the right way.”

Meghan smiled.

“Thank you, your majesty.”

“One more thing, could you please check around Canterlot? Just to make sure everything´s ok.”

Meghan nodded.

“Right away.” she said confidently before leaving the room. She blushed when Twilight smiled at her confidence.

Meanwhile, Spike was flying in the corridor, holding a huge list on his hands.

“Ok, let´s see: Decorations? Check. Tables? Check.”

He was so focused on the list that he didn´t see Rarity in front of him and bumped against her.

“Oops!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Oh! Hey there, Rarity. Sorry, didn´t see you there.”

“It´s nothing darling. One question, are going to see Twilight?”

“Yeah, just to inform her about everything that´s done so far.”

“Well, I´m saying it because I noticed that she was… worried.”

“Like twilighting?”

“No, not exactly. Like a little sad. I don´t know, just make sure she´s ok, darling.”

Spike nodded and waved goodbye at Rarity. He looked around to find Twilight. He smiled when he saw her on a room.

“Twilight!”

Spike´s voice distracted Twilight from her thoughts. She panicked, as she was holding with her magic a surprise from him. She quickly teleported it to the drawer.

“Spike! Didn´t expect you to see here.”

“I´m here to tell you some updates: the decorations are finished and we´ve made sure that there´s enough tables, chair and food for everypony.”

“Thanks for the report, Spike. You may go now.”

“Also, Rarity told me that something´s going on with you. So…” he flew in front of her. “What´s wrong Twily?”

Twilight sighed.

“It´s not that I´m worried about the coronation not being perfect at all. In fact, I´m sure it will be great! But…”

“Yes?”

Twilight sniffed.

“What will happen to our friendship after the coronation?”

Spike was a bit estranged.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it! Each of us will have our own lives. Fluttershy with her sanctuary, Applejack with her farm, Rarity with her boutique, Rainbow with the Wonderbolts and Pinkie with her parties. We won´t have time to spend together like before.” Twilight´s eyes got watery. “Some of us we´ll be far away from Ponyville, making it more impossible to see each other again. And what´s worse…” her voice started to tremble. “What if I outlive my friends?”

Spike gasped.

“Don´t say that…”

“Who knows how much time I´ll be alive. Celestia and Luna have been ruling for a thousand years! I don´t want to live a life knowing that I´ll be alone forever.”

Twilight broke down to tears.

“Well, we´re not sure about that. Maybe Celestia somewhat changed the spell so you wouldn´t be inmortal. I´m pretty sure she thought of that before hoof. She knows perfectly well the loneliness inmortality brings. Especially with having sent her sister to the moon for a thousand of years.”

Twilight sniffed.

“You sure?”

“Of course.”

Twilight smiled warmly. She hugged Spike tightly.

“What would I do without you?”

Spike shrugged.

“I don’t know. Cry and panic, I guess.”

“There´s… also another thing.”

Spike reacted with surprise.

“What is it?”

“Doesn´t seem weird to you that no villain hasn´t done anything against us? What if they waited for the coronation to attack? I mean, maybe somepony has been spying on us and we don´t know it! I´m afraid they might attack my friends.”

“Hmmm… Seems likely, yes. But that´s why we put extra security in Canterlot, didn´t we?”

“Um… Yes. But I´ve told the guards to keep an eye. Specially on my friends. Just in case.”

“Not letting your guard down while being calm, huh? Just like a good ruler would do.” Spike gave her a nudge.

Twilight blushed.

“Oh please, it´s not that much.”

“Humility! Another virtue of a good ruler.”

“Stop it!” Twilight laughed.

Meanwhile a strange known creature was lurking around Canterlot. Luckily, he wasn´t a menace, despite looking so.

Discord was observing Canterlot´s surroundings in detail with his binoculars. He didn´t care if he scared some ponies along the way. He teleported himself from place to place every second. After so much time looking around Canterlot, he got frustrated. He couldn´t find what he was looking for.

“Well, I don´t see anything weird here. Will you shut up now?” he said aloud.

Ponies who were around stared at him in an estranged manner. Discord rolled his eyes angrily.

“What are you looking at?”

After Discord said that, they went back to their businesses. He sighed sadly and looked at the sky.

“I hope that means that nothing´s wrong.”

His thoughts were interrupted by some tweets. He quickly grabbed the binoculars to watch what was happening. He saw a group of birds flying towards him. Discord yelled, and without thinking twice, he quickly wrinkled like an accordion when he bent down to avoid them.

“Phew…” he wiped out the sweat on his forehead.

“Stoooop!” a female voice yelled from the distance.

Discord´s ears perked up.

“That voice…” he whispered.

Once again, he took his binoculars and from the distance his saw a buttercream Pegasus.

“Flutters?”

“Discord! The birds! Help!” she told him as she ran.

Immediately, Discord snapped his fingers and the birds were in a cage. Fluttershy gasped when she saw the cage falling but Discord quickly caught it and handled it gently to Fluttershy.

“I hope every one of them is in there.”

Fluttershy checked the cage.

“Yes they are, thank you so much, Discord. Are you busy? Just to know if you can help me.”

Discord bit his lips and started fidgeting his fingers.

“Actually… I am busy. I´d love to, but I can´t. I´m sorry.”

Although he was trying to hide it, Fluttershy noticed Discord´s sadness in his voice. Was something wrong with him?

“It´s ok, really.” she held his paw to comfort him.

Then, she walked towards the castle. However, Discord flew in front of her.

“But I´ll be near you! You know, so you don´t feel lonely.” he laughed nervously.

Fluttershy´s feeling of something being wrong with Discord grew stronger.

“Discord, are you feeling alright?” she asked as she let the birdcage on the ground.

“Me? Of course I´m fine! I am the lord of chaos! I never feel bad.”

“Then why do you seem sad and concerned?”

“I´m not sad or concerned!”

Discord could have been pretending for ages but Fluttershy´s eyes were begging for the truth. They were full of sadness and concern, just like him. He sighed and grabbed her hoof.

“Fluttershy, did you see something weird around you lately?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… was one of your animals or somepony behaving in a strange manner?”

Fluttershy put her hoof on her chin.

“Um… Not that I remember, no. Why? Is it because you think that somepony is going to attack us?”

Discord widened his eyes.

“How did you know?”

“Well, you seemed pretty worried and insecure after we rescued Spike, and since you´re the one that can notice when things are wrong apart from Pinkie, I came to that conclusion.”

Discord clenched his teeth and looked away.

“So, tell me, am I right?”

“I-” he sighed “You wouldn´t believe me.”

“Tell me, please.”

“Ok, I do have my suspicions, yeah. Do you see these earbags?” Discord lowered his eyelids.

“Uh huh.” Fluttershy nodded.

“Well, it´s because I´ve been hearing a voice throughout the whole night!”

“A voice?”

“Yeah! And what´s worse, I have the weird feeling of having heard it before. The case is that I began hearing it after the night we rescued Spike.”

“Too much of a coincidence, I guess.” Fluttershy said.

“I know, right? And I still can hear it. I think it´s telling me something. But I´m not so sure what.”

Discord´s ears perked up. He put his horns on his ears.

“Oh, shut up! Pleaaase!” he exclaimed in frustration.

“What? Is it the voice?” Fluttershy asked concerned.

Discord nodded. When the voice stopped, Discord put his horns back on his head.

“But I´m starting to think that this is all in my head. I´ve been looking around Canterlot and I haven´t seen anything weird.” he started smiling nervously and sweating. “It must be my mind, yeah, I´m just bored and thinking up stories. That must be it, yes.”

“Well, it´s not too far-fetched. If there´s something that I´ve learned throughout all these years is that villains attack when you least expect it.”

She put a hoof on Discord´s shoulder.

“Don´t worry, I´ll have a look around, and if I see something weird, I´ll tell you. Besides, I might tell the girls what you said.”

“I don´t think they´ll believe me.”

“Well, I won´t stop until they do. But first, I´ll look for odd behaviours.”

Fluttershy took the cage and flew away as fast as she could. But then, she came back.

“You stay here. We will meet here so I can tell you what I´ve seen.”

“Ok, good idea.” Discord smiled sadly.

This time, Fluttershy left for real. Discord watched how she faded in the distance.

“Be careful, Fluttershy. I´m so worried about you.” Discord muttered.

“And you´re certainly right to do so.” a deep growled voice said behind the draconequus back.

A chill ran through Discord´s back. He knew perfectly well that voice. It was a voice that he wished to never hear again. He slowly turned around, trembling in fear, and gasped when he saw who was standing in front of him.

“Hello son.” Grogar said with a wicked smirk.

Pinkie Pie was making her way throughout the ponies around Canterlot.

“Outta my way! Outta my way!” she cheerfully said while bouncing.

She took a glance of the castle´s garden. It was so beautifully decorated. There were colourful ribbons attached to the streetlights, the cutlery set on the tables was the fanciest Pinkie had ever seen… Everything was so gorgeous! Nonetheless, as beautiful as it was, Pinkie wasn´t completely convinced.

“Hmm… Something´s lacking here…” she murmured with her hoof under her chin.

After some time of thinking, Pinkie finally concluded.

“I know!” she exclaimed after giving a gasp. “A party cannon full of confettiiii!” she yelled as she took the cannon out of nowhere.

What Pinkie didn´t notice, however, were two unicorn mares walking in front of her. One was yellow and the other blue. So, all the confetti inside the cannon was projected on them.

“Hey, watch out!” the yellow unicorn said.

“Oopsie! Didn´t see you there.” Pinkie apologized.

“You didn´t see us here? How?! We were literally in front of you!”

The blue unicorn put his hoof on her companion.

“It´s no use, don´t you see? Earth ponies don´t understand basic things. It´s beyond their understanding.”

Pinkie heard those words.

“Hey! Are you calling me stupid?” she asked while confronting them.

The unicorn who insulted her chuckled.

“Didn´t you get it at once? That proves my point.”

“Well, miss `I´m smarter than you´, I´ll let you know that we, earth ponies, are very smart and capable of anything!”

“Ooh! For example? Harvesting? That´s the only thing you can do or were born for, deary. That´s nothing compared to magic.”

“Well. I can see things other ponies don´t.” Pinkie answered in a mysterious tone

The two unicorns raised their eyebrows

“Excuse me, what?”

“It´s pretty easy to understand, really.” Pinkie leant on one of the unicorns as she explained her abilities. “I don´t know why ponies think it´s weird. The thing is that I know that I know that there are monkey-like creatures watching us. They have witnessed all our adventures, and they know everything about us. Even our most intimate secrets.” Pinkie looked at them on the eye. “I call them… The audience.”

The unicorns, who were creeped out by Pinkie, shoved her out, throwing her to the ground.

“You´re crazy!”

“I´m not crazy. I´m Pinkie Pie.”

The yellow unicorn pulled Pinkie´s hair towards them with her magic.

“Ouch. That hurts!”

“Listen here you earth scum, we know that you have been taking us, the unicorns, for fools.”

“Why do you say that?”

The unicorn pulled harder, making Pinkie Pie complain.

“You´re harbouring all the food for yourselves, aren´t you?”

“What?”

“Leave it. This one´s dumber than the rest. She won´t give us any useful information. Come on.” The blue unicorn said to the yellow unicorn.

Finally, the unicorn let go of Pinkie´s mane and left her alone. Pinkie felt so relieved when the two of them were gone. Even though ponies had always seen her as weird, nopony had ever messed with her only for being an earth pony. It was a very strange and frightening situation.

“Did you guys see that?” Pinkie asked what she called audience. “What is wrong with them? Who messes with somepony for just being an earth pony? These ponies are craaazy.”

Suddenly, she felt something vibrating.

“Huh? Is the earth shaking?”

She looked at her tail.

“Oooh! It´s just my Pinkie sense.” Pinkie said calmly. Then, she gasped at the realization. “It´s my Pinkie sense! Something´s fishy is around here. I just know it! I´ve gotta tell the girls.

Pinkie left running. However, after a few seconds, she came back.

“Wait. You guys know the answer, right? No? Come on, you must have witnessed everything. Ok fine! I don´t need your help. Also, I don´t have time for this.”

Pinkie Pie finally went to look for her friends.

In the surroundings of Canterlot, Applejack was pulling a cart full of cider bottles. Her family and her had been working hard weeks before the coronation to produce enough cider for every creature invited. That meant Equestria, the changeling kingdom, Yakyakistan, the hipogriphs, Griffonstone, the Dragon lands… countless creatures from countless places. She was pretty sure this was the most stressful harvest she and her family had ever witnessed. Nevertheless, the results were even more satisfying. They had accomplished the biggest harvest in Equestria!

Pulling the weight of a cart full of thousands of cider bottles was somewhat livelier by the company of Big Mac. Both were dying on the inside but at least they had each other.

“A.J!” Big Mac said between pants. “I don´t think I can do this. Not anymore!”

“Come on, Big Mac.” Applejack replied, also panting. “One last effort!”

She was right. Just some more pulls and they were in Canterlot. Their exhausting journey was over. Applejack and Big Mac smiled in relief when they saw the castle front of them.

At Canterlot´s gates, there was a male pegasus soldier controlling who was passing and who wasn´t. He blocked Applejack´s and Big Mac´s way with his wing when they arrived.

“Hault! Who goes there?”

Applejack frowned. She, along her friends, has saved Equestria dozens of time. How could he not recognize her? Still, she didn´t want to cause any trouble, so she maintained her posture.

“I am Applejack, a good friend of our next ruler of Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Me and my brother bring the cider y´all love so much.”

The pegasus inspected the carts carefully, something which estranged the two siblings.

“Um… If you´re wondering, this is real cider. One hundred percent made by Sweet Apple Acres.”

“It seems like cider, yes. But the thing is… is it in real good state?”

Applejack frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“If it´s poisoned.”

Out of annoyment, Applejack made a horse noise.

“Are you suggesting that me, one of the most reliable ponies in Equestria, and the bearer of the element of honesty, is pretending to poison ponies?! Especially Princess Twilight?!”

“Yes. You can´t trust earth ponies in these days.”

“What. Did. You. Say?”

“Don´t take me for a fool, you just want all the food to yourselves. Just like so many years ago. You don´t want to share it with the other ponies. So, the only solution is to poison pegasi and unicorns. I don´t care about the unicorns but I´m not willing to let an earth pony poison the pegasi!”

After he explained his motives for not letting them in, he turned his back on them. Applejack scoffed.

“Are you hearing yourself, mate? That´s the most stupid thing I´ve ever heard!”

“Well, it is not to me. I´m not letting you enter!”

“You can´t do that. I´m Princess Twilight´s friend!”

“Like I said, I don´t care about her. I only care about the pegasi.”

“Well, I have two pegasi as friends.”

“HA! I can smell that´s a lie from miles.”

Applejack´s face turned red as she growled in frustration.

“FINE! Don´t let me enter if you want. I´ll find a way to make it in myself.”

Big Mac, who was super confused by the situation, finally spoke.

“Are you sure that´s a good idea?”

“We´ve been working weeks and we´ve also travelled miles to get these here. I ain´t giving up for some arrogant jerk.”

Big Mac sighed as he observed his sister making up plans to enter the castle.

“Whatever you say…” he muttered.

Rarity ran to the notions store, hoping it wasn´t closed.

“It has to be opened! It has to be opened!” she kept telling herself.

Luckily, her hopes came true. The shop was still opened. That was until the shop owner, who was an earth pony, saw Rarity. The earth pony gave out a yelp and immediately changed the sign from open to closed in front of Rarity. After closing the shop, she quickly hid bellow the stall.

“What the-” Rarity said to herself.

She knocked the door. Rarity could see that the shop´s owner was scared for some reason, for she took some time to answer Rarity. Finally, the owner opened the door slightly.

“Uh… excuse me, maybe I´m late and everything, but I seriously need some materials right now. So if you were so kind, could you open the shop for a moment?”

“No unicorns allowed!” the owner replied. Then, she slammed the door on Rarity´s face.

Naturally, Rarity did not take that slightly. After scoffing, she knocked the door again, in order to make sure she heard well, although deep down she knew that the owner wouldn´t be willing to talk to her. Surprisingly, she did. Once again, the shop´s owner opened the door slightly.

“Darling, did you just say that unicorns are not allowed?”

“Yes, I did.”

The owner was going to slam the door again, however, Rarity held the door with magic before she did. The earth pony showed some repulse when Rarity did that.

“May I ask why?”

The shop´s owner scoffed.

“It´s quite simple, really. You unicorns always expect us earth ponies to serve you in things you can do yourselves with your freaky magic.”

Rarity blinked in shock.

“Darling, are you hearing yourself?”

“Yes, I am. I don´t need an unicorn to tell me what I´m saying.” the earth pony laid a hoof on Rarity´s nose. Then, she started walking towards Rarity, making her walk backwards. “You think that because you have magic, you´re smarter and better than all of us! Well, let me tell you something miss unicorn: We´re very intelligent and capable of doing everything. More than you ever will! We are far more hard working than unicorns, you lazy snobs!”

Rarity gasped. Throughout her life, she´s been called many things: vain, drama queen… She could stand those. But never ever in her life she had been called lazy. No adjective belittled her work like that. That´s the reason why after the moment the earth pony called her that, she lost it.

“How dare you! Do you know how much have I worked to get where I am today? Running in the world of fashion is not an easy task! I spent entire nights to revise every little tiny detail perfect in every design. Don´t you ever call me lazy!”

The shop´s owner shrugged.

“I´m sure an earth pony would have been more hard working.”

Rarity clenched her teeth. Without realizing it, she ignited her horn. Nevertheless, she was quick to notice and stopped immediately.

“You know what? If I believed myself a superior, I would have blasted you with my magic. However, since I respect earth ponies so much, I decided not to do that.” she said with a smirk as she left.

“Oh. Since you respect us so much, then why are you spreading rumours about us harbouring all the food, huh?”

Rarity stopped walking abruptly.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don´t play the fool around me. I saw how one of your kind said those mean things to some unicorns. Since then, every unicorn has been staring at me or wishing me harm.”

“Oh, my goodness! Tell me who said that, please. I´ll have a little chat with them.” Rarity opened her bag and took out a fountain pen and a notebook. “Would you kindly describe them?”

The earth pony threw Rarity´s notebook and fountain pen.

“Ha! Nice try, you just want to take some information out of me so you can tell your unicorn fellows about this.”

“No. I´m just trying to-”

“Get away from my shop.”

“But.”

“GET AWAY FROM MY SHOP!” her yell was so loud that it threw Rarity to the ground.

After yelling at Rarity, the shop´s owner slammed the door.

“How rude! I am certainly telling the girls about these nasty rumours about earth ponies.” she said as got up and kept her notebook and fountain pen inside her bag.

“Ok. This is it. The day my best friend gets crowned.” Rainbow Dash said to her wonderbolt comrades.

“I thought Applejack was your best friend.” a wonderbolt interrupted her.

“Well, one of my closest friends. Which means this is our last rehearsal. Remember, this performance must be the most awesome performance ever!”

“Thanks for the pressure, Dash.” Soarin said jokingly.

“No. I´m giving the most awesome and inspiring speech ever given to the wonderbolts. Spitfire is the one who only does pressure.”

The wonderbolts snickered at Rainbow´s comment. Spitfire shrugged.

“It´s true, though.” she said.

“And to assure you that I´m not pressuring, let me tell you that I´m pretty confident that we´ll do perfectly. We´ve been practicing this for weeks! There´s nothing to worry about.”

Rainbow´s chill attitude changed when she saw Spitfire raising her eyebrow. She cleared her throat.

“Still, I expect nothing but your discipline and the best you can give. Is that clear?”

“Yes ma´am.” the wonderbolts raised their hoofs to their foreheads.

“When I blow the whistle, you take off. Understood.”

“Yes, ma´am.”

“Louder!”

“Yes, ma´am!”

“LOUDEEEEER!”

“YES, MA´AAAM!”

As soon as Rainbow blew the whistle, no single wonderbolt was in the ground. Well, no wonderbolt except Spitfire. She had to talk to Rainbow.

“So, how did I do it?” Rainbow asked with a huge grin on her face.

“Not bad. Although, next time don´t be that laid-back.” Spitfire advised.

Rainbow blushed and chuckled.

“Yeah… sorry about that.”

Spitifire smiled at her and nodded. Then, she spread her wings and flew. Rainbow paid attention to every pirouette and analysed them, making sure it was perfect. And so far, it was going great. The only thing lacking was her Sonic Rainboom, but she wasn´t worried about that. She was more than confident that she would nail it. Her time was getting nearer, nearer, and just when her clew arrived, something happened.

“Hey you, pegasus!” a masculine voice yelled from behind.

Rainbow, who had her wings spread, and was ready to fly, turned her head back. There were two male earth ponies calling her. One was green and the other was brown. Seeing that she had to talk to those ponies, she flew towards them, instead of joining the rest of their wonderbolts.

“What is she doing?” Spitifire asked to herself, seeing that she wasn´t joining them.

The other wonderbolts shrugged. They watched the scene in detail from the clouds.

“Yeah? Is there anything wrong?” Rainbow asked once she reached the earth ponies.

“First of all, don´t fly! Flying is a pegasi form to express that they´re better than us.” The brown earth pony complained.

Rainbow snickered.

“Really? How so?”

“You´re looking down at us. Literally.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow confused. Applejack, nor Pinkie Pie were bothered when she talked to them while flying. No earth pony she talked to twitched an eye on that! However, if they felt that way, she had no choice.

“Ok.” she said while she flew down. “Let´s get down to business, what´s the matter?”

“We know about your plan!” the green earth pony said as she touched Rainbow´s nose.

“What plan?”

“Why, the messing the weather up plan, of course! For some reason, you don´t want earth ponies to succeed in their crops. So, in order to achieve that, you want to change the weather to make it impossible for our crops to grow!”

Rainbow snickered and gave out a huge laugh. She was laughing so hard that she felt to the ground.

“Oh my goodness, I can´t breathe! That´s one of the best jokes I´ve ever heard, really.”

Rainbow had her eyes closed, so she didn´t notice the earth ponies´ expressions. When she opened them, she saw that they were frowning and angry. That´s when she knew they weren´t joking.

“Wait. You´re serious.”

“Of course we´re serious!” the brown earth pony exclaimed furious. “I knew your kind couldn´t be trusted. You never take things seriously!”

“I do take things seriously, and so do all pegasi.” Rainbow Dash said with a serious tone. “But what you´re saying is one of the most stupid things I´ve ever heard! We´re not plotting anything against you.”

“If that´s true, then what are your pegasi friends doing up there, huh?” the green earth pony pointed at the wonderbolts.

“Rehearsiiiing. For Twilight´s coronation. We´re the wonderbolts, for goodness sake! We´re always doing this.”

The brown earth pony gasped and hid behind his friend.

“So it´s true. You´ve allied with the unicorns to destroy us!”

Rainbow scoffed.

“Wha- Are you hearing yourself?”

“Dash!” Spitfire yelled from the sky. “Are you coming out or not?”

Rainbow would have kept arguing with those earth ponies, but Spitfire reminded her that she had better things to do.

“Look, I don´t have time for you two. I´ve gotta practice.”

“Yeah, go on with your plans. If we find one of you, we´ll make sure that you won´t have those wings no more.” the green earth pony told Rainbow as she left.

Rainbow stopped flying. At first, she thought they were two harmless prejudiced earth ponies. They did sound like morons, to be honest! However, just after they said that, she knew they were dangerous. She shivered when she imagined what would happen if they caught an innocent pegasus. Specially Fluttershy!

Seeing that Rainbow wasn´t coming, the wonderbolts flew to her.

“Hey, are you alright?” Soarin asked concerned when he saw Rainbow´s face.

“What were they telling you?” another wonderbolt asked.

Other wonderbolts comforted her by putting a hoof on her shoulder.

“Those two… They don´t like us. They want to harm pegasi.”

Rainbow was convinced that if they were going to Canterlot, they would find Fluttershy. She didn´t wanto to imagine the rest. Instead, she needed to take action.

“I´ve gotta go.”

“Dash!” Spitifre called her out. “Where are you going?”

“To Canterlot! I have to see if Fluttershy is alright.”

“But what about the rehearsal?” a wonderbolt asked.

“Keep practising! I´ll catch up with you guys.”

Fluttershy flew around Canterlot, looking for her friends. Meanwhile, she paid attention to her surroundings, like Discord told her to. She was a bit nervous of not getting the slightest detail or not being able to see anything weird at first, however after going round Canterlot for some time, she did see weird things.

Ponies walking around had grumpy faces. Or were avoiding ponies from a different species. For example, she saw an earth pony changing sidewalk when she saw Fluttershy flying towards her direction. In the worst of cases, ponies were arguing for no reason or calling each other by their species´ name.

“There sure are weird behaviours today…” Fluttershy told the birds while raising an eyebrow. “Could this be related to what Discord said?”

She was so distracted assessing the situation, that she didn´t notice the two unicorn guards in front of her, bumping against them as a result.

“Oh my! I´m so sorry. Didn´t see you there.” she apologized gently.

One guard fixed his helmet, while the other paid attention to the encaged birds.

“Are those Celestia´s birds?” he asked.

“Um… Yes?”

The two guards looked at each other and nodded in determination.

“You have to come with us.” a guard said while holding her wing with his magic. “Be careful, she´s a pegasus. Pegasi are brutes.” He told the other guardian.

“Ouch! But why?”

The other guard held her other wing. He was holding it tightly, so she clenched her teeth.

“How did you steal them?”

Fluttershy gasped.

“Steal?!” she asked annoyed. “For your information, I asked Celestia permission to borrow them to do a surprise for Twilight´s coronation.”

“Pegasi don´t ask permission.”

“They steal.”

Fluttershy looked at the tow guards and then she looked at her birds.

“I´m so confused.” she told them.

Fluttershy couldn´t believe that those two guards were just capturing her just because she was a pegasus. Something must have made them think that way. She could figure out all those weird behaviours by getting to the heart of the issue. So, she decided to ask them.

“Um… Excuse me. Why do you have the assumption that pegasi steal things? Because… I am pegasus, and um… we don´t do that.”

A guard scoffed.

“You tell me. You´re the pegasus.”

Fluttershy was starting to lose her patience.

“And because I am a pegasus, I can assure you that we´re no thieves.”

“Yeah, right. Tell that to your ancestors. They used to steal all the time. And now, you´re doing that again!” the other guard said.

“That was many moons ago. Times have changed, and now we work for own resources. We don´t steal.”

The guards laughed.

“Do you believe her?”

“Of course I don´t. I don´t trust brutish thieves.”

“I. Am. Not. A. Brutish. THIEF!”

Fluttershy kicked both guards on the legs with all her strength. From the pain, they released her. She flew away as fast as she could. The guards chased her, limping somewhat.

“Come back here pegasus!”

Fluttershy saw a hiding spot in a dark corner. She bended inside the darkness, hugging the birdcage as tight as she could and hoping they wouldn´t see her. Luckily, they didn´t. They only passed by. Once they were away from sight, Fluttershy inclined slightly. She sighed in relief.

“What were they thinking? Arresting me just because I am a pegasus.” she said in indignation.

The birds shook their heads, also indignant by the guards´ actions. Fluttershy gasped.

“What if something similar happened to my friends? Ponies are very intolerant towards each other today. I must warn them.”

Fluttershy was getting ready to start flying but the birds started tweeting. They were reminding her about the guardians.

“Oh you´re right. I can´t fly around just like that after what happened. And I can´t walk just like that either. Oh… What am I to do?”

While she was thinking, she saw an old abandoned dark blue cloth and a rope. She raised her eyebrow and smirked.

“Hmm…”

“Come on, A.J. You can do this.” Applejack told herself.

She took the lasso with her mouth. She span it and threw it to the top of the wall, in hopes that it would get stuck in a battlement. She had made so many attempts, and all of them failed. But she wasn´t giving up. She knew that sooner or later, the lasso had to get stuck. And luckily, it did. Applejack gasped in contentment.

“Yeehaw! Big Mac! I finally did it. I finally did it! Didn´t I tell you I would make it?” she yelled out to her brother.

Big Mac´s expression went from seriousness to surprise. He nervously smiled at her sister. On the one hoof he was happy for his sister, but on the other hoof he was concerned about her safety. However, he knew that as much as he tried to convince her, Applejack wouldn´t change her mind. So, he stayed quiet.

Meanwhile, Applejack grabbed the rope tightly with her hoofs and began to climb. She went up slowly and carefully, step by step. The top was getting closer, and closer.

“Almost there.” Applejack muttered in determination.

But something interfered to reach her goal.

“A.J?” a feminine voice asked from bellow.

Applejack recognized that voice and gasped.

“It can´t be.”

She lowered her head and saw a yellow earth pony waving her hoof.

“A.J!” she exclaimed.

Applejack gasped, and from the excitement, she let go of the rope.

“Meghan!” she exclaimed cheerfully.

However, her happiness went away once she realized she wasn´t grabbing the rope.

“Uh oh.”

She yelled as she fell to the ground. Fortunately, Meghan caught her on time.

“Phew!” Applejack cleaned the sweat on her forehead. “Thank you, Meghan.”

“You´re welcome.” Meghan replied.

She caught Applejack´s hat and handled it to her.

“Didn´t know you were part of the royal guard.” Applejack said to her as she put her hat on.

Meghan blushed.

“After so many years, my dream came true.” she sighed melancholically. “I still remember playing as a knight when we were kids. My papa would be so proud.”

Meghan realized that she was getting lost on her memories and shook her head. She cleared her throat.

“Sorry about that. You know how I am. I remember something and I disconnect from the world. I almost forgot what I was going to tell you!”

“It´s ok, Meg. What did you have to tell me?”

“Why were you climbing the wall? You know that the gate´s always open.” Meghan said with a smile.

“Huh. Tell that to Mr pegasus.” Applejack pointed at the pegasus guard.

“What about him?”

“He doesn´t let me in because he thinks that the cider my family and I have been working so hard on, is poisoned.”

“Your cider. Poisoned.”

Applejack nodded. Meghan scoffed.

“That´s just stupid.”

“I know, right?”

“Why would he ever think that?”

“Because he thinks that earth ponies want the good food to themselves and that we´re trying to wipe out pegasi by poisoning them.”

“He told you that?”

“Yup.”

Meghan blinked and then frowned in indignation.

“Don´t worry. I know how to handle this. Come along.”

Meghan went to confront the guard, Applejack following behind.

“You!” Meghan took the guard by the beard. “Are you seriously not letting enter my friend just because she is an earth pony? Really?! Didn´t your mother teach you respect?!”

“An earth pony on the guard? How? Don´t they know how dangerous that is?”

“Exactly!” Meghan widened her eyes. “Well, actually no. Earth ponies aren´t dangerous. But I can be a dangerous one if you keep treating my friend like that! Understood?!” she pulled the pegasus´ beard harder.

The pegasus had no other choice than obey. He nodded. Once Meghan released his beard, he left the scene in a matter of seconds.

“Yeehaw! Well done, Meghan! That was impressive.”

Meghan blushed.

“Oh, it wasn´t that much…” she laughed nervously.

“Applejack, darling!” a voice exclaimed from the distance.

The two friends turned around and saw Rarity.

“Rarity? What are you doing here?” Applejack asked confused as she approached Rarity. “I thought you were busy doing Twilight´s dress.”

“I was. However, I had a little problem with the sewing machine and had to go to get new materials. But the shop owner.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “Oof, that mare! She didn´t let me enter because I was an unicorn.”

Applejack made a horse noise.

“What?”

“It happened to you too?”

“Don´t tell me the same happened to you.”

“Actually, yes. A pegasus guard thought that my cider was poisoned. Apparently, he thinks that earth ponies are trying to poison everypony to keep the food.”

“Oh my goodness! This is much worse than I imagined.”

“Wait. You know what happened?”

Their conversation was interrupted by Rainbow Dash, who landed between them.

“Girls! Did you see Fluttershy?”

“No. Sorry, sugarcube.” A.J answered.

“Why are you looking for Fluttershy, dear? Rarity asked concerned.

“She´s in danger! There are two earth ponies who want to cut any pegasus´ wing!”

“What?” Applejack and Rarity asked in chorus.

“I must find her immediately!” Rainbow lowered her eyelids. “I hope they haven´t reached her.”

In the meantime, Meghan watched the three friends chatting from the distance.

“So those are Applejack´s friends… They seem nice.” she said to herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a little bump.

“Oh dear….” a hooded pony muttered.

The hooded pony took some steps backwards.

“It´s ok.” Meghan reassured the pony. “Nopony is arrested for bumping into a guard. May I help you?” she said with a warm smile.

The hooded pony´s worried eyes became calm and full of relief.

“Wait. Let me get this staright.” Rainbow said. “Everypony´s hostile against everypony?”

“It seems so, yes.” Applejack confirmed.

“And I might have an answer for that.” Rarity claimed.

“Girls? I´m so sorry to interrupt but here´s-”

Rainbow and Rarity became defensive.

“What do you want?” Rainbow asked in an accusing tone. “Do you want to cut my wings?”

“Or are you going to expel us from Canterlot because we´re not earth ponies?” Rarity asked as she ignited her horn, ready to fire in case things went wrong.

“Girls, girls!” Applejack stood on their way. “She´s no foe! She´s Meghan, a friend of mine. She´s with us.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Rainbow apologized.

“Me too.” Rarity stopped glowing her horn.

“It´s ok.” said Meghan. “I would have acted like that if somepony had treated me like that. Anyways, as I was saying, here´s somepony who wants to talk to you.

“Oh girls, I´m so glad to see you!” the pony in cover said, while removing the cloth.

“Fluttershy! Oh, I´m so glad to see you´re ok.” Rainbow hugged Flutttershy. Fluttershy hugged in return.

“Why on earth are you wearing that?”

“Because…” Fluttershy sighed. “I kicked two unicorn guards.”

The four ponies were left astonished.

“Really? You? Of all ponies?” Rainbow asked. She couldn´t believe that Fluttershy did that.

“Oh… I didn´t want to do it, I swear. But they were calling me a brutish thief and they said that I stole Celestia´s birds. All of it because I was a pegasus.”

“Wow. The royal guard is sure behaving like real jerks today.” said Rainbow. “No offense, Meghan.”

“Don´t even apologize. I quite agree with all of you.” Meghan reassured Rainbow. “Fluttershy, now that you were talking about the birds, where are they?”

“Here.” Fluttershy removed the cloth to show that she had the birdcage tied around her back. “Are you ok?” she asked to the birds.

The birds nodded. Fluttershy smiled back at them.

“Rarity, you said that you knew why this is all happening. Care to tell us?” Applejack said.

“Why, yes of course. Apparently, the shop´s owner told me that an unicorn was responsible for spreading those nasty rumours about earth ponies. And based on what you told me, it´s not too far-fetched to say that this unicorn might have also spread rumours about pegasi as well.”

“And what about the unicorn´s rumours?” asked Rainbow.

Rarity stayed silent.

“I have no idea.”

“We´ll look for the responsible for the rumours about unicorns, later. We must do something about that unicorn! I´ll tell Princess Twilight about this.” Meghan stamped her hoof against the ground.

“Yeah!” everypony said.

“Girls! Now that you´re going, could you take the birdcage?” Fluttershy asked.

Meghan nodded, untied the rope, took the birdcage and the rope, and asked Applejack to tie the birdcage to her.

“You´re not coming?” Rarity asked.

“I´m going to warn Discord.”

“But why Discord? The only thing he´ll do is shake things up, like he always does.” Rainbow said.

Fluttershy frowned.

“Hey! He´s the one who told me to look for something strange, and these behaviours are quite strange, if you ask me. He´s not sure if he´s right, but I think he´s right about something bigger happening. Something bad, very bad. He needs our help to make sure his predictions are right.”

“I think it´s only his imagination.” Rainbow theorised. “Who knows? His mind is pretty chaotic.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Applejack agreed.

“Could be, yes.” Rarity also agreed.

“You don´t believe him, do you? Girls, when are you going to trust Discord? Maybe he´s a bit odd and sometimes has trouble understanding friendship, but he´s not a monster with bad intentions! He´s trying to improve. Each time I talk to him, he becomes more honest. Don´t you remember that the whole Spike incident began because of his honesty? I´m pretty sure if Pinkie was the one sensing something much bigger, you wouldn´t doubt it.”

“But Pinkie is not here.” stated Rainbow. “So there´s no need to worry about something bigger.”

Suddenly, Pinkie appeared out of nowhere.

“MY PINKIE SENSE IS TINGLING!”

“Oh no.” Rainbow flew towards Pinkie. The others also approached Pinkie. Fluttershy followed them behind after rolling her eyes.

“What is it Pinkie?” Rarity asked.

“Something´s wrong.”

“Well, yeah. We know that already. Ponies are being hostile against each other.” Rainbow said sarcastically.

“No no! Something much bigger.”

Fluttershy gave Rainbow an angry glance for doubting Discord. Rainbow laughed nervously.

“Ok. He was telling the truth.”

“Something bigger? Do you know what that is?” Applejack asked.

“Actually, I don´t know. And you know why? Because the audience won´t tell me.”

“The what now?” Meghan whispered in Applejack´s ear.

“It´s Pinkie Pie. Don´t try to understand her because it´s impossible.” Applejack whispered in return.

“It doesn´t matter why, Pinkie. We must tell Twilight. NOW!” Rarity said.

“You tell Twilight and I tell Discord. I´ll see you on the castle.” Fluttershy added as she took the cloth and covered herself.

The ponies nodded their heads and split to their destinies.

Chapter 3: Revenge is a dish served cold

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“Are you sure about this?” Starswirl asked Scorpan while putting his hoof at his hand.

Scorpan gave his friend a reassuring smile and took his hoof. He nodded.

“Yes, I am. It´s been thousands of years since the last time I saw him. He deserves some time of my company.”

Scorpan, with the company of the pillars, Stygian and Punja; was travelling to Tartarus to visit Tirek for the first time in years. The group of ancient Equestrian figures were expressing to Scorpan their opinions about his idea.

“No offense Scorpan, but your brother is a psychopath.” Flash Magnus flew to Scorpan´s shoulder level. “It will be just a glance and he will take our magic.”

“I´ve already told you that I´m entering alone.” Scorpan replied. “I didn´t want you to accompany me so you could talk to him. I just needed some emotional support and reassurance in the journey. You´ll stay outside while I´m with him.”

“But I do want to enter!” Punja, who was sitting on the gargoyle´s shoulders, complained.

Scorpan raised his eyebrows and frowned.

“No, no. You stay outside. Tartarus is not a place for a little zebra like you.”

Punja shrugged.

“What´s the worst thing that could be in there? Encaged monsters? I´m sure they´re not as frightening as your brother.”

Rockhoof laughed.

“Quite the brave one, isn´t she? Careful Flash. You´ve got some competence!” Rockhoof nudged the pegasus soldier, who simply rolled his eyes and smiled.

Scorpan sighed and massaged his temples.

“I should have let you at Zecora´s.”

“Hey!” Punja put her hooves on Scorpan. “We are a family. And as such, we are together in times of agony. This is a pretty stressful situation. With me by your side, you´ll go through this with much more affirmation.”

Scorpan smiled warmly at his daughter.

“In case you can´t defend yourself, I have some comebacks for your brother on the shelf.” she nudged her father.

Father and daughter hugged each other. Meadowbrook sighed nostalgically.

“Family is a beautiful thing, isn´t it?”

“Indeed.” replied Mistmane. “In my opinion, there´s no form of love purer than the bond of a family.”

“Wow. It must be pretty hard to have your brother in prison. Your relationship must be hard.” Stygian said.

Scorpan sighed.

“It is, my friend. It is. I hoped that he would have thought the option of redeeming, but after hearing what he did to Equestria, all my hope was gone. Still, I´ll tell him that I still love him. It´s the only thing I can do.”

“Maybe there´s a chance.” Somnambula said. “I might not know your brother personally, but as long as there´s hope, anything is possible.”

Their conversation stopped once they were standing in front of Tartarus´ gates.

“This is it.” Scorpan said.

“The big moment.” Starswirl continued.

The key of Tartarus was hanging from Scorpan´s neck. He held it and approached the door.

“If you need anything, you can call us.” Starswirl told Scorpan.

Scorpan nodded. He introduced the key and opened the gates. Before entering he took a deep breath.

“Let´s go.” he muttered.

Finally, he and Punja entered. The pillars held the door so they could get out.

“Be careful!” said Starswirl.

Scorpan and Punja took a glance around. The environment seemed very strange. There was no single monster in a cage. Tartarus was too empty.

“That´s weird.” Scorpan said to Punja. “Last time I was here, which was many years ago, this was full of monsters. Now… It´s practically empty! Maybe Celestia and Luna let them free…”

“What makes you say that?” asked Punja.

“The cages are closed. It´s impossible to escape from a locked cage. Which leads to my next question, where´s Cerberus?”

“Who´s Cerberus?”

“A three headed dog. He´s the guardian of Tartarus.”

Punja´s eyes brightened.

“A three headed dooog! With him I must have a dialogue.”

“There´s no time for that, Punja! We´re here for my brother, remember?”

Punja looked at her surroundings.

“You said that your brother was a centaur, didn´t you?”

“Yes, why?”

“Because I don´t see a centaur anywhere!” Punja yelled out.

Scorpan gasped.

“Oh no.”

He flew to his brother´s cage. Punja held tight to him. When he arrived, he only saw two empty cages. The two of them bit their lips.

“No, no, NOO! This is not good! This can´t be good!” exclaimed Scorpan while putting his hands on his temples. “This is bad, like really bad!”

Scorpan´s breath accelerated. Punja tried to calm her father down.

“Daddy, daddy! We need you calm to defeat this baddie. You can´t warn anypony if you keep on hyperventilating.”

“What if he reached Canterlot? Ow… How many ponies have been victims of his actions?” Scorpan kept wondering.

Seeing that Scorpan didn´t take action, Punja decided to go and warn the pillars.

“I´ll go myself instead. I hope you don´t lose your head.”

Punja jumped from Scorpan´s shoulder and ran to the entrance.

“GUUYS! GUUYS!”

The pillars turned around.

“There´s no centaur!”

“WHAT?!” Starswirl asked.

“He´s not in the cage. No monster is in a cage!”

The rest of the pillars started murmurating. Rockhood widened his eyes.

“Wait a minute. There was also an encaged filly next to Tirek. Did you see her?” he asked.

Punja facehoofed.

“What part of no monster don´t you understand?”

“You´re right. I just said it because she was no monster, literally speaking. Although, metaphorically speaking she´s a monster…”

“Quit the chatting, Rockhoof!” exclaimed Flash Magnus. “Tirek could be anywhere. We must warn the princesses!”

“Right away!” exclaimed Stygian while elevating his hoof to his forehead. He took out a fountain pen and a paper. However, something prevented him from doing so. The earth started shaking. It couldn´t be an earthquake, for the earth shakes weren´t continuous. Some seconds passed until the earth shook again. Each time, they were stronger.

“Wha- What is it?” asked Punja, who was entering in a state of panic.

None of the adults she was with dared to answer. Fear had paralyzed them.

“What´s happening?!” she asked again, desperate for an answer.

“He´s coming!” Scorpan exclaimed, as he got out of Tartarus. He quickly grabbed Punja and put her in somewhere safe.

“Go and warn the princesses.”

“What?”

“Do as I say.”

“We made a promise to stay together.”

“Come on, Punja. You can´t stand a chance against him. He´s too big and powerful! Besides, everypony needs to know this immediately. If not by you, by whom then?”

“But I don´t know how to go to Canterlot.”

“Then go with Zecora. She´ll know what to do. Please, Punja.”

Punja took some time to answer.

“Ok.”

But just when Punja was about to leave, the earth started shaking more violently, making rocks and trees fall. One of those rocks fell on Scorpan´s tail.

“OW!”

Punja gasped.

“Dad!”

The little zebra didn´t doubt to try to move out the rock, despite its enormous size. Scorpan tried to lend a hand.

Meanwhile, the pillars and Stygian held on to the ground.

“Spread out, my friends!” Starswirl ordered the pillars and Stygian.

They nodded and prepared for battle. They saw how Tirek approached to them with a malicious smirk in his face. Despite being scared, they held their heads high, speacially Starswirl.

“Well, well. If it isn´t the pillars of Equestria back from Limbo!” Tirek chuckled. “We meet again Starswirl.” Tirek bent to talk to Stasrwirl face to face. “Are you still turning loved ones against each other?”

Starswirl maintained his posture despite Tirek´s teasing.

“And I finally get to know your friends.” he said while taking a quick glance of the pillars. “Also heard of them as well. Well, except for that one.” he pointed at Stygian, in whom he noticed a stronger impression than the rest. “Are you his little pupil? Well, don’t expect anything good from him. He´ll turn everypony against you.”

“He already has.” Stygian answered, his voice shaking a little and yet one could notice braveness as well. “But he´s not like that anymore. He has changed, and so can you. You don´t have to-”

Tirek grabbed Stygian. He tried to zap at his hand but his magic didn´t have an effect on Tirek, who laughed viciously at his fail.

“So you´re trying to give me friendship lessons, huh? Well, allow me to teach you what happens when a little pathetic pony like you tries to oppose me!”

Tirek opened his mouth, ready to absorb Stygian´s magic. Just when Tirek´s horn started to glow, Starswirl quickly zapped at Tirek´s face. This time Tirek noticed a slight pain on his body but it wasn´t unbearable. Nonetheless, it was enough to let Stygian go. Tirek fought against Starswirl. The centaur growled in frustration. Despite being so old, Starswirl was still powerful. But it didn´t take Tirek much time to better the wizard. Luckily, the other pillars helped him. Mistmane created a water dragon to distract him, Flash Magnus and Somnambula kicked him in their flight just like Meadowbrook did by jumping from the ground, and Rockhoof hit him with his shovel. Stygian also helped by zapping at the centaur with his rays of magic. Despite all their efforts, Tirek was still the stronger creature. None of their attacks damaged him deeply, and he was able to throw all of them against the ground. He laughed as he saw his enemies in great distress.

“This was as easy as pie. But I´ll recognize that you put up a good fight. Which makes a meal more satisfying.”

And just when he was about to absorb the pillars´ and Stygian´s magic, someone intervened.

“TIREEEK!”

Tirek gasped. He recognized that voice immediately. His blood boiled in fury. He clenched his fist.

“You…”

He turned around and after so many years, he saw his brother again. There he was, flying in a steady and kingly posture, like their father used to say, despite having his tail broken.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

“I´m here to talk to you. I won´t fight you, no matter how much you try to aggravate me.”

Tirek scoffed.

“After what you did to me all those years ago, you think that you have the right to talk to me?!”

“Tirek. You´re my brother! Brothers tell everything to each other.”

“NO! Brothers always stand up for each other, no matter how bad the situation is. You didn´t do that for me when I needed you the most! You have no right to call me brother nor you deserve to be called one!”

For the first time in many years, Tirek was showing some vulnerability. His eyes were somewhat watery. Scorpan´s eyes were watery as well.

“Brother…”

“Do NOT call me that!”

Tirek threw a ray of magic against Scorpan. The gargoyle shoved it.

“Tirek, please listen to me!”

The centaur was too blinded by his anger to stop and listen. He kept on firing rays at Scorpan. Tirek noticed that the three unicorns tried to zap at him, despite being in pain and having few strengths. He took them with his magic and threw them against a tree.

“YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!” he told them.

Scorpan gasped.

“Guys!”

He flew to aid them. However, Tirek blocked his way and kept on trying to hit him. And yet, Scorpan made no move against his brother.

“You don´t have to do this!”

Scorpan shoved a ray that hit a tree.

“I get your frustration.”

“NO, YOU DON´T!”

“Maybe I don´t. But believe me.”

Scorpan shoved another strike.

“No matter what happened in the past, I´m still proud to say…”

Another avoided strike.

“I love-”

Scorpan didn´t have time to finish his sentence. Tirek had finally hit him. The garygoyle cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. The pillars and Stygian gasped in shock.

“Scorpan!” exclaimed Staswirl.

He was going to check on him but Tirek took him and his comrades before he could. They felt how the magic slipped away from their bodies. Once he was finished, he threw them to the ground. The centaur panted heavily. His fight with his brother left him drained of energy, despite having absorbed magic from powerful ponies. He saw a key holding in his brother´s neck: it was the key of the gates of Tartarus, which gave him an idea.

“I see that your love for wearing things in the neck hasn´t changed.” he said bitterly.

In the meantime, Punja was hidden in bushes. Even though her father told her to warn Zecora, she couldn´t leave him without making sure if he was ok. Unfortunately, he wasn´t. He had been knocked out by his own brother. She wasn´t sure if her father was alive, and the thing was that she couldn´t check his pulse. Tirek had locked her friends and her father in Tartarus. She felt lots of guilt. She didn´t listen to her father´s last order. That´s the only thing she could do. Instead she did nothing. She cried silently. Despite being soft, her sobs were deep and sorrowful.

“I´m so sorry. I should have done what you told me, but I was blinded by my worry.” she whispered.

She would have been crying for ages. Nonetheless, Punja knew that she had to go on. She still had the chance to fulfil her father´s last wish. She breathed in and out slowly, and once Tirek had left the place, she ran away to Zecora´s.

In the changeling kingdom, Thorax and his brother Pharynx were getting prepared for Twilight´s coronation.

“Which one do you think it fits best? Purple or red?” asked Thorax as he showed his brother the two bowties.

Pharynx observed the two bowties in detail.

“Hmm… I might not be an expert in fashion, but judging by our features, I think purple fits you best.”

“You´re saying that because you want the red bowtie, do you?”

“Yup.” Pharynx admitted a little embarrassed.

Thorax laughed.

“I asked because I like the two, but I don´t mind wearing purple.” he explained as the two changelings put on their bowties. “Although, you´re right. Purple fits me the best.”

He put his leg around Pharynx, which surprised him at first, but eventually he returned the hug and snuggled his brother.

“Let´s check how Twilight´s present is going, shall we?” Thorax suggested to his brother.

Pharynx nodded. The two brothers went to the castle´s courtyard. They saw various changelings working together on a sculpture. All of them were so focused that they didn´t notice their leader coming in. That was until a female changeling bumped against Thorax.

“Oh, Thorax!” the changeling entered in panic. “I´m so sorry, but the statue isn´t finished yet. We still need to work in the details.”

“It´s ok. You have until the evening and it´s still morning.” Thorax said to calm the changeling. “However, I want to see the advances.”

The changeling doubted. But she didn´t want to oppose their beloved ruler.

“Ow… Ok.”

She led them towards the statue, ordering the rest of the changelings to make way. When they cleared their way, the statue could be appreciated better. Thorax and Pharynx observed the statue in detail. It was a sculpture of princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Well… What do you think?”

“It´s… Gorgeous.” Thorax said in amazement.

The statue had her wings open, showing their loftiness. She had an expression of calm and wisdom, with closed eyes. But what Thorax liked the most was the originality. Normally, stone statues aren´t painted. But the changelings defied those rules, resulting in a very beautiful statue.

“Do you like it?” the changeling asked hopeful.

“Yes! It´s perfect! Princess Twilight is going to love it.”

“Oh… But it´s still not finished. And there´s lots of finishing touches…”

“I can help you with that!” Pharynx offered himself in an unusual cheerful manner.

He quickly covered his mouth. Thorax widened his eyes. Then, he smirked at his brother.

“Didn´t know you liked arts, Pharynx…” he teased.

Pharynx blushed and cleared his throat.

“No, I don´t! It´s just I´m good at perfecting little details, which could help to make the job faster.”

“Uh huh. Sure.”

Pharynx ignored his brother´s taunts and joined the rest of the changelings. Thorax stayed with the female changeling.

“You did an amazing job! Now I can see where Ocellus got her creativity from.” he nudged the changeling.

Ocellus´ mother was flattered.

“Oh, but it wasn´t just me. I had some help from the art club to paint the statue. The theatre club provided me an excellent model. The process was tiresome, so the cooking club provided me food and water. The swing club provided me music while working to make the job livelier. And lastly, my husband helped me with the children. In summary, each changeling has helped in their own way.”

“I´m so glad that the spirit of teamwork is so present in our kingdom.” Thorax commented.

Despite the good environment, the poor changelings didn´t know that a danger was approaching to them. The changeling guards saw a giant mole approaching. They didn´t doubt to attack. But their efforts were in vain. The menace had managed to defeat all of them. Their screams and magical rays alerted the rest of the changelings that something wasn´t right.

“What the.” Pharynx asked aloud.

Then, the mole jumped in front of all the changelings. The mole surrounded itself by green magic. It was then when the changelings knew who had come here. Fear consumed them when they saw that the mole was actually their feared ex- queen, Chrysalis.

“Chrysalis?” asked Thorax.

“Good morning, my dear subjects.”

Pharynx and the bravest changelings flew and landed in front of Chrysalis to protect Thorax. They ignited their horns ready to attack. Chrysalis stopped walking, somewhat surprised by the opposition she was met with.

“Is this the proper way to receive your queen?” she asked aggressively.

“You´re not our queen.” Pharynx said.

“Yeah! Thorax is our ruler!” a changeling said. “Not you!”

“Go away!” another changeling yelled.

Chrysalis had prepared for everything in her reconquest, but there was something she didn´t count on: her emotions. Losing her hive was the most humiliating and awful experience in her life. Her own kind had turned against her and she was forced to roam around alone for three years. Although she only saw the changelings as subjects to control, she did miss being with her kind. After so much time alone, she thought that she wouldn´t feel sadness when she confronted them again. But she was wrong. Their hostile attitude was kicking her as hard as the first time.

Thorax noticed Chrysalis´ emotions. That´s when he knew he had to talk.

“Chrysalis. Is taking back your kingdom all what you really want?” he flew toward her.

“ISN´T THAT OBVIOUS?!”

“Yes, it is. But I want to show you more options. If you had joined us since the beginning, you would have saved all the loneliness you must have felt. I know that deep down, you just want to be with us. And we welcome you! But in order to do that you have to change your ways. Otherwise, we´ll have no choice but to send you away again.”

With her magic, Chrysalis took Thorax by the neck and pulled him closer to her.

“Are you hearing yourself?! I´m not looking for your company! I´m looking for your obedience and servitude. I am your queen! That Starlight brainwashed all of you! SHE´S THE REASON WHY I LOST EVERYTHING!” Chrysalis panted in exhaustion, letting Thorax go.

Thorax coughed. The changelings went to comfort him.

“Are you alright bro?” Pharynx asked.

“Yes…” he whispered while breathing heavily.

All of them waited for Chrysalis´ response. Finally, Chrysalis elevated her head.

“But things can come back to what they used to be before.”

It was then when she took out an artefact they had never seen before. It was an old, rusty bell that shone.

“What is it?” asked Thorax.

“This?” Chrysalis chuckled. “This is my victory.”

Chrysalis fired at the bell. The bell rang and threw a yellow and black ray of magic that hit Ocellus´ mother. After being shot, she was not colourful anymore. She turned black and had blue eyes, just like all changelings were before. And just like before, the poor changeling was full of hunger.

Thorax looked in horror as Chrysalis laughed at him.

“This one is for robbing my place.” she said full of anger.

And this time, after Chrysalis hit it with her magic and rang, the bell fired against Thorax.

“Come on, students! I know you´ve been working for a long time, but this is the final sprint. You´re almost there!” Starlight cheered the students of the school of friendship.

As soon as Twilight´s coronation was announced, every student at the school of friendship wanted to do something special for their beloved princess. So, they suggested the idea of making murals. Starlight, Sunburst and Trixie agreed. They began working for the coronation´s murals many weeks prior. When the big day had just arrived, there was nervousness, excitement and exhaustion around all the school.

There were lots of groups working on murals. Naturally, one of those groups was formed by the young six. Their mural consisted on a picture of the tree of harmony and the bearers of all its elements, with Twilight standing out.

“Are you sure the tree was this colour?” Gallus asked Ocellus.

Ocellus sighed frustrated.

“Once again, the tree was crystal blue. With some shades of pink.”

“And yellow windows!” Silverstream added while holding a yellow marker pink.

“Don´t forget the window´s blue details!” Smolder added as she joined her hippogriff friend. She uncovered the marker pen and started to paint.

While the four friends were painting the tree, Yona and Sandbar painted Twilight and her friends.

“Sandbar. Princess Twilight´s purple streak here or here?” Yona pointed at the right and the left.

“At the right.” Sandbar replied.

“Ok.”

Yona and Sandbar went on painting.

“Rarity´s mane this purple or this purple?” Yona compared the two shades of purple they had while showing them to Sandbar.

“The darker one.”

“Thanks.”

Once again, they focused on their own parts.

“And Applejack´s?” Yona picked various shades of yellow.

Sandbar laughed.

“You really want to nail this mural, don´t you?”

Yona nodded.

“Yona wants this mural perfect. But.” Yona sighed sadly. “Yona´s memory not good.”

“It´s ok if you don´t get the colours perfect. If they´re close to the real colours, it´s enough.”

Yona smiled relieved at her friend.

“Hi guys! Do you need any help?” Apple Bloom asked as she, along with Scootaloo and Swetie Belle, approached them.

“Hey! Nice to see you.” Sandbar replied. What are you three doing here?”

“We´re helping to finish the murals.” Sweetie Belle answered.

“And if there´s a picture with Rainbow Dash, I´m here to make sure she´s portrayed right.” Scootaloo added. “Is she in your picture?”

Sandbar nodded. He pointed at Rainbow in the picture. Scootaloo examined it carefully.

“Hmm, let´s see…. Coat colour? Perfect. Her mane´s colours order? Also perfect. Awesome pose with her wings standing out? Check. Ok! It´s an awesome representation.”

“Now that you´re here to help, you could lend us a hoof on this.” Smolder suggested the CMC. “We still haven´t finished the tree.”

“With pleasure!” Apple Bloom stated.

“Oh oh! You´re doing the tree? I have some tips to make it look more crystal-like.” Sweetie Belle said excitedly.

Gallus rolled his eyes carefully.

“Whatever.” he answered with a smile.

Sweetie Belle jumped in joy. The three fillies took some marker pens and helped with the picture.

Meanwhile, Starlight was supervising all the groups, with the help of Trixie and Sunburst.

“Wow. Everypony´s doing a great job!”

Starlight smiled in pride.

“I know, right?”

“But they wouldn´t be this perfect if it wasn´t for the headmare.” Trixie added with a smirk, making Starlight blush.

“Oh, you.” Starlight nudged Trixie.

“Now we´re talking about these crafts, do you have a special present for Twilight?” Sunburst asked.

Starlight chuckled.

“Come to my office.”

Starlight explained her present to her friends.

“This is my and Spike´s present. He had this awesome idea of collecting her memories in a special book. And I was the one who asked all her friends which were their best moments together.” She showed the book to both Trixie and Sunburst.

“Wow..” Sunburst looked at the book with admiration.

“Oooh! I can´t wait to open it.”

Trixie tried to reach the book with her hoof, but Starlight hit her hoof before she did.

“Ouch!” Trixie shook her hoof. “What was that for?”

“It´s a surprise. I want all of us to watch it together.”

Trixie growled. Sunburst held on his laughter.

“All it needs is some wrapping and that´s it.” Starlight said while taking some gift wrap.

Suddenly, they heard a loud noise.

“Did you hear that?” Trixie asked a bit concerned.

“Yes.” Sunburst replied in a similar tone.

“Well, I´m sure it´s nothing bad.” Starlight said a bit nervous.

“HEADMARE STARLIGHT!” a student yelled out loud while opening the door.

Starlight dropped the gift wrap while giving out a yelp.

“What´s wrong?”

“It´s Cozy Glow, ma´am. She´s back!”

Starlight and Sunburst gasped in unison.

“WHAT?” Starlight asked in shock.

“Who?” asked Trixie, indifferent to the situation.

Without thinking it twice, Starlight teleported her friends and herself to the main hall. In there, some students were hugging each other, others were in a position ready to attack. Sandbar was the only one who was confronting Cozy directly, as she was holding his friends and the CMC with her magic.

“Headmare Starlight!” Silverstream exclaimed. “Oh, we´re so glad to see you here.”

“She wants to see you.” Ocellus informed to Starlight.

“The headmare is here.” Sandbar told Cozy. “Now, do your part and free my friends.”

Cozy thought to herself for a moment.

“Hmm… No. In fact, you´ll join them.”

She grabbed Sandbar with her magic and put him next to his friends. She laughed at him as Sandbar and his friends frowned at her.

“Cozy Glow! What are you doing here?” Starlight asked defensively. She gasped. “And how in Equestria did you become an alicorn?”

“Another alicorn, seriously?” Trixie said to Sunburst. She growled. “Why is everypony so obsessed with alicorns?!”

“SHUT UP YOU!” Cozy flew to Trixie. Then, she came back to Starlight. “As for you, I´m glad you asked. A magical artefact did this. But that´s not important right now.”

“What do you want?”

“I want the School of Frienship! And Twilight´s castle too.”

“What makes you think that we´re going to give it to you so easily?” Trixie asked back.

Cozy smirked. She threw a ray of magic towards a student, hurting him deeply and leaving him unconcious. Every creature in the room gasped in shock. Some students ran to check on him.

“If you don´t want more injured students, I suggest that you obey me right now.” Cozy threatened.

“You´re a monster!” Smolder exclaimed.

“Who in their sane mind does that?!” Gallus added.

Cozy laughed sweetly.

“Why, me of course.”

“What do we do, Starlight?” Sunburst desperately asked Starlight.

Starlight looked around her room. Every creature was begging her with their eyes to do something. Even though she was nervous, she was able to come up with a plan quickly.

“Ok. You may take the school and the castle.”

Every creature gasped.

“Thank you so much Starlight.” Cozy said teasingly, a smile of victory drawn in her face.

But the smile erased form her face when Starlight zapped her.

“Hey!”

“As long as you win a duel.”

Cozy smiled.

“Easy peasy.”

“Against the three of us.”

Cozy, Sunburst and Trixie widened their eyes.

“Wait a minute, that´s not fair! It´s three against one.”

“But you´re an alicorn.” Apple Bloom replicated.

“You´re pretty much at advantage, if you ask me.” Scootaloo added.

“Exactly.” Sweetie Belle agreed.

Cozy sighed frustrated.

“Ok, fine.”

She let go the young six and the cutie mark crusaders.

“I can´t believe I´m doing this.” Sunburst mumbled nervously. His ears dropped.

“If this doesn´t work, I don´t know what I´m going to do with you.” Trixie whispered angrily in Starlight´s ear.

Starlight rolled her eyes and prepared for battle.

“On the count to three.” she ordered. Sunburst and Trixie prepared as well. “One.”

“Two.” Sunburst counted.

“THREE!” Cozy ended the count before launching an attack against the three unicorns.

Starlight, Trixie and Sunburst ignited their horns and conjured up a ray of magic to protect themselves from Cozy´s. None of the rays advanced. The four of them struggled to keep them going. The two rays were equally strong. But luckily, the three unicorns´ ray was the one that made it way towards Cozy.

“Aah!” Cozy yelled as she fell to the ground.

The students cheered them once Cozy was in the ground.

“Mean pony loses!” Yona exclaimed. She raspberried at Cozy.

Starlight walked towards her, Trixie and Sunburst following behind.

“Now, go away.”

Cozy didn´t know what to do. She couldn´t have failed, she just couldn´t have. What was she going to tell Chrysalis and Tirek? Those three fools were more powerful than her. And she was an alicorn! What were they going to do to her? Were they going to leave her behind? She considered them her best friends, or perhaps even more. She didn´t want to lose them. Her running thoughts prevented her from acting.

“Didn´t you hear her?” Trixie asked. “Go away!” she demanded as she ignited her horn.

Cozy snapped out of her thoughts. She frowned.

“What are you going to do if I don´t leave, huh?”

“If you don´t leave by choice, we´ll make leave you by force.”

Sunburst and Trixie widened his eyes.

“Starlight…” Sunburst whispered.

Cozy smirked.

“You wouldn´t do that.” Cozy said after scoffing. “I´m just a child. What would Equestria think of you after attacking a child?” Cozy shrugged and smirked. “Maybe you haven´t changed your extreme methods after all.”

Those words hit Starlight strongly, which resulted in Starlight´s mind taken over by anger. She started firing at Cozy with no control. Cozy created force camps and shoved all her strikes. Accidentally, Starlight hit the walls. The students covered their heads to protect themselves and screamed in fear.

“Deep down, you´re still the Starlight who wished to control everypony. No matter the cost.” Cozy kept saying.

“She´s out of control.” Trixie said to Sunburst.

“We have to stop her.”

Trixie nodded in agreement. Sunburst teleported himself in front of Starlight.

“Starlight stop! She´s manipulating you!”

Starlight didn´t listen to him. She was still blinded by rage.

“Starlight. Starlight!”

No response. He ran around her to make himself listened.

“Starlight!”

Sadly, Starlight stopped when instead of hitting Cozy, she hit Sunburst. Her eyes filled with horror and sadness.

“SUNBURST!”

She picked him with her hooves. He was unconscious.

“Please, no, no. What have I done?” she asked to herself in tears.

Cozy laughed maniacally.

“Now, nothing can stop me!”

Trixie grabbed with her magic.

“Oh no. You´re not getting away with this. No sir.”

Cozy struggled to scape, but Trixie´s magic was stronger.

“Help!” she yelled.

And just at that moment, out of nowhere, Chrysalis showed up at the doors. Every creature gasped. Trixie´s jaw dropped, releasing Cozy in the process.

“Chrissy!” Cozy exclaimed while hugging Chrysalis. “I´m really really glad to see you!”

Chrysalis took Cozy with her magic.

“DON´T CALL ME THAT!” Chrysalis yelled at Cozy´s face.

“Geeze. What kind of welcoming is that?” Cozy asked annoyed. “After all I did for you. You took longer than expected. I did everything I could to make time for you to arrive. I almost died! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?!”

“What did you expect?” Chrysalis replied back. “The changeling kingdom and the dragonlands weren´t that easy to conquer, you know?”

Ocellus gasped.

“The changeling kingdom? What have you done to my family?” she asked worried.

Chrysalis chuckled as she walked towards Ocellus.

“Nothing, my dear. Nothing will happen to them. As long as they obey my orders. And they will.” she explained as she held Ocellus´ chin.

“Get your filthy hooves off her!” Smolder demanded as she slapped Chrysalis´ hooves. “You also mentioned the dragonlands. What did you do to the dragons?!”

“The same thing I did to the changelings.”

Smolder growled.

Chrysalis walked away and approached Starlight. She grabbed her by the mane. Starlight yelped.

“Well, well, it seems I got you in a weak moment.” she chuckled menacingly. “A perfect time for revenge.” she looked back at Cozy. “Good job, child.”

Cozy smiled sweetly.

“It was nothing.”

Chrysalis opened her mouth and drained all the love she could from Starlight, who yelled in pain. Everypony watched in horror. Those who tried to help her, were held by Cozy. Once she was finished draining Starlight´s love, she cocooned her while laughing maniacally.

“Now, who´s next?”

Cozy started firing at students and Chrysalis drained their love. The hall filled with panic and students ran away. Trixie tried to make time for the students to put themselves safe.

“Every creature. To your chambers. Now! I´ll deal with this.” She ordered while fighting against Cozy and Chrysalis.

The students nodded and ran to their rooms. Unfortunately, some students didn´t make it. They ended up injured and cocooned. The cutie mark crusaders were one of those lucky students who arrived into the bedrooms´ corridor. They looked for the young six.

“Psst! Here.” Silverstream indicated them from a room.

The three fillies entered the room.

“What do we do? What do we do?” Sweetie Belle hyperventilated. Smolder lent her a paper bag.

“Two of the biggest enemies of Equestria in a team?” Gallus asked in shock. “What is going on?”

“What´s worse, there could be another villain in that team.” Ocellus suggested.

Sandbar gasped.

“You´re talking about Tirek, right?”

Ocellus nodded.

“Oh my. What if the Storm King is back too?” Silverstream panicked.

“That guy is completely dead, remember?” Smolder told her hippogriff friend. “Besides, if he was back, the sky would be grey, and there would be thunders and storms everywhere.”

Yona looked on the window and bit he

“Um… Maybe not storm and thunder, but snow yes?” she said.

The eight friends widened their eyes and looked at the window. Yona was right, it was snowing. The sky was full of grey clouds.

“Snow?” Scootaloo asked estranged.

“Why on earth it would be snowing in summer?” Apple Bloom asked to every creature.

Suddenly, Yona jumped scared while screaming and hid under the bed.

“What´s wrong Yona?” Sandbar asked.

“Yona saw a ghost!”

“A ghost?”

Sweetie Belle looked closer at the window.

“I´m afraid that´s no ghost. That´s a windigo!”

“WHAT?!” every creature asked in unison except Gallus and Smolder.

“A what now?” Smolder asked.

“I have no idea of what that is, but from their faces I can tell that it´s something bad.” Gallus stated to Smolder.

“A windigo, guys! Don´t you remember when we studied the story of Hearth´s Warming Eve?” Ocellus asked.

Smolder and Gallus looked at each other confused. Sandbar put his hoof on his forehead.

“Let me guess, you didn´t study for that, did you?”

The dragon and griffon smiled sheepishly. Ocellus sighed.

“The windigo is a creature that appeared before Equestria was founded. It was fuelled by the tribes´ hatred against each other. If the tribes hadn´t made amendments, Equestria would be covered by snow by now. These spirits freeze everything.”

“But if there are windigos.” Apple Bloom gasped. “That must mean that pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies are in conflict! How did that happen?”

“Maybe those two have something to do with this!” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“From the looks of it, I wouldn´t be surprised.” Sandbar agreed.

“But windigos defeated by love of three ponies.” Yona said. “Professors confronted too?”

“I don´t think so. Besides, the cutie mark crusaders are formed by members of the three tribes.” Apple Bloom refuted. “And we´re not against each other.”

“Then why is it still snowing?” Smolder asked frustrated.

“And what´s weirder, the tree didn´t warn us about this…” Sandbar thought to himself.

“You think there´s something wrong wit the tree?” Gallus tried to understand his friend.

Sandbar gulped. He nodded. Gallus put his claw on his temple.

“That´s definitely not good.”

“Um… guys.” Silverstream said from the door. “I don´t mean to interrupt, but they´re near.”

Gallus looked through the door.

“Great! What was left.” he said sarcastically and frustrated.

“Yona says to inform Twilight!”

“But how? None of us can go out without being noticed.” Sweetie Belle complained.

Smolder looked at Ocellus. Which gave her an idea.

“Actually, one of us could.”

Every creature looked at Ocellus. When the changeling realized what was in Smolder´s mind, she panicked slightly.

“Oh no.”

“Please, Ocellus.” Sandbar begged.

“You´re the only one who can go unnoticed!” Gallus added.

“You want me to go all alone? To Canterlot? I don´t even know how to go there!”

“But you know where the train station is, right?” Scootaloo asked.

Ocellus nodded.

“Well, something that helps me when I´m lost, is to follow the train rails to see where it leads me. Canterlot is in the north, so all you have to do is to follow the train rails to the north.”

“I.” Ocellus sighed. “I don´t know.”

“Come on, Ocellus. We trust you.” Smolder told her.

All her friends smiled at her. Despite the fact that she was still unsure of the idea, she proceeded. She transformed into a sparrow.

“Yona trusts Ocellus.” The yak told Ocellus.

The changeling, in the form of a sparrow, flew to the window.

“They´re coming!” Silverstream warned them.

Sandbar opened the window quickly.

“Go go go!”

Ocellus got out.

“What about you?” she asked from the outside.

“Just go! Don´t worry about us.” Apple Bloom told her.

“We´ll meet again, I promise.” Smolder put her claw on her chest, to emphasize that she was saying this from her heart.

Ocellus smiled and left her friends. Sandbar closed the window quickly before Chrysalis and Cozy opened the room´s door.

Meanwhile, Zecora was comforting Punja while making their way to Canterlot. They were following the train rails, heading to the north. A snowdrop fell on Zecora´s nose.

“It´s a good thing we brought a coat, otherwise we would be cold.” she said while looking at her cape.

Punja´s ears perked up. She was too focused on her grief to notice the snowdrops around her.

“It´s snowing!” she exclaimed surprise. “Snow comes in winter, not in summer.” she looked around her. “From what I´ve seen, I can deduce that the evil and heartless centaur has something to do with this.”

“It could be. Those villains are capable of doing everything.”

Their conversation was interrupted when a sparrow crashed against Punja´s cheek. The sparrow felt to the ground. Zecora gasped.

“Are you ok?” she asked Punja.

The little zebra spitted some feathers.

“I´m ok. I´m ok.” she repeated.

Punja looked down to see the sparrow.

“Oh, you poor little thing, let me see if you don´t have a broken wi-”

Punja yelled when she saw the sparrow transforming into something weird. She hid behind Zecora.

“What is that bug?” she asked Zecora. “Is she working for the centaur? Cause if she is.” Punja smacked her hoofs. “She´s one less creature to care for.”

“Do not sting, little bee.” Zecora put her leg in front of Punja. “The creature standing here is a changeling.”

“Is she good?”

“Yes, I am. Don´t be afraid.” Ocellus reassured Punja. “We used to have an evil queen but now we have a good and wise ruler who helped us to change for the better.”

Ocellus´ warm smile calmed Punja.

“You´re heading to Canterlot?” Ocellus asked.

“Yes. Explaining the reason why causes me stress.” Punja answered in a sad tone.

“From what I can see, Canterlot is also your destiny.” Zecora said.

“Yeah, you´ll see. A-”

“Ocellus!” a voice called from the distance.

Ocellus felt relief when she heard that voice. She saw a toucan flying to them.

“Thorax! Oh, I´m so glad to see you´re ok…”

Ocellus´ tone of joy dropped when she saw the toucan transform into the old form of changelings.

“From what I perceive in the mood, I don´t think that´s good.” Punja whispered in Zecora´s ear.

“Oh my, did Chrysalis do this to you?” asked a very worried Ocellus.

“How did you know?”

“She´s attacked the school too. Along Cozy Glow. They´re in a team.”

“About the members, could there be more? You know, like a centaur?” Punja asked.

“Is the centaur´s name Tirek?”

Punja nodded.

“Then, yes. We believe he´s also in this.”

“We´ll explain everything in the journey. To Canterlot we need to hurry.” Zecora said.

“You´re right.” Thorax transformed into a roc. “I´ll take you in my claws. It will be the fastest way.”

Ocellus, Punja and Zecora sat inside the roc´s claws.

“I don´t have good memories with this kind of bird, but I just need to remind myself that my fears are absurd.” Zecora told Ocellus and Punja.

Thorax spread out his wings and flew his way to Canterlot.

Chapter 4: The game begins

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Fluttershy roamed around Canterlot in cover. She was trying to find the place where she and Discord agreed to meet. She was so stressed because she knew those guards from before could be anywhere, even if she didn´t see them. Luckily, there were big crowds in which she could hide in. As she was focused on her mission, she didn´t notice the snowdrops falling, until one fell on her nose. She sneezed and looked at the sky.

“Is that snow?” she asked aloud. “Oh, that is not a good sign.” she said very worried. “I have to get there as soon as possible!”

She started running as fast as she could. She bumped against many ponies, and they protested, but she didn´t care. Finally, after some time running, she saw the meeting spot. She smiled in relief.

“Finally!”

However, her happiness wouldn´t last, for there was an important element lacking in the picture: Discord himself.

“Where is he?” she asked softly to herself while searching for him around. “I´m pretty sure we said to meet here.”

All of the sudden, a realization came to her, making her gasp.

“Oh my, what if he was taken by somepony? If they are not receptive towards different pony species, they will be far less receptive of a spirit of chaos!”

Her worrying made her hyperventilate a little, but she noticed her fast-paced breath quickly.

“No, no. Calm down, Fluttershy. Evertything will be ok. You just have to breath and go warn Twilight.”

“You wouldn´t mind if we come with you, would you?” a familiar voice said behind.

Fluttershy looked up and saw a giant bird standing in front of her. She jumped back scared and yelped.

“It´s ok! It´s ok!” Zecora yelled from the bird´s claws.

The bird opened its claws so that Zecora, Punja and Ocellus could get out. Fluttershy sighed in relief.

“It´s you girls.” Fluttershy approached them. She took a quick glance of the bird. “With a new friend.”

“Actually, it´s me, Thorax.” the bird said. Thorax changed into a crystal pony.

“Oh, you know you don´t have to be in your pony cover around us. But… maybe it´s safer to do so right now…” she approached the group after making sure nopony was watching “Ponies cannot stand the different today.”

“Actually it´s not because of that. I´ll explain it to you but not right now.” Thorax said.

“So something´s happening here too.” Punja said to Zecora. She took snowdrops with her hoof. “And there´s snow. Just as I knew.”

“Why are you covered?” Ocellus asked while raising an eyebrow.

Fluttershy blushed.

“It´s a long story.” she explained with a nervous smile. “And I think you also have a long story to tell Twilight, right?”

“Indeed.” Zecora replied. “And we should go to the castle with tremendous speed.”

“Oh, but I´m afraid it won´t be that easy.” Fluttershy lamented. “Depending on the guard, we might be able to enter.”

“Because you´re conflicted, right?” Ocellus guessed.

Fluttershy nodded sadly.

“But why you? You saved Equestria countless times! That´s not something they can deny. That´s not something nice to do.” Punja complained.

“But some ponies don´t see that. The only thing they see is that I´m a pegasus.”

“So, how do we enter?” Thorax asked.

Punja put her hoof on her chin as she thought.

“Hmm… Is there soil around the castle?” Punja asked.

They all looked at each other.

Twilight looked through the window while reflecting on her past. So many things had happened since she moved from Canterlot. She made new friends, saved Equestria countless times, she became an alicorn, made so many allies, opened a school, and now she was becoming Equestria´s ruler. It was the end of an age and the beginning of another, without her friends. Even though she talked about this with Spike, she still felt uncertainty. But she couldn´t go back. Equestria needed her. It was her duty.

“Will I be able to go through this without my friends?” she thought aloud.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Twilight yelled.

It was Celestia, Luna and Cadence, who was carrying Flurry Heart in her arms.

“Surpriiise!” Cadence exclaimed.

Flurry opened her wings. Twilight smiled and received all the princesses with a warm smile and a hug.

“I´m so glad to see you.” she said cheerfully.

“Us too, Twilight.” Celestia told her. She sighed. “I can´t believe this day is here. The day my brightest student takes my place.” she laughed nervously. “I´m feeling kinda nervous, if I´m honest, aren´t you Luna?”

Luna smiled almost as nervous as her sister while nodding.

“Yeah… It´s a big change in all our lives.”

“So… How are you feeling, Twilight?”

Twilight snuffled.

“So many things! Nervousness, fear, confidence, and… Umm…”

Twilight was going to tell them about her fear of outliving her friends, but seeing the smiles in their faces, she decided not to. Besides, what if they told her that she would live for a thousand of years? Would she still be willing to rule?

“Prepared!” she lied. “Even though I don´t know what´s coming next.” she said a bit nervous. “But I´m willing to take the risk!”

The princesses were a bit skeptical about Twilight´s confidence.

“You´re twilighting, aren´t you?” Cadence smirked.

Twilight sighed.

“This will never change, will it?”

“Don´t worry.” Luna said as she sat on the ground. “I can see that this is troubling you, and it´s ok. I remember being so nervous at my coronation, too.”

“She was this close not to attend to her own coronation.” Celestia told Twilight. She chuckled at her memories. “The ceremony took time to begin thanks to my sister.”

Luna frowned as she blushed in embarrassment.

“Tia!”

“Always so dramatic, little sister.”

“At least my experience wasn´t as embarrassing as yours.”

“Don´t tell her.” Celestia ordered, knowing what her sister was going to do.

“What happened?” Twilight asked curious.

“Don´t.” Celestia repeated.

“She tripped on her own dress in front of everypony just after being crowned.”

“Luluuuu!” Celestia buried her face on her hooves.

Cadence laughed. Twilight tried to hold her laughter.

“Mine was also a bit of disaster.” Cadence continued. “I dropped the crown after looking through the window.”

Twilight gasped and covered her mouth. Flurry seemed surprised too.

“No!”

“Yes, I did.”

“Oof! I almost had a heart attack at that moment.” Celestia remembered.

“I see that all of you goofed off at your coronations. I hope my coronation doesn´t go like that. I wouldn´t be able to rule if that happened to me! Nopony would take me seriously. How did you deal with it?”

Luna smiled warmly.

“What helped me through personally, were my mother´s memories. `If she could do the impossible, I´m pretty sure that I can do this´ I told myself.”

Celestia sighed nostalgically.

“Our dearest mother…”

Twilight widened her eyes and gasped excited.

“This is the first time I´ve heard both of you mention your family. What was she like?”

“The bravest and most stubborn pony we´ve ever met.” Luna said.

“She had lost of guts. She might have hidden it from us, but she was always thirsting for adventure.” Celestia added.

“She would have been so proud of us…” Luna´s smile dropped.

“What happened to her?” Twilight asked somewhat alarmed.

“To this day, we still have no answers.” Celestia lamented. “She disappeared with no trace. But, I, Luna and Starswirl have always been sure that she was murdered.”

Twilight and Cadence gasped.

“She loved us too much to abandon us. Everything she did, was for her daughters.” Luna stated. “The ponies who said that didn´t know her.” Luna said with resentment and pain.

Celestia wrapped her sister with her wing to comfort her.

“I understand how that feels like. I was orphaned too.”

Flurry looked at her mother with a sad face, since her mother was sad. Cadence smiled warmly to calm her and snuggled her face against hers, making her laugh.

“I´m so sorry for what happened to your mother.” Twilight said.

Celestia and Luna smiled at Twilight.

“It´s ok. She´s living in our hearts, so we still feel her presence.” Luna said.

“You mentioned Starswirl. Did he know your mother?” Twilight´s eyes shone in curiosity

Celestia nodded.

“After she died, he took us under his cape. So, he´s more than a mentor to us.”

While all the adults were chatting, Flurry looked outside the window. She noticed that something wasn´t right outside. She tried to warn the adults by whimpering.

“What´s wrong, Flurry?” Twilight asked.

“Are you hungry, dear?” Cadence asked.

Flurry shook her head. She pointed at the window.

“Ah! I see.” Twilight said.

But instead of approaching the window, she approached the table.

“You´re wondering about the medal, aren´t you? Well, it´s a little surprise for Spike.”

Flurry complained. Once again, she pointed at the window. But Twilight didn´t seem to understand her little niece.

“I´m sorry, hun, but, where am I supposed to look?”

Flurry sighed frustrated. She flew from her mother´s arms to the window. She showed Twilight what was happening outside. Twilight gasped.

“What is it?” Celestia asked while approaching.

“It´s snowing!” Twilight replied surprised. “Why in Equestria is it snowing?” She gasped. “Unless.”

She opened the window. She somewhat leaned out to watch the sky in better detail. Then, all of the sudden, she yelped. She went back in quickly and closed the window.

“What did you see?” Cadence asked concerned.

“Windigoes!”

“What?!” Luna asked in shock.

“Windigoes. I saw windigoes.”

“How? Why?” Cadenece asked confused.

“Well, windigoes appear when there´s hatred between ponies.” Twilight explained “So…”

“There are tensions between ponies.” Luna finished.

“Yes, I know that, but out of nowhere? Something must have caused this.” Cadence stated.

“We must find out quickly. You know what happens if this prolongs.” Celestia ordered.

“Princesses?” Spike asked after opening the door. “Sorry to interrupt but you have some visit.”

Spike made way for Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Meghan.

“Twilight! We´re so glad to see you. We need to inform you about something.” Applejack said worried.

“About the windigoes, right?”

“WHAT?!” Rarity asked dramatically. “There are windigoes?”

“On the one hoof I´m not surprised.” Rainbow shrugged. “I mean, this was bound to happen! But on the other hoof…” Rainbow´s relaxed tone changed drastically. “I didn´t expect them to show up this soon!”

“Did you witness any confrontations between ponies?” asked Celestia.

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed. “We have plenty of things to tell.”

“Us too.” a soft voice added.

Behind the mares, there were Fluttershy, Zecora, Thorax, Punja and Ocellus. They were coughing and dirty, with soil on their faces.

“Fluttershy! Why are you so dirty?” Twilight asked while wiping out the soil in Fluttershy´s face, coat and cape. She looked behind Fluttershy. “I see you brought company.”

“The villains are back!” Ocellus exclaimed. “The three of them!”

Everypony gasped.

“So, let me get this straight.” Twilight said on the throne. “You´re telling me that Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow are working together? In a team?”

Ocellus nodded.

“And we believe that they have to do something with the windigos.” Zecora added.

“How?” Rainbow asked.

“With Chrysalis disguising as ponies to spread rumours of course!” Pinkie replied cheerfully.

“Ok. So Cozy attacked the school, Tirek the pillars…” Twilight recapped to herself.

“And, Discord´s disappeared!” Fluttershy added.

“Pardon me. What?” Twilight asked in shock but also in calm manner.

“Seriously?” Rainbow lowered her eyelids. “This can´t get any worse.”

“Actually, it could.” Pinkie interfered. “There´s a thousand ways it could get worse.”

“I´m going to warn the other kingdoms.” Celestia said as she took a fountain pen and a scroll.

“They could have been attacked already.” Ocellus interfered. “Chrysalis mentioned that she went to the Dragonlands and the changeling kingdom. But you should warn them anyways.”

“The crystal empire! What about the crystal empire?” Cadence panicked. “Is it ok?” she asked to Thorax, who was in his crystal pony form.

“I don´t know because I´m no crystal pony. I´m Thorax.”

He changed to his former form. Everypony gasped.

“How did this happen to you?” asked Twilight concerned.

“Chrysalis had a bell.”

Celestia and Luna froze when Thorax mentioned a bell.

“A bell you say?” Celestia asked concerned.

“Yes.”

“What was it like? What powers does it have?” Luna asked.

“It looked rusty and old. But my, it was a pretty powerful object! With just a few rings she transformed all the changelings and brainwashed them. Well, except me. She wanted me to go through the same humiliation as her.”

“That´s really cruel.” Applejack commented.

“It can´t be…” Luna whispered scared.

Twilight looked at the princesses. Despite all the attacks they had endured, Twilight had never seen the princesses that scared before. Both Celestia and Luna were at the edge of a panic attack.

“How did that happen? Where did they get that from?” Luna asked Celestia.

“I don´t know, sister.” Celestia gasped. “Unless…”

Luna widened her eyes when she realized what her sister meant. She shook her head.

“No, no, no. Please, tell me it´s not that! Tell me it´s not that!” Luna begged desperately.

Luna held her sister´s hooves.

“We don´t for sure, but we must be prepared for anything.”

“I´m scared, Tia.”

“Me too.”

Celestia hugged her sister tightly.

“I´m sorry to interrupt but, do you know about that bell?” Twilight asked.

Celestia sighed.

“Have all of you heard about Gusty the Great?”

“The story about an unicorn that confronted a goat? Yeah, I heard it.” Rainbow answered.

“I thought he was a ram.” Applejack corrected.

Rainbow shrugged.

“Whatever.”

“I used to read that tale to Sweetie Belle.” Rarity replied.

“It was my favourite tale as a filly!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Mine too!” Twilight said. “I used to read her tale non stop.”

“She was an inspiration to me as a filly. She had few confidence in herself at first, like me. But she ended up defeating an evil emperor! I wanted to be as brave as her.” Fluttershy said in admiration.

“That was the book you read to the foals at the hospital, isn´t it?” Spike asked Twilight.

Twilight nodded.

“Then yeah. I know that story. A really good one.”

“Changelings know some pony folklore. That´s a story that every changeling knows.” Thorax explained.

“Yeah! I remember I was the only one who recognized the title when Sandbar told us the story at school.” Ocellus remembered.

“Even though I´m not from here, that´s a story I often used to hear.” Zecora said.

“Papa told me a story about an unicorn and ram.” Punja said.

“Well. Most ponies believed it´s just a fairytale. But it´s not. Both Grogar and Gusty were very real.”

Everypony gasped.

“No way.” Twilight said shocked.

Celestia nodded.

“Grogar was indeed a very terrifying emperor. He killed and tortured ponies in the most despicable ways. And just like the book says, he was almost invincible. That was mostly thanks to the bell he wore in his neck, along his intelligence and cunning.”

“The book does not focus much on the bell. But from ancient archives, we know it had the abilities of magic absorption, corruption, transformation, magic storage, destruction and the creation of creatures. That´s why Grogar was called the Father of Monsters.” Luna kept explaining.

“It all depends on the bearer´s intentions. That´s why your form changed but your mind was not corrupted. From what you told us, that´s what Chrysalis had in mind.” Celestia told Thorax.

“One strike from that bell is fatal. Either you change or die.” Luna added in a serious tone.

“That doesn´t sound good.” Spike said.

“The book mentioned its name. The Bewitching Bell, right?” Twilight asked.

The two princesses nodded.

“Can´t we destroy it?” Rarity asked.

“The bell cannot be destroyed.” Celestia lamented.

“So what you mean is that we´re dealing with the most powerful villain Equestria has ever faced.” Rainbow recapped.

“We still don´t know if Grogar´s involved in this.” Celestia emphasized.

“So far, all we know is that Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow are in possession of the bell. But there´s a chance that Grogar´s the reason why they obtained the bell. Otherwise, how did they find it?” Luna said.

“We should evacuate everypony.” Applejack suggested.

“You´re right.” Twilight said. “Meghan. Evacuate everypony you can in Canterlot.”

“Yes, your majesty.” Meghan replied. She got out as fast as she could.

“Thorax, do you think you could go to the Crystal Empire?” Cadence asked sweetly. “To help Shining to defend the crystal ponies. I´ll help Twilight and the princesses.”

“But in this form? Will they believe me?”

“They know that a changeling can change. But if they don´t trust you, you can do our secret code.”

“What code?”

Cadence smiled a bit embarrassed.

“Sunshine, sunshine. Ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake.” she said as she did the little jumps she used to do with Twilight when they were young.

Thorax held his laughter, making him feel better.

“Ok.”

“And please, take Flurry with you.”

Cadence took her baby with her magic and tried to handle it to Thorax, but Flurry put up a fight. She cried and whimpered.

“I think she prefers to be with her mother.” Thorax said with a tender smile.

“Flurry, honey, you can´t be with us. It´s too dangerous.”

Despite Cadence´s efforts, Flurry was still resistant. Cadence sighed in defeat.

“I´m afraid there´s no time to change her mind. Go, now.”

Cadence ignited her horn and teleported Thorax to the Crystal Empire.

“Can I go to Ponyville?” Ocellus asked. “My friends are in there and I want to save them.”

Twilight took some time to think.

“Alright. But let Zecora and Punja accompany you. You´ll be safer.”

Twilight ignited her horn and teleported the changelings and the zebras to Ponyville.

“We must get ready for battle. They could appear in any moment.”

Just after Twilight said that, the ground began to shake.

“I think they´re already here.” said Rarity.

“Spike, take Flurry to somewhere safe, quickly!” Cadence handled Flurry to Spike.

“Alright. Look at me in the eyes, Flurry. Everything will be fine as long as you obey me.” Spike told the baby alicorn while holding her.

Suddenly, a magical strike overthrew the throne´s room door and walls. Spike hid Flurry behind the throne. Finally, the three enemies were here. They looked the same, except some differences. For example, Chrysalis´ eyes were greener and wore a more beautiful and elegant regalia. Tirek was bigger, and Cozy was an alicorn! That´s when they knew that this was because of the bell. In fact, Cozy was the one who carried it.

“Well, well if it isn´t Twilight and her friends. Ready to defend their precious princesses.” Tirek said while bending to their height.

“And Princess Cadence too.” Chrysalis added. “We haven´t had a proper confrontation since your wedding, dear.” she said to her while approaching her. “I´m glad to see you.”

“I´m afraid the feeling isn´t mutual.” Cadence responded bluntly.

“I see. That´s what your dear husband said.”

Cadence gasped.

“Shining! What did you do to him?” she ignited her horn.

Chrysalis chuckled.

“Nothing. As long as my changelings want it that way.”

Cadence clenched her teeth.

“Where´s that little baby alicorn of yours? We didn´t find her at the Crystal Empire. Such a pity, Tirek was looking forward to meet herw.”

Tirek licked his lips. Cadence illuminated her horn even more.

“Don´t you dare lay a hoof on her!”

“Temper, temper! Didn´t know the princess of love was so fill with hatred.” Cozy said, after putting herself between Chrysalis and Cadence.

“Why are you an alicorn?” Pinkie asked innocently while tilting her head.

Some of her friends got frustrated by that comment, whereas Cozy chuckled.

“That´s something you´ll never know.”

“Actually, I do. It´s because of that bell of yours. The thing is that I don´t understand why overpowered ponies always choose the form of an alicorn. Why not an overpowered pegasus or earth pony?”

“SILENCE!” Cozy yelled at Pinkie, making her jump back and cling to Applejack.

“How did you get that bell?” Twilight asked in a demanding tone.

“By working together, you dummy. After all, friendship wins at the end of the day, does it?” Cozy taunted the mane 6.

“The item you´re carrying is beyond your understanding. You don´t know what you´re playing with.” Celestia warned the three villains.

“Quite the contrary, your majesty. We do.” Tirek knelt tauntingly. “All thanks to your secret bell book in the Canterlot archives.”

Celestia and Luna gasped.

“How did you-”

“During the Summer Sun Celebration. We made some distractions to get there.”

“So you were the ones behind the fireworks´ incident!” Rarity pointed at them

“And the sick earth ponies!” Applejack joined Rarity. “They weren´t sick, you absorbed their magic, didn´t you?” she accused Tirek.

“And the weather disaster too!” Rainbow added.

“What´s worse, you planned about the windigoes!” Twilight exclaimed in indignation.

The three villains smile maliciously.

“I suppose so.” Cozy replied while looking at her hooves. “Don´t you guys?” she asked to Tirek and Chrysalis.

The centaur and changeling laughed.

“That´s it!” Rainbow smacked her hooves. She flew to kick Tirek´s face.

“Rainbow, wait! We still haven´t finished the questions!” Fluttershy tried to catch her friend, but it was too late. Before she reached Tirek´s chick, the centaur caught her and threw her against the wall. Applejack went to check on her friend.

“You ok?” A.J asked while offering a hoof.

Rainbow stretched her wing while moaning.

“Yeah.” she replied confidently as she grabbed her friend´s hoof.

“So that´s how the game is, huh?” Twilight prepared for battle.

“On my defense, she started it.” Tirek said in defense. “But yeah.” he stretched his neck. “Let´s do this.”

Cozy struck the bell with her magic. After the bell rang, there came an enormous blast that was directed towards the thrones. Luckily, nopony was harmed. They got out before it reached them. As for Spike and Flurry, who were behind the thrones, were also unharmed, since Flurry made herself and Spike disappear. They reappeared at a corner of the throne room behind the villains. They hid behind some debris they had left when they entered.

Meanwhile, Twilight, her friends and Cadence were shocked with the bell´s power. They knew what it was capable to do, but it was shocking to see it with your own eyes.

“Ok. That´s not cool.” Rainbow said anxiously.

“We need to take the bell away from them as soon as possible.” Fluttershy stated.

Twilight was quick enough to think up a plan, but she didn´t have the chance to communicate it to her friends. Chrysalis threw Twilight to the ground before she could say anything. Chrysalis stepped on her hooves to avoid her escape. Chrysalis was about to hit the princess with her magic, but Cadence interfered, freeing Twilight from Chrysalis.

“A little help here…” she asked while fighting Chrysalis.

“On our way!” Rarity exclaimed while joining Twilight to fight the changeling queen.

“You fight the rest!” Twilight commanded her friends and the Royal sisters.

All of them nodded. Applejack, Celestia and Fluttershy went to fight Tirek whereas Pinkie, Rainbow and Luna fought Cozy Glow.

“Get away from my sister in law!” Twiligth yelled at Chrysalis.

Chrysalis hit Twilight´s wing with a blast.

“Twilight!” Rarity and Cadence exclaimed in chorus.

Cadence was far from Twilight so she wasn´t able to defend her sister in law from Chrysalis´ attack. Luckily, Rarity jumped in front of Twilight and summoned a shield made of diamonds. Chrysalis, Twilight, Cadence were surprised at Rarity´s shield. Even Rarity herself couldn´t believe what she had done. Chrysalis tried to attack again but it was useless. The diamond shield was to strong. But that didn´t stop her from trying.

“How did you do it?” Twilight asked.

“I don´t know.” Rarity was speechless. “I had no idea I could do that.”

“Well, we´ll figure that later. I don´t know how long it will last.”

Just after Twilight said that, Chrysalis broke the shield.

“I think there´s your answer, darling.” Rarity mumbled.

Chrysalis growled and was ready to attack the two of them, but Cadence prevented her from doing so.

“Why you-” Chrysalis said at Cadence.

Twilight and Rarity jumped in her defence.

Applejack tried to catch one of Tirek´s hoof to tie his legs with her lasso. Celestia directed her blasts at him, and Fluttershy flew around him to create a distraction from him. She took the chance to ask her questions.

“Where is Discord?” she asked while Tirek was trying to blast Applejack.

Tirek raised an eyebrow confused.

“What?”

“Where. Is. Discord?” Fluttershy looked at him in the eyes. Even though she wasn´t doing the stare, her eyes were terrifying. They were full of rage.

Tirek stopped an attack from Celestia.

“Why on Tartarus would I know where he is?”

“I know you have him! You two worked together, you´re the one who has a personal grudge against him. Where is he?”

Unfortunately for Fluttershy, Tirek didn´t have the answers. He looked at Chrysalis as he fought.

“Chrysalis, did you take Discord?”

“DON´T DISTRACT ME!” she answered aggressively while fighting Cadence, Rarity and Twilight.

“I´ll take that as a no.” he looked at Cozy. “Cozy, did you take Discord?”

Cozy, who was trying to hit Luna with the bell´s magic, widened her eyes.

“The draconequus! The darn draconequus!” she yelled frustrated as she put her hoof on her forehead. “Why didn´t I think about it?! He could defeat us with just a snap!”

Tirek directed his look towards Fluttershy.

“Are you satisfied my little pegasus?” he asked with a sarcastic smile.

“Wait. If neither of you captured him, then who on tarnation is he with?” Applejack asked confused.

Applejack saw Fluttershy´s and Celestia´s stares. They were full of fear and worry. She couldn´t tell what was going on their heads, but she knew that something was wrong. She couldn´t ask them, though. She had to fight Tirek.

Rainbow, Pinkie and Luna were having trouble confronting Cozy. Since she was the one with the bell, they couldn´t attack her. All they could do was avoiding the bell´s blasts.

“Where are you going little princess?” she teased Luna as she tried to strike her with the bell. “Don´t you want to be Nightmare Moon again?”

Luna avoided the magical ray. She landed next to Pinkie. She looked fearful. Pinkie gasped.

“It is not nice to threaten princesses to turn them evil again!” she said very upset.

“Exactly!” Rainbow called out Cozy. Then, she smirked. “You could do it with somepony who hasn´t turned evil.”

“Oooh nice! A volunteer.” Cozy said while putting the bell towards Rainbow.

As soon as the bell rang, Rainbow flew in circles, trying to avoid the bell´s power. Fortunately, Rainbow was fast enough to do so.

“Ha ha! You can keep trying if you want to.” she said smugly.

Cozy growled in frustration. She kept trying to hit Rainbow.

Pinkie watched Rainbow anxiously.

“She´s trying to turn Rainbow evil! Not under my watch.” Pinkie stated while grabbing a small piece of the throne to throw it at Cozy.

Luna stopped Pinkie by raising her wing.

“Wait! She´s distracting Cozy so we can come up with a plan. But in order to do that we need you calm.”

“Ok. I´m calm.”

“Good.” Luna lowered her wing.

However, Pinkie didn´t listen to Luna and threw the piece, hoping it would strike Cozy. Instead, it hit Rainbow, making her fall. From the surprise, Cozy stopped attacking Rainbow. The pegasus mare massaged her front leg.

“Pinkie!” she scolded her friend.

Luna frowned at Pinkie. Pinkie smiled apologetically while blushing.

Meanwhile, Spike and Flurry observed the action from a safe place.

“Ok, now that they´re distracted we can go to somewhere safe.” Spike said to Flurry.

But the baby didn´t seem to agree, as she shook her head.

“No? What do you want me to do then?”

Flurry pointed at her mother and aunt. Spike sighed.

“Look, I want to help too, but I can´t. I promised Cadence I would keep you safe.”

Flurry whimpered.

“You can take care of yourself? You´re a baby!”

Flurry raised her wings and pointed at her horn.

“And an alicorn too, but still a baby! Those three are more powerful than you.” Spike sighed defeated. “Who am I kidding? You´ve already made your mind, and I can´t do nothing to oppose you. Ok, let me come up with a plan.” he agreed a bit reluctant.

Flurry clapped happily.

“The most primordial thing is taking the bell away from Cozy. but how?”

“What are you going to do now, huh?” Cozy asked tauntingly to Pinkie, Rainbow and Luna.

Spike gasped and leaned out his head.

“Party cannon!” Pinkie yelled while grabbing her cannon.

The cannon let out confetti at Cozy´s face, which gave Spike an idea.

“That´s it!” he exclaimed softly.

Cozy wiped the confetti off her face. She had an unamused face.

“Really? What was that for?” she said with no emotion.

“Nothing. I just wanted to laugh a little before you killed us.” Pinkie replied with a smile. Luna and Rainbow looked at her confused and scared.

“Well, you´ve already had your laugh.”

Luna, Pinkie and Rainbow closed their eyes, ready to take the blow. However, something unexpected happened. Green fire appeared behind Cozy.

“Ow!” she yelled while releasing the bell.

The bell was taken by Flurry. She flew far away from the villains. She flew beneath the destroyed thrones.

Cozy massaged her back. She turned around and saw Spike, who was wearing a smirk on his face and breathed smoke.

“Where did you come from?”

“That´s not something I should explain. The only thing you should know is that you lost.” Spike told Cozy while pointing at Cozy.

Cozy span her head and saw Flurry with the bell. The baby alicorn smiled in victory.

“NOO!” Cozy yelled.

Her yell interrupted the fights around them. Everypony looked at Flurry. Tirek and Chrysalis got angry. The ponies cheered at Flurry.

“Well done hun!” Twilight exclaimed.

“She risked herself a lot but I´m glad she managed to get the bell.” Cadence said with a mixed emotion of relief and worry.

Spike joined Flurry.

“What are you gonna do now, huh?” he asked as the two landed.

Twilight gasped.

“Spike no! That´s where-”

Suddenly, the platform where Spike and Flurry were standing opened and the two of them fell while yelling.

“the trap is.” Twilight finished her sentence.

“Cozy! You were supposed to look for the bell!” Chrysalis yelled at the filly.

“I know, I´m sorry. Spike burnt me.” Cozy apologized.

“Are you aware of this?!” Tirek yelled angrily.

Cozy had her eyes closed. She summoned a force camp around her.

“I know, I´m sorry!”

“Are you aware of what your dragon has done?!”

When Tirek said ` your dragon´, Cozy knew that he wasn´t talking to her. She opened her eyes and saw Tirek grabbing Twilight by the wings. She sighed in relief.

Twilight´s friends and the princesses tried to do something, but Chrysalis held them with her magic.

“We endured blistering winds, piercing cold and we climbed-”

Chrysalis tried to calm Tirek.

“Tch tch, don´t worry, I can handle this.” she said with an uncharacteristic sweetness in her voice.

Of course, that changed when she talked to Twilight.

“WE ENDURE BLISTERING WINDS, PIERCING COLD AND WE CLIMBED THE BLOODY MOUNT EVERHOOF, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST BLOODY MOUNTAIN IN EQUESTRIA, ONLY TO HAVE THE BLOODY BELL TAKEN AWAY!”

She was so angry that even Tirek was scared. Cozy flew to their side

“Exactly!”

Tirek and Chrysalis raised an eyebrow confused and a bit surprised that she appeared out of nowhere next to tem. Cozy shrugged.

“What she said. You didn´t consider that.” Cozy chuckled. “After all, isn´t that what friendship is all about?”

The three villains laughed together. Twilight tried to blast Tirek but it was useless.

“Let´s do this, shall we?” he said with an evil smirk as he conjured up magic between his horns.

The three smiled in satisfaction, as they were close to victory. The light from Tirek´s magic reflected in her eyes, which were full of fear. She gasped and closed her eyes. But somepony interfered before Tirek could do anything to Twilight.

“ENOUGH!” a deep male voice yelled.

A ray of magic reached Tirek´s hand and burnt it slightly, forcing him to release Twilight. He shook his hand to relief the pain. Twilight noticed that the magic was the same colour as the bell´s magic, black and yellow. But it didn´t come from the bell.

“This is not your own business to take.” the voice said.

The ponies saw a figure at the door. Nopony could tell who he was, due to the fact that his face wasn´t visible. The only thing they could see were a pair of yellow and red eyes glowing in the darkness. Celestia and Luna quickly recognized him, and when they did their ears dropped in fear and slowly walked backwards. The figure stepped out off the darkness revealing his identity, turning out to be no other than the old emperor of Equestria and Father of Monsters himself, Grogar.

“It´s mine.” he continued with a wicked and terrifying smile on his face.

Everypony, including the villains gasped. Grogar chuckled menancingly.

Chapter 5: The emperor takes his throne

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Grogar stared at the ponies with a serious look. Every creature in the room was paralyzed. They didn´t know what to do. Nopony dared to speak aloud. They only spoke in whispers.

“So that´s him…” Applejack muttered.

“He´s much more menacing than I could ever imagine…” Twilight replied.

Everypony had heard of Grogar and his actions over the land that would be later called Equestria. They also knew how he looked like, thanks to the illustrations in the books. But the descriptions that the books provided weren´t able to define the fear that arose inside when you looked into his eyes. Eyes that commanded respect and obedience with threat. Not only were the eyes what made Grogar´s stare frightening, but the seriousness in his expression as well. Just like the books said, Grogar was a silent ram who barely smiled and showed no other expression than a cold and sharp seriousness.

“What a creep.” Rainbow said.

“Indeed he is, darling. Indeed he is.” Rarity replied.

“Oooh, I can´t look at his eyes…” Pinkie shrinked.

Instead of commenting, Fluttershy paid attention to Grogar´s eyes and eyebrows. There was a familiar aura in them. They strangely reminded her of Discord´s. Could that mean something?

Fluttershy couldn´t come to a conclusion. Grogar´s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“If you have something to say, say it aloud. So that I can hear you.” he said to the mane 6.

Twilight and Applejack gulped. Grogar started walking towards the scared ponies, but first, he had to make his way through the villains. The three villains ignited their horns, ready to defend themselves, but Grogar restrained them to the wall before they could put up a fight. No matter how hard they tried to escape with their magic, they couldn´t destroy Grogar´s. The ram talked to them without looking at them in the eye.

“I´ll deal with you three later. Spiteful traitors like you are not worth my time.”

With each step he took, Grogar got closer and closer to the mane 6. The princesses teleported themselves to block his way. They ignited their horns.

“Step. Back.” Luna ordered.

Grogar stood still. He smiled and raised his eyebrow.

“Didn´t you hear my sister? Step back!” Celestia repeated the order. “Or I´ll make sure that your receive a worse punishment than banishment!”

“Is this a family thing? Putting on brave faces and threatening me as if that would back me down?” Grogar scoffed. “You know better than that.”

Both sisters frowned.

“We meet again, Celestia and Luna. You´ve grown a lot since the last time we saw each other.”

Cadence widened her eyes.

“You know each other?”

Grogar smiled at Cadence.

“You must be Mi Amore Cadenza, better known as Cadence. Ruler of the Crystal Empire, the kingdom that Sombra wanted to retake. I knew he was going to lose, but a part of me wishes that Sombra would have won. I much prefer the Crystal Empire under Sombra´s control.”

Cadence frowned.

“Answering to your question, I did know Celestia´s and Luna´s mother.” he looked at Celestia and Luna with hatred and rage. “A self-righteous, stubborn and impulsive mare who got herself in business she wasn´t invited to, which got her killed by the same ponies she `freed´!”

Celestia and Luna gasped softly. After hearing those words, Twilight realized who Celestia´s and Luna´s mother truly was.

“Yes. You two and Starswirl were right about your mother´s fate. I did warn her, though obviously, she didn´t listen. She never listened to anypony but herself. I witnessed her death in my orb. And let me tell you this, I had never felt so much satisfaction and sweetness until I watched her in pain and giving her last breath.”

Celestia clenched her teeth in rage while Luna glared at him.

“But you´re forgetting a small, yet important detail.” A voice behind the princesses told him.

Grogar raised his ears. He looked behind the princesses, getting a view of Twilight and her friends.

“Aaah, Twilight Sparkle. We finally meet face to face.” He said as he approached her, getting the princesses out of the way in the process. “What is that small important detail?”

“That same mare defeated you.” Twilight said.

Every time he was reminded of his defeat, Grogar would feel humiliation and rage inside. He would have blasted Twilight at that moment without hesitation. But he also knew it wasn´t the moment, so he simply scowled and clenched his teeth.

“So that means…” Rarity said in shock.

Pinkie gasped profoundly and held Celestia´s and Luna´s faces.

“Gusty the Great is your mother?!”

“They didn´t tell you, did they?” Grogar addressed to the mane 6. “Of course not. They claim to love her mother so much, but they never mention her name. And why is it, you may ask. Because they believed they would be safee if they kept their family a secret. Unlike you, I defended my lineage with pride, even if that was dangerous.”

Celestia and Luna felt ashamed.

“And unlike you, they didn´t commit atrocities and ruled with honour.” Twilight defended the princesses. “They were chosen. You took it by force.”

“My reign wouldn´t have lasted thousands of years if I had used friendship as a form of government.”

Grogar looked down on her. His piercing eyes intimidated Twilight. She took a few steps back. Grogar´s bells and eyes glew. Twilight remembered that fear made Grogar stronger. So, she stepped forward and looked at him with determination.

“Friendship is the reason why Equestria has been attacked so many times.” Grogar continued. “I don´t know why you value it so much.”

“Because friendship makes you stronger.” Twilight said firmly.

“Friendship makes you weak.” Grogar replied. “It´s what got Gusty killed.”

“I´m afraid I have to defer.” Applejack interposed between Twilight and Grogar. “You claim that friendship is weakness, yet we´ve defeated villains dozens of times by using friendship! Do you deny it? Be honest. I´ve heard that you don´t have the reputation of being honest.”

“Quite the contrary. I value honesty as much as you. I am an honest ram when it´s convenient.”

“You didn´t answer my question. Do you deny it?”

“I don´t deny that you defeated villains by using friendship. It´s a strong force that I don´t underestimate. But it´s also a weakness. It makes you trusting of others, giving a perfect chance to the enemy to attack you. That´s what made things easier for Cozy Glow and Tirek.”

“But you trusted those three to retrieve your bell!” Applejack pointed at the villains.

“I never trusted them! I knew those three were backstabbers from the moment I brought them to my cavern. Which is the reason why I always have a backup plan. That´s the difference between teamwork and friendship. Friendship requires an emotional connection and teamwork doesn´t. And that same emotional connection makes you gullible and too honest.”

“You said you appreciated honesty.”

“I do. I always appreciate an honest subject. But lying helped to reach my goals.” he sneered at Applejack.

Applejack clenched her teeth.

“Have you got no morals, you sicko?” Rainbow Dash flew over Grogar´s head.

Grogar illuminated his horns and restrained Rainbow against the ground. Rainbow tried to get herself free, but Grogar´s magic was stronger.

“Be careful with flying over my head, pegasus. When you see your emperor you bow, you don´t look upper the leg. Besides, you should be grateful your kind is still here. During my rule, I wiped out almost every pegasus. I could do it with any pony species if necessary.”

The ponies got seriously worried by that statement. Grogar released Rainbow from his magic.

“Gusty actually asked me this on an occasion, and I told her this: There are values I hold dearly. Your element is an example. When you´re in a position of power you always expect loyalty from those you rule. But the thing with my morals is that I don´t always apply them to myself. Specially if they interfere in my goals.”

“You´re sick.” Rainbow muttered hatefully.

“You know what´s the funny thing? You´re scolding me for being immoral, but you´re not so different from me. Need I to remind you that you almost traded your friend for a book?”

Rainbow was going to respond but kept her mouth shut. She knew that he was telling the truth. She looked down in shame.

Rarity stepped in to defend her friend.

“Ok, it´s true. We admit it. All of us have gone against our elements from time to time. But that´s because we´re not perfect! In fact, unlike you, we take repentance for our bad actions!”

“Oh really? Have you ever felt any remorse every time you took advantage of Spike´s feelings for you to get him to do something for you?”

Rarity gasped.

“I- I…”

She sighed in defeat. No matter how much she justified herself, that wouldn´t change the fact that he was right. She caressed her hoof in shame.

“Don´t worry, I´m not calling out on your actions for being immoral, like all of you are doing. You could achieve great things with that attitude. But instead you choose to be generous. Sometimes I don´t understand you, really.”

“Of course you don´t. Monsters like you never see the beauty in generosity.” Rarity replied back.

“How do you know all those things anyway?” Pinkie asked aggressively while poking Grogar´s forehead. “Have you been spying on us or what?”

Everypony raised an eyebrow at her friend.

“It´s pretty obvious by this time that he´s been spying on us, Pinkie.” Rainbow told her.

“He literally said that he witnessed Gusty´s death in his orb.” Applejack added.

“I have witnessed every event in the history of Equestria. Its foundation, its attacks, the many times you saved it… EVERYTHING.” Grogar emphasized. “It´s a good way to know your enemy´s weaknesses. It gives you the opportunity to hit them where it hurts them the most.” Grogar smiled evily.

“Ow, that´s outright mean!” Pinkie exclaimed annoyed. “Although, that´s something that a good villain would do, I´ll give you that.”

“Pinkie! Don´t compliment him!” Twilight scolded Pinkie.

“Like your unicorn friend, you have lots of potential.” Grogar said to Pinkie. “You´re full of ideas, that can come in handy. But you waste it in parties and other ridiculous things.”

“At least I use it for good. I make ponies laugh! They have a great time thanks to the work I put into my parties.”

“Are you sure about that? Hasn´t it occurred to you that all those laughs are fake? That deep inside ponies don´t like you or your jokes and are just pretending so as not to hurt your feelings?”

With each word Grogar spoke, Pinkie´s courage went down. Her ears dropped and her eyes filled with fear. Everything he said were thoughts that came to her mind from time to time. They were her biggest insecurity. She was scared at how this ram was so good at manipulating and bringing anypony down. Thankfully, this wouldn´t work on her, but how many ponies did feel what Grogar told them? Did he ever pull this trick on Gusty? Because if he did, Pinkie couldn´t imagine the pain she went through while fighting Grogar.

Grogar´s bells flickered. He smirked as he watched them glow.

“You remind me of a creature I know. Great talents wasted in silly stuff.”

“And you hold that creature captive, do you?” a voice from above said.

Grogar´s ears perked up. He looked up and saw Fluttershy flying beneath him. She landed in front of him.

“Aaah, you must be Fluttershy. I know you´re the quiet one, but I was wondering when you were going to speak up.” Grogar told her.

“Where is he?” Fluttershy insisted.

The ponies looked at each other.

“You think he has Discord?” Twilight asked her friend.

Fluttershy nodded.

“Discord looked pretty worried, so he couldn´t have disappeared without a reason. I asked the villains, but they didn´t know where he was. Nopony else could have him except him.”

Grogar walked towards Fluttershy. He wore a malicious grin on his face.

“That´s correct. I´ve captured your dearest friend.”

Grogar was surprised by Fluttershy´s face. Unlike her friends´ case, she wasn´t pretending not to be scared of him. She stood there with lots of genuine determination. A determination that was combined with anger. The ram was a little intimidated deep inside, but he didn´t show.

“I know you´re trying to do your stare thing to scare me. It won´t work.”

“No. This is the face I make when somepony is trying to hurt my friends. My stare only works on animals. Still, I can see you´re intimidated.”

“I am not intimidated.”

“Yes, you are. The fact that I´m not scared intimidates you. I can see it in your eyes.”

Grogar widened his eyes in surprise. His bells and eyes stopped glowing. This mare was more insightful than everypony thought. Maybe that was why her famous stare on the animals was so intimidating. Those apparently innocent eyes were actually seeing a creature´s soul. Still, Grogar knew that she wouldn´t win the game.

He smirked and put his hoof under her chin. Fluttershy clenched her teeth and frowned at him.

“You´re a clever mare. I admire that.” His smirk turned into a glare. “But you haven´t outwitted me.”

He released Fluttershy´s chin. He walked to the throne´s room door, not taking his eyes off Fluttershy.

“You´re not afraid of me, that´s true.” he said as he reached the door. Then, he picked up a chain with his magic. “But I know you are afraid of what I might do to him.”

He pulled the chain and brought Discord into the throne room. He pulled so hard that he made the poor draconequus fall to the ground. Fluttershy´s eyes filled with tears when she saw her best friend´s state. He wore a collar tied to a chain, like some slave. There were some scratches and bruises around his neck. He looked very tired and spiritless, opposed to his energetic and enthusiastic self.

“DISCORD!” she yelled as she flew towards him.

When he heard Fluttershy´s voice, Discord´s ears perked up. He looked up and gasped when he saw Fluttershy flying. Although he was glad to see her ok, he was deeply scared for her, since he knew better than anypony what Grogar was capable to do to her. He reached his eagle claw out to her.

“Fluttershy, no!” he exclaimed.

And as soon as he tried to warn her, Grogar took Fluttershy with his magic, paralyzing her. He dragged her right in front of him.

“The throne´s mine again. And as long as I´m in the throne, you are forbidden to come near him or talk to him again. He´s my son, not your friend! Is that clear?”

Everypony, including the villains, gasped.

“Wait. WHAT?!” Cozy thought aloud.

“Discord´s his son?!” Tirek asked confused to Chrysalis.

“Talk about a dysfunctional family.” Chrysalis whispered in Tirek´s ear.

The mane 6 looked at Discord in utter shock.

“This is getting so confusing!” Pinkie Pie complained as she stretched her ears. “First, Gusty the Great is Celestia´s and Luna´s mother, and now Grogar´s Discord´s father? DID I MISS SOMETHING?!” Pinkie grabbed Rainbow´s face with her hooves. “Now what, are you related to Commander Hurricane?”

“Is that true?” Twilight asked him.

“You´re his child?” Applejack asked him too.

Discord couldn´t dare to look into their eyes. He panted as he glanced around the room. He felt a huge panic inside his heart. Grogar approached him and held his chin.

“Obviously you didn´t tell them about me. Are you that ashamed of me? I created you, I raised you. After all I´ve done for you, is this how you repay your father?”

Discord hit Grogar´s hoof.

“Don´t you dare get that familiar with me! Since when do you consider me your son, huh? I was just some slave monster for you to control! And I´m sure you still see me that way.”

Grogar beamed.

“Categorically. But you´re still my son.”

“I am not your son.” Discord emphasized.

Grogar slapped Discord´s cheek. Fluttershy gasped. Her heart filled with rage, and that rage took over Fluttershy´s mind.

“Who do you think you are?! What gives you the right to treat my best friend like that, huh?! Mean old goat!”

Grogar´s ears perked up. Celestia and Luna gasped. Discord´s jaw dropped, literally. Cadence, Twilight, and her friends clenched nervously their teeth.

“What did you CALL ME?!” Grogar asked as he turned around and channelled magic through his hoof

He twisted Fluttershy´s wing. She closed her eyes and complained.

“I´ll let you know that you´re not dealing with a common villain.” he told her menacingly. “You´re dealing with the first emperor of Equestria! The Father of monsters! I won´t let an insolent pony insult me like that! I AM A RAM, NOT A GOAT!”

“You´re nothing but a coward.” Fluttershy replied with a glare.

“SILENCE!”

He twisted Fluttershy´s wing even more, making her whimper. Discord couldn´t bear to see her in pain. So, after attaching his jaw to his face, he ran to Grogar.

“Stop it!” he exclaimed angrily.

Grogar turned around and kicked Discord´s stomach, sending him against the wall. Twilight opened her wings and zapped at Grogar. The ram moaned, freeing Fluttershy in the process. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow and Pinkie went to assist her friend. Twilight landed between her friends and Grogar.

“What is wrong with you?!” Rarity asked very angrily.

“Is your wing ok, sugarcube?” Applejack asked Fluttershy.

The pegasus raised and lowered her wing. She moved her feathers one by one. She felt some pain but it didn´t last. She turned to Applejack.

“I´m fine.” she said with a sweet smile.

“Don´t you dare hurt my friends again!” Twilight told Grogar while igniting her horn with more intensity.

Grogar chuckled.

“I´m afraid that was nothing, sweet princess. I´m capable of doing worse things to your friends.” His expression turned serious. “But now is not the moment. Not without my bell.”

He turned to the villains. They gulped when Grogar stared at them. During the stay at his cavern, they had upset Grogar many times, and they knew perfectly how scary he would get when things didn´t go out as he planned. But it was mostly frustration. This time it was different. His eyes were shining and burning in rage. This was the angriest Grogar they had ever seen. And the angrier he got, the scarier he was.

“You three used my bell, and you have carried with yourselves along Equestria and many kingdomes. WHERE IS IT?!”

Grogar pressed their wrists with all his strength. The villains moaned in pain.

“It´s in the castle! It´s in the castle!” Cozy yelled. “Please stop!” she begged.

“Well, I don´t see it anywhere!” Grogar replied back.

“The dragon and the baby alicorn took it!” Tirek added.

“And where are they?”

“We don´t know!” Chrysalis exclaimed. “They landed in front of the thrones and they fell underground. They could have escaped, and we don´t know it!”

Suddenly, Spike and Flurry popped up at the door.

“Hey, Twilight where do I-” he asked while showing the bell, but Flurry gave him a nudge, making him stop talking. Then, she pointed at Grogar.

“Ow! Hey, that hurt! What did you-”

Spike stopped talking when he saw Grogar. The ram was as surprised as he was. He stopped hurting Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy, and turned around to face him. He looked like he was about to murder Spike for having his bell. The little dragon quickly hid it behind his back. He laughed nervously.

“Surprise...” he mumbled.

Grogar illuminated his horns to bind Spike and Flurry to the wall, but before his magic could reach them, Flurry ignited her horn and made Spike and herself disappear. Grogar yelled out in frustration. The bell was so close to him and in a matter of seconds, he lost it again.

“Without your bell, you´re nothing, Grogar. Surrender.” Twilight ordered.

Grogar grinned.

“Do not underestimate me, princess. Go find some evidence in the tree of harmony, if you don´t believe me.”

The ponies gasped.

“The tree…” Twilight muttered very concerned.

“What did you do to it?!” Rainbow asked angrily.

“Oh, I paid a little visit.”

“THAT´S IT! You´re going to regret this!” said Rarity as she ignited her horn.

The rest also prepared for the fight.

“No. You will.” Grogar said menacingly as he ignited his horns.

“Wait!” Celestia exclaimed. She and Luna flew in front of Grogar, acting like a shield to the mane 6. “Why are you fighting them?”

“Because they are an obstacle to my plans. Isn´t it obvious?”

“I didn´t mean it like that. You don´t have anything personal against them. It is my sister and I who you hate the most. Fight us, instead!”

“What?” Twilight asked to Celestia. “No!”

“Sacrificing yourselves to protect them, huh?” Grogar said as he raised an eyebrow. “So noble from your part, yes, and a tempting offer too. But in order to get to you, I have to get rid of them.”

Grogar was going to take a step closer to the mane 6, but Luna threw a ray of her magic in front of him. Grogar stepped back and glared at Luna

“I´m sorry, but you´ll have to get through us first.” she told him coldly.

“And through me too.” Cadence joined the royal sisters.

“No, Cadence.” Luna blocked her way with her wing. “This is between us and him.”

Cadence wasn´t comfortable with the idea of leaving them behind, but she nodded and joined the mane 6.

Despite Luna´s warning, Grogar didn´t change his mind.

“Let me through.” he ordered dryly.

“No.” Celestia said.

Grogar stepped forwards, but Celestia stopped him by zapping at him. Grogar yelled. That´s when he lost his patience and started to fight the two sisters. They threw zaps at each other, but they avoided them with great skill. Grogar´s zaps were so powerful that they destroyed the room each time the princesses dodged them.

Just when they started to fight, Twilight opened her wings to assist the princesses. Her friends followed behind. Cadence stood still, not sure of what to do. Taking advantage of the fact that Grogar wasn´t looking, Discord decided to reach the mane 6 to prevent them from fighting him.

“What do you think you´re doing?!”

“We´re trying to help them!” Rainbow replied.

“You can´t defeat him. He´s too powerful!” he warned them. “If he zaps you, you could get seriously hurt.”

“So what are you suggesting?” Applejack asked.

“Leave!”

“No way!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Twilight shook her head refusingly.

“No, no. I can´t”

“I´m begging you. This is for the best!” Discord´s voice was desperate. “We need you in a perfect state to defeat Grogar. Besides, improvising isn´t a good idea when it comes to him. You need a plan to attack.”

“Discord´s right.” Cadence approached them. “You need to leave.”

“See? Your sister in law agrees. Now that we´re talking about you, Cadence, you should go to the Crystal Empire. I´m sure your husband would appreciate it.”

Cadence nodded. She ignited her horn.

“Good luck, girls.” she said before she disappeared.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy reached her hoof to the collar to free Discord´s neck.

“Don´t!” he tried to warn her.

When Fluttershy touched the colour, a black and yellow magic touched her hoof, burning it a little.

“Ouch!” complained Fluttershy as she removed her hooves from the collar.

“It´s surrounded by his magic. Neither you and I can´t take it off.” he explained sadly to Fluttershy while holfing her hoof. “Only he can.”

“I can´t leave the princesses alone!” Twilight exclaimed.

As he was fighting, Grogar saw Discord talking to the main 6. He also noticed that he was holding Fluttershy´s hoof. He frowned and decided to attack them. He threw a ray of magic against them. Since it happened so fast, Celestia and Luna couldn´t do anything to avoid it. The only thing they could do was gasp and watch. The mane 6 closed their eyes and hugged each other. Luckily, nothing happened to them. When they opened their eyes, they understood why. Discord had created a force camp around them. He was holding it with his claw and paw while panting. He looked back and smiled cockily at his friends.

“They´re not alone.” he told them.

Everypony except Twilight smiled tenderly at her friend. The alicorn was still uncertain about leaving.

“Discord, undo the force camp!” Grogar commanded angrily.

Discord maintained the force camp. He looked at him with hatred as he panted.

“Do it! NOW!” Grogar insisted while yelling.

Seeing that Discord did not respond as he wished to, Grogar ignited his horns and electrocuted Discord with his magic by the collar around his neck. Discord fell to the ground while complaining, undoing the force camp. Fluttershy gasped.

“Discord!” she exclaimed as she tried to reach him. However, Rainbow and Applejack held her back.

Discord panted and woke up slowly. Once he was standing in two legs, he smiled at Fluttershy tenderly.

“I´m fine.” he whispered. “I´m fine.”

Fluttershy smiled back at him.

Meanwhile Luna reminded Grogar that they were still in battle by scratching his neck with his magic. Grogar was going to hit her in return, but Celestia defended her sister by creating a force camp.

“Thanks, sister.” Luna whispered in relief.

Celestia smiled in reply, but that smile didn´t last. Grogar took both with his magic and threw them against the wall. Grogar laughed while he approached the two of them.

“I´ve waited thousands of years for this moment. The moment I finally end up with her legacy.”

Fortunately, a yellow magic hit Grogar´s back. He yelled in pain. He turned around and saw Discord floating with a smirk.

“Nah, I think you´ll have to wait a little longer.” he told Grogar.

Grogar ignited his horns. Discord closed his eyes, getting ready for the electrocution, but the princesses attacked Grogar before he could do anything to Discord. And so, the battle consisted on Celestia, Discord and Luna against Grogar.

As he was fighting, Discord noticed that the mane 6 were still in the castle. He growled in frustration.

“Go. NOW!” he told them.

Twilight´s mind and heart were at a huge competition. She knew that the logical thing would be to leave, but she couldn´t bear the thought of leaving Celestia and Luna with that monster who wanted to kill them. Her indecision paralyzed her from acting. But her friends had already made up their minds.

“Twilight, we need to leave.” Applejack told her.

“I can´t.” Twilight replied.

“You have nothing to fear. Discord´s by their side.” Rainbow reassured Twilight.

“But Grogar´s more powerful than Discord! They won´t hold him for much longer.”

“Which is why we need to leave!” Rarity insisted. “Equestria needs us.” she laid a hoof on Twilight´s shoulder. “Please, darling.”

“We can think on how to help them once we have a plan.” Pinkie said. “I have so many ideas right now.”

“I know it´s hard, Twilight. I do.” Fluttershy laid a hoof under Twilight´s chin. “I don´t like the idea of leaving Discord behind with Grogar. But I know that this is necessary. If Discord understands it, the princesses will too. Everything will be ok, I promise.”

Twiligth looked at her friends with tears. She sniffed, gulped and nodded. She took a quick glance of the princesses as she ignited her horn. She was sobbing.

“I´m so sorry.” she said with a broken voice.

Her friends hugged her tightly. Twilight smiled at them. In a matter of seconds, the six friends disappeared in a flash.

Chapter 6: Making plans

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Spike and Flurry appeared in the middle of a snowstorm. Spike couldn´t recognize the place they were in due to the endless snow around. Deep inside, he hoped they were not in a town, because if that was the case, many towns would have been already buried by the snow. He shivered from the cold while looking around. Flurry, on the other hoof, didn´t seem bothered by the cold. She stood flying on a spot, with a blank stare on the horizon.

“Did you bring us to somewhere specific, Flurry?” Spike asked. “Or did we end up here by accident?” he said with a certain sarcasm in his voice.

Flurry scowled at him. Spike raised his hands with an awkward smile in apology. She looked around in confusion and flew towards the north. Spike opened his wings.

“Hey, wait!” he said as he tried to catch up with her. He struggled to fly due to the weight of the bell.

The more she flew, the more desperate Flurry grew. She couldn´t see anything in the first place, and the fierce gusts of snow and wind didn´t make the job easier. If it hadn´t been for Spike, she would have been dragged to who knows where.

“We´d better settle in somewhere else.” Spike told her.

Fortunately, there was a cave near them. Spike smiled and flew towards the cave while holding Flurry and the bell with all his strength. Once they were inside the cave, he put Flurry in front of him and the bell aside and sat down.

“We ended up here randomly, didn´t we?” Spike asked dryly.

Flurry moaned while shaking her head in annoyance.

“No? Do you know where we are?”

Flurry darted her eyes from one side to the other. She shook her head one more.

“Well, I hope it´s far away from Canterlot. Because Grogar is in there and I have his bell.” he said while pointing at the bell.

He started thinking to himself, not noticing Flurry´s sadness. Only when she sniffed, Spike saw that his niece wasn´t feeling alright.

“Hey, it´s alright.” he put his hand on her shoulder. “Maybe we didn´t end up in the safest place of all, but you protected us from an inevitable death by an evil overlord!” he caught the bell. “And you prevented Equestria´s doom, too.”

The bell caught Flurry´s eye. She crawled towards it and rang it with her hoof. Spike quickly moved it away from Flurry.

“Careful, Flurry! It´s not a toy. We don´t know what might happen if we use it the wrong way.” he said nervously.

Flurry rolled her eyes. She pointed at the bell as she raised an eyebrow.

“What do we do with it? That´s what I was asking myself before. The answer is that I have no idea. If we take it to Mount Everhoof, Grogar might look in there again. Hmm…. I think it must be a place that hasn´t been invaded, but that´s something impossible. Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy might have gone everywhere!”

As Spike was trying to come up with a place to hide the bell, Flurry paid attention to the bell. She looked up to see her horn, which gave her an idea. The baby alicorn ignited her horn. The sound of her horn made Spike´s ears perk up, which caused him to be aware of what the baby alicorn was doing.

“Flurry, no!” he tried to stop her.

But it was too late. By the time he said that, Flurry had already blasted the bell. It elevated from Spike´s hands. Knowing what was going to happen, Spike took Flurry and hid behind a rock, away from the bell. After it launched a huge blast that destroyed another rock, Spike and Flurry got closer.

“The bell cannot be destroyed, remember?” Spike scolded Flurry.

The baby alicorn looked down in apology. But her feelings of shame disappeared when she got an idea. She gasped in inspiration and left out a small and mispronounced aha!

“What?! What is it?!” Spike asked curiously.

With her magic, Flurry took the bell.

“DON´T! Don´t do that again…” Spike warned her.

Flurry frowned and patted her chest. Spike sighed.

“Ok, I´m going to trust you.” he said a bit nervously while sitting down.

Flurry smiled with contentment. She pointed at the bell.

“Ok, the bell.” Spike thought aloud, trying to decipher every movement Flurry did.

She nodded and pointed at her horn.

“Your… horn?”

Flurry moved her head from side to side while biting her lip.

“No wait! An unicorn! Or an alicorn, in your case.”

Flurry smirked. Then, she flew in front of the bell putting her hooves next to her ears and growling.

“That´s Tirek!” he tried to guess. Flurry shook her head. “No! Grogar! That´s Grogar!”

Flurry nodded. She went back to behind the bell and inclined her head, mimicking an alicorn or an unicorn doing magic. Then, she returned to Grogar´s position and put her hoof on her chest while whimpering and closed her eyes with her tongue out. She waited for Spike´s response with a huge grin, hoping that he understood what she wanted to say. However, the dragon seemed confused.

“Ok, I didn´t get that last part.”

Flurry scrubbed her entire face with her hoof while sighing in frustration. Suddenly, they heard some hoofsteps. They saw two silhouettes getting closer to the cave. Since they couldn´t see who they were, they prepared to defend themselves. Spike closed his fists and put them in the front. Flurry ignited her horn. However, they sighed in relief when they saw Cadence entering.

“Flurry! Spike! You´re ok!” she exclaimed happily after gasping.

“Mama!” Flurry exclaimed happily while hugging her mom.

Cadence laughed tenderly. Behind her, there approached a changeling.

“Gah!” Spike exclaimed while jumping. “A corrupted changeling!”

“Relax, it´s me, Thorax.” the changeling said.

Spike smiled, however, he couldn´t be sure if the changeling was lying or not.

“How do I know that it´s the real you and not an impostor?” he asked suspiciously.

Thorax smiled sheepishly.

“Sunshine, sunshine. Ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake.” he recited as he did the little dance Cadence taught him.

Spike hugged Thorax´s neck.

“I´m so glad you´re ok.” he looked at the two of them. “What brings you here?”

“We´re going to the Crystal Empire.” Cadence responded.

Spike gasped.

“We´re near the Crystal Empire?”

Cadence nodded.

“So that´s where you wanted to take us, huh?” he asked Flurry tauntingly. “But your attempt fired, didn´t it?”

Flurry frowned and avoided eye contact with Spike. Cadence laughed. Thorax looked behind Spike. He noticed the bell.

“That´s the bell Chrysalis was carrying! How did you get it?”

“Actually, that´s Grogar´s bell.” Spike corrected.

Thorax gasped.

“No way!”

“I know, can you believe it? Anyway, we fought Chrysalis, but, surprise surprise! She wasn´t alone. She created an allyship with Tirek and Cozy. The princesses and the girls fought them, but Flurry and I created a plan to help them! We managed to take the bell away from them, but we fell in the throne´s room trap, so we had to get back there again. And when we were there, Grogar was attacking my friends! And he noticed that I had his bell. Luckily, Flurry made us disappear before he could kill us, and now we´re here lost in the snow and in the refuge of this cave! Sooo… Any questions?”

Cadence and Thorax raised an eyebrow confused, since Spike let out lots of information. The looked at each other, wondering if the other understood what Spike said.

“Well… In our case, we´ve come to the Crystal Empire to check on Shining Armor and our subjects.” Cadence explained.

“We believe it´s surrounded by corrupted changelings. In other words, we´ve come to free them.” Thorax added. “You can come along if you want to.”

“I´d love to, but what do I do with the bell?” Spike asked. “We can´t leave it unwatched.”

Cadence and Thorax shared a glance. Cadence sighed.

“I don´t think we have a choice…” Thorax said.

“Ok, then.” Spike took the bell. “Let´s save the Crystal Empire!”

After making sure, every creature were together, she ignited her horn and the group was in the cave nor more.

Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow waited for Grogar in the throne room. They were still restrained to the wall. They witnessed the fight between him, the princesses and Discord. As expected, Grogar won the battle. He forced the guards to lock them in the dungeons. He accompanied them. Before doing so, he told the three villains that once he was finished, he would deal with them.

Tirek had an emotionless face. He was very calm and relaxed opposed to his partners in crime. Chrysalis kept on firing at Grogar´s magical cuffs, while Cozy was muttering something to herself. All the noise exhausted Tirek, since it had been going on for some time.

“Cut it out, will you?” he said to Chrysalis. “It´s pointless.”

“I DON´T CARE!” she yelled. “I refuse to die this way! I´m not dying today. NOT TODAY!”

Tirek rolled his eyes. He looked at Cozy and sighed.

“Why are you talking to yourself?”

“I´m not talking to myself!” replicated Cozy in annoyance. “I´m praying. Because we´re gonna diiiie!” she yelled as she sobbed. Tears streamed down Cozy´s face.

“Instead of crying, you should keep on fighting.” Chrysalis replied bluntly. “Crying is for the weak.”

“I am a child!” Cozy sobbed. “What do you expect me to do?!”

“One keeps on fighting despite the adversities! And don´t throw the `I am a child´ excuse.” Chrysalis mimicked Cozy Glow disrespectfully. “You almost left Equestria without magic!”

“But I´m still a child!” Cozy complained.

“At least you´re doing something. Unlike others.” she looked at Tirek.

Tirek sighed.

“Why do you care about what I am doing? I´m letting you do your own thing, so leave me alone!”

“How can you be so calm when you´re about to die?!” Cozy asked desperate.

“Because I´ve accepted it. Grogar can shoot me, I´m already dead!”

“So much for the bodybuilder…” Chrysalis muttered.

“Yeah, but unlike you two, I´m going to die with dignity.” he said with a smirk.

Chrysalis clenched her teeth and threw a ray at Tirek. Tirek returned the attack, and so began a fight between the two.

“Take back what you said!” Chrysalis demanded Tirek.

“No! Because what I´m saying is true!” he replied back.

Cozy sighed in frustration.

“Even in their last moments, they can´t be in peace with each other…” she mumbled.

However, the bickering between the two ended thanks to a black and yellow blast that almost hit them. The three widened their eyes when they saw an angry and panting Grogar.

“Why is it…” he took a breath. “Whenever I leave, YOU´RE MAKING NOISE OR DESTROYING EACH OTHER!” he yelled frustrated.

Chrysalis´and Tirek´s foreheads started to sweat. They stayed silent.

“Because of their pride and stubbornness.” Cozy said, hoping that if she agreed with him, maybe he could spear her life. Tirek and Chrysalis glared at her.

“It was a rhetoric question, you idiot.” Grogar replied bluntly.

Cozy gulped. Grogar walked to the throne, somewhat limping. He had lots of bruises and scars all around his body. He seemed very tired. As he walked, he put the three villains in front of the stairs to the throne. He jumped the trap and sat down on Celestia´s throne while sighing.

“You have committed the crime of treason. When I ruled Equestria, that was punishable by death. And I´m still keeping that law!”

The three gulped.

“So, I sentence you to death.”

Tirek closed his eyes. Chrysalis looked down. Cozy gasped and threw the floor while crying.

“Please, almighty Grogar, have mercy! Pleaaaase!”

Grogar rolled his eyes and sat Cozy down with his magic.

“But it is not too late.”

The three of them widened their eyes. Cozy scoffed.

“Really?” she asked in a mixture of surprise and excitement. Then, she sighed in relief and smiled. “Oh thank you so-”

Cozy couldn´t finish her sentence. Grogar muzzled her with his magic.

“I´m not finished!” he exclaimed. “Your sentence is still there, but if you perform the task I´m about to command efficiently, you´ll be rewarded.”

“With what?” Chrysalis asked in a challenging tone.

“Firstly, your lives. I´ll also grant you lands.”

The three villains gasped.

“Still, you will be under my rule.”

The villains frowned, but they were still interested in the idea.

“So, what is that task?” Tirek asked.

“I want those six ponies! And bring me back my bell. I also want the family of the Crystal Empire and Spike. They could be the perfect bait for Twilight Sparkle.” he smirked.

Chrysalis laughed.

“No problem. With the help of my army, I will-”

“Your army is mine to subdue, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis widened her eyes.

“WHAT?!”

“Do you really think that after betraying me I was going to make it that easy for you? I´m not doing this out of mercy, you know?” Grogar growled while struggling to get up from the throne. “I´m doing this so I can get some darn peace and quiet to recover from my wounds and get enough energy to confront Twilight and her friends!”

Cozy hugged Tirek, and Chrysalis covered the filly with her forelegs. Once they weren´t scared, they realized their positions and separated from each other. Meanwhile, Grogar breathed deeply and sat down.

“Besides, this is an ultimate test for you. I´m testing your loyalty in difficult circumstances. If everything goes as I ordered, which I´m pretty sure it won´t, you may have your army. But, for now, you must bring your army here, to Canterlot.”

Chrysalis twitched her eye.

“But they can only obey to me!”

“Not from now on.”

“No, no, literally, they can´t listen to you.” Cozy explained. “Chrysalis brainwashed them to only obey her.”

“Besides, the kingdoms around Equestia are under control thanks to her changelings.” added Tirek.

Grogar sighed.

“Very well. The army is under your control. However, once we´re done. I want a part of your army. Otherwise, you´ll be sentenced to death for treason.”

“I´d rather di-”

“Yes, my emperor. She agrees to the conditions.” Cozy said with a smile while covering Chrysalis´ mouth.

“We´ll go straight away to find them.” Tirek said as he put Chrysalis in a magical bubble.

Chrysalis protested but no voice came from her mouth. That was when she realized that Tirek put a silencing spell inside the bubble. She started hitting the bubble while ordering Tirek to get her out. The villains were about to leave the throne room, but Grogar raised his hoof and interrupted them.

“One more thing. I want them alive. You hear me? ALIVE. I´ll deal with them.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” Cozy replied while getting out of the throne room.

Grogar threw a death glare at Cozy, making her regret her poor choice of words.

“I mean..” she cleared her throat. “Yes, my emperor.”

Finally, they left the room.Once they made sure they were alone and far enough for Grogar not to hear them, Tirek released Chrysalis.

“WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! Don´t you know he wants my army?!”

“You were going to say that you´d rather die. He would have gladly fired at you at that moment! And we need you alive.” Cozy pressed her hoof against Chrysalis´ chest.

“And, there´s still a chance to overthrow him.” Tirek added. He grinned evily. “If we use his own bell against him.”

Cozy and Chrysalis smirked.

“Oh ho ho!” Cozy laughed.

“We´ll use the same strategy as before.” Chrysalis said. “But this time, once we have the bell, we get rid of that goat!”

Cozy and Tirek nodded. Chrysalis laughed and hugged Cozy and Tirek.

“This is gonna be fun!”

Tirek and Cozy looked astonished at Chrysalis. The changeling was so excited that she let her own emotions blind her judgement. Once she realized what she had done, she quickly undid the hug and cleared her throat.

“Let´s just pretend this never happened, ok?”

“Agreed.” Tirek looked aside and scratched his arm.

“That was so sweet of you Chrissy!” Chrysalis glared at her. Cozy smiled sheepishly. “Buuut… Also a little creepy… I prefer the angry and normal you.”

“Good. Ok, so this is how we´re going to do it.”

There were corrupted changelings around the School of Friendship. Starlight, Sunburst and Trixie were cocooned at the main hall. The students were locked at their rooms and bound by changeling substance. Inside of one of those rooms, there were the Young Six and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

All of them were bound to the ground, with exception of Sweetie Belle and Smolder, who were cocooned. In fact, every unicorn student was cocooned so they couldn´t destroy the substance. As for Smolder, she was cocooned so she couldn´t burn it.

Surprisingly, the only one who was making an effort to escape was Gallus. He batted his wings with all his strength, but he was still stuck. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow confused.

“Of all of your friends, you are the last creature I expected to keep on trying to escape.” she told him.

“Why wouldn´t I?!” Gallus asked in a mixture of annoyance and panic. “This stuff is gross!”

“Yona tried smash it. It didn´t work!” Yona exclaimed angrily.

“That´s because you can´t smash it, Yona.” Sandbar said grumpily.

“Are you ok, Sandbar?” Silverstream asked with a sweet concern.

“No, Silverstream. I´m frustrated!” Sandbar yelled at her.

Silverstream looked down, a bit hurt by Sandbar´s yell.

“I´m sorry. I didn´t mean to upset you.” her eyes filled with sadness.

Apple Bloom, who was looking at the window, got tired of the negative attitude in the room. She growled and exploded.

“STOP!”

Her yell silenced every creature.

“Just stop. I´m trying to focus.”

“On what?” Scootaloo asked.

“On finding a way to escape!”

“Haven´t you realized already? It´s impossible.” Sandbar replicated.

“Seriously? You´re giving up? Of all ponies?”

Sandbar gave a sad glance to Apple Bloom. He sighed to the ground.

“I´m sorry, everypony.” he apologized. “It´s just. I feel hopeless because the tree cannot help us.”

“But Twilight and the girls defeated Sombra without the help of the tree.” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Yes, but that also means we can´t help! We defeated Cozy Glow with the help of the tree! Twilight and her friends won´t be enough to defeat Cozy and Chrysalis. Not in these conditions. Don´t you see? We can´t do anything.” he left out a tear. “We´re powerless.”

Every creature felt sad for him. Apple Bloom breathed in and out.

“Look. I understand that you feel this way. But I´m not sitting here while there are psychopaths trying to hurt my sister!”

“I kinda agree.” Silverstream said. “Besides, I want to check on the tree. Something must have happened to it if it didn´t warn us.”

“Yona wants to check tree too.” the yak said sadly.

Sandbar cleared his tears. Then, he shook his head.

“You´re right. I must be out of my mind. We need to escape.”

Gallus looked a bit skeptical at Apple Bloom.

“You think there´s a chance to escape?” he asked while raising an eyebrow.

“There´s always a chance. As long as one can think.” Apple Bloom replied while glancing around the room, looking for something that could help them free their friends from the cocoons.

“You don´t have any ideas, do you?” Scootaloo asked.

“Nope.”

Yona growled.

“Yona and friends stuck here forever!” Yona complained.

Yona smacked the floor with her hind legs. The whole room shook, some dust fell from the ceiling, and both coccons detached slightly. Everypony looked at astonishment.

“Did you just see that?” Gallus asked.

Apple Bloom gasped.

“That´s it!” she exclaimed in realization. “Yona, do that again!”

Yona raised an eyebrow confused.

“Yona do what?”

“Smash the floor!” Silverstream exclaimed. “With your hind legs!”

“Like you just did, Yona.” Sandbar mimicked Yona´s moves. “Imagine that there are some perfect smashing logs that are waiting to be smashed behind you. What would you do?” he asked with a smirk.

“SMASH THEM!” the yak yelled excitedly.

Yona smacked the floor a few more times until the cocoons fell to the floor. They broke, releasing Sweetie Belle and Smolder. A huge grin drew in the friend´s faces. But they didn´t last. A changeling knocked at the door.

“WHAT´S GOING ON THERE?” it said.

Every creature´s eyes widened. Yona looked at them worried. Gallus frowned and told the yak to do something by moving his wing. Suddenly, Sandbar came up with an idea.

“Yona! You´re going to make the lamps fall!”

Yona looked confused at Sandbar. He winked at her. Yona understood that he was acting.

“But Yona bored!”

“Well, I am bored too but I´m not making any noise!” Silverstream played along. “And I´m really noisy when I´m bored!”

The changeling got tired of their yells. He knocked the door violently.

“SILENCE! Remember that you´re hostages. If you do something, you´ll pay the consequences.”

They expired in relief when the changeling´s hoofsteps faded. Meanwhile, Smolder and Sweetie Belle were recovering conscience.

“Ugh…” Smolder massaged her head.

“What happened?” Sweetie Belle while opening her eyes.

“You´re ok!” Silverstream exclaimed in joy while opening her wings. “If I wasn´t stuck in this thing, I would go and hug you right now!”

“You two were inside cocoons.” Apple Bloom explained.

Sweetie Belle and Smolder shared a glance. When they saw that there was substance in their bodies, they quickly jumped from the cocoons and tried to get it away.

“YUCK!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed with her tongue out.

“So gross…” Smolder mumbled.

“I know, right? I´m glad that I´m not the only creature in this room who reacted normally to that!” Gallus said sarcastically.

“Now that you´re free, will you please release us as well?” Sandbar asked kindly.

“Yeah, sure.” Smolder answered calmly.

Sweetie Belle nodded with her head.

“I´m not so sure if my magic will be that strong, but I´ll try anyway.” she said with a smile.

Smolder flew towards her friends.

“Ok, when I tell you, you lift your upper legs, ok?” she explained to them. “On the contrary, you might get burnt.”

“You don´t have to tell that to me.” Gallus replicated. “I´ll get my claws off as soon as that thing disappears.”

Silverstream and Yona held their laughter. Smolder and Sandbar smiled and rolled their eyes while looking at each other. Smolder knelt in front of Gallus. She blew a tiny flame of fire that melted the substance quickly. When his claws were free, he opened his wings and started flying.

“Ah! Finally!” he exclaimed in relief. “Are there any tissues here?” he flew around the room.

Sandbar laughed.

“It´s not necessary. That thing doesn´t stay in your claws.”

“In any case, Sweetie Belle and I are the ones who need a tissue.” Smolder said as she approached Sandbar.

Gallus shrugged.

“Just in case.”

Smolder freed Sandbar. Then, she freed Yona, who gave her a huge hug afterwards. Silverstream was the last to be freed by Smolder. The hippogriff was so fascinated by how the fire melted the substance that she forgot to do what Smolder told her, so she burnt her finger.

“Ouch!”

She put her finger in her mouth. Smolder frowned.

“Did you even listen to me?” she asked sarcastically.

“Sorry, it´s just I love seeing you breathing fire. Sometimes, I´d love to be a dragon just to do that!”

Smolder expired smoke from her nose while smiling in pride.

Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle struggled to create a blast. Each time she ignited her horn, the magic quickly faded. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at her anxiously.

“Come on, Sweetie. You can do this” Apple Bloom mutured to herself.

“Are you sure you don´t want to leave this to Smolder?” Scootaloo asked. She and Apple Bloom were a bit skeptical that her friend was the one who would free her.

“Just one more minute…” Sweetie Belle begged as she groaned.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom shared sarcastic glances. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle was able to create a small blast. Scootaloo smiled at her friend. Then, Sweetie Belle released Apple Bloom.

“Is every creature free?” Apple Bloom asked.

Gallus looked around.

“I think so.”

“What do we do now?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“We need to check on the tree and free the school.” Sandbar said.

“I agree, but first we need to leave the room.” Smolder added.

Scootaloo looked on the window. She saw many changelings outside. One of them almost saw her but Scootaloo quickly hid behind the curtain before it could.

“Ok. Escaping through the window is not a good idea.” she stated.

“So how do we do it? The door´s locked.” Gallus said.

“Hmm… Maybe one of us could escape in front of the changelings and hand themselves to them so the rest can escape?” Silverstream suggested. “I´ll gladly do it.”

Sandbar clicked his tongue.

“I´m not very comfortable with the idea…”

“Yona don´t like it.” the yak said while shaking her head.

“Well, I´m pretty sure none of us do. But I don´t have other ideas.” Gallus said.

“In that case, let it be us.” Apple Bloom joined in the conversation. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo followed behind her. “You´re the ones who have a special connection with magic, just like our sisters.”

“Are you sure about that? They are capable of doing anything to a filly.” Sandbar replicated.

“We are the cutie mark crusaders. We´re not afraid of anything.” Scootaloo replied with her hoof on her chest.

“If it helps Equestria, we´re willing to do it.” Sweetie Belle added.

The three fillies held their hooves.

Sandbar sighed.

“Ok…”

“Be very careful…” Silverstream told them.

Meanwhile, Smolder looked through the window. She noticed a familiar blue shape between some bushes. She smirked.

“I don´t think it will be necessary.” she told the CMC.

Ocellus leant her head a little to examine the environment. There were changelings everywhere outside, which would make the task of getting into the school without being observed more difficult. Ocellus sat down and bit her lip.

“Is it that bad?” Punja asked.

Ocellus nodded while gulping.

“There are only corrupted changelings.”

“That´s not good…”

Zecora caressed her chin in thought.

“Hmm… I think that the only way would be to drive them away.”

“You mean a distraction?” Ocellus asked.

Zecora nodded.

“Oh, I can do that! I can transform into a pony to get them away for some time!”

“Actually, I was thinking that you could transform into a corrupted changeling.” Zecora said.

Ocellus widened her eyes.

“That´s a good option as well. But… It´s a bit more personal… It brings me back bad memories.”

“But it´s less risky for your safety. There are more chances that you´ll get caught in your way than in my way. Your friends need you, Ocellus. To them you´re something precious.” Zecora held Ocellus´ cheeks. “And you and your friends are one of the keys to save Equestria.”

Ocellus smiled sadly.

“Ok. I´ll do it for my friends.”

“That´s a good plan, but I must point some things out, if I can.” Punja interfered.

“Go on.” Zecora implored.

“First things first. If we do what you say, Ocellus be the only one to make its way. But what about us? If we go out there alone with all our guts, we´ll get trapped! We could get killed, in fact.”

“You could be my prisoners!” Ocellus suggested.

“And how will they fall for that without any weapon?”

Ocellus opened her mouth to reply, but couldn´t find a good argument.

“Oh…”

“Besides, wouldn´t it be easier to achieve our goal if only one of us is your prisoner? I think that would make the job of liberating the students faster.”

“You´ve got a point.” she gasped. “I got it! One of you will hand themselves to the changelings”

“What?” the zebras asked in unison.

“Think about it! You try to get in, get captured, and then I appear behind. Then, we´ll get inside.”

“That´s a marvellous idea.” Punja agreed.

“But to free the school, we need to organize for when we are inside, otherwise we´ll look like fools.” Zecora pointed out. “Any ideas?”

Punja laughed mischievously.

“Quite many…”

The Mane 6 appeared in a dark place. Until Twilight and Rarity ignited their horns, they didn´t know what was around. They were in a strange place full of crystals around them.

“Where are we?” Rarity asked.

“The caves beneath Canterlot.” Twilight explained. “Remember Cadence´s wedding?”

Her friends nodded.

“Well, this is where Chrysalis sent Cadence and me. She told me that most ponies have forgotten about these caves. Maybe Grogar doesn´t know about this place, so with some hope, we´re safe here for now.”

“Yeah… About that guy…” Rainbow Dash scratched his back.

“HOW IS HE SO POWERFUL?!” Pinkie asked yelling. “Or better question, HOW IN EQUESTRIA ARE WE GOING TO DEFEAT HIM?!”

“We have no idea.” Applejack shook her head. “But one thing´s clear, we have to have to keep the bell away from him.”

“Applejack´s right.” Twilight agreed. “He mustn’t have his bell, that´s a basic condition.”

“We should look for support.” Fluttershy added. “Something tells me that we´ll not be enough to defeat Grogar.”

“Tell us who, then.” Rainbow replicated. “The pillars are injured, the princesses and Discord are captured, every kingdom around Equestria has been attacked!”

“What about the Young Six? Maybe they´re still out there. They saved Equestria from Cozy Glow, after all. I´m sure they´ll come in help.”

“With the tree´s help! And from what Grogar told us, it´s not in good conditions.”

“Oh, I forgot about it.” Rarity said anxiously. “Do you think he destroyed it like King Sombra did?” she asked Twilight.

The princess sighed.

“I don´t know… But I´m sure we can defeat Grogar without the help of the tree. Our friendship is still strong. And that´s enough to find a way.”

“You know? Now that I think about it, there are some creatures we also need to talk about.” Applejack said.

“Who?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“The villain trio.”

The mane 6 sighed in frustration.

“That´s another thing…” Rarity muttered.

“But they were against Grogar too.” Fluttershy pointed out. “Maybe they could join us?” Fluttershy asked.

The rest widened their eye

“Are you crazy?!” Rainbow asked annoyed.

“That´s not happening. Not on my watch!” Applejack smacked a hoof on the ground.

“You do realize they´re impossible to redeem, right darling?” Rarity told her.

Fluttershy sighed.

“I´m not talking about redeeming.” she clarified. “Do you really think that I would let Tirek in my circle of friends after what he did to Discord? Or Chrysalis, who harmed Twilight´s family twice? And don´t let me get started with Cozy Glow. Besides, I think they made it pretty clear that they´re not interested in redemption. But, we have an enemy in common. And that enemy is Grogar. We could do an allyship with them.”

“And how are we going to do that exactly, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked while raising her eyebrow.

“I don´t know. But we did it with Tirek before, didn´t we?”

“Look, Fluttershy, your idea sounds good, but it´s impossible to carry out.” Applejack said to her. “They´re more than reluctant to cooperate with Equestria. I don´t think we have enough time to convince to fight with us, either.”

“So, do we deal with Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy first?” Rarity asked.

“I don´t see any other option.” Twilight stated.

“I don´t know why but I bet all my cupcakes that they´re after Spike.” said Pinkie before taking a mouthful of a cupcake.

“Ugh, don´t remind me of that…” Twilight massaged her temple. “I don´t want to imagine what could happen to him.”

“He must hide the bell somewhere. Like Gusty did.” Rarity said.

“And where? Grogar will order to look for it everywhere.” Rainbow pointed out. “All we can do is keep it away from him. The best thing we can do is to tell Spike to fly all around Equestria to win us time.”

“And make him risk his life? I´m not putting him in danger.” Twilight refused.

“What if we use the bell against Grogar?” Pinkie Pie suggested.

Everypony shared a glance.

“Actually, that´s not a bad idea.” Rainbow admitted.

“I wonder if Gusty did that when she got Grogar´s bell.” Applejack asked Twilight.

“The books don´t specify it.” Twilight replied. “But maybe she did. It could work again.”

“Oh, but it´s too risky.” Fluttershy said. “There´s still a chance that we could take it from the villains if they get it from us, but if Grogar gets it? That´s game over. Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Is there a better option?” Rainbow asked Fluttershy.

“There´s always another option!” Pinkie Pie contradicted. “The possibilities in our universe are endless!” she raised her forelegs to the sky.

Rainbow frowned.

“What I meant is that if she had a better option.” she told her.

“I know it sounds very crazy, Fluttershy, but it´s the fastest and most efficient way to defeat that monster! Think about Discord. Your poor friend is suffering because of him! Do you want him to suffer for much longer?” Rarity said.

“Of course not!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“Then, there´s no discussion. Let´s do it!” Rarity exclaimed confidently.

“But before we do that, we need to know where Spike is.” Applejack stated.

“Twilight knows it!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“I do?”

“Two members of your family are missing. I´m sure you have a family sense that tells you where they are. Kind of like my Pinkie Sense!”

Twilight thought to herself.

“Hmm… I think I have an idea…”

Chapter 7: Reflections about the past

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Scorpan opened his eyes slowly. His vision was blurry at first, so he couldn´t recognize the place he was in. But as soon as it cleared, he saw some greys bars around him. It was then when he knew where he was.

“Oh no…” he muttered.

He quickly remembered what happened before he lost conscience. He had to face Tirek to help the pillars, but he was the stronger creature. He also remembered that he sent Punja away for help. He hoped with all his heart that she had listen to him and prayed for her safety.

He looked around to see if somepony was around. At his left, there was an unconscious Starswirl inside a cage. He gasped.

“Starswirl!”

His dizziness disappeared. He spread his wings to reach the bars, but something prevented him from doing so. A chain was holding his leg. He held the chain and tried to take it off, but he was too weak and tired. He barely had strength. He sat to the ground while panting.

“You woke up!” a masculine voice said behind him.

Scorpan´s eyes perked up. He turned his head backwards. Behind his cell, there was Stygian´s. He weakly waved his hoof with a nervous smile. His eyes were foggy, and he looked more tired than Scorpan.

“Stygian!” he turned his body around to see him. “Oh, you don´t look good.”

“That´s because your brother took our magic away. But, I´m fine don´t worry.” he reassured him, tenderly smiling at him.

“The others are here as well?” Scorpan asked.

The pillars slowly recovered conscience.

“Well… I´m here…” Meadowbrook pointed out tired.

“Present…” Flash Magnus raised his hoof.

“Aye…” Rockhoof confirmed.

“Count me in…” Somnamnbula said.

“Me too…” Mistmane added.

Starswirl started moving. He complained.

“What happened?” he asked confused.

Scorpan smiled when he heard Starswirl´s voice. He sighed in relief. He feared that he wouldn´t wake up, due to his old age.

“We fought Tirek. But we lost. Scorpan tried to save us and confronted his brother, but he tried to kill him.” Stygian explained. He looked at Scorpan. “And I´m afraid he almost did it. He stroke you in the heart, you know?”

Scorpan knew he fought against Tirek, but he didn´t remember how he lost conscience. And now he did. He felt pain because this was the definite proof that Tirek would never forgive him. His breath started shaking. Tears streamed down his face.

“Hey, what´s wrong?” Mistmane asked softly.

“This is all my fault.” Scorpan said between sobs. “I could have done more…”

“Do more? Against that guy?” Flash asked. “Look, nopony can face a thing as huge as that.”

“Don´t call him that way!” Scorpan scolded Flash.

Flash was a bit surprised at first, but then understood his mistake.

“Sorry…”

Scorpan sniffed.

“It´s ok.”

“But Flash is right.” Rockhoof agreed. “It´s not your fault we lost the fight.”

“Thanks, but it´s not about that.”

Somnambula gasped.

“Wait. No, no, no. You´re blaming yourself for what your brother has become?” she asked.

Scorpan nodded his head while sniffing.

“No, Scorpan. Don´t do that.” Meadowbrook told him.

“And what do you think you did wrong?” Stygian asked while raising an eyebrow.

Scorpan sighed.

“It´s a long story.”

“Why don´t you talk about it, Scorpan?” Starswirl suggested. “I´m sure that ventilating your feelings will help.”

Scorpan seemed a bit unsure at first, but Starswirl´s sweet smile convinced him. He wiped out some tears.

“Ok.”

“Take your time.” Mistmane advised him. “Breath in.”

Scorpan took some air in.

“Breath out.” Mistmane followed.

Scorpan exhalated the air.

“Now, if you feel ready, you may start.”

Scorpan nodded his head.

“First, I´ll have to tell the story of my kingdom. Milleniums ago, in my land, there were the centaurs and the gargoyles. Just like in your case, there was a conflict between them. In fact, there was a war. After so much blood was shed, the gargoyles and the centaurs signed a treaty of peace. They decided to rule the land together. So, they married the prince of the centaurs, Vorak, and the princess of the gargoyles, Haydon.”

“Your parents, am I right?” Stygian guessed.

Scorpan nodded.

“And thus, the Kingdom of Midnight was born. My parents wisely ruled the kingdom for centuries. But they knew they wouldn´t live forever. They needed an heir. The problem is that Haydon had trouble getting pregnant. But one day, the miracle happened. She finally empregnated. And she gave birth to a centaur, my brother, and years later, she gave birth to me.”

“Now we know why you´re so wise...” Starswirl said to Scorpan while raising an eyebrow

Scorpan blushed.

“My father wanted to make sure that Tirek would carry on with our kingdom´s traditions and values. He was his legacy, after all. Tirek, however, had other ideas. He wanted to implant new ideas and didn´t care about our family´s legacy. My father used to say that he was full of pride and believed to be superior.”

“Who wouldn´t…” Flash muttered under his breath.

“But Tirek did care about us. All his plans, all his ideas, were to impress our father. But our father was too stubborn. He and Tirek used to argue a lot. I remember hearing their screams in my room.”

“Oh dear…” Rockhoof mumbled. “I think somepony has daddy issues.”

“My mother was less serious with him, but he agreed mostly with my father. Which made him feel alone. He hated our parents to the point of not considering them part of his family. But he did consider me part of his family. I was the only one who supported him. But I also wanted to maintain harmony with my parents. As much as I appreciated his ideas, some of them were very dangerous… and sometimes immoral.”

The pillars clenched their teeth.

“So, I had to be behind his back all the time. The whole kingdom said that I acted more like the elder sibling.” he laughed sadly. Then, he sighed. “But I wasn´t a good sibling. I didn´t do anything when he was fighting with my father. In our huge argument in Equestria Tirek told me that I never stood up for him. That I was too weak…” he broke down in tears again. “And he was right.”

“Don´t say that…” Mistmane said softly.

“I must! If I had been a little braver or more outspoken, maybe Tirek wouldn´t have turned out to be what he is today.”

“You´re not responsible for your brother´s choices.” Meadowbrook stated. “Sometimes, I told my patients what they had to do if they wanted to get better, and they didn´t listen. Unfortunately, they paid the consequences in the worst of cases. But I did all I had to do. After you did your part, the rest is out of your control.”

“Thanks for your advice, Meadowbrook. But this is different.” Scorpan replicated. “He´s my brother. Not a patient.”

“Still, she is right.” Somnambula agreed with Meadowbrook. “Just because you had a bad time doesn´t give you the right to harm others.”

“But some of them are misguided… Look Stygian, for example.”

“Yeah, but when they offered me a chance, I took it.” Stygian stated. “You gave a chance for friendship to your brother, and he didn´t take it.”

“But..”

“No buts, Scorpan!” Starswirl complained. “A great friend of mine was mistreated by society, and she ended up saving Equestria from Grogar!”

The pillars´ ears perked up and looked astonished at Starswirl.

“What?” Flash Magnus asked shocked.

“Gusty the Great…” Rockhoof started.

“Was your friend?!” Meadowbrook finished.

“You never told us that!” Somnambula exclaimed excited. “What a privilege!”

“So she wasn´t always loved?” Stygian asked a bit confused.

Starswirl shook his head.

“First of all, her horn was different to the other unicorns´. More concretely, it was like Mistmane´s. In fact, her village was around your zone.”

Mistmane looked at her horn and smiled in pride.

“But at a young age, due to famine, her family had to move to Tambelon´s capital. That was how Grogar named his empire. Anyway, unfortunately, Gusty´s family died, so she didn´t have other unicorns who were like her, which made her feel out of place.”

“I kinda know how it feels…” Rockhoof muttered.

“Secondly, when she was old enough to get married, she did a very particular choice of marriage for an unicorn: she married a pegasus.”

Everypony gasped.

“Really?” Flash Magnus asked. “But I thought that the three tribes were confronted at the time.”

“Well, not really. Before Grogar, the three tribes didn´t interact before. Thanks to Grogar´s reign, we knew the existence of different ponies. And like before, we didn´t like each other too much and barely communicated, but we were independent from each other, unlike pre- Hearth´s Warming Eve.”

“Oh, ok.”

“Of course, Gusty´s suitor upset so many unicorns. But she didn´t care. She gave birth to two fillies, Celestia and Luna.”

“The princesses are Gusty´s daughters? The things you learn every day.” Scorpan said to himself.

Starswirl laughed.

“Gusty had her own happy family. But things changed when Grogar ordered to kill every pegasus. Celestia and Luna were lucky to have been born unicorns, otherwise they might not be here today…”

Somnambula and Flash Magnus looked at each other.

“Well, he didn´t accomplish that mission.” Somnambula said smugly.

Flash smirked.

“Of course not.” Starswirl agreed. “Many pegasi survived the hunt. Anyway, circumstances forced Gusty and her daughters to live with the other unicorns. But she wasn´t accepted at all. But all of that changed when she joined the rebellion. At that time, some unicorns were opposing Grogar. Gusty knew that if she joined, she would be able to feed Celestia and Luna. And believe me, that was everypony´s salvation.”

“Were you in the rebellion?” Stygian asked.

“Not at first. Like Gusty, I was living isolated from the other unicorns. But in one of the rebellion´s expeditions, I had to give them refuge. It was then, we became friends and convinced me to join them.”

The pillars and Stygian were fascinated. Starswirl looked at Scorpan.

“So, as you see, life always gives us challenges. The decision on how to face them depends on you and you alone. In other words, you´re not guilty for your brother´s choices.”

Scorpan smiled warmly. He looked up to the ceiling, thinking to himself with some sadness in his face.

“I just hope Grogar doesn´t harm him…”

Celestia and Luna were in a dark cell. They had a chain around their necks and a ring in their horns that prevented them from doing any magic. Their heartbeats were agitated, not knowing what was going to happen next. Were Twilight and her friends safe? Will Grogar find them before they attack? Lots of doubts were running in their brains. There was no sound in the cell, only silence. That was until Celestia spoke.

“Lulu?”

Luna, who was looking at the floor, set her eyes on Celestia.

“In case we don´t get out of this, I just want to say…. I love you. I have always loved you, even though you didn´t feel it. You´re a treasure to me, Luna.”

“I already know that. You don´t have to tell me. In any case, the one who should say that is me.” she put her hoof on her chest. “I let my hatred, anger and pain take over me. And I almost left it out on you.”

Celestia wrapped her sister with her wing.

“No. I should have paid you more attention. I should have been a bit more sensitive with what you were going through.” Celestia started crying. “You turned on Nightmare Moon because of me.”

Luna´s eyes filled with tears.

“It wasn´t your fault, Tia. It was mine!” she exclaimed while hugging her sister. She sighed. “Look, if this turns out to be our last moments, I´d rather spend it in any other way rather than blaming ourselves.”

Celestia sniffed.

“Fair enough. Let´s spend it embraced, at least.”

Luna nodded. The sisters hugged each other tightly.

“Here we are again.” Luna scoffed weakly. “Trapped by the diabolical ram once again. My worst nightmare is happening.”

Celestia looked at her sister.

“I know. It is mine too. But at least this time we´re together.”

“Did it take a toll on you?” Luna asked curiously. “You know? Grogar, mother´s death…”

“Of course it did. Why do you ask?”

Luna looked to the ground.

“I always saw you around other ponies, optimistic and happy. I, on the other hoof, isolated myself and succumbed in a deep sadness. I thought I was weak, and for that I started hating myself. I always thought, why can´t I be more like you? A likeable pony who always hoped for the best.”

Celestia sighed.

“You used to be like that. You were always imagining things and hoping for a better future. But after Grogar… you became more private. Did he do anything to you?”

Luna looked aside. She doubted to talk at first, but after thinking about it, she decided it would be better to talk now than never.

“Actually…. He´s partially responsible for Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia´s eyes widened.

“What?” she asked scared.

“He put a spell on me. Like a monster inside me. He told me that I would start hating you, and that hatred would turn me into that monster. And that I would hurt you and mother. He told me that he planned to do the same thing on you. Fortunately, mother stole his bell before he could.”

Celestia breathed heavily.

“That´s why I distanced myself from you. I thought that it would be safer for you. Unfortunately, that was a bad decision. It only fed my hatred for you.”

“Why didn´t you tell me?”

“Because… I saw you in a good mood every day, and-” Luna sighed. “I didn´t want to ruin it. Besides, I thought that you would start hating me and consider me a monster.”

Celestia´s eyes filled with tears.

“Still, the fact that I was cursed doesn´t excuse my actions. I shouldn´t have listened to that darkness. I should have fought a little more and not blame other ponies, especially you.”

Celestia hugged her sister tightly. Tears of hatred streamed down her face.

“That monster! First, he hurt mother and now, I discover that he hurt you!” she sobbed. “He´s not getting away with this! You hear me?! I´ll make him pay for that!”

“You know what? I never thought I´d say this, but… I feel bad for Discord. Having to live with a father like that? No wonder he hates him so much.” Luna said.

“Terrible, I know. I can´t imagine what it must feel like to have been created to destroy.”

There was a brief silence.

“Tia. Will everything be ok?”

Celestia sighed.

“The truth is that I don´t know. But we must not give up our hope. Twilight and her friends aren´t on Grogar´s hooves. Their friendship is powerful, you know that. Besides, Grogar doesn´t have his bell. There´s still a chance, Lulu.”

Celestia grabbed gently Luna´s face.

“We´re going to get through this. Equestria has gone through many attacks. And Twilight and her friends have always managed to defeat the villains who wanted to hurt us.” Celestia reassured her. “And Grogar will pay for what he did to you. I promise.”

“He hurt you as well.” Luna told Celestia.

Celestia raised an eyebrow.

“He separated me from you. And I know that brought you a lot of pain as well as mother´s death.”

Celestia looked aside sadly.

“And I also know that while you´re hopeful, you´re also insecure and scared. But let me tell you this.” Luna held Celestia´s hoof. “Even if we die, we´ll still be together.”

Celestia smiled sadly and hugged her sister.

“It´s just like mother used to say. When all is lost, then all is found.” she said.

Luna nodded her head. Tears streamed down their faces while they hugged each other tightly.

Discord had his neck enchained to the corner of his cell. He hugged his knees. He was sad and anxious, worried sick about his friends, specially Fluttershy. But mostly, he felt lonely. Throughout his life, Discord had been alone. Ever since he escaped from Grogar, he travelled around the world on his own, looking for a place to settle in, but he wasn´t accepted anywhere, causing him to get used to be in solitude. But right now, it was unbearable. For the first time in years, Discord was feeling hopeless. He couldn´t think of any solution. He didn´t have that spark he usually had. What´s worse, there was a possibility that he might lose the only pony who truly appreciates the beauty of his magic and accepts him for who he is: Fluttershy.

Unlike her friends and other ponies, she didn´t see his magic as annoying or weird, nor dangerous or evil like ancient Equestrian ponies did. Or means to conquer like Grogar did. She saw his magic as a mysterious, mischievous, playful, funny, free-spirited and chaotic force. And for that he was very grateful to her. Fluttershy understood him in a way that nopony else did. After all, she also felt very different from the other pegasi when she was a young filly.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of keys. Discord turned his head, and saw Grogar accompanied by a guard. Grogar entered the cell.

“I´ll call you when we´re finished.” he told the guard.

The guard nodded left the two of them running in dread. Discord scowled and looked away. Grogar sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Come on, Discord. Don´t make this harder for yourself. It will be better for your health if you just obey and don´t resist.”

Discord scoffed.

“Don´t pretend you care about my health or me.”

“Quite the contrary, Discord. I do. I do.”

“Just so you can accomplish your plans, am I right?”

Grogar chuckled.

“You know your father so well, don´t you? But you should see it from another perspective, Discord. I´m giving you a chance to become the grandiose and powerful Lord of Chaos you once were. With some improvements too.”

Discord turned his head to talk to his father face to face.

“What you really want is to use me as a weapon. You want me to spread fire and destruction everywhere. Let´s face it, you never thought I was scary. Even when you watched my reign in that eye of yours, you must have been thinking that all I did was stupid and childish! You have no right to tell me that you admire me! Besides, that´s not what I want! I´ve discovered a new style of life and I´m content with it. You cannot and will not change me!”

Grogar smirked and raised an eyebrow.

“Funny. You had that same attitude when those ponies were trying to reform you. The same ponies you turned against to ally with Tirek.”

Discord was going to answer, but that was a low blow for him. He looked down in shame.

“Let´s face it, Discord. This isn´t the life you were born for. Even if you try to be kind and meek, ponies still see you as a monster or a freak. They always have and always will. They are self-righteous creatures who believe they are better than every creature else. Look at your so called friends! They consider you an annoyance. They never want to be by your side. Yet they claim that they fight for friendship. Do you see what I´m saying? Why do you keep on pretending something you are not? I am the one who accepts you the way you are. We would be unstoppable, Discord. Nopony else will dare to disrespect you.”

Discord´s heart ached. Even if he tried to deny, he always felt that when he was around a pony who wasn´t Fluttershy. But he knew that he was trying to manipulate him. Still, those words were too much.

“Please, stop.” he put his hands in his ears, at the brink of tears.

“I am telling the truth, son. It´s painful, I know.” Grogar said as he put a hoof on Discord´s shoulder, who quickly shoved it away. “But if you join me, you won´t have to feel that pain no more. I think that the right choice is obvious. So, what do you say?”

Discord spat on his face. Grogar wiped it out with his hoof with a look of hatred towards his son.

“Did you really think that I would fall for that? Do you think I´m an idiot? Tirek pulled the exact same trick. You underrate me too much. You criticize ponies on believing that they are better, but you know what? You´re not that different.” Discord smirked.

Grogar raised an eyebrow confused.

“You believe that you´re the most powerful and intelligent creature, but you did lots of basic mistakes without seeing the consequences before hoof because of your pride. For example, why did you think that giving me intelligence was a good idea? Or worse, how is it that Gusty ended up defeating you?”

“ENOUGH!” Grogar ordered while smacking a hoof to the ground.

“Like you usually say, keep denying all you want, but you know I´m right.”

Grogar´s blood was boiling in fury. He hated so much when things didn´t go according to plan. Still, there was something else he could do. And he knew that Discord couldn´t say no to that. He smirked evilly.

“Very well. Do whatever you want. But I´d advise that you did it for somepony else.”

Discord´s ears perked up. His confidence and cockiness dropped when he understood who he was talking about. He stared at his father in fright.

“You wouldn´t…” he muttered.

“I´m capable of anything. You know that.”

Discord panted.

“I didn´t want to come to this point, but you leave me no choice. Don´t obey me, and your precious pegasus friend will pay the consequences.”

Discord put his claw and paw on his temples.

“I´m doing this because it´s the best for you, Discord. That mare has misguided you from your destiny and has turned you weak again. And do you know why?”

Seeing that Discord was in the brink of tears, Grogar held his chin.

“Because you fell for this mare´s tricks. All your life, you foolishly sought for somepony who understood you and accepted you for who you are. Let me tell you this, that wasn´t kindness. That was cunning.”

Discord frowned and sniffed while looking at Grogar.

“Look at you, crying like a foal. Do you understand what I´m saying when I tell you that she has turned you weak again? You embarrass me as a son.”

Grogar let go of Discord´s chin. He went to the cell´s door.

“Seeing that you don´t answer, I´m going to give the order to capture Fluttershy and bring her here.”

“Wait!” Discord exclaimed weakly.

Grogar stopped walking and turned around. Discord cleaned his tears and sighed.

“I´m at your service, father.”

Grogar smiled in satisfaction.

“That´s a good boy.” he looked at the guard. “Guard!”

The guard jumped scared by Grogar´s sudden yell. He ran towards the cell and opened it. Grogar talked to Discord while leaving the cell.

“Don´t think that just because you accepted I´m going to treat you nicely. In fact, you´ll sleep here tonight, due to your stubbornness. Tomorrow morning we´ll talk again.”

Th guard closed the cell. He looked at Discord with some pity before leaving. The draconequus hugged his knees and started crying.

“I´m sorry, girls.” he muttered between sobs.

Chapter 8: Let´s do some rescuing

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“You ready?” Punja asked Ocellus and Zecora. She spied the changeling guards from the bush.

Ocellus changed her form to a corrupted changeling.

“Ready.” she replied with a confident smirk.

Zecora nodded. She left the bush running, Ocellus following behind while flying.

“Stop you… um…” Ocellus put her hoof under her chin. She entered in a slight state of panic, since she didn´t know how to insult Zecora. Thankfully, the changelings didn´t see nor heard them, so there was nothing to worry about.

Punja, who was watching everything, put her hoof on her forehead in frustration.

“Ocellus…. My precious… Please.” she muttered under her breath.

Ocellus kept on thinking. But eventually, she gave up and shook her head.

“Nevermind.” she cleared her throat. “INTRUDEEER!”

The changelings turned around. They gasped when they saw Zecora running.

“FORMATION!” a guard ordered.

The changelings blocked Zecora´s way by circling around her. Pretending to be scared, she looked around. A changeling pricked her neck with a spear.

“Ow!” complained Zecora. “Be careful with that spear, because I´ll get even I swear.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” the changeling said unamussed. Shee turned to Ocellus. “Good job, soldier.”

“Thank you!” Ocellus replied excitedly.

The changelings were surprised by that answer. Zecora scowled at her. Ocellus realized her mistake.

“I mean.” Ocellus cleared her throat. She put her hoof in front of her forehead.

“Where do we take her, boss?” a changeling asked.

“That´s actually a pretty good question.” Ocellus agreed.

“Lock her in a room that´s free. We´ll think what to do with her later.”

The changelings and Ocellus nodded and took Zecora inside the school. Ocellus grabbed Zecora´s shoulder and winked at her.

Meanwhile, Punja prepared to do her part.

“Never thought that they would actually fall for that.” she thought aloud.

She took some stones and put them inside her bag. After making sure that no changeling was around, she went to the school´s windows.

“Her friends were a yak, a griffon, a pony, a hippogriph and a dragon. They must be inside a cabin. All I have to do is to look through the windows.”

With just taking a glance, Punja knew that this wouldn´t be an easy task. She sighed.

“I just hope this doesn´t take until tomorrow.”

“Ok. Let me get this straight, Ocellus is back?” Gallus asked astonished.

Smolder looked through the window.

“I think so.”

Every creature in the room sighed in relief.

“Thank goodness.” Sweetie Belle said.

“But what if she gets captured?” Sandbar asked a bit worried.

“Yona not worried. Ocellus can transform into bad changeling.” Yona patted his back.

“Exactly!” Silverstream said hopeful. “She´ll come to the window and free us!”

Smolder, who was looking through the window once again, clenched her teeth nervously.

“Actually… She got caught.”

“WHAT?!” her friends and the CMC exclaimed.

“I think she transformed into a white pony with black stripes instead of a changeling.”

“You mean a zebra, right?” Apple Bloom asked perplexed.

Smolder massaged her forehead. “Come on, Ocellus, you can do better than that. But at least there are no changelings watching over this zone! We have our chance to escape!”

Smolder was going to open the window but Sandbar put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Woah, there. First we need to come up with a plan to save Ocellus.”

“There´s no time for that!” Gallus complained. “The changelings could return at any moment.”

“Does that mean that we´ll have to improvise?”

“Yup.” Apple Bloom replied. “Unless you come up with a better idea right now.”

Sandbar sighed.

“Ok, fine. We´ll improvise.”

The conversation was interrupted by some thuds on the window. Scootaloo tilted her head and raised her ear.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Sweetie Belle asked confused.

“I don´t know, but I did hear something.”

Silverstream gasped.

“Oh no! It´s the changelings!” she took and shook Scootaloo. “We´re doomed!” she exclaimed after throwing poor Scootaloo to the floor.

Gallus noticed a stone hitting the window. He approached and looked down. He saw a small zebra picking up a stone.

“Actually, it´s a white filly with black stripes.” he clarified.

“That´s a zebra.” Apple Bloom corrected once again a bit upset.

Sandbar gasped.

“It could be Ocellus! Open the window.”

Gallus nodded and opened the window, only to get hit by a stone.

“Ouch!” he moaned while covering his nose with his claws.

“Sorry! I´m so sorry.” Punja apologized.

“Be careful, Ocellus. You almost broke my nose!”

Punja raised an eyebrow.

“Isn´t it clear that I´m not your friend?”

Gallus widened his eyes and grabbed something to hit her, but Punja stopped him by shaking her hooves.

“No no! That´s not what I meant! What I meant is that I´m not Ocellus, doesn´t it show?”

“Oh…” Gallus quickly put the object he grabbed back to where it was. He grinned nervously. “Sorry…”

“How do we know that you´re not lying?” Smolder asked suspiciously.

“Yeah! What if zebra is mean changeling?” Yona joined in the accusation.

Punja sighed.

“Where to begin…” she thought aloud. “I know when!” she cleared her throat. “Zecora and I met Ocellus on our way to Canterlot, since warning Twilight about Tirek was the best thing I could thought. We went to the castle and Twilight sent us here, since Ocellus wanted your safety ensure. So we came up with a plan to free the school. I hope those changelings haven´t been too cruel.” she smiled nervously.

Gallus, Smolder and Yona tilted her heads, not really understanding what the zebra was saying.

“Her story may be confusing but I don´t think that a changeling would talk in rhymes, so I believe her.” Smolder told them.

“Mhm.” Gallus agreed.

Yona nodded her head.

“Wait a minute!” Apple Bloom made her way through the three friends. “Did you mention Zecora?”

“Yes! Finally somepony who understands me in this mess!”

“Oh my goodness! Is she ok?”

Punja bit her lip.

“She´s with Ocellus trying to free Starlight, Trixie and Sunburst. I mean, it´s not great but it´s not the worst.”

“You also mentioned Twilight? Did you see my sister? Is she ok?”

“And mine?” Sweetie Belle joined in the conversation.

“What about Rainbow Dash? Do you know her?” Scootaloo asked.

“Whoah, whoah, calm down, otherwise I´ll have a nervous breakdown.” Punja said a bit annoyed. “The thing is I don´t know. Twilight sent us here, so I can´t tell how things for them did go.”

“Oooh…” the three fillies muttered worried.

“But now it´s not the time to chat. We have to scape like the rat chased by the cat.”

Every creature nodded. The first to jump were the CMC, then Sandbar and Yona, who shook the ground a little when she landed. Smolder, Gallus and Silverstream left by flying. The latter took Punja and hugged her tightly.

“You´re so cute! I´ve never seen a pony like you!” she exclaimed excitedly.

Punja got upset and pressed against Silverstream´s chest to prevent her hug.

“For your information, I am zebra. Next time you should name creatures with more caution.”

Silverstream laughed apologetically.

“Sorry.”

“No harm done. But let me go, and my forgiveness you have won.”

Silverstream released Punja. The little zebra smiled.

“Thank you.”

“So um…” Sandbar shook his hoof, asking Punja her name.

“Punja.”

“So Punja. Do you have a specific plan?”

The zebra filly nodded.

“I´ll explain along the way. All I can say for now is that each of you have a part to play. Come on!”

Punja started running. The Young Six and the CMC followed behind.

“I hope that this weirdo´s plan works.” Gallus whispered in Smolder´s ear. “Otherwise, everything could go berserk.”

“I heard you!” Punja exclaimed. “Also, what a nice rhyme you threw!”

“Darn it!” Gallus hit his forehead. “It´s too contagious.”

Smolder held her laughter.

Ocellus and Zecora entered the school. They saw Starlight, Sunburst and Trixie cocooned. Ocellus and Zecora clenched her teeth. Just when they were about to leave the hall, Zecora hit Ocellus´ hoof to indicate her to carry out the plan.

“I´ll stay here with her!” she exclaimed.

Surprised by her sudden outburst, the changelings stared at her with estranged and confused faces.

“What?” a changeling asked.

“Just to get her to make an idea of what happens to those who disobey. It´s very discomforting for her!”

Zecora widened her eyes and pretended to be scared.

“Oh no! Being cocooned is the worst form of torture I know!” she dramatically put her foreleg on her forehead.

The changelings didn´t embrace the idea yet.

“Which gives me a great idea, I could torture her to take out some information about Twilight and her friends!” Ocellus suggested

“That´s a great idea! We could do a torture room and interrogate every student!”

Zecora gagged. Although Ocellus was a bit astonished and terrified at the idea, she kept on playing along.

“That´s a good idea, yes! But I recommend testing the idea first. She´s the perfect candidate for the first test! I could do all of that while all of you find her a room to lock her.”

“Why would you want all of us to leave?” a changeling who was guarding the hall asked up.

Ocellus got a bit nervous by that question at first, but she managed to keep it together.

“To create a more menacing environment for the prisoner! After all, an interrogation is more frightening if it´s one to one, isn´t it?”

The changelings weren´t too fond of the ida, but they finally gave in, much to Ocellus´ surprise.

“You´re right.” the captain of the changelings said. “RETREAT!” she commanded.

“YES, SIR!” the other changelings replied while putting their hooves in front of their foreheads.

When they fled the room, Ocellus and Zecora sighed in relief.

“I can´t believe it worked.” Ocellus said with a kind smile.

“I am surprised I admit.” Zecora agreed. “Now go free them. I don´t want to put those poor students in a pit.”

“Me neither.” replied Ocellus while flying to the cocoons. She shivered. “I don´t want to imagine what those corrupted changelings might be capable of.”

She undid the cocoons, releasing the three unicorns. Starlight was the first to gain conscience.

“Uuh… What happened?”

“The school was invaded by Cozy Glow and Chrysalis.” Ocellus explained.

“The school invaded?” Starlight asked confused at first. Then, she gasped when she remembered what happened in her battle against Cozy. “Sunburst!” she exclaimed as she held his body with her arms.

Sunburst slowly opened his eyes.

“Starlight? Why are you covered in green substance?”

Starlight sighed in relief.

“Thank goodness you´re not dead.”

“Why would I be dead?” he asked with widened eyes.

Starlight widened her eyes.

“Dead? Did I say dead? Why would I say that? What I meant is unconscious, I meant, I didn´t want you to be still for a long time!”

Zecora frowned at Starlight.

“I don´t what exactly happened, but something tells me that she´s hiding something to her friend.” she whispered in Ocellus´ ear.

“Can somepony explain to me what´s going on?” Trixie asked.

“Trixie!” Sunburst exclaimed. “Believe me, I´m just as confused as you are.”

Trixie watched Ocellus´ disguise and jumped scared.

“GAAH! Stay away you beast!” she brightened her horn.

“No no, don´t worry, I´m Ocellus.” the young changeling returned to her original form. “See?”

However, some changelings who were guarding the school´s gates heard Trixie´s screams and entered to see if everything was alright. But it wasn´t. They infuriated when they saw Ocellus´ true form.

“You traitor!” a changeling yelled at Ocellus.

“Let´s seize the rebels!” the other changeling suggested. He called the other changelings by whistling with his hoof. As soon as the whistle ended, lots of changelings surrounded Ocellus, Zecora, Starlight, Trixie and Sunburst. Zecora kicked some changelings to open the way for Ocellus.

“Go reunite with your friends!” Zecora exclaimed.

Ocellus nodded and left the hall. The unicorns and the zebra looked at their enemies.

“How many changelings do you see?” Sunburst asked.

“Let´s see one two three four five…. Countless.” Trixie replied.

“Fear not.” Zecora said. “You are more powerful, even though they are a lot.”

“Zecora is right. Let´s show them what happens when they mess with us.” Starlight said with a smirk as she enlighted her horn.

Zecora wore determination on her face. Trixie and Sunburst were a bit unsure at first, but they nodded at each other and prepared to fight.

The changelings made sure which wasn´t locked to know in which one they should put Zecora. The CMC, Punja, Sandbat and Yona were hidden in a corner. Sweetie Belle somewhat inclined to watch over the changelings. She quickly hid when she noticed a changeling turning around.

“They´re coming.” she warned to her friends, Sandbar and Punja.

“Do we attack yet?” Sandbar asked to Punja.

“Let them come nearer.” Punja replied in a whisper. “We attack as soon as we see in the wall their figures.”

“We´ll have to guide ourselves by their footsteps.” Apple Bloom said.

“Shh! Quiet!” Scootaloo silenced her friend by shaking her hoof.

Their breath accelerated as the hoofsteps got closer. The moment never seemed to come. It seemed like the time went slower than usual. But they kept their eyes wide open, waiting for the changeling shadows. Finally, after some time, they appeared. Punja left out a huge scream.

“NOOW!”

The changelings raised their ears. Before they could defend themselves, Yona jumped from behind.

“SMAAAASH!” she yelled as she landed on some changelings.

The changelings who weren´t trapped by Yona, were surrounded by a circle of fire that Smolder had created. Apple Bloom grabbed some ropes that Punja brought on her bag and tied the captured changelings, with the help of her friends and Sandbar. Silverstream and Gallus flew towards their friends as fast as they could. A bunch of changelings were chasing them.

“GUUUUYS!” Silverstream yelled.

“Help uuuus!” Galllus begged.

“I´m bringing some more!” Ocellus informed while running away from other changelings.

Immediately, Yona jumped on all the changelings she could land on. Unfortunately, by doing so, she also landed on Gallus and Silverstream.

“Ow!” the hippogryph and griffon exclaimed in pain.

“Yonaaa!” Gallus complained.

Silvestream slapped a changeling´s face for showing her his tongue. Fortunately, they weren´t under Yona´s stomach for too long. The yak released them to let her friends tie the changelings. Meanwhile, Smolder blocked the way of some changelings by blowing fire in front of them. Silverstream and Gallus tackled two changelings against the wall. They looked at the Apple Bloom.

“Hurry!” Silverstream told her desperate.

“I don´t think we can hold them for much longer!” Galllus added.

“We can´t help you now!” Scootaloo replied. “We´re busy tying these changelings!”

Some changelings were about to attack the two friends, but thankfully, Yona jumped on them before they could do anything. Ocellus flew to their friends.

“I think I can help with that. The problem is that I´m not sure if it still works, but I think it´s worth the try.”

“Ocellus!” Galllus exclaimed upset.

“Oh yeah, sorry!”

Ocellus started coughing. It seemed that she had nausea. Gallus and Silverstream looked at each other, a bit disgusted by the fact that she was trying to vomit. Finally, Ocellus regurgitated a green substance that kept the changelings attached to the wall.

“That was absolutely disgusting.” Gallus commented. “But at least it worked.”

“That was gross and cool at the same time.” Silverstream said with a nervous smile.

“This was something that we did when we were under Chrysalis´ rule.” Ocellus explained. “I didn´t know that we could still do that.” she admitted surprised.

“Less conversation and more action!” Punja scolded.

“Oh right!”

Punja started kicking changelings to earn Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle time to bind the defeated changelings. Sandbar and Scootaloo joined the fight. Of the three, Scootaloo was the only one who seemed to be having fun.

“This. Is. AWESOME!” she yelled excited. “Rainbow would be so proud!”

They kicked the changelings to the wall so Ocellus could throw at them her substance. Gallus and Silverstream helped by tackling changelings to the walls or ground.

The battle continued for some time. When they were finished, all of them panted heavily.

“Finally!” Sandbar exclaimed in relief.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle jumped back when some changelings showed their tongues.

“I think we should lock the tied ones.” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Agreed.” Apple Bloom said.

“But where?” Smolder asked.

Yona didn´t need to think that. She got an idea just by watching the doors. She calmly directed towards them. With just one kick on the doorknob she opened it. The students inside were just as surprised as Yona´s friends were.

“Yona and friends free students, Yona and friends lock mean and nasty changelings.”

Every creature smirked in victory. The CMC, Sandbar and Punja helped the locked students to get out, while Gallus, Silverstream, Ocellus, Smolder and Yona pulled the changelings inside the rooms. Once they were inside, Gallus closed and locked the door.

“Where do we go now?” a rescued male student asked.

Sandbar came up with an idea.

“Follow me to the library.” he looked at his friends. “I´ll come back.” he told them while running to the library, the rescued students followed.

The changelings around scared them. The students yelled.

“Ignore them! They´re tied. They can´t do anything to you.”

The students obeyed but were still afraid.

Cadence, Flurry, Spike and Thorax appeared in a hidden spot in the Crystal Empire. They gasped in horror when they saw the conditions the empire was. It was as if Sombra earned his victory by breaking the Crystal Heart, except for the fact that the sky wasn´t orange, but grey. The crystal ponies were enchained or locked in cages. There were changelings everywhere who were feeding on their love. Cadence looked at the castle, concerned for Shining Armor.

“We need to get the castle as soon as possible.” she said.

“Any ideas?” Thorax asked.

Flurry jumped from Cadence´s arms. She flew towards Thorax and pointed at herself. Thorax didn´t seem to understand the baby, but Cadence and Spike did.

“Are you crazy?” Spike asked.

“There´s no way you´re distracting the guards. It´s too dangerous!” Cadence forbade Flurry.

“In any case, the one who should go is me.”

“You´re not going.” Cadence also said.

“But why? I saved the Crystal Empire before! Sure I can do that again.” Spike replied confidently.

“Firstly, because I´m looking after you, as Twilight would have liked. Secondly, if you went out there on your own, what would happen to the bell?” she pointed at the bell.

Spike looked at the bell.

“Oh. Right.”

Thorax, who was paying attention to the surroundings, noticed something very important. He shook his hoof violently.

“Oh my! Guys! Look!”

They obeyed and watched. They gasped when they saw Queen Chrysalis at the balcony of the castle.

“Queen Chrysalis?! What is she doing here?” Cadence asked while raising an eyebrow.

“Commanding her army? Rule the Crystal Empire perhaps? She´s the reason why changelings are here!” Spike said.

He stopped talking when Cadence and Flurry glared at him. He smiled as an apology. Thorax silenced the two, since he noticed that Chrysalis was about to speak.

“Shh! Listen.”

“My dear changelings.” the queen addressed to her subjects. “We are about to achieve glorious times. Times in which we can feast on all the love we want! Times in which hunger won´t be experienced by changelings. Times in which we will rule Equestriaaaa!” she energetically put her hoof on the air.

The changelings cheered her queen.

“But there are things we still need to do. As you know, there´s an enemy. No! Two enemies that are trying to steal my throne. Firstly, Twilight and her friends! And secondly, an ancient Equestrian legend: the ugly and old goat Grogar!”

The changelings booed.

“She´s lucky that Grogar isn´t here.” Spike commented in a low voice. “I don´t think he would have taken that nicely.”

“Fortunately, we still have time to act. All you have to do is to find an ancient artefact, which is none other than the Bewitching Bell.”

The changelings didn´t say anything.

“From your silence, I can tell you have no idea of what I´m talking about, do you?”

No response. Chrysalis sighed frustrated.

“You know. Grogar´s bell.”

“Aaaah…” the changelings muttered in understanding.

A brave changeling in the crowd took off and raised his hoof while flying.

“My queen. I have a question.”

“Yes?” she asked in a passive aggressive manner.

The changeling gulped nervously, but he continued with her question.

“How does the bell look like?”

Chrysalis widened her eyes.

“How could I have not thought on that?” she asked to herself while she rubbed her forehead. She cleared her throat. “Well, it looks like a rusty, metallic, with a rectangular shape. It´s also of a dark bluish green colour.”

“Oh. Ok.”

“One more thing. The bell was stolen by the Crystal Empire´s saviour. The so called `Spike the brave and glorious´!”

The crystal ponies gasped.

“We must look for him! He´s the one who´s preventing us to get our glory! When we find him, we´ll take the bell from him and drain all his love until he gives out his last breath!”

The changelings cheered once again. Spike put has hand on his chest and shivered.

“Yikes.” he muttered.

“All hail queen Chrysalis!”

“HAIL CHRYSALIS!”

“Our beautiful queen!”

Chrysalis was getting flattered, but she remembered that she hadn´t won yet.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOUR FOOLS?! SEARCH HIM!” she snapped.

The changelings got scared, nodded in obedience and started searching for Spike. Chrysalis ignited her horn and disappeared. Thorax, Cadence and Flurry worriedly stared at Spike, who was hyperventilating.

“I´m so screwed.” Spike said.

“Ok, let´s not enter in panic. The only thing that we´ll get by being nervous is clouding our minds.” Cadence advised, trying to calm Spike down.

“Cadence is right.” Thorax agreed. “We still need to come up with a plan to enter the castle and save Shining Armor.”

At that moment a changeling discovered them. Before she could warn the others, Cadence cast a spell to silence her. Thorax inmovilized her.

“That was close.” Spike sighed in relief.

The changeling noticed Spike and the bell. She felt a huge rage inside, causing her to have an adrenaline rush that allowed her to release from Thorax. She flew towards Spike. Cadence fought her for some time.

“Run!” Cadence told Spike.

But Flurry did something unexpected. She took the bell with her magic. Seeing her intentions, Cadence tried to reach out to her.

“Flurry don´t!”

But it was too late. Flurry had already struck the bell. Spike noticed that Thorax didn´t know what happened, since he was too busy fighting the changeling.

“Thorax look out!” her warned him.

Thorax heard a ring. He saw magic coming out from the bell. He and Cadence got out of the way. The changeling, however, didn´t. She screamed when the magic hit her. Thorax and Spike closed their eyes. Cadence tried to cover Flurry´s eyes, but she shook her head with a smile, telling her it wasn´t necessary. Cadence raised an eyebrow. Why was her daughter so calm? But she received the answers when there was no more magic coming out from the bell.

When they opened their eyes, they didn´t see a burnt body like they expected to. In fact, they saw a changeling. But in its normal version. They smiled when they saw her beautiful colours standing out. The changeling rubbed her head confused.

“Ugh… What happened?” she looked around. “Where am I? This isn´t the changeling hive.”

She saw a group of creatures smiling at her. She recognized them one by one.

“Is that… Spike! I´m so happy to see you. Princess Cadence and her beautiful baby, Flurry Heart!”

The baby alicorn laughed cheerfully.

“And…” she gasped when she saw Thorax.

She grabbed a stick she saw near her and started hitting Thorax.

“Bad changeling! We don´t do that anymore! You hear me? Not anymore! What would our good ruler Thorax think of you?”

“Angie! It´s me! Thorax!” Thorax said, but the changeling didn´t listen to him.

Cadence and Spike stopped her from hitting Thorax.

“No no no! Stop!” Cadence ordered.

“He is Thorax.” Spike explained.

Angie raised her eyebrow confused.

“Is that true?” she asked the changeling.

“Yeees.” Thorax replied in dizziness, his eyes going everywhere.

She gasped.

“I´m so sorry, your highness! But why do you look like that?”

“It´s a long story, but I´ll tell you anyway.” Spike said. He cleared his throat. “It all began when-”

Flurry put him in a bubble. Spike tried to ask why she did that, but he couldn´t hear his voice. When he realized what the baby alicorn did, he glared at her. Flurry shrugged with a smirk.

“Chrysalis has returned. And this time she has company. She, along Tirek and Cozy Glow, retrieved an ancient artefact, the Bewitching Bell, used by the evil emperor Grogar in his rule. Chrysalis went to your hive and corrupted you with it.” Cadence explained quickly.

Angie put her hoof on her mouth.

“Oh my… That doesn´t sound good.” she muttered nervously.

“Luckily, thanks to my daughter,” she looked at Flurry with pride, making her blush. “we discovered that the bell can reverse the effect.”

Angie sighed in relief.

“What a relief.”

“Answering to your question of where you are, we are at the Crystal Empire.” Thorax said as he got up from the ground, rubbing his temple in the process. “Chrysalis ordered you to take the bell from Spike and kill him basically.”

“Oof!” the changeling mumbled as she shivered. “I´m lucky you returned me to my normal self before I could do that.” she looked at Spike with concern. “I hope I didn´t harm you.”

“No worries. I´m fine. You haven´t touched me either.” he reassured her.

“Maybe we could use this on every corrupted changeling!” Cadence suggested. “It worked on her, why shouldn´t it work on others?”

“That´s a great idea!” Thorax replied. “However, does it work on several changelings at once? Or is it one by one? I´m just saying so we can save time and energy for ourselves. Not to mention the magic from the bell. We don´t know if it runs out. We might need it for later.”

“Those are some good points.” Spike replied. “As for how many in one strike… I guess we´ll have to experiment. I guess that we´ll use it for only the changelings in the castle for now.”

“And on you too.” Cadence told Thorax.

Thorax didn´t understand Cadence. But when he did, he laughed at his obliviousness.

“Oh! Right, of course. I was so focused on the plan that I forgot about myself.”

Cadence blasted the bell. After it rang, it released magic towards Thorax. When the magic stopped coming out, Thorax was back to his natural form. He looked relieved at his hooves and his wings. They were as lively and majestic as before. He started jumping in joy.

“Oooh! It feels so good to be colourful again!” he exclaimed excitedly.

Angie and Cadence smiled in contentment.

“Ok. Now we need a plan to get into the castle.” Spike said as he put his claw under his chin in thought. “I think the best way would be a distraction.” he quickly turned to Flurry. “Which won´t be you.”

Flurry puffed in disappointment. Cadence tried to hold her laughter.

“I think I am the perfect candidate.” Angie offered herself. “I have some ideas that could earn you time.”

Spike, Thorax, Cadence and Flurry shared glances.

In front of the castle, several changelings were monitoring the main entrance. Angie stepped in front of them. Immediately the changelings circled around her and pointed her with their spears. Angie took some steps back.

“Whoah! Whoah! So much aggressiveness! That´s not healthy for your heart.” she noticed a spear touching her. “Ouch! Careful with that.”

They growled furiously.

“You know what you need? A story!”

The changelings raised an eyebrow confused. Angie cleared her throat.

“In a village of Foaledo, the name of which I have no desire to call to mind, there lived not long since one of those gentlecolts that keep a lance in the lance-rack, an old bucker, a lean hack and a greyhound for coursing. An olla of more apples than hay…”

As Angie was telling a story to changelings that seemed to be interested, Spike, Thorax and Cadence, with Flurry on her back; crept on the floor to remain unseen and went upstairs. Spike carefully opened the door, made a sign to tell them to enter one by one.

“I guess that including theatre in the kingdom´s activities was a good idea after all.” Thorax whispered in Spike´s ear.

“Thorax!” Cadence scolded quietly.

“Sorry.” Thorax apologized.

After they entered, Spike got in and slowly closed the castle gates. When he turned around, he saw lots of changelings growling and approaching them slowly. He tightly hugged the bell.

“You know what? Maybe now would the perfect time to test what you said earlier, Thorax.” Cadence said.

“Agreed.” he told Cadence.

“Then, I´ll leave it to you.” Spike handled the bell to Cadence.

She took it with her magic. Without thinking it, she ignited her horn and threw a ray of magic at the bell. Immediately after, she summoned a force camp to protect themselves in case it didn´t work. They all hugged each other with their eyes closed. The bell elevated and rang.

Shining Armor was alone in his cell. His hoof was enchained to the wall, his magic was blocked by a ring around his horn. He was shivering from the cold. Through the small spaces the bars in the wall left, he could see how the windigos covered the Crystal Empire in snow. The fact that he wasn´t able to protect the empire or his family distressed him. He didn´t know what was going to happen to him, but he didn´t care. All he wanted was his family to be safe. He had been praying for their welfare nonstop.

“Please be safe. Please be safe.” he repeated to himself.

He stopped talking to himself when he heard some hoofsteps. He put in a self-defense position, ready to attack. But he wasn´t prepared for what was coming next. Suddenly a flash of light brought the cell´s door. Shining Amor didn´t see the source of light, since the light was blinding him. But when he saw with clarity, his eyes filled with tears of joy. He saw Cadence standing in two legs, with her majestic wings wide opened and a smirk of determination in her face. Flurry jumped from her back and flew to Shining Armor while mispronouncing the word dad.

“Flurry!” Shining hugged Flurry. The baby alicorn destroyed the chain and the ring that were restraining him.

“Cadence!” he exclaimed as Cadence flew to hug him.

She threw herself in Shining´s arms so hard that she made him fall backwards. The family laughed.

“I´m so glad to see that you´re ok.” he told Cadence.

“Me too.” Cadence replied while snuggling her cheek against Shining´s.

“I was feeling cold inside the cell but your embrace warmed me.”

“Aaaaw.”

Spike and Thorax entered the cell. Both sighed in relief.

“You´re ok.” Spike said.

“Without a scratch.” Thorax added.

Shining noticed the two of them.

“Spike! Thorax! You´re ok!” he noticed that Thorax was in a normal form. “And in your respective form.” he sighed in relief. “I´ve never been so to see a colourful changeling in all my life! How did you manage to enter, anyway?”

“We had some help.” Thorax said while stepping to the left.

Lots of colourful changelings entered the cell.

“What in tarnation? I thought all of them were corrupted. Did I miss something?” Shining asked as he scratched his head.

“They were. At the beginning.” Spike explained while flying towards Shining. “But we managed to turn back to the good side thanks to this!” Spike showed the bell to Shining.

Shining looked at it with attention.

“Good. Good. Aaah. Great.” he took a brief pause. “What is it?”

“Grogar´s bell.”

Shining gasped.

“What? But I thought he was a legend.”

“All of us did. But apparently, he isn´t. Anyway, Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy managed to get it but I took it away from them. And Flurry managed to save me and herself from being killed by Grogar himself.”

“What?!”

“We´ll explain everything better later, don´t worry.” Cadence reassured him.

“This is an amazing discovery. I need to tell Twilight. I wish she was here with us.” Spike said to himself while looking at the bell.

“SPIIIKE!” Twilight yelled as she and her friends appeared out of nowhere.

Twilight´s yell caused Spike to drop the bell, falling in his foot. He started jumping while grabbing his foot and whimpering in pain. Twilight ran towards him.

“Oh my goodness! I´m so sorry!” she hugged him. “Are you alright?”

“Twily!” Shining Armor exclaimed. “I´m so glad you´re ok.”

“How did you find us?” Cadence asked.

“Family sense.” Pinkie Pie explained.

“I´m ok. I´m ok.” Spike said to Twilight.

“You sure?” Twilight asked concerned.

Spike nodded.

“In that case… I have something to tell you!” she and Spike exclaimed in chorus. They widened their eyes in surprise. “You do?” they asked in unison.

“Ok, you first.” Spike said.

“We know how to defeat Grogar!” she exclaimed excitedly.

“Really?”

“Well, we´re not hundred percent sure, but it´s worth trying.”

“Oh. What is it?”

“We´re going to use the bell against Grogar.” Rarity enthusiastically explained.

Spike gasped.

“Oh ho ho… Very ironic if you ask me. Well, now it´s my turn. We discovered that we can reverse the spells that the bell casts!”

The mane 6 gasped.

“How did you discover that?” Twilight asked.

“Flurry used the bell on a corrupted changeling, and she returned to her original form. Then, when we entered the castle, Cadence pulled the same trick. And we also discovered that it can work on various changelings at the same time!”

“Well, that´s a relief.” Applejack put her hoof on her chest.

“That means that we might be able to return all changelings to normal!” Fluttershy exclaimed excitedly.

“I hate to ruin all the positivity, but I think that in order to do that we also need the time.” Rainbow Dash said while looking at the window. “The windigos are already covering everything in snow. What if by the time we reformed every changeling Equestria is buried by snow? The only way to deal with the windigos is to defeat Grogar and the villains. It´s the only way that ponies will see that we need to be together. More now than ever!” she asked frightened.

The ponies looked at each other worriedly.

“Rainbow is right. We need to deal with Grogar and the villains first.” Twilight said firmly. “But once we´re finished, we´ll return every creature to normal.” she said to Spike with a tender smile.

“Now that you´re talking about returning creatures to normal, there´s a changeling out there who needs our help….” Thorax smiled in a nervous manner.

“Which, thanks to that of my true Don Quitrote, are even now tottering, and doubtless doomed to fall for ever. Farewell.”

Dramatically, Angie put her hoof on her forehead. The changelings clapped and whistled in contentment.

“Thank you. I´m so glad you liked it.” Angie said to the crowd as she took bows.

“We want another story!” a changeling in the crowd demanded.

“Yeah!” the changelings joined in the other changeling´s request.

Angie was caught unguarded.

“Another story? Well… That´s the only one I know by heart.

Much to Angie´s misfortune, the crowd didn´t take no for an answer. They approached to her menacingly, like a predator to its prey, ready to attack her at any time. Angie walked backwards until she bumped against a wall. She put her hoofs on her head to protect herself and closed her eyes.

“Angie!” a voice called from behind called.

Angie´s ears perked up. She looked behind. There were Thorax, Cadence and her family, Spike, Twilight and her friends, and many reformed changelings.

“Thorax! You´ve come in the perfect moment!” she exclaimed in relief. “Although a little sooner wouldn´t have been bad either.” she muttered to herself.

“Don´t worry. Help is coming!” Cadence told her as she flew in front of her. Once again, she struck the bell with her magic, making it ring. When there was no more magic coming, all the changelings returned to their beautiful and normal colours.

Meanwhile, the mane 6, with the help of Shining Amor, Flurry and other changelings; freed the crystal ponies. The crystal ponies and changelings cheered on the heroes. They all stood in the castle´s balconies.

“We appreciate your cheers, my friends. We all do.” Cadence said.

“But this isn´t over yet. There are many things we need to do. There are other kingdoms that are under the villain´s control. I suggest we, crystal ponies and changelings, divide in groups and help them!” Thorax said.

Both, crystal ponies and changelings, cheered once again.

Shining Armor turned to Twilight.

“I guess this is goodbye, then.”

“Don´t say that.” Twilight scolded him. She held his hoof. “We are going to see each other again.”

“I know that. What I meant that this is goodbye for now.”

Twilight blinked.

“Oh.” she chuckled nervously. “Yeah, that´s what you meant.” she hugged her brother tightly. “Be careful. All of you.”

“I´m more worried about you than I am worried about myself, believe me.” Shining said. “We are just facing a bunch of changelings. You are facing Grogar himself! There´s no comparison between the two.”

Twilight rolled her eyes playfully.

“In any case, take care of yourselves.”

“We will, Twily.” he replied while nodding.

Twilight smiled. She took the bell from Spike and turned to her friends. Rarity held the bell with her magic.

“Come on, girls. Let´s do this.”

Twilight ignited her horn but was interrupted by Spike.

“Wait!” he ran towards her. He hugged her foreleg. “Let me come with you.”

Twilight looked at her friends, asking them what to say, but they didn´t seem to have the answer. She sighed.

“I don´t know. This is too dangerous, Spike. I just want you to be safe.”

“And I want to be by your side. I know that the most likely thing is that we will win but… This is a very different situation. If things go wrong… I want to be there with you to cheer you up and help you. You´re my sister, and as such I want to fulfil with my duty as your brother. Please, let me come.”

Twilight´s eyes filled with tears. Spike was right. There was a possibility that things went wrong, and it would be less hard for her if she was with her little brother. She wiped her tears.

“Ok. But if I tell you to run, you run.” she said.

Spike didn´t agree with that statement, but he knew that if he refused, Twilight might not let him come. He nodded.

“I promised.”

“Pinkie promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Spike accidentally put his finger in his eye. “Ouch…” he complained quietly.

Twilight chuckled.

“You Pinkie Promised.” Pinkie Pie said from behind. “You´d better not break it.” she told him in threating manner.

“I´m not going to break it. I swear.”

Twilight smiled tenderly at him.

“Ok. Now we go for real.”

Spike hugged her foreleg. Twilight ignited her horn and she, along her brother and friends disappeared.

Chapter 9: Villainous secrets

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“CHRISSY IS GOING TO KILL ME!” Cozy Glow exclaimed to Tirek while lowering her eyelids.

In contrast to the nervous filly, Tirek was calm. He rolled his eyes.

“Quit it out, will you?”

“I just can´t quit it out! Those six fools have managed to free the school, which means that they´re free running out around Equestria!”

“So what?”

“What do you mean by so what?!” asked Cozy very upset.

“They are powerless! They have nothing to do against you. You´re an alicorn, for goodness´ sake.”

“Need I to remind you that even though I´m an alicorn, Starlight and her friends almost managed to kill me if it wasn´t for Chrysalis?!” she gasped. “If those six are free… Oh no! That means that Starlight is free, which will anger Chrissy even more!”

“She´ll get infuriated by the fact you call her that little nickname of yours, that´s for sure.”

“Ok, are you taking our conquest seriously?”

“I am.”

“Then why are you acting like you don´t?! Don´t you realize that Starlight, her friends and those six fools will motivate everypony by telling them `we can defeat them together´,” Cozy mockingly mimicked them. “to rebel against us and interfere in our plans?!”

“Firstly, because I´m waiting for you to make your move.” Tirek pointed at the ground. “I´m waiting for my turn, you know?”

Cozy looked at the ground. She was so stressed by what happened at the school that she forgot that she was playing tic-tac-hoof with Tirek.

“Oh. Sorry.”

She grabbed a stick and made a circle in the row that Tirek was about to complete.

“Remember we´re doing this so you can relax. We need you calm to proceed with the plan. Secondly, it´s not too late. Even if they are free running around, they´ll be trapped again and under control once we retrieve the bell again!”

“I guess you´re right. But I don´t think Chrysalis will take it that way.”

“Then I´ll tell her the same thing. You´re acting like it´s the end of the world but it´s not. There´s still a chance.”

Cozy hugged Tirek´s neck tightly.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Tirek took Cozy out of his neck and sat her on the ground.

“Chrissy´s hasn´t returned yet. What´s taking her so long?”

“Will you stop calling her that? The only thing you´ll get if you go on calling her that is getting all your love drained.”

Cozy looked surprised at Tirek.

“What?”

“Is that the reason you don´t like that nickname? You fear that she´ll hurt me?” she asked hopeful.

“What? No! I mean, yes, but just so we can go on with the plan.” Tirek explained.

“You care about me! I knew it! Oh, you sweet centaur!

Cozy was going to hug Tirek but he stopped her by putting his enormous hand on her face.

“Ok. Ok. Don´t you dare call me that!”

Cozy smiled apologetically.

“Sometimes I get the feeling that you think that what the three of us have is friendship. We´re allies, not friends.”

Upset, Cozy raised an eyebrow.

“You´re saying that because I´m a pony, are you?”

“What?”

“Come on! I thought you got over that thought. Not all of us are sappy creatures that believe in friendship, candy and rainbows, you know? And not looking threatening doesn´t make me less evil than you!”

“I never underestimated your evilness.”

“Well, you just did! And you always have! From the moment I entered Tartarus, you thought that I was only an annoying pony!”

Tirek looked away. He usually considered Cozy´s enthusiasm and optimism annoying. But he also didn´t like to see her angry.

“Look. I´m…” he was going to see the word `sorry´ but his lips weren´t able to pronounce that word. He shook his head. “I´ll think of a better way.” he cleared his throat. “I got that impression because I always see you enjoying our company. Too much, I think.”

“Well, don´t you enjoy being around us?”

Tirek growled.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Do what?”

“Talk about my feelings. Why?”

“Mainly because I´m bored. But I also want to clarify our misunderstanding.”

Tirek sighed.

“Ok fine, I like being around you!”

Cozy smiled.

“I knew it.”

“It´s just… I think you two are the only ones that get me. Neither my family understood me!”

“Neither Scorpan?” Cozy asked.

“Ugh, don´t let me get started. He always claimed that he understand me and that he was by my side, but he always told me `Don´t do that, it´s too dangerous!´ or `What will father think? And when he picked the ponies´ side…” Tirek puffed. “It was crystal clear. Everything he said were lies. I´ll never forgive him that.”

“I hate it when they do that!” Cozy exclaimed. “The `I understand how you feel´.”

Tirek´s eyes widened.

“They pulled the same thing on you?”

Cozy nodded.

“You ever wondered if I had a family? Or why would a filly like me be on her own doing machiavellian things?”

“Actually, yes I have.”

“Well, that´s because I don´t have a family! All I know is what they told me in the orphanage. Foggy night, knock at the door, and there I am.”

Tirek listened with attention.

“I hated that place! All those ponies treating me as a little filly.”

“You are a filly.”

“But not a dumb and helpless filly! That was because every time a couple of ponies went to the orphanage, they never adopted me.”

“Really?” Tirek asked surprised.

“You seem surprised.”

“Well, d´uh! You´re the master of manipulation! Surely you could have brainwashed one of those couples to adopt you.”

“But that´s the thing, I didn´t want to be adopted!”

Tirek widened his eyes.

“Much like you, I was the black sheep. I had different tastes and interests compared to the other foals in the orphanage. My dream was to conquer Equestria! I always liked the idea of being on control of everything, not playing around all day like an idiot!” Cozy approached Tirek´s ear. “Just between you and me, but this sweet innocent pony I always play to get what I want, didn´t always exist. I was very aggressive and yelled at the other foals at the orphanage! That got me in trouble lots of times. I always got grounded or scolded. And that´s what scared the hopeful parents away. They didn´t want a child like me. But I didn´t care. If they thought I was too aggressive or mean, then they better not adopt me. I didn´t want parents that weren´t on my level. And everypony that came to adopt was the same!”

“Huh. Never thought this filly was so much like me.” Tirek thought.

“The ponies who took care of me were worried, so they took me to a foal´s psychologist. That´s when the `I understand you´ tactic came in. She was kind and sweet because she wanted me to change. I knew that from the first appointment!”

“Reminds me of some creature…” Tirek referred to Scorpan with resentment.

“But you know what? I learned something from her: you could manipulate ponies by being nice! I wanted to learn more things about social skills. And what better way to learn social skills than enrolling in the School of Friendship?”

“Clever filly.”

“You know I am.”

“And that´s when you started to write me letters, didn´t you?”

“Yes. I thought that in order to conquer Equestria, the ponies needed to be powerless. In other words, their magic had to be taken. And who´s the expert on taking magic away from ponies?”

Tirek smiled smugly.

“Me, of course.”

“Also… when I read your letters, it felt so good that I found somepony who was like me. That´s why I love being around you. You think the same way I do, we have the same interests, you´re as smart as me! You´re on my level!”

Tirek was perplexed by those words. He didn´t know what to say.

“I know that what we have is only an allyship. But let me tell you: I enjoy our allyship.”

“Well… I also enjoy it.” Tirek smiled nervously.

Cozy smiled too. Suddenly, out of nowehere, the two of them began shivering in disgust and jumped back.

“Oh dear, what was that?” Tirek asked confused.

“I don´t know. Maybe I took Twilight´s lessons too seriously. Sorry.”

“None taken. But I think that once we´re done with the conquest, we´ll take some time apart from each other. Just so we avoid more sappy moments like this.”

“Agreed. Moments like this also disgust me. But after that time passes, we´ll see each other again, right? You know, to discuss things about our kingdoms.”

“Yes, we will, but let´s stop talking about this. Ugh, I feel like I´m acting like Twilight Sparkle and her friends.”

“Me too.” Cozy left her tongue out in disgust.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Chrysalis appeared next to them, yelling in frustration. Cozy hid behind Tirek´s leg.

“UUGH, FINALLY! I´m finished.” she sighed exhausted. “It´s so hard to be a queen.”

Chrysalis turned around and raised an eyebrow estranged when she noticed Cozy shaking in fear.

“What´s wrong with her?”

Tirek looked at Cozy. He pointed with his eyes at Chrysalis, advising Cozy to tell Chrysalis the truth. But the filly shook her head nervously.

“What are you telling each other?” she asked suspiciously. She gasped. “I should have known. I should have known that I couldn´t trust you!”

Infuriated, Chrysalis ignited her horn.

“Wow, relax Chrysalis.” Tirek told her calmly.

“DON´T TELL ME TO RELAX, YOU TRAITOR!” Chrysalis yelled at him.

Seeing that he couldn´t calm her, Tirek prepared to defend himself. But before they started a fight, Cozy reappeared between the two.

“Wait no! Don´t fight. Please.”

“Why should I listen to you? You and him were plotting against me!” Chrysalis replied in an accusing tone.

“We weren´t plotting against you!” Tirek replied back.

“Shut up!” Chrysalis yelled.

“Ok. Ok. We know something that you don´t. But we´re going to tell you so you don´t think we´re against you.”

Chrysalis widened her eyes in surprise. She calmed down and stopped lighting her horn.

“Go on then.”

Cozy looked back at Tirek. With his hands, he encouraged her to talk. She gulped nervously.

“Umm… The school… The school…”

“Yes, the School of Friendship, what´s wrong with the school?”

“Well…” she cleared her throat. “Apparently… It… It…”

“Yeees?” asked Chrysalis while raising an eyebrow.

Fear didn´t let Cozy speak, making her spend some time quiet. Chrysalis grew more and more impatient.

“Ok. Are you going to let me know or not? Because if you´re not, there´s no time to waste, Cozy! We have a kingdom to conquer!”

“The School of Friendship has been freed!” Cozy spurted out quickly.

Chrysalis widened her eyes in surprise. She scowled.

“What?” she asked angrily.

Cozy sighed.

“I checked the locations you told me to tell the changelings to look for the bell, and when I checked the school… All the changelings were tied up or locked. I couldn´t find a single student nor Starlight Glimmer and her friends.”

“STARLIGHT GLIMMER IS FREE?!”

Cozy gulped before responding.

“Yes.”

Chrysalis clenched her teeth and growled.

“I know, I know. I messed up, ok? I´m sorry!”

Cozy summoned a force camp and covered herself with her wings, closing her eyes.

“THOSE IDIOTS! THEY ONLY HAD ONE DARN JOB!”

Chrysalis looked at Cozy confused.

“What are you doing?” she asked estranged.

Cozy heard her words.

“Wait.” She undid the force camp. “You´re not mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you? It was their responsibility to look after the school, not yours. You were doing your job while that happened.” she frowned suspiciously. “Unless you sneaked off.”

“What? No!”

“Good. Because in that case, I would be very mad at you.”

“Oof!” Cozy cleaned her sweat. “I´m so relieved I seriously thought that you were going to kill me, Chrissy.”

“DON´T CALL ME THAT!”

Cozy jumped back. Tirek smirked.

“That was me being mad at you, see the difference?”

Cozy smiled nervously. Chrysalis sighed.

“Look. I know I have poor temper management. And that I´m very paranoid about being betrayed again. But that´s because loyalty is something I take very seriously. And as long as you don´t betray me, I won´t hurt you.”

“Really? Because you have tried to kill me dozens of times, Chrysalis.” Tirek complained.

“That was bickering. Nothing serious. Come on, do you think I would kill you or hurt you seriously knowing that the only guarantee that I get to rule Equestria is working with you two? I need you as you need me. So what I mean Cozy, is that you don´t have to be afraid of me because I´m not going to hurt you if you´re loyal to me. You´re loyal to me already, so there´s nothing to worry about.”

Cozy raised an eyebrow.

“Hmm… This doesn´t sound like you Chrissy, I mean Chrysalis.” She corrected herself, when she saw t Chrysalis glaring at her. “You hurt or yelled at your changelings each time they did mistakes even if they were loyal to you.” Cozy gasped. “She enjoys our company as well!” she said to Tirek. “We make a great team.” Cozy embraced both Tirek and Chrysalis.

Tirek and Chrysalis shared a glance and looked away while blushing. Chrysalis undid the hug aggressively.

“No! Don´t be ridiculous! We are not friends, ok? We are an allyship. ALLYSHIP.” Chrysalis remarked.

“I know. But you like being on this team, admit it.” Cozy teased Chrysalis.

“Yes…” Chrysalis replied moodily.

Cozy laughed mischievously.

“But please, don´t show off the great team we are or how much you enjoy being around us because that would ruin my reputation as a queen, ok?” she told Cozy.

“Promised. But you´ll have to talk more about it, if you want me to keep it as a secret.”

Chrysalis sighed frustrated.

“You little devil.” she insulted Cozy under her breath. “Ok, I admit that working with you guys is very fun. I didn´t have much fun ruling a kingdom since my mother died.”

Cozy widened her eyes.

“What?”

“You had a mother?” Cozy asked perplexed.

“Well, where else would have I come from?”

“I know, it´s just it´s a bit weird imagining you as a little changeling with your mother.”

“Where do changelings come from, anyway?” Tirek asked. “It´s always been a mystery to me.”

“The funny thing is that neither do we. But the most accepted theory among us is that we came from a cursed tree.”

“Can you tell more about your mother?” Cozy asked.

“Are you doing this to make me talk about my emotions? Because if you are, that´s very mean.”

Cozy shrugged. Chrysalis sighed.

“She was the best evil changeling I had ever known, aside from me, of course. She taught me how to be a tyrannical leader and how to conquer other kingdoms. She helped me to rule when she passed the crown to me. Unfortunately, she died of old age.”

“That made you a lonely changeling, did it?” Cozy asked.

Chrysalis shook her head.

“Not at all. I missed my mother and all, but at least I was surrounded by changelings. It was fun abusing and commanding changelings on my own, but I forgot how fun was to be with a creature that was as intelligent as you, and most importantly, as evil.”

Tirek was astonished at how many things he had in common with these two villains. He knew that they were evil and wanted to rule but he didn´t know that the three of them shared a deeper desire: somepony who understood them.

“I understand how you feel. Nothing feels as great as having somepony at your level!” Cozy exclaimed. “I like this side of you.”

Chrysalis didn´t listen and kept on reflecting on her past.

“I did miss that. Especially after that soul Starlight Glimmer stole my hive!” she exclaimed with so much hatred. She gasped. “Why are we talking about my feelings and past instead on focusing on taking back the bell? We look stupid!”

“Aaand she´s back.” Cozy muttered dryly.

“Now that you talk about the bell, there´s something you two should see.” Tirek said while looking at the horizon.

Cozy and Chrysalis approached Tirek. Like him, they peaked their heads out from a wall. They gasped when they saw Twilight and her friends walking around Canterlot with the bell.

“Well, at least we won´t have to be looking for them all around Equestria.” Cozy said.

“You´re right Cozy. Our victory is very near.” Chrysalis smirked.

“You ready to do this?” Tirek asked confidently as he stretched his neck and shoulders.

Chrysalis and Cozy looked at each other and nodded.

“Ready.” they said in unison.

The three villains chuckled evily.

Author's Notes:

Huzzah, everypony! Hope you´re enjoying this story. I just wanted to tell you that my updating schedule might seem altered, since I´m coming back to college this Monday, which means that I might not be able to update every Saturday like I usually do, depending on how much work I´ll have. But I´ll try to update regularly!

It´s been a kind of a rough week, if I´m honest. I´ve been feeling a bit sad and nervous about returning to college, since I´m in the middle of a second wave of Covid-19 and I won´t be able to spend the weekends with my parents, due to my mon being high risk. But I know that I´ll be able to face the situation, don´t worry .

And now that we´re talking about returning to school, I don´t know how many of you have already started school or if you are going to start it soon, but i just want to wish you the best and don´t forget to take care of yourselves .

Chapter 10: The tables turn

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The mane 6 and Spike walked around Canterlot, paying great attention to its surroundings. They hid every time they saw a corner or objects that could serve them for cover. Despite all the guards watching over throughout the city, there was not a soul around Canterlot.

“Is it me or is Canterlot very empty?” Pinkie asked in a low voice.

“Well, if there was an endless blizzard of snow and four psychopaths trying to kill me, I don´t think I would be hopping from place to place.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Of course I know that.” Pinkie rolled her eyes upset. “It´s just that it´s very striking to me.

“To all of us.” Twilight said. “That could have either two meanings: Meghan evacuated all of them or they´re all in dungeons. I hope it´s the first option.”

“Me too.” Applejack added.

Spike shushed them.

“Incoming!” he exclaimed in whispers to warn the mane 6 that a guard was approaching.

The ponies gasped and bent down immediately. Fortunately, they were unnoticed. Rarity sighed.

“If ponies weren´t against each other, we could easily ask the guards where those three are.” she lamented.

“Even if they were, we could put them in grave danger. If Grogar found out that they helped us, he would kill them for sure.” Applejack said. “Not to mention the huge dilemma we would put them in.”

Fluttershy watched the windigos.

“After Hearth´s Warming Eve, we all said to ourselves never again. That we wouldn´t hate each other or harm the ones who are different to us never again, no matter what. And look at where we are now.” she said with great sadness.

Applejack hugged Fluttershy.

“We need to fix this as soon as possible.”

“We will.” Twilight reassured her friend as she embraced her with her wing. “We need to find the villains first.”

“Are we even sure they´re here? We´ve been looking for ages! And we haven´t found them yet.” Spike complained.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie´s tail began to shake.

“Oooh!” Pinkie exclaimed in surprise.

“What is it, Pinkie?” Applejack asked curious.

“It´s my Pinkie sense!”

“Well, duh! Otherwise your tail wouldn´t be shaking.” Rainbow said sarcastically. “But what is it telling you?” her tone changed from sarcasm to genuine curiosity.

Fluttershy gasped.

“The villains! They must be near, aren´t they?”

“Correct! And my Pinkie sense is telling that they are….” Pinkie paid attention to the direction her tail was pointing at. She turned her head to the left. “There! In that field.” She pointed at a big field underneath Canterlot.

The mane 6 and Spike ran to the field, stopping to hide if needed. Spike noticed that Fluttershy seemed mind absent.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Fluttershy snapped out of her thoughts.

“Huh? Oh! It´s nothing, really.”

“You seem a little anxious, what is it?”

Fluttershy bit her lip.

“Maybe I´m being paranoid, but isn´t it a little dangerous to go in an open field without a place to hide? The villains must have chosen that place for a reason. Something tells me that this could be a trap.”

Spike put his hand under his chin as he thought.

“Huh. Now that you say it, it´s pretty obvious. How didn´t we think about that?” Spike hit his forehead softly.

Fluttershy smiled tenderly.

“Because we have so many things at our hooves. But we might need an interruption.”

Since she was behind the rest, Fluttershy sped up until she caught up with her friends.

“Stop!” she smacked her hoof to the ground.

The five ponies gave a sudden brake.

“What the-” Rainbow whispered confused.

“Fluttershy, darling. We have to save Equestria. Why are you in the way?” Rarity asked in a passive aggressive tone with an awkward smile.

“I don´t think it´s a good idea to go into an open field without a surprise attack. I´m pretty sure this is a bait.”

“She´s right, y´all know?” Applejack said to her friends.

“Of course, why didn´t I count on that?” Twilight rubbed her forehead and sighed. “This is turning me crazy. It´s not letting me think with clarity!”

Twilight´s friends and Spike bit their lips nervously, fearing that Twilight would start twilighting in the least opportune moment. But the princess breathed slowly and calmed down. She thought of every possible option. Getting bored by the situation, Rainbow Dash tried to get an excuse to help her friends and get some action.

“While you´re coming up with a plan, I think it would be a good idea if I laid an eye of them.”

“Actually, that´s a good idea.” Rarity agreed.

“You´re doing this because you are bored and don´t have any ideas, do you?” Applejack told Rainbow.

“No… Why would I do that?”

Applejack raised her eyebrow.

“Ok, yes.”

“But you´re still lending us a hoof, Rainbow.” Fluttershy said sweetly. “So, go ahead.”

“On it!” Rainbow exclaimed softly, but confident as usual.

Rainbow opened her wings. Just when she was about to take off, Fluttershy flew in front of her.

“No, no! I didn´t mean I like that!” Fluttershy corrected herself.

“You´re not going to fly in that state, are you?” Rarity told her.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked confused.

“Were you seriously thinking on going without something to make you invisible?” Applejack asked dryly.

“Well, how am I supposed to do that?”

“Allow me.” Twilight said.

As soon as she ignited her horn, Rainbow Dash disappeared.

“Rainbow are you there?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, where else would I be?”

“Can you see her?” Twilight asked to her friends.

They shook their heads.

“Oooh! I see what you did there, Twi.” Pinkie Pie said excitedly to her friend. “An invisibility spell is a super-duper idea!”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

“Could somepony explain what´s going here?” Rainbow asked for explanations a bit confused.

“Ok. I cast you an invisibility spell so that the villains don´t see you flying through the sky. All you have to do is take a quick glance and then fly here to tell us their position, ok?”

“Pfft! Easy peasy!”

“I wouldn´t say that. If you go into some liquid, the spell´s undone. This wouldn´t happened if I had my horn activated.”

“Ok, I´ll be careful, I promise.”

Rainbow was about to leave, but was interrupted once again.

“One more thing, I´m afraid you won´t be able to fly fast.”

Rainbow´s jaw hung open.

“What? Why?”

“Well, imagine that you´re flying fast and those super meanies hear your flying or see a rainbow in the sky!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Huh. That´s a good argument. But how am I supposed to fly, then?”

“Uuh… Slowly?” Twilight asked sarcastically.

“Gently, gently.” Fluttershy emphasized. “Like me.” she smiled nervously.

Rainbow was going to complain, but she knew that she had no chocie

“Fine…” she begrudgingly agreed.

“Life´s not fair, mate.” Applejack said.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. She took off the ground softly and elevated herself to the clouds. She could see from the sky that Applejack was holding her laughter.

“After we´re over with this, I´m gonna kill you for that, AJ.” she thought aloud in a whisper.

After flying for some time, something beneath caught her eyes. Between some trees, to the left, there were three familiar shapes, one red, the other black and the last one was pink. Rainbow smirked.

“There you are.”

She ventured into the forest, landing not too far from the trio of villains. Hoofstep by hoofstep, Rainbow got nearer and nearer to her archenemies. As soon as her gut told her that she was too close, she quickly hid behind a tree. She listened carefully to their conversation.

“I´m telling you Cozy, they´re not going to come here.” Tirek told the pegasus filly. He sighed as he rubbed his temple. “We should have waited in Canterlot.”

“No no, I´m serious!” Cozy replicated stubbornly. “Professor Pinkie Pie has like this weird sense that she calls Pinkie sense that allows her to know when something bad is coming. I´m sure it will bring them there!”

Chrysalis, who had been bottling up her anger, exploded.

“UUURGH! That´s it! I can´t wait anymore. I´m going back to Canterlot.”

“We´re two.” Tirek joined Chrysalis.

“What? Come on guys!” Cozy said upset. “Don´t you believe me?”

“Look. Your way is wasting us time! We´re going to Canterlot.” Tirek stated.

“But-”

“No buts young lady! You´re coming with us.” Chrysalis said as she grabbed Cozy with her magic.

The little alicorn had no choice but to agree.

“Fine…”

“Ok, now´s the time.” Rainbow thought to herself.

But just when she was about to fly, she tripped with one of tree´s roots, falling into a mud puddle. She entered in a slight state of panic, since the mud her visible again. And to make matters worse, her thud was heard by the three villains. Cozy´s ears perked up.

“Did you hear that?” she asked to her comrades.

“Hear what?” Tirek asked as he turned around suspiciously.

“See? I told you that staying here wasn´t a waste of time!” Cozy complained. “Now, let me go!”

“Whatever.” Chrysalis said dryly. She freed Cozy while rolling her eyes.

The three villains knew that the sound came from behind them. Rainbow quickly took off all the mud and ran to hide behind another tree. Her breath and heartbeat accelerated but she held it. Her hyperventilation could tell them that somepony was around. By the time villains arrived at the puddle, nopony wasn´t around.

“Well, I don´t see anything.” Tirek said upset while looking around.

“Must have been a dumb squirrel that fell from a tree.” Chrysalis replied. “Let´s go Cozy.”

Cozy growled frustrated. She knew that those ponies weren´t in Canterlot! They were here. She just didn´t have the evidence. But she also knew that she couldn´t do anything against Tirek and Chrysalis, so she decided to come along, even though she didn´t agree.

Once Cozy wasn´t looking, Rainbow knew it was time to make her move. But it was one hoofstep and she stepped over a tree branch. Cozy quickly turned around and saw Rainbow.

“THERE SHE IS!” Cozy exclaimed while pointing and Rainbow.

Tirek and Cozy turned around and gasped in surprise. They, along Cozy started zapping at her, but she escaped before she could get hit.

Meanwhile her friends waited anxiously.

“What´s taking her so long?” Rarity asked worried.

“No idea, but I don´t think that´s a good sign.” Applejack said worried.

Twilight and Fluttershy bit their lips nervously.

“Don´t worry. She´s Rainbow Dash! She´ll be fine.” Pinkie reassured relaxed. “Spike, could you watch over for me?” she handled her balloon binoculars to Spike.

“Yeah sure.”

He noticed a strange figure approaching. He pulled Twilight´s tail.

“Hey, hey! Something´s coming.”

Fluttershy gasped.

“The villains?”

Twilight took the binoculars. She observed that the mysterious figure´s silhouette didn´t resemble one of the villains. Instead it resembled of a pegasus.

“Is that… Rainbow Dash?” she gasped. “Oh no…”

“What? What is it?” Rarity asked.

“We can see her. That´s not a good sign.”

“Oh dear, you don´t think they saw her, do you?” Rarity bit her hoof.

“I´m not sure, but there must be a reason why she´s flying fast.”

“Uuh… I think it´s right behind her.” Spike said, getting more scared with every word he pronounced.

Spike pointed at the villains chasing the poor Rainbow. They gasped.

“That´s not good.” Pinkie Pie muttered worried.

“I think that´s a sign to attack.” Applejack begged Twilight.

“Not the sign I would have wanted, but a sign none the less.” Twilight replied.

Suddenly, Tirek caught Rainbow with his magic. He gripped her wings. Spike gasped.

“She got caught.”

“What?!” the ponies asked in chorus.

“Get out from wherever you´re hiding yourself, Twilight Sparkle!” Chrysalis yelled.

“That´s if you want to see your friend unharmed.” Cozy continued.

Tirek smirked evily as he slowly plucked Rainbow´s wing. He pulled the feathers one by one. Rainbow yelled in pain.

“Stop it!” Rainbow tried to hit Tirek´s hand.

The centaur laughed, since the pegasus couldn´t do anything anything against him.

Applejack clenched her teeth angrily.

“Oh, you´re not doing that.” she whispered in fury. “Not under my watch. Let´s attack!”

Twilight nodded. She made them appear in the open field. Applejack ran towards Tirek´s leg. Once she got close enough, she bucked it as if he was a tree, but with more strength than usual.

“Ouch!” exclaimed Tirek.

He released Rainbow. She fled towards Applejack and bumped hooves. Then, she waved her hoof, telling her friends to come.

“What did you do?” Chrysalis asked mad.

“Something hit me.” he explained as he moved his leg.

He looked down and saw Applejack. He grabbed her with her hand and tossed her several feet, landing in front of her. Rainbow aided her to get in four legs.

“You ok?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Ok. Remember what we said. The key is to maintain them still.” Twilight said. “I think that a rope would be enough for Chrysalis and Cozy. We´ll have to do it fast so they don´t have time to free themselves with magic.”

“But what about Tirek? He´s inmense! There´s no way that a rope is going to hold him up.” Rarity pointed out.

Twilight bit her lip. Rarity was right, Tirek was too big for that rope. Not knowing what to do, she looked around nervously. But everything changed when she looked at the clouds. She gasped in realization.

“I think I know how. But it´s going to take a lot of magic and stamina from your part, Rarity. Are you sure that you can do that?”

“Even if I couldn´t darling, we´re in desperate circumstances, so I have no choice but to try, darling.”

Twilight smiled.

“Ok, do you remember Gusty the Great?”

“The hero or the tale?”

“The tale.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow confused. Spike looked at the clouds, realizing what Twilight planned to do.

“Oh dear.” he muttered under his breath.

“Uh, guys…” Spike pointed at the villains.

They saw the three villains running towards them, but they disappeared before they could reach them.

“Stand by! They could appear at any moment.” Chrysalis commanded.

Cozy and Tirek nodded. They set themselves in a triangle, looking with great attention around their surroundings.

Cozy was backwards, so Fluttershy came to action. The pegasus gulped.

“Ok. You can do this.”

She flew towards Cozy´s back. Once she was near enough, she grabbed her.

“Gu-”

The filly was about to scream, but Fluttershy covered her mouth before she could.

“Pinkie…” Fluttershy called her in a desperate begging tone.

Pinkie brought her party cannon, smiling and laughing mischievously.

“If you don´t want me to fire, you´d better keep your mouth shot.” she threatened in a low voice.

Cozy, however, didn´t seem scared at all. Instead she raised her eyebrow. With her eyes, Fluttershy urged Pinkie to say something scarier.

“Do you remember when you went to our school, before you stabbed us and all Equestria at the back, which was very mean by your part, you have to admit-”

Cozy tried to free herself form Flutterhy´s grasp.

“Pinkie!”

“Oh right! Well, I do remember those times and I also remembered that you told us that you were allergic to peanuts. And this baby,” she tapped her cannon. “is full of them.”

This time, Cozy panicked. But instead of following Pinkie´s and Fluttershy´s interests, she ignited her horn.

“So, if you don´t want to have an allergic reaction, you´d better keep your little mouth quiet and do as we say, alright?”

Seeing that Pinkie had her eyes closed, Fluttershy warned her friend.

“Run!”

Pinkie opened her eyes and saw that Cozy was about to fire at her. Thankfully, before the ray reached her, she ran away. The ray bounced off when it hit Pinkie´s cannon, so it hit Chrysalis´ back.

“Hey!” she complained while turning around. Her eyes widened when she saw Fluttershy holding Cozy. She was going to fire but Cozy shook her head violently and scared.

“Of course. If I shoot here, I might target at Cozy.” she thought to herself.

She made herself disappear. Fluttershy looked around, trying to spot Chrysalis. However, the changeling queen reappeared behind her and took her away from Cozy with her magic. The pegasus whimpered. Chrysalis laughed.

“Well, well you are Fluttershy, right? Honestly, I don´t care, but let me tell you that you´ll make a good meal.” she sniffed. “I feel such an aura of love coming from you.”

“Hey!” Pinkie popped up from nowehere in front of her. From the scare, Chrysalis jumped back.

“Do you want to play a game? Because I do! How about… Blind mare´s buff!”

Pinkie bounded a cloth around Chrysalis´ eyes. The changeling queen released Fluttershy. Cozy Glow watched the scene, and immediately went to aid her. But Rainbow Dash knocked her to the floor. She pressed her horn against the ground.

“See? This is how you should have done it!” Rainbow said to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy smiled apologetically.

“Applejack now!”

“Coming!” Applejack said as she ran with her rope on her mouth.

She approached the two villains and bound them together.

“Let me go!” Chrysalis demanded.

Looking that Chrysalis and Cozy needed his help, he started firing at Applejack. The earth pony dodged it with ease, running as fast as she could. Suddenly, he saw Twilight Sparkle flying in front of him.

“Glad to see you again.” she sarcastically said.

“Don´t think that this is over, Twilight Sparkle. You still have to defeat me.”

“I know.” she looked behind her. “Rarity! Go!”

Tirek turned around and saw Rarity igniting her horn. Seeing that both the unicorn and the alicorn were about to do a spell, he conjured up magic between his horns as well. However, they hit a cloud, and from the cloud, there came two beams that tackled him against the ground. No matter how much he tried, Tirek had some problems to free himself.

“It´s working!” Rarity exclaimed in a mixture of excitement and relief. “I can´t believe it´s working!”

“Spike! The bell!” she said while struggling.

The three villains´ ears perked up.

“What?!”

“Coming!” Spike replied while flying with the bell.

“We´re dead! We´re dead! We´re super dead!” Cozy Glow exclaimed panicked.

“I think you forgot a small detail.” Chrysalis said calmly while untying the cloth around her eyes.

“What?”

“THAT WE HAVE MAGIC, YOU IDIOT!”

Chrysalis destroyed the rope and released Cozy.

“You need to take the situation with more logic.”

“Let´s not talk about my mistakes now, we have a bell to take.”

Chrysalis chuckled as Cozy went to take the bell.

“That´s my filly.”

“Have it!” Spike exclaimed.

He threw the bell. Twilight stopped holding Tirek.

“I leave him to you Rarity!” she said quickly.

Rarity nodded while struggling to keep the enormous centaur against the ground. Twilight was about to reach the bell. However, Cozy interposed between the bell and the alicorn.

“I got-”

The bell hit her head. The filly and the artefact ended on the ground. The villains and the heroes closed their eyes. They could feel the blow.

“It…” Cozy finished her sentence, levitating the bell weakly with her forelegs.

Tirek took the mane 6 and Spike with his magic. With the help of Chrysalis, Cozy joined her friends on the final moments of Equestria´s greatest heroes.

“What shall we do with them before killing them?” Cozy asked playfully.

Tirek opened his mouth to absorb their magic. But Chrysalis quickly covered it with his mouth.

“What are you doing? You´re not going to have all that magic for yourself, are you?”

“Oh. Sorry, the custom.”

“Let´s do it with this instead.” Chrysalis grabbed the bell. “Will you do the honours, Cozy?”

“Gladly!” the filly exclaimed excitedly.

After the bell rang thanks to her magic, the mane 6 and Spike had all their magic drained in a slow and painful way. The villains realized that this artefact could also be used as a form of torture, apart from being used as a weapon to kill. This bell was the perfect weapon. Even though, they dreaded Grogar with all their hearts, they couldn´t deny that he was an evil genius.

Once they had all their magic drained, Tirek dropped the heroes as if they were liveless objects. They had few strengths. They couldn´t even get up from the ground. Twilight opened her eyes and sadly looked at how the villains had her magic in an artefact.

“No…” she muttered under her breath.

She didn´t feel bad because she lost her magic. She felt bad because without her magic, she wouldn´t be able to save Equestria. For the first time in many battles, they had truly lost. They couldn´t flee the place to come up with another plan to face the situation better next time, like they did last time. This time they were going to die. What´s worse, she would die leaving Equestria at the mercy of three evil and powerful creatures. She started to cry. Applejack laid her hoof on hers.

“Don´t worry, it´s not your fault.” she reassured her.

“You did your best.” Rarity said.

“You´re the best friend a pony could ever ask for.” Pinkie added.

“And for that we´re thankful.” Fluttershy said.

“We love you, Twilight.” Rainbow hugged her.

They all hugged each other tightly. Spike was going to join the hug, but a figure approaching from behind the villains caught his eye. When he recognized who that figure was, he started shaking in fear. Twilight noticed how scared Spike was.

“I´m so sorry, Spike. I didn´t mean to have all of us killed. It´s all my fault.” she sobbed.

Surprisingly for Twilight, Spike wasn´t upset about that, since he was shaking his head. He was saying something, but his panic was so huge that it didn´t let him speak clearly. He pointed at the horizon. The mane 6´s confused expression turned into one full of terror.

“Look at them. They´re so scared of us.” Tirek bragged.

“Oh, I´m afraid it´s not you who they are afraid of.”

The three villains froze. They slowly turned around and saw Grogar in front of them, with a strange but frightening, calm smile.

“Hello.” he said.

Cozy hugged the bell to herself. Chrysalis noticed that.

“What are you doing? Use the bell! Use the bell!” Chrysalis begged.

But the filly was paralyzed by fear, so she didn´t respond accordingly. Tirek quickly took it away from her hooves. He fired at the bell, aiming it at Grogar. The ram, however, wasn´t scared. He had the same expression from before, which scared Tirek.

“It´s only a farce.” he thought to calm himself. “In just mere moments, he´ll be nothing but dust.”

After giving its characteristic ghostly ring, the bell unleashed its power at the ram. The three villains looked on anticipation, smiling at the thought of Grogar becoming weak and helpless. The mane 6 and Spike also watched the scene. Apparently, the villains had the same plan of using the bell on Grogar, the only difference being on their purposes. Purposes that in the villains´ case were twisted and selfish. And seeing them having that moment, felt so humiliating.

But what happened next, shocked both the villains and the heroes: Grogar wasn´t affected at all. There was no scratch, nor wound on his body. He smugly cleaned out the dust from his harness. The villains entered in panic.

“What the- What happened?” Chrysalis asked puzzled. “We have done the same thing many times before, why isn´t it working now?”

Cozy took the bell.

“Come on.” she begged before repeating the same process.

The same results. Grogar was still standing there, proud and regal.

“I-I don´t understand.” Tirek said. This was the most scared Tirek the mane 6 or anypony watched. “Why isn´t it working?”

The mane 6 and Spike were as confused as the villains.

Grogar began chuckling softly. His chuckle turned into a huge roar of evil laughter at all the shock and disbelief around him. Then, he menacingly approached the villains, making them walk backwards.

“You fools.” he mocked. “Did you really think that you could use my own bell against me? Ha!” he looked at the ponies and the dragon. “I bet that you had the same plan. Except for the fact that you would only take my magic away from me instead of destroying me like those three planned. Just because you are merciful. Pathetic, really.”

They glared at him.

“Well, in any case, let me tell you that the book neglected one tiny, minuscule but important detail. Although I understand why it did. Gusty died before she could tell that detail: The bell cannot be used against its original wielder.”

Chrysalis tried to blast Grogar. Channelling the magic through his hooves, he grabbed her by the throat.

“And I am the original owner of the bell.”

He tossed the changeling against Tirek´s chest, making them fall to the ground. Cozy tried to protect them, but Grogar grasped her wings and broke them. Cozy yelled in pain as she was dropped to the ground, releasing the bell in the process. Grogar took the bell and attached it to his necklace. He felt how the power flooded through his veins and the magic coursing through his very being. His eyes glowed more than ever. Afterwards, he glared at the three traitors that tried to backstab him twice.

“Did you three really think that you could betray me? The most powerful being to have ever roamed Equestria´s soil and history?! If you thought that you could learn the secrets of my bell and take over my scheme to take Equestria back, you´re even more incompetent than I realized!”

Grogar rang his bell and absorbed the villain´s magic, making them go through the same the mane 6 and Spike suffered a few minutes before. They returned to their original forms. They felt so dizzy and weak that they could barely move.

“Out of my way!” Grogar tossed the villains to make through the mane 6.

“You´re not getting away with yours, Grogar.” Twilight angrily said after the ram took some hoofsteps.

“Am I not? What are you going to do against me?”

Twilight looked at her friends. They grabbed their hoofs and closed their eyes. They hoped that their friendship would bring the magic inside them, just like when they faced Tirek or Sombra. However, nothing happened. When Twilight opened her eyes, her breath accelerated.

“What? Wh- Why isn´t our friendship working?” Twilight asked anxious.

Grogar chuckled.

“I might have an explanation for that. Remember when I said that I paid a little visit to the Tree of Harmony? Well, maybe I should have explained what really happened. The Spirit of Harmony and I had a little fight, which I obviously won. I fired at her a strong beam of magic, making her weaker as a result. With each passing second, she disappears. I chose the perfect moment, since there are windigoes around…”

“Which means that there´s no harmony around.” Fluttershy continued.

“That´s right.” Grogar smirked at her. “And I hope it stays that way, because…”

“The spirit could disappear forever!” Fluttershy realized terrified.

“When we grabbed our hooves, nothing happened. Is it too late?” Applejack asked panicked.

The rest hyperventilated.

“If she did, I would have noticed.” Grogar replied. “But she hasn´t much time left, that´s for sure.” he smirked cruelly.

“You´re a monster.” Rainbow growled.

“Father of monsters, for your information.” Grogar corrected. “But I´m proud of my accomplishments.”

“Still, this is not over.” Twilight refused to give up. “We´ll find another way to defeat you, I´m sure of that.”

Tired of Twilight´s stubbornness, he grabbed her by the throat and elevated her.

“Haven´t you heard? The tree is dying! You can´t stand a chance. Against me, you´re nothing!”

“As long as they´re together, there´s a chance.” Spike smugly said.

“You heard the dragon.” Pinkie agreed.

“We´ll win in the end! We always do!” Rarity confidently stated.

Spike´s words resonated in Grogar´s mind, which gave him an idea. He chuckled softly.

“Not if one of you isn´t alive.” he said as he smirked at Twilight.

A chill ran through all their backs.

“No!” Spike jumped in Grogar´s bell. “Please don´t!”

Grogar tried to take Spike off by moving his body from side to side aggressively. Seeing that the little dragon was still there, he took him off with his hoof, tossing him to the ground. Twilight´s friends tried to get up, but they were still too weak. No matter how much they begged, the emperor didn´t change his mind. He moved Twilight away and elevated her a little more to make a perfect target.

“Goodnight, sweet princess.” he said.

After he rang his bell, it released a huge blast directed to Twilight´s heart. The alicorn closed her eyes terrified. She yelled in pain as the blast sent her flying far away into the forest.

“NOOO!” Spike shouted in tears.

Her friends cried in horror as they watched their friend falling from the sky.

Meanwhile at the castle´s cells, Discord felt trembled so hard that he fell to the ground. He grabbed his chest.

“No. No please no.”

Tears streamed down his face.

“No…” he said with a broken voice.

Chapter 11: Grieving

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Celestia woke up from her sleep giving a huge gasp, surprising her sister Luna.

“What? What happened?”

Celestia panted.

“Nothing. I´m just very worried about Twilight.” Celestia explained while rubbing her head. “I was imagining all the things that Grogar could do to her.”

Luna grabbed her hoof.

“Oh Tia, I understand you perfectly.” Luna grabbed her hoof.

“No, you´re don´t!” Celestia angrily snapped.

The princess left her little sister speechless and hurt. Luna´s eyes filled with tears. Celestia´s heart broke.

“I´m sorry Lulu, I´m so sorry.” she hugged her with her wings. “I didn´t mean to yell at you.” she inspired. “Look, Twilight is more than a student to me. Throughout all that time without you, I never encountered such a lovely pony. Everypony adored me and wanted to spend time by my side. But I knew most of the time was for show.” she laughed sadly. “And all the foals at my school loved me too, but Twilight…” she sighed. “Twilight was another level. Even though she liked reading and studying more than making friends, I knew that deep down she felt lonely. Her parents warned me about Twilight´s solitude before she came to live at my castle. She doesn´t know, but they told me that the reason she was always with her books, was because it was a way to minimize the pain that the foals of her school caused her. I understood her feelings, but I also knew that it wasn´t healthy to be reading books or studying all the time. But, when she wasn´t doing those things, she would come to my study to ask me questions about magic. Very often. It turned into a routine. And whenever she came, that was the best part of my day. And you know why?”

Luna shook her head.

“Because she reminded me of you.”

Luna gasped softly.

“That small filly had the same excitement in her eyes to yours. Like you, all she wanted to do was spending time with me. Sharing her concerns, her joys… I remember when you used to tell me everything you did, even though I was there with you in those moments.”

Luna chuckled softly.

“That was when I knew that you hadn´t left me. The real you would appear in the eyes of the fillies who dreamed about adventures, in all the love they gave me, specially Twilight. So, I decided to free you from the moon.”

“What? But I thought it happened by accident.” Luna asked stunned.

“Well, I planned out every little tiny detail. Twilight discovered about the prophecy because I recommended her to read the book where it was. That being said, I had to wait. I knew that there were more chances to succeed if she unleashed all that potential I saw in her when she was older. It hurt me to let her go, though. I grew so fond of her that I was afraid that she would forget about me. But I also knew that it was the best. For her and for you.”

Luna returned the hug.

“Of all the ponies I know, Twilight is the one who I love the most. She was the first one to give me a chance, after all. And has helped me countless times: at Nightmare´s night, defeating the Tantabus…. She´s the reason I could accept and forgive myself.” she sighed sadly. “I hope she´s well…”

Celestia stroke Luna´s mane. She observed her cell´s window made of bars, watching how Canterlot was slowly covered in snow, wondering if Twilight was cold. Because if she was, all Celestia wanted to do was to wrap her with her wings, so she could feel all the warmth Celestia was always welcome to give her. She couldn´t keep on letting her protégé freeze. So, she gently undid the hug to stand up. Luna raised an eyebrow confused.

“What are you doing?”

“We have to escape, Luna. Twilight needs our help.”

“Believe me, there´s nothing I want more right now, but how are going to do that? We can´t use any magic.” Luna pointed at the rings around their horns.

“I don´t know, but we have to think of something!” Celestia insisted. “She´s done so much for us, we need to return the favour.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of keys unlocking the door. A guard slowly opened the door, trembling. Celestia and Luna didn´t know if she was trembling due to fear or due to sadness, because it seemed like she was crying. Maybe it was a mixture of both. But why would she cry?

The guard noticed the princesses wondering about her state. She gasped and wiped out her tears. She cleared her throat.

“Your maje-” the guard took a brief pause because of a chill that ran through her spine. “Celestia, Luna. The emperor wants to talk to you.” she said in a tone full of fear.

The guard took some steps to make way for Grogar. Celestia and Luna gasped horrified when they saw the Bewitching Bell hanging from his harness. The ram smirked for a brief moment. Then, he frowned at the guard.

“Move out.” he ordered.

The guard had her doubts.

“I-I could stay to help in something.”

“I said. Move. Out.” Grogar narrowed his glowing eyes.

The guard gulped. She had no choice but obey.

“Yes, your highness.”

She bowed before closing the door and leaving. Grogar grinned victoriously at the princesses panting in fear.

“How did you-” Luna asked with a shaking voice.

“This?” Grogar returned the question while slightly lifting the bell up with his hoof. He chuckled. “It was set to happen. Deep down you two knew that sooner or later it would end up with his respective owner. But let me explain how it happened.” he got closer to the two princesses. “Your precious student and her friends were planning to use the bell against me, and it turns out that the villains had the same plans. So, they fought for it. The villains ended up winning the battle, but that´s where I came in. And took it.”

“What did you do to them?” Celestia asked aggressively. She would have thrown Grogar to the ground if her neck wasn´t chained to the wall.

“Oh please, you don´t have to pretend that you care about Twilight´s friends and Spike with me when we both know that you only care about Twilight.” Grogar said sarcastically. “But here comes the interesting thing.” he smirked. “After trying not to appear weak in front of me, I took her with my magic, targeted at her and hit her with the magic from my bell with as hard as I could until she darted far beyond. In other words, I managed to kill her.”

Celestia and Luna widened their eyes in shock. Celestia fell to the floor while leaving out a cry that a mother that lost her foal would give, breaking in tears. Luna sat down slowly and tried to comfort her sister while sobbing.

“Why? Why are you like this?” her tone changed from lament to anger. “Why do you hate ponies so muchs? What did we ever do to you? How is your heart so full of…” Luna shook her head. “So full of hatred?”

Grogar stood there indifferent to the sister´s pain, with a cold expression on his face.

“Oh, Luna. You´re so innocent to think that I´m like this because I felt misunderstood or was mistreated by your kind. You never did anything to me. Your lands happened to be the first ones to lay my eyes on. It could have been a dragons´ or a yaks´ land, but it was yours. I didn´t hate you, I thought that you were, inferior to me, something I still believe to this day. But thanks to what your mother did, I started hating ponies.” His face started filling with anger. “Do you know how much work I put to get to be an emperor? I spent years studying magic to prove that I could be a better ruler than those who came before me, having to put up with so many elders that underestimated or didn’t take me seriously because I wasn´t as strong as other rams and I learnt things at a later age than usual as a lamb! Being dethroned by your mother felt like taking work of a lifetime from me!”

“That´s what you consider work of a lifetime?” Celestia asked suddenly. “Torturing, killing and harming those who were different to you? That´s the exact reason why mother stood up to you!” she yelled at the ram. “Besides, haven´t you had enough? My mother´s dead and you cast my sister a spell that tortured and kept her isolated for so many years!”

Grogar smiled and raised an eyebrow at Luna.

“So, you told her now, huh? Can´t believe it took you so much time.”

“And now…” Celestia sobbed. “You kill my protégé!” she grabbed her chest. “What else what do you want?!”

Grogar observed his bell and then looked at Luna.

“You know what, Luna? I liked you better as Nightmare Moon. You had so much potential. But it was wasted thanks to those six ponies. But now that their leader isn´t here anymore, we can fix that.”

Seeing what he was about to do, Celestia jumped in front of her sister. So, after Grogar rang his bell, the spell was casted on her instead. After all the magic was unleashed, Celestia´s form changed. Her mane wasn´t rainbow anymore. It was fire. Her eyes were yellow, and her face seemed demonized, with a smile that showed off fangs. Even her laugh was different. Celestia´s laugh was usually child-like and playful. But now, it was diabolical.

“Say hello to Daybreaker.” Grogar told Luna.

Luna watched her sister in terror.

“Oof, finally.”

Starlight sighed in relief after she, along Suburst, Trixie and Zecora managed to defeat every corrupted changeling. Zecora and Trixie rounded all them up in small groups, taking advantage of the fact that they were unconscious, while Sunburst and Starlight put a magical tie around them.

“Ok. That was intense.” Trixie commented once they were done.

“What do we do next, Starlight?” Sunburst asked.

“Check on the students, I suppose.”

“And where are they exactly?” Trixie responded with another question.

Starlight had no answer for that question. She didn´t even know if they were inside the school! But then she remembered the time she was trapped by Cozy Glow. She was in a strange place bellow the school, which happened to be the roots of the Tree of Harmony. The Young Six knew that place before her. Maybe that´s where they were.

“I know where to go!” she exclaimed. “At the library, there´s a door on the floor that leads to a secret passage underground. I´m one hundred percent sure they are hidden in there.”

“Then, lead us to that place Starlight.” Zecora said. “I have the feeling that we´ll soon have to be out of sight.”

And she wasn´t wrong. In fact, just after she said that. Trixie noticed a lot of changelings arriving to the school. She dragged them to a corner.

“Hey! What was that for?” Starlight asked upset.

“Cast an invisibility spell!” Trixie commanded nervous.

“Again?” Starlight said, referencing to when Cozy Glow checked the school. “But why?”

“Because there´s a bunch of changelings coming.”

Starlight tilted her head slightly to check what happened behind them. She gasped when she saw the changelings.

“More? Did Cozy Glow tell them to come?”

Trixie dragged her back to the corner.

“Does the motive matter? Just make us invisible!”

“Ok. Ok.”

After Starlight ignited her horn, nopony, or in this case no changeling, could see them.

“Let´s go now.” Sunburst suggested.

The three unicorns began to move slowly, but since Zecora had a feeling that they were going to say something important, she grabbed Trixie´s tail with her mouth. The unicorn yelped softly.

“What the?” she asked upset. “What did you do that for?”

Zecora shushed her. She pointed outside the corner.

“Look.”

Starlight and Trixie gasped when they realized that the captain of the changelings was Pharynx in his corrupted state.

“That´s Pharynx!” Starlight exclaimed softly.

“Who?” Sunburst asked.

“Thorax’s brother.” Trixie explained quickly.

“Oh…”

Pharynx approached the unconscious soldiers.

“Soldier! Soldier!”

No response.

“I think they are unconscious.” a changeling said.

“Really? I didn´t notice that!” Pharynx answered sarcastically.

“What do we do?” another changeling asked worried.

Pharynx destroyed Starlight´s magical tides, hoping that the sound would wake them up. But there was no reaction from the fallen soldiers.

“Bring various buckets full of water.”

The changelings raised an eyebrow.

“Really?”

“JUST DO IT!”

Scared, the changelings nodded their heads and headed for buckets, whereas others stayed with Pharynx.

“I´m not so sure that a bucket of water will help them to regain conscience.”

“Well, do you have a better idea?” Pharynx asked frustrated. “We don´t have much time to wait, otherwise Emperor Grogar will get mad!”

The four equines gasped.

“Grogar? But I thought he was a legend!” Sunburst whispered.

“Why does every Equestrian legend turn out to be true?” Trixie thought aloud frustrated. “Especially that guy! Doesn´t it say in every darn Equestrian book that he´s practically invincible?!”

“Well not that invincible, considering that Gusty the Great banished him.” Sunburst corrected.

“Still, he´s very difficult to defeat.”

“That´s odd, I thought they were working for Chrysalis.” Starlight said.

“An interesting turn of events…” Zecora commented.

“I don´t understand.” the changeling beside Pharynx said. “Why is the emperor in such a hurry? Twilight Sparkle and her friends aren´t a threat anymore.”

Starlight bit her lip. Those weren´t good news. She and her friends shared a worried glance.

“I don´t know nor I care. All we´re doing is following orders.” Pharynx said.

“I know.” the changeling put his hoof on his forehead. “Still, I still find it hard to believe. They´re going to be super shocked and confused.”

“Of all things which one?”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle´s death.”

Starlight, Sunburst, Trixie and Zecora gasped shocked.

“Wait. What?” a changeling that was unconscious asked.

The other unconscious changelings recovered their conscience as well. Pharynx frowned frustrated. He straightened up and cleared his throat.

“What you heard soldiers.”

“How did she die?”

“Emperor Grogar hit her with the magic from the Bewitching Bell.”

Starlight grabbed her chest. She had difficulty to breath, causing her to faint.

“Starlight! Starlight!” Sunburst held her with his hooves.

Zecora lamented silently her death and shed a few tears. But she knew that it wasn´t a moment to cry. She had to keep on listening. There could be more important things.

“Speaking of which, from now on, our new leader is Emperor Grogar.”

“What about Chrysalis?” a female changeling asked.

“Forget about her! We have an important task to do right now. We have to retake the school!”

“But how? The students could have run away by this moment!” a changeling replicated.

“Or maybe they could still be in the school! Search every part! If they are not in the school, we´ll look all over pony. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” the changelings raised their hooves.

Suddenly, some changelings arrived with buckets of water. They moaned when they saw that all their work was for nothing.

“I know, I´m sorry, ok?” Pharynx said. “Besides, I don´t want to repeat everything again. But I guess I have no choice.

“We have to leave.” Zecora said. “Once we´re save, we´ll have time to grief.”

“But how? The changelings are already heading to the library!” Trixie replicated.

“I could teleport us there!” Sunburst suggested. “All I have to do is think of a cave underground!”

Trixie and Zecora looked at each other.

“Ok. Do what you have to do.” Trixie told him.

Sandbar and Yona helped the last students to enter the school´s underground cave.

“Is that everypony?” Sandbar asked.

The rest of the group looked to each other.

“If you´re talking about the students, I think so.” Gallus said.

“The professors are still left.” Silverstream explained.

“Do you want us to look for them?” Ocellus offered.

“I don´t know, could be dangerous.” Smolder answered.

“But we can´t leave them behind!” Scootaloo complained.

“But sometimes it´s better to go.” Punja put her hoof on Scootaloo´s shoulder. “I learnt it the bad way, you should know.”

“Besides, they have magic. In case they are in danger they could teleport themselves to a safe place.” Smolder added.

“Believe me, I don´t like the idea either. But it´s for the best.” Apple Bloom recognized.

“They´ll be fine.” Sweetie Belle reassured with a sweet smile.

Scootaloo sighed.

“Ok.” she gave up.

“The youngest ones first.” Sandbar said.

The CMC were the first to jump into the cave, Punja following behind. Smolder and Silverstream entered together. With the help of Sandbar, Yona got in. Sandbar, Ocellus and Gallus were the last to go in. After closing the door, the gryphon joined all the students.

“Is everypony ok?”

They nodded, despite being very scared.

“Now what?” a student asked.

Sandbar looked up.

“I guess the best thing to do is staying here till everything is over.”

“That´s it?” another student asked.

“Yes….?” Silverstream asked.

“We´re not going to fight?”

“Are you kidding me?” Gallus complained. “We just saved you from danger and now you want to be in danger again?!”

“At least you should fight!” another student joined the fight.

“Sure, we are going to face three evil villains in our own.” Smolder said sarcastically. “That´s what the professors are for!”

“All that me and my friends can do is look after all of you.” Ocellus calmly said. “That´s what Twilight would have wanted.”

“You´re just a bunch of cowards!” a student accused.

“Excuse me?!” Apple Bloom asked upset.

“We literally risked our lives to save yours!” Scootaloo said in defense.

“Why not do that again?”

“Because they have immense power and are impossible to defeat combined whereas we don´t have nor are?” Sweetie Belle asked sarcastically.

“I don´t understand why you´re complaining and calling us names if we were the ones that rewrote the game.” Punja raised her eyebrow.

The students raised their eyebrows confused.

“Do you understand what she said?”

“Nope?”

“Uh uh.”

“What I mean is that all of you could have done something! But instead you chose to wait to see what we could bring.”

The ponies didn´t seem to understand. Punja got frustrated.

“Nevermind.”

“What she´s basically saying is that you´re a bunch of idiots that could have tried to escape but chose to wine instead.” Gallus explained bluntly.

“What? No! That´s not what she meant!” Sweetie Belle rectified for Punja.

“Actually, I did.” Punja said.

And thus, a fight broke out. Yona was busy paying attention to the tree´s roots. She noticed that they were less shiny than usual. When the fight broke out, its crystals flickered and became less bright. She knew that the others had to know about that, so she decided to interfere.

“Guys!”

“Apologize for calling us idiots.”

“No!” Punja refused.

“Punja!” Appel Bloom called her out.

“What?”

“Guys!” Yona repeated louder.

“Apologize.”

“Why should I?”

“Exactly, she was defending us.” Gallus agreed with her.

“They were calling us cowards.” Smolder added.

“But those aren´t the manners.” Sandbar explained calmly.

“You´re better than that, Punja. Don´t reduce to his level.” Ocellus told the little zebra.

“What did you say?!” the student showed his fist.

“Nothing nothing.”

“Hey, don´t attack my friend!” Silverstream jumped to Ocellus´ defense.

“Or what?”

“You´ll have to deal with us.” Scootaloo added.

“Guys!” Yona started to sound angry.

However, they didn´t. The yak exhaled air from her nose.

“GUUUUYS!” Yona yelled as she smashed the floor, making everypony jump and stop fighting.

“Fight not important. Tree important.” she pointed at the roots.

They all gasped softly when they saw the roots. Sandbar got closer and caressed them

“What happened to you, my friend?” he whispered.

“So that´s why the tree didn´t warn us.” Smolder commented. “It´s…. weak.”

“Maybe it´s sick?” Silverstream suggested. “Don´t worry tree you´ll get better! I don´t know how but you will. Just tell us what´s the matter with you.” Silverstream pleaded desperate in the brink o tears while touching it.

“I don´t think it will respond, Silver.” Gallus said sadly.

Silverstream sniffed.

“I know. I just want to help it.”

She started crying in Ocellus´ forelegs.

“Us too, Silver. Us too.”

“Maybe we can help tree. If we fight, tree becomes weak. But if students and friends stand together, tree might get better.”

Sandbar smiled at Yona.

“You´re right, Yona.” he turned to everypony. “We must stick together.”

Punja and the student looked at each other, both with guilty faces.

“I´m sorry.”

“Me too. I guess the reason we acted like that was because we have so many things to chew.” Punja explained.

“I still don´t understand you, but I´ll take that as an apology.”

Punja rolled her eyes playfully while smiling. She and the student hugged each other.

“So I guess that the plan is just being friends, isn´t it?” Apple Bloom suggested.

“Until something happens, I guess so.” Smolder said.

“Well, that´s something easy. I love my friends.” Sweetie Belle exclaimed while hugging Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

“Ok, let´s set here then. Until the tree gets better.” Scootaloo sat down on the ground.

However, their plans had to change when Sunburst, Trixie, Zecora and Starlight reappeared.

“We need to leave!” Trixie exclaimed.

“What?” everypony asked.

“What you heard!”

Ocellus gasped when she saw Starlight unconscious.

“Is professor Starlight alright?”

“Yes, my little changeling.” Zecora explained while hugging Punja. “She fainted because of the news we bring.”

“What is it?” Sandbar asked.

Sunburst, Zecora and Trixie looked to each other. Zecora started to cry, Trixie looked down in guilt and Sunburst breathed in before telling what happened.

“Professor Twilight is dead.” he said before breaking in tears.

All the ponies gasped softly.

“But. How?” Gallus asked while shaking his head. “I don´t understand. How?” his voice broke a little.

“Grogar killed her.”

“Grogar? The villain from Gusty the Great?” Sandbar asked. “He´s real?”

Sunburst nodded sadly. Sandbar panted.

“Do you know anything about our sisters?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Are they alright?” Sweetie Belle continued.

“And Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo added.

The CMC flung on Trixie. The unicorn shook her head.

“I wish I did, but I don´t. We heard this from some changelings that have come. Which is the reason we have to leave.” she said this to the students.

The three little fillies began to cry. Trixie hugged them tightly.

“It´s ok. I´m so sorry.” she shed some tears.

“So that´s it? This is the end?” Smolder asked.

After shedding some tears, with Punja on her forelegs, she dried her tears and frowned in determination.

“No. We´ll have to go where the journey may lead us. Our strength we must now show. Let our prayers be our guide. And let´s not forget that our friendship is during these rough times our pride.”

“For the tree.” Punja added.

The ponies nodded. Suddenly, they heard steps from beneath.

“Let´s go now!” Sunburst exclaimed.

They all ran away.

Twilight´s friends were waiting in a dark cell. The poor ponies had so much to process. The most powerful pony and creator of the group, the one who always managed to lead them in difficult times like this, and most importantly, the greatest friend they ever had, had just died. Worse, she had been murdered. They had felt hopelessness before, but it wasn´t nothing compared to what they were feeling right now. Without Twilight, they couldn´t do anything to protect Equestria and the ones they loved. It was over, they had lost and failed everypony.

All of them were lying on the ground, without any energy. Except for Rainbow Dash, who tried to flap her wings, despite feeling a huge ache doing so.

“Quit it out, will you?” Applejack told her. “The only thing you´ll get is getting what´s left of your health worse.”

Rainbow moaned.

“What else do you want me to do? Lay down waiting to see how Grogar destroys Equestria? I have to do something!”

“How, Rainbow?” Rarity asked bitterly. “We have no magic left! And without magic, you and Fluttershy cannot fly, Applejack and Pinkie Pie can barely run or jump, and I can´t use my horn. Don´t you see? There´s nothing that we can do.”

“So that´s it? You´re giving up?”

The ponies looked away sadly.

“No, no! Tell me you´re not giving up.” Rainbow said desperate. She looked at Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, you are the one who gets the wackiest ideas. Surely you can come up with something!”

The pink pony, however, was not in the mood. In fact, her hair was straight and her coat wasn´t the lively pink it always is.

“For what?” she passively said.

“For what?” Rainbow scoffed. “For what? To scape and save Equestria!”

“We can´t do nothing. Just, let me grieve.”

Rainbow looked at Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was hugging her tail for comfort and shedding tears.

“Fluttershy, please… You have to agree with me. We´ve been friends since kindergarten! I´ve always been there for you, why are not here for me right now?”

Fluttershy didn´t respond. She was still silent and crying.

“What about Discord, huh? You wanted to save him so bad, and now you´re just standing there crying and doing nothing?! If we do nothing, Grogar will make him suffer forever! Please! Help me to make them see that they´re wrong. That there´s still a chance… You don´t have to do it for me, but at least do it for Discord…”

Fluttershy lifted her head. She sniffed.

“I´d really like to help, Rainbow. But I don´t know how…”

“Then think of something!” Rainbow yelled.

“Do not yell at me.” Fluttershy commanded angrily.

“Well, I´m sorry if I still want to save Equestria! It seems like I´m the only one who cares about what happens next!”

Applejack got in four legs and approached Rainbow.

“Don´t you dare say that! We do care about Equestria. You´re not the only one who´s affected by all of this! So stop acting if it was like that!”

“Only if you think about a plan to escape!”

“Can´t you see Rainbow?” Applejack asked desperate. “It´s like Rarity said. We are powerless! Even if we had a plan we wouldn´t be able to carry on with it because we lack the energy and ability.”

“So what do you suggest?”

Applejack sighed.

“The only thing that we can do now is standing together and supporting each other all the time we can. Who knows how much time is left… Besides, that´s what Twilight would have liked.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head.

“No, I´m not doing that.”

“Rainbow, please listen…” Rarity laid a hoof on her friend´s shoulder, but she quickly shoved it

“What is wrong with you? Why do you think that I´m being unreasonable? I´m sticking to my element, which is loyalty. LOYALTY. I´m doing everything I can in Twilight´s and Equestria´s name!”

“And I´m sticking to my element by telling you the truth.” Applejack replied back. “Even if it hurts.”

“Ok fine. Do whatever you want. I´ll think of something myself instead of acting like a crybaby. Just like all of you are doing.”

“At least we´re not acting like a jerk.” Applejack whispered.

Rainbow clenched her teeth and was about to reply something, but Pinkie Pie opened her mouth before her.

“Uuurgh! Will you please shut up?”

Rarity cleared her throat.

“I´m sorry, darling. We´re just trying to help Rainbow to accept the fact that we´re going to die.”

“We´re not going to die!” Rainbow Dash said upset.

“What do you think that Grogar is planning to do with us then, huh? Do you think that he´s going to invite us for tea? No ma´am! He wants to execute us!”

“Who cares? We lost. Twilight´s dead. There´s not a reason to live anymore.” Pinkie Pie said. “Just do me a favor, call a guard and tell them to let us die in the cold already.”

Fluttershy tried to approach Pinkie, but the chain around her neck, prevented her from doing so.

“What? No, no, darling. Don´t say that!” Rarity approached Pinkie. “Sure, we haven’t got much time left. But not yet!”

Pinkie Pie sighed.

“I´m just saying that because none of us can´t stand the pain anymore…”

“But at least we don´t say those things.”

“Ok, do you think I´m being selfish or what?” Pinkie Pie asked upset.

“Of course not! I´m just trying to cheer you up.”

“Well, I don´t think that calling me selfish is a good way to cheer me up. Specially coming from you.”

Rarity scoffed.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, ask Spike.”

“Ok, are you going to be like Grogar? Why are you all throwing that to my face right now? I´m not selfish! I am the element of generosity, for goodness´ sake! I´ve always given you everything you need. Dresses, my support… I helped you countless times!”

“Don´t do this about you…”

“How could I not? You´ve insulted me!”

“Because you told me that I was selfish.”

“No I didn´t!”

“Yes you did!”

Fluttershy looked around. All of her friends was arguing. She covered her ears.

“Stop. Please..” she begged in tears.

Seeing that nothing happened, Fluttershy frowned and raised her voice.

“STOOOP!”

The mares stopped fighting. They looked at Fluttershy surprised.

“Enough! Please. We´re about to die. All of us. Do you want to spend your last moments like this? Fighting and insulting each other? Twilight wouldn´t have liked that!”

The ponies looked away sadly

“This is very hard, I understand that.” she sniffed. “I can´t say goodbye to anypony. I can´t see my family, my animals, Discord. I won´t be able to tell them how much they mean to me. The only ones I can do that with is you. And I don´t want to remember my last moments with you as a fight. So all I want to do is what Applejack said before.”

Fluttershy sniffed. Pinkie Pie hug wrapped her hoof around her.

“At least we´ll be together.” Pinkie smiled sadly.

Fluttershy returned the hug, crying on her shoulder. The other ponies started to cry as well.

“I´m so sorry.” Rainbow apologized to Applejack. “It´s just that I feel like-” she sobbed. “This is my fault.”

Applejack gasped.

“Why would you say that, sugarcube?”

“Because I could have done more to avoid her death…”

“It´s ok, Rainbow. Come here.” Applejack put her foreleg around her. “We´re all feeling the same way. All of us are worried about our families and Equestria´s future.” her voice started to shake. “I can´t imagine what Grogar will do to my family when I´m gone.” she sobbed hard.

“Neither do I.” Rarity said. “Poor Sweetie Belle…”

“Scootaloo…” Rainbow thought aloud.

She sniffed and dried her tears.

“I´m sure they´ll be able to go on without us. Those fillies are full of ideas and super strong because we were so proud of them! They´ll find a way to survive.”

Applejack and Rarity smiled at their friend and hugged her. Rainbow Dash thought that she had to tell something important to Applejack.

“Rarity, could you leave us a minute alone?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow confused.

“It´s not because I don´t like you. It´s because I have something important to tell AJ. Alone.”

“Oh, it´s ok. I have to apologize to Pinkie anyway.”

Applejack and RD watched Rarity approaching Pinkie Pie.

“AJ. Listen…” Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “I know that we have fought countless times, that we are both super competitive, and sometimes I think I´m better than you. But I want you to know that you´re my best friend.”

“We are all best friends here.” Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“Well, yes but what I mean that of all my best friends, you are my best best friend.”

“I´m just teasing you.” Applejack laughed sadly. “I just wanted to have my last laugh.” Applejack sighed. “Well, you are mine too. I enjoy so much being around you. I had so much fun in all of our competitions. You are very close to me.” she looked around before whispering in Rainbow´s ear. “More than the others.”

Rainbow chuckled.

“Same here.” she whispered in AJ´s ear.

They smiled sweetly at each other. But their smiles quickly erased. They knew that they weren´t going to be together anymore. They wouldn´t be able to play buckball or race like they used to do. Rainbow sniffed and hugged Applejack tightly. The earth pony returned the hug as tightly as the pegasus.

Meanwhile, Rarity apologized to Pinkie Pie.

“I´m so sorry to have said that darling. It´s just.” her eyes filled with tears. “I want to spend with you all the time I can.”

Pinkie sniffed.

“And I´m sorry for saying that. I´m just tired.”

“Me too, darling. Me too.” Rarity hugged her. “I think that deep inside we all want this to be over.”

Fluttershy hugged them both. The three of them looked at how Applejack and Rainbow Dash, a bit confused for seeing the two of them hugging alone

“Want to join us?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash interrupted the hug. The two of them blushed a little.

“Yeah! Yeah! Sure.” Rainbow scratched the back of her neck.

“Sorry.” Applejack said.

The five ponies hugged each other tightly. They smiled in tears. They felt each other´s warmth and love, which gave them security and hope. If it was for them, they would spend the rest of their lives like this, in company of each other.

But the moment did not last. They heard the door opening. They gasped when they saw Grogar. Applejack and Rainbow Dash frowned, Pinkie Pie looked sad, and Rarity and Fluttershy held each other in fear. He had some changelings and guards behind them. After smirking at them, he turned around to their changelings.

“Take them to different prisons. And leave the yellow pegasus here. I want to talk to her.”

“What?” Rarity asked. “No, you´re not separating us!”

“You want us dead, don´t you? Why don´t you kill us right here?” Applejack asked.

“Where is the fun in that?” Grogar asked. “I want the process to be painful. If you are together, you´ll have some comfort. I think it would be better if you were executed in different spaces, so none of you know which one is alive or dead.”

“Why do you want us to suffer more? Isn´t it enough?” Fluttershy asked angry. “You´ve already killed our leader and humiliated us. What else do you want? When will you be satisfied?”

“That´s the thing, my dear Fluttershy.” Grogar touched Fluttershy´s chin. “I´m never satisfied. But I´m going to be merciful and tell you which one will be the first to die.”

He signed at Pinkie Pie. The ponies gasped. Pinkie hung on to her friends.

“Come on, don´t act that surprised. We heard you saying that you wanted us to let die as soon as possible, well that´s what we´re going to do.”

“No. Not without my friends. Please!” she begged.

Grogar scowled coldly. He gave a sign to the changelings to get them separated.

“Wait!” Rainbow Dash opened her wings to defend Pinkie. “We won´t let go until we know when or where she´s going to die.”

“I said that I´d tell you who was going to die, I didn´t say that I´d go into more details.”

“But-”

“Not another word! Guards!”

The changelings took each one of the mane 6 from the cell by pairs, except for Fluttershy. They all screamed in tears, calling their names. Fluttershy would have tried to run, but she was attached to the floor with a chain. Besides, even if she was free, Grogar would have put her back in the cell. Speaking of which, Fluttershy was left alone with Grogar in the cell. She had been with villains alone before, for example when she reformed Discord. However, Grogar was far scarier. They were many differences between the two. Discord took everything as a game whereas Grogar took things very seriously. Discord usually joked or laughed. Grogar was cold, serious and threatening. And lastly, Discord was a creature who just needed a friend. Grogar was a monster. A true monster. It was incredible to believe that they were related. They might share some features in common, such as the eyes and eyebrows, but in personality, they were nothing alike.

Fluttershy was feeling lots of fear inside. However, she didn´t let it show. She stood in four legs, frowning in pure hatred.

“What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to talk.”

“About what? You´re here to tell me how I´m going to die?”

Grogar chuckled.

“Actually, my dear, you´re the only one who might get out alive from this.”

Fluttershy gasped.

“What?”

“What you heard. But there´s also a chance that you might die. Your fate lies in Discord.”

“Discord! What did you do to him?”

“He´s fine, don´t worry. I´m impressed, you´re between life and death and all you care about is your friends and my son.”

“Normally, creatures care about others.”

“You´re telling me that I´m not normal?” Grogar raised an eyebrow playfully.

“Well, mistreating your own child isn´t a normal behavior per say.” Fluttershy raised an eyebrow in return.

“Neither is turning a child against his own father. If you think about it, it´s your own fault that Discord´s suffering now.”

Fluttershy clenched her teeth.

“You immediately knew he was alone, didn´t you? From the moment you saw him at your cottage, you knew that all he wanted was somepony who understood him.”

Fluttershy looked away.

“Come on, you can´t lie to me. With just a stare, you see an animal´s true soul. Don´t tell me I´m wrong.”

Fluttershy stood silent.

“You remind me of my bell in a certain way. With your stare and actions, you change a creature´s ways. They´re very bewitching, you know that? Especially your stare, with those eyes of yours.”

The more Grogar approached her, the more Fluttershy walked backwards, leaning against the wall when she reached it.

“Because that´s what you did with my son. You bewitched him to turn him against me.” Grogar bitterly accused Fluttershy.

“I didn´t know he was your son.” Fluttershy said in her defense. “So how can I have turned him against you, huh? You speak of him as if his true nature was to be a weapon! He´s much more than that, you know? He´s goofy, sweet, creative, ingenious, intelligent… A mischievous but kind-hearted spirit of chaos. And most importantly, my friend!” Fluttershy smacked her hoof against the ground.

“Incredible. The bond between you two is stronger than I thought.” he chuckled. “The better. Discord will truly regret it if he dares to disobey.”

Fluttershy widened her eyes.

“That´s right. The only reason I´m leaving you alive is to make Discord obey me. If he doesn´t, you will pay the consequences with your death.”

“You won´t get away with yours.” Fluttershy told him hatefully.

“I´m afraid I already have.”

Grogar was about to get to the door, thinking that he had scared Fluttershy. But she wasn´t finished yet.

“As for my stare, you´re right about everything you said. And that can apply to you as well, you know?”

Grogar raised his ears in surprise.

“Deep down you´re scared of us, more specifically me due to my stare. I know that if I look deeper into you, I can see your weaknesses. And you don´t want anypony to know them. One would think that it´s because that would ruin your reputation of overlord. But there´s also another cause. It´s because you are a very private ram.”

Grogar closed his eyes.

“Something must have happened in your life to end up like you are right now. It´s sad, because if somepony had ever lent you a hoof, your life could have been very different. You wouldn´t have felt lonely and you could have used your powers for good causes. Kindness is a strong force, and I see that you don´t underestimate it. But don´t think as a tool to destroy you. Think of it as a tool to heal you. Your son Discord is a great example. I might have not healed the wounds you left in his heart, but at least I gave him the chance to trust again.”

Grogar sighed.

“I´m not trying to redeem you. You don´t want it nor it´s possible to do that. But I wanted to make you see that you´re not better than everypony else. You have weaknesses, just like everypony else. And because of them, you´ll fall again, just like you did when Gusty-”

Grogar lost his cool. Every time he heard Gusty´s name, he felt a huge anger inside because of the humiliation she put him through. He grabbed Fluttershy´s chain and pulled it closer to his face. Fluttershy groaned.

“Once again, you think you´ve outwitted me.” Grogar told her.

He pulled harder. Fluttershy closed her eyes.

“But I´m a patient and smart ram. Your psychological tricks won´t work on me, neither will save your friends from their death. I´ve lived far longer than you, and for that I´m wiser, so I know when a pony is trying to manipulate me. You won´t bewitch me.”

Fluttershy sighed angrily while opening her eyes, moving a little trying to free herself from Grogar´s grasp.

“Face it, Fluttershy. You have lost. Your friends are going to die and you´ll be alive until Discord decides to disobey, if he ever does that. You have nothing to do against me. Both you and Discord are mine.”

Fluttershy looked at Grogar scared. He released the chain, throwing Fluttershy to the floor. She yelped and panted heavily.

“Guard!”

“Sir?”

“Open the door.”

The guard obeyed. Grogar looked back to Fluttershy while he left the cell.

“But I´ll admit it was a good plan. Clever but impossible attempt. Have fun thinking about your friends.”

Grogar closed the cell in a blow. Fluttershy sniffed, slowly lied on the floor and covered her face with her hooves.

Chapter 12: Encounters

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Twilight Sparkle slowly opened her eyes. Surprisingly, she didn´t feel any pain. In fact, her body didn´t weight at all, making her feel as light as a feather. However, that didn´t calm her at all. Quite the contrary, she got more nervous, fearing that the blow had damaged profoundly her nerves. As her vision was blurry, she couldn´t recognize the place in which she ended up. But from the colors, the place seemed familiar. Once her vision had cleared, she took a quick glance. It was the Castle of the Two Sisters! Meaning that she had been thrown miles away by Grogar! How could it be that she wasn´t feeling anything? Was she even injured?

She looked at her hooves. Nope, not a scratch on her hooves. But there was something different, they were shiny. No, her entire body was shining! Twilight entered in panic. Only a spirit could shine like that. Did she die? Unfortunately, the answer was yes. She observed her injured and lifeless body.

“No. No, no, no!” she muttered to herself panicked.

Twilight looked around to see if there was somepony else. Outside the castle, there wasn´t a single creature that could see her and tell her that it was only her imagination.

“HEEELP! Somepony! Anypony… Help.”

She started crying. Death wasn´t something that used to terrorize Twilight. But right now, this was her ultimate nightmare. She wasn´t scared because she died. She was scared because she wouldn´t be able to defend Equestria and her friends. She, their supposed future leader, had been defeated once and for all, leaving her entire species at the hooves of an ancient powerful, merciless tyrant impossible to defeat. She couldn´t die yet, not until Grogar was out of the throne.

After shedding some tears to the ground, she felt a slight gust of wind moving her mane. She saw some leaves with a fading rainbow-colored light floating in that wind. Twilight noticed that they were coming from inside the castle. Could there be somepony?

The alicorn frowned in determination. After breathing slowly, she entered the castle. Her heart broke when she saw the Tree of Harmony, causing her to give a broken gasp. The tree had no colour, it was grey, as if it withered. It looked like the first time she and her friends watched it, but a bit worse. Her eyes filled with tears. Who knows how much time had the tree been like this? Maintaining harmony while struggling not to fade away. And with the windigoes and the villains spreading disharmony all around Equestria, it got worse. It was too much to hold on. And now, with Grogar having his bell, it might die completely.

“That. That monster.” she said while crying quietly.

After looking the picture with more detail, she saw a unicorn mare in the front of the Tree of Harmony. She gasped in surprise. She looked very transparent, very ghostly like. Could she be a spirit? However, Twilight was very estranged. She always imagined spirits with a bright and strong light coming from them. But this spirit was opposed to that. Her light was few, as if it was at the brink of turning off. What´s more, she was almost invisible. Twilight bit her lip. It looked like she needed help.

So, slowly, hoofstep by hoofstep, Twilight approached the mysterious disappearing spirit. With each hoofstep she got closer, the more Twilight could see how the mare looked like. She had a coat as white as snow. Her bluish green and pink mane floated very weakly. The spirit seemed to be struggling to keep her horn ignited, since it flickered at times.

“May I help you?” Twilight asked a bit shy.

The spirit gasped when she heard Twilight´s voice. Slowly, and with all her strength, she turned around. Twilight gasped when she saw the spirit´s face. She was Gusty the Great! She was before Equestria´s most ancient hero. Celestia´s and Luna´s mother. What was she doing here? Why was she so weak? So many questions were running through her mind. Gusty was surprised to see Twilight Sparkle too. But her surprise was full of panic and shock.

“Oh no..” Gusty said. She started shaking her head nervously. “No, no, this is not good. This is not good!”

Twilight noticed that the winds Gusty produced got stronger and stronger, to the point of almost sending Twilight away, something she avoided by holding on to a crystal. The spirit started flickering and her light turned weaker. She yelped. Twilight observed that the exact same thing happened to the tree. She came to a realization. Meanwhile, Gusty panted.

“Now it´s not the time to lose it.” Gusty told to herself. “Breathe. Breathe.” she repeated while inspiring and expiring.

Her winds blew softer, almost like a breeze. Gusty saw Twilight gripping the crystals, realizing that she almost sent her away.

“Oh dear, I´m so sorry! When I get very nervous, my winds get out of control. And now it´s not something I can afford. The only thing I get is turning myself weaker.”

Twilight opened her eyes. She pointed at Gusty

“You´re. You´re Gusty the Great!” she said while approaching her.

Gusty smiled weakly.

“Not so great anymore, but yeah.” she said with a sad and ironic tone of voice.

“And you´re the Tree of Harmony?!”

Gusty nodded softly.

“So Grogar had a more personal reason to attack the tree…”

Gusty closed her eyes. Twilight started tearing up.

“This is all my fault!” she sobbed. “If I hadn´t been such a bad leader, you wouldn´t have gotten to this point. We could have restored you like we always do. But I died before I could fix everything! I am a failure.”

She threw herself to the ground, sobbing her heart out. But Gusty didn´t see things the way Twilight did.

“You are not dead yet.” she said.

Twilight sniffed.

“What?”

“You are in between. If you were dead already, you would have gone directly to the realm of spirits.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“Then, how is it that you´re here?”

“Spirits have a choice to either live freely in the realm or go back to earth as a guardian. Obviously, I chose to protect this world. And I happened to be the Spirit of Harmony!”

Twilight looked at Gusty in disbelief.

“That means that I can either go back to earth or go into the spirits´ realm.”

Gusty nodded her head. Twilight sighed.

“If I´m honest with you, I´m not sure which one to choose. I want to save Equestria, but... It´s impossible! The only thing I get by coming back is getting killed again. Grogar has retrieved his bell. We don´t have a chance! He´s much more powerful than me and all Equestria´s most powerful creatures. But if I go to the realm, I´ll never rest in peace knowing that Equestria isn´t safe.”

Gusty listened attentively to Twilight. Then, she knew what to say.

“You´re right, Twilight. Grogar is much more powerful than you.”

Twiight widened her eyes surprised.

“But that doesn´t mean he can be defeated.” Gusty continued. “I did that once, you can too!” Gusty smiled weakly.

“How did you do that?”

Gusty smirked mischievously.

“You know what´s the deal with that goat? He´s very intelligent and cunning, and has a better management of emotions than I have, that´s for sure. But he has a very fatal flaw: Pride.”

Twilight raised her eyebrow.

“Grogar thinks that nopony can surpass him when it comes to power and thinks that everypony is a fool. So, he lets his guard down and gets confident. And because of that, he cannot predict your strategy. For example, he never thought about the possibility of somepony stealing his bell, until me, of course.” Gusty explained cockily.

Twilight chuckled. Then, her face filled with worry while thinking about what Gusty said.

“Nonetheless, we´re still going to need magic. And the magic of our friendship can´t come out because you are very weak. We are connected to the elements. To you! And without you, we can´t do anything.”

Gusty frowned.

“Do not say that! I think that all of you depend on me too much. You should start trusting in your own abilities. The tree was destroyed when Sombra attacked Equestria, and yet you managed to defeat them without my help! Why is that?”

“Because there wasn´t disharmony.”

Gusty raised an eyebrow.

“I mean yes there was but ponies weren´t against each other like they are right now. All of them were brainwashed! All that disharmony is making you disappear slowly… And if there´s no harmony, my friends and I can´t do anything.”

“Twilight. Your power doesn´t come from me. It comes from you.”

Gusty lifted Twilight´s chin gently. She smiled tenderly at the alicorn.

“You are not connected to the elements. Each of you are the embodiment of the elements! You are the winds of harmony I spread throughout places that I never imagined. I protect you and you protect me. Even if I disappear, I would end up coming back because you never give up on your elements. It´s in your own nature not to.”

Twilight started tearing up. She held Gusty´s hoof.

“Listen and stick with what I´m about to say: Every creature has a magic inside. It´s just as powerful as yours. And all of you are as powerful as me.”

Twilight smiled sweetly. She shed a tear.

“I´m very scared, Gusty. I don´t know if I´ll be able to save everypony.”

“It´s difficult, I know. I was scared every time I faced Grogar too. But think about this Twilight. You still have a chance to go back to life. To hug your friends and all your loved ones! Don´t you want that?” Gusty said hopeful.

“I don´t know if my friends are alive. They might have been executed by Grogar by now.”

“They might not be alive, but there´s also a chance that they are alive. So, why throw away that chance?”

Twilight still was unsure. Gusty sighed.

“Let me tell you a story. While I was fighting against Grogar, I met a special kid. He and I got very close. The poor creature didn´t have a loving family, so I promised him when I was done fighting Grogar, I would take him and raise him as my own son and give him two amazing sisters. However, Grogar hit his head very hard, leaving him motionless. Me and all my unicorns thought he was dead. But after I died, I discovered the truth. He was still alive!”

“He was?”

Gusty nodded.

“And still is to this day.”

Twilight couldn´t help but wonder who that mysterious kid was.

“So, what I mean, is that sometimes things aren´t what they seem to be. There are always thousands of possibilities out there. Don´t lose hope.”

Twilight looked behind.

“Please, take this chance to get back to life. If I had been given this chance, I would have absolutely taken it. I was never there to see my daughters grow.” she started crying. “I couldn´t hug them, nor kiss them, nor tell them stories at night.” she sniffed. “What´s worse, they I didn´t have the chance to say goodbye.” she sobbed. “They must have felt so alone. They must have thought that I abandoned them. I hope they can forgive me.”

Twilight looked back at Gusty. She saw herself in Gusty. She remembered what she told Spike before the villains attacked Equestria: that she was scared that she was going to outlive her friends forever. And the reason she was terrified of that thought was because she couldn´t bear the thought of never seeing her friends again. Right now, she was proven that she was not inmortal. She could die like everypony else. And with some luck, Celestia could have somewhat changed the spell so she could have a normal pony´s lifespan. Even though it seemed very idealist, there was a chance she did that. After all, like Gusty said, there are thousands of possibilities. What if Spike´s prediction about the spell was true? What if her friends were still alive? What if she could hug them, laugh with them, tell them how much they mean to her? She wanted to have those answers, and there was on only way to find that out.

“You´re right. I can´t give up. I might not know the way right now but giving up is not the answer.”

Gusty dried her tears. Even though her smile wasn´t very strong, she felt very proud.

“That´s the spirit. Let´s waste no time, then”

Gusty redirected her winds towards Twilight. The winds surrounded her in the form of a tornado that slowly covered her from hoof to head, levitating her from the ground. Twilight panicked, since Gusty was using lots of her energy.

“Gusty! Be careful!” she exclaimed before the winds got to her head.

In the brink of an eye, Twilight woke up giving out a huge gasp. She looked at her hooves. They weren´t shining anymore, and they were full of scratches. Her whole body hurt horribly, but at least she was alive. But she knew that her life came with a price. And that price was Gusty.

“Oh no.” she muttered scared.

Despite all the ache, she immediately tried to get in her four hooves. She moaned and fell to the ground when she laid her left front hoof. She didn´t realize that it was broken. Slowly, she got up again, standing in three legs. She opened her wings and tried to fly but fell to the ground again. She still didn´t have magic. She expired and got up one more time. Limping, she walked to the tree as fast as she could. She gasped when she saw Gusty lying to the ground with her eyes closed, panting hard.

“Gusty!”

Gusty opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Twilight.

“It worked. It worked!” she exclaimed cheerfully.

Twilight approached her as quickly as she could and surrounded her hooves around her immaterial body.

“Why did you do that?” she asked. “I could have done it myself.”

She shook her head.

“You haven´t got any magic left. You couldn´t have gone back to your body on your own.”

“But at the cost of yourself?”

Suddenly, Gusty´s tail began to fade into leaves. Twilight gasped.

“No no! You can´t disappear!” Twilight tried to light her horn, but it was pointless.

Opposed to Twilight, Gusty was very calm. She was in a great inner peace. She kept smiling tenderly at her.

“Twilight, remember that you don´t need me to defeat Grogar. I need you to defeat Grogar.”

Slowly, her body turned into leaves. Twilight sobbed hard.

“Please, don´t leave me alone.”

Gusty put her hoof on Twilight´s cheek.

“You are not alone. I will always be with you, even if I fade. And so will your friends.”

Twilight took Gusty´s hoof.

“Celestia and Luna love you so so much. They never thought for a moment that you abandoned them. Never. They miss you as much as you miss them.”

Gusty shedded some tears of joy and relief from hearing those words.

“Don´t forget about Dizzy. Tell him that I love him so much, ok?” she asked.

“Wait, you´re talking about-”

Twilight didn´t have time to ask, for Gusty had already disappeared. She put her front hoofs on the ground. She sobbed.

“Yes. When I find him, I will. Thank you so much for bringing me back to life.”

Suddenly, in some distance behind her, Luna appeared. She looked around while panting. When she turned around, she saw Twilight. She gasped.

“Twilight?” she asked at the brink of tears.

Twilight turned her head back.

“Princess Luna!” she exclaimed surprised. “How did you-”

Luna ran to her and hugged her tightly before Twilight could finish her question. Luna cried in a mixture of joy and sadness.

“We thought you were dead.” Luna told her.

“I did die. But the spirit of harmony brought me back to life.”

“Huh?” Luna dried her tears.

She gasped softly when she saw the tree. It wasn´t shining anymore. It was dead gray. Its crystal leaves slowly fell.

“She sacrificed herself for me. That´s how much confidence she has on me.”

“Maybe because she knows that you´ll bring her back to life as she did with yours. You have achieved many impossible things, Twilight. You reunited me and my sister.” her face saddened. “Until now.”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

Luna sighed.

“Grogar has turned my sister into an evil version of herself.”

“What?” Twilight asked horrified.

“He was about to hit me with the Bewitching Bell, but she jumped in front of me. Oh, it was awful Twilight.” her voice started to shake. “He locked us in our cell, and she began to attack me in hopes to kill me. Fortunately, I remembered something that my sister told me: if somepony´s about to hit you cover yourself with a wing. They are as strong as steel. I did, and it ended up like this.” Luna showed her broken wing.

“Wish I had known that…” Twilight muttered under her breath.

“I was able to make Grogar believe I was dead. So, the guards left my body in the cold. Once they were gone, I took off a ring around my horn that prevented me from doing magic. Immediately after, I teleported myself here.” she started rubbing her horn. “It still hurts.”

Twilight looked down. Luna grabbed her hoof.

“Do you think that we will be able to bring her back? Tell me there´s a a way, I don´t want to banish her.”

Twilight remembered Gusty´s words. She smiled in confidence.

“We might not be able to do it, but there´s also a chance that we can do it. So, why throw that chance away?”

Luna chuckled nostalgically.

“Mother used to say that.”

Twilight wrapped her wing around her.

“In one way or another, we´ll get her back.”

Luna hugged Twilight. The young alicorn was caught out of guard.

“Thank you for always giving me hope, Twilight.”

Twilight returned the hug. Despite not being her friends, Twilight felt safe and sound in that hug. It was telling her that everything was going to be fine. Nonetheless, she still had an uncertainty.

“Of all places, why this one?” she asked curiously.

“Hm?” Luna raised her eyebrow.

“You could have gone to any other place far away from Canterlot and yet, you chose to come exactly where I was without knowing it. Couldn´t have been by chance.”

Luna took a general glance of the castle.

“I guess because I still consider this place home. Sometimes, at night, when I didn´t have to visit somepony´s dream, I would spend the entire night stargazing in the hall room. I know it sounds crazy, but this place brings me great memories. Not because of the Nightmare Moon part, but because building this castle brought us together for some time. You see, when my mom was fighting Grogar, he took Celestia and I as hostages. He put a darkness inside me.”

“He created Nightmare Moon?”

Luna tilted her head from side to side.

“Partly. If I had had a better management of emotions, she would have never been born. Anyway, I was afraid of hurting my family, so I distanced myself from them. From the day mother disappeared, I started feeling very alone. But when we were presented the project of building this castle I felt like myself again. Celestia and I shared all the ideas that we had and played with the secret passages and doors. That of course, changed when we began to rule. I started feeling jealous of Celestia because she was sociable, always smiling and the perfect ruler. I couldn´t be like that because of what happened with Grogar. I didn´t want to hurt anypony. I was lucky that the night is my speciality. I could bring beauty and joy without having to approach to anypony. But… they didn´t appreciate my night. They were scared of it or preferred to sleep. That worsened all the pain that I carried to the point that I let the darkness consume me. And then, you know the rest.”

“Wow. You never told us.”

“I guess it´s because I didn´t want to remember him. I had to let it in the past if I wanted to go on.”

“I see…”

“Another reason I come here it´s because, ironically, I never feel alone. I feel like there´s a presence that accompanies me. Sounds scary, but for me it´s not. It´s a warm presence that makes you feel protected. Maybe it´s the tree, I don´t know.”

Twilight smiled tenderly. Oh, if she only knew that it was her mother that accompanied her in those stargazing and calm nights. She spent some time staring at Luna. She had the same hopeful blue eyes as Gusty. Celestia inherited her coat color. So, seeing the two princesses together was like seeing Gusty.

The alicorn realized that Twilight was staring at her. She blushed slightly.

“Sorry, I shouldn´t have talked about this right now. I should have been trying to look for a solution.” she got up from the floor.

“It´s ok. Sometimes you need to take some things off your chest.”

Luna smiled in return.

“Where do we go now?”

Twilight looked at the horizon. She couldn´t almost see anything. Everything was foggy and covered with snow. What was coming ahead was not going to be easy, but she also knew that she had to do it. For Equestria. For the kingdoms around. For Gusty.

“My friends are in Cantelot, am I right?” Twilight asked.

“I´m not so sure. But I guess so. You´re not thinking about going there directly are you?”

“No. I think we´re going to do some stops around the way. We´re going to need all the help we can get.” she said confidently. “Come on.” Twilight started walking, limping due to her broken leg.

Luna caught up with her and provided her support with her good wing. They smiled at each other and looked at the forest awaiting for them. Twilight inspired and expired.

“Let´s go.”

Chapter 13: A villanous escape

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“Come on! Come on!”

Tirek hit his head against the bars desperate as he held them. Chrysalis was sitting in a corner, inspiring and expiring sadly. He turned his head back and glared at Chrysalis.

“Well, aren´t you going to help me?”

“Hmm?” Chrysalis lifted her head a little.

“To conjure up a plan to escape and get Cozy!”

The changeling queen sighed.

“It´s useless, Tirek. She must be dead already.”

“But it´s not her execution yet! They are torturing her. We still have a chance!”

“Tirek. She is just a filly.”

“What do you mean with that?!” he asked upset.

“Let me finish, you idiot!” she yelled angrily. “What I mean is that her body is not as strong as ours, so I don´t think that she´ll be able to hold on to…” Chrysalis shook her head fastly. “Whatever they are doing to her. Besides, we haven´t got any magic. What do you expect us to do without it?”

Tirek scoffed.

“Chrysalis. We literally can absorb magic!”

“You absorb magic.”

“And you absorb love out of those ponies!” Tirek replied back. “You haven´t had a decent meal since we went to Mount Everhoof. Why are you throwing away the chance to have another one?”

“Let me think….” Chrysalis put her hoof under her chin while getting up. “Hmm… Oh, yes, I know. BECAUSE WE LITERALLY TURNED EVERYPONY AGAINST EACH OTHER?!”

Tirek didn´t have enough arguments to refute what she just said.

“Ok. That´s true. But I don´t think every pony in Equestria is dumb enough to have fallen for our lies!”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and raised an eyebrow.

“We are talking about normal ponies. Not Twilight Sparkle or any of her allies.”

“Still, there is a chance that a pony is still carrying love in their heart. You yourself said to be careful with those when we came up with the plan!”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and turned her back on Tirek.

“It´s like you don´t even what to try!” Tirek exclaimed frustrated.

Chrysalis frowned.

“You´re right, I don´t.”

“And why is that, huh?! Don´t you want to rule?!”

“Of course I want to rule! It´s just… I´m afraid it wouldn´t be the main goal for the escape.”

Tirek raised an eyebrow.

“Explain yourself.”

Chrysalis sighed.

“Look. There´s nothing I desire more than ruling over those pathetic ponies. I still want to see them bowing before me and, most importantly, I want my army back. But I think that I´m using it as an excuse to cover the real reason why I would want to escape.”

“Which is…” Tirek continued while raising an eyebrow.

“Come on, don´t tell me that you want to save Cozy Glow just so you can get to the throne.”

Tirek bit his lip.

“Ok, fine! I admit it. I want to save her because I care about her. So what?”

Chrysalis scoffed.

“So what? So what?! We are starting to sound like Twilight Sparkle! What if this caring about each other turns us to her side, huh?”

“You mean… reforming?”

Chrysalis trembled.

“Uuugh! Just by hearing that word I get sick.”

“So, what you´re telling me is that you think that just because you care about Cozy you´re reforming?”

Chrysalis nodded. Tirek tried to hold his laughter but eventually, he gave up. He left out a huge roar of laughter. Chrysalis was puzzled.

“Oh! Oh my! I can´t breathe!” he said between his laughs.

“Don´t laugh! This is a serious matter!” Chrysalis yelled.

Once he was done laughing, he dried a tear.

“You are not reforming because you care about Cozy Glow.”

Chrysalis raised her ears surprised.

“I´m not?”

“Come on! She herself is the living proof.”

“What do you mean?”

Tirek raised his eyebrows.

“All this time together and you didn´t realize?” he rubbed his temples. “Ugh, for a creature that detects love, you are pretty dumb to notice obvious signs of love.”

“Hey, don´t call me stupid! Need I to remind you that I was the one who came up with all the ideas?”

“Hey, that´s not true! I helped in the plans!”

“Yeah. By building up your muscles for later instead of giving ideas.”

“Are you calling me stupid because I´m athletic?”

“I don´t know, am I?”

“Well, then, for being stupid I managed to manipulate Discord, almost defeated Twilight Sparkle and her friends, told Cozy what to do to accomplish her plans and she almost won as well, and somehow managed to keep my cool during difficult situations.”

Chrysalis had no words to say against him.

“Ok, fine. You´re right. But just because I have poor management of emotions and little knowing about them, doesn´t make me stupid. Just like you are not stupid for being athletic.”

“Fair enough. I just said that because I thought that you noticed as well.”

“Notice what?”

“Cozy Glow doesn´t view us only as a team. She views us as her family!”

“She does?”

“Why do you think she calls you Chrissy?”

“Don´t start calling me that too!” she pointed at him. “I thought she said that to annoy me.”

“That´s another reason as well, but only creatures that are close to each other do that.”

“Huh.” Chrysalis sat down.

“And just because she sees us as her family doesn´t mean that she cares about Twilight Sparkle and her friends or that she doesn´t want to rule Equestria anymore. Does she?”

“I… guess not?”

“There you go.”

“Well, it´s easy for you two to say. I learnt in a really bad way that if a changeling gives its love, they´ll turn into a bubbly and colorful changeling! I don´t want to look like that!”

Tirek widened his eyes.

“Yeah… I didn´t think about it. Hmm… Maybe it´s because when they gave their love, they released their hatred as well. I know! Let´s do something. You care about Cozy?”

Chrysalis took some time before answering.

“Be honest. Otherwise this is not going to work.” Tirek remarked.

“Hmm….. Yes?”

“Say it with all your certainty.”

“Ok, yes I do.” Chrysalis replied frustrated.

“Do you still want to take over Equestria?”

“D´uh! What question is that?”

“Do you hate Twilight Sparkle and her friends?”

“Yes.”

“The princesses and Discord?”

“Yes.”

“All Equestria´s habitants?”

“Yes.”

“How about Equestria´s allies?”

“Yes, except for my hive because they are going to serve me later, whether they like it or not.”

“Now, the definite question and evidence that you´re not turning into a bubbly changeling. Do you still want to rip Starlight Glimmer apart?”

“DON´T MENTION HER NAME!” Chrysalis yelled. “Of course I want to rip her apart! That soul hasn´t tasted all my rage yet.” she said with all her hatred.

“See? You failed the reformation test! There´s nothing to worry about.” Tirek crossed his arms with a relaxed smile.

“So… What you mean is that I can be evil and remain in this form while caring about Cozy Glow?”

“I don´t see anything colorful in you.”

Chrysalis wiped the sweat out of her forehead.

“Phew! You don´t know how much that relieves me.” she sighed in relief and hugged Tirek. “Thank you.”

Tirek widened his eyes in surprise and blushed a little. He gently undid Chrysalis´ hug.

“You´re welcome but don’t do this weird. Please.”

Chrysalis blushed in embarassment. She took some hoofsteps backwards.

“Forget I just did that. For your own sake.” she said threatingly. “Otherwise the one who´s going to be ripped apart is you.”

“And you´re back!”

“So, what´s your plan?”

Tirek started walking towards Chrysalis.

“What I was thinking was-”

Chrysalis blocked his way with her hoof.

“Let´s keep some distance. Just to avoid hugs or whatever sign of affection.”

Tirek took some hoofsteps back.

“Right. Sorry.” he cleared his throat. “As I said before, you and I can absorb some source of power from any creature.”

“So your plan is waiting for a miracle.”

Tirek raised his eyebrow confused.

“What?”

“Come on, do you really think that a pony or a creature is going to pop out of nowhere?”

Just after she said that they heard some hoofsteps. They peeked out their heads and observed a guard patrolling the cells.

“We´re in a prison in case you hadn´t noticed.” he whispered sarcastically in her ear.

Chrysalis sighed frustrated.

“Now, what we need to do now is to think about a way to call her attention and-”

By the time Tirek started talking, Chrysalis had already absorbed all the love from the guard, leaving her weak and laying on the ground. Tirek watched confused how Chrysalis licked her lips once she was done.

“You were right, there´s still love inside these ponies.” she said very pleased. “Such a great meal. Now, let´s see if this works.”

Chrysalis tried to light her horn. At first it flickered and she struggled to maintain the light, but fortunatetly, her magic was strong enough to take the keys from the guard´s armor and bring them to Tirek´s hand. The centaur caught the keys quickly. He stared surprised at Chrysalis for some time.

“What? What are you waiting for?” she asked upset while pointing at the doorknob.

“Ok ok.”

He opened the door and immediately got out. He smirked evilly at the pony before absorbing her magic. He turned to his normal state. He flexed his arms and kissed his biceps. Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, you can do that later! We have a fellow villain to save. Besides, I´m pretty sure that won´t be the last pony, whose magic you´ll absorb.” Chrysalis said with a smirk.

Tirek started laughing mischievously.

“One more thing, we can´t leave evidence.” Chrysalis added.

“What? And how am I going to do that?”

“I don´t know, think of something!” Chrysalis replied while running.

Tirek observed the frightened mare. When he got an idea, he smirked sinisterly at her.

“This is going to hurt just a tiny bit.” he said while igniting his horns.

“Ok. Let me ask you a question before we begin.” Cozy Glow said calmly. “WHY IN EQUESTRIA IS THERE A TORTURE ROOM UNDERNEATH CANTERLOT?!!!”

Cozy had her hooves tied to a platform. The torturer, who was a changeling, put his mask on. Surprised by Cozy´s question, he left out a laugh.

“I thought you knew because… Equestria history! Your history.” The changeling pointed at Cozy. “Canterlot used to be Tambelon´s capital, but after Gusty the Great defeated Grogar, all the revolutionaries destroyed the castle. But many years later, Celestia ordered to build a completely new castle. But I think that there were some ruins underneath. Such as this one”

“Wow, such an interesting and useful information.” Cozy said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

“You asked, I didn´t.” the changeling replied bluntly while waiting for the metal stick to warm up.

Once it was almost melting, he took it to put it on Cozy´s belly. The tiny pegasus leaned against the platform all she could while blowing at the hot metal stick, hoping that it would cool down. The torturer changeling narrowed their eyes.

“Seriously? Are you that dumb to believe that it will stop burning just like that?”

“YOU ARE NOT THE ONE WHO´S ABOUT TO HAVE HER BELLY BURNED!!!” she yelled at his face.

Her yell was so strong that it made the torturer fall on his back.

“I´d prefer to be executed right now!” Cozy said.

“As you wish.” The changeling took out an axe.

“It was a form of speaking, you idiot!”

“Oh.” he said somewhat disappointed as he hid it.

“Isn´t there any other form of torture? One less painful.”

“Oh, well I can pierce all your body, I can break your hooves, your legs, I can let you bleed out… Grogar had some pretty mean ways to torture ponies, now that I think about it.”

Cozy knew that she couldn´t stand a chance. No matter the way she would be tortured, chances were that she would not make it to the day of her execution. So, the only thing she could do was distracting the torturer. And seeing how chatty he was, that would be something easy.

“And what were those ways?” she asked in her sweet façade.

“Grogar would force the prisoners how their friends were executed. He also liked to see them suffer very slowly. Oh! He also liked to show their lifeless bodies to his subjects as a warning of what would happen if they dared to disobey him. A pretty noted example was when he made a bell with twelve heads to get allies by fear before he even began to rule.”

“Oh golly, you don´t say.” she said, pretending to be very interested while being bored to death on the inside.

“It´s a very ancient legend. Chrysalis told us that legend every night for the same purposes.”

“Really? Golly, spill it out.”

“Well, it all began when he was still a young ram…”

“Aaaargh, how boriiiiiiiiing!” she thought to herself while the changeling told the story.

But something caught her attention. She saw some brief, green and orange flashes of light that came from outside, something she could tell by the door´s small spaces. Suddenly, the floor started to shake, making all the objects in the room jump.

“What in tarnation?” the torturer asked slowly.

Suddenly, the door fell down, leaving out some dust. Both the torturer and Cozy coughed. Once the dust cleared out, they could see what caused the door burst. Cozy gasped and smiled happily when she saw Tirek and Chrysalis lighting their horns.

“Tirek! Chrissy! You escaped!” she exclaimed very gladly.

For a moment, Chrysalis was going to shoot at Cozy for calling her Chrissy in public. Tirek was ready to stop her but saw that he didn´t have to when he saw the changeling queen calming herself down by breathing slowly.

“I´m fine. I´m fine.” she told the centaur. “Just give me a minute.”

She breathed in and out for a few more seconds. They all watched her confused and anxious, waiting for her to respond.

“Ok.” she said with an uncharacteristic, calm and peaceful smile. “WHATEVER YOU´RE DOING TO HER, STOP IT OR I´LL DESTROY YOU!” she yelled while igniting the horn at the changeling.

Although Chrysalis´ sudden outburst scared Tirek and made him jump, he quickly returned to his aggressive and defensive posture.

The changeling levitated his hooves.

“Ok. Let´s calm down. I didn´t do anything to her.”

“He was going to chop off my head.” Cozy lied.

“What?! That´s not true!”

“Then why do you have an axe, huh?” Tirek asked in an accusing tone.

The changeling gave a quick glance and the axe he kept on his belt. He quickly hid it behind its back. He laughed nervously before trying to leave the room and warn Grogar, but Tirek grabbed him by the neck.

“Oh, you´re not going anywhere.” he said with shining eyes while smiling and igniting his horns.

After absorbing his magic, Tirek left out a huge light on the changeling. The poor creature began to yell in pain. Chrysalis, who was freeing Cozy, tried to cover the filly´s eyes.

“No, no. I want to see this.” Cozy said with a sadistic smile.

After uncovering her eyes, Chrysalis took some hoofsteps away from Cozy, giving her a disgusted look.

Once Tirek was finished, there was no trace of the changeling. Only ashes.

“Are you alright?” he asked while Chrysalis undid her ties and sat her on the ground.

“Yeah, I´m good. But I have so many questions. First, how did you escape?”

“Apparently, every creature forgot that we are creatures who get power by absorbing magic or love.” Tirek explained.

“Oh, that´s true. Also, you could have chosen to fly off right now, yet you decided to come and save me. Why? I´m not an alicorn anymore.” Cozy said sadly.

“Did that stop you from almost conquering Equestria?” Tirek asked. “Or working with us?”

“Um… No?”

“Then, why do you think that we would live you behind?”

“Because I won´t be able to aid in battle. I have no magic, I´m not an alicorn and my wings are broken. I have literally nothing to give!”

“Ok. Let me check something.” Chrysalis put her ear on Cozy Glow´s forehead while knocking. “Hmm… It doesn´t sound as if it was empty inside, which means that you are still able to think and come up with plans to get that goat out of the throne and take what´s rightly ours! So yeah, you still have plenty to give.”

“But that´s something you can do without me.”

Frustrated, Chrysalis hit her head with her hoof.

“I´m trying to make you see that we´re not going without you in spite of your condition.

“But I need to know what I can give that you don´t.”

“Well…. You bring stability to this group. I fit wasn´t for you, Tirek and I would have killed each other.”

“Actually, you would have killed me.” Tirek replicated.

“Shut up!” Chrysalis glared at the centaur.

“Hmm… That´s true. But I think there´s something more.”

“What?”

“I don´t know you tell me.” Cozy replied with a mischievous smile.

“Come on! We don´t have time for this!” Chrysalis complained.

“Ok, fine.” Tirek intervened. “You give us a family. There! We said it! Are you satisfied? Can we go now so we don´t get discovered and executed immediately?!”

Cozy gasped. She covered her mouth with her hooves. Her eyes filled with tears.

“Is that true?” she asked very moved.

“Wait. Wasn´t that what you wanted to hear?” Tirek asked confused.

“No, I thought you were going to say that I apported cuteness to this group.” she sniffed. “You really mean it?”

Tirek scratched his back.

“Yes. Took me a long to accept it, but yes, you are like a family to me.”

“Even Chrissy? Does she feel the same?”

“First, will you ever stop calling me that?” Chrysalis scolded her upset. “Secondly… Yes. I feel the same. Aside my mom, you are one of the few creatures that has made into my closest circle. You´re almost… well, you´re practically family to me.”

Cozy sniffed with a smile. She hugged the two villains´ leg tightly.

“Me too, guys! You´re my family! I love you so muuuucch!” Cozy ugly sobbed.

Both Tirek and Chrysalis rolled their eyes.

“There´s no need to make a scene, Cozy.” Chrysalis muttered.

“Now, now. We don´t have time for this!” Tirek told the filly as he tried to undo the hug. “We need to leave!”

He took her on her back and began to run, with Chrysalis by his side. Meanwhile Cozy observed that there was not a single guard in the cells´ corridor.

“Um.. You do realize that this is practically empty, right?” she said sarcastically to the two.

“That´s the reason we need to leave now!” Chrysalis explained frustrated.

“What did you do?” Cozy asked suspiciously.

“The same thing I did to that changeling after I absorbed the magic.” Tirek responded.

“Ooh, that´s so mean and dark.” Cozy began to chuckle. “I love it!”

“Come to think about it? Was it necessary to do that to the changeling? You do realize he could have served for me later, right?”

“What else did you want me to do? Cozy could have been headless at any moment!”

“Actually, he was not going to do that. I made that up.” Cozy corrected.

Tirek and Chrysalis turned their heads on her.

“He had the axe because I figuratively said that I´d prefer execution rather than torture. But hey, he was going to torture me! But he was too excited by history to do so.” she laughed. “That poor fool.”

“Let me get this straight, Tirek basically destroyed one of my subjects for nothing?!” Chrysalis asked angrily.

“Sorry not sorry, I just wanted to have some fun. Besides, what part of talking about his interests instead of doing his job didn´t you understand? He would have been pretty useless in your army. So, no worries! Don´t lose your head!” Cozy winked at Chrysalis after saying the pun.

Tirek shook his head while rubbing his temples. Chrysalis started whispering in his ear.

“You know what? I´m starting to rethink if saving Cozy was a good idea.”

Tirek sighed.

“Me too, Chrysalis. Me too.”

Fluttershy explored her cell, pacing around everything that the chain around her neck could let her. She was looking for a way to escape. Yes, she knew that her friends were most probably dead, and she was just a weak, powerless pegasus who had nothing to do against Grogar. But she couldn´t bear the thought of not doing anything while Equestria suffered. She had to find a way. Maybe she couldn´t do anything but luckily, she knew an almighty draconequus who could lend a hoof. But first, he needed to be freed, and in order to do that she needed a plan, which had to begin by escaping.

She touched the blocks that formed her cell´s walls, hoping that there would be a secret passage made by somepony who was there before her thousands of years ago. She tried to advance to the right, but the chain prevented her from doing so. After yelping, she frowned at the chain.

“Stupid chain!” she spat angrily.

While looking at it, she also saw her wings, which gave her an idea.

“Let´s hope it works…”

Slowly, she opened her wing. She took out a feather out with her mouth, grunting a little in the process. Then, she grabbed it with her hooves. Once she found the whole, she inserted the pointy part of her feather. After spinning it around for some time, she managed to open the chain. She sighed in relief.

“Much better.” she thought aloud with a smile while caressing her neck. “Now, all I need is a little bit of luck.”

She kept on touching the blocks on the wall. Suddenly, she heard a voice.

“Hey you!”

Fluttershy gasped in panic, thinking that she had been discovered. However, when she turned around, she saw nopony. She leaned against the right wall and advanced to the bars, covering herself with her wings. She heard the guard running.

“Code red! The prisoners have esca-”

For some reason, the guard stopped talking. Fluttershy noticed that the guard´s voice became muzzled.

“Too late to warn your fellows.” a frightening voice said.

A chill ran through Fluttershy´s back when she recognized Tirek´s voice. She felt incredibly bad for the guard he had his hands on. From what she heard, she knew that he was summoning magic.

“Nice one Tirek!”

The much high-pitched and fake sweet voice made Tirek fire a ray magic without targeting well. It bounced the guard´s helmet, then a torch, and finally, it destroyed Fluttershy´s cells bars, leaving a hole on its floor.

“Cozy!” Tirek scolded.

Cozy smiled apologetically.

“I told you to stay quiet.” another voice joined in.

Fluttershy recognized the other voice. It was Chrysalis´.

“Sorry, Chrissy. I got excited.”

Chrysalis sighed frustrated.

From the shadows, Fluttershy watched how Tirek absorbed the guard´s magic. Suddenly, she saw a huge flash of light. After the flash of light, the guard´s shadow was there no more.

“I can´t wait to do that when we are in the throne.” Cozy said excitedly.

“Let´s go. Now!” Tirek commanded Chrysalis.

The changeling nodded and they disappeared in a flash.

Fluttershy panted heavily, trying to digest what had happened. She observed the hole in the ground. After making sure nopony was looking at her, she ran to the hole to check it. She chuckled hopefully when she saw that the hole was big enough for her to go in.

“Discord, I´m coming.” she said confidently before jumping into the hole.

Chapter 14:Hope after all

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Spike hugged his knees inside his cage. After he killed Twilight, Grogar sent him to Tartarus. Ever since he arrived, he didn´t say a word. He was just there lying on the ground, waiting to be succumbed by darkness as he silently shed tears that formed a broken heart when they reached the ground.

The pillars, Stygian looked at him sympathetically. They were very worried. Scorpan tried to reach him.

“Hey kid, are you alright?” he asked concerned.

“Leave me alone.” Spike replied.

Meanwhile, the ponies talked to each other in whispers.

“What do you think that happened for him to be so sad?” Rockhoof asked softly.

“I have no idea, but if he got captured and is so sad, that´s not a good sign.” Stygian shook his head.

“Do you think that Grogar did something to them, Starswirl?” Mage Meadowbrook asked scared.

Starswirl the Bearded closed his eyes.

“Could be. This is Grogar what we´re talking about. Everything can be possible.”

“But if Twilight Sparkle and her friends aren´t capable of defending Equestria, who will? It can´t be up to us! We have no magic left.” Flash Magnus said.

“Let´s not think that this is the end yet.” Mistmane tried to lift up the mood. “We need to remain hopeful. Right Somnambula?” Mistamane cuddled up to the sad pegasus.

Somnambula sighed sadly.

“I´m sorry Mistmane, but even I am having difficulty to remain hopeful. I want to believe that everything´s alright but-” her voice broke. “I can´t.”

Mistmane put her hoof on Somnambula´s.

Meanwhile, Scorpan kept on trying to communicate with Spike.

“Do you want to tell us what happened?”

No response from the dragon

“It´s ok if you don´t want to talk about it now.”

Spike turned his head to Scorpan.

“I do want to talk about it!” he exclaimed desperate. “But I-” he panted while the image of Grogar shooting Twilight replayed in his mind. He pulled on his tears. “NOOOO!”

Scorpan would have hugged him if he was in his cage, but he couldn´t. The only thing he could do was hold his claws. He shushed him.

“It´s ok, it´s ok.” he repeated. “I am here. We are here.” he looked back at the pillars and Stygian. They smiled sweetly or showed concerned faces. “We care about you and we´ll be here for anything you need.” he dried Spike´s tears with his big hands. “But we can´t help you if you don´t tell us what happened.”

Spike sniffed.

“I can´t. If I try to tell it, it replays in my mind.” He put his claws on his head.

“But even if you keep it to yourself, it will replay over and over again.” Mistmane continued. “Maybe it won´t stop immediately, but eventually, you´ll get better if you tell us what happened. I promise” she gave him a hopeful smile.

Spike looked at them. No matter how painful it was, he knew that they had to know sooner or later. He gulped.

“Ok.”

“Just take some deep breathes before starting.” Somnambula advised. “Breathe after me.”

After she inspired and expired slowly, Spike breathed. After taking a few minutes, he felt prepared.

“Ok. I´m ready.”

“Go ahead.” Meadowbrook ordered.

“After being separated, I reunited with Twilight and the rest. We were planning on using the bell against the villains and Grogar but our plan failed: Grogar was able to get his bell back.”

The pillars gasped. Starswirl´s eyes widened. He slowly sat down, trying to process what he just heard.

“And the first thing he did with it, was-” Spike sobbed hard. “kill Twilight.” tears streamed down his face after he said.

Scorpan covered his mouth after gasping soflty.The pillars´ eyes filled with tears. Stygian held the bars while panting. Starswirl felt great his heart wrenching as he cried.

“And what´s worse, I couldn´t defend her. I wasn´t able to return the favor to my sister.” Spike said while crying.

“No, don´t say that buddy.” Scorpan held his claws tightly. “I´m sure you did all you could. Seeing you blaming yourself like this would absolutely break her heart. Grieve, but don´t smash yourself for something that´s not your fault.”

“I would advise to try looking ahead. But right now...” Stygian advised. “We have nothing to look forward to.”

Flash Magnus scoffed.

“Yeah! The only future I see is either rotting here or being executed.” Flash Magnus said.

“So that´s the end of the pillars of Equestria, huh?” Rockhoof laughed sadly. “Defeated by an evil and unbeatable overlord, the once great pillars failed Equestria and spent the last of their days inside Tartarus until their last breath. That´s how our future legends will be.”

“Just by thinking all the atrocities Grogar could commit against ponies, I get sick.” Meadowbrook put her hoof on her forehead.

“And everything that Equestria was once, will disappear.” Mistmane lamented.

“I might not have any hope left for us, but I do hope that somepony, in a far future, will stand up to Grogar like Gusty did. History tends to repeat itself, something we´ve just unfortunately witnessed.” Somnambula commented.

Starswirl sighed.

“I hope so, Somnambula. I hope so. But who knows how much time till then. Besides, confronting Grogar comes with events and images that will haunt you forever. I don´t know how many ponies will be willing to go through that.”

Spike thought about what the pillars said. They seemed to have given up and expected the worst. But Twilight never gave up. And if she did, he or her friends always gave her a push. Looking far ahead, was too much for him right now. He couldn´t imagine a future without Twilight. But maybe he could think about a closer future. A chance to do a small thing that could at least motivate others to fight Grogar. The next thing that could happen was his choice. A choice he could make. For Twilight. Maybe he could not defend her from the hooves of the diabolical ram, but maybe that´s how he could honor her name.

He frowned and got up slowly.

“Maybe we don´t need to wait too long.”

The pillars, nor Stygian or Scorpan understood what the little dragon meant.

“I´m sorry, but I think that none of us caught that.” Rockhoof said while raising an eyebrow confused.

Meadowbrook nodded in agreement.

“What I mean is that we need to escape.”

“But for what? To spend the rest of our lives running like fugitives?” Mistmane asked. “We are powerless Spike, we have no magic left. And without any magic left, we can´t battle Grogar.”

“Maybe we cannot combat Grogar face to face, but maybe somepony else can. And the only way to find out who is by escaping. Besides, Grogar might have taken away our magic, but there´s something that he hasn´t taken away from us.” Spike smirked.

“Well, clearly hope is not the answer, because Somnambula has none.” Flash Magnus said.

“I was going to say our intellect. We might be able to outsmart him. That´s how Gusty defeated Grogar in the first place, right Starswirl?” he looked at Starswirl.

Starswirl looked at the ground while thinking.

“I guess so, yes.”

“And while we come up with ideas, another pony could participate in combat.”

The pillars, Stygian were still unsure about the idea. Scorpan, however, in spite of not knowing how Spike was planning to escape, he still wanted to listen to the little dragon.

“Look, I know it sounds too idealistic, and believe me, I was thinking the exact same thing while explaining my idea. But.” he sighed. “It´s the only thing I can do for Twilight. To pay my debt for everything she has done for me. All her love and acceptance despite the fact that I´m not a pony, but a dragon, a species that has terrified ponies for centuries. She did not see me as a monster. Not for a moment. Instead, she treated me like family. In fact, she called me brother. I couldn´t repay her by saving her life, but maybe I can repay by not giving up.”

Scorpan smiled at Spike. He put his hands on his shoulders.

“You have no debt to pay for. You already gave her all your love. And I´m pretty sure that for her, that´s enough. But, if what you feel the need to do it, then I´m all for it. There could be some hope after all. What about you guys?” he asked the pillars and Stygian.

“Count me in!” Stygian replied while elevating his hoof.

“Aye!” Rockhoof answered.

“Seeing you hopeful, makes me hopeful that the situation will get better.” Somnambula said as she dried out a tear. “I want to fight by your side.”

“I have no idea of how we´ll do this, but hey! I guess there´s nothing better to do right now, so yeah, I´m in.” Flash Magnus shrugged.

“I´m an elderly mare and I know that there´s not much time left for me, but at least I want to die knowing that Equestria will be in peace.” Mistmane put her hoof on her chest.

“Yeah, and I still want to do my job.” Meadowbrook said. “I know that if I sit here till I am executed, I´ll never take it somewhere. If I fight, I might die, but I also have the chance to keep healing ponies.”

Everypony looked at Starswirl. He was still a bit skeptical, but nopony seemed to be upset because of that. They seemed understanding, which gave him a warm environment to talk about his feelings.

“What you want to do won´t be easy for me, my friends.” he explained after sighing. He put a hoof on his chest. “I myself have faced Grogar before, and believe me, it´s a rough process that leaves scars in your heart. Scars that are still trying to heal. But my dear old friend Gusty never stopped fighting despite everything she carried in her heart. So, in her honor, I will be doing this.”

They all smiled at Starswirl.

“So… Any ideas to escape?” Flash Magnus asked.

Spike scratched his chin.

“Well, when me and the girls were trapped in Tartarus-”

Stygian gasped. Scorpan and the pillars were surprised as well.

“You were in Tartarus?” Stygian asked unbelieved.

“Yeah… It´s a long story. I´ll tell you later.” Spike cleared his throat. “Well, we used the magic from the creatures trapped in here and Tirek.”

Scorpan gasped this time.

“You used my brother´s magic? How?” he asked surprised.

Spike started to get a little frustrated about getting interrupted every time.

“Yes, another long story that I´ll tell you once we´re done with this. But as I was saying-”

“Um… Buddy…” Rockhoof said to Spike while looking around nervously. “We are the only creatures trapped in Tartarus…”

“Ok. Will you stop interrupting me, please?” Spike asked upset.

Rockhoof scratched his foreleg while looking down with an apologetic expression.

“Sorry…”

“But yes, you´re pretty right. We can´t escape from Tartarus like I did last time.”

“Then, we´ll think something else.” Mistmane said.

Meadowbrook stared at Scorpan for some time.

“Scorpan, now that I remember, Tirek didn´t take away your magic.”

“Well… That´s because I have nothing to give. The only powerful artefact that I had was the Staff of Sacanas, and since the Storm King took it, I have no idea where it is. I myself haven´t got any magic.”

“Don´t say that!” Starswirl told him. “Pegasi and earth ponies also have magic, even though they do not do any spells.”

“Even I have some magic!” Spike added. “And I´m just a dragon.”

“So… You mean that I am the key to get out of here?” Scorpan asked confused.

Starswirl nodded.

“But how? Even I had magic, I cannot transfer it to you!”

“That´s true, but you might have the strength.” Stygian said while pointing at the bolts.

Scorpan took his cage´s bolt. He looked skeptical at it.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Doesn´t hurt to try.” Flash Magnus told him.

“Well, it would, actually.” Somnambula corrected him. “There´s a chance that he could damage his knuckles. Luckily, we have a doctor among us, so no worries.” she smiled.

“I guess you´re right.” Scorpan agreed, still a bit insecure.

He took another glance of the bolt. He inspired and expired before hitting the bolt. Fortunately, it broke and opened his cage. They all cheered at him.

“You did it!” Somnambula exclaimed.

“I knew you could do it!” Stygian exclaimed.

“See? What did I tell you?” Flash Magnus grinned smugly.

“You are stronger than you think, Scorpan. Don´t underestimate yourself just because you don´t have your brother´s or an unicorn´s abilities.” Mistmane advised him.

“Yeah! Even stronger than your brother I dare to say.” Starswirl raised an eyerbrow while smirking. “He needs to absorb magic in order to get stronger, whereas you don´t.”

Scorpan blushed. He smiled confidently. He opened his wings to get out of the cage. But Rockhoof tried to warn him something.

“Scorpan, I´d advise that you watched something before you-”

Scorpan tried to fly, but quickly fell to the floor. He forgot that his leg was still enchained to the ground.

“Oh. Right.” he laughed nervously.

He pulled the chain until breaking it. However, it was still wrapped around his leg.

“Well, that´s a start.” he thought aloud while looking at his leg as he stood on one.

Then, he broke the other cages´ bolts. The pillars, Stygian and Spike got out with some help to get up and walk. They were so weak that they couldn´t even run, and also too tired to walk. Scorpan stood in four legs and he opened his wings.

“Hope there´s space for everypony.” he winked an eye.

Fortunately, there was. Scorpan started to feel their weigh, so his legs shook a little. Seeing that he already had a big load, Spike decided not to ride on the gargoyle. Scorpan raised an eyebrow confused.

“Don´t worry, I can walk. I´ll go slow, but I don´t suppose that´s a problem for you.”

“Not at all. The better for me.”

After some minutes of walking, they finally got to the door.

“Now what?” Scorpan asked.

“I have no idea. Did any of you see what Tirek did to enter here?” Spike asked to the pillars and Stygian.

They all shook their heads.

“We were almost unconscious, so I´m afraid not.” Mistmane replied.

“Nonetheless, my guess is that he must have broken the magical bolt and after trapping us here, locked it again with his magic.” Stygian said.

“That´s my guess too, yes.” Starswirl agreed.

“If I could fly, I would try to burst it out.” Flash Magnus said.

“Believe me, Rainbow Dash tried that and almost broke all of her bones. So, no, I don´t recommend that.” Spike told Flash.

Flash trembled.

“Then, how are we going to get out? By miracle?” Rockhoof asked while raising an eyebrow.”

Suddenly, Scorpan heard something. He tilted his head and raised his left ear.

“What is it Scorpan?” Starswirl asked.

“I hear somepony talking.” he looked at Spike. “Spike, can get closer to the door and put your ear on it? Just to know what they´re saying.”

Spike nodded and did as Scorpan said. He heard two voices conversating. He gasped happily when he recognized the voices.

“What? What is it?” Somnambula asked.

“Hope, Somnambula. It´s hope.”

“And there goes the cliché line.” Rockhoof muttered under his breath.

Spike shushed to hear better.

“Do you have any idea of what this is?” a female voice asked. “Because I don´t know anything about pony geography.”

“I´m not so sure, but my guess is that this is Tartarus.”

“Tartas? Isn´t that a word for cakes?” another male voice asked.

The first male voice sighed.

“Tartarus. It´s an ancient pony prison where they kept dangerous creatures, including Tirek.”

“How is it that you know so much pony history?” the female voice asked.

“Ocellus told us all. Right guys?”

Some voices agreed with the male voices. Spike´s smile grew wider.

“Huh. Smolder didn´t tell us anything. You should check on your sister´s academic courses.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever.” The other male voice said.

There was a brief silence.

“So you think that somepony´s trapped in here?” the female voice asked.

“Could be, yes. Tirek could have trapped somepony here in revenge.”

“For example?”

“The official Equestria´s dragon ambassador and the Crystal Empire greatest hero. In other words, ME SPIKE!” Spike yelled from inside the cell nervously.

He heard some gasps.

“Spike?” the first male voice muttered.

“Spike! This is Ember. I´ve come with Thorax and a few more allies. You inside?” the female voice asked.

“Yeah! Me, the pillars of Equestria, Stygian and Scorpan.”

“The pillars are there?” Thorax asked surprised.

“Well, I have no idea who the rest are, but don´t worry. We´ll manage to get all of you out!”

Even though he couldn´t see her, Spike knew that Ember was trying to burn the doors by the sounds she made.

“Dragons, help me!”

Despite there was more fire blowing, there were no results.

“What? Why didn´t it work?” Ember asked confused.

“These aren’t like any other doors you had ever seen, Ember. They are magical doors.” Spike explained.

“Then, what do we do?” Thorax asked.

Seeing that Spike was silent, Rockhoof decided to ask.

“Well?”

Spike turned his head back.

“They´re Ember and Thorax, two good friends of mine. They´ve come to free us but have no idea how.”

Starswirl´s eyes widened.

“Wait. I might have an idea.”

With Stygian´s and Somnambula´s help, he managed to get down Scorpan´s wing. He walked to the door.

“Is there a magical creature with you?”

Garble widened her eyes.

“Spike, your voice has changed.” Garble said somewhat surprised.

“That´s because I´m not Spike, I am Starswirl the Bearded.”

The changelings and crystal ponies gasped.

“I never ever thought that I would hear Starswirl the Bearded´s voice.” Thorax whispered in Ember´s ear excitedly.

Starswirl stroke his beard.

“Tell me. Is there some orange magic locking the door?”

Ember and Thorax checked the door.

“Yeah.”

Starswirl turned his head to his comrades.

“Our suspicions were right. Tirek´s magic is what´s blocking the door.”

“That means that the only way to get out would be by magic.” Stygian thought aloud. “Can any of them use magic?”

Starswirl asked the same question.

“Can any of you use magic?”

Thorax stepped forward.

“Um… We changelings can, but I don´t think that our magic is strong enough to break it.”

The pillars and Stygian looked at each other worried. It was completely impossible to get out without magic. So, how to do it?

Scorpan lowered his head while sighing. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that Tartarus´ entrance´s floor was made of soil, unlike the place of his brother´s cell.

“Maybe we don´t need to use the door.” he suggested. “We are standing on soil.”

The ponies and Spike felt foolish for not noticing.

“You´re right. How didn´t we notice it?” Flash Magnus asked to the other pillars.

“Sometimes, stress clouds our judgment.” Mistmane exclaimed.

“So, I guess we´ll have to dig, then?” Somnambula suggested.

“But can we? We can barely walk!” Meadowbrook pointed out. “It would take days to get out!”

“Um… Is everything´s alright?” Thorax asked, since he couldn´t hear Spike nor Starswirl.

“Yeah! Scorpan just discovered that Tartarus´ floor is soil. We are thinking on digging, but I don´t know if we can do, since we have no magic.”

“Who says it is you who must dig?” Angie intervened.

She immediately turned into a mole and started digging up. The dragons, changelings and crystal ponies stared at the hole she just made. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she came back to the service.

“Changelings. I might need some help.” she said while panting.

“Oh. Right.” Thorax smiled nervously.

He and the changelings turned into moles and helped Angie to dig a hole big enough for all their imprisoned friends.

After some minutes, the changelings went back to the surface inside Tartarus. Fortunately, it was big enough for the ponies and Spike. But not enough for Scorpan. The changelings felt a bit bad for not taking him in mind. But Scorpan smiled warmly.

“Don´t worry. I have enough energy to dig.” he started to dig. “See?”

The changelings sighed in relief. They reunited in a circle, planning how to help them escape. Once they reached to an agreement, Thorax turned to the pillars, Spike, Stygian.

“Ok. We´ll go one by one. The crystal ponies will help you going underground, and the dragons will help you to get out. So… Who´s first?”

“I´m in!” Somnambula exclaimed with I tired smile while raising her hoof weakly.

The changelings got out of the hole, turned to their original forms and helped everypony walk. Once they finished the path formed underground, they finally went back to surface, outside in the forest. They felt so relieved to breath some fresh air. The changelings reunited with all of them and returned to their original forms. The dragons helped the crystal ponies to get out of the hole. Scorpan arrived a little later than the rest. He coughed as he approached the pillars and Stygian.

Spike hugged Thorax and Ember.

“I´m so relieved to see you´re ok!”

They patted his back.

“Yeah, the same thing goes for you.” Ember said with a warm smile.

Garble approached Spike and hit the back of his shoulder.

“What´s up?” he asked in a friendly manner.

When he realized he hit him too hard, he quickly apologized.

“Sorry.” he muttered as he massaged the back of Spike´s shoulder.

The little dragon smiled warmly.

“It´s ok. You didn´t mean any harm.”

“What brought you here?” Stygian asked.

“After Spike helped us to free the Crystal Empire, the crystal ponies, the changelings and I decided to make a team to free all the imprisoned creatures we could. So far, we managed to free dragons, including Ember.”

Ember nodded.

“We have made a small camping near here. Come along!” Ember waved her arm.

Scorpan stood on four legs and opened his wing, so that the pillars and Stygian could ride on him.

“Are you sure you don´t want to ride?” he asked Spike.

“I told I can walk.”

“No, no. Right now, what you need is to rest.” Thorax disagreed. “If what you want is not to overwhelm Scorpan, ride on me instead.”

“Really, it´s not necessary.”

Suddenly, Ember took him with her two arms and put him on Thorax´s back.

“As the Dragon Lord, I order you to do as the ruler of the changelings says.”

Spike sighed defeated and smiled warmly.

“Ok, fine.”

“Let´s go then!” Ember exclaimed.

On their way to the camp, the creatures talked to each other. Thorax decided to ask something to Spike.

“There´s something that I don´t understand, how is it that you aren´t with the girls?” Thorax asked concerned. “Did you get captured? Are they still out there?”

Spike bit his lip. He knew that he had to explain, but he didn´t want to have that awful image in his mind again. Luckily, Scorpan intervened for him.

“Let´s say it´s a long story. I will tell you later, but not right now. He´s been through a lot and needs to rest.”

Thorax nodded, being the understanding changeling he is. Spike thanked Scorpan with his smile. The gargoyle winked an eye. Ember also had a question for Scorpan.

“You´re Tirek´s brother, right?”

The gargoyle nodded.

“But if you´re a weird lion-monkey like creature and he´s a monkey-horse like creature? How is it that you´re siblings?”

Scorpan sighed a bit frustrated. The pillars and Stygian tried to hold their laughter. Thorax shook his head while narrowing his eyes. Spike rolled his eyes playfully.

“Same old Ember.” he said.

Chapter 15: Memories

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From the balcony, Grogar smiled wickedly as he saw Pinkie Pie freezing in the cold in front of everypony. The earth pony was tied to two sticks like a scarecrow. More cruelly, he ordered to put her a red coned hat on her head and a black woolen bag on her body to humiliate her. Since she was the element of laughter, her death should bring him a smile.

For the first time, in all those horrendous thousands of years in which he´d been waiting, recovering and gaining enough strength, he felt satisfied and inner peace. Every little detail in his plan was accomplished. He got his bell back, Twilight Sparkle was dead, and every single powerful pony or creature in Equestria, was either powerless, dead or working for him. He had the throne assured for him forever, and most importantly, he had destroyed Gusty´s legacy, just as she destroyed his. She was responsible for having turned from a horrifying almighty emperor to a silly foals tail villain. That was the most painful and humiliating consequence from Gusty´s victory. It made him feel that all his work, all the sacrifices and suffering to get to be who he is today, were meaningless.

Throughout his whole life, Grogar has had to prove himself. Even though he was heir to the throne, the elders didn´t think he was fit for a king because they saw him as a weak, defenseless, weird and dumb lamb due to not being able to do things a lamb his age could do. At the time, his land had been destroyed by war. There was too much pressure to get back the great kingdom it once was, and for that they needed a strong ram, something that Grogar wasn´t when he was very young. Even though he overcame those difficulties, the stigma was still there. That deeply hurt him, causing him to do anything to show everyone around him that he was not weak nor stupid. He was a fierce, fearsome and cunning ruler. Not just any ruler, an emperor! He was willing to do anything, no matter who he hurt along the way. It was him or them, that was his philosophy. Nonetheless, that same philosophy also brought painful memories.

But that was in the past. Right now, he was back in control, which meant the beginning of a new golden era for his empire. And this time, nopony was going to stop him. And if one of those pathetic ponies was willing to oppose him, he would use worse measures, even if it meant the extermination of the entire pony species.

“You see that Gusty?” he said to the cover of a Gusty the Great book. “All those ponies that you sworn to protect are under my rule once again. Seems like you failed your mission.” he chuckled. “You thought that you had got rid of me by banishing me forever. You should have killed me while you had the chance.”

He ignited his horns and blasted the book, lighting it on fire. He smiled in satisfaction as he watched it slowly burn.

He perked his ears up when he heard a voice, realizing he was not alone.

“Are you done speaking to yourself? We get it, you´re cray cray. Still, it´s so annoying.”

Grogar turned around. The one who was talking to him was Daybreaker.

“What are you doing here?” he asked surprised.

“I´m so bored. Nothing interesting has happened!”

Grogar narrowed his eyes.

“You literally killed your sister.” he responded bluntly. “Isn´t that exciting enough?”

“Nah… It was too easy.”

Grogar sighed while rolling his eyes.

“Give me something to do right now, otherwise I´m going to end up burning the whole castle!”

Daybreaker noticed Pinkie Pie down there.

“I could burn her!”

She spread her wings, ready to fly. Grogar, however took her with his magic.

“You are not doing anything to her.”

Daybreaker scoffed.

“Are you kidding? She´s there, tied up, waiting to die. It´s the perfect target! She´s absolutely asking me to light her on fire!”

“But if you did, it would make her death faster. I want to see how her soul slowly fades away.” he explained with a wicked smile.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Still, give me something to do! I´m so booooooored!”

Seeing her behavior, Grogar was starting to regret his decision of not having killed Celestia. His curiosity got the best of him. Still, he also knew that she might serve for later. So, he decided to keep his cool before he destroyed her, despite being very difficult to do so.

“Look, you´ll do something when I tell you so. Alright?”

“Oh! I could burn that dragon thing of yours!”

Grogar widened his eyes. He restrained the alicorn against the wall.

“YOU´RE NOT TOUCHING HIM!”

“Oh.. Daddy instinct?” Daybreaker laughed.

“Of course not! I only care about him because he´ll serve me for my plans. And if you burn him alive, I´ll make sure you hang by the neck! Understood?”

“Ok, ok. Fine, old goat.”

“WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!” Grogar yelled while lighting his horns. “DO NOT DISRESPECT ME!”

“I´m just teasing. I´m just teasing. Are you reacting like this because you think I´m not competent enough or because you think I´ll betray you? Because if that´s the case, I´m not planning anything against you, ok? Don´t be paranoid.”

Grogar raised an eyebrow.

“But you do have a desire to rule.” he accused.

“Not ruling per say… I´m just here to have some fun.”

Grogar was honestly surprised by that answer.

“Well, this is not a game. This is something serious.”

“Do the responsabilities involve destroying ponies? Or taking charge of things?”

“Mostly, yes.”

“Then count me in. But please, don´t leave me without anything to do.”

Grogar was still somewhat skeptical. He had lived long enough to be wise about who to trust.

"How do I know that you won´t backstab me?"

"Although I am powerful alicorn indeed," she explained while carassing her mane of fire. "I know that I have nothing to do against you in combat. So, why bother?"

Grogar didn´t respond but anypony could tell from his looks that he still didn´t trust her.

“You still don´t believe me, do you? Ugh… You´re much dumber than I thought.”

Grogar frowned and expired air from his nose. Suddenly, a guard opened the door timidly.

“Your majesty…” she called the ram´s attention timidly.

“WHAT?!”

The poor guard whimpered in fear.

“I have bad news.”

“Great, what I needed.” Grogar muttered under his breath. “What is it?!”

The guard gulped.

“The prisoners have escaped.”

Discord was lying on the ground full of sadness. Grogar might have not told him himself, but he knew what had happened. His friend Twilight was dead, which meant that there was no hope for the rest of the mane 6. Yes, it was true that Grogar told him that if he did as he said, she wouldn´t be harmed, but Discord knew that if Fluttershy remained alive she would be a hostage and a slave. He didn´t know what would be better for her, death or life. As painful as it was, he had to think about it. This was the future for them.

His thoughts were interrupted by hoofsteps. He observed the guards approaching his cell. They sighed relieved when they saw him, something that genuinely surprised the draconequus.

“You know what? This is the first time that a pony outside Fluttershy and her friends is happy to see me.” he scoffed while rolling his eyes. “Don´t know how I should feel about that.”

“Thank goodness he didn´t escape.” the female guard said.

Discord raised an eyebrow.

“What are you talking about?”

The two guards were puzzled.

“Seriously, you didn´t hear a thing?” the other guard asked.

“Well, considering that I´m literally inside the most isolated cell where the only sound I can hear are waterdrops falling, I wouldn´t be surprised if I were you.” he replied sarcastically.

“But you´re an almighty spirit of chaos! Surely you must have noticed something.”

“Actually, now that you said it, I noticed a magic change. But it must be from my fa… I mean, Emperor Grogar.”

“Wrong. It was from Tirek.”

“Oh wow. How exciting. The three musketeers have escaped from prison just to be destroyed by Grogar.” Discord faked excitedness.

“They aren´t the only ones who escaped.”

“Fluttershy escaped too.”

Discord gasped. Finally, some light in all the darkness. He held his chest as he sighed relieved.

“I wouldn´t be so calm if I were you. Grogar is going to hunt her down and you know that.” the guard said while opening the door of his cell.

“Speaking of him, he wants to talk to you.”

Discord puffed frustrated.

“Oh, not again, please. He never gives me a break. Like he always says, he´s never satisfied.”

“Yeah, sorry about it.” the guard apologized while enchaining his neck.

“Must be hard having him as a father.”

Discord´s ears perked up and his eyes widened.

“Wait. He´s told everypony?” he pulled down his ears. “Why does he love torturing me so much?”

The two guards looked at each other.

“Hey, I know that it won´t be for much help, but if you need support you can count on us.” one of them told Discord.

“We´re the ones who are in charge of scolding you whenever Grogar wants so. In those moments, feel free to talk to us.”

Discord was genuinely surprised by theses ponies´ willingness to help him. Even though he was used to hearing that from Fluttershy, it was still surprising to hear those comforting words. So much, that it made him feel uneasy. Nervously, he grabbed his tail.

“Um… Thanks, I guess.”

The two guards and Discord arrived to the throne room. Grogar sat on the throne in his usually proud and steady posture and frowning like he always does. The guards bowed down and left the room. They looked worriedly at Discord. The draconequus didn´t understand why two ponies who only knew of him for his reputation were so worried about him.

And the surprises didn´t end there. He also saw an alicorn that resembled Nightmare Moon but her coat was white, her eyes were of different color and her mane was literally fire.

“Where did she come from?” he asked Grogar.

“Don´t you recognize her, you idiot?” Grogar replied back.

Discord looked harder. When he recognized her, he stared at Grogar.

“I originally intended to change Luna back to Nightmare Moon, but she jumped in between.”

Celestia and Luna may not be Discord´s favorite ponies, but he couldn´t help but feeling bad for them. He knew how hard the process of reformation was, and making Luna go through that again and Celestia experience it, was very cruel.

“I have gathered you two here to give you an important task.”

“Oh finally!” Daybreaker said.

But she immediately stopped behaving like that once she noticed Grogar frowning at her.

“Unfortunately, thanks to the guards´ incompetence four prisoners managed to break free. These are the three backstabbers, Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow, and one of Twilight Sparkle´s friend, Fluttershy.”

He gave Discord a hateful glance. The draconequus, however, didn´t seem terrified at all. He gave his father a victorious smirk.

“Well, well, looks like somepony´s plan´s backfired.” Discord told him cockily.

Grogar scowled at Discord. The draconequus walked towards him

“See? What did I tell you? You overestimate yourself too much. How could you have ignored that Tirek could literally absorb magic from any creature around him? Because you thought you had won and got confident that you were invincible!”

Even though he pretended not to be affected by Discord´s words, they were damaging his pride.

“And now thanks to that little mistake, I´m pretty sure my bestest and dearest friend Fluttershy is going to be the catalyst of your downfall.”

Grogar smiled wickedly when he came up with the perfect answer.

“Or maybe you will be the catalyst of hers.”

Discord bit his lip. Grogar jumped from the throne and walked towards him menacingly, making Discord walk backwards while grabbing his tail in fear.

“You call out on me for being overconfident, but you´re not so different. That´s something you´ve inherited from me.”

Discord looked away embarassed. Grogar grabbed his chain to pull it towards his face.

“Look at me in the eyes when I´m speaking to you.” he told him while pulling down his beard. “Understood?”

Discord stood silent while frowning. Grogar growled while releasing Discord´s bear and chin. The draconequus massaged his chin while giving him a hateful look. The ram returned to the throne.

“Don´t think that you´ve won just yet. You are still under my control, and as long as that lasts, you will do as I say. Having said that, I´m going to give you your first task.” Grogar sat on his throne. “You are going to search for Fluttershy and bring her back here.”

Despite not having an expression on his face, he felt relief and confidence inside. It would be a perfect chance to escape, reunite with Fluttershy and come up with a plan to bring him down. Of course, that pleasant feeling stopped when Grogar finished his sentence.

“With me.”

Discord gasped softly.

“Come on, did you really think that I was foolish enough to let you go search for her without my supervision?” Grogar gave out a laugh. “You disappoint me, Discord. I thought you were smarter. Besides, it will show if keeping your precious friend as a hostage works as a way to ensure your loyalty. Remember, you fail me, she dies. And I´ll make sure she does in the most painful way. I won´t be merciful with her, Discord. Bear that in mind.”

Discord was at the brink of a panic attack. His unconscious knew that this was bound to happen, but his more conscious mind refused to believe it during the time inside his cell. There had to be something else he had to do. Anything!

After thinking about it for some time, he realized that the only choice, as much as he hated it, was putting in his father´s hooves. At least he didn´t have to do it respect his feelings, but rather in a strategic perspective.

“If I were an emperor, would I do that?” he thought to himself.

Once he found all the flaws in his father´s plan, he decided to speak.

“Wait a minute. If you come with me, who will be your substitute?” Discord replied back. “Bray isn´t here anymore! You don´t trust anypony working for you right now as much as you trusted him, not even me!”

Grogar tried to reply back, but he couldn´t find a sleingle argument that could refute his son´s, which kind of alarmed him.

His thoughts were interrupted by Daybreaker´s laugh.

“I believe it would be me, silly.” she smiled cockily.

Grogar thought about what the corrupted alicorn just said. Sure, he absolutely didn´t like her attitude, she was too impertinent and seemed that the only thing she wanted was having fun. That being said, unlike Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow, she didn´t seem interested in getting him out of the way. Quite the contrary, she did want to work with him. She knew that in order to have fun, she had to do as he said. And she was satisfied with that. Thinking about the conversation they had before in a calm emotional state, he saw that she had potential.

“Well, I´m sorry if I ruin your illusions, but if you´re not Bray, then that´s not happening.”

“Actually, it is.” Grogar corrected.

Discord was left mouth agape.

“HA! In your face!” she flew to Grogar´s side and started shaking his hoof. “Thank you so much! I assure you that your kingdom-”

“Empire.” Grogar corrected angrily

“Yeah, whatever, is in good hoofs.”

Grogar shoved her out of his way by putting his hoof on her face.

“Let´s go now.” he said while approaching Discord.

The draconequus tried to run to the throne to hold on into it, but Grogar stepped in front of him a violently pulled Discord´s chain towards him.

“Remember, disobey and she´ll be out of your life.”

Discord lowered his head and closed his eyes defeated. He knew that Grogar would force him to do awful things he didn´t want to do but he also couldn´t risk Fluttershy´s life. So, he had no choice but not put up a fight.

Grogar put a hoof on his chin.

“Aw… Don´t take this as a punishment. You will be the great Lord of Chaos you once were. Besides, you´re going to have the chance to see another friend of yours for the last time.” Grogar grinned.

Discord widened his eyes horrified.

Pinkie Pie had her eyes closed while hanging her head low. She couldn´t dare to look at the ponies she and her friends failed. What´s worse, they were still divided. In fact, the crowd watching her was formed by unicorns, who from what she heard, didn´t pity her much. She could hear all the whispers, the sobs, the silence… This was the most humiliating and cruelest moment in her life: one of the most beloved Equestria´s heroes tied like scarecrow or some puppet dying slowly in the cold in front of everypony. It was Grogar´s way to tell ponies that this was the beginning of their doom. And what´s more, all her legs ached. She could feel the ropes piercing her skin, apart from the hostile cold she was subjected to. So, the poor pony decided to wait for her death. It was the only thing she could hold on to, as she wouldn´t feel any more pain.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a male unicorn´s voice.

“Look! The emperor!” he pointed at the castle´s balcony.

The unicorns immediately bowed while shaking from fear. Pinkie´s ears perked up, she opened her eyes slightly and looked up.

The ram closed his eyes and rang his bell. Pinkie gasped and closed her eyes preparing for the worse to happen. However, she didn´t hear any magic hitting the ponies. She opened her eyes and sighed relieved that their forms hadn´t changed. She saw lots of changelings flying above. Both the ponies and Pinkie Pie were confused. But everything made sense when Grogar began to speak.

“Ponies of Equestria. I bring you an announcement: there are four fugitives on the run. Three of them are famous Equestria´s villains: Chrysalis, ex-queen of the changelings, Tirek, ex-prince of the ancient and destroyed Kingdom of Midnight, and Cozy Glow, ex-student of the School of Friendship.”

The unicorns were surprised by the announcement, but not horrified. Those three were nothing compared to Grogar. The horrors they´d do to them would never match Grogar´s plan.

“And the fourth prisoner, is one of Twilight Sparkle´s friends: the pegasus named Fluttershy.”

Pinkie gasped when she heard Fluttershy´s name. She was alive! Not only that, she had been in Canterlot during all this time! But even though Pinkie was glad that at least one of her friends was alive, she knew that as soon as Grogar put his hoofs on her, she would be dead. There was no point in remaining hopeful. The only thing it would bring was more pain. But at least, in a matter of minutes, she wouldn´t feel any pain anymore.

“If you help me to capture them, you will be rewarded with protection, food, shelter and a prosperous position. I know that none of you will doubt helping with the villains, but I know that some of you will have it more difficult when it comes to Fluttershy.”

The unicorns looked at each other to find which one of them would betray their own species by helping a pegasus.

“So, if anypony harbors or helps her, they will be punished with death.”

Those words convinced Pinkie Pie that she made the right decision not to have hope. Otherwise, those words would have hurt more. Her heart was already too broken. She didn´t need another blow.

“Lastly, I don´t care how you bring me the villains, but I want the pegasus alive. You hear me? ALIVE!”

The unicorns stepped backwards, intimidated by Grogar´s yell.

“So, as a result, I feel obliged to assist, which means that I´ll be absent. But you won´t be unsupervised.” Grogar smiled wickedly.

Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow.

“Let me introduce you my temporary substitute, Daybreaker.”

Suddenly from the roof, jumped an alicorn to the balcony. For some reason, she seemed very familiar, although no pony had ever seen her before. Only Pinkie Pie recognized her. She gasped horrified and gave out a yell.

“CELESTIA!!”

The unicorns in the crowd gasped. Daybreaker heard Pinkie Pie. She raised an eyebrow while looking at her.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER YOU MONSTER?!” Pinkie Pie asked Grogar aggressively.

“Celestia?” Daybreaker thought aloud confused. “I´m Daybreaker, for your information!”

Pinkie Pie realized something important in that moment. Grogar´s corruption spell twisted the victims´ memories. But if they were reminded of who they were, there might be a chance to turn them back to who they once were.

“You´re not. You´re-”

Grogar shut her mouth before she could say something else.

“Not another word!” he turned to Daybreaker. “Ignore what she just said. She´s just trying to manipulate you.”

Although she was confused and curious of the reason why Pinkie called her that, Daybreaker decided to put up an act.

“Well, d´uh! Isn´t it obvious? She called me by another name! It´s clear that she´s not good from here.” she said while pointing at her head.

“You´d better not think otherwise.”

“Ok, ok. But just so you know, I don´t believe in people who are insane.” she smiled a bit nervously.

Finally, Grogar left the balcony. He was accompanied by some changelings and Discord when he left the castle. Pinkie Pie was trying to speak despite being muzzled. There came a point when the cold took away all her energies. Pinkie Pie became unconscious.

Grogar smiled in satisfaction.

“One less.” he muttered by undoing Pinkie´s muzzle, since she wouldn´t need it anymore.

Discord covered his mouth, breaking in tears.

“No…” he muttered.

Grogar pulled Discord´s chain to tell him to continue walking. The draconequus nodded sadly and followed.

Once Grogar and his guards weren´t in the square, two earth pony guards approached Pinkie Pie. Daybreaker noticed it and confronted them.

“Hey! What are you doing?” she asked.

One of the guards, who was a yellow earth pony looked away. Her workmate, who was darker yellow pony, quickly took charge of the situation.

“Well, what does it look like? We´re taking the body!” he cheerfully explained.

The female earth pony glared at him.

“What?” Daybreaker asked.

“Oh! You misunderstood, my mistake.” the male earth pony laughed. “Since, it´s clear that she´s dead, we´re taking her down because what sense does it make that she´s still there?”

“Intimidation?” she rolled his eyes. “These ponies…”

“Well, we say that it doesn´t make sense because this is a place full of unicorns. Not earth ponies.” the female earth pony pointed out. “I mean, right now the three tribes are confronted, so they don´t care if anything happens to a pony of another tribe. So, what´s the point?”

Daybreaker scratched h chin.

“Huh, that´s a good argument. But how are you so sure she´s dead?”

“Allow me!” the male earth pony exclaimed.

Out of his armor he took out a stethoscope and replaced his helmet with a doctor hat. After putting the earpieces on, he auscultated Pinkie.

“Hm….” he moved the stethoscope around her chest. “No heartbeat. Yeah. Pretty dead! So, if you don´t mind we´ll take the body to another place!”

The earth ponies untied Pinkie and carried the body on their backs. They smiled nervously while going downstairs.

“Under whose orders?” an unicorn blocked their way. “We only listen to unicorns´ guards orders!”

“My orders.” a female voice said.

In the crowd, there was a pale yellow unicorn mare with black glasses with an armor. With just a frown, she gained the crowd´s respect. As soon as she took one step, the crowd quickly made way for her.

“I was the one who thought the idea of transferring the body. It´s a more effective tactic of fear.”

“And where are you taking it, exactly?”

“To Ponyville. Its habitants are mostly earth ponies.”

“Well, aren´t you on sadistic unicorn. Very well. In the name of Grogar, I allow the transfer. You may go.”

“Thank you.” the unicorn bowed.

The unicorn and earth ponies left the scaffold. They walked some streets in Canterlot until finding a secret passage underground. After making sure nopony was looking them, they entered the passage. Once they arrived to their destination, they sighed in relief.

“Ok. That was very close.” the female earth pony cleaned sweat from her forehead.

“Yeah.” the unicorn agreed. “Cheese, be more careful with what you say! If it wasn´t for Meghan, we would have been arrested immediately.”

Cheese Sandwich smiled apologetically.

“Sorry, Moonie.”

“Moonie?”

“It´s a nickname I came up for your name. Moondancer, Moonie!”

Moondancer rolled her eyes.

“But seriously Moondancer, you were amazing!” Meghan said.

“Well, you came up with a great idea.” Moondancer winked.

With her magic, she laid Pinkie Pie on the ground. The three ponies looked worried at her.

“Is it true that you heard no heartbeat?” Meghan asked Cheese.

“I don´t know. This is a toy.” Cheese pointed at his fake stethoscope.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie opened her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

“I think there we have our answer.” Moondancer said.

Chapter 16: Every creature, rise up

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All Ponyville was full of snow. There was not a single pony outside, only corrupted changelings watching over the town. At least that´s what Rarity could see from one of Twilight´s castle windows. Rarity had her hoofs stuck in the changelings´ green substance and was locked inside Twilight´s bedroom, since there were no dungeons. She was lying on the ground, reclining her head on her forelegs while watching how they were preparing a scaffold for her outside. But she also saw things that despite being covered in snow, brought good memories. For example, Ponyville´s town hall. She giggled sadly when she remembered the moment she met a messy-haired pony that would change her life forever and give her a great group of friends. When she directed her look to the right, she saw her home and first boutique. She almost shed a tear when she remembered the moments with her sister Sweetie Belle. She wondered where she was, if she was ok or alive. She couldn´t help but pray for her safety. Then, she looked to the left, where the Golden´s Oak Library remains were. She and her friends spent a ton of good memories together there. All their hearts broke when Tirek destroyed it. And even though Twilight had a new home and a much bigger library in her castle, deep down everypony that it couldn´t replace her first home in Ponyville. So, Rarity promised that once she achieved her dream of becoming a fashionista, she would rebuild the library as a thanks gift to Twilight. She wasn´t an architect, but she could come up with new ideas to add to the building´s design. But now… it was just an impossible dream. She and her friends would be dead before they´d accomplished that. However, as scary as the idea of death was, a part of her was also hoping for it, just so she and her friends could be together. Nothing, not even Grogar, would separate them in the afterlife.

“Don´t worry girls. I´ll soon be there with you.” Rarity muttered happily in tears.

She heard a sudden door blow. Apparently, they were bringing some company for her. They pushed a yellow unicorn mare to the ground right in front of her.

“Ouch!” she moaned. “What the-”

They put a ring on her horn and covered her hooves with their characteristic substance. They slammed the door while leaving the room with a mischievous laugh.

“Ok. What is going on?” the mare thought aloud.

She turned her head back and gasped when she saw Rarity.

“Rarity!” she sighed in relief. “It´s nice to finally see somepony I know.” she noticed that her hooves were stuck in the same green substance as hers. “And a little worried that you´re captured…”

After taking several glances, Rarity recognized the mare.

“Sunset Shimmer! Oh dear, it´s been a really long time since we saw each other.”

“Yeah, I know. And at the same time, it hasn´t been for me.” Sunset smiled nervously.

Rarity gave out a small laugh.

“Oh darling, you came to visit at the worst time possible.”

“Well, I´d rather say that I came to warn.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow.

“I have important information to tell Twilight. The Dazzlings have returned to your world!”

Rarity blinked.

“Uh, who?”

“Oh right, that´s not how they´re called in your world.” Sunset cleared her throat. “Um… Do you remember when I wrote to Twilight about some girls that were spreading negative energy?”

“You mean the sirens?”

Sunset nodded.

“Me and my friends spot them coming near the portal. Even though they haven´t doing anything evil for some time, I don´t think they crossed the portal with good intentions. And some time before, we heard a really strange noise. And very terrifying too.”

“Oh no! What was left!” Rarity buried her head in her forelegs.

“Yeah… I was going to ask you about this. So… care to explain?”

Rarity sighed sadly.

“Many things... We´ve been attacked by four villains. The first three, Tirek, Queen Chrysalis and Cozy Glow, have created a tension between ponies as bad as pre-Hearth Warming´s Eve´s. And they almost successfully took over Equestria.”

“You mean, there´s…”

“Yes, there are windigoes.”

Sunset stared at the window horrified.

“Oh dear, that´s not good…”

“And that´s not the worst thing. Right now, the worst thing is the fourth villain: Grogar.”

Sunset gasped.

“Grogar? The legend?!”

“That demon is responsible for everything that´s happening right now, and I would even dare to say almost everything that has happened during Equestria´s history. He was the one who reunited the villains and made an alliance with them to get to the throne. Oh, he´s very terrifying, Sunset. He knew everything that would happen, every insecurity inside us, and he masterfully manipulated the strings without his minions noticing.”

“He´s more wicked than in the books…” she thought aloud as she shook her head. “What about the girls?”

“He has separated all of us and condemned us all to die.” she sobbed. “Twilight´s already out.”

After saying that, Rarity broke down in tears. Sunset widened her eyes in shock.

“Tw- Twilight´s dead? H- How?”

“He struck her.” she sobbed. “With the magic from his bell.”

“So that was the noise we heard was the bell…” she panted. “I-I don´t know what to say. I´m just-” she sobbed “My first and closest friend… dead.” Sunset covered her mouth while crying.

“I know, darling. I know. And what´s worse, we cannot defeat him.”

Sunset sniffed.

“Well, if I´m not wrong, I think that Gusty stole his bell.”

“But I´m sure she had enough magic to do that! He has ours, Sunset. All of it! I cannot do that in this state. I´m too weak to even move.”

“Ok, let me think… When you defeated Tirek you lost your magic too. And you managed to defeat him.”

“Yes, but that was different. The tree of harmony was in good conditions. Grogar cast a spell on it. With each minute, every tiny moment of hatred, it slowly kills it.”

“Oh no…”

“And we did it together. Now we can´t. He didn´t when or where each of us would be executed. Maybe they are all dead by this point. It´s pointless to keep on trying. Without each other, we can´t do anything.”

Sunset sighed sadly. She looked at her horn.

“I know that this is hard, but you cannot give up. We cannot let that monster rule Equestria once more.”

“For what? We´re going to lose anyway. He´ll use the bell on us like he did on Twilight. There´s no point!”

Sunset thought about another way of convincing Rarity.

“Ok. But what about your family? They could be in danger. Or their friends! Imagine that Grogar picked up one of your sister´s friends to kill her.”

Rarity´s ears perked up when Sunset Shimmer mentioned Sweetie Belle.

“Would you want your sister to suffer the same thing? Or worse, imagine he chooses your sister as his target.”

Rarity´s breath accelerated. Just by imagining the scene, she felt all the pain and horror.

“NO!” she yelled. She turned her head to Sunset. “He will not hurt my sister! I might not be able to defeat that demon but as my name´s Rarity, Sweetie Belle and her friends will be under protection. You hear me?! As long as I´m alive he won´t lay a hoof on those fillies!”

“That´s the spirit!” Sunset Shimmer.

“I have no idea how I´ll do this without magic. But I will do it!”

“Hm… Luckily I still have magic. I think I might be of some help. But first I´ll need to take this off my horn.” she explained while looking at the ring. “Let me try…”

Sunset bit her tongue while trying to reach the ring with her tail. Once she made sure it reached, she started shaking her tail upwards to take the ring off. After some minutes, the ring fell, and Sunset was able to use her magic. Quietly, she destroyed the changeling´s substance, freeing herself and Rarity.

“Thank you.” Rarity said while Sunset helped her to stand up.

Rarity was going to take a step, but her body shook too much. Sunset put her friend´s foreleg around her neck. They both smiled at each other.

“Ok. Now, all I have to do is a little disappearance spell, and-”

Suddenly, three changelings opened the door.

“Prisoner Rarity, it´s time for-”

The changeling and Sunset froze in shock. They stared at each other for some time. Sunset laughed nervously.

“Surprise?”

Immediately, a changeling threw the substance at Sunset´s hoofs. The other two picked Rarity up.

“Help!”

Sunset tried to help, but they closed the doors before she could do anything.

“I don´t usually rely on brutish ways but you give me no choice.” Rarity said.

With her hooves, she started hitting the changelings with all her strength, despite being very few.

“Let me go you brutes!” she yelled.

The changelings were still holding her. Her breath accelerated the more steps they took. She was being scolded to the place of her death and couldn´t do anything to avoid it. So, she decided that the best thing to do was accepting it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. However, things changed pretty quickly.

Suddenly, something made the changelings jump back in fear. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw a familiar hornless unicorn mare.

“Tempest!” Rarity exclaimed relieved.

“Let. Her. Go.” Tempest demanded menacingly.

The changelings refused and tried to make their way. Tempest confronted them without any fear. When she hit them in the stomach, they released Rarity.

“A little help would come in handy right now!” Tempest yelled while wrestling the changelings.

“Coming!” said a female voice.

A grey pegasus mare appeared flying.

“Derpy Hooves!” Rarity exclaimed muttering.

“With your permission, ma´am.” Derpy said while picking her up. “I´m so happy to see that you´re ok, miss Rarity.” she said tenderly and calmly with a smile while flying around.

Rarity, however, couldn´t understand how the pegasus was so calm when there literally were changelings willing to attack them.

“Darling! Look out!” Rarity warned Derpy while closing her eyes and shrinking to protect herself.

Fortunately, they were tackled by two mares, Octavia and DJ Pon-3.

“Yeah, you´re not going anywhere, I´m afraid.” Octavia said before clapping hooves with DJ Pon-3.

Rarity also noticed Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda fighting other changelings. Matilda noticed a changeling that was about to attack her husband, but she kicked it in the stomach before it could do anything to him.

“Don´t you dare touch my husband!” she scolded the changeling.

Cranky smiled but gasped when he saw a changeling approaching behind his wife. He jumped over Matilda and kicked the other changeling.

“And nobody touches my wife either.”

The two shared tender looks. Then, they continued fighting.

“I think we should be acting at this point.” a male voice said.

Rarity´s ears perked up.

“Wait. That voice. Is that-”

Suddenly a brown cat and a brown pony appeared.

“Capper!” Rarity exclaimed cheerfully.

“Hi dearie. I´d stop and talk but I´m a little busy right now. We´ll talk later!” he said while running the corridors along Dr Hooves.

Finally, they managed to get out the castle. Rarity was surprised to see many injured changelings on the ground.

“Wow. So many things have happened at once.” she put her hoof on her forehead. “I´m so confused.”

“Don´t worry miss Rarity.” reassured Derpy. “We´ll explain everything once we´re safe.”

“Do you remember where the refuge is?” Dr Whooves asked Derpy from the distance.

“Yes! In the tow-”

“I think it would be better if we kept it to ourselves.” Rarity said with a smile.

“Oh! Sorry…” Derpy smiled apologetically

Applejack was inside a wooden cage moved by some changelings. She was lucky that nopony was outside when the carriage passed nearby houses, otherwise she wouldn´t have been able to cope with the shame and guilt. She was completely exhausted, for too many things had happened at once: the loss of her magic, Twilight, the separation from the rest of her friends... But at least Rainbow gave her hope in one thing.

She didn´t know why, but whenever she was with her, she felt something else that she didn´t feel when she was with the others. At first, she didn´t give it much importance, but as time passed, that feeling grew and grew. There came a point where she felt too comfortable around her, despite having those moments of competitiveness. She knew that she needed to tell Rainbow, but couldn´t find the perfect moment. But when they were in the cell together, Rainbow said something curious: She was her best best friend. What did that mean? Did Rainbow feel the same way when she was around her? Or was she just overthinking thinking things? Unfortunately, she would never get the answers. Along the others, Rainbow was probably dead. And soon she would be too.

Suddenly, Applejack noticed that they were passing through Sweet Apple Acres. Her heart broke apart. The trees were full of snow, meaning that they would freeze, and no more apples would grow. And her parents´ trees would die too. She shed tears when she thought about her family. She wouldn´t have the chance to say goodbye or tell them how much they loved them, but she didn´t know if they were alive either, specially Granny Smith, being a mare with her age in these terrible conditions.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the changelings´ conversation.

“Duude…”

“What?”

“Can we stop now?”

The changeling scoffed.

“What are you talking about stopping right now, we have to get to the desert!”

“You mean Appleloosa?”

Applejack leaned an ear. So that´s where they were taking her. Appleloosa. Grogar had thought everything carefully. He knew in which places their deaths would have more impact.

“Yeah, whatever´s called. But the thing is, we can´t stop!”

“But why?”

“Because the prisoner could escape at any moment!”

“Psst, please! She´s literally at death´s door. Look at her. She can barely move! Besides, you don´t expect to spend entire days walking, do you?”

“Well, actually, it would take only one day.”

“What?”

“Yeah, because since Celestia and Luna are captured, the sun nor the moon can rise. So, technically, we´re in the same day.”

“You´re right, but don´t you feel your legs shaking? Because mine are. I can´t follow like that! Please, let´s just stop for a moment!”

Applejack rolled her eyes. She spent entire days bucking apples, and neither her nor her family said a word. Not even Apple Bloom!

The changeling sighed frustrated.

“Ok fine! But just for some minutes.”

“Yaay!”

The changelings sat down and reclined on A.J´s cage. Funnily enough, they stopped at a spot in which A.J had a perfect view of the barn. Many nostalgic memories passed through her mind. The first time she met Twilight, all the happy moments with her family… Now, those memories gave her melancholy.

But her emotions changed from melancholy to curiosity when she noticed a set of eyes behind the bushes. She narrowed her vision to recognize the eyes, since they seemed familiar. And once she did, a huge smile drew in her face.

The changelings hit her cage.

“Hey, what are you looking at?”

Applejack entered in a slight state of panic, but she managed to come up with a quick solution.

“Um.. Nothing just my farm. I just wanted to get a quick last look.”

“Well, it´s over now, missy!” the other changeling said. “Time to carry on to Appleloosa!”

“Not so fast gentlecolts…” an old female voice said.

The changelings looked around them.

“What? Who said that?”

“Show yourself!”

“Quite gladly!” the voice cleared her throat. “NOW EVERYPONY!”

Suddenly, many ponies got out to attack. Applejack was so glad to see them ok. It was her family! There were Big Mac, Granny Smith, Babs Seed, Braeburn, Sugar Belle…. There were other ponies too. Bon-Bon and Troubleshoes also joined the cause. And not only ponies. Some kirins joined her family too, including Autumn Blaze. Nonetheless, Applejack got worried when she didn´t see Apple Bloom anywhere.

Working as a team, they tied the changelings to a tree and gagged them. Granny Smith, Big Mac and Sugar Belle helped Applejack to get out the cage.

“Guys!” she hugged them tightly. “I´m so glad to see you´re ok.”

“All of us too, Applejack. All of us too.” Granny Smith repeated in cheerful tears.

“We were so worried about you!” Big Mac hugged her tightly.

Autumn Blaze joined, and hugged them even more tightly.

“Applejack! I´m so happy to see you.”

“Me too.” Applejack replied, almost not being able to breath.

“You don´t know what day it´s been! You see, me and the kirins were calmly minding our own business until suddenly these ugly bug guys appeared, and-”

“Maybe it would be better if you explained later.” Sugar Belle shushed her politely.

Bon Bon and Troubleshoes approached them.

“Well, hello there, guys.” Applejack said. “It´s nice to see you here. But I must say, I´m surprised that you have taken all the way from Appleloosa to get here, why?”

Troubleshoes scratched the back of his neck-

“Well, your whole family told me that they were going to stay at your farm, since they were going to the coronation. And I thought, it´s been time since I last saw Apple Bloom, so I asked them if I could join in.”

“And of course, we told him yes.” Braeburn leant on his shoulder.

After hearing Apple Bloom´s name, Applejack gasped.

“Talking about her, where is she?”

“Yeah,” Babs Seed agreed. “Does anypony know?”

Big Mac shook his head.

“Nope.” he lamented.

“Unfortunately, we know nothing of her.” Granny Smith continued worried.

“However, we do know that she was in the School of Friendship. Maybe she´s captured in there.” Sugar Belle explained

“Let´s go to the school, then.” Applejack was about to run.

“I wouldn´t, if I were you.” Bon Bon corrected. “This is related to the reason why I´m here. The secret animal agency informed me that many strange creatures have been missing from Tartarus, some of them have come to attack Ponyville. In fact, one of them has taken Lyra away!”

While Bon Bon was explaining her story calmly, they saw a manticore right behind her back.

“Uh… Bon Bon…” Big Mac tried to warn her.

“What?” Bon Bon turned around. “Oh! Well, there you are, fella. Now, I´ll have to ask you to-”

Surprisingly, the manticore didn´t attack. In fact, it just passed as if nothing was in its way. However, Applejack knew immediately the reason why, once he saw its glowing eyes.

“Oh, right. Father of monsters.” she mumbled sarcastically.

“Father or what now?” Granny Smith asked confused.

“I´ll explain along the way! Come on! Let´s go to the school!” Applejack ordered while beginning to run.

Every pony and kirin followed her.

Rainbow was grabbed by her forelegs by two changelings, being carried around throughout the sky. She looked at the landscape beneath her. She could see everything from above, the Everfree forest, Ponyville… Speaking of Ponyville, she noticed Sweet Apple Acres. She sighed sadly when she remembered Applejack. She kept on wishing that she could have told her sooner, otherwise she could know for certain that AJ felt the same way. Ever since the Iron Pony competition, Rainbow Dash knew that she felt different around Applejack. Not in a bad way, but in the sense of taking too much pleasure at her company. At first, she didn´t understand what this feeling was, but as time passed and the more time she spent with her, she understood what those feelings meant. And once she understood, she completely embraced them. Expressing them to her, was going to be a bit more difficult, though. But she knew that she had to tell her before they died, despite not being in the circumstances she would have liked. While she was slapping herself mentally for not being direct enough and having doubts whether AJ understood her, deep down she believed that Applejack felt the same. Or at least she wanted to.

She came back to reality when she noticed that the changelings stopped flying. She looked up and noticed that the entrance to Cloudsdale was blocked. Pegasi had put big and heavy clouds around.

“Oh, come on!” the changeling complained. “What do we do now?”

The other changeling looked down and then she looked at Rainbow Dash. From the smirk that drew on her face, Rainbow could tell that she wasn´t up for good.

“Well, Grogar didn´t specify how to kill her. He just wants her dead.”

“So?”

“Well… Right now, she´s not able to fly.”

Rainbow´s eyes widened in horror. Were they seriously considering dropping her? But for her misfortune, the other changeling seemed to agree. In fact, she was laughing mischievously.

“What are we waiting for?”

“Let´s see if you can fly now, Rainbow Dash! Or should we say, Rainbow Crash!”

“Oh, come on! Seriously? You too?” Rainbow asked sarcastically.

The two changelings nodded their heads.

“One.”

“Two.”

But before they were able to say three, they heard a huge roar. They saw a strange mixture of a bear and a bear coming underneath them. Rainbow recognized it immediately, it was a Bugbear! She and her friends confronted the same creature at Cranky´s and Matilda´s wedding. The two changelings, however, were shocked by the creature, dropping Rainbow in the process. Luckily, the bugbear was just under her when she was dropped, landing on its muzzle as a result. She held her breath when she realized where she landed. However, the Bugbear didn´t mind having her there, but it was probably because he was hypnotized by Grogar, which Rainbow could tell by its glowing eyes. Nonetheless, she decided to climb to its back, just in case.

Once she was at the back, she gave a tired yet victorious smile to the changelings.

“HA! You two weren´t thinking that you´d get rid of me that easily, were you?” Rainbow asked them while smiling cockily. Then, she threw a raspberry at them.

The changelings clenched her teeth and immediately flew as fast as they could towards her.

“Ok. Maybe I shouldn´t have said anything.” Rainbow muttered.

In just a brink of an eye, the changelings landed on front of Rainbow. The poor mare knew that without her super speed, she didn´t have a chance against the two. Never in her life had she wished more than ever to have her super speed right now.

One of the changelings tried to hit her but ended up hitting one of the Bugbear´s antlers, as Rainbow ducked as fast as she could. The magical ray glanced off, redirecting the attack towards the same changeling that created the ray in the first place. The changeling almost fell off the monster. Seeing that attacking by magic wasn´t a viable strategy due to Rainbow´s effective and fast reflexes, the other changeling decided to fight physically instead. So, she pushed her to the right. Rainbow, however, managed to hold herself on one of the Bugbear´s paws.

“Ok. I don´t know how, but I´m still alive. And I´m glad it is this way.” she thought aloud while panting.

“Oh, but things can change still…” the changeling replied back.

Suddenly, the other changeling got her and took her out of the Bugbear´s paw. The changelings laughed in victory.

“You cannot escape now.”

“Hope you have fun falling to your death…”

“Oh, we beg to differ.” a raspy female voice said.

Suddenly, a group of pegasi surrounded the two changelings. Rainbow Dash gave out a cry of joy when she saw that the Wonderbolts came to save her.

“I can´t believe it! You guys came to save me! The Wonderbolts saving me? That is awesome!”

“And I´ve come to help too.” a female voice added.

Rainbow saw Soarin holding Lyra with his arms.

“Oh, hey, Lyra. Good to see you.” Rainbow said with a smile.

Lyra smiled in return.

“Don´t forget about us!” another raspy female voice said.

The changelings and Rainbow Dash looked up and noticed Gilda, Gabby, Grampa Gruff and another bunch of griffons.

“Gilda! Grampa Gruff!”

“Alright, you bugs!” Grampa Gruff yelled. “Either you hand her to us peacefully, or we´ll do this the hard way!”

“And we can assure you that none of you will like it.” Gabby added.

The changelings clenched their teeth. No matter where they looked, they were completely surrounded.

“You heard them. Hand me over to them!” Rainbow commanded.

The changelings smiled to each other.

“As you wish.” one of them said.

Between the two, they swung and threw her towards the griffons and pegasi, but not with enough strength to reach them. Rather, Rainbow fell down immediately after being thrown.

“Oh goodness!” a griffon named Greta exclaimed.

“Rainbow!” Vapor Trail exclaimed.

The two went immediately to her aid. Once they caught her, Rainbow stopped screaming. She sighed in relief.

“Oh, you two are going to pay for hurting my friend.” Gilda said while knocking her knuckles.

“Not only that, you hurt one of our best soldiers!” Spitfire added. “On my command. Ready, set, GO!”

As soon as Spitfire gave the order, the Wonderbolts began to attack.

“You heard her! Come on!” Grampa Gruff commanded the griffons.

Immediately the griffons and pegasi began to attack the changelings.

“If that´s how it´s gonna be.” one of the changelings said.

She whistled with her hoof. In no time, our friends were surrounded by more changelings.

Greta and Vapor Trail waited patiently for orders. They, along Rainbow, noticed the bigger number of changelings.

“Oh boy… That´s not good.” Rainbow muttered.

“Should we call them?” Vapor asked nervously.

Greta nodded. She whistled with her claw. Fortunately, they also had backup. Rainbow laughed in pure joy when she saw a big pirate ship. A female parrot waved her claw from beneath.

“Captain Celaeno!”

“Hold on, Rainbow Dash! We need you ok to beat that goat!” Captain Celaeno told her.

She, along her crewmate, took out their swords.

“ATTACK!” Celaeno ordered.

And thus, the pirates joined the fight. Rainbow Dash wished with all her heart to help them. Moreover, she knew that they would have the victory assured with her by their side. But thanks to everything that happened before, she couldn´t. She really hoped to get her magic back as soon as possible.

After some time, Soarin, Lyra and Gabby approached them.

“Spitfire and Grampa Gruff ordered us to take you safe immediately.” Soarin explained.

“Got it.” Greta agreed.

“What about Sky Stinger? Will he be alright? I need to be by his side.”

“I understand, but somepony needs to take her safe.”

“I got it. I can take her in your place!” Gabby suggested to Soarin.

“Sounds fair. Vapor Trail, you may go and help your friend.” Soarin said to Vapor Trail.

“Thank you.”

Vapor Trail handed Rainbow´s foreleg to Gabby.

“So you´re Rainbow Dash. It´s so nice to meet you! Scootaloo couldn´t stop talking about you.”

Rainbow´s ears perked up.

“Scootaloo, where is she? Is she ok?” she asked very worried.

“Well, I´m pretty sure that she along her friends were in the School of Friendship.” Lyra answered. “I know that because me and Bon Bon watched them on their way to the school. We were walking together so peacefully, helping to prepare things for the coronation, until one of those bugbears caught me!” she said to herself.

“The school´s been attacked!” Rainbow exclaimed worried. “Oh no…”

“Don´t worry about her! She and her friends are very smart.” Gabby reassured her. “They come up with thousands of ideas to get out of messy situations! For example, once they…”

Rainbow leaned towards Greta´s ear.

“Does she always talk this much?” she whispered in her ear.

“Yup.” Greta simply replied.

“Ok,” Soarin laughed. “Let´s take our friend to our refuge, shall we?”

The creatures nodded and began flying. Rainbow might not be willing to listen to Gabby throughout the whole trip, but at least she was glad that some of her friends are safe.

Chapter 17: Remembering

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Grogar, his guards and Discord reunited with other soldiers at Canterlot´s main wall. They bowed down at Grogar as soon as he appeared in front of them.

“Any news?” he asked.

“We searched outside the castle.” a guard explained. “But we didn´t see any trace of her.”

“And we haven´t seen her in the streets another guard added. “´We searched everywhere, and there´s no sign of her.”

Discord sighed in relief. After Grogar was done thinking, he started walking.

“That could mean she´s outside Canterlot. Or she´s hiding inside a house in Canterlot.”

A guard scoffed. Grogar perked his ears up and turned around.

“Inside an unicorn´s house? With everything that´s going on? Please… I don´t know what you mean, your majesty, but if you´re suggesting that there´s an unicorn being disloyal to us, then I´m afraid I have to differ.” the unicorn´s tone changed from sarcasm to total seriousness. “We unicorns always stay loyal to each other. It´s a fact. Looking for a scapegoat among us would only separate us. And right now, we need to stay together more than ever. So, no. There´s no way I´m breaking innocent unicorns´ houses just for some pegasus! Let me raid Cloudsdale instead!”

Discord looked at him perplexed and angry. Angry because he had just called Fluttershy `some pegasus´ as if he was superior to her. And perplexed because he knew that Grogar was not going to take that behavior well. Grogar smirked at the guard.

“Oh lad. It´s really obvious that you´ve never been betrayed. Of course you wouldn´t know how the world really works.” he walked towards the guard, making him gulp.

“But let an ancient and wise ruler enlighten you. Many years of ruling teach you very valuable things for your own survival, you know? But the most important one for me is to never trust anypony. Specially those who are closer to you. They are the most dangerous because they are the easiest to fall in their trap.”

The guard walked backwards in fear.

“From what I see, you´re very close to your kind. And I bet they also look up to you. You are lucky. But bear this in mind: One small difference from the rest, and you won´t be as loved. Hmm… Let´s imagine if I broke your horn right now.”

Grogar grabbed the guard by the horn with the magic from his bell.

“If you were in normal conditions, you might be taken care of or even considered a hero. But when the chips are down… You´ll just be useless for them. You wouldn´t be able to defend them from me, so why should they take care of you?”

Grogar started pressing the guard´s horn. He grunted.

“Then, you´ll be isolated, mistreated, always blamed for your injuries… or they would begin to plan on killing you and unicorns with the same problem. Because that´s what clans do. They care about and love you in the good times but when bad times come, they completely forget about you!”

The more Grogar spoke, the angrier he got and the harder he pressed the guard´s horn. His eyes shone more as well. He started yelling in pain. All the guards got scared. Discord didn´t like that guard much, but he felt really bad for him.

“I´m sorry! I´m sorry! I´ll do as you say! Just stop!” the guard yelled in tears.

Grogar released him. Once he was free, he massaged his horn, panting scared.

“I could have perfectly broken your horn right here, right now, in front of everypony. And yet, I decided not to. Not because I´m merciful, but as a warning of what I´m capable of doing to you if you ever disrespect me or challenge me like you just did. Understood?”

The guard nodded his head and ran away from Grogar, reuniting with other guards to the right. Grogar noticed Discord glaring at him. Grogar smirked at him. He turned back to the guard, who was shivering in fear.

“Oh.. Don´t be scared. At least you didn´t end up looking like a freak.” he looked back at Discord. “Unlike him.”

Discord widened his eyes. Then, he scowled and clenched his teeth.

“I wanted to create a more powerful monster to scare ponies away. But apparently the results didn´t out as I expected. Instead I created a clownish, childish and idiotic abomination!”

At that moment, all Discord wanted to do was throwing a thunder to Grogar, so he could break free. But he couldn´t do anything. If he did, Grogar would harm Fluttershy. All he could do was stay quiet and keep the fury to himself.

“And at least you listen to me.” he kept telling the guard. Then, he threw a look full of hatred and resentment at Discord. “He never did. As he didn´t look intimidating enough, I knew that in the exact moment he set a foot out there, he would be laughed at, humiliated and alone. And to protect him, I told him that constantly. But instead of listening to me, he ran away! And he paid the consequences.”

Discord turned around to avoid eye contact with Grogar. The ram rolled his eyes.

“You go look in Canterlot.” Grogar said to the group on the right. “The rest of you stay here.”

“Yes, your majesty.” the guards to the right said before leaving.

“Um… pardon me your majesty but is it me or we are less guards?” one of the guards who stayed observed. “I´m not trying to contradict you, my emperor. It´s just the more we are the easier to find the mare…”

Grogar chuckled.

“Don´t worry. We´ll have some help.”

Suddenly, the ground started shaking. Roars or high-pitched screeches could be heard from the distance. Discord quickly recognized them and stared at his father surprised. The guards didn´t know where they came from until they saw figures revealing themselves from the fog. Their ears dropped and slowly walked backwards. Grogar had summoned every single creature he created!

Grogar walked towards them to greet them.

“Ah, my children. I´m so glad to see you all here. Ready to return to the old days of glory!” Grogar threw his fist to the air. “Let´s begin with a simple mission. You will help me to retrieve four prisoners. I will divide in two groups. One will look for the three backstabbers: a changeling named Chrysalis, a centaur named Tirek and a pegasus filly named Cozy Glow. The other will help me to find a pegasus named Fluttershy, one of Twilight Sparkle´s friends. Is that clear?”

The beasts nodded.

“Very well. The ones who can fly will come with me. The others, search for the three traitors.”

The land monsters turned around and left the group, spreading throughout all Equestria.

“Any questions?” Grogar asked to every guard.

The guards didn´t respond. They were too focused on trembling at the presence of bugbears, cockatrices and manticores.

“I said, any questions?” Grogar repeated in a more menacing tone.

The guards returned to an upright posture and raised their hooves to their foreheads.

“No sir.”

“Then let´s begin the search.” he saw Discord with his head down and hugging himself. “But first leave me alone with my son. I need to talk to him.”

The guards obeyed and walked away. Grogar walked towards Discord. The draconquus noticed his cold hoof on his back.

“Was that really necessary?” Discord asked very bitter, not looking at Grogar. “Telling my story to everypony just to humiliate me? I´m already doing as you say!” his voice broke at that moment. “Why are you doing this to me?!”

“Because I know that you´re still underestimating me. You might be obeying me, but you still contradict or tell me that I´ll lose. Face it Discord, things are going to stay like this forever. Nopony will be able to overthrow me again. I´m just saying it so you don´t suffer.”

Discord simply breathed out. Grogar took and pulled his chain.

“Now come along, we need to find that pegasus.”

The ram and draconequus caught up with the guards and monsters.

“So, where do we begin sir?”

“Cloudsdale.” Grogar simply replied.

Some pegasi were trying to cover Cloudsdale with clouds so the windigoes wouldn´t cover it with snow. They were struggling a lot.

“We cannot do it! These winds are too strong!” an exhausted pegasus said desperate.

“But we must! How else are we going to defend our kind?” another pegasus replicated while pointing with his eyes at Cloudsdale.

Even though the streets were practically empty, they could see how the pegasi were holding each other inside their houses while looking terrified at the windigoes. Seeing them from the ground was already horrifying but seeing them right next to you was definitely much worse. The young pegasus frowned in determination.

“Ok. I´ll keep trying.”

The other pegasi smiled at him and went back to work. Unfortunately, just at the moment the pegasus got confident, an enormous bugbear appeared and roared at them. Other bugbears, as well as cockatrices and manticores appeared behind them. The pegasi trying to block Cloudsdale flew away but were caught by bugbears. The manticores and cockatrices landed on Cloudsdale´s streets. Then, Discord appeared in a flash. He massaged his neck, feeling relieved that the chain wasn´t there anymore. The manticores and cockatrices were ready to break in the houses, but Discord stopped them.

“No, no. Leave it to me.” he told them as he shook his hands.

The creatures obeyed. Discord breathed in and out.

“I´m so sorry…” he whispered.

With his hands, he made all the pegasi levitate from their homes and moved them towards him. The pegasi yelled scared. Slowy, he descended from Cloudsdale and brought them to Grogar and the guards, making them land slowly. Then, they put cuffs on their hooves and put them on line as the bugbears, cockatrices and manticores landed. Discord could hear them making comments about him. He looked away in shame while holding his tail.

“Is this all the pegasi you could find?” he asked Discord.

“Yes, father.” he replied.

Grogar looked to the other monsters.

“Is he telling the truth?”

The monsters nodded.

“Very well.” Grogar walked to the pegasi. “We´ll make it simple. I´ll ask some questions to each of you and you will answer me honestly. Otherwise, you´ll pay the consequences.”

The monsters glared at the pegasi or licked their lips. The pegasi shook in fear. Grogar started interrogating a couple of pegasi.

“Are you close to Fluttershy?”

“No, sir. We know who she is, but we have never talked.” a pegasus replied.

“Did you help her to find a hideout? If so, where is she?”

“We have no idea. Please forgive us.” The ther pegasus answered desperate. The whole group bowed.

From their attitude, Grogar could see that they were telling the truth. But he wouldn´t let them go.

“Lock them up!” he ordered to the guards.

The guards took them and teleported to Canterlot. Grogar went to enquire the next pegasi.

“Do you know Fluttershy personally?”

“Well, we went to school with her but we didn´t talk much…”

“Do you know where she´s hiding?”

The pegasi shook their heads shyly. Grogar clenched his teeth.

“Take them away!” he ordered to the guards.

The same procedure was carried out. Grogar asked the same two questions to more pegasi and he always received the same answer.

“We don´t know.”

He grew more and more impatient, to the point that if another pegasus said the same sentence, he´d feed them directly to the manticores and bugbears or let the cockatrices turn them to stone. Discord noticed the change of mood and anxiously held his tail tighter.

What nopony noticed was that Fluttershy herself was coming to the scene. She made a whole to get out from the underground. She coughed and shook her body to clean herself. Then, she panted.

“Ok. I don´t know how, but I´m still alive.” she thought out loud.

She noticed some figures in the distance. To get a better view she took a few hoofsteps towards them, despite the fact that she barely had any strength left and her muscles ached a lot. She hid behind the nearest tree and leaned out her head a little. Her teal eyes filled with joy and sadness when they saw Discord. Happy, because she got to see him after this horrible time, but sad because he was completely broken. She was going to take a hoofstep to get closer to him but stopped when Grogar started talking to a pegasus mare and her foal. She gasped when she recognized the family. They were her parents´ neighbors!

“Tell me what you know about Fluttershy.”

The mare hugged her foal.

“Um… Not much. She´s Twilight Sparkle´s friend but I´ve never talked to her.”

Grogar frowned.

“And I suppose you don´t know where she´s hiding either, am I right?” he raised an eyebrow, making the two pegasi tremble in fear.

“No sir…”

Grogar sighed.

“Look. I´ve been asking several pegasi the same questions and I received the same answers over and over again. It´s impossible that every single pegasus in Cloudsdale is in the same situation. In other words, I think that you are lying to me. And I also think that the next in line are planning to as well.”

The pegasi dropped their ears. Grogar made a sign to the monsters to come closer.

“Do you know what happens when somepony lies to me?”

The mare´s and her foal´s breath accelerated when the monsters growled at them.

“That´s right. They end up in stone or as a meal. So, I´ll ask again. Are you close to her?”

The mare didn´t know what to do. Her foal put her hoof on her forelef and begged her with his eyes not to tell the truth. Slowly, the mare looked up.

“No.”

Grogar looked down and stared at the foal. He smirked in a way that horrified both the mother and the son.

“What a healthy colt you have in there. It would be a shame if something happened to him.”

“Wait. What?” the mare asked scared.

Grogar took the foal and maintained him with his magic in front of the hungry manticores.

“No, please! Don´t do that!” the mare begged with tears.

The guards held the mare, not because they wanted her to suffer. In fact, they were really uncomfortable with what Grogar was about to do, not caring about the fact that they weren´t unicorns like them.

“Lie again and this will be the last time you´ll see your son with life.” Grogar threatened her. “Answer me! Is she close to you?!”

“Mommy don´t say anything!” the foal told her mother.

Fluttershy knew she had to help her neighbors. She looked around her and saw a stone. Her magic was gone but maybe she still had her buckball abilities. She grabbed it with her tail, ready to throw it at Grogar.

The ram was about to drop him into a manticore´s mouth. That was until he saw Discord´s scared expression, which gave him an idea.

“No… Actually, my son Discord is going to kill him.”

Fluttershy gasped in unison with Discord. She released the stone from the shock.

“What?!” Discord asked.

Grogar released the child in front of Discord.

“What you heard. Make it quick if you don´t want him to suffer.” he ordered.

Discord looked at the child. He absolutely didn´t know what to do. If he didn´t do what Grogar said, Fluttershy would pay the consequences but he also didn´t like the idea of killing a foal. From the anxiety, he froze. Fluttershy watched anxiously the scene, worried about her friends.

“Need I to remind you what will happen if you don´t obey, Discord?” Grogar told him.

“Wait no!” the mare kicked the guards, which allowed her to break free. She flew as fast as she could and landed in front of her son. “Please, kill me instead. He´s done nothing wrong!” she begged Discord. Then, she looked at Grogar. “You said he was your child. You wouldn´t hurt him, so why would you hurt mine?”

Discord raised his ears. That phrase… He heard something similar in his dreams when he was younger and when the voice didn´t let him sleep. It was a very weird dream. He dreamed of being at the brink of falling into a well but didn´t because something else was holding him. Then, in the background a female voice was screaming.

“No! Don´t hurt him! He´s your child, you wouldn´t hurt him!”

Discord never knew who was screaming. All he could see was two blurry figures. One was blue, and the other was white. He was pretty sure that it was the white one who was yelling. But, why was he thinking about that now? This was the least perfect moment to remember it! And to make matters worse, the voice that sang to him before was singing now. He was about to cover his ears until that same voice spoke.

“Remember.” it said.

Remember? What did he need to remember? Was it talking about the dream? It was just a silly dream!

That was until he finally put faces to the figures in his dreams. The blue one was Grogar, and he was also the one who was about to throw him to the well. The other, was none other than his father´s archenemy, Gusty the Great! But why was she begging Grogar not to hurt him?

But then other scenes came into play. It was him as a very little draconequus with Gusty. They were playing, laughing and talking to each other. At that moment, Discord realized that the dream he had was no dream. It was a memory! The other scenes playing in his mind were also memories! It was then when he understood everything. Gusty´s spirit was trying to make him remember how much she loved him! That Grogar was wrong about nopony loving him before running away.

His breath started accelerating at the realization. Grogar´s voice brought him back to reality.

“Discord! DISCORD!”

Discord shook his head quickly.

“Carry on the order!” Grogar exclaimed.

Discord remembered the situation he was in. Grogar ordered him to kill a child in front of his mother, who was begging in tears to let him be. Discord frowned.

“No.” he said.

Everypony, including Fluttershy, gasped. Grogar widened his eyes.

“What did you say?” Grogar asked angrily and calmly at the same time.

“I said no.” Discord turned around to confront him face to face.

“If you don´t do as I say I´m going to kill her in the most painful way I can come up with!” Grogar threatened. “Do it, Discord!”

“You lied to me.” Discord replied back.

“What?”

“You lied to me! All my life you told me that nopony would ever accept me but there was a mare that accepted me way before Fluttershy. And that was Gusty!”

Grogar widened his eyes slowly.

“What´s wrong father? Cat got your tongue?” Discord raised his eyebrow.

Quickly and unexpectedly, Grogar went on to fire at the pegasi with his magic, but Discord created a force camp to protect them with his lion paw and snapped his eagle claw and made them as well as the guards disappear. Eventually, Grogar broke his force camp and shoot him right at the heart with his magic. Discord cried in pain as he fell backwards. Fluttershy gasped worried.

“I´ve had it! I thought that the tricks Gusty and Fluttershy played on you were irreversible. But I was wrong… You are no use to me… I should have never created you in the first place!” he looked at the bell. “But luckily I can change that.”

Discord closed his eyes. But just before Grogar could ring the bell, something hit his neck. It hit him so hard that it threw him to the ground. Discord looked around and saw Fluttershy standing on a rock.

“You. Are. Over.” she told Grogar with all her hatred.

Chapter 18: Two friends reunite

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Fluttershy grabbed another stone with her tail and threw it towards Grogar, but he defended himself with a force camp. As he got up, he grabbed Fluttershy with his magic and dragged her towards him. Discord gasped.

“Fluttershy!” Discord exclaimed.

His whole body ached and was wounded as well. Despite that, he was willing to protect Fluttershy from his father. Just when he was about to help her, Grogar put him inside a floating magical camp. Discord snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. He was still inside.

“Don´t bother trying, Discord. You´ll be trapped there as long as I want.”

He turned his head back to Fluttershy and smirked at her.

“Well, look who´s back. Instead of running away when you had your chance you came back for him. I had the feeling you would do that.” he chuckled. “Foolish, but I must say, I admire your guts. A single pegasus with no magic dared to challenge me to get her friend back. Brave mare, even more than Gusty.” he said while putting his cheek next to hers.

He smiled amused at how Fluttershy tried to keep her head away from his.

“Still, your act of bravery was in vain. You wasn´t seriously thinking that you´d defeat me with stones, did you?”

“Of course not. I know I can´t defeat you on my own.” Fluttershy replied angrily.

“Which is one of the reasons why you came back for Discord.” he chuckled again. “You put too much trust on him, dearie. Even if you had him by your side, you wouldn´t still be able to defeat me. He´s not more powerful than me, no creature is.”

“Well, Gusty wasn´t as powerful as you but she managed to defeat you.”

Grogar scowled.

“Careful mare… Your life is at stake. I told Discord that if he didn´t obey me, you would be the one to pay the consequences. And he didn´t listen. You do not want to anger me.”

Despite being threatened with death, Fluttershy remained steady. Grogar walked towards Discord.

“Since you didn´t obey me, your little friend is going to pay your actions with her life. However, I´m going to give her an opportunity to save herself.”

Both Discord and Fluttershy widened their eyes surprised. Whether Grogar had in mind for her, she knew she was going to have to choose carefully. Grogar could kill her with just a blow from his bell in an instant.

“As you heard, it is not too late for you. I can save you from a really painful death.” Grogar explained to her. “All you have to do is choosing the right answer.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow.

“And what are my options?”

“Either you can die… or you can submit to me.”

Fluttershy widened her eyes. She frowned deeply.

“If you choose the latter, you´ll be able to see Discord.” Grogar added.

“Do you really think that I´ll fall for that? If I hadn´t thrown that stone, Discord would be dead already!”

Grogar chuckled.

“You never fail to amuse me with your intelligence. But I might let him live if you accept me as your emperor. So, what is your answer?”

Fluttershy darted her eyes from side to side, thinking on what to say next.

“I´m waiting…” Grogar rushed her.

Fluttershy looked at Discord. He was with his paw and claw on the force camp. Just like Fluttershy, he was at crossroads. On the one hoof, he wanted Fluttershy to live, but he also knew that if she submitted to Grogar´s will, she´d be miserable for the rest of her life. As for him, he didn´t care. He knew that sooner or later Grogar would kill him.

Seeing that Fluttershy did not answer, Grogar started shaking her. Fluttershy closed her eyes.

“You´re driving my patience. It´s that simple. Choose me or it´s over for you.” Grogar ignited more his horns to emphasize his words. “What. Is. Your. Answer?

Fluttershy opened her eyes. She spit on Grogar´s face. He closed his eyes and complained, releasing both Fluttershy and Discord.

As soon as Grogar opened his eyes, she saw Fluttershy running towards Discord, who was reaching his lion paw to her. He took her again with his magic and dragged her towards him. But in this case Fluttershy, grabbed the biggest rock she could find with her tail. She waited until she had a good distance to cause the maximum pain as possible. Finally, she threw the rock, directing it to Grogar´s right knee. Once it hit him, Grogar fell to the ground, complaining in pain and struggling to get up. This time Fluttershy was able to reach Discord.

“Are you ok?” she asked while hugging his neck.

“Not really, no.” Discord replied. “But I think I feel better now.” he smiled sweetly at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy smiled back at him. She took a quick look at Grogar. He still couldn´t get up.

“Do you think you can take us somewhere safe?” Fluttershy asked him.

Nervously, Discord looked at his claw.

“I hope so.”

Just after Discord said, Grogar threw them a magical blast. Fluttershy closed her eyes and hugged Discord´s neck tighter. Fortunately, they disappeared before the blast could reach them. Grogar growled frustrated.

Fluttershy and Discord reappeared. They both had their eyes closed. Slowly, Discord opened them, realizing that they weren´t in the same place. This time, they were surrounded by trees, and what´s better, Grogar wasn´t there. He sighed in relief while wiping the sweat of his forehead.

“That was close…”

He noticed that Fluttershy was still snuggling against his neck.

“It´s ok. We´re safe for now.” he reassured.

Fluttershy opened one eye and looked around her in surprise. Then, she hugged his neck with a big smile on her face.

“You did it!”

“Well, partially. I intended us to go to my dimension, but apparently we ended up in the middle of nowhere instead.” he looked at his paw and claw a bit panicked. “I hope this isn´t a sign!”

“Well, considering that you´ve been through and the fact that Grogar has just hit you in the chest, I wouldn´t be surprised if your powers aren´t working as you expected…” Fluttershy suggested.

“Oh great. What was left.” Discord said frustrated.

“It´s ok. I think what you need is rest.” Fluttershy noticed the bruises around his neck and the scratches all around his body, which broke her heart completely. But she knew that she couldn´t break in tears in front of him, so she shook her head and shook it off. “And maybe a remedy of pain too.” Fluttershy smiled nervously. She looked around and noticed a rock. “Ok, let´s do something. We´re gonna go to that rock. Can you get up?”

Discord tried to stand up, but he barely could. He fell on his stomach. Then, he shook his head with a tired face while looking at Fluttershy.

“Maybe you need a little help.” she approached Discord. She put his right arm on her back and held it with her wings. “Try now.”

Discord tried again. This time he managed to stand in three legs, even though he was shaking.

“Ok. Now, take a step.”

Discord nodded. He took a small and fast step with his lion paw and lizard leg. Then, he took another with his buffalo leg.

“That´s it. You´re doing a great job.” Fluttershy reassured him.

The process wasn´t easy for Fluttershy either. She had very little strength left, which she spent on throwing rocks at Grogar. Just like Discord, she was shaky, and her body hurt. Discord noticed that and looked worried and Fluttershy.

Finally, they reached the rock.

“Ok. You´re gonna stay here and rest.” Fluttershy put Discord on the rock. She sat down while panting. “Meanwhile, I´ll look for some herbs to relief the pain. I´ll also search if there´s a cave we can hide in.”

Fluttershy shivered at the thought of having to get up again. She didn´t know if her body would handle it.

“Come on Fluttershy. You can do it.” she told herself.

She took a deep breath and stood on four legs. She took a few steps that felt like walking on needles. She stopped walking for a few seconds.

Seeing the difficulty that Fluttershy was having, Discord bit his lip.

“Are you sure you can do this on your own?”

“Of course!” she lied while smiling sadly back at Discord.

But at that moment, she collapsed. Discord stood in four legs and slowly, he reached at her.

“No, you´re not.” he told her. “I think you´re even in a worse state than me.”

“Oh, it´s not that bad.” Fluttershy denied it sweetly.

“Yes, it is!” Discord insisted. “Fluttershy, you have no magic! You´re pushing yourself too much.”

“But I need to find a place for us to hide.” Fluttershy replicated.

“We need to find a place for us to hide.”

“You´re saying you´re come with me?”

“Oh yes I am!”

“But you can barely walk!”

“Neither can you!”

Fluttershy lowered her head.

“No, no. But you cannot waste your energy. Equestria needs you!”

“And you too!”

Fluttershy broke down in tears. Discord widened his eyes.

“Whoah, whoah. Are those tears? No, no. I won´t tolerate seeing you cry. This calls for an immediate conversation.” he helped Fluttershy to sit on his lap. “Now, spill the tea.”

Fluttershy sniffed

“Oh Discord. I feel so powerless.” she sobbed. “I want to help Equestria but without my magic I can´t do anything. How will I fight Grogar if I can barely walk? I know I can get it back if I retrieve his bell, but in this state…” she sobbed. “It´s impossible! And the Tree of Harmony can´t help us this time.”

Discord looked away sadly.

“And I´m asking myself. Why me? Why did I have to be the survivor?” she sobbed. “Why didn´t my friends have the same luck? Why does Equestria´s fate have to lie on a helpless and cowardly pegasus?”

Discord scoffed.

“Helpless?! You threw Grogar to the ground twice! Without any magic! With just stones! Do you realize that? I´ll say, just for that, you´re the strongest and bravest pony in Equestria in my eyes.”

Discord dried Fluttershy´s tears.

“Ok, you might not be able to fight Grogar physically right now, but you still can come up with ideas to defeat him. I know you have it inside. Do you remember the tea party in which I almost disappeared? You knew exactly what to do. And you didn´t need any magic! Did you?”

“I… guess not.” Fluttershy replied in a whisper.

“Exactly. All you needed was your brain.” he put his finger on Fluttershy´s forehead. “Besides, you have fantastic ideas! The Sweet Feather Sanctuary is an example. Or those deep conversations that we had on our tea parties.” Discord caressed Fluttershy´s cheek as he spoke. Fluttershy held his paw with her hoof. “And let´s not forget that stare of yours.” he nudged her playfully. “I noticed how you subtly did it at Grogar when you first talked to him. And I can tell he was really intimidated.”

Fluttershy blushed while chuckling.

“What I mean Fluttershy, is that you´re already helping Equestria. You still can do something. But for that, you also need to take care of yourself, just as I need resting.”

Fluttershy dried her tears and hugged Discord, without him expecting that.

“Thank you.” she whispered calmly.

“You´re welcome. Now.” Discord helped Fluttershy to get down his lap. “Let´s find a place to hide together.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreeance.

“Ok.” she smiled.

But just when the two friends were about to get up with the help of each other, they heard a rustling in the bushes. Immediately the two of them hugged each other frightened, expecting a big monster to come out. But for Fluttershy´s luck and Discord´s misfortune, it was Angel Bunny. Both Fluttershy and Angel gasped surprised.

“You´ve gotta be kidding me…” Discord muttered.

“Angel! Come here!” Fluttershy exclaimed almost in tears of joy.

The bunny jumped into Fluttershy´s wing, snuggling his head against hers.

“I´m so glad to see you here safe and-” Fluttershy stopped talking when she realized that Angel wasn´t home nor in the sanctuary. “Oh dear! Is that why you´re here? Has the sanctuary been attacked?”

Angel Bunny shook his head. Fluttershy sighed in relief.

“Ah, thank goodness. But if it´s safe in there, why are you here?”

Angel´s tummy roared.

“Oh, you´re hungry. But I´m pretty sure I left food to all of you before leaving.”

The bunny shook his head.

“No?” she asked confused. She kept on interpreting Angel´s gestures. “I forgot the carrots?”

Angel nodded.

“Oh dear… How could have I forgotten that?”

Discord raised an eyebrow.

“Is that why you´re here? Instead of staying somewhere safe with enough food, you went into the forest to look for carrots?!” he asked upset.

Angel Bunny´s ears perked up when he heard Discord´s voice. He frowned at Fluttershy while pointing at Discord.

“Oh Angel, please, be understanding.” Fluttershy said upset. “We´re wounded, have had to dealt with four psychopaths, lost all my friends and all we have left is each other!”

After hearing those words, Angel felt ashamed.

“Besides, Discord´s right. You should have stayed in the sanctuary instead of going out looking for carrots in the forest.” Fluttershy looked up. “What made you think you could find them in the forest anyway?” she thought aloud.

Angel looked at Discord, who smirked smugly at him. He inflated his cheeks angrily. He threw his fist to the air. Discord in response started making mocking faces at him. Angel also made mocking faces at the draconequus.

“Speaking of the forest… That means that we´re not far away from the sanctuary!” Fluttershy exclaimed excitedly while turning her head to Angel and Discord, who immediately stopped mocking each other and looked away discreetly while putting their arms behind their backs. “Can you take us there?” Fluttershy asked Angel.

The bunny pointed at his mouth, as if he asked if they weren´t going to get any carrots before leaving. Angrily, Fluttershy did her stare. Angel shivered and obeyed. Discord held his laughter. They both started walking, holding each other.

“Wasn´t expecting you to do that with him.” he raised an eyebrow slyly.

Fluttershy sighed.

“Desperate times call desperate methods.”

“You should do that more often to him.”

“Discord…” Fluttershy said angrily.

“Ok, ok.” Discord said somewhat disappointed.

Chapter 19: Escaping underground

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Sunburst and Trixie, who were holding the unconscious Starlight Glimmer; Zecora, Punja, the CMC and every student of the School of Friendship ran away from changelings through the caves of the Tree of Harmony´s roots. They hid all hid behind a wall. They stayed as silent as possible, praying the changelings didn´t notice them. Fortunately, they didn´t. Every creature quietly sighed in relief.

“Why is it,” Trixie panted heavily. “whenever I have to run away,” she panted more. “I do it in dangerous labyrinths?!” she asked to herself frustrated while remembering her experience in the Changeling hive.

Zecora shushed her, reminding her to speak in a lower volume.

“The danger is not away, it´s still in the air.” Zecora whispered in her ear. She turned to the other students. “Bear that in mind.”

They all nodded their heads.

“What do we do now?” Sandbar asked quietly.

Trixie and Sunburst looked at Starlight.

“Well, waking her up wouldn´t be a bad start.” Sunburst suggested nervously.

“And… how do we do that?” asked Gallus.

Trixie and Sunburst shared confused looks. Trixie grabbed her and started shaking her.

“Apparently, that didn´t work.” she commented.

Punja scoffed.

“Because that´s not what you´re supposed to do with an unconscious pony!” she explained frustrated. “That´s just phony.” she said while rolling her eyes.

Trixie scowled.

“Well, how am I supposed to do that then?” she asked upset.

“What you first need to do is checking if she breathes.”

Sunburst put his hoof over Starlight´s mouth. He noticed the air she expired, which relieved him a lot.

“She´s breathing.” he said with a smile.

“Raise her hind legs.” ordered Punja.

With his magic, Sunburst elevated them.

“Good! Now put them against a wall if you could.”

Trixie slightly pushed Starlight towards the wall so Sunburst could do as Punja said. Every creature waited anxiously for Starlight to regain conscience.

“Starlight?” asked Trixie.

Starlight did not answer.

“Starlight!” Trixie repeated.

Slowly, Starlight started moving her eyes. Silverstream gasped.

“It´s working!” she exclaimed excited softly while leant on Yona, who along her classmates, the CMC and Zecora, was smiling.

However, Trixie didn´t notice it and slapped Starlight in the cheek, surprising every creature.

“Starlight!”

The unconscious mare opened her eyes.

“OUCH!” she complained.

She incorporated quickly while rubbing her cheek.

“Trixie! What did you do that for?”

“And she´s awake!” Smolder nudged Ocellus.

Trixie and Sunburst hugged Starlight.

“You´re back!” Sunburst exclaimed excited.

“Took you forever, but still, you´ve retaken consciousness!” Trixie added.

Starlight got dizzy and returned to the ground again.

“Careful! You don´t want to overwork your skull.” Punja told her.

“Uh…” Starlight gave a nervous chuckle. “Do I know you?” she asked with a confused smile.

“She´s my little disciple.” Zecora explained Starlight while moving Punja´s hair, who was smiling. “Being a doctor is her main goal.”

“Oh! So that´s why she knows about that stuff.” Sweetie Belle commented.

“That´s cool!” Scootaloo added.

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. Punja blushed. Starlight went on to thank the little zebra.

“Well, thank you uh…”

“Punja.” the little zebra told her name to Starlight.

“Punja. Thank you so much.”

Starlight looked around her.

“Are we… Underneath the School of Friendship?”

“Yona thinks yes and not. Yona and friends hid under school, but mean changelings chased Yona and friends and now no idea where she is.” Yona explained.

Starlight blinked surprised.

“Can somepony remind me why we´re running away from changelings?”

Everypony looked away or bit their lips.

“It´s kind of a long story…” Sandbar scratched the back of his neck.

“Let´s just say that an ancient evil goat has messed everything up because he wants the throne back.” Gallus summed up.

“A ram, Galllus. A ram.” Ocellus corrected her friend.

“An evil ram…” Starlight muttered.

She gasped in realization.

“Oh right! The changelings were brainwashed and were chasing us!”

She got in four hooves and checked the corners.

“Where are they?”

“Honestly, none of us has any idea, but at least those things are away from us.” Smolder said.

Sandbar nudged her.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

Sandbar pointed at an angry Ocellus.

“Oh.” Smolder muttered.

“For your information, between those `things´, there could be my family. They are not being bad because they returned to their instincts. They are brainwashed!”

Smolder rubbed her right arm in shame.

“And what´s worse…” Ocellus continued. “I don´t know how to turn them back the way they were…” she said as tears formed in her eyes.

She started crying. Smolder put her claw on her shoulder.

“Look, I´m sorry, ok? I didn´t mean to hurt you by calling them things. But hear me out, don´t say they´ll stay like that forever. I´m sure we´ll find a way to turn them back to their true selves.” she gave her a comforting smile while holding her head with her claws.

“But how?” Ocellus asked.

Every creature looked at Starlight Glimmer, who felt estranged and uncomfortable by all the looks.

“Um… Why are you all looking at me?”

Some changelings approached Pharynx.

“Well?” he asked impatiently.

“We didn´t find them.”

Pharynx growled frustrated.

“They must be somewhere in here! They can´t have vanished!”

And just after he said that, Starlight Glimmer stepped in.

“Well hello.” she said a bit nervous.

Immediately after, the changelings trapped her with their substance and pointed at her with their spears.

The students, the CMC and Punja, Trixie, Zecora and Sunburst watched the scene hidden.

“Are you sure this will work?” Ocellus asked a bit worried about Starlight´s safety.

“Of course. Starlight used that spell on Twilight´s friends before we saved them from Queen Chrysalis. I´m sure she can do it again.”

“Wait. You mean that she put a mind-control spell on our sisters when she was under Twilight´s wing?” Sweetie Belle asked estranged.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo scowled at Trixie. The blue unicorn darted her eyes from one side to the other. Sunburst sighed and massaged his forehead.

“WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?!” Pharynx asked Starlight aggressively.

“Oh don´t worry. You´ll be by their side very soon.” she said with a cocky smile.

She ignited her horn and created a purple and blue ball of magic. She threw it to the changelings, inducing a big flash. Once it disappeared, she opened her eye, only to find that the changelings´ appearance stayed the same.

“Professor Starlight spell not working!” Yona muttered scared.

Seeing that every creature started entering in panic, Zecora decided to intervene.

“Maybe she can control their minds but not change their physical forms.”

“That´s a good theory!” Silverstream commented. “I´m sure that´s it!”

“Let´s not sing victory. What could happen next is still a mystery.” Zecora warned Silverstream.

“Let´s find out then…” Sunburst said.

Starlight gazed around the changelings, not so sure if the spell worked.

“Uh.. Do you still want to kill me?”

The changelings roared at her.

“I´m going to take it as a yes.” she muttered.

Starlight ignited her horn and disappeared, leaving the changelings confused and angry.

She reappeared with her friends and the students.

“Ok. Mind-controlling spells don´t work on the bell´s spells.” she said.

Ocellus sighed sadly.

“Ok. That didn´t work. But let´s not lose hope.” Smolder told her while smiling nervously.

“Yeah! At least we didn´t get discovered.” Silverstream added.

“There they are!” an unfamiliar voice to every creature said.

They all widened their eyes.

“I talked too early.” Silverstream muttered. She laughed nervously.

Gallus rolled his eyes, grabbed Silverstream by the wrist softly and dragged her with every creature else. They ran as fast as they could until they found another hiding spot.

“We can´t keep going like this.” Sandbar said panting. “At this pace, sooner or later, we´ll be found.”

“He´s right, you know.” Apple Bloom agreed with Sandbar.

“What do we do, Starlight?” asked Sunburst.

Starlight caressed her chin. She noticed three different paths ahead of, which gave her an idea.

“Maybe the best thing would be dividing in three groups. The ones on the left with Sunburst, the ones on the center with Trixie and the ones on the right with me. It would distract the changelings and earn us time.” she suggested.

“Even though the idea of being separated is something I fear, I think it´s a good idea.” Zecora agreed.

Trixie and Sunburst were skeptical about the plan. They didn´t feel safe without each other, neither were sure if they could defend so many students at once. But they didn´t have another option. The two nodded their heads at the same time. Sunburst gulped.

“Ok. We´ll do it.”

“Good luck to you all.” said Trixie.

The three of them held hooves. Starlight turned to the students.

“Alright every creature. Pay attention. We´re going to divide in three groups. The ones on the left with Sunburst, the ones on the center with Trixie and the ones in the right with me.”

The students entered in panic.

“WHAT?!” Silverstream asked scared.

“Yona goes with all her friends.” she said stubbornly before exhaling air from her nose.

“Come on please, try to understand. We have no time to go with whom we want!” Trixie said desperate.

“I know you´re not comfortable with the idea, none of us is!” Sunburst agreed with the students.

“But it´s the only way of success if we want our enemy to distress.” Zecora sentenced.

Yona was still anxious about not being with her friends. Luckily, Silverstream and Sanbar were on the left with her.

“Don´t worry Yona. You won´t be alone.” Sandbar told her.

“We´ll come with you!” Silvestream hugged her neck.

“Ok. But what about other Yona´s friends?” she asked while looking at Gallus, Smolder and Ocellus.

Sandbar looked at the other three friends. They shared sad looks.

“I guess we´ll have to be separated.” Sandbar said sadly.

“But at the end, we´ll reunite!” Silverstream chuckled unsure. “I hope.” she muttered worried.

“Have some hope, girls.” said Sandbar to his friends. “The situation is very messed up? Yes. There´s a high chance that we died? Also true. But there´s also a chance that we can reunite again! Isn´t that little chance worth to keep on fighting?”

Sandbar shared a smile with Gallus, Smolder and Ocellus, making them feel hopeful.

“Yona wants to keep on fighting.” the yak agreed.

The three friends hugged.

“Hurry up everypony! We haven´t got much time.” Starlight said while noticing the changelings getting close.

Smolder and Ocellus were on the right. They held claw and hoof and smiled at each other in confidence, joining Starlight´s group, in which Zecora and Punja were included. Silverstream, Sandbar and Yona went with Sunburst´s group. Gallus, who was in the center, realized that he had to go on hiw own with Trixie´s group.

“Oh great. I´m in this group. Without my friends. Alone.”

“Don´t say that! We´re here with you.” Sweetie Belle hugged his leg.

“The CMC will accompany you!” Apple Bloom said joyful.

“Guys!” Scootaloo and Trixie exclaimed at the same time, calling from a distance.

Gallus grabbed the two fillies and caught up with the rest of the group. Sure, they weren´t his group of friends, but he couldn´t deny that they were adorable and nice to be with. He smiled while playfully rolling his eyes at the two fillies´ antics .

Chapter 20: A great discovery

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“So, how did you two find each other?” Spike asked curious to Thorax and Ember.

Thorax smiled nervously. Ember huffed exhausted.

“After we freed the Crystal Empire, Cadence´s family, some crystal ponies and some changelings went on to help the other kingdoms. From Yakyakistan to the Dragonlands.” the changeling explained.

“You mean that all the leaders teamed up?”

“With the exception of Celestia and Luna, yes.”

“And I imagine that the situation is as bad, isn´t it?” Spike guessed.

“Oh, you can´t imagine…” Ember replied. “I can only speak for the Dragonlands, but my goodness… I had never seen so much aggressiveness in a dragon until today!”

“We were all chilling and preparing for Twilight´s coronation until the ex -changeling queen, Chrysalis was her name? I don´t know. Anyway, she came and rang a bell on some dragons and thus, corrupting them.” Garble added. “Then, they started throwing fire at each other and if it weren´t for these guys,” Garble grabbed a changeling and a crystal pony, surrounding an arm around them. “we all would have died today.”

“But you didn´t have the bell. What did you do with the corrupted dragons?” he asked.

“The pink candy princess put a sleeping spell in all of them.” Ember replied.

“You mean Cadence.” Spike corrected her.

“Whatever. Her husband and baby helped her. I guess she got the idea from being a mother.”

When Scorpan heard the word `mother´, he sighed. Starswirl noticed that.

“Are you ok, Scorpan?” he asked concerned. “Do you want to stop?”

“No, it´s not that, thank you.” he smiled sadly. “It´s just…”

“Punja, am I right?” Mitsmane guessed.

He nodded.

“Who is Punja?” Ember whispered in Spike´s ear.

“Scorpan´s adopted daughter.” the little dragon replied softly.

“Oh.” the dragon leader muttered under her breath.

“I´m very worried about her.” continued Scorpan. “I haven´t seen her since Tirek attacked us. And given the circumstances, she´s either in danger or already dead. All because I couldn’t be there for her.”

“Yeah… I know how you feel.” Garble hugged himself. “I´m very worried about Smolder too.”

“I can´t tell you for certain if she´s ok, but remember that even though Punja is small, she´s tough and witty.” Somnambula said to reassure him. “I´m sure she managed to survive on one way or another.”

“Besides, she might not be alone.” Stygian added. “Didn´t you tell her to go with Zecora? Maybe she´s protecting her.”

“I hope so.” Scorpan muttered.

“Talking about family, what happened to Twilight and her friends?” asked Ember worried. “You´re always with them. What happened?”

Spike bit his lip.

“I don´t think that he´s ready yet…” Rockhoof said.

“He might need a little more time.” Meadowbrook supported Rockhoof´s idea.

“But why? Did something bad happen?” Ember insisted.

“Leave it, Ember.” Thorax put a hoof on her shoulder. “He´ll tell us when he wants.”

“And that moment is now.” Said Spike.

The pillars and Stygian widened their eyes surprised.

“Are you sure about that kid?” Flash Magnus asked unsure about Spike´s intention.

“They´ll have to know sooner or later.” Spike replied. “Talking about gives a really hard time, but I want to go through it as soon as possible.”

They all shared concerned looks. Scorpan told them with his gaze that it was the best for him. Eventually they nodded in agreement with Spike.

“Go ahead.” Flash Magnus said.

Spike took a deep breath before beginning to speak.

“I don´t know it Thorax told you, but we were planning to use the bell on Grogar. But Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow attacked us and retrieved the bell. And then Grogar came into scene.”

The changelings, dragons and crystal ponies clenched their teeth.

“I don´t like how this is going.” Garble muttered.

“And the bell ended up with his original owner. It was very terrifying. He broke Cozy´s wings and took all their magic away in just a matter of seconds!” Spike shivered at the memory. “Then, he came toward us.” his breath started accelerating. “He took Twilight…” his eyes filled with tears. He held his head anxious. He slowed his breath before continuing speaking. “And killed her…”

Every creature gasped.

“Oh, Spike…” Thorax said with tears in his eyes. “I´m so sorry.” he hugged him.

“That´s it! That´s it!” Ember said angrily. She put her fist against her claw. “That ram is going down! The moment we see him, we´ll turn him to ashes! Am I right?” she asked to the dragons.

The dragons spit fire in response.

“Poor Princess Cadence…” a crystal pony said while drying tears. “She´ll be heartbroken after hearing this.”

“Not to mention Shining Armor!” another crystal pony added. “He´ll be the one to suffer the most for her death.”

“What about her friends?” a changeling asked. “Are they alive?”

“I don´t know.” Spike lamented. “Grogar didn´t tell me what he was going to do with them. But it´s pretty clear that he had no intention of leaving them alive.”

“But without Twilight and her friends, how will Equestria and our homes be saved?” another changeling asked.

“As impossible as it sounds, it´s left to us. Right now, we are the only ones who can save Equestria and our homes. It doesn´t sound as crazy, if you think about it. In this team, there´s the leader of every nation! Well, except Celestia and Luna as Thorax said, and the gryphons too, now that I think about it. But still. Imagine what we could do if we joined all of our forces! We might not be victorious at the end, but at least we should try. For Twilight. For her friends. In their honor. It´s the least we can do.”

Every listened to Spike´s speech. Garble approached the little dragon.

“Well. If you gave me the choice between dying or being enslaved for the rest of my life, I´m pretty sure I´d prefer death. So, I guess it´s worth the try.”

“Same here.” The dragons raised their claws.

“We were controlled once, and we won´t let it happen again!” the changelings claimed confidently.

“For Twilight!” the crystal ponies exclaimed.

Ember and Thorax raised an eyebrow while smiling. Spike felt relief for seeing every creature willing to fight, even though there was a high chance that they died. But their love for Twilight and her friends was so big that they didn´t fear what was going to happen to them. The dragon started crying, but these weren´t tears of pain, they were tears of joy. He turned to the pillars, Stygian and Scorpan. The gargoyle was giving him a smile full of pride whereas the pillars´ and Stygian´s smiles were supportive.

“And who knows… Maybe some creature else will join us if we´re lucky.”

Trixie, Gallus, the CMC, and some students were running away from corrupted changelings underground. Unfortunately, their escape was complicated by the presence of the roots´ crystals, which blocked their way.

“We´re trapped!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.

Trixie blinked perplexed.

“Ok. Let´s not enter in panic. There must be some little space in which we can escape.” she approached the crystals and touched them, hiding her panic in the process.

Everypony and Gallus looked at each other.

“Well, you must have a plan b, right?” said Scootaloo.

“Actually, I don´t.”

“What?!” Gallus and the CMC asked in chorus.

“Don´t blame me! I didn´t expect this to happen. Besides, we didn´t have time.”

“Well you´d better think of something right now…” Sweetie Belle said terrified while walking backwards like the other students.

Trixie looked backwards and saw how the changelings cornered all of them. They roared furious.

“What do we do now?” Gallus asked Trixie.

The blue unicorn took some time to answer. She shivered while remembering when she was attacked by changelings while saving Equestria´s most important figures.

“Nope. I´m not dealing with this.”

She took a smoke bomb and tossed it to the ground. Once the smoke cleared out, the changelings stayed confused, due to their preys´ disappearance.

Starlight´s group stopped running in front of an enormous root. They looked behind, noticing the changelings approached them. She quickly summoned a force camp to earn time so they could think of a plan.

“We cannot advance anymore.”

“Oh no…” Ocellus said disheartened. “What do we do?”

Starlight looked around. After realizing that the root was connected to the top, she got an idea.

“I think I know what to do next.”

Starlight was about to perform a spell, but something unexpected prevented her from doing so. Out of nowhere, Trixie and her group appeared right next to her.

“STARLIGHT!” Trixie exclaimed.

Starlight yelped while falling on her back. In the process, she stopped doing the protective bubble. Starlight glared at Trixie, making her laugh nervously and apologetically.

“Surprise…” she muttered.

The students hugged each other scared while Pharynx jumped on Starlight. The unicorn quickly ignited her horn and blasted the top as hard as she could. She smiled when she saw that her idea was a success. She managed to do a whole big enough for every creature to escape. Then, she turned to them.

“Go! Go!” she waved her hoof. “We´ll deal with them while you climb.”

Starlight zapped Pharynx´s neck, pushing him away. The changeling frowned and turned into an enormous mole.

“Do you need our help?” Trixie asked, perplexed by the sudden transformation.

Just after she asked that, Starlight hit with her magic a changeling that was about to attack Trixie.

“Actually, you´d help me more by fighting the other changelings.”

“Alright then.”

Meanwhile, every creature climbed as fast as they could. All except for Punja, who was trying to make her way to get to Zecora. Smolder, Ocellus, Gallus, all of whom were holding the CMC, noticed that.

“Punja! What are you doing?” Apple Bloom asked worried.

“We need to leave!” Scootaloo told her.

“One moment please!” the little zebra replied.

Punja held Zecora´s hoof.

“Are you coming with us?”

At that moment, a changeling tried to jump on them, but Zecora kicked their belly.

“I´m afraid I´m needed here.” she put her hoof under her chin. “You must advance without me and without any fear.”

Punja nodded and hugged Zecora tightly before leaving. She ran to the root and started to climb it. Gallus, who was holding Sweetie Belle, decided to ask the little unicorn a question.

“Can you teleport yourself?”

“I can try!” the unicorn filly replied excited.

Although she struggled to ignite her horn, she managed to disappear from Gallus´ forelegs and reappear at the top.

“I did it!” she exclaimed with pride while waving her hoof.

They all smiled at her. Gallus flew down and picked up Punja to help her get out faster. He caught up with the rest of his friends and finally left the underground.

Pharynx, who despite battling Starlight, noticed that the students were flying away.

“NO!” he turned to the other changelings. “Get them you idiots!”

The changelings obeyed and flew out of the whole.

The students ran away from the changelings and hid behind the first big thing they could find. Luckily, they weren´t noticed by the changelings who kept on flying ahead.

“Did we fool them?” Ocellus asked.

Smolder slightly poked her head out.

“Yup. No more corrupted changelings near us.” she said proudly.

“Maybe not the changelings but something else is…” Gallus said scared while pointing at something.

The students held their breath when they noticed a cragadile sleeping right in front of them.

Spike and the rest kept on walking. Suddenly, Scorpan´s ear twitched.

“We need to hide.” he said to every creature.

“What? But why?” Ember asked curious.

“Some creature´s coming.”

“Really? Who?” Spike asked.

Thorax shushed him. Every creature hid behind the trees. Scorpan was right, they were not alone. There were corrupted changelings flying around! Spike huffed. If it weren´t for his gargoyle friend, they would have been found.

“Where did those ponies go?” They were just in front of us!” a changeling said frustrated.

“Not only ponies. There was a yak, a dragon, a griffon, a hippogriph, a weird bug thing that looked like us but I don´t think she was a changeling, and a little zebra.” another changeling pointed out.

Every creature gasped quietly.

“Hey, aren´t those the students of the School of Friendship?” Rockhoof asked Spike in his ear.

“Yeah, yeah.” Spike confirmed.

“That means that Ocellus is there!” Thorax thought aloud.

“And Smolder too!” Garble added. He sighed in relief. “Thank goodness she´s still alive!”

Starswirl shushed them, reminding them that they were not alone.

“Maybe we missed them? I suggest we go back.” other changeling said.

The other changelings agreed by nodding their heads. They turned around and continued flying in the opposite direction, but Ember and the other dragons stood in front of them.

“NOT ON OUR WATCH!” the leader of the dragons yelled at the changelings.

They spit fire at the changelings, making them fly away terrified.

“And never come back!” Garble added before expiring smoke from his nose.

Once the changelings were gone, Spike, Scorpan, the pillars, Stygian, Thorax and the uncorrupted changelings came out from their hideout.

“We need to find them!” Thorax exclaimed. “They could be in danger!”

“Say no more.” Spike replied. “Come on!” he waved his hoof.

The group started running.

“Oh dear. I´m reuniting with Punja! I´m reuniting with my daughter!” Scorpan said almost in tears.

The pillars and Stygian gave him a comforting smile.

Sunburst stopped running abruptly when he saw a small pond. His group did the same. The unicorn was worried that he was going to fall into the pound due to his students´ sudden stop. He sighed in relief when he saw that nothing happened. That was until Yona stopped running. The yak´s stop pushed everypony, causing Sunburst to fall into the pond. Seeing that he didn´t get his head out of the water, the students started to worry.

“Is professor Sunburst ok?” Silverstream asked nervous.

Thankfully, nothing happened to Sunburst, since he poked his head out of the water. The students sighed in relief, but their relief wouldn´t last, as they noticed the changelings approaching them.

“Ok. Does everypony know how to swim?” Sunburst asked quickly as he got out of the water.

Everypony nodded their heads. Yona tilted her head from side to side.

“Yona knows how to swim, but not very good at it…” she said skeptical.

“Don´t worry, Yona. We´ll hold you!” Silverstream grabbed her foreleg.

“With us by your side, you have nothing to worry about.” Sandbar added.

The changelings were about to attack the students, but Sunburst intervened and zapped them.

“Go! I´ll deal with them in the meantime.” he told them.

The students obeyed and jumped into the water. Yona and Sandbar took a deep breath before jumping along Silverstream, who transformed into a seapony. Yona created a huge wave that swept both Sunburst and the changelings away.

The students swam underwater for some time, getting air whenever they found a space which wasn´t totally covered with water. At one off those pauses, Silverstream realized that there was no top after their stop, just water, which meant that soon, their swimming would be over.

“Get all the air you can everypony! We´re almost there!” she told them to cheer them up.

“Yaks were preparing for princess pony coronation, and suddenly changelings came!” Prince Rutherford said. “Then, yaks attacked but changelings stronger! But then pink princess pony came and saved yaks!”

Princess Skystar and Queen Novo were listening to him.

“The same thing happened to us!” Skystar exclaimed excited. “But luckily, we weren´t attacked, since we quickly hid underwater.”

“If we can extract something good from the Storm King, is that we improved our evacuation system.” Queen Novo commented. “We have some watchhippogriffs at the top of Mountain Aris and if they see strangers or creatures who don´t seem friendly, they give signal and we go into the water. You should have an evacuation system, it really works.” Novo said to Rutherford.

“Yaks have no evacuation system. Few visitors in Yakyakistan. But yaks can take your advice.” he agreed with Novo.

Skystar laid down on a rock.

“The important thing is that Princess Cadence, her family, her subjects and the good changelings saved us and created this safe refuge!” she said while watching the crystal ponies and changelings aiding the injured yaks and hippogriffs. There were also some dragons sleeping.

“But we cannot let our guards down yet. We still need to get Grogar out of the throne.” Novo pointed out.

“I know, but at least we get some time to rest.”

“And Yak Prince can drink! Yak Prince is thirsty.”

The yak was about to lick some fresh water from the lake, but suddenly, a pony appeared right in front of his muzzle. The two of them jumped back.

“Gah!” Rutherford yelled scared, but then he took a better look. “Pony? What is pony doing in water?” he wondered confused.

Then, more ponies poked their heads out of the water.

“What the?” muttered Queen Novo confused.

But then, everything made sense when Yona, Silverstream and Sandbar got to surface. Yona took a deep breath and panted.

“It´s ok, Yona. You´ve done a great job.” Sandbar said to comfort her.

Silverstream gasped when she noticed Princess Skystar and Queen Novo.

“Your majesties!” she exclaimed as she jumped out of the water and transformed into her hippogriff self.

Then, Yona noticed Prince Rutherford.

“PRINCE RUTHERFORD!” she exclaimed while quickly swimming out of the lake.

Sandbar rolled his eyes with a smile and followed Yona.

Silverstream gave the Queen and the princess of hippogriffs a huge hug, which Novo didn´t enjoy as much as her daughter.

“Silverstream! It´s so good to see you!” Skystar told her. Then, she gasped. “Your family is worried sick about you.”

“My family! Are they ok?” Silverstream asked worried.

“Yes, they´re in the camp.” Novo explained while undoing Silverstream´s hug. Nonetheless, she still had a smile on her face. “I´m glad to see you´re ok.

Silvertstream hugged the two of them again. Novo sighed a bit frustrated, but she returned the hug.

Meanwhile, Yona arrived to Prince Rutherford.

“Yona!” the yak prince exclaimed.

The two yaks bumped their heads together.

“Yaks safe?” Yona asked.

“Yes! Yaks safe!” Rutherford replied. “Yaks in camp, sharing with hippogriffs, crystal ponies, changelings and dragons! And, Yona´s family in camp too.”

Yona jumped in excitement. If it weren´t for Sandbar, every creature would have continued jumping.

“But Prince Yak has question. How did Yona and friends got here?”

“Yeah.” Skystar agreed with Rutherford. “How did you escape the school? I thought it was taken over by Cozy Glow. That was her name right?”

Silverstream nodded her head.

“It was thanks to Ocellus, Punja and Zecora. Then our teachers protected us!” Silverstream gasped. She put her claws on her cheeks. “Oh no! Professor Sunburst is still undergound! He needs our help!” she said while shaking Sandbar.

“Could you lend him a claw?” Sandbar asked Skystar and Novo.

The hippogriffs nodded, but just at that instant, Sunburst poked his head out of the water. He took a deep breath and coughed water.

“No need to…” he said almost voiceless.

Smolder, Ocellus, Gallus, the CMC, Punja and other students stayed very still due to the presence of a cragadile.

“Should we stay still or get out?” Ocellus asked very softly.

“I don´t know which one is better, to be honest.” Gallus replied.

“I could scare it away with fire.” Smolder suggested.

She took a deep breath, ready to blow fire. But Apple Bloom raised her hoof.

“Don´t!” she ordered her. “Cagradiles aren´t afraid of fire.”

“What do we do then?” asked Gallus.

As they talked, Punja analyzed the situation.

“Ok.” she spoke after concluding. “As long as we don´t wake it up we won´t be its prey.”

“So you mean that we walk away quietly?” guessed Scootaloo.

Punja nodded.

“Elementary, my dear filly. Make sure you don´t do any noise that could wake it.”

Punja started advancing very slowly to the left. The rest of students followed behind, trying to walk as softly and slowly as Punja. They all managed to get a little away from the cragadile, which made them feel relief and grow confidence in that they were going to be safe. That was until Sweetie Belle stepped on a branch. Every creature widened their eyes and looked back at the cragadile. The creature stretched his legs but didn´t wake up. They all sighed in relief.

“Be careful!” Scootaloo said angrily to Sweetie Belle in a low voice.

“I am careful!” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Girls, stop it!” Apple Bloom intervened angrily. “You´re gonna end up bumping against-”

And for not looking ahead, she ended up bumping against a tree herself. Her crashing was loud enough to wake the cragadile up. It turned around and spotted every creature. It roared angrily at them.

“RUUUUUUN!” Punja yelled.

Everypony ran while Ocellus, Gallus and Smolder flew away from the cragadile, who started chasing them. Unfortunately, there came a point in which they couldn´t run anymore, or fly in Ocellus´ Smolder´s and Gallus´ case. The cragadile cornered them against a wide tree trunk and showed its huge teeth. Ocellus gulped.

“Any last words?” she asked to every student.

Smolder held her shoulders.

“Yes. Of all my friends, you´re the least dull to me.”

“Hey! I can hear you.” Gallus complained.

“Sorry mate, it´s the truth.”

Every creature held each other, closing their eyes to ease the pain they were about to suffer before dying. However, they opened them when they heard the cragadile moan. They gasped when they saw Ember, Thorax and Scorpan defending them.

“Oh! We´re saved, thank goodness.” Sweetie Belle said quickly in relief.

“GET AWAY FROM THEM!” yelled Ember.

She blew some fire at the cragadile, but it didn´t seem to affect it. In fact, it raised an eyebrow confused.

“What? Why isn´t it scared?”

Thorax and Scorpan sighed frustrated.

“Because cragadiles aren´t scared of fire.” Thorax explained. He put his hoof on his forehead. “I told you it wouldn´t work.”

Apple Bloom nudged Smolder.

“See? What did I tell you?” she whispered in here ear.

"Starswirl as well.” Scorpan added. “But you and the dragons didn´t listen.”

The students gasped.

“Starswirl´s here?” Ocellus thought aloud.

“I swear, this is literally the most surreal day of my entire life.” Scootaloo agreed.

“Yup.” Gallus agreed.

Ember blushed in embarrassment.

“Ok, ok. You were right. Can we focus more on defeating that thing instead of talking about my error?”

Thorax rolled his eyes playfully.

“Yeah, sure. Scorpan?”

The gargoyle nodded. He flew towards the cragadile and kicked it on the stomach, making it fall on his back. Scorpan and Ember put their foots on its belly to prevent it from getting up.

“Thorax now!” Scopran called him.

The changeling looked at the bottle that Meadowbrook gave him.

“I hope this works.” he muttered.

He flew to the cragadile and put the bottle on the cragadile´s mouth.

“Don´t worry, this will put you to sleep again.” he sweetly told the cragadile.

Although at first it resisted, the cragadile gave up and fell asleep with a smile. The three creatures panted tired.

“After all of this, I need a huge bowl of gems.” Ember said tired.

“Papa!” Punja exclaimed in tears.

Scorpan turned around. His eyes filled with tears when he heard her voice saw his little zebra safe and sound.

“My child…” he muttered.

Punja jumped into Scorpan´s arms and hugged very tightly.

“I thought I´d never see you again.” Scorpan told her.

“Really? Every time I thought about you I got teary! I thought you were the one who wouldn´t make it.”

Scorpan smiled sweetly.

“The important thing is that we´re together.”

“Yeah..” Punja mumbled while feeling the warmth of her father´s mane, which she missed so much.

Meanwhile, Ember and Thorax approached to the rest of the students.

“Thorax! I thought you were corrupted.” Ocellus told Thorax.

The changeling scratched the back of his neck.

“It´s kind of a long story…”

“What about the Dragonlands? Are they alright?” Smolder asked Ember.

Ember tilted her head.

“Not really, but don´t worry.” she put a claw on her shoulder. “Every dragon is safe.”

At that moment, Spike, the crystal ponies, the rest of the changelings and dragons, the pillars and Stygian arrived. Smolder gasped when she saw Garble.

“Speaking of which…” Ember continued.

“Gar Gar!”

“Smolder!” Garble exclaimed as he flew towards Smolder.

They hugged tightly.

“Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” Garble asked his sister.

“Not for an instant. We´re very tough, you know.” answered Smolder.

“Is every creature ok?” Spike asked.

The students and the CMC nodded.

“Huh! Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo! Didn´t expect you to see you here.”

“Neither did we.” Sweetie Belle said in response.

“We literally thought you were dead!” Scootaloo told him.

“Yeah? Well I don´t feel very alive either.” Spike mumbled.

“Spike! Good to see you.” Smolder approached Spike. However, her expression of joy changed to one of surprise when she saw that his color was off. “Are you ok?”

“Tirek took all of his magic, young one.” Mistmane explained to Smolder as some crystal ponies helped her to walk. Her comrades arrived with help as well.

“Just as he took ours.” Flash Magnus continued the explanation.

“But now, Grogar has it, since he retrieved his bell.” Stygian added.

“Yeah, we heard what happened.” Gallus lamented. “So sorry Spike.” he told the dragon.

Spike shrugged sadly.

“Fortunately, with the help of the changelings, dragons and crystal ponies, we managed to escape Tartarus.” Somnambula said.

“And have chance to rest.” Starswirl stretched his legs. “Uh, I´m getting too old for this.” he muttered under his breath.

“But then we heard some changelings talk about out and figured out that you needed help!” Rockhoof exclaimed. “However, we quickly knew how to defeat that creature thanks to Meadowbrook.”

“I always carry potions on my skirt in case something happens.” Meadowbrook explained.

“Talking about changelings, Starlight and Trixie need your help!” Apple Bloom remembered.

“They´re underground fighting Pharynx and some more changelings!” Ocellus she told Thorax.

“Pharynx? Oh dear, don´t worry we´re coming just tell us where they are and we´ll go.”

Ocellus guided Thorax and the other changelings to where they came from.

“They´re going on their own, right?” Ember asked to every creature.

“Considering that this is a more personal issue, I think so.” Spike replied.

“Good, because the least thing I need right now is fighting.”

Spike, Smolder and Garble shook their heads while smiling.

Trixie and Zecora kicked the last changelings that weren´t unconscious.

“From what I see, I think that every changeling is asleep.” Zecora told Trixie.

“How is it going Starlight?” Trixie asked her friend.

Starlight kept on fighting Pharynx. Unlike the other two, she was having more trouble. The changeling was too strong for her, since he was in the form of a creature much bigger than her. He tried to zap her, but Starlight dodged his attack with ease.

“I´ll take it as a no.” Trixie muttered.

Starlight jumped to her friends and created a force camp.

“I tried fighting him as long as I could, but it doesn´t work!” she told them.

“Then let´s leave!” suggested Trixie. “Every changeling, except Pharynx of course, is unconscious. Surely you can make us reappear up there and run away!

“Even if I did, he´d still chase us, Trixie.” Starlight sighed. “I don´t know what else to do.”

Zecora put her hoof under her chin while thinking.

“Hmm… Maybe fighting is not what you need to do. I have a feeling that about his past, he doesn´t have a clue.”

Trixie was skeptical about the idea. Starlight, however, was considering it.

“Sorry Zecora, but I don´t think that will work. I still think that leaving would be for the best.”

“I told you already, Trixie, it won´t work. But Zecora´s idea doesn´t seem that bad…”

“What? You´re seriously going to try talk to him?”

“Do you have a better option?”

Trixie was about to open her mouth.

“Apart from escaping, like you said twice.”

Trixie closed her mouth.

“If you want to escape so badly, you can go up that root.” Starlight pointed the root. Then, she turned to Zecora. “In fact, you should go with her, Zecora.”

“No!” the two exclaimed in chorus.

“I won´t leave because you could be harmed, and if something happened to you I´d be very alarmed.”

“Yeah!” Trixie agreed. “I want to leave, but not without you!”

Starlight sighed.

“I suppose that being accompanied would come in handy in case something happens…” she thought aloud. She looked at how Pharynx tried to destroy her force camp. “Ok. I´m talking to him.”

She undid the force camp. Pharynx put his paw on her. Trixie ignited her horn, ready to attack but Zecora put her hoof in front of her, telling her to wait.

“Pharynx! Pharynx!” Starlight yelled. “Listen to me.”

Pharynx still roared at her.

“PHARYNX!” she yelled aloud.

Pharynx stopped roaring. He returned to his original form. He put his hooves on Starlight´s forelegs.

“Why are you yelling my name? A better question, how do you know my name?”

“Because I need you to listen to me. And secondly, I know who you are. We´ve met before. And believe me you were as hostile as you´re being now.”

The changeling went from aggressive to confused.

“Why should I believe you? You´re my enemy!”

“Not anymore. Every single changeling reformed and became our friends, you included.” Starlight pointed at Pharynx.

The changeling raised an eyebrow confused.

“It´s like he didn´t remember anything!” Trixie whispered in Zecora´s ear.

“It appears that the bell erasures the victim´s memories. Maybe what we need is him to remember that we´re not enemies!” Zecora suggested.

“But how? Starlight´s trying and he can´t remember! If it´s not me, I don´t know who can make him remember.”

“Starlight! Trixie!” a familiar voice exclaimed in the distance.

Trixie, Zecora and Starlight turned their heads to the voice. It was Thorax and the other changelings!

“Ha ha! Thorax, just the one I needed!” Starlight said.

Thorax gasped when he saw Pharynx.

“Pharynx!” he exclaimed heartbroken.

Pharynx jumped from Starlight and prepared to attack Thorax.

“Get away, you weird bug thing!” he yelled at him.

However, Thorax didn´t listen. The first thing he did was hugging him. Rather than attacking or pushing him out. Pharynx stayed still, probably from the shock.

“I know you´re still there, brother.” he muttered. “Please come back.”

“Bro- Brother?” Pharynx thought aloud.

His eyes widened as he gave out a gasp. A light came out from his chest. It started surrounding him until nopony, nor changeling, could see him. When the light came out, Pharynx wasn´t a corrupted changeling anymore. He returned to his glorious and colourful form. Slowly, he laid down on the floor. The two unicorns, Zecora and the changelings surrounded him, waiting for him to wake up. Slowly, Pharynx opened his eyes.

“Wha- What happened?” he sat on his legs as he massaged his temples. He looked around. “And where am I?”

“Guys.” spoke Starlight. “I think we´ve just made a great discovery.”

Author's Notes:

Hi guys! First of all, happy new year !. I hope it goes better for you than the last one . Speaking o which, tomorrow 3rd of january, (although already 3rd where I live ) is an important day for me. You know why? Because it´s the day my first story got accepted here, on FimFiction! My, how time flies.

2020 was a really rough year, but it also means a lot to me because that was the year I encouraged myself to share my stories with other bronies and pegasisters. Besides, sharing my writing was really therapeutic too. I started uploading Journey to the Past just when I was in quarantine. Among all the insecurity and anxiety around, my imagination flourished more than ever. I hope they had the same effect on you, because if they had, you don´t know how much it would mean to me .

Lastly, I want to give a small message of hope. Things are going to get better. The process will be slow and you might feel hopeless. But believe me, they will. If you ever feel bad or feel that you won´t be able to endure this anymore, think about how resilient you are. You´ve gone through this chaotic year! You´ve survived. And I´m sure that you went through other awful things in the past.

Unfortunately, others haven´t. Either from covid, other illnesses or hatred (my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one this year ). And in their memory, we should take care of ourselves and others. Wash your hands, wear a mask, but also, don´t hate anyone because they´re different from you. Right now, we need to be together more than ever ( from a safe distance, of course ).

Sorry for talking too much in this author´s note . I just needed to get this off my chest. Anyway, have a great year and take care of yourself and others .

Chapter 21: Unlikely alliances

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“What´s taking him so long? Did he find her?” a male guard wondered.

“If he´s taking so long, it´s because he didn´t find her.” his female workmate replied.

“If I´m honest, the less he´s around us, the better.” another guard said.

“Definitely.” the male guard agreed. “That guy is incredibly creepy and a psychopath. Not to mention that he´s incredibly powerful, which makes him scarier.”

“Yeah… I hope he hasn´t harmed anypony…” the female guard thought aloud.

“Don´t worry. Unicorns are strong. We can defend ourselves!” the third guard said with a nervous smile.

“Not only unicorns… Earth ponies and pegasi as well.”

The other two guards gasped.

“What?” she asked his friends.

“You still care about them?”

“Well… They are also ponies after all... Aren´t they? Besides, between Twilight Sparkle´s friends there were the three types. And she also befriended many species… Her assistant was a dragon!”

The guards sighed in relief.

“I thought I was the only one who didn´t hate earth ponies and pegasi. Such a relief.”

“Yeah. It´s scary how we separated.” The guard looked up to the sky. “As if we didn´t our lesson after what happened thousands of years ago…”

“How much do you bet he´s behind all of this?” the female guard guessed. “Somehow, he managed to turn us against each other because he knew that would be the perfect moment to come back. If it´s not that, I cannot explain how this happened!” she pointed at the windigoes.

“Yeah. And what´s worse, nopony has come up with that possibility! They´re so focused on blaming each other that they don´t realize who´s really originating this!” the male guard exclaimed.

“We need to tell the others.” the other guard said.

The other two nodded.

“And as soon as possible! Who knows what that stupid goat would do to us if he found out.” the female guard said.

What none of them realized is that while they were talking, Grogar appeared in the distance with his monsters. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the three of them talking in circle, as if they were planning something. He quietly approached the guards. Thankfully, he didn´t hear their plan but he did hear the word `goat´.

“What did you call me?!” he asked upset.

The three guards widened their eyes. They turned around.

“What? No, no. We weren´t talking about you. We were talking about one of Iron Will´s goats.” the female guard said with a nervous smile.

“Yeah. It´s just they ripped me off a while ago.” The male guard added.

“Of course, of course.” The other guard nodded his head energetically.

Grogar narrowed his eyes with suspicion.

“You´re not planning behind my back, are you?”

The three guards took a few steps back intimidated.

“No, of course not.”

“Because you know what happens if someone betrays me.”

The guards looked up at Grogar´s monsters. They licked their lips with a wicked smile. They hugged each other scared and closed their eyes as one of the monsters approached their heads to them, ready to devour them. Grogar was about to let them feast, but for the guards´ luck, he was interrupted by a soldier.

“My emperor! My emperor!” she ran.

Grogar scowled at her. The guard gulped.

“There are three creatures who want to talk to you.”

“Right now?”

“Yes, my emperor.”

Grogar sighed frustrated.

“Tell them I´m on my way.”

He turned to the mosnters. With a hoof gest, he told them to leave them alone.

“You´re lucky. But I´m not done with you yet. This is your last warning. Remember that.” he told the guards before leaving.

The three guards looked at each other, not so sure on how to carry out their plan.

“They´d better be worth my time. Otherwise, I´ll blast them!” Grogar thought aloud as he walked the corridor to get to the throne room.

His eyes perked up when he heard three voices. He stopped walking to listen to the conversation more in detail

“What´s taking him so long?! I´m so bored of waiting!” a high-pitched voice said.

“And I´m tired of you saying that you´re bored.” a raspy voice clapped back.

“QUIET!” a lower voice exclaimed angrily. “Being with you two makes the waiting less bearable.”

Grogar sighed frustrated.

“Come on, Grogar. You can do this. You´ve dealt with a lot throughout your whole life, you can deal with another group of idiots.”

He huffed and continued walking.

“Where is he anyway?!” the low voice asked Daybreaker.

“To be honest, I don´t know. I only paid attention whenever he ordered me something, the rest was blabber to me. But he´s busy doing emperor things. And he doesn´t have time for three whiny weird fish creatures.”

“WHAT DID YOU CALL US?!” the raspy voice asked aggressively.

“Relax, relax.” the high-pitched voice told her. “Just brea-”

Grogar knew that high-pitched voice didn´t finish her phrase because the raspy voice´s owner hit her and broke into a fight with Daybreaker, something he could tell by Daybreaker´s yells. He stopped in front of the door and rolled his eyes.

“I swear, whenever he opens that door, I´m gonna throw that goat out of the window!” the low-pitched voice cursed.

And right at that moment, Grogar opened the door. The visitors were three sirens. The purple one was fighting Daybreaker, while the blue and the yellow ones watched. The blue one realized Grogar´s presence. She gasped and started touching her yellow sister´s fin.

“Um… Adagio…”

“What?!” she asked aggressively.

Adagio´s eyes widened when she saw Grogar. She quickly flew towards Aria to separate her from Daybreaker.

“Aria! Quit it out!”

“Why should I?”

Adagio pointed at Grogar.

“Oh.” mumbled Aria.

The three sirens put themselves in line.

“Ah ha ha… Mr Grogar! How nice to see you.” Sonata said while putting her fins behind her back.

“Well, you must be the three idiots that were sent to another dimension by Starswirl and his comrades.” Grogar said dryly.

Daybreaker held her laughter. Adagio and Aria felt a huge urge to attack the ram but knew they couldn´t.

“You´re quite correct!” Sonata exclaimed. “But to be fair, we managed to escape, so we are not that stupid.” she added confidently.

“Oh really? Would you have been able to escape if I hadn´t come back?” he raised an eyebrow with a cocky smile.

The sirens didn´t reply. As much as they hated to admit it, he was right. If they hadn´t heard his bell ring, they´d probably wouldn´t discovered the portal.

“That´s what I thought. Now get out of my way. I don´t want to waste my time in this.” with his magic, Grogar made way for himself by separating Adagio and Aria.

The two sirens clenched their teeth. They flew in front of Grogar, Sonata following behind.

“Wait. You still haven´t heard the reason why we´ve come here.” Sonata replicated.

“You want your rubies fixed, don´t you? Well, I´m an emperor not a jeweller.” Grogar tried to keep on walking but they kept on blocking his way.

“Oh, give us a break, old go-”

Seeing how Grogar was glaring at Aria, Adagio covered her sister´s mouth.

“I think that you have a bad impression of us, my emperor.” Adagio said. “In that stupid dimension, we were so close on having every single… creature under control with our voices. Until that stupid Twilight princess and her friends stopped us! But from what I´ve heard, she´s no more thanks to your work.”

“Do you seriously think that you´ll convince me with flattery?” Grogar raised an eyebrow.

Adagio was starting to lose her patience. Still, she managed to keep herself together.

“Ok, ok. But what I mean is, without Twilight Sparkle, there is no harmony in Equestria. And disharmony is what´s keeping you in the throne. And luckily, we are experts on spreading disharmony. Imagine that for some reasons, the ponies don´t hate each other anymore. Maybe we could fix that.”

Grogar stayed quiet to analyse the situation. Surely the sirens weren´t at his level, but what Adagio said was true. Disharmony is what´s keeping him in the throne right now. Besides, he liked her way of thinking. He wasn´t sure about the other two, although he knew that he would have to take them, otherwise Adagio wouldn´t listen to him.

“Very well. But I won´t fix your rubies.”

“What?!” the three sirens asked angrily in chorus.

“Please mr Grogar, think again!” Sonata threw herself at his hooves. “It´s been terrible surviving without absorbing magic! Not to mention incredibly boring. But anyway, do you know what is like living by doing a playback of a vocally processed song on loop?!”

Grogar and Daybreaker blinked confused.

“What?” Daybreaker asked.

“It´s a long story.” Aria simply answered.

“But coming back to the subject, you cannot do that to us!” Adagio said to Grogar. “You´re throwing a lifetime opportunity by rejecting us!”

“Sorry honey. But the sassy ally place is already taken.” Daybreaker said while looking at her hoof.

“ENOUGH!” Grogar exclaimed.

With his magic, he gagged them.

“Your rubies will be fixed. However, I will not be the one to carry on the task. I want to save as much energy as possible.”

“But if you´re not going to fix our gems, who will?” Adagio asked

“My assistant, of course.”

Daybreaker widened her eyes.

“Excuse me?!”

“What you heard.”

“But why? Aren´t you the most powerful sorcerer that has ever lived?”.

“I am! However, I just got out from a fight, and I get tired more often and more quickly than I used to.”

“Must be the years.”

And at that moment, Grogar blasted Daybreaker with his magic, throwing her to the wall.

“But that doesn´t mean I´m less powerful!” he stomped a hoof. “Do as you´re told and leave me alone!” his eyes shone in anger.

“But how am I supposed to do that? I don’t know the spell.” she replicated while getting back on four legs.

Grogar rolled his eyes. He took a scroll and wrote on it with a fountain pen. Once he was done, he handled it against her chest.

“Here you have the instructions.”

Daybreaker took a quick glance at the scroll. She made faces as she struggled to understand what Grogar wrote.

“No offense, but your calligraphy is awful.”

“GO AWAY!”

“Ok, ok… Geeze…” Daybreaker mumbled under her breath while leaving, the sirens following behind.

“At least we don´t have to process our vocals.” Sonata said to brighten up her sisters´ moods.

“Shut up Sonata. Just shut up.” Aria told her.

Twilight and Luna panted as they walked throughout the Everfree forest. In exhaustion, Twilight fell on her hooves. Luna gasped.

“Are you alright?”

Twilight levitated her head.

“Yeah. But I think I need a break.”

“Of course.” Luna knelt by her side and covered her back with her wing.

“I´m sorry for delaying but even though I haven´t got any magic left, I´d like to have some energy to come up with a way to defeat Grogar.”

“None taken. A ruler needs to take care of themselves too.”

Twilight gave her a weak smile.

“Thank you for being so understanding.”

“It´s the least thing I can do. You´ve done so much for Equestria, and despite your state, you´re still willing to help it. And for that we´re grateful.”

“Well, if not me, who else? I´m not sure if my friends are alive.” she looked to the sky.

“I´m sorry.”

“It´s ok. At least I know that I can reunite with them.” Twilight looked at the sky with a smile. Then, she turned her head to Luna. “Luna, how is that you and Celestia are immortal but I´m not?”

“Well, we´re not immortal per say. There have been many times that Celestia and I have been at the brink of death. But we don´t die from old age.”

“Oh.” Twilight said somewhat disappointed.

“What?”

“Does that mean that I´ll have a life as long as yours?” she asked somewhat fearful.

Luna shook her head.

“No, I don´t think so.”

Twilight was surprised at the answer.

“How are you so sure about that?”

“Because it depends on our elements.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“You see, in one of the last fights with my mother, Grogar cast a spell on the sun and the moon, forcing the unicorns to raise them every single day and night for eternity. That was until me and my sister raised the sun and the moon, which turned out to be our elements. Each of our elements is unique, no other pony has the same. Which means, that nopony else can raise the sun and the moon like we do. I guess that´s why we have a long lifespan. Because without us, life wouldn´t exist.”

Twilight looked down.

“Your case, however, it´s different, because your element is something that can be taught. Something that other generations can protect. Just like love.”

“So what you´re saying is that Cadence and I won´t live forever because everypony is capable of loving and having friends.”

Luna nodded her head. Twilight gave a short chuckle.

“Well that´s a relief. But I also feel bad for you. It must have been rough living throughout a lot of years…”

Luna inspired and expired.

“At first it´s tough, but as time passes you get used to it. Besides, Celestia and I didn´t have friends. We were so busy ruling our kingdom that we didn´t have time to socialize. But now that we´ve created a mechanism for you to raise the moon and the sun, maybe we won´t have to live forever anymore and have more time to make friends.”

“Is that the reason why you two want to retire?”

Luna clicked her tongue.

“Yeah… Sorry if it sounds selfish.”

“Of course not! You´ve already done a lot for Equestria. And you´re leaving it in good hooves. Or at least you were…” she said while looking at the horizon.

“Don´t worry, somehow the rightful ruler will sit on the throne, I promise.” Luna put her hoof on Twilight´s.

Twilight smiled at her. With bashful smile, she looked away.

“Um Luna… When all of this is over and I´m ruling Equestria, will you come to visit?”

“Of course.”

Twilight yawned and laid her head on Luna´s shoulder, surprising her.

“I´m so lucky to have known two amazing ponies.”

Luna smiled sweetly.

“Me too.”

Just about when she was about to fall asleep, Luna realized they weren´t alone. She heard some branches creaking from behind her. She turned around and saw Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow right in front of her. They were as surprised as her. She started shaking Twilight.

“Twilight! Twilight! Wake up!” she exclaimed softly.

The alicorn slowly opened her eyes.

“What? What is it Luna?”

She gasped when she saw the villains. She laughed nervously.

“Hi?”

“She´s alive?! How is that possible?!” Cozy Glow asked her comrades.

“He literally threw her away a thousand miles! And she survived!” Tirek thought aloud.

Chrysalis sighed.

“Neither Grogar can get rid of her!” Chrysalis complained. “Which means that we´ll never get rid of her.”

Quickly, Luna got in four legs and ignited her horn at the villains.

“Don´t you dare lay a hoof on her!”

Cozy Glow scoffed.

“We´re not doing that. What´s the point? She´s not a threat to us anymore.”

“But I´ll say, it´s very satisfying to see her like that.” Chrysalis approached Twilight. “The great Princess Twilight Sparkle, helpless and powerless at our hooves.”

“Says the one who had their power taken by the very same ram.” Luna clapped back.

“Yes, but at least we managed to get our magic back. And she,” Chrysalis pointed at Twilight. “cannot do that.”

Luna scowled.

“And thanks to you, we might get some more.” Tirek licked his lips as he approached Luna.

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Chrysalis agreed.

Luna zapped the two villains, making them fall behind.

“Hey! There´s a filly in here!” Cozy Glow called out Luna while pointing at Tirek´s neck. “Keep doing that and she´ll end up crushed because of you!”

“Don´t worry.” Chrysalis took her from Tirek´s neck, which enabled him to fight Luna. She sat her on the ground. “You stay here while the adults are fighting.”

“Normally I´d be upset if you told me that but considering that I´m not an alicorn anymore and my wings are broken, I think it´s the best option for me. But I´ll cheer you up, don´t worry!” the filly said excited.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes before joining Tirek. They tried to zap each other, but the three dodged every attack successfully.

Twilight watched horrified how they fought. She was worried about Luna getting hurt. She had to stop the fight, but how? She didn´t have magic to support Luna. But luckily, Gusty´s words came into her memory.

“Listen and stick with what I´m about to say: Every creature has a magic inside. It´s just as powerful as yours. And all of you are as powerful as me.”

And then she remembered Fluttershy´s idea before they confronted them.

“We have an enemy in common. And that enemy is Grogar. We could do an allyship with them.”

Twilight realized that Gusty´s words could be applied to the villains´ situation, if the magic she was talking about was friendship. Could there possibly be friendship inside the villains?

In order to answer that question, Twilight analysed every single detail around her. She saw how Cozy Glow was cheering up the villains.

“Zap her to the heart! ZAP HER TO THE HEART! I know you can do it!” she screamed excited.

She also noticed how Tirek helped Chrysalis up when she fell back due to Luna´s attack. Then, she protected Tirek.

“Oof! That was a close one!” Tirek exclaimed.

“You´re welcome.” Chrysalis said proudly.

While it was crystal clear that they didn´t have any intention of redeeming themselves and hated her to death, they really cared about each other, always having each other´s back. Without knowing it, they became friends. According to Gusty, their friendship could be as strong as hers with the girls. Which would come in handy on defeating Grogar. Convincing them to join by their side was going to be a difficult task, but it definitely was worth the try.

And so, she tried to carry on with the plan.

“Luna stop it!” she exclaimed to get her attention.

However, the alicorn was too focused on protecting herself from Tirek´s and Chrysalis´ blast.

“Luna!” Twilight exclaimed again.

Still, no answer.

“STOP THE FIGHT!” Twilight yelled with all her volume and strength.

This time, she was heard. The villains and Luna looked at her confused. She tried to get up but fell a little. Luna rushed to her and helped her to stand.

“Thank you.” Twilight told Luna. Then, she turned her head to the villains. “Answer me one question. What were you doing here? Be honest.”

“Well, coming up with a plan to defeat Grogar and take the throne for ourselves, of course!” Chrysalis replied in an arrogant manner.

Tirek, however, didn´t really agree with Chrysalis. He sighed frustrated.

“Leave it, Chrysalis. Who are we kidding? We are wandering around with no idea with what to do next! We want to fight back but we can´t and running away for the rest of our lives isn´t an option either.”

“What a dilemma.” Cozy Glow crossed her arms.

“Well, I might have the answer to your dilemma.” Twilight bit her lip.

The villains and Luna widened their eyes when they figured out what was going in Twilight´s mind.

“Wait.” Cozy Glow raised an eyebrow.

“You don´t mean...” Tirek continued.

“Joining you?!” Chrysalis asked in shock.

Twilight smiled nervously.

“No! Absolutely not! That is not happening. Never. You hear me? Never!” Chrysalis refused.

“I did it once, but never again! Mmh mmh.” Tirek shook his head.

Unlike the other two, Cozy was intrigued by the idea.

“Twilight, are you hearing yourself?” Luna asked her unsure.

“I know it sounds crazy. But think about it! We have something in common, and that thing, is the desire of kicking Grogar out of the throne. And the only way we might achieve it is by working together.”

Chrysalis and Tirek stayed quiet for some time. They looked at each other, tempted by the idea of defeating Grogar. But their pride got the better of them. What kind of a villain would join the heroes to save the day? Their worst nightmare.

The two villains nodded at the same time and then, Tirek spoke.

“As much as we´d love to defeat that goat, or answer is…”

“Yes!” Cozy Glow exclaimed.

Chrysalis and Tirek widened their eyes in surprise.

“What?!” the two asked in chorus.

“Really?” Twilight asked hopeful.

“No! Our answer is no.” Chrysalis denied. “I don´t know why she said yes!” she lowered her head at Cozy´s level so that she could see her anger.

The filly put her hoof on her mouth and shushed her. Then, she took hers and Tirek´s hooves.

“Can I talk to my comrades?” she asked with an exaggerated and fake smile.

“I should probably talk to you as well.” Luna put her hoof on Twilight´s.

“Yeah sure.” she replied to both ponies.

“Why thank you so much.” Cozy smiled was so forced that she felt her cheeks hurting.

Then, she dragged Tirek and Chrysalis away. Once they were far enough from the two alicorns, they started arguing.

“What was that?!” Tirek asked upset.

“You´re not seriously thinking on redeeming, are you?” Chrysalis accused her.

Cozy rolled her eyes.

“Of course not! I´m just doing this because I want to defeat Grogar. Don´t you see? It´s our chance to get to the throne!”

“Yeah, because Twilight is going to award us with Equestria after helping her.” Chrysalis said sarcastically.

“Well no, but at least we would have our conquest ensured if we manage to fool them.”

“You´re saying that we pretend to be reformed?” Tirek asked.

Cozy nodded.

“As we plan how to defeat Grogar, we should start showing signs of redemption. For example, we could say that friendship is truly powerful, or other things like that.”

Tirek and Chrysalis seemed both keen on and uncomfortable with the idea, specially Chrysalis.

“I know. I don´t like the idea of being sappy, but it´s our only hope.”

The changeling and the centaur looked at each other. Then, they sighed.

“If I end up becoming colourful, I´ll kill you.” Chrysalis told Cozy as she put her hoof on hers.

“I can´t believe I´m doing this.” Tirek mumbled.

“Great!” Cozy exclaimed before coming back to Twilight and Luna, the villains following behind.

Meanwhile, the two alicorns spoke.

“I hope you´re doing the right thing, Twilight.” Luna rubbed her foreleg with her good wing.

The alicorn nodded.

“The spirit of harmony told me that each of us a magic inside, equally as powerful as hers. And I´m pretty sure she talked about friendship.”

“Where do you see the friendship in them?”

“Look at them. Don´t they remind you of a little family?”

Luna took a quick glance at the villains. Despite the fact they seemed to be arguing, she could easily see that they care about each other, which gave her confidence in Twilight´s idea.

“You´re right. I still don´t trust them, but I think that your idea might work. If that´s what the spirit said.”

“Then, it´s done.”

Finally, the villains and the princesses reunited.

“So, truce?” Twilight offered her hoof.

“Temporal truce.” said Chrysalis as she gave her hoof to Twilight.

Cozy stepped on her hoof and Tirek nudged her with all her strength.

“Ouch! I mean… Truce.”

She gave Twilight a forced smile as they shook hooves.

“What do we do now?” Cozy asked.

Suddenly, an ophiotaurus appeared in front of them. Scared, the group walked behind, only to find maulwurf behind their backs.

“You know? Surviving wouldn´t be a bad idea.” Chrysalis suggested.

Chapter 22: Getting used to a new team

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“Do you think Grogar sent them?” Cozy asked them.

Tirek raised an eyebrow at her.

“Hm… Let me see.” Chrysalis spoke as she rubbed her chin. “They´re his creations, their eyes are glowing, and casually, the two of them seem to be coming near us. Nah, they´re just lost. OF COURSE HE SENT THEM FOR US, YOU IDIOT!”

Before they had the chance to defend themselves, the ophiotaurus slapped their backs with its tongue. Luna managed to dodge the attack by jumping to the side, holding Twilight on her forelegs. The three villains fell to the floor.

“Oh no! I´m going to die!” Cozy Glow exclaimed horrified.

“How are you going to die? You´ve been licked by an ophiotaurus, it didn´t bite you. The poison won´t get to your heart.” Tirek reasoned.

“THEN WHY CAN´T I GET UP?!” Cozy yelled frustrated and angry.

Tirek tried to get up, but just like Cozy, he couldn´t move.

“Neither can I.” he said worried.

“That´s because when an ophiotaurus licks you, they paralyze your body.” Twilight explained her.

“Why didn´t anypomy explain that to me?” Cozy asked to herself.

“I did. At Equestrian history.” Twilight replied.

Cozy blinked.

“Golly. I must have forgotten after studying for your useless tests.” she replied passive aggressively.

From this statement, Twilight knew that although they just agreed to work together, they weren´t willing to respect her, which could hinder their teamwork.

“This is going to be more difficult than I thought.” she muttered.

“Who cares if we are paralyzed?” Chrysalis said after scoffing. “We don´t need to be in four legs to attack. We can perfectly fire at them from here.” she smirked confidently.

However, when she tried to ignite her horn, no magic appeared. Shocked, she tried again, but she still got the same result.

“What? What is happening?”

“When an ophiotaurus licks you, you lose your magic abilities.” Twilight informed.

“WHAT?!” Chrysalis yelled angry.

“Come on!” Cozy complained.

“We just got them back!” Tirek complained.

“But don´t worry, it´s temporal.” Twilight smiled nervously.

“But for how much time?!”

“I guess two minutes approximately.”

At that moment, the maulwurf grabbed the three villains with one hand.

“Well that´s a relief. ISN´T IT?!” Chrysalis yelled sarcastically and angrily.

The maulwurf and ophiotaurus started getting away.

“We need to help them! Otherwise, they´ll think twice about the truce.” Twilight told Luna.

The dark alicorn nodded. She teleported herself and Twilight in front of the two monsters to block their way. She blasted at the maulwurf´s hand, making them release the three villains. But for her misfortune, the ophiotaurus also licked her, leaving her paralyzed too.

“Luna!” Twilight exclaimed.

Her voice caught both monsters´ attention. Twilight gasped softly. She weakly crept away from them as they got nearer her. She was horrified. She couldn´t do anything to defend herself. No magic, no strength, no help… She was helpless. And what´s worse, she was going to die for real. Gusty wasn´t there to help her, which meant that there was no point of return.

She gasped as the ophiotaurus and maulwurf approached their snouts and opened their mouths. She closed her eyes while whimpering.

Meanwhile, Luna and the villains observed the situation.

“Twilight!”

“Welp. There goes our only hope of defeating the old goat.” Chrysalis said dryly.

“If we´re going to die, just kill me already, please.” Tirek muttered frustrated.

Unlike the other three, Cozy ignored what was happening. Not because she didn´t care, but because she was focused on other thing and her eyes were closed.

“Fifty-eight… fifty-nine… and sixty!” then, she opened her eyes and yelled at the two monsters. “HEY, YOU IDIOTS! DON´T YOU HAVE A TASK TO COMPLETE?”

Tirek and Chrysalis widened their eyes.

“IT´S US WHO YOU WANT, NOT HER!” she continued.

The monsters growled and went towards them. Twilight took the chance to get to Luna´s side.

“What are you doing?!” the changeling asked furious.

“Do you want to get us eaten?!” Tirek asked equally as angry.

“Don´t you see? It´s our chance to make them trust us!” Cozy exclaimed.

“But for what? We can´t defend ourselves.” Chrysalis said.

“Well… Twilight said that the poison´s durance was two minutes. So, I counted the seconds until I got to two minutes to figure out if the poison´s effect was gone.” Suddenly, Cozy jumped and landed in four legs. “And apparently, she was right.”

Tirek and Chrysalis blinked surprised. They tried igniting their horns, smiling in relief after being able to conjure up magic.

“Woohoo! We can move again!” Tirek exclaimed.

“I´m a little hungry after everything that happened. Care for some feast?” Chrysalis smirked at him.

Tirek chuckled evilly while fidgeting.

“O ho ho… With pleasure.”

Seeing what they were up to, Luna stopped them.

“Wait! Don´t do that!”

They stopped running.

“Come on! We´re not feasting on ponies.” Tirek complained.

“For now.” Chrysalis muttered, loud enough to be heard only by Tirek, making smirk. However, their smiles wiped off their faces when they were hit on their hooves by Cozy.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, not so sure how to react. Meanwhile, Luna offered them her explanation.

“I´m not saying it for that.” Luna replied. “Well, maybe partly, but I´m telling you because bear in mind these two creatures are under Grogar´s spell. What if you absorb that spell when you feed?”

“Actually, that´s a good point.” Cozy Glow agreed.

Tirek and Chrysalis sighed disappointed.

“Very well…” the centaur begrudgingly accepted. “No feast.”

“Guess it will be just an attack, then.” Chrysalis thought aloud.

“You better do it now!” Cozy said scared.

Chrysalis and Tirek turned around, only to see the monsters right in front of their faces. They clenched their teeth scared and immediately attacked them. However, no matter how hard they tried, the monsters were not going away nor seemed to give up.

“It´s not working!” Tirek exclaimed anxiously.

“What do we do?” Chrysalis asked him just as anxious.

In just a matter of seconds, Twilight got an idea.

“Chrysalis, turn into something that scares them!”

“What?” the changeling asked confused.

“I´m sure you can mess with their natural instincts of survival. Think about it! One is a mole, the other one is part snake. What predator scares them the most?”

“Ah!” Chrysalis said when she understood Twilight´s idea. Then, she smirked evilly.

Her form changed into a giant roc. She screeched as loud as she could. Just as Twilight predicted, the monsters got scared and started running away.

“Where do you think you´re going?” she asked sassily.

She started to chase them in flight, and in the brink of an eye, Chrysalis had the two monsters in her hooves. She flew higher, until she got to the clouds. The monsters entered in panic when they noticed they were further from the ground.

“Not so scary now, are we?” Chrysalis told them while raising an eyebrow cockily.

Then, she rotated her wrist and threw the monsters various kilometres away, just as if they were a baseball ball.

“And never come back!” she elevated her head in pride.

They all cheered her as she landed on the ground and returned to her original form.

“I´ll just say, I could have thrown it further.” said Tirek.

“Just like you did with your dignity?”

Tirek blinked. Then, he cleared his throat.

“But I admit that you have a great strength.” He offered her his hand

“Of course I do.” she said cockily while shaking her hoof with Tirek´s hand.

Then, Cozy approached them.

“Nice throw, Chrissy!”

Cozy quickly covered her mouth. Chrysalis gave her a death glare. Luna and Twilight tried to hold their laughter.

“Chrissy?” Luna asked curiously.

“That´s actually a pretty good name.” Twilight added.

Then the two giggled, covering their mouths with their hooves. Tirek put his hand on his forehead while shaking his head. Chrysalis blushed in embarrassment.

“Don´t laugh!” she angrily ordered them.

“Ok. We´re not. We´re not.” Twilight and Luna stopped laughing, but they still had an amused smile on their faces.

Chrysalis sighed.

“I was feeling great until you opened your mouth.” she told Cozy.

The filly smiled apologetically.

“That was really impressive Chrysalis!” Twilight congratulated her.

“Well it was your idea, Twilight. We should be thanking you too.” Cozy said.

“Wait. Don´t take away the focus on me!” Chrysalis complained.

Cozy kicked her foreleg.

“Well, that´s the magic of teamwork.” Twilight replied confidently. “I´m sure you experienced it when you three joined forces. And see? Working with us isn´t that bad either. And who knows? Maybe it´s an experience that will change all of us for the better.”

“Oh, you don´t say.” Cozy Glow said with a fake smile.

“Wonderful!” Chrysalis said sarcastically as she forced a smile.

“If we want to change for the better, why don´t we walk while thinking on a plan to confront Grogar?” Tirek said, also with a fake smile on his face.

“Good idea.” Luna agreed. “Right behind you.” she opened her wing while forcing a smile.

The four creatures shared passive aggressive smiles until they didn´t see each other´s faces.

“This is going to end up killing me.” Chrysalis said once they were far away from Twilight and Luna to hear them.

“Same.” Tirek agreed.

“Whenever you feel like you can´t deal with it, think on the price.” Cozy advised. “Imagine how humiliated Twilight will be when we take the throne.”

The three villains started chuckling evilly but stopped when they remembered they weren´t alone. Luna was glaring at them suspiciously while Twilight raised her eyebrow.

“Oh Tirek! You tell the best jokes. Ha! Ha!” Chrysalis nudged him with all her strength.

Tirek glared at her and Cozy put her hoof on her head.

Luna inclined her head to Twilight´s ear.

“Do you really mean what you just said?”

“No. I´m just messing with them. Just like they´re messing with us.”

Luna shook her head while smiling playfully at Twilight.

“So… do you have a plan?”

“Our main goal is taking Grogar´s bell away, and thus remove the spell from Celestia. How are we going to do it? I have no idea. How did your mother do it?”

Luna huffed.

“With lots of help and strategies to distract Grogar.”

“She didn´t pull the bell out of his collar?”

Luna shook her head.

“Impossible. Once it´s in there, it´s secured forever.”

Twilight remembered when Spike hung on Grogar´s bell as an attempt to avoid her death.

“You´re right. So, what you mean is that he has to take it out willingly?”

Luna nodded.

“Unfortunately, yes. And from what happened in the past, he won´t separate from it. At any moment.”

“Well some creature is paranoid.” Twilight scoffed. “Is he even going to sleep with it?” she

She gasped in realization. Luna raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“I think I might have an idea.” Twilight replied somewhat hopeful. Then, she called the villains. “Guys!”

The three villains stopped walking as they widened their eyes. They grunted.

“What does that stupid alicorn want now?” Tirek asked frustrated.

“If she´s going to talk about the benefits of friendship and reformation, I´m gonna blast her.” Chrysalis stated.

“As much as I´d like it, we still need her alive.” Cozy pointed out. “In order to achieve our goal, some sacrifices must be made.”

Chrysalis and Tirek sighed and turned around to meet with Twilight and Luna.

“You know what, princess Twilight? Chrysalis and Tirek want to tell you something.” Cozy Glow told her excited.

“That´s really amazing but there´s something urgent I need to ask you.” Twilight rejected politely.

“Oh great! Bonding time!” Chrysalis exclaimed in fake excitement. She laughed sarcastically. “How exciting.” she clenched her teeth.

“No, no, it´s not about you. It´s about Grogar.” Twilight clarified.

The three villains blinked.

“Are you seriously planning to reform him?!” Tirek accused them while pointing at them.

“Noo.” Luna replied a bit upset and tired. “Just let her explain.”

“What I´m about to ask may sound strange but… during your stay with Grogar, did you notice if he had trouble sleeping?”

Chrysalis and Tirek looked at each other confused.

“Why would we know that?” Chrysalis asked raising her eyebrow.

“That´s the last thing we would care about him.” Tirek added.

“Well, I think I know.” Cozy replied.

Tirek and Chrysalis stared at her surprised.

“How?” Tirek asked.

“Well, because… Midnight snacks.” she laughed nervously.

“So that´s why the cupcakes ran out so quickly…” Chrysalis glared at Cozy.

“Did you two encounter at some time?” Luna asked.

“Not exactly, but my room was close to his. Anyway, whenever I got up to eat something, I´d look through the small space of his door, and I always found him working on his desk. And the next morning he had eyebags.”

“Sometimes when creatures cannot sleep, they give up trying to fall asleep and do another thing instead.” Luna explained Twilight.

“Um… Why do you ask?”

“Because I might have an idea that could work. But before going to Canterlot, we might need to do a stop somewhere else. Can you take us to Grogar´s cavern?”

“But why?” Chrysalis asked.

“I´ll explain along the way.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

“Right this way.”

“You can teleport us there, you know?”

Chrysalis blinked.

“I was going to do that. I was just telling you where it was.” she lied.

Ignoring Luna´s suspicious look, she ignited her horn and the group disappeared.

Finally, after so much time of stress, the Young Six reunited with their families, and the pillars, Stygian and Scorpan were able to rest while also being tended by crystal ponies and changelings. Zecora was with the CMC and Punja. Meanwhile, Starlight and Trixie told Sunburst and Spike what happened back in the caves.

“Woah, whoah. So what you´re saying is that we don´t need the bell to reverse the corruption spell?” Spike asked surprised.

Starlight shook her head.

“From what I saw, I think that Grogar´s corruption spell somehow banishes the victim´s memories, taking complete control over their minds. Or at least he chooses which memories to mess with, because Pharynx seemed to remember his name.”

“So all we need is to remember them who they really are! Well, at least the one who´s really close to them.” Trixie summed up.

“That´s great news! Nonetheless, we still need to take the bell away from him.” Sunburst stated. “Otherwise, this will never stop.” he looked at the windigoes in the sky.

“One thing doesn´t take out the other.” Starlight agreed.

“Now that you´re saying it, I think it would be a good idea if we talked about this with all the leaders.” Spike turned around to see the huge amount of creatures on the camp. “And from the looks of it, organizing ourselves is going to be very complicated…”

He walked to the fireplace, which was in the centre of the camp. Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst followed behind. Spike started fidgeting his claws. He was deeply nervous.

Sunburst, Starlight and Trixie looked at each other, confused as to why the dragon didn´t start speaking.

“Is everything alright, Spike?” Sunburst asked concerned.

Spike widened his eyes and shook his head while coming back to reality.

“Yeah, yeah! It´s just… I´m doubting if I´ll be able to talk to so many leaders at the same time.”

“Spike. Thanks to you, changelings, dragons, and ponies are at peace. How aren´t you going to able to do this?” Trixie reasoned.

“Yeah, but on one to one sessions! Besides, have you forgotten how I messed things up when I accidentally invited Ember and Thorax at the same time?”

“But that won´t happen again because you already learned your lesson.” Starlight answered. “Also, you need to be getting used to this. This will probably one of your many jobs in the future.”

“If Twilight was alive…” Spike said sadly.

Starlight clenched her teeth at her poor choice of words.

“Still, what I mean is that doubting yourself won´t help you right now.”

Spike sighed.

“You´re right.” he clicked his tongue. “However, will you accompany me? I think I´d feel more confident if I had somepony around me.”

“Of course!” Sunburst accepted with a smile. “We can come up with lots of ideas and strategies that could lend you a hoof.” he nudged Spike while winking an eye, making the young dragon smile. The he turned to Starlight and Trixie. “Right girls?”

“Sure!” Starlight agreed excited.

“You´re talking to the Great and Powerful Trixie. Of course she will have so many tricks under her sleeve.” Trixie said cockily.

Thanks to their encouragement, Spike felt more confident to act.

“Ok. Let´s do this.”

He turned to every creature.

“Excuse me.” Spike tried to make himself heard.

However, the creatures didn´t hear him. They were either talking to each other or sleeping.

“Excuse me!” he raised his voice.

The result was the same. They still weren´t paying attention. Spike sighed frustrated. He put his fingers in his mouth and whistled as loud as he could to get every creature´s attention. However, by doing so, he woke up a dragon who from the fright, she spit fire that almost hit some crystal ponies and hippogriffs. They glared at her.

“Hey!”

“Sorry…” the dragon apologized while sniffing her nose.

Spike got dizzy after wasting energy on whistling. Once he made sure every creature was quiet, Spike began to talk.

“Alright. As much as I´d love to keep on resting here, we also need to remember that time´s running out.” Spike pointed at the windigoes beneath them. “Which means that sooner or later we´ll need to attack.”

Though not happy about having to go back fighting, every creature agreed with Spike by nodding their heads.

“So, if it´s not too disturbing, can I talk to all your leaders?”

Prince Rutherford, Ember, Thorax, Queen Novo and Princess Skylar got up and walked towards Spike.

“But mister Spike.” a young pupil from the School of Friendship raised his hoof. “Celestia and Luna aren´t here.”

“In that case, I´d like Starswirl and Stygian to come here. And Scorpan too, please.” he gave a nervous smile at the gargoyle.

Knowing what they were going to about, Scorpan sighed frustrated.

“Sooner or later, I´ll have to confront him again.” he muttered while the pillars and Stygian rode on his back.

“But what about Cadence? She´s not here!” A crystal pony pointed out.

Spike winked.

“Well… can her advisor be found here? If she has one…” Spike mumbled the last sentence.

“Well… Sometimes I advise Cadence, even though my job is being the royal gardener.” Mistmane said.

“Then it´s settled. We´ll go into a tent to come up with a plan. Take this time to rest, alright?” Spike told every creature.

They nodded and continued their activities. Spike and the rest entered a tent.

Meanwhile, the Student Six and Terramar watched them curiously.

“I´m really curious on what they have to say.” Ocellus told her friends.

“Well, you don´t have to wait to find out.” Smolder smirked mischievously.

“You mean eavesdropping on them?”

Smolder nodded her head.

“I´m in.”

“Guys, they need privacy. The only thing we´ll do is distracting them.” Sandbar said.

“I agree with him.” Terramar said.

“But is not Sandbar interested on leaders´ plan?” Yona asked him.

“Yeah, but we´re not eavesdropping.”

“Did somepony mention eavesdropping?” Apple Bloom asked as she, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Punja joined the conversation.

“Yes! We were planning on hearing what they had to say.” Silverstream cheerfully replied.

Sandbar sighed.

Spike, the leaders, Stygian, the pillars and Scorpan entered the tent.

“Ok. Firstly, how many creatures from your kingdoms are injured?” Spike asked to the leaders.

“Yaks fine! But yaks not numerous.” Rutherford replied, his tone changing from excited to sad. “And some yaks have families.”

“Most dragons are injured, I can tell you that.” Ember tilted her head.

“The hippogriffs´ case is similar to yours.” Queen Novo told Rutherford. “There are lots of hippogriffs, but most of them have children and would like to stay here to protect them.” Skylar added.

“My case is mixed.” Thorax answered. “There are injured changelings, changelings that have families…”

“But I´m sure that together, we´ll be enough for an army!” Skylar said hopeful.

“Alright. Just to make sure how many of us are coming.” Spike explained.

“Could you tell us all we have to do?” Mistmane asked.

“Sure! Well… We have to free every imprisoned pony, evacuate everypony that we can, rescue Celestia and Luna, fight Grogar´s monsters, which I´m pretty sure they´ll be plenty; and take the bell away from him, meaning that we´ll have to fight the Father of Monsters himself. So… any ideas?”

Every creature shared nervous glances.

“It´s important we have a well-structured plan when we fight Grogar.” Starswirl advised. “There´s no room of improvisation when it comes to him.”

“I think the most practical thing would be dividing ourselves in groups to complete the other tasks and then come together to fight Grogar.” Starlight suggested.

“That´s a good idea! Do you agree?” Spike asked every creature.

However, to his surprise, they seemed insecure.

“What?”

“We´re not sure if we can do it.” Skylar responded while scratching her foreleg.

“But why?”

“Because to defeat nasty ram, yaks and friends need magic!” Rutherford replied. “And yaks have no magic.”

“But Ember and the dragons can blow fire! And from what I´ve heard Scorpan is really strong too.” Sunburst said hopeful.

“I don´t think our fire will do much…” Ember lamented as she looked away.

“Neither will fighting physically.” Scorpan hugged himself nervously.

“And to our misfortune, the most powerful ponies here have their magic gone!” Novo pointed at Starswirl and Mistmane.

“Starlight is powerful too, you know.” Trixie surrounded Starlight with her foreleg, making her smile.

“And we three are willing to help too!” Sunburst added.

“But they´re right. We three cannot defeat him.” Starlight agreed sadly.

Listening to every comment, Spike thought of a solution.

“Ok. We won´t confront Grogar for now, seeing that you´re not feeling secure. But sooner or later we´ll have to fight him. But don´t worry, we´ll be more. Ponies might be divided but I´m sure that some of them are still guided by friendship and we´ll be happy to help us. They might not be as powerful as Twilight, the princesses or the pillars, but every help is important, no matter how small. Just like yours.”

“Dragon calling yak´s help small?!” Rutherford asked angrily.

The other leaders were frowning or raising their eyebrows. Spike put his arms in the air and started to sweat.

“No no! What I meant is that your help is as valuable!”

Rutherford began to laugh along the other leaders.

“We know what you meant, Spike.” Novo said warmly.

“We´re just messing with you.” Ember told him.

“But thank for you those words. Much needed.” Thorax smiled.

Spike hugged all of them. They all returned the hug warmly.

“I have the feeling some little dragon is going to be a great ambassador.” Starlight mumbled confidently.

Trixie sniffed.

“Are you crying?” Sunburst asked her playfully.

“No.” Trixie dried her nose. “I just got something in my eye.”

“Right. But do you have to blow your nose on my tail?” Starlight raised an eyebrow.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“So, do you have any ideas?” Spike as he undid the hug.

“Plenty!” Skylar exclaimed.

“Whoah, there. Don´t suggest too many. Remember that we´ll have to repeat this to every creature.” Novo told her.

Suddenly, the tent broke, raising some dust. Once Scorpan removed the tent´s cloth, he and the rest discovered the reason why it broke. The student six, the CMC, Punja and Terramar were reclining on the tent, probably because they were eavesdropping. He frowned at all of them, specially Punja, who laughed apologetically.

“It was her idea.” Gallus pointed at Smolder.

“You snitch.” she told him.

“Sorry. We didn´t mean for this to happen.” Ocellus apologized.

Seeing all of them, Spike got an idea.

“You are forgiven as long as you help us by coming up with some ideas for our plan.”

They smiled from ear to ear.

Chapter 23: Laughter and generosity

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Pinkie Pie didn´t recognize the figures looking at her, since her vision was blurry. Once her vision cleared, she recognized Cheese Sandwich, who was smiling from ear to ear. Though she was too tired to smile, his presence pleased Pinkie.

“Cheese…” she muttered weakly.

“Pinkie!” he replied happily.

The yellow earth pony hugged her with all his strength. Seeing that he was at the brink of choking her, Meghan and Moondancer intervened.

“Careful, careful!” Moondancer told him as she separated him from Pinkie with her magic.

“We don´t want to overwhelm her.” Meghan added as she held Pinkie on her lap.

“Meghan… It´s good to see you.” Pinkie told her.

“The same goes for you.” she replied.

The three ponies felt heartbroken. Pinkie wasn´t the colourful, positive, cheerful, and energetic mare they knew. Her colour was darker, her mane was straight, and instead of transmitting an aura of laughter, she transmitted an aura of sadness and hopelessness. They couldn´t imagine the pain that Twilight´s death brought her.

Their thoughts were interrupted when they noticed Pinkie staring estranged at Moondancer.

“Oh, right.” the unicorn laughed nervously. “I guess this is the first time we meet. My name´s Moondancer. I am one of Twilight´s old friends.”

Pinkie´s heart wrenched when she heard her deceased friend´s name.

“You were…” she muttered sadly.

Pinkie closed her eyes and lowered her head. Moondancer bit her lip and looked at Meghan and Cheese Sandwich, desperately asking them with her gaze what to do next.

“Why don´t we take you with the rest?” Meghan suggested. “I´m sure they´ll be happy to see you.”

“Ok…” Pinkie agreed with no emotion.

“Can I carry her?” Cheese offered himself.

“Of course.” Meghan accepted.

“Right now, I think you´re her closest friend.” Moondancer. “I´m sure she´ll be more comfortable with you.”

“Thank you.” Cheese muttered.

He walked towards Pinkie.

“Alright! We´re going to meet with the group right now. But don´t worry, you won´t have to walk. I´m going to carry you on my back, ok?”

Pinkie nodded. With her magic, Moondancer put her gently on Cheese´s back.

“Are you comfortable?” Cheese asked her.

“Does it matter?” Pinkie asked sadly.

“Well, after all you´ve been through, I think you deserve a break. And one important thing for a good rest is comfortability!”

“Hm… I guess so…”

Cheese smiled sadly at her. Moondancer and Meghan sighed.

“Let´s go.” Moondancer commanded.

As they walked throughout the cave, Meghan and Moondancer couldn´t stop looking back to check on Pinkie.

“I´m so worried about her.” Moondancer told Meghan in whispers. “I hope she recovers from this. Losing your friends is a really traumatic experience.”

“Yeah… She and I shared a friend that has also lost her life.”

“You´re talking about Applejack, right?”

Meghan nodded.

“I understand. Pinkie and I shared Twilight. Poor she. She´s lost five friends at once. How are we going to cheer her up?”

“Cheese might know how…”

They glanced back and saw how Cheese looked after her.

“You must be starving. Here! I made you some cheese sandwiches.” he said while taking out a trail of sandwiches. “Get it? Because of my name.” he laughed nervously.

“I don´t think that food will solve my problems…” Pinkie replied. “Besides, I´m not that hungry.”

“Oh.” Cheese looked down.

“But I might take a slice.”

“Sure sure! Eat what you want.”

“Thank you.” Pinkie Pie said sadly while taking a slice of his sandwiches.

Cheese gave her a sad smile in return.

After some time walking, they got to their destination. There were lots of unicorns. Some of them were with blankets, others nursing the injured. Between them, there were Moondancer´s friends, Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts.

“They´re back!” Minuette exclaimed after gasping.

She, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts ran to Moondancer and hugged her.

“So, did you do it?” Twinkleshine asked anxious.

Moondancer nodded her head.

“Is she… alive?”

“Yes.” Meghan answered as she and Moondancer made way for Cheese and Pinkie.

The three unicorns sighed relieved.

“Guys! Pinkie Pie is here!” Lemon Hearts yelled at the group. “She´s alive!”

“Pinkie!” Saffron Massala and Party Flavour exclaimed at the same time while running to them, Double Diamond and Night Glider following behind.

Pinkie´s ears weakly perked up when she heard their voices.

“Hey…” she told them.

They helped her to get off Cheese´s back.

“You ok? Do you have any injures?” Night Glider asked as she checked her.

“You must be freezing. Here! Take my scarf.” Double Diamond said before putting his scarf on her neck.

“And my blanket too!” Party Flavour wrapped her up with his blanket.

“Do you need anything? Are you hungry? Father and I just made some soup.” Saffron Massala offered.

“She told me earlier that she´s not so hungry.” Cheese told her.

“But still… She might need some.” Coriander Cumin said while bringing a bowl. He let it in front of her. “Just in case.”

Pinkie sighed sadly.

“Thank you, but I don´t deserve all this care. You should have left me to die.”

Everypony gasped.

“Don´t say that!” Minuette said upset and heartbroken at the same time.

“What are you talking about? You´ve gone through the worst ordeal! This is the least we can do for you.” Moondancer tolf her.

“But I failed you! I failed all of Equestria! I failed-”

Pinkie couldn´t continue her sentence. She whimpered and sniffed.

“You think you failed our daughter, am I right?” a male voice said.

Night Light and Twilight Velvet joined everypony near Pinkie. Pinkie´s sadness got worse, as well as her feeling of guilt. Not only did not Twilight have the chance to say goodbye to her friends, she didn´t have the chance to say goodbye to her whole family. The loss of a friend was painful, but the loss of a child… that was beyond imaginable.

Pinkie sobbed and broke in tears on their hooves.

“I´m so sorry!” she exclaimed.

Night Light and Twilight Velvet hugged her.

“Don´t worry. It´s not your fault. We know that. You did all you could.” Twilight Velvet reassured her while stroking her mane.

“You were with our daughter every time she needed a friend. And for that we´re thankful.” Night Light added while shedding tears.

Twilight Velvet sniffed.

“Very thankful.”

“You were also there for Rarity.” Sassy Saddles walked towards her. “And any friend of Rarity, is a friend of mine.”

“But you should also know that it´s not too late for us.” Chancellor Neighsay told Pinkie as he came near. “We still can fight back. For Equestria and every other nation.”

“But Chancellor Neighsay, are you sure it´s a good idea?” Fancy Pants asked somewhat concerned. “Our main goal is to protect every citizen we can. If we fight back, the only thing we´ll get is getting ourselves killed.”

“Not to mention that would be berating poor Meghan´s work.” Fleur the Lis said while putting her hoof on Meghan´s shoulder.

“Oh, believe me, that would be the least of my worries.” she said with a nervous smile. “But Neighsay has a point. I don´t want to stay cooped up in here while Grogar continues to destroy us. I want to fight! Who´s with us?”

Unfortunately, the only response she got was silence. She sighed.

“I don´t know why I keep bothering trying to do a motivational speech.”

“Well, I´d also like to fight back.” Moondancer agreed.

“You didn´t have to do that speech to convince me!” Cheese hugged Meghan.

“Count us in too! We´re looking forward to kick some butts!” Night Gilder said while surrounding both Party Flavour and Double Diamond with her forelegs, who were wearing smiles on their faces.

“Me too!” Saffron exclaimed excitedly.

“Fighting is not one of my fortes, but I´d like to join you.” Sassy Saddles said.

“We would like to join but I think that we´re more needed here.” Twinkleshine said in the name of her friends.

“That´s completely fine. As Fancy Pants said, it´s also important to take care of our citizens.” Moondancer told them.

Everypony expected Pinkie´s answer.

“I appreciate your spirit. I´d also like to fight Grogar back for what he did to Twilight. But… I can´t. I have no magic, nor I have the energy or the motivation to do that.”

Everypony blinked. Then, they made a circle to discuss.

“What do we do?” Saffron asked worried.

“I… have no idea. But one thing´s for sure, Pinkie Pie has to fight with us.” Moondancer stated. “Otherwise, this won´t be possible.”

“But we cannot force her either.” Sassy Saddles replicated. “The poor mare has been through too much.”

“But deep down she does want to fight back!” Double Diamond claimed.

“Yeah, she´s not the type of giving up!” Night Glider agreed with him.

“The problem here isn´t that she doesn´t want to fight. It´s that she lost her spark. She lost her laughter!” Cheese Sandwich explained. “I know that from experience.”

“And how did you get your laughter back?” Neighsay asked.

“She reminded me my purpose. But I don´t think that´s what she needs.”

“Maybe we need to make her laugh!” Sassy Saddles exclaimed.

“I don´t think that´s the-”

“Good idea!” Party Falvour agreed with Sassy Saddles. “Cheese I can help you. I´m also very good at it.”

“Guys, you can´t-”

“What do you think I could do?” Party Flavour asked everypony.

“Ooh! Tell her how Meghan got all of us here. That´s a hilarious story.” Lemon Hearts put her shoulder around Meghan.

“Hilarious to you but not to me…” Meghan muttered under her breath.

“Guys…” Cheese was starting to get impatient.

“Or when you got your head stuck in that beaker!” Twinkleshine suggested.

“GUYS!” Cheese yelled frustrated to get everypony´s attention.

His yell silenced and scared everypony. Cheese inspired and expired through his nose before continue speaking.

“It´s sweet that you want to make her laugh, that´s something I also want to do! But the thing is that you can´t force laughter. The result you´ll get is putting more pressure on her, which it will make her feel worse and more guilty.”

“What do you suggest doing then?” Minuette asked.

“Um… Me and father went through something similar when we lost mother.” Saffron Massala said, almost getting teary. “Though painful, I think that sharing our feelings with our friends made us feel better. It´s not pretty but it´s necessary to let grieve.”

“I agree with her.” said Meghan. “Just like her, I lost a family member, my father, to be concrete. It felt terrible but with support and understanding me and my mom managed to move on.”

Though not comfortable with the idea, they agreed with Saffron.

Once they were finished talking, Cheese approached Pinkie and Twilight’s parents.

“It aches me not to do so, but I don´t think I can join you.” Pinkie lamented.

“It´s ok.”

“It´s just… even if I had my magic, I would still be as useless.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because… The only thing I would have is my laughter. And that´s useless against Grogar.”

“Ok. Maybe you won´t be able to defeat Grogar with laughter, that´s true. But! What´s not true is that neither laughter nor you are useless. Laughter is what helps us go through hard times, gives us the motivation to fight or going ahead, and makes the process less bitter.” he gently held Pinkie´s chin. “Pinkie, thanks to your laughter I found my way when I was lost. You helped me to find my purpose twice!”

“If it wasn´t for your laughter, our restaurant wouldn´t have evolved.” Saffron reassured her.

“If it wasn´t for your laughter, we wouldn´t have got our cutie marks back!” Night Glider said while she and her friends looked at their cutie marks.

Pinkie looked at all the ponies smiling at her. Her heart started to ache less, and she felt how her chest freed some weight.

“Wow, I- I didn´t think my laughter was that important. But… How will I be able to make you laugh? I still feel pain.”

“It´s normal that you feel pain.” Moondancer told her. “And maybe it will last for some time. Nonetheless, it will eventually go down. It´s ok to be sad.”

“I know it´s ok to be sad. But this sadness is deeper and too painful. I don´t like feeling this way.”

“Nopony does! But it´s better to feel than repress.” Meghan said.

“And to make things less rough, we´ll be here for you!” Double Diamond said.

“For all you need!” Party Flavour added.

Pinkie´s eyes got watery. Cheese smiled sadly at her. She hugged him immediately, surprising him a little.

“It´s ok, let it all out.” he left out a yelp, since Pinkie was hugging him too tightly. “Pinkie, I can´t breathe…”

Though he was uncomfortable, he didn´t want to undo the hug himself. It would be better if she was the one who undid it. So, he started tickling Pinkie. The mare started laughing, and as soon as she did, light started surrounding her. Everypony walked backwards. After a flash, the light disappeared, leaving Pinkie on the ground.

“Stop it Cheese…” she said between laughs.

She raised an eyebrow confused when she noticed everypony staring at her.

“What?”

“Your mane is curly again!” Saffron pointed out.

“And you´re pink is bright and bubbly too!” Night Glider added.

Pinkie looked at her hooves and her mane. She gasped and started jumping joyfully.

“My magic´s back!”

“How did that happen?” Neighsay scratched his head.

“Well… Rarity told me that Pinkie had strange abilities… I´m not sure if this one of hers.” Sassy Saddles replied, equally as confused.

“No, no. This… had never happened to me before. It´s kinda strange. But one thing´s clear. This is thanks to you. I still feel sad for my friends´ death but you made me realize that I still can do something, even if it´s only putting a smile on your face.”

Everypony hugged Pinkie.

“So, you´re in?” Meghan asked with a smile.

“Yes. But first, I´m so hungry! Could you bring me two bowls of soup?” Pinkie joined her hooves while pleading.

Couriander Cumin and Saffron Massala laughed.

“With pleasure.” he said.

“Here we are!” Derpy exclaimed excited when they arrived at the town hall.

Gently, she left Rarity on the ground. She knocked the door melodically. The doors opened slightly.

“Derpy? Is that you?” a female voice asked.

The pegasus nodded her head.

“Yup! And I bring Rarity too.”

They heard a gasp. Immediately after, the doors opened. The pony behind the doors was Mayor Mare. She and Derpy helped Rarity to stand up.

“Miss Rarity! Oh, my goodness you must be exhausted. Come here, it´s time you rest.”

As they entered, the ponies inside rushed around her, which made her feel a little overwhelmed. Luckily, a certainsea serpent friend closed their way.

“Distance, distance, guys. She needs some space.”

“Steven!” Rarity exclaimed. The serpent dragon lowered his head so she could hug him. “I haven´t seen you since Matilda´s wedding.”

“I agree! We need to see each other more. When this is over, we´ll go to the spa together.”

“If this is over…” she said sadly.

“Um… Can I pass? We´re close friends.” an earth pony shyly asked Steven.

“Coco! Let her come Steven, she´s my friend.”

The sea serpent nodded his head and elevated his tail so Coco could pass.

“Whatever are you doing here?” she asked her.

“I took the train to Canterlot but just when we got to Ponyville´s station, the changelings came. So I ran away. I was afraid of not finding a hiding place, but luckily everypony here was friendly enough to let me hide here.”

Rarity smiled sweetly at her friend. Her ears perked up when she heard some voices in the crowd. She saw two unicorns making their way through.

“Sorry, sorry.” they said each time they bothered somepony.

Rarity´s eyes filled with tears.

“Mom! Dad!”

“Honey!” Hondo Flanks exclaimed.

The two parents ran to hug their child.

“I thought we´d never see you again.” Cookie Crumbles said while crying.

“Me too…” Rarity replied.

She looked around, hoping that Sweetie Belle would come out the crowd at any moment. But she never appeared.

“Is Sweetie Belle with you?” she asked them.

Both unicorns shook their heads.

“We know nothing of her since the changelings attacked.” Hondo Flanks lamented.

“The only thing we can tell you, is that she was inside the School of Friendship with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.” Cookie Crumbles commented.

“Is she still there?”

“We don´t know. The ones who offered said they would check the school, but then they saw you coming and decided to rescue you instead.” the unicorn stallion informed.

“Oh.” Rarity lamented. “Well, I could go and check.”

“Honey no! You´re hurt and you have no magic.” her mother refused. “What you need is to relax.”

“That´s what we´re here for.” Lotus Blossom and Aloe approached Rarity.

“We might not have the materials, but we´ve been massaging injured ponies, and that relieved their aches somehow.” Aloe said.

“Oh no, no. It´s not necessary.” Rarity shook her head.

“Are you hungry?” Mr Cake asked as he calmed his crying twins.

“We don´t have much cupcakes left but there´s some for you.” Mrs Cake said as she showed the trail. There were very few cupcakes on it. Rarity couldn´t accept it. They needed it more than she did.

“No…” she nervously rejected. “But I could go out and get some food for you…”

“Not necessary.” Mr Cake shook his head. “We are improvising some soup for everypony.” He explained as he walked towards a pot on the fire.

“Besides, after all you´ve gone through, the last thing you need is putting yourself in danger for us.” Ms Cake said.

“Then, let me help with it.”

“No, no. You just sit here and relax.” Lotus Blossom sat her down.

“Are you cold? I´m making blankets for everypony, but I can lend you mine for a while.” Coco offered.

“No, I´m fine really. You need help? I can sew some blankets!”

“No, no. You rest. I´ll deal with this.”

“But…” Rarity sighed defeated.

Suddenly, in just a flash, Tempest, Sunset Shimmer, Capper, Dr Hooves, Octavia, DJ Pon-3, Cranky and Matilda appeared.

“You ´re back!” Derpy greeted them, while hugging Dr Hooves.

“Have you been able to deal with every changeling?” Mayor Mare asked them.

“All taken care of.” Dr Hooves replied.

“We locked them all in the castle rooms.” Cranky Doodle Donkey scratched the back of his neck.

“With extra security.” Sunset added sassily while looking at her horn.

“And fireworks!” Capper lifted Tempest.

“I´ll show you fireworks…” Tempest threatened him.

With a nervous smile, he let her back on the ground.

“But we´re not the ones you should focus in, she is.” Matilda pointed at Rarity.

The unicorn bit her lip.

“Um… But you´re also important. You´re the ones who saved me after all. There must be something I can do for you. You know, to repay you!” she laughed nervously. “Please tell me there is…”

“Girl! We are the ones who should be asking that.” Capper replied.

“NO, YOU´RE NOT!” she exclaimed frustrated.

Everypony took a step back. She covered her face in shame after she realized what you´ve done.

“Are you alright?” Capper put his paw on Rarity´s shoulder.

“I´m sorry. It´s just-” she sniffed before breaking on tears. “Everpony is being so friendly and offering me things after failing at saving Equestria! That´s the only thing you all needed, and I failed at providing you that! The least I can do right now is take responsibility for my actions by helping you in small tasks. But thanks to my state I can´t do anything!”

“But honey. You have nothing to take responsibility for.” Cookie Crumbles hugged her daughter.

“You were dealing with a treacherous villain.” Hondo Flanks added while stroking her mane.

“That´s no excuse! I´ve dealt with many villains before and this never happened.” she replied.

“But Rarity. We´re talking about Grogar here!” Cranky replied back. “He´s not like other villain you and your friends faced, and you know that better than any of us in this room.”

“Neither Gusty was able to best him if I´m not wrong.” Matilda added.

“But she still ended up defeating him. Which means that there´s still a chance that this nightmare ends.” Sunset told her.

“But if not me. Who will? None of my friends can…” Rarity lamented.

“I can go myself.” Tempest offered with a confident smile.

“But you can´t defeat him on your own. And even if you were accompanied, it would still be impossible. That´s why I want to help you so bad. I might not be able to defeat Grogar, but at least I could help you by taking care of you. It´s not much but it´s all I can offer. I don´t care if I´m tired. I have to.”

Everypony looked sad at Rarity. Steven Magnet sniffed.

“Honey! You are an angel!” he hugged her while crying.

“But Rarity we are not the ones who need your generosity.” Derpy reassured her.

“Then, who is it?” Rarity wiped her tears.

“You.” Capper poked her nose.

“Me?”

“Of course, you dummy!” Octavia exclaimed.

DJ Pon-3 nodded her head.

“I don´t understand.” Rarity said.

“This is a tale as old as time.” Dr Whooves said. “When a pony gives too much, there comes a point where they have nothing else to give and so they can´t give anything to anypony!” he paused for a moment. “I don´t know if what I said makes sense.”

“I think she got your point.” Derpy reassured him.

“What we´re trying to say Rarity, is that just as you´re generous with everypony, you also need to be generous with yourself. Otherwise you won´t be able to help.” Coco explained.

Rarity took a moment to think about the message they were trying to tell her. They were right. She was in no condition to do anything, no matter how small the task was. She needed to rest first.

“I didn´t think about it like that… I guess it´s because I feel so guilty to the point of thinking that I don´t deserve your help.”

“You are guilty of nothing of what just happened. If so, you are a victim. More than all of us.” Sunset stated.

“If so, the one who should be feeling like this is Grogar. But I´ll make sure he does.” Tempest smacked her hoof against the other.

“So… Will you let us help you?” Mayor Mare asked hopeful.

Rarity nodded with a tender smile.

“Yes.”

Everypony smiled in relief.

Firstly, they fed her and gave her the blanket Coco made for her. Then, they bandaged her wounds. Lastly, Lotus Blossom and Aloe massaged her whole body, relieving her pain.

Though still exhausted and with low energy, Rarity felt better. At least her whole body didn’t hurt. She noticed Capper trembling so much from the cold, that he couldn´t eat his soup. They offered him a blanket before, but he refused, saying that he didn´t need one due to his fur, but now he seemed to be regretting his decision. Slowly, she got in four legs and started walking towards him. She wrapped him up with her blanket.

“Take it.” she told him.

“I don´t need a blanket.” Capper replied as he handed the blanket back to her.

“Yes, you do. You´re chilling.”

“But what about you?”

“I´m feeling much better right now, I don´t need it. Really.”

“Well… In that case.” he took the blanket and wrapped himself with it. He purred in satisfaction. “Thank you, Rarity.”

“You´re welcome.”

Suddenly, light started surrounding Rarity. Capper meowed and jumped back, hiding behind Tempest. The mare frowned angrily, as he had thrown his bowl against her head. A flash of light blinded them. Once it was out, they opened their eyes. Rarity put her hoof on her forehead, being a little dizzy.

“Whoah… What happened?”

She noticed Tempest´s wet face.

“Oh dear! Here, let me clean you.”

With her magic, she took a napkin and wiped Tempest´s face. Everypony stared at her, not believing what just happened.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Rarity, look at what you´re doing!” Coco pointed at the napkin.

Rarity looked at the napkin. She was holding it with her magic! She gasped excited.

“My magic´s back! But how?”

“I have no idea. You just let a blanket on capper and suddenly, BOOM! A flash of light.” Dr Hooves replied.

Rarity blinked.

“I still don´t understand what happened. But if I have my magic, that means… I can look for Sweetie Belle!”

She rushed to the door, but her way was blocked by Steven Magnet, Capper, Tempest, Sunset Shimmer and Coco.

“You´re not thinking on going, do you?” Tempest asked.

“Of course, she´s my sister! I must find her.” Rarity answered while trying to go through them.

“Alone? All in your own?” Steven Magnet asked while playfully raising an eyebrow.

Rarity gasped moved.

“You´re coming with me?”

They all nodded their heads. Rarity ran to them and hugged them.

“Thank you so much!” she turned around. “And thank to all of you! It might seem a little out of nowhere, but I have the feeling that my magic came back thanks to you.”

The ponies smiled tenderly at her. Rarity´s parents came forward and hugged her tightly.

“I´ll find her, I promise.” she told them in tears.

Her parents also shed some tears before letting her go. Rarity gave everypony a last glance before leaving. Then, she looked forwards.

“Please, let her be there and safe.” she muttered worried.

She breathed and out and started running, the others following behind.

Chapter 24: Honesty and loyalty

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Although initially running fast, A.J got tired very fast to the point of falling to the ground. Big Mac gasped.

“A.J!”

He and Sugar Belle rushed to help her. But A.J elevated her hoof.

“No, I´m fine. I´m fine.” she said.

However, when she tried to get on four legs, she fell immediately to the ground. She tried again but failed once more.

“I don´t understand! I could run perfectly. Why can´t I get up now?”

“Maybe an adrenaline rush that lasted for a few minutes?” Autumn Blaze suggested while shrugging.

“Take it easy.” Sugar Belle put a hoof on her shoulder. “You´ve been stripped from all your magic. You can´t expect your muscles to work the way they used.”

“I agree with our future sister in law!” Granny Smith put her foreleg around Sugar Belle. “Your muscles are in worse state than mine.”

“Bu- But maybe it´s what Autumn Blaze said! All I need is an adrenaline rush!” Applejack said with a nervous smile.

Her family and friends looked at each other, sceptical that what was she needed.

“Are you sure you want to go on cousin?” Braeburn asked while raising an eyebrow.

“Of course. I´m fine!” Applejack lied while trying to get up and failing again.

“Fine is not the word I´d apply to this situation.” Troubleshoes said.

“Well I might not have my magic and look exhausted but I´m sure that I can keep on running.”

Everypony and kirin raised an eyebrow with a serious expression on their face.

“Ok. I might not be able to run. But surely Big Mac can carry me. Right brother?”

Big Mac felt uneasy with that idea.

“Well I guess I could but-”

“See? He said yes. Now, put me on your back, so we can carry on with our journey, ok?”

“I´m not doing that, A. J!” he replied angry. “You´re not ok. You need rest.”

“I don´t need rest. I am fine.” she emphasized.

“Applejack. There are dangerous creatures on the loose. What if you bump into one?” Bon Bon told her. “You can´t defend yourself in that state. You´ll probably get eaten.”

Applejack looked nervously from side to side. She violently shook her head.

“That´s not gonna happen! Grogar called them all so there´s no need to worry about dangerous creatures.”

Suddenly, the bushes started to shake. In just a second, Applejack´s entire family, Bon Bon and the kirins got ready to defend Applejack. Luckily, the mysterious creatures behind the bushes were ponies. And not just anypony, but the Pie family!

Both families gasped when they saw each other. The Pie family sighed relieved and smiled, even Maud Pie and Mudbriar. The Apple family also had happy faces. Well, except Applejack, who was nervously biting her lip.

“Oh no...” she muttered.

Like her family, she was happy to see that Pinkie´s family was ok. But at the same time, it was painful. She didn´t know if they knew her daughter was dead. She didn´t want to be the one to give such terrible news, neither she wanted to remember.

They Pie family ran to the Apple Family, who gladly returned the hug.

“I´m happy to see you´re ok.” Granny Smith told them.

“The same goes for thee.” Cloudy Quartz answered.

“How did you get here? Or better question, how is it that you´re not in the farm?” Big Mac asked.

“We were at some caverns, trying to get gemstones for Princess Twilight, and out of nowhere it began to snow so much that we had to take refuge inside. That was until we saw a bunch of diamond dogs!” Limestone Pie explained.

Every creature gasped. Well, except Autumn Blaze, who excitedly put her hooves on her cheeks. Her pupils dilatated.

“Did you say dogs?”

“But how did you escape from them?” Sugar Belle asked curious.

“Technically, they helped us escape.” Mudbriar clarified. “A pony escapes when they are facing a danger, but the diamond dogs were not a threat. Rather, they were of help.”

“Really?” Granny Smith asked in awe.

“Yup.” Marble Pie replied.

“Hmm…. Interesting…” Bon Bon scratched her chin while smirking.

“It turned out they were running from an underground monster. So, thinking on what Pinkie and her friends would do, we offered to help them, if they helped us to build a tunnel faster.” Maud Pie added.

At that moment, the Pie family noticed A.J´s presence.

“Applejack!” Igneous Rock exclaimed. He hugged her. “Thou are safe!”

They looked around, hoping to see Pinkie.

“Where is Pinkamena?” he asked worried.

Applejack looked away nervously.

“Well… she´s not here.”

“But technically, where is she?” Mudbriar insisted.

Applejack´s dreaded moment had finally come. The moment she had to inform the unfair loss of a family member. Just by remembering how they took her away brought her chills. It was too much pain to remember.

But she couldn´t afford time on tears. The more they spoke, the more Apple Bloom was dangerous. So, she decided to carry on what she was doing: lying.

“I… I have no idea. We… had to separate.”

Applejack prayed that they didn´t ask the reason why, and for her luck, they didn´t.

“So… she´s still out there?” Marble Pie asked shyly.

“Yeah! And you know one way to find out? Looking for her! And now that we´re going to keep looking for her, we´ll pass by the school to save Apple Bloom.” Applejack crept forwards, but her family stopped her.

“Let me through.” Applejack demanded angrily.

Big Mac, Sugar Belle, Granny Smith and Braeburn shook their heads.

“No, Applejack.” Braeburn lamented.

“Let me go through please!” Applejack´s command turned into a desperate begging. She was at the brink of tears.

“Applejack, don´t you see it? You can barely walk. There´s no way you can keep going on like this. We´re taking you home.” Big Mac put her on her back.

“No! Let go of me!” Applejack tried to hit her brother, yet her thuds were too soft, due to having no energy. “What about Apple Bloom? She´s in danger!”

“I´ll accompany your family while your closest ones take care of you.” Troubleshoes offered himself.

Applejack shook her head.

“No, no. You don´t understand. I have to go!”

“Applejack please…” Sugar Belle begged her.

“No `Applejack please´! I must go.”

“Applejack stop it!” Granny Smith ordered her angrily. “Stop lying to yourself! You´re clearly not well! If you go on, you´ll get yourself killed!” Do you want us to lose you? After we lost your ma and pa?”

Applejack gasped. That was the last straw. She panted as tears formed in her eyes. And finally, she revealed her true feelings.

“Well at least I would die in noble cause like them! I can´t lose Apple Bloom like I lost all my friends!”

Suddenly, she realized her mistake and covered her mouth. The Pie family stayed shocked. Maud even fell to the ground.

“Is- Is Pinkamena?” Cloud Quartz couldn´t finish her sentence. The pain and shock wouldn´t let her. She and her family broke in tears.

“You lied to us about our sister´s death?! How could you?!” Limestone yelled at Applejack hurt.

Applejack gave out a yell of pain before breaking down into tears. Big Mac and Granny Smith hugged her.

Though still angry, the Pie family felt bad for Applejack. Not only did Pinkie die, all her friends did! That was too much to handle.

“It´s ok, we´re here now.” Granny Smith told Applejack as she and Big Mac stroked her.

Applejack yelled and sobbed hard on their chests.

“Finally, she said yes.” Big Mac said as he poured some apple juice in a cup. “She always has to be at an extreme for her to accept help.

Sugar Belle was reflexing about what just had happened.

“Big Mac… Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What happened to your parents?”

Big Mac sighed before answering.

“You´re a part of the Apple family. And so, you deserve to know. I´ll tell you while we go to the barn.”

Sugar Belle nodded. They took another bottle of apple juice and the cup before going out. Once they were outside, Big Mac started his story.

“When we were little, Applejack and I used to have strolls with him. We would venture into many places. One day, we were going to cross a suspension bridge. Applejack used to have a doll with which she played often. That day was windy. Accidentally, Applejack let go of the doll, and it landed on the bridge. A. J ran to get it, but the bridge was unstable, and it broke. Applejack held on to the rope, yelling for help. Our parents immediately aided her, Ma holding one of the trunks in which the bridge´s ropes were tied into and Pa went to get Applejack. Everything was going well, but there came a moment where a rope got loose. Ma got it with her mouth, but she slipped off….”

Sugar Belle gasped quietly.

“Luckily, before that happened, Pa handed Applejack to me. And maybe that´s why she´s so reluctant to get help. Because she fears something will happen to us.”

“Wow… Poor Applejack.”

“Took her some time to figure out that I didn´t hate her for what happened. But I guess that the workaholic aspect didn´t go away.”

The two ponies got to the barn. Inside there was the whole Apple and Pie family, Bon Bon, Troubleshoes and the kirins were taking care of Applejack. Big Mac handed the cup to Granny Smith.

“Thank you.” she told Big Mac. Then, she handed to Applejack. Ok. Now tell everything that happened.” Granny Smith ordered as

The earth pony had a blanket on. It felt nice to be back on her barn, but she would have liked to return in other circumstances. Right now, everypony and kirin were waiting for her story. First, she drank some juice. Then, she breathed in and out.

“Alright. Y´all deserve to know the truth.” she said to the Pie family. “I don´t know if you´re aware of who´s truly behind all these attacks.” she said to every creature.

“We already know it´s Grogar.” Bon Bon answered quickly.

“I guess you heard the changelings…” Applejack said a bit surprised.

“No no. As soon as I saw many monsters together, I already knew it was Grogar. You see, back when I was forming at the Canterlot Anti-Monster Agency, we studied Grogar reign very closely. Only a phenomenon like that could happen if that ram was around.”

“Well, it seemed that Grogar reunited the three villains so he could take back the throne. He showed to us later than the other villains. We wanted to help the princesses and Discord, but we had no choice but to go away. And now that I think about it, you were with me in Canterlot.” she said to Big Mac. “How did you get here?”

“As soon as I saw the three villains coming, my first impulse was to run back to the farm.” he replied.

“He was in the same state as you, but as soon as he got here, we took care of him and he rested. And now he´s back in his perfect shape.” Sugar Belle kissed Big Mac´s cheek.

Applejack shook her head.

“But that´s the thing. Rest won´t give me back my strength. Because I have no magic left.”

The Pie family widened their eyes in shock.

“You what?” Limestone Blaze asked.

“When we ran away from Grogar, we agreed on using Grogar´s bell against him after we deal with Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow.” she chuckled sadly. “It was Pinkie´s idea in fact.”

The Pie family gave sad smiles.

“But the thing is that the villains had it first. We had a battle to take it away, and Spike and Flurry managed to get it. However, when Grogar came they teleported to the Crystal Empire. It seemed like the perfect plan and the moment the problem would be solved…” Applejack sniffed. “But that was the moment it all went down.” her voice broke.

She started sobbing and crying.

“Sorry.” she apologized.

Braeburn dried her tears with a tissue.

“Don´t worry. You are doing great.” he said to reassure her.

“We lost the battle against them. That´s when they absorbed our magic with the bell. And then, Grogar came in. He took it back.” her voice started to tremble. “Took Twilight.” she sniffed. “And killed her.”

The Pie family gasped sadly.

“Afterwards, we were locked. We were grieving Twilight´s death, but at least we hugged together. But Grogar ordered every guard to take us away and execute us in different places.”

The gaze she gave to the Pie family was full of pain.

“He told us that the first to die would be Pinkie.”

The Pie family hugged each other tightly.

“I´m so sorry.” she said so rependant. “I know I should have told you right away, but-” she sobbed. “I have gone through so much pain and I didn´t want to remember it again. If you don´t want to forgive me that´s fine.”

For Applejack´s surprise, Maud hugged her.

“Thank you for telling us the truth.” she shedded a tear.

The Pie family joined the hug. Applejack cried with them.

The other creatures inside the barn were in silence. They already knew what happened but to hear every detail was rough.

“Wow… I thought that my life was full of unfortunate events but this…” Troubleshoes huffed. “This is a whole new level!”

Granny Smith reached Applejack´s hoof.

“Why didn´t you tell us?” Marble Pie asked.

Applejack sniffed.

“I guess because I was lying to myself. I thought that if I told myself that everything was fine with me or that none of what happened earlier was true, I would be able to go ahead to save Apple Bloom.”

“But Applejack… In order to advance you´ve got to accept the truth. You know that better than all of us.” Granny Smith said.

“I know… but right now, the truth is too painful. I can´t handle it. And for that I feel guilty. How does the bearer of the Element of Honesty tell such lies?”

“Sometimes you need help to accept the truth.” Sugar Belle said. “Everypony. Bearing the Element of Honesty is no exception. You are still a pony.”

“I am kirin who usually speaks her mind and much like you, my friend, I´m also honest.” Autumn Blaze put her hoof around her. “But when I chose my voice over living with the other kirins, I told myself lies! You saw my `friends´ back then!”

“Besides, this is not the first time you do this...” Big Mac put a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

Applejack put her head on his shoulder. She sighed.

“I know…”

“Accepting Ma´s and Pa´s deaths was a tough process for you. But you overcame it and accepted it, remember?”

Applejack stared at Big Mac.

“It might seem rough, but if you accepted the truth during such a rough process, I´m sure you will again.”

Applejack took her hat off and stared at it.

“Pa and Ma may not be here physically with me. But they´re still in my heart. I guess the same could go for them. That means I´m not alone.” she realized. “I might not know how, but I know that my life has to carry on even if I can´t see, hear or touch them. But they´re with me. Their souls will help to overcome this. They have and always will.”

Applejack hugged her hat against her chest. Even though she was crying, she smiled peacefully, as she finally accepted the truth.

Suddenly, light appeared around her. Scared at first, she tried to get up to run away but was still too weak to do so. But after feeling its warmth, she knew it was something safe and comforting, making the peaceful smile return. A brief flash blinded every creature for a few seconds. After it was gone, Applejack blinked slowly.

“What in tarnation was that?” Granny Smith asked confused.

“I have no idea. It appeared out of nowhere almost ass if it was an act of…”

Applejack widened her eyes at the realization. Could it be what she thought it was? Was even that possible? There was only one way to find out.

She rushed outside the barn.

“Applejack! Come back!” Granny Smith ignored her.

But Applejack didn´t listen to her. Everypony followed her, except for Big Mac, Sugar Belle, Autumn Blaze and Bon Bon.

“Did she- Did she just run?” Bon Bon asked shocked.

“Indeed she did.” Sugar Belle replied, equally as surprised.

“It´s either another adrenaline rush or that apple juice of yours makes miracles.” Autumn Blaze pointed at the glass. “I want to try it!”

Sugar Belle hit softly her hoof.

“I don´t know. But there´s only one way to find out.” Big Mac said before rushing out the barn to follow his sister, the other three following behind.

Applejack arrived at a tree in a matter of seconds. She left the bucket next to her. At first she was scared. What if it wasn´t what she thought it was and it was only an illusion of hers? But there was no time for doubting. Right now, what she needed were answers.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Granny Smith.

“Applejack!”

She turned around to her family.

“When in tarnation will you accept that you need to rest?!”

“Grandma. Did you just see what I just did?” Applejack calmly asked her.

“Yeah! Everypony did. You rushed….” the whole Apple family´s eyes widened at the realization. “Out.”

“I couldn´t do that a few seconds ago. And I don´t think this is another adrenaline rush. I feel well, grandma. I feel energetic. Almost as if I could buck that tree!”

Applejack bucked the tree with all her strength, making all the apples on the tree fall into the bucket. Applejack sighed happily.

“I can´t believe it.” Applejack´s eyes filled with tears. “My magic has returned. My magic has returned!”

Granny Smith sniffed.

“This is a miracle.”

“I´m so happy for you A.J.”

“Yup.” Big Mac agreed while drying out a tear.

Applejack hugged Granny Smith, Big Mac and Sugar Belle with all her strength. Autumn Blaze approached them.

“Can I join?” she asked with a big smile.

Applejack shook her hoof towards herself as an invitation to join the hug. She jumped right into it.

“Now I can really go out for Apple Bloom.” she stated while undoing the hug. “How tired are y´all feeling?”

Her family started shaking her head from side to side, indicating that they were in fact, a little exhausted.

“Alright. I´ll wait a little more.”

“You don´t have to. I´ll go with you.” Big Mac put his hoof on her shoulder.

“Me too.” Sugar Belle stepped forward.

“I still have to check if there are monsters left in Ponyville so… I suppose that a little visit wouldn´t be a bad thing.” Bon Bon said with a sly smile.

“Count me and the kirins in!” Autumn Blaze hugged two kirins, which made them a little uncomfortable.

“We want to come too.” Maud said in name of Mudbriar, Limestone Pie and Marble.

Applejack smiled sweetly at them. Then, she and Big Mac walked towards Granny Smith.

“I guess I have to say goodbye for now.”

Granny Smith caressed her cheek.

“We´ll see each other again, don´t worry.”

Applejack sniffed while holding her grandma´s hoof.

“Take care of each other, ok?” Big Mac told her.

“We´re the Apple Family, of course we´ll take care of each other!”

The two siblings smiled and hugged Granny Smith tightly. After some seconds, they let go, and ventured into Ponyville.

“Let´s go.” Applejack ordered to every creature that was coming with her.

They nodded and followed her behind.

The trip for Rainbow Dash, Greta, Gabby, Soarin and Lyra to safety wasn´t as easy. Unlike Rarity and Applejack, they had to fly. And right now, it was almost impossible. There were clouds and snow everywhere making it impossible to be certain if you were going through the right direction. Fortunately, they managed to arrive to their destiny.

Rainbow smiled when she found out what the secret hideout was. It was the Wonderbolt Academia! Oh, that place was like her second home. All the memories and things she learnt there…

They landed safely in front of the changing rooms. Soarin opened the door. To Rainbow´s surprise, there were many ponies inside.

“Alright everpony we´re back.” he told everypony inside.

“We did it! We brought her back!” Gabby exclaimed while showing Rainbow to all of them.

Everypony approached her. Though excited to see her, they were respectful enough on leaving her some space. Well… except for a certain colt and mare.

“RAINBOOOOW!” they yelled in chorus.

Rainbow´s heart warmed when she saw those two pegasi.

“Mom, dad…” she whispered happily, relieved to see her family ok.

Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles threw themselves over her daughter making her fall to the ground.

“I´m so glad to see you´re alive!” Windy Whistles said in happy tears.

Hothoof kissed his daughter´s mane repeatedly, crying of joy.

“Me too.” she hugged both her parents.

“By the way, we´re so sorry for what happened to your friend Twilight.” Hothoof told her with empathy in his voice as he stroked his daughter´s mane.

Rainbow looked surprised at her parents. Then, she sighed.

“So you know…”

“Yeah. The wonderbolts overheard changelings talking as they evacuated.” Greta explained.

“But they didn´t hear about your other friends. Do you know anything about them?” Windy Whistles asked her daughter.

Rainbow hugged her knees.

“I don´t want to talk about it.”

Both her parents looked at each other, not so sure what to do next. They realized that there was a newcomer apart from Rainbow.

“Oh! I don´t remember seeing you here.” Hothoof told Lyra.

Lyra blushed.

“Well, that´s because I wasn´t here.”

“Then how did you get here?”

“Oh boy…” Lyra puffed. “Pretty long and strange story. I was preparing for Twilight´s coronation with my dearest Bon Bon until all the chaos ensued thanks to Grogar´s monsters arriving to Ponyville. They began attacking all our houses and some took ponies for lunch.”

Everypony gasped. Gabby and Greta widened their eyes.

“But don´t worry, nopony got hurt.”

They sighed in relief.

“But I was taken by a bugbear. You see, Bon Bon told me that bugbears took their preys to their caves so they could eat us later.”

Rainbow thought about Applejack. Their friendship kind of reminded her of Bon Bon´s and Lyra´s. And their friendship evolved into something more. If only she and A.J had had the chance.

“Anyway, I was being flown away to the unknown, until suddenly, it changed direction! I guess he heard Grogar´s bell, I don´t know. But at least it gave the amazing wonderbolts to save me!” Lyra put her foreleg around Soarin.

“Now that we´re talking about it. How did you get here? I thought you were in Cloudsdale.” Rainbow asked her parents.

“As fast as we saw all the chaos sprouting, Spitfire commanded us to go to Cloudsdale and evacuate all the ponies we could.” Soarin explained. “Unfortunately, there came a point in which was impossible to reach Cloudsdale.”

“But luckily, the ones who know you are safe here!” Gabby replied cheerful.

Rainbow widened her eyes.

“You mean…”

“Excuse me.” a male voice said.

Rainbow sighed in relief. She never heard that voice before so it wasn´t them. She wouldn´t have to recall the awful experience she went through. But things would change once she knew who the ponies who wanted to talk to her were.

“Wow, it´s such an honour to meet you.” a light coat female pegasus said.

“Who are you?”

“Scootaloo´s family!” an earth pony said cheerfully.

Rainbow widened her eyes.

“It´s ok. We´re not here to talk about where´s Scootaloo. We know she was in the School of Friendship with her friends.” Snap Shutter said somewhat sadly.

“But we wanted to thank you for inspiring our daughter.” Mane Allgood put her hoof on her chest. “She couldn´t stop talking about you when we came to visit her! You´ve taught her so much throughout the years. And for that we´re grateful.”

“Her self-esteem rose to the top thanks to you!” Aunt Lofty exclaimed.

“That´s why we wanted to talk to you. To thank you for everything you´ve done for her.” Aunt Holiday told her.

But Rainbow didn´t think the same. She felt awful about herself. She was always there to protect Scootaloo, but now, thanks to Grogar and the villains, she couldn´t. However, it also felt good to finally meet Scootalo´s family, which brought her a small smile on her face. A smile that wouldn´t last when she heard the familiar voice she feared to hear.

“Rainbow….” a masculine voice said in a teasing tone.

Raimbow gasped.

“Oh no…”

Zephyr Breeze made way for his parents between the crowd to approach Rainbow. The mare looked away nervously.

“No, no. Don´t worry. I won´t try to flirt with you this time.” Zephyr told her. “This isn´t the best time for that. Sorry, I was just trying to maintain hopeful during this awful time.”

Rainbow smiled sadly at him.

“Thank you.”

“So… Is Fluttershy…” Mr Shy asked worried, stuttering in the process.

Rainbow whimpered from the guilt she felt.

“I´m so sorry.”

Mrs Shy cried on her husband´s shoulder. Zephyr patted his parents´ backs to comfort them.

“Fluttershy was like a sister to me.” Rainbow began to cry. “Although opposites, she cared for me and loved me unconditionally. That was her biggest quality. She loved everypony, no matter what. But let me tell you: Of the six of us, Fluttershy was the bravest. None of us confronted Grogar the way she did.”

Mrs Shy sniffed.

“That was the greatest thing about her. She might seem like a meek pony, but deep down she was the bravest pony.”

Rainbow was going to hug the Shy family, but she was interrupted by the door opening. The rest of the wonderbolts, the griffons and the pirates came back. Soarin ran to greet them.

“So, how did it go?” he asked them.

Gilda victoriously bumped her fist against her open claw.

“We managed to kick their butts.”

Every creature cheered.

“But at the cost of my wing.” Spitfire pointed at her broken wing.

“Don´t worry. That will get cured easily if we bandage it.” Mr Shy said. “Could I know where you keep them?”

“But a wing takes time to recover! And we can´t waste time for that to happen.”

“Yeah!” Grandpa Gruff agreed. “That ram is responsible for the creation of Arismapi, the creature responsible for the fall of our kingdom!”

“You´re planning on going to Canterlot?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah.” Soarin replied. “But with Spitfire´s wing being broken we might have a problem.”

Rainbow´s guilt transformed into frustration, which showed through a hoof stamp and a growl.

“It´s not fair!” she yelled in tears.

Immediately, her family, Fluttershy´s and Scootaloo´s went to her aid.

“Honey what´s wrong?” Wind Whistles asked.

“What´s wrong? What´s wrong?! Everything´s wrong!”

The ponies took a few steps back, somewhat hurt by Rainbow´s reaction.

“See? I´ve just yelled at you.” she said repentant. “I am just the worst pony ever.” she said between sobs.

Captain Celaeno and her pirates came intervened.

“Whoah, whoah. What are you talking about? You´re the most awesome pony ever!” Celaeno told her.

“No, I´m not. I´ve been a disloyal friend.”

“Why do you say that?” Soarin asked concerned.

“Because… If I had been more agile or- or less clumsy and hadn´t fallen into that mud, or- I don´t know! All I know is that I´m a terrible friend because I didn´t accomplish my most important mission: protecting my friends.” she sobbed. “I haven´t been there for Scootaloo either.” she looked at Scootaloo´s family.

All who were listening to Rainbow gave her empathetic looks.

“For that I want to redeem myself, but I can´t! If I had my magic, I would be able to help in anything! I´d be able to go with you to stop Grogar, I´d be able to look for Scootaloo and her friends… I feel so helpless.”

Spitfire walked towards her and sat in front of her.

“Dash listen to me. Sometimes a leader fails. It´s normal. For example, I did many mistakes when I was a commander. Does that make me a bad commander?”

“No.”

“Then why do you think you´re a bad friend?” Mrs Shy asked.

“Rainbow. Even though they aren´t here anymore, you are still willing to do anything for them. Isn´t that what loyalty is about?” Gilda asked her.

Rainbow looked down.

“But I can´t do anything for them.”

“Maybe you can´t fight, but there are other things you can do for them!” Gabby exclaimed. “For example, you can help us with things you´ve observed on Grogar!”

“What do you want me to tell you? He´s invincible!”

“I remember that you were good at observing things while flying.” Vapor Trail said.

“Just try to make memory. Was there something that made Grogar uncomfortable?” Sky Stinger added.

Rainbow bit her lip.

“I´m not sure. Pretty much all the moments they encountered, Grogar was super confident and intimidating.”

“Just start by the beginning. It helps.” Aunt Lofty advised her with a comforting smile.

“I´ll try…”

She went back to the first moment they saw him. She got chills only by remembering his menacing look. But she also remembered something that caught her attention, and ironically, it included Fluttershy. She remembered that Grogar did get intimated by Fluttershy´s stare, and his bells stopped glowing.

“Grogar´s magic is fueled by fear. So I guess that us not being afraid of him is his biggest fear, because he knows that if we all unite, we won´t be afraid of him.” Rainbow analysed.

“That actually makes a lot of sense.” Greta commented.

“But even if we weren´t afraid of him, something that is very very difficult, it wouldn´t be enough to defeat Grogar.”

“That might be true. But I´m pretty sure that we won´t be the only ones rebelling.” Celaeno said. “You and your friends inspired many creatures around the world. Some of them will fight. It happened before with the Storm King it can happen again. And if you tell what the secret is….”

“I guess so.” Rainbow said somewhat unsure but getting a little more confident.

“This is very important information. See? By doing a small act such as telling something to us, you´re being loyal to your friends.” Hothoof wiped his daughters tears.

“And to our Scootaloo.” Snap Shutter commented.

Rainbow smiled in tears. It might have not been the usual way for her, but she helped. She did a small act of loyalty. Now, instead of guilt, she felt some inner peace. Yes, she was still sad and hurt, but those feelings were less intense.

Without realizing it, light surrounded her. Every creature took a few steps back, observing the flash of light in awe. Once it disappeared Rainbow opened her eyes.

“Thank you guys I feel much better.”

Then, she noticed that her body didn´t ache anymore. Her body wanted to move and fly. She felt her usual high energy.

“You´re welcome.” Soarin said a bit unsettled by what happened, much like every creature else.

“No, no, seriously. I feel much much better.” Rainbow said somewhat scared.

To make sure that it wasn´t a dream, Rainbow got in four legs. Then, she opened her wings and flapped them. Afterwards jumped from the floor, her wings maintained her on the air. She started laughing in pure joy.

“I can fly! I can fly!” She said while flying around the room.

Every creature cheered her. Well, except Spitfire.

“Dash.” she called her.

“Oh my goodness, I never missed so much flying in my entire life!” Rainbow said to herself.

“Dash!” she repeated.

This time Rainbow stopped.

“You´re in a dressing room. You´ve just healed miraculously, don´t get yourself hurt again.”

“Oh, sorry.” Rainbow scratched the back of her neck while landing.

“Listen to me, I have something important to tell you. As you know, I can´t carry out my mission due to my wing. So, I want you to lead the wonderbolts to free Equestria.”

Rainbow´s pupils dilatated. A huge smile formed in her face, as well as tears. Her first reaction was to hug her.

“Thank you! Thank you! I won´t let you down!” she exclaimed while jumping.

But once she realized her mistake, she quickly corrected.

“Oh, I mean.” she said while she separated from Spitfire. She put her hoof on her forehead as a sign of respect.

Spitfire smiled and hugged her, which surprised every wonderbolt.

“So how does the plan go?” she asked Spitfire.

“We´ll explain you along the way.” Fleetfoot said. “Come on! We have a leader to defeat!”

“Good. We´ll carry you on our boat if you´d like.” Celaeno offered.

“Thank you, but I´m using these babies.” Rainbow looked at her wings with pride.

“But maybe I could use it. Mine don´t work like they used to before!” Grandpa Gruff complained.

That phrase took out a chuckle from the griffons.

“Well, considering that I can´t fly, I could use that too.” Lyra agreed.

“So, we go now?” Soarin asked.

Rainbow nodded, but before continuing, she looked back at her parents, Fluttershy´s and Scootaloo´s families. She hugged them.

“Thank you.” she whispered.

Everypony smiled gladly.

“Wow, you should do that more often, Rainbow.” Zephyr Breeze raised an eyebrow.

“Uh… Nope.” Rainbow replied dryly. “But for helping me today, you somewhat earned my respect.”

Zephyr rolled his eyes playfully.

“Sounds good.”

Rainbow reunited with the wonderbolts, griffons, pirates, and Lyra.

“Come on. Let´s show that ram who´s boss!” she told them.

“YEAH!” they agreed.

“But first, let´s check the School of Friendship. You know, to check if Scootaloo is there.” she hid her hooves while blushing and looking away.

Her companions shrugged with a chill smile, accepting the task.

“Whatever you say. Commander.” Soarin winked an eye.

Rainbow smiled. Before leaving they waved everypony goodbye. Likewise, the other ponies did the same.

Hothoof and Windy Whistles put their heads against each other´s shoulders.

“I´m so proud of my daughter.” Hothoof said.

“Me too.” Windy Whistled agreed after sighing happily.

Chapter 25: Kindness

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Finally, after so much time walking, Fluttershy, Discord and Angel got to the sanctuary. At first, Fluttershy felt relief but it quickly turned into panic.

After giving a few glances, both the pegasus and the draconequus came to the conclusion that the sanctuary was completely empty. That could mean three things: One, the animals were hidden to keep warm and protect themselves, two, they were missing, and three, or in the worst of cases, devoured by Grogar´s monsters.

“Where is everypony? Are they safe?” she asked Angel.

The bunny nodded his head. He led Fluttershy and Discord to the stock door. He jumped to open it. Once the door was opened, Flutterhy gasped, Discord and Angel widened his eyes. Every animal in the sanctuary were hugging each other, trembling both from the cold and fear. But not only were the animals inside. There were also Shining Armor, Cadence and Flurry Heart! Just like Fluttershy and Discord, they were injured, something they could tell by the bandages and bruises all around Shining´s and Cadence´s bodies. Fortunately, they were minor injuries. Flurry´s body was in a good state. Speaking of her, she cooed in joy when she saw Fluttershy, calling Shining’s, Cadence´s and every animals´ attention.

“Fluttershy!” Shining Armor Cadence exclaimed in chorus while they got on four legs.

All the animals ran to her. Harry the bear took her and hugged her tightly. The other animals joined the hug. Though a little overwhelmed, Fluttershy smiled happily when she saw that every animal was ok.

“Oh…” she laughed. “I missed you too.”

“It´s so good to see you!” Cadence said as she and her family approached with a big smile.

But after noticing all the bruises and scratches around their bodies, as well as their expression of fatigue, their smiles banished.

“Oh my…” Cadence mumbled under her breath

“You two seem to have been through a lot.” Shining Armor commented a bit worried.

Fluttershy and Discord nervously looked to the ground. Noticing that, Shining quickly shook his hoof.

“You don´t have to tell us right now. You´re probably exhausted and want to rest before telling us what happened.”

“But first we need to nurse you. Are there any bandages left?” she asked Shining Armor.

“We finished the roll we had before, but I´m sure I saw more at the first aid kit.”

The couple walked towards the first aid kit and opened it, taking everything necessary to heal Fluttershy and Discord. Meanwhile, Flurry flew to Fluttershy and hugged her.

“Oh Flurry, it´s so good to see you ok.” she said as she returned the hug and held her.

Flurry scrubbed her head against Fluttershy´s chest with her eyes closed. When she opened them, she noticed Discord hugging his knees with a sad expression on his face. Worried about him, Flurry softly pulled Fluttershy´s hair to call her attention.

“What is it Flurry?”

The baby alicorn pointed at Discord.

“Him? He´s… He´s not ok. I had a pretty rough time, but he had it worse than me.”

Flurry raised an eyebrow. Fluttershy sighed.

“Remember when the mean old Grogar said Discord was his son?”

Flurry nodded.

“Well, as you know, Grogar is not like your mommy and daddy. They like being around you, they hug you, kiss you, and most importantly they love you. Grogar never did that with Discord.”

Flurry looked sad at Discord. She jumped from Fluttershy´s forelegs and flew to Discord´s lap. The draconequus opened his eyes surprised, seeing that the baby alicorn was sitting on his lap. Discord looked around anxiously until he found Harry the bear.

“I think you got animals confused. He´s the bear not me.” he said to Flurry.

“I don´t think so.” Fluttershy told Discord as she shook her head with a sweet smile. “I think she likes you.”

Discord raised an eyebrow confused. Flurry hugged him with her wings and smiled at him. Slowly, he returned the hug, which made him smile in return. Although it took him some time, he summoned a teddy bear for her. She took it and hugged him.

“You seem to like foals.” Fluttershy commented.

Discord widened his eyes.

“No… What are you talking about?” he lied. “I´m not into foals. They cry and are annoying. Ouch!”

Flurry took a feather out of his pegasus wing. He frowned at her, but the baby smiled and laughed. Though mad at her, Discord couldn´t get angry at her.

“I don´t blame you. They´re very cute. But you´re right, sometimes they are a bit difficult. I remember having a bit of a hard time when I took care of the CMC.” Fluttershy chuckled at her memory. But her face quickly saddened. “I hope they´re ok.”

“Yeah… None of us going through the greatest time.” Discord sighed. “Ponies are going to hate me so much after this.”

“Why?”

“They discovered I´m Grogar´s creation! They´ll think I´m like him for the rest of their lives.”

“Well, I don´t think that.” Fluttershy put her hoof on Discord´s paw. “Neither will my neighbours.”

“Your neighbours?”

“The mare and the foal you saved.”

Discord blinked surprised.

“Those were your neighbours at Cloudsdale?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“At that moment, you showed that you´re nothing like Grogar. You even freed all of them and put them away from him. They know you´re not a monester. They really owe you their lives.” Fluttershy put her hoof on Discord´s paw. “Standing up to Grogar like that takes so much courage. You´re either the single bravest creature I´ve ever seen. Or the craziest.”

“Uh… Probably the second.” Discord smiled nervously. “I don´t feel very brave. But you,” he signed at her. “definitely are.”

“You think that?”

Discord placed Fluttershy´s hoof on his chest.

“Definitely.”

Fluttershy blushed.

They noticed Cadence and Shining Armor coming back with bandages.

“Um… Cadence, Shining. How did you end up at the sanctuary?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

“After we helped the other kingdoms, we decided to come back to Canterlot, with Twilight. But it was almost impossible due to the weather.” Cadence explained.

“We tried to keep on going but something awful made us stop.” Shining´s voice broke. He closed his eyes.

Fluttershy knew what that awful thing was. Her ears dropped.

“So you know…”

Cadence nodded, with tears in her eyes.

“We saw a purple figure falling into the Everfree forest just after we heard a bell ring.” she wiped her tears. “By the shock, we couldn´t keep on going on. Luckily, we found your sanctuary. Just like you, we opened the door and found the same thing.” Cadence pointed at the animals while smiling sadly. The animals looked at the pair with pity.

Flurry went to hug her two parents, also sad for what happened to her aunt.

“We failed you. I´m so sorry.” Fluttershy apologized sad, her eyes filling with tears.

Shining and Cadence dried their noses.

“You have nothing to apologize for. We know it´s not your fault. You did all you could.” Shining reassured her.

“But at least it´s a relief to see you two alive.” Cadence told Fluttershy and Discord as she bandaged Fluttershy.

“Just one more…” Shining told Discord as he finished bandaging his neck. “Ok done!” he swept his sweat off his forehead. “Learning first aid at the military was one of the best decisions I ever had.” he thought aloud before laughing nervously. He bit his lip, seeing that he didn´t make neither Discord nor Fluttershy laugh.

“This might seem a little rough for you to answer, but… what happened to the others?” Shining asked curious.

Fluttershy and Discord looked away nervously.

“Probably dead as well. He locked us inside a cell and separated us. He told us that he would execute us all in different places so we wouldn´t spend our last moments together. Well… with the exception of me.”

“Really?” Shining asked surprised.

“Ironic, considering that he hates me the most. But he wasn´t done with me. He wanted me for his own purposes.” Fluttershy shivered while remembering the moments they talked to each other. “For example, he wanted to use me as a tool to control Discord.”

Everypony and animal stared at Discord. He looked from side to side quickly, trying to look for something to use as an excuse not to talk.

“Well lookie here! There was some carrot juice or something here for Angel. Why did you get out looking for carrots when you could have had this instead?”

Angel frowned at him and started patting his foot against the floor, waiting impatiently for Discord to talk about his past. The draconequus took a glance of his surroundings. They were begging him with eyes full of empathy, specially Fluttershy. He bit his lip.

“You might not like it but it´s important that you tell us.” Cadence told him.

“There´s nothing much to tell. You saw it pretty well with your eyes.”

“But we want to know the whole story.” Fluttershy remarked. She took Discord´s hoof. “We are here for you.” she gave him a smile that relieved his nervousness.

Discord inspired and expired.

“Ok. But please don´t let go of my paw.” Discord begged Fluttershy.

“Wasn´t planning to.”

Discord smiled sweetly at Fluttershy.

“Thousands of years ago, while Grogar was still ruling Equestria, he created monsters in order to keep ponies under his control. One day, inspired by North Eastern Equestria´s dragons, which were legends from around Mistmane´s village, he decided to create his ultimate weapon. But things didn´t go as he expected. Instead of getting the scariest monster, he got… well… me.” Discord smiled nervously.

The ponies and animals listened attentively.

“I don´t consider myself a disgrace, but Grogar did. So, ashamed of what he got, he locked me inside a room until he came up with a solution about what to do with me. Though most of the time alone, Grogar and Bray would check on me from time to time.” he chuckled. “I really got on their nerves, especially Grogar. You see, our idea of chaos was pretty different. Grogar saw it as destruction whereas I saw it as play! But can you really blame me? I was just a child! Besides, where is the fun in that?”

Fluttershy chuckled slightly.

“But deep down believed what he told me. It made me feel awful and sad. Still, my curiosity was stronger. So one day, I sneaked out my room to go through the town. However, I panicked soon when I saw everypony bashing at me. I ran away to a forest. Without, my life was about to change.”

“You met Gusty there, didn´t you?” Fluttershy guessed.

Discord nodded.

“Wait what?” Shining asked confused.

“Yeah, It´s confusing even to me. You see, Grogar must have erased my memories with her to keep me under control. I recently remembered. But yeah, I did meet her. She saved my life, in fact, taking me as her `hostage´ instead of letting her unicorns kill me. Unlike Grogar, she was kind to me. She didn´t believe I was a monster. She even loved me as her child! In fact, she told me that once she defeated Grogar, I could live with her and her daughters.” he smiled nostalgically. “But that never happened. After Grogar tried to throw me down a well, he must have done something for me to become unconscious. He could have let me for dead, but surprisingly, he didn´t.”

“What happened after Gusty defeated Grogar?” Cadence asked.

“He was banished. We took refuge in a cavern. Those days were really difficult for him. So much, that there came a point where I was his only hope to get his throne back. Besides, I was the only one who could take care of him. Those were the worst days in my life. Grogar got more and more hostile towards me. When he was ruling, it was more verbal but when he was banished… he started threatening me or fired magic at me if I did a single mistake in my training. One day, he got me injured. That´s when I decided to escape. As he always said, he warned me that I wouldn´t be accepted anywhere, he was the only one who would. The most painful thing about Grogar is that he´s always right about the world. He wasn´t wrong about me, he wasn´t wrong about Gusty. Everything he said happened. I had to travel to many lands in order to find a place I could stay in, including Scorpan´s kingdom. None of them accepted me. My last attempt to fit in was in Equestria. For my misfortune, they didn´t accept me. That´s when I decided to try stop fitting in. And well, you know the rest.” he said sadly.

There was a brief silence.

“Wow Discord… That sounds very rough. I´m sorry you had to go through all of that.” Shining told him.

“Why didn´t you tell me?” Fluttershy asked heart broken by Discord´s story.

“I was afraid that you would stop being my friend.”

“Of course not! These things hurt a creature´s soul deeply. I would have understood you better. Fortunately, there are ponies who are experts on helping creatures in the same situation. I suggest you go to one once this is over.”

“You mean telling this to a complete stranger alone in a room? No, no. I´d rather just tell you and that´s it.”

“But it´s not that easy. These ponies know how to help you in a way that ordinary ponies don´t.” Fluttershy sighed while stroking her mane. “I know that from experience…”

“Oh right. That darn Summer Flight Camp.” Discord rolled his eyes.

“What happened there?” Cadence asked curiously.

“When I was a filly, I was a really weak flyer. When I flapped my wings, I constantly went up and down, and because of that, I couldn´t fly fast. The other foals would laugh or yell at me for that.”

“Yeah, Twilight went through something similar before entering Celestia´s school.” Shining Armor commented.

“The worst thing is that I didn´t know how to defend myself. That caused me to have constant bad thoughts about myself and isolating myself from everypony. Well, except Rainbow Dash. Since I thought I was an annoyance, I never told this to anypony. Once I was out on my own, I thought there was nothing to worry about, but the thoughts were still there. Luckily, thanks to the help of my friends, I realized I needed to seek support, so I decided to consult one of these ponies.”

“Did it work?” Discord asked curiously.

“Yes, pretty much. However, when I´m really stressed the thoughts come back. They might not disappear forever but at least they won´t stop me from my goals.”

Discord looked away, thinking about what Fluttershy said. However, he quickly came back to reality when he heard Fluttershy´s voice.

“Until they came true.”

“What do you mean with that?” Shining Armor asked.

“One of my most recurring thoughts is that my element is not appreciated. That is just for the weak. I firmly believe that kindness is a strong force, but how will it be if nopony believes in its strength?”

“What makes you think that?” Cadence asked.

“Look out there! Nopony´s offering a hoof to their neighbours. There´s so much hostility out there. And that´s because Grogar´s fuelling it, and if he keeps on doing that, soon, ponies of the same species will turn against each other. Nopony will show compassion anymore and if one does, they´ll be considered weak, and thus, they won´t do it again” Fluttershy sniffed. “It saddens me because it´s my element.” Fluttershy´s eyes filled with tears. “It´s the only thing I can do for Twilight!” Fluttershy sobbed while breaking into tears. “Carrying on spreading kindness in her name. But right now, that won´t save anypony from Grogar. So why did I have to be the survivor if what I have to offer won´t help anypony?!”

Fluttershy put her hooves on her eyes as she sobbed loudly. Her animals quickly hugged her.

“Fluttershy. That´s not true. We still believe in kindness. And I´m sure that somepony out there still does too.” Shining Armor said.

“That´s the thing about our elements. They seem weak because they´re not aggressive nor a brute force that in desperate times like this everypony roots for. But believe me, it is in those times when they are the most needed and the strongest.” Cadence said.

“Exactly.” Discord agreed. “And that comes from a creature who believed that those things never existed! But that´s because I was barely shown that. I might have never told you this because I´m not into showing feelings but if it makes you feel better, here it goes.” Discord inspired and expired. “I´m very grateful for your kindness. It means so so much to me in such a way that you would never imagine. It saved my life. It opened me to new possibilities that I was desperately craving for, but never found. Thanks to it, I remembered that I could be loved and accepted for who I am.” Discord shed some tears. “It encouraged me to be a better draconequus, even though I never thought that was possible. When I found difficult doing a good act, I´d always go back to my memories with you to tell myself that I could do it. Your kindness is what got me through the rough time I was separated from you and with Grogar. So yes, even in these hard times, it saved some creature. And that creature, is me.”

After hearing Discord´s words, Fluttershy felt so moved. Her tears weren´t from sadness, but rather gratefulness. Quickly and without nopony expecting it, she hugged Discord, which made him blush in return. Her tears stopped, and instead she was blushing and had a relaxed smile on her face. She felt so calm that she had her eyes closed. Discord also relaxed and closed his eyes, with a big smile on his face.

Cadence, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and the animals observed the scene. Angel had a mixture of emotions: jealous because he wanted Fluttershy to hug him like that but happy because she wasn´t crying anymore.

“Should we turn around or…?” Shining Armor asked Cadence, a little nervous by the scene.

Cadence and Flurry Heart, on the other hoof, were enjoying the scene. Flurry was excited to see what happened next, whereas Cadence was smiling in serenity.

“Cadence?” Shining asked worried, since he saw her cry.

“Sorry. You know I love seeing scenes like this, specially now. After seeing so many ugly things, it´s a relief to see something beautiful. It shows what I just said. Love is a powerful force, isn´t it? It changes a creature´s heart and makes them show their best.” Cadence said to Shining Armor.

“Yeah. I agree.” Shining put his foreleg around Cadence. “Although I think that you should let them some privacy. Remember they´ve been separated and have gone through a really rough time. Besides, staring at couples can come off as creepy, just so you know.”

Cadence blushed in embarrassment.

“Yeah, you´re right.”

But right when she was about to turn around, Flurry started to babble to call her parents attention.

“What is it hon?” Shining asked Flurry.

A flash of light blinded Shining Armor and Cadence. Some animals jumped back, while others observed in awe. scared They couldn´t figure out where it came from until it started fading. Apparently, it came from Fluttershy! Discord´s arms were up, still scared by the sudden flash and light that surrounded her. Yet, that was not the most surprising thing. Fluttershy herself didn´t seem to notice it! She was still with her eyes closed, smiling and hugging Discord.

“Thank you, Discord.” she said as she finally opened her eyes and undid the hug.

Her calm expression turned into one of strangeness when she saw her animals and friends shocked. Well, except Flurry, who had a big smile of joy on her face.

“What? What is it?”

“You seriously didn´t notice? A light literally surrounded you for a moment!” Discord put his arms in the air to emphasize his point.

Angel and the other animals nodded their heads energetically.

“Really? I didn´t notice.” Fluttershy scratched her temple. “Oh my… I am must be really tired if I didn´t notice that. Although… I feel really good.” she smiled.

“What do you mean?” Cadence asked curiously.

“My body doesn´t hurt anymore. It feels… normal. Just like in any other day.” Fluttershy gasped. “Does that mean….” she wondered aloud.

She looked at her wings.

“Whoah, are you sure you want to try to fly?” Cadence asked her, knowing what her intention was. “You might feel better but that doesn´t mean that you can still do activities that require physical effort.”

“But there´s only one way to find out, right?” Fluttershy said.

“I mean, she´s not wrong.” Shining Armor agreed with her.

“Just in case, we need mats, a towel…” Discord said as he summoned those elements, with certain difficulty. “And liquids!”

Angel noticed how Fluttershy smiled at Discord, which made him feel jealous. Before Discord summoned any liquids, he noticed the carrot juice up in the shelves. Grinning confidently, he jumped to the shelf to get the bottle. The animals noticed him. They shook their heads or told him to get down, which got everypony´s attention. Fluttershy gasped when she saw Angel on the shelves.

“Angel!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Put that down!” she ordered worried.

The bunny, however, didn´t listen. And for that, he slipped off the shelf´s edge and fell. The animals gasped horrified. Without thinking it twice, Fluttershy flew to him. Fortunately, she got him on time, but in doing so, she crashed against the shelf. Her friends went to aid her.

“Are you alright?” Shining asked.

Fluttershy´s eyes went everywhere.

“Whoah…”

Discord pulled out the first aid kit from the wall.

“Quick Shining! Do your whatever it is that you learnt in the military!” he told him.

Fluttershy shook her head.

“I don´t think that will be necessary.” Cadence told them.

“Yeah, I feel better, don´t worry.” Fluttershy reassured Discord. “But you´re gonna have to help me put that back where it was.”

Discord realized what he had done. He quickly hid the first aid kit behind his back.

Fluttershy looked at Angel. She frowned when she realized that he was smiling.

“Why are you smiling you mister?”

Angel jumped from her arms. He put his forelegs on his chest defensively.

“Why wouldn´t you be? Because what you did was very dangerous! What would have happened if I hadn´t flown in ti-”

Fluttershy widened her eyes at her realization.

“I flew…” she turned to her friends and the animals. “I flew! My magic´s back!”

The animals jumped out of joy. Flurry laughed.

“It´s a miracle!” Cadence exclaimed.

“Ah!” Shining clapped his hooves. “Thank goodness she has her magic again.” he exclaimed while looking up.

“I didn´t do this, so how could have this happen? Not that I´m not happy for you, I really am, but I´m just curious. And confused too.” Discord stroked his beard.

Fluttershy looked at her hooves.

“I guess you must have triggered something when you reminded me the power of my element. I´m not sure where that magic came from, though.”

“It came from you!” Discord pointed at her. “That magic was inside you the whole time!”

Cadence and Shining stared at Discord.

“How do you know that?” Cadence asked.

“I don´t. I was just wild guessing.” Discord shrugged.

The couple scowled at him. Meanwhile, Fluttershy kept staring at her hooves.

“I might never know, and though I´d like to, we can´t waste time thinking about it. We need to go back to Canterlot to stop Grogar from doing more harm.”

“I agree.” Shining stood up. “He needs to pay for what he did to Twilight.” he smacked his hoof.

“May his kingdom be over.” Cadence said.

Flurry ignited her horn while smirking. Flutteshy noticed her mane being slightly pulled. When she looked down, she saw it was Angel. He pointed at himself and the other animals.

“You want to help? Oh that´s so sweet, but also very dangerous. I don´t want any of you to be harmed.”

Angel confidently shook his head.

“Ok. You may come.”

The animals cheered.

“But before going we need to come up with a plan.” she looked at Discord. “Any ideas?” she asked while smirking and raising an eyebrow playfully.

Discord laughed.

“With pleasure.”

Chapter 26: Reunion at Ponyville

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“Where is it? Where is it?”Rainbow constantly asked herself mentally.

Normally, she wouldn´t be so impatient about not seeing Ponyville when returning from the Wonderbolt Academy, but right now, waiting wasn´t something she could afford. Not while Scootaloo, her friends, the students, and Starlight, Sunburst and Trixie were in danger. And to make matters worse, it was snowing a lot, which would make the task of finding and flying yp Ponyville more difficult. For this reason, she and the wonderbolts decided to take shifts to fly to make sure Celaeno was going in the right direction. Right now it was Rainbow´s turn. And it was lasting a little longer than the other Wonderbolts´.

The Wonderbolts, who were watching her from Celaeno´s ship, shared worried glances.

“I´ll talk to her.” Soarin offered himself “Hey boss!” he exclaimed to get her attention.

“You can call me Dash. Just like always.”

“Dash. It´s my turn now.”

Rainbow bit her lip.

“Can´t I stay a bit longer?”

“We understand that you want to use your wings.” Vapor Trail said.

“Not to mention that you want to be the first to find Ponyville for very understandable reasons.” Thunderlane added.

“But we agreed to take on shifts!” Fleetfoot pointed out.

“And if you keep on flying, you´ll freeze!” Surprise said worried.

“You survived Tirek, Chrysalis, Cozy and Grogar, lost your magic and got it back, you can´t die now!” Sky Stinger put his hooves on the air.

“Pfft! I´ll be fine.” Rainbow reassured them with no worries.

But just after she said that, a gust of snowflakes and wind dragged her backwards.

“Ok. Maybe it´s breaktime.” she reconsidered.

She landed on the boat whereas Soarin went into the blizzard.

“Aaargh! It´s not fair! Why can´t I fly in peace?!” she yelled a bit frustrated.

Gilda held her laughter.

“That´s the first thing I thought when it started to snow.” she said.

“Really?” Gabby asked surprised. “Because my first thought was: Oh no! Now I can´t bring the mail to anypony!”

“Wait you guys had a reaction to the snow?” Greta joined the conversation.

The two griffons stared at her.

“Didn´t you?” Gilda asked her.

“We literally live in the mountains girls! As if we never saw snow.”

Gilda and Gabby scratched their chins. Rainbow held her laughter.

“That being said,” Greta continued as she raised her finger. “I started to get worried when it started to snow more than usual.”

“Oh, everything went into chaos when we noticed the windigoes!” Gabby put her claws on her cheeks.

“No. Everything went into chaos when you explained what those things were.” Gilda corrected.

“I think that the whole world into chaos.” Rainbow said.

“But it got much worse when the changelings came.” Greta said.

“But luckily Princess Cadence saved us!” Gabby exclaimed excited.

“Yeah! You should have seen when Cadence brought them down!” Gilda nudged Rainbow.

The pegasus sighed.

“I just hope something similar happened to the CMC and the students.”

“Oh yeah definitely!” Gabby agreed.

“Now that I think about it, there was one of us in there. What was his name?” Gilda asked Greta.

“Gallus.” Greta replied.

“Oh yeah, Gallus.”

“Hey! What are you girls talking about?” Lyra asked as she approached them.

“Nothing, really.” Rainbow answered. “We were just hoping our loved ones are ok.”

“Oof, tell me about it! I hope one of those monsters hasn´t devoured Bon Bon!”

When Rainbow heard Lyra mentioning Bon Bon, she remembered that she had to ask Lyra something.

“Lyra… Can I ask you something?”

“Sure! Go ahead!” Lyra replied excited.

She was about to ask her question, but she noticed that the griffons were around.

“In private.” Rainbow specified to them.

The three griffons nodded and left, curious about what Rainbow had to ask Lyra. Lyra herself was also a bit estranged.

“So, what is it that you want to ask me?” Lyra asked.

“Before you and Bon Bon started dating, who was the one to take the first step?”

Lyra put her hoof under her chin.

“Hmm…. I think it was the two of us at the same time.”

“Really?”

Lyra nodded.

“Were you nervous?”

“Not really. I knew she liked me.”

“How?”

“Lots of hugs, long stares, presents, holding my hoof… It was pretty obvious.”

Rainbow remembered her moments with A.J. She didn´t remember A.J doing anything of that around her. She sighed sadly.

“Are you asking me because you love a certain mare?” Lyra raised an eyebrow playfully.

“Yes...”

“Let me guess, Applejack, right?”

Rainbow blushed.

“How did you know that?”

“It was really obvious. Of all your friends, she was the one I saw you hanging around the most. And I saw giving her the same stare Bon Bon gave me.”

“And did you observe Applejack´s face?”

Lyra shook her head.

“Nope. I only noticed your face once.”

“Oh… Ok.” Rainbow said a bit disappointed.

“What is it?”

“Well… I never saw A.J behaving like you described Bon Bon. Does that mean that it wasn´t reciprocated?”

“I´m not sure. But ponies have different ways of showing love. Just because Bon Bon was like that, doesn´t mean that the same goes for A.J. Bear that in mind.”

Rainbow smiled somewhat sadly.

“Yeah, I guess you´re right.”

The conversation stopped when Soarin started screaming.

“Ponyville! I see Ponyville! We´re near!”

“Heard you!” Celaeno replied.

Rainbow gasped.

“We´re there! We´re in Ponyville! Wohoo! Here I come everypony!”

“You´re not going anywhere. Not yet.” Celaeno told her. “First we have to land the ship.”

“Oh. Right.” Rainbow smiled sheepishly.

Though now full of energy, Applejack, her family and the kirins had to take various stops to make sure they weren´t seen. If it was for her she´d run for hours, but at least she was around her family.

During one of those stops, Applejack looked at how Big Mac and Sugar Belle interacted.

“Oof! You may not notice while running, but once you stop, you feel the chills!” Sugar Belle exclaimed while shivering.

“Here.” Big Mac hugged her. “Feel better?”

“Yup.”

They both blushed. Applejack turned her head to Maud and Mudbriar.

“Thanks for saving Boulder earlier.” Maud said to Mudbriar.

“You´re welcome. But technically, you also defended Twiggy with great ease.” Mudbriar said in reply.

Maud smiled and put her head in Mudbriar´s shoulder.

Applejack sighed sadly.

“So what is the plan?” Autumn Blaze asked excited behind her.

Applejack jumped from the surprise.

“Don´t scare me like that.” Applejack told her somewhat upset.

“Sorry. I just saw you so reflective that I thought you were conjuring up a plan in your mind or something like that.”

“Jokes aside, we do need a plan for the rescue.” Limestone Pie pointed out.

“Hm.” Marble Pie nodded her head.

“Well… I wasn´t thinking about it, but-”

“What were you thinking about then?” Autumn Blaze asked curiously.

“About my friends.”

They all clenched their teeth.

“Sorry. Shouldn´t have asked.” Autumn Blaze apologized.

“None taken. But y´all are right about coming up with a plan. We´re gonna think of one right now.”

“Ok. Tell us your ideas Applejack.” the leader of the kirins said.

“Well I guess we could-”

Applejack was interrupted by Bon Bon, who was constantly moving from side to side to get a better view of the whole place. She even separated the two couples in order to find out if there was a monster near. Annoyed by this behaviour, Limestone growled.

“Will you stop that? We´re trying to come up with a plan here.”

“Sorry, but this is important.” Bon Bon replied. “I´m not doing this without a reason. You know that, do you?”

“Yeah, but I think it´s a bit ridiculous.”

Bon Bon scoffed.

“Say that when a monster takes your sisters away like they did to Lyra.”

When she mentioned Lyra, Applejack remembered that she had to ask something to Bon Bon in private. And this could be the perfect opportunity.

“I´ll help you with it!” Applejack stood up.

Bon Bon widened her eyes surprised.

“Why thank you.”

Limestone, Marble and the kirins raised an eyebrow at her.

“But what about the plan?” Limestone asked estranged.

“I´m not that inspired. I have a lot of things in my mind right now. But I guess that after taking a walk with Bon Bon, my mind will clear and come up with a solution. But you can think of any ideas in the meantime.”

Although a little confused about her sudden change of mind, they understood her need to do that, so they agreed.

Applejack walked away towards Bon Bon.

“Of all these ponies, I knew you were the one who was going to understand this weird behaviour I´m having right now. Naturally after facing Grogar, you´d want to look for his monsters.”

“Yeah. But there´s also another reason.”

Bon Bon´s ears perked up.

“I wanted to ask you something. Only if it doesn´t bother you.”

“What is it?”

“How were you sure that Lyra liked you?”

“Aha! So I was right.”

“What?”

“That you liked Rainbow Dash! Otherwise, why would you be asking me that?”

Applejack blushed.

“But replying to your question, I didn´t! Nonetheless, I knew that I had to try. It was either that or staying with the doubt forever.”

“When you asked her, did you do it in a direct way or were you implying it?”

“Direct manner. In every relationship, whether platonic or romantic, communication and honesty is the key. But you don´t have any problem with that. You´re the bearer of the element of honesty!”

Applejack looked away.

“So you told her? What did she tell you?”

“No. She did. She told me I was her best best friend. But I´m not sure if it was because she liked me too or that she only saw me as her best friend.”

“Hm… Probably the first.”

“Really?” A.J asked in a mixture of hopefulness and surprise.

Bon Bon nodded.

“From what you tell me, I think that Rainbow was nervous, so she decided to tell you by implying it. I think that being direct is better, but I understand it´s not that easy for everypony.”

She noticed Applejack shedding a small tear.

“You alright?”

“Yeah. It´s just… I might wait to see her again but at least I know she and I had felt the same for each other. Thanks to you.”

Bon Bon smiled tenderly at her.

“Now. Let´s go and think about a plan on what to do at the School of Friendship. There´s no time to waste!”

Bon Bon followed Applejack to reunited with the group.

Spike and all his allies were walking through the Everfree Forest, on direction to Canterlot. Though he wasn´t alone and this time they were more creatures, he was still nervous. What if they weren´t enough to defeat Grogar? What if he failed again? The more they walked, the more nervous he got. But he pretended not to be. He didn´t want to stop every creature to talk about his feelings. However, he also wanted to tell somepony. What to do?

Suddenly, he noticed two hooves jumping onto his shoulders.

“Spike!” Punja exclaimed.

“Oh. Hey, Punja.” he greeted her with a smile. “I thought you were with the CMC and the students. Or with Zecora and Scorpan.”

“I want to spend some time with you. All this time without knowing anything of friend has been very blue. Besides, who knows what facing that ram provides.”

“You wanna talk about it? Because I´m glad to listen.” Spike asked worried.

“Though a part of me wants to resign, I´m pretty sure we´ll be fine. That´s all I have to say about it.”

“Oh, ok.” Spike said somewhat disappointed.

“But I can listen to what you have to say.”

“Me?”

“From what I see, you are the one who is nervous to a high degree.”

“No… What are you talking about?” Spike darted his eyes from one side to the other.

“Eyes moving from side to side, the fact that you denied, the sweat on your front… There´s a lot of evidence to hunt! Plus, you asked me if I wanted to discuss the future that awaits us.”

Spike bit his lip.

“So… Is there something you want me to know?” Punja raised her eyebrow.

“I´m… Very nervous, Punja. Like very nervous. I know I´ve said a million times when we were planning, but believe me, Grogar´s nothing like the threats we ever faced before. He´s far scarier. Besides, how am I supposed to take his bell? Just by giving two steps I get super tired! There´s no way I can carry that. It´s really heavy, and I can tell you from experience, and without any strength we won´t last.”

“But you won´t have to carry the bell. I thought you understood the plan well.”

“I know, but what if I can´t even lift it?”

“Then we´ll lift it together or with more help, like Smolder!”

Spike tried to come up with an argument to refute Punja´s suggestion, but he couldn´t. Punja put a hoof on Spike´s shoulder.

“We´ll survive, Spike. I know it.”

“But I might make the process a bit more difficult. Remember that Grogar gets more powerful by fear. And I´m the one who´s the most afraid of him.”

Punja looked around. She took two sticks and put them on her ears.

“Woo! I´m Grogar, the meanest and scariest old goat, even though my name sounds bizarre.” Punja mocked him.

“Punja, this is serious.” Spike told her.

“I´m impossible to defeat so you should retreat. Ha ha ha!”

“Stop doing that, it won´t work.” Spike started to chuckle.

“But deep down I´m insecure because they took my kingdom away. I cry at night like baby since that day.” Punja pretended to cry dramatically.

This time, Spike started to laugh.

“Darn it, I´m imagining him with diapers.”

“Whenever you feel afraid of him, try to think of him like that to get a grin.”

“I´m still not sure that will take all my fear of him away, but at least I´ll get a good laugh.”

Punja smiled at him while nodding her head.

“Do you think I did a good job?”

“At what?”

“You know, at being an ambassador, solving problems and conflicts…”

“Sure! Throughout all this whole situation you acted very mature. You acted really professional, and for that you were sensational! Why do you ask about the quality of your task?”

“When Twilight got crowned, I would be her official ambassador. That might never happen now, but at least I wanted to do that labour on her memory. So, I promised myself to do my best at that. That´s why I ask your opinion.”

“My opinion is steady, you´re the greatest ambassador already.” Punja put her foreleg around Spike.

Spike blushed while timidly looking away.

“Thank you Punja.”

“You´re welcome.”

While they were chatting, the CMC looked at the horizon. They gasped.

“Ponyville!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

Every creature stared estranged at her.

“She means we´re near Ponyville!” Apple Bloom explained.

“If you look harder, you can see some houses!” Scootaloo told them.

Every creature did as Scootaloo said. She was right! Despite the strong blizzards, Ponyville was still visible in the distance.

“Can we make a stop there before going to Cantelot?” a student asked the leaders.

“We want to see if our families are ok.” another student explained.

“That depends. What do you think Spike? Can we stop?” Thorax asked him.

Every creature turned their heads to Spike, expecting an answer from him. The dragon scratched his chin in thought.

“It wouldn´t be bad if we checked on every creature before going to Cantelot.”

Every creature nodded and continued walking forwards.

“I hope nopony´s hurt.” he thought to himself.

Rarity and her friends ran to the School of Friendship. While doing so, Rarity observed her surroundings with curiosity. There was not a single changeling in sight, which seemed strange. They couldn´t have left just like that! Then, where were they?

When she thought of a possible answer, she stopped running abruptly. Her friends didn´t until they realized they went passed her.

“What´s wrong Rarity?” Coco Pomel asked curious.

“Doesn´t it seem strange to you that there´s not a single changeling?” Rarity asked in return.

“Now that you say it… You´re kinda right.” Steven Magnet agreed.

“Which could mean…” Sunset thought aloud.

Tempest gasped.

“It´s a trap!” she exclaimed while preparing to defend every creature.

“But if it was a trap, wouldn´t they have come out already?” Capper pointed out.

Every creature stayed silent.

“That´s actually a good point.” Sunset commented.

“He does.” Rarity took a few steps forward to get a better look. “But it´s still strange.”

“Well, there´s only one way to find out.” Tempest suggested as she looked at Steven Magnet.

Rarity, Capper, Coco and Sunset stared at him too.

“Why are you all looking at me?” he raised his arms.

“Because… You´re the biggest creature here, which gives an advantage to protect yourself from those evil changelings?” Coco smiled timidly.

Steven Magnet shrugged.

“I can´t refute that argument.”

He took a few steps before popping his head inside the school. After, taking a few quick glances, he reunited with his friend.

“Well, it is empty.”

“Maybe they´re not there.” Sunset Shimmer told Rarity.

“Hmm… Just because he didn´t see a single changeling at the hallway, doesn´t mean that there couldn´t be any. Or that the students aren´t in there. I must look deeper into this mystery!”

She ran to the door. Capper, Sunset, Tempest and Coco followed behind.

“Sweetie Belle! Sweetie Belle!” she called as she ran.

Meanwhile, Steven held his tail nervously.

“Uh... I´m too big to fit in there. I mean, my head did, but I don´t think that my entire body would.”

“Just look through the windows!” Capper advised him.

“That´s something I can do!”

While Rarity´s group entered through the main door, that wasn´t the same case for Rainbow Dash´s. She broke a window from the back of the school.

“Scootaloo! Scootaloo!”

“You know? You could have used the main door instead of breaking a window.” Gilda said to Rainbow.

“No time for that! Besides, there could be changelings.”

“If there were, we would be surrounded by now, wouldn´t we?” Celaeno said as she went through the window.

“You never know that! They´re called changelings for a reason, they could have taken the shape of a shelf, or a chair or a table!” Rainbow exclaimed.

Immediately, she kicked all the library´s furniture. The fact that it didn´t react convinced Rainbow that indeed there weren´t any changelings at the library.

“Ok, they´re not changelings.”

“No, but they are obstacles!” Grandpa Gruff exclaimed upset.

“Didn´t want to do it, but I had to make sure. Besides, you can fly! That´s not a problem for any of you.”

“Well, for me it kinda is.” Lyra said.

Rainbow put her hoof on her forehead while growling.

“But don´t worry! I can teleport myself.” she ignited her horn and reappeared at the other side of the room. “See?”

“I don´t see anypony nor changeling here, so let´s check other rooms!”

Every creature nodded and ran behind Rainbow.

As for Applejack, she was the last one to arrive to the school. Her eyes widened when she noticed Steven Magnet in the distance.

“Oh no.” she muttered under her breath.

“What is it?” Sugar Belle asked.

“Grogar´s bell affected Steven Magnet!”

“Who in tarnation is that?” Limestone asked in return.

“It´s a giant sea serpent me and my friends met when we faced Nightmare Moon.”

“Technically, it would be a lake serpent.” Mudbriar corrected Applejack. “Lakes are freshwater masses. Seas, on the other hoof, are saltwater masses.”

“The salt comes from earth rocks.” Maud Pie added.

“What makes you think that he´s been corrupted?” Big Mac asked Applejack.

“Why else would he be standing there?”

“He could be a changeling too!” Autumn Blaze suggested. “You know, since those creatures can turn into other creatures.”

“I think that´s more likely.” Bon Bon agreed with Autumn Blaze. “Sea serpents are natural creatures, not Grogar´s creation.”

“Then, it´s settled. It´s a changeling disguised as Steven Magnet.” Applejack concluded.

As they approached him, Steven Magnet looked through every school window.

“Nopony here.” he went on to check the next window. “And nopony there either. Huh. Did they take them to Canterlot?”

“YOUUU!” Applejack yelled from the distance.

Steven turned around. He opened his arms wide when he recognized Applejack.

“Applejack! We thought you were dead!”

“Quit the act, will you?”

Steven widened his eyes, shocked by Applejack´s hostility towards him.

“Whoah whoah! What do you mean with that?”

“You know that better than us, you changeling!” Autumn Blaze pointed at him.

Steven Magnet held his laughter.

“Don´t laugh this is serious!” Limestone stomped her hoof against the ground.

“Honey, I´m no changeling. It´s me, Steven Magnet!”

“If it´s really you, the why are you doing here?”

“Helping Rarity!”

Everypony widened their eyes.

“Ok. I did not expect that.” Autumn Blaze said.

Applejack sat down, shocked by Steven´s reply. Was it really true? Was Rarity alive? So many questions were rushing her mind.

“Is this some kind of joke? Because it is, it´s not funny.”

“I´m telling you, she´s right here. I suppose you two came for the same thing. Looking for your sisters, am I right?”

“Yeah! We are! Where is she?”

“Go on, she´s inside!” Steven invited her to enter.

Limestone and Marble held Applejack.

“Ok. Now I am little suspicious.” Limestone Pie scowled at Steven.

Marble nodded her head.

“Oh come on, it´s me, I´m telling you!”

Applejack bit her lip.

“Fine, we´ll wait till she gets out. If you don´t believe me, you´ll see it yourself.”

Steven held his head high.

“Do we wait for something to happen?” Sugar Belle asked Applejack.

“I don´t know. He could be telling the truth. And at the same time he couldn´t.”

“Whenever happens, we´ll be here.” Big Mac reassured her.

Applejack smiled at him. Suddenly, Rarity and her friends got out of the school, holding their head down due to the sadness of not finding Sweetie Belle. But their expressions changed when they saw Applejack.

“See? What did I tell you?” Steven said victorious.

Applejack and Rarity looked at each other. Tears of joy started forming in their eyes.

“Ra- Rarity?”

“Applejack?”

Rarity was about to walk down the stairs. But something made her not to. Suddenly, in front of Applejack, a whole started forming on the ground. Soon, they knew who was responsible for said whole, as three certain Diamond Dogs peeked out their heads.

“Is this Canterlot?” Spot asked.

“No, this is Ponyville, you idiot!” Rover scolded him.

“I told you Canterlot is farther away, didn´t I?” Fido told Spot.

Rarity yelped.

“Gah! Diamond Dogs!” she ignited her horn.

“Isn´t that pony we ponynapped?”

“Yup.”

The dogs hugged each other tightly.

“Wait!” Applejack jumped over their heads. “They´re by our side.”

Rarity stopped lightning her horn. Slowly, she frowned.

“You´re not Applejack. You´re a changeling!”

“Wait. What?”

“Ha! How does that feel?” Steven pointed at her.

“Whatever made you think I was a changeling?”

“Applejack would never ally with the Diamond Dogs.”

“I can explain-”

“I don´t want to hear them. What you did was very harmful. I´ve been through a lot, and you passing as my friend.”

“I am Applejack! she gasped. “What if you are the changeling?” Applejack accused Rarity.

“Excuse me?! I am the real me.”

Rarity and Applejack kept arguing on their identity. Tempest, Capper, Coco and Sunset watched the scene.

“Do you think she´s the real Applejack?” Sunset asked.

“I think she is. Applejack behaved like that when she and Rarity helped me in Manehattan. If she isn´t, that changeling is a great actor!”

“Really? Cause I don´t trust her.” Tempest said.

“You never trust anypony.” Capper told Tempest.

“Fair point.”

Meanwhile, Rainbow and her group reunited with the wonderbolts.

“Did you find anything?” Soarin asked Rainbow.

“Surprisingly, there wasn´t any changelings or students.” Rainbow exclaimed. “Maybe, they´ve been taken to Canterlot, I don´t know.”

“Let´s go back to my ship then.” Celaeno said.

But just when they were about to leave, Rainbow noticed something. She saw two mares arguing in a circle made by ponies and other creatures. After looking harder, she realized those two mares were Rarity and Applejack.

“It can´t be…” she thought aloud, while tears were forming in her eyes.

“Dash! Are you coming?” Gilda asked.

But Rainbow gave no answer. She directly flied to her friends.

“Wait!”

Rainbow landed in front of Applejack and Rarity.

“Girls! I can´t believe it! You´re alive?”

Applejack and Rarity blinked.

“Seriously?” Rarity said frustrated.

“Isn´t one changeling enough?” Applejack added.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

“You think I´m a changeling? Are you serious?”

“YES!” Rarity and Applejack replied in chorus.

“Well, let me tell you I´m the real Rainbow. And I´ll also say that it´s really suspicious you´re talking about changelings when there was not a single one inside the school.”

“Thank you!” Rarity agreed, but she quickly changed her mind when she realized what Rainbow meant. “Wait. What are you saying?”

“Well, it is suspicious of you to be accusing us as well.” Applejack pressed her nose against Rainbow.

“The same goes for you.”

The three mares kept on arguing. The members of their respective groups had no idea what to do. They seemed to be their real selves, but being in the times they were in… It was difficult to be certain about something. How to solve this mystery?

Luckily, Spike and all the allies were entering Ponyville. They were paying attention all around them to make sure everything was ok. The city was full of snow, but at least there wasn´t any changelings.

After some time walking, they were finally reaching Twilight´s castle and the School of Friendship.

“Look! There are ponies in there!” Trixie pointed at the distance.

“Not only ponies, other creatures as well.” Scorpan concreted after taking a better view.

“What could be happening there for catching many creatures´ attention?” Starlight wondered.

“No idea, but it could be important.” Sunburst agreed.

The student six and the cmc noticed three ponies. One was orange, other blue and the last one was white. They gasped in realization.

“Are those…” Silverstream began the question.

“Professor Applejack, Dash and Rarity?!” her friends finished the question.

“Our sisters?” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle asked in chorus with the student six.

Spike put his claws in his mouth. His eyes filled with tears.

“They´re alive?”

“It seems so.” Zecora replied with a smile full of hope. “Unless I see badly because of the snow.”

“Ok. One question, Pharynx.” Ember turned to the changeling. “Did every changeling that was with you return to their true forms.”

“Yeah! Each of us chased the students.”

“Yup. They´re them.” Ember confirmed to herself.

Without saying a word, Spike advanced towards Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow. Every creature followed him.

The more he approached, the more the tears were. The Apple and the Pie family and the kirins widened their eyes when they noticed him and gasped softly as they made way for him. Spike stopped walking when he was just in front of his three friends. The three mares didn´t see him coming at first, but they became aware of his presence when they heard his steps. At first, they were scowling at him, thinking it was just another changeling. But after seeing the way he looked at them, with eyes full of tears, they knew it was the real him.

“Spike!” the three mares exclaimed in chorus.

They looked at each other.

“Wait.” Rainbow Dash said.

“If we´re all having the same reaction to Spike,” Rarity continued.

“That means…” Applejack finished.

Their eyes filled with tears while looking at each other. They screamed in joy before hugging each other.

“Girls!” Spike ran towards them.

They opened their forelegs so Spike could fit in the hug.

“I´d thought I´d never see any of you again.” Applejack told all of them.

“Neither did I!” Rainbow sobbed.

“I did know we were going to reunite. But in the afterlife!” Rarity sniffed. “I´m glad we lived to see each other again.”

Spike dried his eyes.

“You seem to have a better colour and more energy.” he gasped. “Did you get your magic back?”

Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked at each other. Spike was right, the same happened to the three mares.

“I think so.” Applejack replied.

“How did it happen to you?” Rarity asked curiously.

“Well, we were talking and suddenly magic surrounded her and then boom! A flash.” Gabby explained excitedly.

“Really? Because that´s the same that happened to me!” Rarity put her hoof on her chest.

“And to me.” Applejack added.

“That´s something very curious, indeed.” Spike thought aloud.

“But one thing´s for sure. I don´t think this would have happened without their help.” Rarity looked at Capper, Tempest, Coco, Sunset and Steven Magnet, who smiled warmly back at her.

“Yeah, the same goes for you guys.” Applejack looked at her family, Bon Bon and the kirins tenderly. They smiled in pride.

“You´re the best!” Rainbow said to the griffons, wonderbolts and Lyra.

“Well, I don´t have my magic back, but I also had lots of support to carry on.” Spike said while looking back.

Every creature stared in awe at Spike´s company. He had every leader of other nation, the pillars, Stygian, Scorpan, the students of the school of friendship, Starlight, Trixie, Sunburst, Zecora, the cmc and Punja by his side.

The cmc called Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow.

“Applejack!”

“Rarity!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

They ran to their respective sisters´ forelegs. Tears of joy were in their eyes.

Later, it would be the student six who would join the hug.

“Professors!” they exclaimed in chorus.

They jumped on to them, making them fall on their backs. Although it hurt them a little, they laughed with cheer. Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst bowed down on the floor.

“Thank goodness you´re fine!” Sunburst exclaimed.

“I thought I had lost my friends forever!” Starlight cried.

“No kidding, she fainted when she heard what happened.” Trixie said.

The three mares smiled tenderly at them. Then, the pillars approached them.

“You can´t imagine how much happiness it brings us to see you alive.” Starswirl dried a tear.

“It´s a really big relief.” Mistmane agreed.

“It´s also a relief to see you alright too.” Applejack nodded her head.

“Well, not really. Unlike you, we haven´t got our magic back.” Stygian lamented.

“But thanks to Spike, we felt useful.” Flash Magnus looked at Spike.

“He did?” Rarity asked while smiling at Spike.

“This guy?” Punja surrounded him with her foreleg. “The fact that he´s amazing isn´t something you can´t deny.”

“He gave us hope when I couldn´t.” Somnambula explained.

“He helped us to organize ourselves for the battle.” Queen Novo added.

“And he let us help with ideas!” Smolder and her friends smiled.

“Battle? You are planning on facing Grogar?” Rainbow asked.

“What you heard!” Skystar confirmed.

Rarity looked at Spike.

“You did all of this?”

“After Twilight´s death, I knew I had to do something for her. I didn´t expect to have so much support. At first it was me, the pillars, Stygian and Scorpan. But then, all of them rescued me. And even though I don´t have my magic, I knew I could help by planning and maintaining everypony together, like she would have liked. I don´t know if it will be enough to get Grogar out of the throne, but this was all I could do.”

Without expecting it, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow hugged Spike.

“It is enough.” Rarity replied.

“You did a great job.” Applejack congratulated him.

“We love you buddy.” Rainbow told him.

Spike´s eyes filled with tears. Suddenly, the same light that appeared before in Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, surrounded Spike. They walked backwards scared, but at the same time they were appreciating the phenomenon, as so did every creature. Until the flash of light disappeared, there was silence.

“Huh. So that´s what they saw when this happened.” Rainbow chuckled.

Spike opened his eyes.

“What happened?”

“The same thing that happened to us.” Applejack replied.

“You got your magic back!” Rarity exclaimed excited.

Spike blinked. He opened his wings and jumped, trying to see if he could fly. And he did. It was true! He had his magic back!

“It´s back! It´s back! Woohoo!” Spike cheered.

Every creature cheered in return.

“Wish the same thing could happen to us.” Rockhoof whispered in Meadowbrook´s ear.

“To be honest, me too.” she whispered in return.

Spike stopped flying.

“But wait. Why did this happen with me? I mean, I get you, but me? I´m not connected to any element!”

“That might be true, but you are one of us, Spike.” Rarity hugged him.

Spike hugged her in return.

“I hate to interrupt all these touchy moments of reconnection, but we have a ram to defeat, don´t we?” Gilda said after yawning.

Rainbow smirked in return.

“Of course!” she jumped from the ground to begin to fly. “Come on every creature! To Canterlot!”

Every creature agreed and started walking.

Applejack and Rainbow noticed Lyra and Bon Bon kissing and hugging each other as they walked together, which reminded them of something.

“Um… Rainbow, when this is over, I need to talk to you about something important.”

“Yeah, me too. But it´s not something bad! Just to make clear.”

“I know that already.” Applejack smiled at Rainbow, which made her smile in return.

Chapter 27: Reunion at Canterlot

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Hidden in a corner, Double Diamond and Saffron Massala patrolled the zone, watching if somepony was approaching. Meanwhile, Moondancer and Meghan talked to Pinkie Pie, Cheese Sandwich, Sassy Saddles, Party Flavour, Sky Stinger and Chancellor Neighsay.

“Ok. You all remember what the plan was, right?” Meghan asked them.

Everypony nodded their heads.

“We´re going to make a quick revise to make sure there are no questions.” Moondancer suggested.

“You mean us repeating the plan?” Sassy Saddles asked.

“For example.” replied Meghan.

“Fair enough.” Neighsay agreed. He cleared his throat. “First of all-”

“No, no, we know you understood it, Neighsay. I´m saying for those three specifically.”

Moondancer looked at Pinkie, Cheese and Party Flavour, who were distracted on inflating and doing different shapes with balloons.

“Hey! Just because we´re doing balloons doesn´t mean that we´re not taking this seriously or that we don´t know our job!” Party Flavour said in defence.

“Specially me! I am the one who wants to kick Grogar out of the throne the most, remember? For all he made me, and my friends go through!” Pinkie stomped her hoof against the ground.

“We´re just preparing for battle.” Cheese Sandwich added before taking air in to inflate a balloon.

Moondancer blinked.

“With balloons.”

“Sometimes, the most valuable tools are found in the least expected places.”

Seeing that Moondancer wasn´t convinced on their plan, Meghan put her hoof on her shoulder.

“Just let them do their thing. Don´t try to make sense of them because it´s impossible.” she advised her.

Saffron Massala shushed them. Double Diamond waved his hoof up and down.

“Something´s coming!” Saffron warned.

“Pony or monster?” Sky Stinger asked.

“From the looks of it, it looks like a pony. Not one! Three actually!” Double Diamond answered while taking a better look of the horizon.

“Are they wearing armour?” Meghan asked.

“Yes!” Saffron replied.

“Oh boy, this is going to hurt, since they are workmates. But hey!” Meghan shrugged. “They must be brainwashed like almost everypony, so there´s nothing to lose.”

The ponies prepared to fight as the mysterious guard came closer.

“On the count to three.” Moondancer indicated.

“One.” Neighsay counted.

“THREE!” Party Flavour yelled as he rushed out the corner, Cheese Sandwich following behind and yelling as loudly.

Moondancer massaged her temples while everypony, except Pinkie, shared confused looks.

“I guess we have to follow them.” Saffron Massala said.

Meghan sighed.

“Yup.”

Everypony ran. Sassy Saddles stopped when she noticed that Pinkie Pie was still.

“Aren´t you coming?” she asked.

“Of course! But now it´s not my moment.” Pinkie replied cheerfully.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, in every story, when the main character is thought to be dead, they have to make an epic comeback, and for that, it has to be a surprise! I mean, for twelve chapters, everypony has been thinking that I´m dead! Well, except the audience. Still, I can´t show up just like that!”

Sassy Saddles stared at her.

“Rarity´s friend is weirder than I thought.” she thought to herself. “Right…” Sassy Saddles looked away. “Well, we´ll wait for you there. Just don´t take too much time to… make your comeback.”

“Sure thing!” Pinkie waved her hoof at Sassy, who continued running to catch up with the group.

The guards were walking with their heads down. They were at conflict on what was the right thing to do. She and her friends wanted to rally everypony to join unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies against Grogar, but she and her friends got almost eaten by Grogar´s monsters. If they acted, they would risk their own lives but if they didn´t do anything, everypony would suffer for the rest of their lives! What to do?

Their thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of hoof steps and yells. They widened their eyes when they saw ponies coming towards them.

“What on earth?” the female asked to herself.

“Looks like there´s already a revolution.” the male guard said gladly. “But it seems they want to attack us.” his smile wiped off.

“Wait. Isn´t one of those ponies Meghan?” the other male guard asked.

His workmates were about to answer but they were interrupted when the same ponies that were coming surrounded them. And as they expected, they were ready to attack them. They hugged each other scared.

“It´s alright, it´s alright. Valkyrie, Trébol, Bolt Noir, we´ve come to help you.” Meghan explained.

“Unless you´re trying to hurt ponies that aren´t unicorns.” Neighsay accused them.

“Actually…” Valkyrie was going to explain but she was interrupted.

“Because if you are, we won´t let you!” Sassy Saddles ignited her horn.

“Yeah! These earth ponies are as valuable as we unicorns are!” Saffron Massala stomped her hoof against the ground.

“Of course, but-” Trébol attempted to explain himself, but just like his workmate, it was in vain.

“Right now, what we need to do is stick together.” Party Flavour stated.

“No matter what kind of ponies we are.” Double Diamond added while holding hooves with Party Falvour.

“Of course but let us explain ourselves. Please.” Bolt Noir said upset.

“You want to explain the reason why you hate non-unicorns?” Cheese asked in an accusing tone.

“No!”

“Then what do you want to explain exactly?”

“I-”

“You´d better not be lying. I have these special swords!” Cheese took out the balloon he, Party Flavour and Pinkie Pie were creating before. “They are the most dangerous weapons you´ll ever encountered!”

Bolt Noir scoffed.

“They´re, they´re just balloons! Wait. You´re not planning on counterattacking Grogar with those, right?”

“Darn right we are!”

The guards looked at each other.

“We´re doomed, aren´t we?” Valkyrie asked.

“Definitely.” Trébol agreed while nodding his head.

“You are if you´re against us.” a high-pitched female voice said confidently.

The guards raised their eyebrows in a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

“Because we are the revolution.” Pinkie said as she showed herself.

They gasped in surprise. Pinkie gave a huge jump and landed in front of them. She held her balloon sword in pride.

“That´s right. I´m alive mother-”

Cheese covered her mouth.

“No, no. Not in front of the kids.”

“Oh right.” Pinkie massaged her forehead. “I got so excited by my own epic showdown that I forgot that this story´s for kids too.”

“That´s true. But I was referring to the foals that are staring at us through the window.” Cheese pointed at the building behind them.

Everypony turned around and noticed the foals. Their eyes were full of tears, but they weren´t tears of sadness nor fear. They seemed to be tears of hope.

The foals turned their heads back.

“Mom! Dad! Pinkie Pie´s alive!”

The foals´ parents approached the window. They had the same reaction as their children. They even left the house to check on Pinkie. And they weren´t the only ones to do so. Their neighbours heard their screams, and so, they also got out, despite the great danger that going outside brought.

The ponies surrounded Pinkie. They were crying of joy.

“It´s a miracle!”

“There´s still some hope for us.”

Pinkie smiled sweetly at everypony.

“Oh. Seeing you caring so much about me despite not being a unicorn also brings me hope.”

“Why wouldn´t we? You saved Equestria a dozen times!”

“Finally. Somepony with common sense.” Moondancer muttered relieved.

“How did you survive?” a curious neighbour asked.

“They say you were tied to die in the bitter cold!” another neighbour added.

“Yes. But… These three amazing ponies saved me!” Pinkie explained as she hugged Moondancer, Meghan and Cheese Sandwich.

Double Diamond noticed the guards crying in joy as well.

“So… I guess you´re not against us.” he said to them.

“Of course not!” Trébol replied.

“We want the three species at peace like before.” Valkyrie explained.

“We tried to come up with a plan to get everypony together, but Grogar discovered us and nearly had us devoured by his monsters.” Bolt Noir added.

“Why didn´t you say so?” Party Flavour asked.

“We tried to! But you were interrupting us with accusations over, and over and over again.”

The ponies looked away in shame.

“Sorry.” Neighsay apologized. “I guess we assumed that we were the only ones who still cared about harmony, give that Meghan wasn´t able to reunite all of you.”

“You did?” Valkyrie asked Meghan.

“Yup. Everypony I found basically told me to go away. Wish I could have found you instead!”

The guards rolled their eyes playfully.

“Can we help on anything?” the neighbours asked Pinkie.

“Of course! Any help is accepted.” she accepted with a smile.

“You could rally up other ponies to create a distraction!” Saffron suggested. “That would make the entrance in the castle much easier.”

The neighbours agreed.

“You´ve mentioned before that Grogar threatened you. If you don´t feel comfortable coming, it´s ok.” Sassy Saddles reassured the guards. “Taking care of ponies who are helpless is also an important task.”

“Thanks for your concern ma´am, but with more ponies by our side, we´ll feel safer.” Trébol replied.

Sassy Saddles nodded her head.

“Now that we´re ready.” Pinkie recharged her party cannon. “Let´s get this party started.” she said with a great and confident smile.

Grogar´s monsters were sleeping all around Canterlot. Cerberus´ ear twitched when he heard a weird sound, maybe even magical. He opened his eyes and looked around, to check if there were any intruders. The only things he saw were three barrels. At first, he was estranged, as he didn´t remember those barrels being there before, but he quickly returned to his sleep.

From the barrel, Discord poked his head out. He bit his lip once he had finished checking the scenery.

“Are we in Canterlot?” Shining Armor asked from another barrel.

“Yes.”

“Away from Grogar?” Cadence asked from that same barrel.

“Yes.”

Flurry babbled in an enquiring tone.

“Yes Flurry, I´m telling the truth.”

“You certainly are, but from your tone, we can tell that something´s not ok.” Fluttershy told Discord “What is it?”

“Check for yourselves.” he told everypony.

Fluttershy, who was in the same barrel as Discord, raised her head a little. Shining Armor, and Cadence, who was holding Flurry, did the same. Their ears dropped.

“Yeah… Maybe this wasn´t the most accepted place to appear in.” Shining shook his head.

“Well, it´s either that or being zapped immediately by Grogar without a chance to fight back.” Discord clapped back.

“Yeah, you´re right.” Shining Armor agreed.

“We might be surrounded by dangerous monsters and prefer to have appeared in another place in Canterlot. But they´re asleep.” Fluttershy pointed at the monsters. “As long as we don´t disturb their sleep, they won´t attack us.”

“I guess you, Discord and I could fly.” Cadence suggested. She turned to Shining. “I´m afraid you can´t do a teleporting spell, that would wake the monsters up. So I guess you´ll just have to be careful with how loud your hoofsteps are.”

“Don´t worry.” Shining reassured Cadence. “At the training academy, I was the best at surprise attacks! And that was because my hoofsteps were inaudible.”

However, Flurry came up with an easier idea. She ignited her horn and held Shining with her magic. Although her idea was brilliant, its performance wasn´t that great. Flurry had problems to maintain her horn ignited, which caused Shining to almost fall many times. Nonetheless Cadence caught her message and held Shining herself.

“Let me do this to me. Next time you´ll do it, once this is all over of course.” Cadence promised Flurry.

Flurry smiled.

“Now honey, fly with your mom and stay as quiet as possible.” Shining instructed his daughter. “Is that understood?”

Flurry nodded. Shining and Cadence turned to Fluttershy and Discord, waiting for them.

“You guys go ahead. We´ll catch up with you.” Fluttershy said as she and Discord got out of the barrel.

The family nodded and began to cross the streets full of monsters. Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Discord approached another barrel.

“It´s ok. You can come out.” Fluttershy said.

The animals climbed or stretched their bodies to see their surroundings. They quickly curled their bodies when they saw the monsters around. Angel was about to screech, but Discord covered his mouth before doing so and shushed him. Angel threw him a death stare.

“Don´t you think of biting him or kick his paw mister!” Fluttershy scolded Angel quietly.

Angel pointed at the monsters.

“I know, I know. We´re surrounded by dangerous creatures. But understand that they´re dangerous because Grogar´s controlling them. Besides, right now they´re sleeping, which means they´re not a threat by now. But you´ll have to be very careful and do the least noise possible.” she explained to her animals.

The animals nodded after gulping. Angel pointed at Discord.

“Discord, you can uncover his mouth.”

Discord obeyed. He threw Angel a `I´m watching you´ gesture. The bunny sticked his tongue out in response.

“You ready?” Fluttershy asked.

The animals nodded. They got out the barrels easily in a jump or creeping around it. Harry the bear and Gina the giraffe, however got more problems though. Discord took Gina out with his magic and placed her next to the other animals gently. Then, he helped Fluttershy to take Harry out, by holding his other foreleg.

“Now. If you feel scared by the monsters, look at me and you´ll feel calm. Now start walking quietly.”

“Imagine a predator approaching its prey!” Discord said as an example.

However, the only thing he got was scaring the herbivores, specially the smaller ones.

“Ok. Maybe that wasn´t the best example for all of you.” Discord stroke his beard.

“What he means is to imitate their movements.” Fluttershy explained.

The carnivores did a demonstration to the herbivores. The animals understood and were relieved. They started crawling slowly.

“That´s it. Keep going.” Fluttershy encouraged them quietly as she waved her hooves at them.

Seeing that Fluttershy was flying backwards, Discord kept his look forwards to guide Fluttershy, telling her to move right or left to avoid bumping against a monster. Soon, they caught up with Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry.

After a while, they finally passed by every monster. They sighed in relief.

“That was easier than I expected.” Shining Armor said.

Everypony shushed him.

“Oh. Sorry.” he apologized with a nervous smile.

“We might not have more monsters ahead of us, but we´re still near them.” Fluttershy pointed out. “Keep being quiet.”

And just at that moment, they heard a crowd. With each second that passed, it got louder.

“What is going on?” Cadence asked.

Discord flew to a roof. He took out his binoculars to get a better view. What he saw took him by surprise.

“Huh! Looks like somepony got ahead of us.” he commented.

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy flew by his side.

“Look.” he handed her the binoculars.

Fluttershy took the binoculars. Apparently, there was a crowd of ponies marching all around. They seemed to plan on rioting.

“Grogar, get off the throne! Get off the throne!” the ponies yelled.

This made her a bit scared. What were they doing? They could lose their lives! She knows Grogar would have no mercy when she saw not only unicorns. But after watching the scene with more detail, she realized that not only ponies were in the crowd. Pegasi and earth ponies were there as well! And they were holding hooves. It showed her that ponies still cared about each other. All they fought for wasn´t lost. This gave her lots of hope.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Cadence joined them.

“What did you see?” she asked Fluttershy and Discord.

“There are ponies about to riot!” Discord explained.

“What?”

Fluttershy nodded. She gave Cadence the binoculars. The alicorn gasped.

“It´s true! That´s something good.”

The three friends reunited with Shining Armor, Flurry, and the animals.

“So?” Shining Armor asked.

“There are ponies rebelling. We saw unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies together! They are letting their differences aside and joining together like before.” Cadence asked excited.

“That´s great!”

However, his face changed from excitedness to fear in just the blink of an eye.

“Uh oh.”

“Don´t worry, they are far away, I don´t think they´ll wake them up.” Cadence reassured him.

“But were they holding casseroles?”

“What?” Discord asked.

“Were they holding pans?”

“Um… We don´t know, we just gave a general glance.” Fluttershy said nervously.

“Then hope they don´t, otherwise we´re doomed.” Shining said while looking at Grogar´s monsters.

“You´re scared that ponies hitting casseroles will wake them up? They´re far away! I don´t think casseroles are that loud.”

Unfortunately, they were. So loud that they had to cover their ears. And naturally, the monsters woke up. Without thinking, Discord snapped his fingers to put them to sleep again. He swept the sweat of his forehead and huffed when he made sure the spell had worked.

“That was close.” he muttered under his breath.

Angel pulled his tail.

“What?”

The bunny pointed at one manticore that was still awake. Luckily, it was on its back, meaning that it wasn´t aware of their presence.

“Ok, same tactic as before.” Fluttershy whispered loud enough for every creature to hear.

The animals nodded and crawled like before. Cadence took Shining and flew to Fluttershy´s, Flurry´s, and Discord´s side.

The manticore might not have noticed Fluttershy and the rest, but it did spot somepony else. Its ear twitched of when he heard a high-pitched female voice.

“GROGAR YOU´RE GOING DOOOOOOOWN!” Pinkie shouted to the four winds as she ran.

Everypony, except for Cheese Sandwich and Party Flavour shushed her.

“Sorry. I just can´t wait to make the murderer of my friends pay!” Pinkie apologized upset.

“Are you sure that it´s a good idea to wait for the riot to occur?” Neighsay asked Pinkie concerned. “We might have it more difficult to access to the castle.”

“Don’t worry! She knows a secret entrance to the castle!” Cheese said confidently.

Everypony widened their eyes.

“You do?” Sassy Saddles asked Pinkie.

“She´s Pinkie Pie! Of course she must know a secret entrance!”

Pinkie looked from side to side.

“You do, right?”

“Uh… No. But that would be awesome!” she replied.

“In that case, forget what I just said.” Cheese told everypony.

“So you expect us to go through ponies and changelings or monsters fighting for their lives with no problem.” Moondancer said sarcastically to Pinkie.

“I mean… It will be difficult to go through, yes, but it´s the only way we go unnoticed.” Pinkie Pie said in defense. “That, or we could dig on the ground, I mean Fluttershy managed to get into the castle like that!”

“Maybe that would be more practical.” Double Diamond commented.

“We´ll know what´s best once we get there.” Saffron Massala said.

“Exactly, but for now, let´s focus on getting to the castle!” Pinkie agreed.

Unfortunately, the same manticore that Fluttershy and her team encountered blocked their way. Pinkie Pie yelled louder than before. It was so loud that even Fluttershy, Discord, Cadence, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and the animals heard it.

Their eyes perked up. Their mouths hung open from the shock of hearing Pinkie´s voice. Flurry babbled and looked for Pinkie.

“Did you hear that or am I imagining things?” Fluttershy asked everypony.

“No, no. We also have.” Shining Armor answered.

“Could Pinkie Pie be alive?” Cadence wondered.

“That´s impossible! I witnessed her death.” Discord replied. His tone was cynical, yet hopeful. However, he knew it would be better not to assume things to avoid heartbreaks. “It must be a pony that sounds similar to her.

Flurry stubbornly shook her head.

“But it could be her!” Fluttershy replicated. “She´s in danger, I just know it, otherwise she wouldn´t have screamed like that!”

Fluttershy ran towards where she heard the scream, Flurry flew by her side.

“Fluttershy, wait!” Discord yelled as he, Shining and Cadence ran after her.

However, Pinkie´s yell wasn´t one of terror like Fluttershy thought. It was a yell of frustration.

“SERIOUSLY?! A MANTICORE?! A MANTICORE APPEARS AS AN OBSTACLE TO GET TO THAT GOAT?!” she took her canon. “Back off!”

The manticore roared at her. Everypony took a step backwards. Well, everypony except Cheese Sandwich, who was cheering at Pinkie for her bravery.

“You go girl!”

“Pinkie let´s run. Now.” Moondancer insisted.

“Not until I fire off my canon.” Pinkie refused.

“Pinkie. I understand you´re angry. But think about this. Please.” Meghan begged her

“That canon won´t do anything to the creature!” Neighsay insisted.

“You could get hurt!” Saffron said worried.

Despite their warnings, Pinkie stood there.

“Pinkie don´t.” Sassy Saddles ordered.

However, Pinkie fired confetti at manticore, making it close its eyes.

“Now we run!” Pinkie Pie darted off.

The other ponies followed behind, trying to run as fast as possible.

“Oh… So you fired off just to earn us time. Clever…” Double Diamond told Pinkie.

“See?” Party Flavour nudged Double Diamond. “I told you she had a reason to do that.”

“Guys, don´t lose your focus on running. You could crash against something!” Sky Stinger told them.

Since she turned her head back to talk to her friends, she was the one who ended up crashing against something. And that something was a wall. Party Flavour and Double Diamond went to aid her. The other ponies stopped running abruptly and gasped when they saw the wall.

“Oh no…” Meghan muttered nervously.

They turned around. They were cornered by the manticore. They hugged each other terrified by the manticore´s roar. They closed their eyes, expecting to be eaten by the manticore. Miraculously, they weren´t. When they opened their eyes, they saw Fluttershy, Discord, Cadence, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart and various animals defending them. Pinkie´s eyes filled with tears when she saw Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy?” she asked, almost choking from the emotion.

Fluttershy turned her head to Pinkie. She sobbed.

“Hi Pinkie.” she muttered.

She would have hugged Pinkie at that moment, but there was a manticore she had to deal with first. Discord snapped his fingers and put the manticore inside a cage. Fluttershy turned to him.

“Are you sure it will work?” she asked nervously.

“Honestly, I have no idea. But it doesn´t hurt to try.” he shrugged.

Cadence, her family and the animals encouraged her with gestures. Fluttershy gulped and frowned with determination. She faced the manticore.

“You mister! What were you doing?!” she asked angrily.

The manticore growled at her. Fluttershy did the stare.

“This is nothing like you! You might be scary but you´re also friendly creatures. So stop acting mean and threatening ponies!”

The manticore stopped growling. It widened their eyes and walked behind to get away from Fluttershy scared. It was then when she realized something. That manticore was the same she encountered when she faced Nightmare Moon! Her heart broke a little.

“Oh don´t worry.” she opened the cage flew towards the manticore. I know it´s not your fault. Grogar´s just messed with your mind. But like I helped you before, I´ll help you again.” Fluttershy stroked her head against the manticore´s paw, which surprised it. “See? It´s ok.”

Fluttershy caused a magical reaction on the maticore, since it started being surrounded by magic. After a flash, the manticore´s eyes weren´t shining anymore. Rather, they were normal. Everypony was shocked. Fluttershy had undone the spell!

The manticore looked at Fluttershy and hugged her. She started licking her mane.

“You sweet little baby.” she laughed. “You remember me now, do you?” she turned to Discord. “You can undo the cage, Discord.”

Like everypony else´s his mouth hung wide open. He snapped his fingers and the opened his mouth with his paw.

“What a mare!” he exclaimed in admiration.

Pinkie jumped to hug Fluttershy, throwing her to the ground.

“Oh my! Oh my! You´re alive. I thought you were dead.” Pinkie Pie said to Fluttershy in tears.

“No, we thought you were dead!” Fluttershy said, also crying. “Discord said he witnessed your death.”

She turned around to see Discord. She gasped.

“Discord!” She hugged him tightly. “Are you alright? Did Grogar do something to you?” she said worried.

“I´m fine don´t worry. I´m glad to see you´re alive.” Discord returned the hug.

“Us too.” Cadence said.

“You´re alright too!” Pinkie hugged the entire family. Flurry held on her face, putting her hooves on her eyes. Although it hurt, she still kept on smiling.

Meanwhile, the other ponies stared in shock.

“It´s the Royal Crystal Family!” Neighsay exclaimed surprised. “Your majesties.” he bowed down.

Immediately after, everypony bowed.

“Oh, it´s not necessary really.” Cadence said.

“I guess this is your team, right?” Shining said to Pinkie.

Pinkie nodded her head energetically.

“Like Discord saw, I was tied up like a scarecrow to die in the cold. But thanks to these three.” she hugged Moondancer, Meghan and Cheese Sandwich. “I´m alive. What about you, Flutters?”

“Well… I was the only one he didn´t want to execute.”

“What?!”

“What you heard. He wanted to keep me alive as means to control Discord. And maybe for something else…” Fluttershy whimpered.

“But she managed to throw him to the ground with just stones!” Discord put his arm around Fluttershy. “And she´s afraid of the stare too.”

“Talking about that, your stare is impressive!” Meghan told Fluttershy. A”pplejack told me about that before but I never thought it was that powerful.”

“I didn´t expect it to work, to tell you the truth. But I don´t think it was my stare what turned it to his natural state. It was my affection.”

Fluttershy´s words reminded Pinkie of her last memory before losing her conscience. She remembered that Grogar had corrupted Celestia. And when she said her name, she seemed confused. It was then when she realized something.

“That´s it! Hurry! We must help somepony else.” Pinkie rushed out.

“What? But who?” Fluttershy asked.

“I´ll explain along the way. Come on!”

Chapter 28: Counterattack

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“Ok. Are we all here?” Applejack asked every creature.

Every creature looked at each other with some worry.

“Honestly… I have no idea.” Thorax replied while shaking his head.

“Remember that we are every kingdom that exists plus ponies and other creatures!” Ember exclaimed.

Rarity huffed.

“Oh boy… This is going to be more difficult than I thought.” she muttered under her breath.

“Or not. We could just do a roll call!” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“I´ll do it!” Spike offered. He cleared his throat. “Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity?”

“Present!” the three answered in chorus.

“Starlight, Sunburst, Trixie and Zecora?”

“Here!” Starlight raised her hooves along Sunburst, Trixie and Zecora.

“Student Six?”

“Present, of course!” Smolder replied confidently.

“Pillars and Stygian?”

“We´re present!” Starswirl answered.

“Scorpan and Punja?”

“Being present with all of you is something pleasant.” Punja said. Scorpan rolled his eyes playfully.

“Dragons?”

They were about to blow fire but fortunately Spike stopped them on time.

“Maybe it would be better if we waited a little more to do that. Remember we want to be unseen” he smiled nervously.

“Changelings?”

“Present!” Pharynx replied.

“Griffons?”

“What?!” Grandpa Gruff asked.

“We´re all here, yes.” Gilda answered in his place.

“Hippogriffs?”

“Here!” Princess Skystar replied excited.

“Yaks?”

“Yaks here to smash goat!” Prince Rutherford yelled excited.

“That´s great, but don´t do a demonstration right now. Like I said, we want to be unseen.” Spike told them, seeing that they were planning on smacking the ground at the same time. “Pirates?”

Captain Celaeno and her crew drew their swords.

“Wonderbolts?”

The wonderbolts jumped from the ground and stood in the air flying.

“Careful, don´t fly too high.” Rainbow told them.

“Yes, ma´am.” Soarin waved a hoof.

“Kirins?”

“Preseeeent!” Autumn Blaze exclaimed excitedly.

“The Apple and Pie family?”

“Yup!” Big Mac simply said in response.

“Lyra and Bon Bon stayed in Ponyville…” Spike said to himself. “Rarity´s team?”

Sunset and Coco blinked. Capper and Steven Magnet raised their eyebrows unamused. Tempest simply had an emotionless expression.

“What?” Spike asked confused.

“Rarity´s team? Seriously dude?” Capper asked in response.

“No offense honey, but you´re terrible at names.” Steven Magnet said to Spike.

“Well, you aren´t a group with a name like the others. What else would I call you?”

“Don´t ask me. They are the ones who are upset, not me. I don´t care.” Tempest replied serious.

“It´s ok, Spike. Don´t listen to them.” Sunset said with a comforting smile. Capper and Steven glared at her.

“We´re all here.” Coco added.

Rarity held her laughter.

“Alright!” Spike clapped his claws. “That´s every creature!” he turned to Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

“Don´t forget about us!” a grouchy voice said.

Spike looked down and jumped back when he noticed the Diamond Dogs. He panted heavily, his claw on his chest.

“Oh! Right!” he sighed in relief. “I´m sorry, it´s just I´m getting used to you guys being by our side.”

“Well working with you doesn´t feel great either, to be honest.” Spot replied.

“Yeah! Specially her.” Fido pointed at Rarity.

The unicorn looked aside a bit uncomfortable.

“If it wasn´t for those kind ponies,” Rover looked at the Pie family. “We wouldn´t be here in the first place.”

“But the important thing is that you´re helping us and are willing to letting your differences aside.” Starlight intervened to cut off the tension. She looked at the three ponies and the dragon. “Right?”

“Uh… Yeah sure!” Rarity replied with a nervous smile.

“Good! Now that we´ve made we´re all here, why don´t we go up here and carry on our big plans?”

“Of course.” Rainbow Dash said.

The Diamond Dogs dug went back underground. Every creature kept walking.

“You´re gonna have to tell us a more detailed story of how you managed to get them by our side.” Applejack whispered to the Pie family.

The four ponies smiled playfully.

Many changelings were guarding the wall, a task which right now, was the worst. The weather was as cold as ever and Grogar didn´t give them any blankets or hot drinks, the huge blizzards made seeing what happened on the horizon difficult, and nothing, absolutely nothing was happening.

The poor changelings were either bored or sleeping. One of them patted her fellow guard on the foreleg after yawning.

“Hey dude, what we gonna do?”

The other changeling was sleeping but the shake from his workmate woke him up.

“I don´t know. What you wanna do?”

“Keep doing the job?” the main guard joined the conversation. “What kind of question is that?”

“What job?” the female changeling clapped back. “Nothing´s happening. Nothing! The boss just sent us here to freeze. I´m going to die of boredom.”

“Then do it already. I have more important things to do.”

Her fellow workmates laughed. The female changeling glared at every changeling and felt upset, but she quickly shoved the feeling away by ignoring them.

“Ok. So what we gonna do?” she asked her friend once again.

“I don´t know. What you wanna do?”

“Look dude. First I say ` what we gonna do?´. Then, you say `I don´t know. What you wanna do?´. Then, I say ` what we gonna do?´, you say `what you wanna do?´ Let´s do something then!”

“Ok. What you wanna do?”

“Oh darn it. There you go again. The same phrase again!”

The main guard growled mad.

“Look lads. If you say another word again or I see you unfocused on your job, I´ll fire you with my magic! Understand?”

Ironically, while he was scolding them, something was happening bellow the wall. Fortunately, another changeling noticed.

“Boss! Boss! There are figures approaching!”

Every changeling looked down. She was right. There were some creatures approaching!

“Finally!” the female changeling exclaimed excited.

She and her workmates flew to them. They blocked their way. The changelings that stayed on the wall pointed the spears at the newcomers.

“Halt! Who goes in there?” they asked in unison.

“One of you.” one of the figures simply replied.

After getting some steps, the changelings revealed themselves. Not only changelings were coming, there were other creatures as well. A dragon, a yak, a hippogriff, a kirin, a griffon and a red earth pony.

“Who are they?”

“You don´t recognize them? They are the leaders of their respective leaders!” one of the newcomers replied. “This dragon´s Dragon Lord Ember, the yak is Prince Rutherford, the hippogriff is queen Momo.”

“Novo.” the hippogriff corrected.

“Whatever. The griffon is Grandpa Gruff and the pony…. The pony is… Um…. The leader of the revolution!”

“There´s a revolution?!”

The newcomers started to sweat. Definitely, Angie didn´t choose the right words.

“I mean… What did you expect? Grogar took their land away, separated them and enslaved them! Of course this was bound to happen!”

The changeling guards looked at each other.

“She´s got a point, you know?” the female guard changeling commented.

“But don´t worry! Me and my fellow changelings captured him on time.”

The main guard inspected Big Mac. The pony looked away nervously.

“He´s strong but I don´t see him as revolution material. Then again, anything is possible. Where´s your recruit hiding?”

Big Mac took some time to answer.

“I won´t tell you.” he replied firmly.

“You won´t now, but maybe things change once we put you in the torture chambers.”

Every creature widened their eyes.

“They have those in Equestria?” Ember whispered in Novo´s ear.

“Apparently, yes. Must be remains from Grogar´s reign.” Novo guessed.

“But wait a minute. I thought the kingdoms were invaded already. How come that you´re bringing them now?” the female changeling pointed out.

The leaders and the changelings bit their lips.

“Because we thought that Grogar would like them to see them here? I mean we had them under control but I´m sure that Grogar would like to see it for himself.” Angie replied.

“That makes sense. We can take them now.” the female guard said to the main guard.

“Open the gates!” the main guard ordered the changelings.

The changelings on the wall nodded their heads and did as commanded.

“Let´s go.” the main guard pushed Big Mac and the leaders.

The entrance to Canterlot was a tense part. Big Mac was constantly looking back, Ember was fidgeting, Rutherford was breathing from his nose, Grandpa Gruff bit his lip, Novo breathed softly while holding Rain Shine´s hoof, the changelings accompanying them were sweating. Everything could go wrong on this moment, and if it did, it was over.

Fortunately, they entered without being suspected nor nothing went wrong. They subtly sighed in relief.

“Close the gates!”

“Oh, I´m afraid they´re not.” a new voice said.

The changeling guards looked around.

“Who said that?”

They realized that other ponies had sneaked in when Starlight undid her invisibility spell. And between those ponies, there were none other than Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash! And Twilight´s dragon was there too. Their mouths hung wide open.

“Surprise.” Rainbow said cockily as she and her friends smirked.

“But how?” the main guard muttered to himself in panic. “What is this?!” he asked upset.

And to make things more confusing, the changelings that supposedly were bringing the leaders to Grogar, weren´t changelings. Well, they kind of were, since they changed form, but they didn´t look like them in the slightest. They were colourful instead of black. The main guard´s eye twitched.

“Grogar is going to kill us.” the female changeling said.

“Yup.” her friend agreed.

The uncorrupted changelings threw tackled them against the ground.

“Close the gates! Now! There could be more of them!”

The changelings tried to do as told, but when they attempted to reach the lever, there was fire blowing at it. And what was worse, that fire came from dragons. And not only were there dragons, there were griffons, hippogriffs and pegasi.

“Yeah… I don´t think so…” Skystar said. “Right guys?”

The creatures shook their heads. The changelings glared. They roared and began to attack them. What they didn´t know is that their fight was a distraction for Garble to get to the lever. Two changelings opposed him, but he easily shoved them off by kicking them. He pulled the lever, and thus, the gates opened.

“Great job Gar Gar!” Smolder cheered him from bellow.

“Go in! Now!” Rarity told every creature.

They nodded and ran through the gates. The changelings stayed fighting.

“We´ll deal with them, don´t worry.” Thorax told them.

“Us too.” Ember said.

He and Ember high fived.

The main changeling guard frowned as every creature entered.

“No!”

“Should we warn Grogar, sir?”

“No. He might execute us for this. Call other changelings or the pony guards, I don´t care, just stop them before he finds out!”

The changeling nodded and flew as fast as he could the quarters.

Just like the changeling, our heroes had little time to accomplish their plans, so they ran as fast as they could.

“We did it! We did it!” Autumn Blaze exclaimed excited.

“Ok. I can´t believe we got this far!” Rarity said while wiping off her sweat.

“You had a great idea, guys!” Spike congratulated the Young Six, the CMC and Punja.

“It´s these three you should thank.” Sandbar said while looking at Ocellus, Zecora and Punja.

“This is how they saved the school after all!” Silverstream said excited.

“As much as the first step plan went well, we can´t sing victory yet.” Starswirl pointed out. “Not until we defeat Grogar.”

Every creature held their laughter when they saw how the pillars hang on to Scorpan as he flew.

“You seem to be having a great time in there, guys.” Trixie teased them.

“Indeed. Specially Stygian, from what I see.” Zecora joined.

The poor Stygian was holding into Scorpan´s tail for his life.

“Well, I´m certainly not!” he replied upset.

Scorpan bit his lip when he saw his friends struggling.

“Sorry. I would slow down but I can´t.”

“No worries.” Mistmane smiled nervously.

“We know you have to do that.” Meadowbrook said.

“Not enjoyable in the slightest, specially for Stygian, but necessary.” Rockhoof nodded his head.

Grandpa Gruff growled.

“Will you stop talking about silly stuff?! There´s a big big problem!”

“What big problem?” Applejack asked.

“Those changelings flying ahead of us maybe?” Gilda said sarcastically.

Every creature looked up. They bit their lips when they saw some changelings flying, and as Gilda said, they were quite ahead of them.

“Oh no! They´re going to tell Grogar!” Gabby grabbed her cheeks.

“No, I don´t think so.” Sunburst disagreed.

“What makes you think that?” Gallus asked while raising an eyebrow.

“Firstly, they´re flying in different directions, and secondly, they know Grogar would kill them for the slightest mistake, so telling him the truth would be their death sentence.”

“What the boss doesn´t know, the boss won´t mind.” Starlight said in addition.

“So, what do we do?” Skystar asked.

Applejack looked from side to side as she thought of an answer.

“Ok. The ones who can fly, stop them. You could divide in groups and chase them.” she suggested. “You guys stay with us.” she said to the yaks and the pirates.

Celaeno raised her sword.

“As you command!”

“Yaks stay to protect ponies!” Rutherford exclaimed.

“You heard her, let´s go!” Grandpa Gruff ordered the griffons.

“You coming Gabby?” Gerda asked her.

“No. It´s been time since I saw these three and I want to stay with them as much time as possible!” Gabby held the CMC and hugged them as tightly as she could.

Gerda nodded her head and joined the other griffons.

“You go to the right, we´ll go to the left.” Novo told the griffons.

“Boss. Are you coming?” Fleetfoot asked Rainbow.

“Yup.”

“What? No! We´ve just reunited, you can´t go now. What if something happens.” Applejack said worried.

“But A.J… They need me! I´m their leader.”

Although Applejack understood the situation, she still wasn´t sure.

“Don´t worry, as soon as I´m finished, I´ll come back. Won´t take much time since you know… Fastest flyer in Equestria!”

Applejack smiled sweetly.

“Alright. Just be careful.”

“Of course. But first…”

She gave Applejack a quick kiss on the lips. Every creature widened their eyes in surprise.

“Ok. Buh bye!”

Rainbow quickly left Applejack, Rarity and Spike.

“Come on, let´s go!” she ordered the wonderbolts.

The wonderbolts smiled teasingly at Rainbow and did as told.

Meanwhile, Applejack was blushing hard.

“Ha! I knew it. Wonder if the same will happen with Discord and Fluttershy.” Spike muttered the last part to himself while smirking. “Please let that happen.”

“You must be happy.” Rarity smirked at A.J.

“Mhm.” Applejack nodded with a big smile on her face.

“So Pinkie… You mentioned somepony that needed our help earlier. Who is that somepony?” Fluttershy asked.

“Celestia, of course.”

“How is she? Did you see her?” Cheese asked her.

“She´s alive but different. Well, corrupted in fact.”

“Corrupted? Corrupted how?” Moondancer asked.

“Kinda like Luna´s Nightmare Moon but with Celestia.”

Every creature massaged their temples.

“But don´t worry! As we saw with Fluttershy earlier, if we remind her who she is, she´ll turn back to normal!”

“I hope so…” Fluttershy mumbled nervously.

As they were talking, Flurry saw something in the sky. She pulled Cadence´s mane softly.

“It´s ok, Flurry. Mom and dad are here.” Shining reassured her.

“We won´t let them any creature hurt you.” Cadence held her close.

Moondancer took a glance around.

“I understand why she´s scared but right now, I see no danger here.”

Meghan bit her lip.

“Maybe not here, but up there…” she said while looking at the sky.

They followed the direction Meghan´s hoof was pointing at. They saw giant creatures attacking smaller creatures. After looking with motre detail, they discovered those small creatures were griffons!

“Are those… griffons?” Fluttershy asked confused.

“Whatever are griffons doing here?” Sassy Saddles asked confused as well..

“Not only griffons. Hippogriffs too! Look!” Cheese pointed at the sky.

“Hippogriffs too?” Double Diamond asked.

“And if you look a little farther, dragons and changelings too.” Party Flavour took his balloon binoculars.

“Good or bad changelings?” Pinkie asked.

“I think good, since they´re colourful.”

“But I don´t understand.” Fluttershy stroked her mane. “I get the changelings being here, but the rest. Weren´t they attacked?”

“They must have been able to defend themselves.” Cheese shrugged.

“Well, that´s a good thing, right? More creatures are uniting!” Saffron exclaimed excited.

“I mean, not if that they had come earlier, we would have saved a lot of deaths, problems and suffering, but yeah, better late than ever.” Discord said sarcastically.

While they were talking, Pinkie noticed the wonderbolts… and a rainbow?

She rubbed her eyes, not believing her eyes at first, but it wasn´t her imagination. A rainbow was really there.

“Give me that!” she took Party Flavour´s binoculars.

After taking a look on the binoculars, her suspicions were right. The rainbow came from none other than Rainbow Dash! She gave a huge gasp.

Every pony´s ears twitched.

“What is it Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked.

“Look! Look!” she exclaimed as she pointed at the sky. “It´s Rainbow!”

“What?!” Fluttershy took the binoculars from Pinkie.

Now, it was Fluttershy´s turn to get excited. She started jumping more with more energy than Pinkie would.

“IT´S RAINBOW! IT IS HER! SHE SURVIVED! SHE SURVIVED! WOOO!”

Everypony cheered along Fluttershy.

“Rainbow´s alive, Pinkie´s alive… Guys, you do realize that Rarity, Applejack and Spike could be alive as well, right?” Discord asked everypony. “They could have come along Rainbow!” he clapped his paw and claw together with a hopeful look.

“That would be great as well, but it´s better we don´t get our hopes up.” Moondancer told Discord. “Still, a good thing!”

Cadence observed the scene better.

“They´re chasing a changeling, they might need help.”

“On it!” Fluttershy waved her hoof.

She, Discord, Night Gilder and Cadence were about to get off the ground but they were interrupted.

“Wait!” Neighsay exclaimed. “What do we do in the meantime?”

“Before we found each other, we saw a crowd coming towards the castle. They must be planning on rioting. We need to see if they´re ok and help them.” Shining told him.

Neighsay nodded. Then, Shining turned to Flurry.

“Want to help daddy?”

Flurry babbled gladly.

“Take care.” Cadence hugged Shining Armor and Flurry Heart.

This time, the four creatures were about to leave, but were interrupted again.

“WAIIT!” Pinkie yelled.

“Oh, what is it?” Night Gilder said somewhat frustrated.

“Can I ride in you?” Pinkie asked Discord with a huge smile on her face.

Discord raised his eyebrow confused and upset at such question at first, but he also understood why she wanted to do that. It wasn´t just because she wanted to have fun, but because she wanted to see her friend! So, he begrudgingly accepted.

“Fine… The things I do for friendship…” he muttered while Pinkie sat on his back excitedly.

Fluttershy held her laughter.

After some time of pursuing the changeling, Rainbow and the wonderbolts were able to block him.

“What are you gonna do now, huh?” she asked cockily.

The changeling turned into an enormous insect and roared at them.

“Ok… I shouldn´t have talked.”

They all avoided one strike from the giant insect with its leg. They tried to attack back but had many problems, since the insect was gigantic and had lots of strength. This took their confidence away.

“Uh… Ma´am… I´m starting to get a little nervous.” Vapor Trail said shyly.

“Yeah… I think we all are…” Sky Stinger massaged his foreleg.

They dodged another attack.

“All of you?!” Rainbow asked surprised.

“It´s just we´re nervous that if we´re not able to defeat this thing, we won´t be able to face Grogar! That thing will smash us in no time!” Soarin said worried.

“Well, let me tell all of you something: That won´t happen to us. That won´t happen to us because Soarin, what are we?”

“The wonderbolts.” he turned to his fellow wonderbolts. “What are we?”

“The wonderbolts.” they said uncertain.

Rainbow scoffed.

“No, no. Not like that. You can´t defeat a giant insect like that. Not like that! What are we?”

“The wonderbolts!”

“What are we?!” Rainbow and Soarin asked at the same time.

“The wonderbolts!” they replied louder.

“WHAT ARE WEEEE?!” Rainbow yelled with all her energy.

“THE WONDERBOOOLTS!” the wonderbolts replied with the same energy as Rainbow.

“Now we´re talking! Let me see those moves!”

Rainbow was the first one to kick the insect´s head. Furious, the insect roard and attacked her, but luckily, the wonderbllts were able to defend her. They stroke back whenever they had the chance and when Rainbow gave them indications.

“Kick in the tummy!”

Fleetfoot was the one to follow the order.

“Great job!” Rainbow congratulated her.

Rainbow advanced and prepared to kick the insect. She was in the right direction and from the looks of it, her kick was going to be successful. But then, something unexpected happened.

“Rainbow!” a voice called her.

Rainbow´s eyes widened. The world stopped at that moment. That voice. That high-pitched voice that might appear annoying at first yet lovable. The voice that always brightened her day, no matter what had happened before. Pinkie Pie´s voice. She had never missed her friend so much. But why was she hearing it right now?

She turned her head. She gasped softly when she saw Pinkie Pie riding in Discord and Fluttershy in the distance. Cadence and Night Glider were behind them.

“Rainbow!” Pinkie repeated.

“Pinkie?” she muttered, her eyes filling with tears.

The wonderbolts turned around around their mouths hung wide open when they saw Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.

“Rainbow!”

“Pinkie! Fluttershy!” Rainbow exclaimed euphoric.

However, her euphoria didn´t last. Since she was too focused on watching her friends, she didn´t realize that a huge spire was in front of her, so she ended crashing against it.

“Ooh…” both the wonderbolts and Pinkie, Fluttershy and Discord muttered when they saw what happened to Rainbow.

Once they got to her, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy helped Rainbow to get up.

“Are you ok?” Fluttershy asked while holding her hoof.

Rainbow looked at her friends. She was so happy to see their warm smiles again, something she thought she had lost forever. And fortunately, she didn´t. She sniffed and hugged her friends while crying on their shoulders. Pinkie and Fluttershy began crying too.

“It´s ok… We´re here. Nothing will never separate us again.” Fluttershy whispered in her ear.

Rainbow wiped her tears.

“I thought I´d never see you again.”

“Neither did we! I thought I was the only one that I survived.” Pinkie Pie put her hoof on her chest.

“Me too.” Fluttershy nodded.

“I thought none of you would make it!” Discord uplifted his arms.

Rainbow gasped.

“Discord!” she started checking his body. “Did Grogar hurt you? Did he take your magic away?”

Discord smiled warmly.

“I didn´t have the greatest time with him, but at least it´s over.”

“Well, in any case.” she stomped her hoof against the other. “Call me if he comes near you ever again.”

“You know I will!”

Rainbow looked at Cadence and Night Glider.

“Cadence! Night Glider! So good to see you! But how did you get here? A better question, how did all of you survive?”

Cadence laughed.

“Shining, Flurry and I took refuge at Fluttershy´s animal sanctuary. And eventually, she and Discord came there.”

“As for me, I was in Canterlot preparing with Double Diamond and Paerty Flavour a surprise for both Twilight and Starlight.” Night Glider replied. “And we saved Pinkie from an uncertain destiny!”

“So you were saved as well, huh?”

Fluttershy tilted her head from side to side.

“You could say that, yes.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the wonderbolts, who were struggling to fight the changeling turned into a giant insect.

“Uh… A little help here!” Fleetfoot said.

Discord snapped his fingers to put the insect inside a cage. However, what happened was chocolate rain on the insect, which made him and the wonderbolts confused.

Cadence rolled her eyes and fired magic at the changeling.

“We´ll deal with this don´t worry.” Night Glider reassured them.

She and Cadence joined the wonderbolts in the fight. Meanwhile, Discord grunted.

“No, I didn´t want that!”

“Uh… Is he ok?” she asked Fluttershy.

“Yeah, I´m fine but I´m having problems with snapping my fingers because Grogar hit me with his magic.”

“What?!”

“But don´t worry about me! The important thing is that three of Equestria´s greatest heroes are alive!”

“Not only we are alive! Rarity, Applejack and Spike too!”

“What?!”

“Mhm. I got here with them and the pillars, and all the kingdoms, and many more!”

“What are we waiting for? Let´s reunite with them!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“But I can´t let the wonderbolts here! They need me!”

“Well, they´ve been fighting for themselves while we were talking and they don´t seem lost or helpless without you.” Discord said.

Rainbow gasped.

“It´s true! Oh.. What kind of commander am I? I´m going to help them!”

“No worries, Dash.” Soarin told her, since he overheard their conversation. “Reuniting with your friends is more important than us.”

“Don´t say that! You are as important to me as my friends!”

Soarin laughed.

“Don´t worry, we know. But you´re the key to save Equestria. Go now!”

Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Discord looked at each other and nodded.

“Follow me!” Rainbow ordered them.

With tenacity and the help of coffee, Grogar signed orders, laws or planned strategies to ensure that his empire lasted long. Just because he was now in the throne, it didn´t mean that all the work was done!

However, he was interrupted when he heard noise. Lots of noise! From voices yelling to grunts. His ears perked up. His blood froze. He knew that was the sound of things going wrong. He had heard it when Gusty rose up, and now he was hearing it again.

“No no no no.” he muttered to himself while he ran to the window.

His eyes widened when he saw all the chaos outside. Ponies demonstrating were coming towards the castle, creatures whose kingdoms he thought to have conquered were fighting against his changelings guards. He noticed his breath accelerating in panic and his blood boiling in fury.

“GUARDS!” he called them angrily.

The guards ran immediately to the throne room.

“Could you explain why aren´t you doing your job?!”

“We are.” a guard replied.

“Then why are there riots out there?! Or better question, WHAT ARE ALL THOSE CREATURES WHOSE KINGDOMS WERE UNDER MY CONTROL HERE?!”

“We don´t know sir, those were the changelings´ jobs, not ours!”

“Bring them here! They´d better have a good explanation.”

He heard the door moving slightly. He saw that a guard wanted to enter.

“You! What do you want?!”

The guard gulped.

“My emperor… I saw them.”

“You saw who?!”

“Twilight´s friends…”

Slowly, Grogar widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows.

Chapter 29: Ready

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“Ok. Let me read it one more time.” Daybreaker told the sirens. She brought the sheet Grogar gave her closer to her eyes. “Bibbidi… Bobbidi… Boo?” she sighed defeated. “That´s it, I give up.” she said as she did a ball with the sheet. She threw to Adagio´s face.

The siren´s face burnt with rage.

“What. Are. You. Doing?!” she asked upset. “Don´t you see that the spell is here?!”

“I don´t doubt that. But that goat´s writing is unreadable!”

“It can´t be that bad. You just don´t know how to read properly.” Aria told her.

“Oh! You try it!” Daybreaker clapped back.

“Fine! I bet we´ll do it quicker than you.” Adagio replied sassily.

However, as she and Aria were smirking, Sonata was the one who bothered to read Grogar´s spell. Her eyes widened.

“Um… Girls…. I think she´s right…”

Adagio and Aria glared at her.

“Don´t you contradict us in front of her!” Adagio said clenching her teeth.

“But it´s true!” Sonata complained. “Look!” she showed the writing on the sheet to her sisters. “And you know I´m great at reading! Better than you.”

“Yes, we know Sonata.” Aria mumbled angrily under her breath. “Must be because it´s wrinkled.”

“Even if it was wrinkled, just give it a look! Pleeeaaase?” Sonata gave her sisters an adorable smile.

Both, Aria and Adagio rolled their eyes.

“Fiiine.” they begrudgingly agreed to read the sheet.

For some reason, Daybreaker left out a chuckle as she watched that scene, although it didn´t last. She shook her head. Why was she chuckling? She should be angry. She hated those sirens, after all! She shook her head and forced her expression into one of anger.

Adagio and Aria widened their eyes as well.

“See?! I told you. I told you! Didn´t I?” Sonata told her sisters triumphally.

Adagio rolled her eyes.

“Shut up Sonata.” Aria told her sister. “I can´t believe I´m saying this, but I´m starting to consider taking singing classes instead of rebuilding our rubies.”

“Sure, just let everyone see the famous Dazzlings going to singing classes and discovering that we used playback all along!” Adagio exclaimed sarcastically and upset.

“Yeah, but it´s more practical than coming here.”

“Urgh, stop complaining, will you? You´re always complaining!”

“At least I complain with a reason.”

“But instead of complaining you could try to find a solution!”

“But that´s your job, finding solutions! You´re the strategist in the group.”

“I don´t care if I´m the strategist, I always do all the work!”

“Hey!” Sonata exclaimed upset. “Unlike her, I always help!”

“Quite the contrary Sonata, you do things worse.”

Sonata gasped offended.

“Excuse me?! Well, I might not be as aggressive as the two of you, but at least I´m always loyal to you and never complain! And you know what? Now that we´re talking about the things that annoy us of each other, let me tell you something. I hate it when you underestimate me!”

“Don´t get dramatic.” Aria told Sonata.

“No! Don´t you patronize me! I´m tired that you see me as clueless, foolish and useless because of my cheerful attitude. That makes me feel like you underestimate me!”

Daybreaker´s ears raised when she heard that phrase. For some reason, that phrase made her feel bad and anxious. Her sister Luna used to tell her that. And whenever Luna said that, Daybreaker didn´t feel bad at the slightest and ignored her. So why was she feeling bad?

As she was overthinking, Adagio and Aria talked to Sonata.

“We don´t think you´re useless. You´re an important member of this group.” Adagio told her.

“We may get frustrated by your bubbly personality. But we also know that you have your moments of brightness. Not often, but there still are.”

Sonata doubted of their sisters´ honesty at first.

“You really mean it?” Sonata asked with some hope in her voice.

“Yeah, yeah, can we please move on and stop being feely?” Aria said bluntly.

“Oh you´re the best!”

Sonata hugged both Adagio and Aria.

“Ok. Stop hugging us before I change my mind.”

“A few more seconds...” Sonata complained playfully.

At that moment, Daybreaker felt empty. She never hugged Luna and never regretted that, but now… She wished that she hugged her the way Sonata was hugging her sisters. She shook her head violently. What were these thoughts? Why is this constantly on her head?

“STOP!” she ordered with a scream.

From the scare, Sonata quickly undid the hug.

“Stop, please! You´re making me feel uneasy!”

“We don´t care how you feel! You´ve made us wait like an hour for nothing!” Sonata defended herself.

“For nothing? I was trying to figure out the spell!”

“Considering that we are in the secret archives, you could have looked for a book instead!” Adagio told her.

Daybreaker was about to answer in return but couldn´t say anything, because Adagio was right.

“That… could have saved me a lot of work! Why didn´t you tell me before?!”

“I don´t know. You´re the one who´s been calling us useless.” Aria clapped back.

Daybreaker growled.

“You know what? If I wasn´t under that Grogar´s command I would have blasted you already!”

“I don´t get it, I thought you were glad to work for him.” Sonata pointed out.

“Well, yes but no. Honestly, the only thing I want to do is having fun. I see Grogar a means of fun, but he´s giving me boring tasks such as dealing with you! Where´s the excitement and destruction?! Why doesn´t that old goat give it to me?!”

“DAYBREAKER!”

Their eyes widened.

“Well, well, looks like someone is in trouble.” Adagio smirked.

“Impossible! He can´t have heard me from here.” Daybreaker said with panic on her voice.

Grogar blasted the library´s door.

“I need you to attack. Immediately!” he said in a mixture of anger and anxiety.

“Finally! Some action!” Daybreaker said in satisfaction.

“Wait! But what about our rubies?” Sonata asked.

“I´ll fix those later!”

“Without our rubies, we can´t do anything!” Adagio pointed out.

“You are bigger creatures than ponies! Which means that you have more physical strength. Now go! You´re driving my patience.”

“Not until-”

If it hadn´t been for Aria´s strong reflexes, she would have been blasted by Grogar.

“NOW!”

The three sirens flew away. Daybreaker stared at Grogar.

“Um… I know you´re always grumpy, but now… oof! Whatever is happening?”

“Twilight Sparkle´s friends!”

“Who in tarnation is that? And why would I care about their friends?”

He grabbed Daybreaker by the throat with his magic.

“Just do as I say. Or I´ll press harder and harder.”

“Ok. Ok. I´m going.” she said as he choked her.

When he let her go, he threw her to the ground. She rushed out, trying to get away from Grogar as fast as possible.

Once he was alone, he noticed that his breath was shortened. He threw himself to the ground, put his hooves on his temples. He hyperventilated, almost in the brink of tears. Just as things were going well, they changed drastically in the last minute. He knew that he was walking on a very tight rope. His mind was a whirlwind. He felt, anger, humiliation, and ironically the source of its power: fear.

One wrong move would mean facing the consequences of all his actions. Actions that hurt so many creatures. At first, and very rarely, he would feel guilty because of it, and to shove the feeling away he would blame it on others, saying that they deserved it. He knew what he did was wrong but by pushing the blame away, he felt no remorse. But consequently, the fear of facing the consequences was born. He perfectly knew if they had the chance, they would make him pay in the cruellest way possible. Just by thinking about it, he felt as frightened as a little lamb.

Nonetheless, Grogar wasn´t the one to give up, no matter how bad things were. So, after a few minutes that felt like hours. Grogar opened his eyes and frowned in determination. Slowly, he woke up and walked to the window.

“You want it that way? Fine, then so be it.”

“That was a clever idea Twilight! Looking for recipes for potions to facilitate sleep inside the cavern.” Cozy said. “Kinda wish somepony thought of that before.” she undirectedly told Tirek and Chrysalis.

“Oh, shut up Cozy.” Tirek said in reply.

“Exactly!” Chyrsalis. “Besides, weren´t you the one who saw Grogar spending the nights awake?”

“Yes, but you could have thought of that too!”

Twilight and Luna were not only physically, but also mentally exhausted. Dealing with Equestria´s greatest enemies was such a hard task. Not because they were dangerous, but because they were incredibly emotionally immature.

Throughout the whole journey from the cavern, they had been throwing them subtle threats, underestimating them and have been very hard to cooperate with. Fortunately, their strong desire of defeating Grogar was strong enough for them to collaborate with them. Still, the two mares were tired.

“Maybe we should have taken another potion for relaxation.” Luna told Twilight. “My head hurts so much!”

“Oh, trust me, I would have taken his whole library!” Twilight exclaimed excited.

“I know. Judging by how much fun you had while doing research.” Luna giggled.

“Who wouldn´t? There´s so much knowledge in there! I mean yes, there are dark magic books, we should burn those now that I think about it, but anyway! There are books about medicine, biology, history, literature… How can we have ignored such knowledge for so long?”

“Don´t worry. You´ll study them once this is over. But first, we need to-”

Every creature stopped walking when they saw Canterlot in the horizon. They widened their eyes when they saw ponies and other creatures fighting monsters in the sky, breaking some buildings in the process. Twilight put her hooves on her cheeks.

“Oh no! His monsters are devouring ponies and other creatures already! We need to get there as fast as possible.”

In contrast, Cozy processed the situation more relaxed.

“Hm… Not necessarily.”

“What do you mean?”

“To me it looks like they´re fighting.”

Tirek and Chrysalis narrowed their eyes.

“Wow Cozy! I didn´t notice that. Thank you so much for pointing it out.” Chrysalis said in a sweet yet sarcastic tone.

“Noo… What I mean is that every creature is already revelling.”

“Aaaah…” every creature said in chorus.

“That makes more sense.” Chrysalis commented.

“Are you sure? What makes you think that?” Twilight asked insecure.

Cozy raised her eyebrow.

“Seriously? You ask that? You? The one who always takes our victory away?”

Twilight looked away and smiled shyly.

“It´s very simple. Normally, you and your friends would come to save the day but now that they´re no more,”

Since she put too much enthusiasm in the last sentence, Twilight felt hurt to which Luna responded by glaring at Cozy.

“Careful with what you say.” she threatened quietly while wrapping Twilight with her wing.

Cozy laughed nervously. Chrysalis rolled her eyes and Tirek massaged his forehead.

“As I was saying, since they think that you´re all dead, they have no choice but to do it themselves!”

“I guess that could be possible.” Twilight rubbed her forelegs.

“I´m not trying to cheer you up or make you feel better, I just say this to clarify Cozy´s point.” Tirek raised his hands. “But we started plotting against Grogar just after a few days after Sombra´s defeat. And if he had done all of this while we were at the cavern, it would have taken us a few minutes. Just saying.”

“Nonetheless, we should lend a hoof as soon as possible.” said Luna.

Twilight looked back at Canterlot. She felt fear coming back to her body and so did her insecurities. But if she could have survived Grogar´s deathly strike, then she defeating him wasn´t impossible. She breathed in and out and frowned with determination.

“Alright. Let´s do this.”

She nodded her head while looking at Luna, giving her the sign to ignite her horn. After lighting it, she teleported herself with Twilight and the villains inside the city of Canterlot.

They reappeared in a hidden spot that gave a good sight to one of the castle´s squares, more specifically, the one at the back. It was full of Grogar´s monsters sleeping. When they noticed them, they quickly put their backs against the wall.

“We´re going to have it difficult to access the castle.” Luna bit her lip.

“Ha!” laughed Chrysalis “Please, they´re just asleep. They´re not dangerous if they´re sleeping.”

“But they could be awakened.”

“All we have to do is being quiet and that´s it.”

However, her confidence dropped when they heard the sound of glass breaking by a yellow lightning of magic.

“ALRIGHT! WHEREVER YOU ARE, I´LL FIND YOU AND BURN YOU!” a female voice yelled.

Between the yell and the glass breaking the monsters woke up.

“Never mind what I just said.” Chrysalis mumbled.

“Great!” Cozy complained. “Do you have a plan to get passed those guys?”

Twilight scratched her chin as she thought.

“I have an idea, but you might not like it.”

“What is it?”

“Life bait.”

“Good idea!” Cozy exclaimed excited, but her tone changed when Twilight realized what she meant. “Hey!”

“Come one Cozy, you and Tirek need to create a diversion.”

“What do you want me to do, a musical number?”

“Hey you!” Cozy exclaimed.

The monsters turned their heads towards Cozy.

“Want some good dinner?” she said as she showed Tirek.

Tirek was laying on the ground, his arms crossed, and a serious angry expression on his face.

“Tirek!” she scolded him quietly.

He sighed frustrated.

“Do I really have to do it?”

She nodded angrily.

“Fine. I´m going to kill Twilight for this.” he muttered the last part.

He put an apple on his mouth and crossed his arms again, frowning more than before. The monsters observed them with confused faces.

“You like it? He´s made of juicy meat. He´s biiiig and louuuud!” Cozy started singing the last part. “Biiig and loud. Come on taste this delicious chow! Cause he´s big aaaaaand louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud!”

While Cozy held the last note for a long time, Chrysalis, Luna, and Twilight sneaked into the castle. Thankfully, she managed to take their attention long enough for the changeling and the two alicorns to go unnoticed, as the monsters were salivating at their dinner.

After she finished her song, she panted heavily.

“Where do you keep all that air?” Tirek asked her, impressed by her performance.

“I don´t know. But I think I´ve ran out of it.”

Both Cozy and Tirek walked backwards when they noticed the monsters coming towards them, licking their licks and salivating. However, Tirek was calm. He stretched his neck and opened his mouth in order to absorb all their magic. Once he was done, he smiled in satisfaction while looking at his muscles and kissed them.

“Well, that was a great meal. Right Cozy?”

However, the filly wasn´t there. He entered in slight panic.

“Cozy?” he asked as he looked around. “Cozy?” he sighed frustrated. “She ran away, didn´t she? This filly…” he massaged his temples before leaving the castle´s main square to search for Cozy. “Cozyy? Cozyyy?”

Meanwhile, Twilight, Luna and Chrysalis observed the scene from behind the gate.

“Where did Cozy go?” Twilight asked worried.

“Probably she ran away because she let her feelings get the best of her.” Chrysalis assumed. “Usually happens.”

“Should we wait for them to continue the plan?” Luna asked.

“It would be safer, but we can´t afford to wait for them. We could get discovered before we get the chance to begin with the plan!” Chrysalis replied.

“You sure? I know how much Tirek and Cozy mean to you.” Twilight put her hoof on Chrysalis´.

Naturally, the changeling didn´t take the gesture well. She hit her hoof.

“Don´t you assume what my relationship is with them! But answering to your question, I know they´ll be fine. Cozy will be hiding somewhere safe and Tirek has no problem defending himself.”

“Alright.” said Luna. “You have the potion?”

Chrysalis showed the bottle.

“Here.”

“Then let´s begin.”

Chrysalis transformed into her disguise at the Summer Sun Celebration. She kept the potion on her armour. Twilight held on to Luna to help each other to go up the stairs.

“Ready?” Chrysalis asked them.

Twilight frowned with determination as she and Luna looked at the stairs.

“Ready.”

Chapter 30: The princess has returned

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“You see them?” Pinkie asked Rainbow.

Rainbow took a few more glances bellow before answering.

“Aha!” she exclaimed when she noticed her friends´ silhouettes. “There they are!”

While the girls were looking down excited, Discord was looking straight. At what he found wasn´t as pleasant.

“Uh…Girls?” he pointed at the horizon.

The girls followed Discord´s finger direction. Pinkie and Fluttershy gasped horrified when they saw a white, fiery alicorn flying around.

“Is it me or does she look like Celestia?” Rainbow asked confused.

“She is Celestia!” Pinkie replied.

“What?!”

“Grogar corrupted her with the bell. I saw her just before being rescued.”

“This guy makes it more and more impossible!” Rainbow pulled her eyelids.

“But we discovered that if we remind her who she is, she might turn to normal. It worked with a manticore before!” Fluttershy reassured.

“That´s awesome! What are we waiting for?”

“I´d love to do that now but maybe we should wait for-”

However, neither Rainbow nor Pinkie listened to her. They started getting her attention.

“Celestia! Celestia!” the two exclaimed in chorus.

Discord tried to hush them.

“What in tarnation are you doing? Stop it! You´re going to get her attention!”

However, his attempts were in vain. Their voices had already caught Daybreaker´s attention. She widened her eyes when she saw Pinkie.

“Wait a minute, wasn´t she dead? Maybe that´s one of that Twilight Sparkle´s friends.”

Her suspicions were confirmed when she realized Discord was with them. She gasped and laughed mischievously. Daybreaker threw fire at them.

“You are coming with me.” she threatened them.

“Wait! You´re not against us, you are with us.” Rainbow told her as she dodged one of her attacks.

“Whatever you´re talking about? You´re on the good side and I am on the bad side.”

“But that´s the problem. Your side isn´t the bad side!” Pinkie said in return.

Daybreaker laughed.

“Please… I´ve always been on the bad side. You´re clearly trying to manipulate me.”

“We´re not manipulating you. We´re trying to make you understand.” Fluttershy clarified firmly. “If anyone is manipulating you is Grogar. He brainwashed you to turn you into something you´re not with his bell.”

“I don´t like Grogar that much but I know who I am, and I´ve always been like this, for your information! Urgh! Why are you telling me otherwise?”

“Because you´re not Daybreaker, you are Celestia!” Discord said frustrated.

Daybreaker didn´t expect that answer. Why was everypony telling her that she was Celestia? Who even was Celestia? At this moment, she turned serious.

“Oh.. Now you´ve gone too far.”

She threw fire to Discord. Luckily, he summoned a force camp and was able to protect himself and his friends.

“Oh! It´s working! It´s working!” he said to himself.

“Yeah, but what you said didn´t happen, Fluttershy.” Rainbow said to Fluttershy. “I don´t understand, why?”

“Maybe because we´re not close to her?” Fluttershy suggested. “I mean, she loves us but we´re not as close to her as Twilight and Luna.”

“But Twilight´s dead! And Luna might be too. I didn´t see Nightmare Moon, I only saw Daybreaker!” Pinkie pointed out.

“So, what do we do?” Rainbow asked worried.

Discord bit his lip as he heard their conversation. He didn´t come up with a solution and the fact that Daybreaker was yelling at him didn´t help either.

“Come on! Attack you coward!”

He also knew he couldn´t stay like this forever. Sooner or later, Daybreaker would break the force camp, and would attack his friends too. So, he came up with an idea.

“Girls, you need to leave.”

“What?” they asked in chorus.

“It´s too dangerous for you to stay. Besides, Fluttershy and Pinkie need to reunite with Applejack, Rarity and Spike.”

“But what about you?” Fluttershy asked worried. “You were so close to die before, and now I won´t be there to throw stones. I don´t want you to get hurt.” Fluttershy hugged Discord.

“Well… I think that the worst thing that she would do is bring me to Grogar. Just to bring him something.”

“But that´s worse!”

“No, because that will give you time to enter the castle before we even get there.”

Fluttershy looked from side to side. She gulped and frowned.

“Ok.”

They hugged each other tightly.

“Um… Flutters… I need a little help.” Rainbow called her. The exhaustion in her voice was notable, as she was holding Pinkie by herself.

Fluttershy quickly grabbed one of Pinkie´s forelegs.

“Right.” she smiled sheepishly. “Good luck Dizzy!” she said before leaving.

“Don´t worry I´ll be fine!” he replied after dodging an attack.

He gasped excitedly.

“She gave me a nickname!” he muttered to himself while blushing. “The same as Gusty´s!”

“Cozy? Cozy!”

Tirek kept calling her, but she still didn´t appear.

“Come on you can’t do this! Chrysalis might need us."

He was so focused on finding Cozy that he didn’t realize he had some company coming.

Rarity, Applejack and Spike kept on running towards the castle. The only company they had now were the student six along Punja, Terramar and Gabby, the CmC, the pillars, Stygian and Scorpan.

"Do you think something happened to her?" Applejack asked Rarity.

"I can’t tell you for certain darling. Remember that right now anything could go wrong."

Luckily, Rarity´s prediction wasn´t correct. Spike gasped excited when she noticed Rainbow in the Sky. And not only her, but Pinkie and Fluttershy too!

"Look!" he pointed at the sky.

When they looked at the sky, their eyes filled with tears.

"Pinkie! Fluttershy!" Rarity exclaimed.

Once she made sure she was close enough to the ground, Pinkie hoped and hugged Rarity and Applejack so hard that they fell to the ground. Then, Fluttershy joined the hug. Though not to the point of throwing them to the ground, she still hugged them energetically.

"I´m so glad to see y´all ok." A.J told all her friends as she, Rarity and Spike returned the hug.

"Us too." Fluttershy said softly in reply.

Meanwhile, their companions admired the reunion scene.

“Look at them.” Mistmane told her friends. “Together again.”

They heard a sniff, which came from Rockhoof.

“Are you crying?” Flash Magnus asked him playfully.

“Yes!” he replied before drying his tears. “And I´m not ashamed to admit it, ok?”

“Oh, you sweet giant.” Meadowbrook said before hugging him.

“I guess the group is complete.” Sandbar said sadly.

“Almost complete, I would say, but… I know what you mean.” Gallus agreed.

“But every creature thought that all the professors were dead, yet they turned out to be alive! What if professor Twilight Sparkle turned out to be alive too?” Ocellus suggested hopeful.

“I don´t know little one…” Starswirl shook his head. “Spike told us that Grogar hit her with the bell´s magic, and that is something lethal. It would take a miracle for her to be alive.”

“But they got their magic back!” Sweetie Belle replicated. “Right now, anything could be possible!”

“Yes, but we should not get all our hopes up.” Stygian agreed with Starswirl. “We´ll be fine but some things won´t turn out as we expect.”

“The important thing is that we are close to defeat Grogar.” Somnambula said.

As they were conversating, Punja noticed an enormous red figure in the distance. After taking a more detailed glance, she realized that the red figure was a centaur. She quickly deduced who that centaur was. She clenched her teeth and growled.

“YOU!” she yelled out. “You´d better run away, otherwise you´ll pay!”

She caught both Tirek´s and every creature else´s attention. They gasped when they saw each other.

“Oh no.” Tirek and Scorpan mumbled to themselves. Tirek´s mumble was full of frustration where as Scorpan´s was full of fear.

The mane 5 and Spike put themselves on the front to protect their companions.

“Don´t you dare come near them, you beast!” Rarity exclaimed while igniting her horn.

Tirek blinked surprised.

“You´re alive?”

“For your misfortune, we are.” Pinkie Pie smirked mischievously.

“Well yes, but-”

“And we´re going to make you pay!” Starswirl exclaimed.

The pillars and Stygian were frowning with the same determination as him.

Every creature looked at Starswirl

“Wait. You´re serious?” Rainbow asked them.

They nodded.

“What?!” Scorpan asked scared.

“Count me in!” Punja stomped her hoof and breathed air out of her nose.

“What? No, no, you stay out of this.”

“But dad…”

“No buts!”

The way Scorpan and that little zebra interacted reminded Tirek of him and Cozy.

“Oh no, I´m turning into my brother!” he thought to himself.

“Guys no! I´ll fight him myself, but please go with them. You haven´t got any magic, he´ll smash you!”

“We might not be able to fight but please….” Starswirl held his hand. “Let us stay here with you.”

“And me too dad.” Punja added.

Scorpan bit his lip skeptical, but he ended up accepting begrudgingly.

“Ok.”

“Go to the castle. We´ll catch you up.” Starswirl commanded every creature.

Fluttershy gasped when she remembered Discord´s words.

“We need to get there as fast as we can!”

“What? But why?” Applejack asked confused.

“Discord´s fighting evil Celestia.” Pinkie started to explain but was quickly interrupted.

“What?!” the two ponies and dragon asked in chorus.

“What you heard! Grogar corrupted her with the bell. Anyway, he´s fighting her and chances are that he´ll lose.”

Applejack, Rarity and Spike bit their lips.

“But don´t worry! Discord will make sure she brings him to Grogar at the castle.”

“Which is why we need to leave!”

“They nodded and ran towards the castle.

“How did you find Discord?” Rarity asked Fluttershy.

“I ran away because the villains broke free, and then I found him with Grogar. He almost died before when we found each other. I don´t want my best friend dead!”

“You mean the love of your life.” Spike muttered after giving a fake cough.

“What?”

“Nothing!”

Meanwhile, the pillars, Stygian and Punja put on a brave face. Scorpan´s face, on the other hoof, was full of sadness and disappointment. Tirek was also serious and angry, however, he didn´t start attacking, which estranged them.

“What are you waiting for? Is it to make us suffer while thinking about our fates?” Rockhoof asked him.

“No.”

“Then why don´t you start attacking?” Flash Magnus challenged him.

“Are you scared?” Stygian asked him.

“Scared?” he laughed. “Please, as my treacherous and cowardly brother said, I would smash you without any second thoughts.”

When Tirek called him treacherous, he felt hurt. He hugged his knees while looking away.

“DON´T YOU TALK TO HIM LIKE THAT!” Punja yelled from the ground. She walked towards Tirek as she scolded him. “Unlike you he´s noble and doesn´t act like a brat! And he doesn´t pick creature with creatures that are smaller than him because he isn´t mean. You are the coward for stealing magic just to make your low and tiny self-esteem!” she pointed at Tirek.

Tirek blinked surprised.

“Well, isn´t she a loudmouth?” he smirked at her. “If we weren´t in dire circumstances, I would have blasted you already.”

“Dire circumstances?” Meadowbrook raised an eyebrow confused. “You are the one who provoked all of this!”

“Well yes, but I wasn´t talking about that. Look, just like you I want to get Grogar out of the throne, and for that, I need to….” Tirek had trouble articulating his words, so it took him some time to finish the sentence. “Work with you.”

They widened their eyes.

“Is this some kind of joke?” Somnambula scowled suspiciously.

“Believe me, it sounds like a joke even to me but it´s not.”

“Does that mean that you… Are reforming?” Scorpan asked hopeful, with tears in his eyes.

“No! I´m not doing this for you, I´m doing this for me. And this doesn´t mean that I´m forgiving you either. You still are not my brother.”

Scorpan looked down in sadness and disappointment.

“Oh… I see… Still, I´m glad that you want to work with us.” he smiled sadly.

Tirek looked away in silence.

“How do we know you´re not lying?” Starswirl scoffed. “Why are you joining us all of the sudden?”

“I explained already!”

“Then show us that it´s true!”

“I´m doing it already! I could have killed you instead of talking to you and I haven´t!”

The pillars looked at each other, still skeptical about Tirek´s intentions.

“Did you ally with anypony in our side to prove it?”

Tirek sighed frustrated. He knew they weren´t going to believe him.

“Princess Luna and… This is where it seems like a lie but isn´t.” he took some air before continuing and clapped his hands. “Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Every creature blinked astonished.

“You´re kidding.” Punja said in shock.

“I know it sounds unlikely but it´s the truth.”

The pillars looked at each other and nodded.

“He´s lying.” they said in chorus.

“For once in my life I´m not, I swear!”

Surprisingly, Tirek got some support, and from the creature he expected the least.

“He´s telling the truth.” Scorpan stated.

They all looked at Scorpan.

“How are you so sure of that?” Mistmane asked curiously.

“His body language. When he lies, you can see that his body tenses, as if he was ready to attack. However, when he´s telling the truth, it´s more withdrawn. And right now, he seemed withdrawn.”

He smiled at him, yet Tirek looked away once again, making the poor gargoyle sigh defeated. After Scorpan said that, they seemed more convinced, but they were still skepctical to trust him. Tirek groaned.

“Come on! Scorpan believes me! You know? It feels super weird to say this to you of all ponies, but I´m frustrated that you don´t trust me! I mean, I understand because I still hate you and am willing to hurt you, but I´ve already shown that I mean no harm for now? What do I have to do for to trust me?”

As he was talking, the pillars seemed scared, Stygian was even shaking. Scorpan and Punja hugged each other, with their eyes wide open.

“And now you´re scared, ugh, this just gets worse and worse.”

However, he soon realized they weren´t frightened of him when he saw three shadows. He turned around and saw three sirens smirking at him.

“Great, what was left.”

“Well, well, if it isn´t the ponies who condemned to live for eternity in another dimension.” Adagio said bitter.

“How? How did you come back?” Starswirl asked.

“By miracle, because of Grogar you fools!” Aria answered.

“If you´re looking for the cause of a disgrace right now, it´s Grogar.” Tirek clarified.

“But you don´t have your rubies! You cannot harm us!” Stygian smirked mischievously.

“Well, that´s true, but we´re still very strong physically.” Sonata responded sassily. “Whereas you´re not, from what I see.”

The three sirens were about to throw themselves to the pillars and Stygian, however they were stopped by a red and orange ray of magic, which threw them away for some time.

“Ouch!” the sirens complained.

They scowled when they realized that the responsible of that ray of magic was Tirek. He grinned victoriously and with lots of confidence.

“Do you believe me now?”

They all looked at each other and smirked confidently at Tirek.

“Yes.” Starswirl answered in name of the group. “But there´s something else for you to do.”

Tirek widened his eyes in horror.

“Tell me it´s not what I´m thinking. Because I do refuse to do that.”

“The sooner you give us our magic back, the sooner Grogar´s defeated. Besides, we want to see Twilight, just to see if you´re really telling the truth.”

Tirek sighed frustrated.

“Fine…”

He opened his mouth to let the pillars get their magic back. They hopped, ignited their horns, and flew full of joy. What they didn´t notice was that the sirens were coming back.

“Yay, yay. Let´s get over with this now.” Tirek said angrily.

The Young Six the CMC, Gabby and Terramar ran behind the main 5. They were so focused on getting into the castle that despite all the chaos around them, nothing seemed to get their attention. Well, nothing except perhaps one thing.

Yona´s ear twitched when she heard a familiar voice. A voice that belonged to a certain filly she hated. From the shock, she stopped running.

Sandbar noticed this and ran back to her.

“Yona! Why are you stopping? We need to get there as fast as possible.

His friends followed him when they noticed that Sandbar and Yona were missing.

“Nasty pony.” Yona simply replied.

They raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Nasty pony?” Scootaloo asked to Yona´s friends.

“Well that´s howe she called Neighsay and-” Smolder widened her eyes at the realization. “Wait. You mean Cozy Glow?”

Yona nodded.

“And why are you mentioning her right now?” Ocellus asked.

“Yona´s friends listen carefully.”

They tilted their heads to get a better hearing. They gasped when they heard Cozy´s voice.

“Um… Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like her?” Silverstream fidgeted her fingers nervously.

“No, no. It´s definitely her.” Gallus confirmed.

“If I don´t remember wrong what you told me, Cozy Glow is the evil filly that took over your school, right?” Terramar asked Silverstream.

“That´s correct!”

“Wait. She was a filly? I thought she was a grown mare!” Gabby exclaimed.

“Nope. She was a filly our age.” Apple Bloom stated.

“And where do you think she could be?” Sweetie Belle asked every creature.

Yona took some moments to answer to identify in which direction the voice came from.

“Nasty pony there!”

She ran to a corner, the rest following behind. They saw some boxes. They pulled them backwards and saw Cozy in there. The filly was whimpering in fear, praying for her safety. She widened her eyes when she saw them and blinked.

“On second thought, let the monsters eat me. Let the monsters eat me! Wait no, I don´t want that either. TIREEEEEEK!”

Smolder quickly covered her mouth.

“You´re not calling your evil buddies to get them to hurt us.”

“Hurt you?” she laughed sweetly. “I´m not hurting you. I´m by your side now!”

The Young Six and CMC all narrowed their eyes and raised their eyebrows. Terramar and Gabby shared glances.

“Ok, actually I´m not if we´re talking about redemption, but it´s true. I´m not calling Tirek to hurt you because we have to work with you.”

Gallus scoffed.

“For what?”

“Is that a serious question?” Cozy pointed at the castle.

“Ok. Let me get this straight.” Sandbar massaged his temples. “You want to work with us to defeat Grogar?”

“Yes.”

“Like that? All of the sudden? After what you did at the school twice?” Smolder asked bitter.

“I get that you´re angry but come on! Look at the situation we are in! We both want Grogar out of the throne, do we?”

“Yes, but you want it for yourself!” Apple Bloom accused her.

Cozy looked from side to side.

“But the more creatures, the better, right?”

Every creature shared suspicious glances.

“Ok fine! Do whatever you want! I have better things to do!” She jumped from the boxes and started walking away while muttering to herself. “See? This is what we told Twilight in the cavern.”

Everypony gasped when they heard the word `Twilight´.

“Twilight? You talked to her? In a cavern?” Scootaloo interrogated her.

“Oh…. Now you want to listen to me...”

“We haven´t got time for this!” Smolder shook her.

“Alright alright! I´ll tell you everything.”

“Girls, I have one question.” Rainbow told her friends.

“Go ahead!” Applejack answered.

“Where are the pirates, the yaks and kirins? They were with us before I left.”

“Fighting monsters.” Rarity replied.

“They woke up?!” Fluttershy asked anxious.

“It was bound to happen if you think about it.” Pinkie said to her. “Those monster can´t stay asleep forever!”

As they were conversating, Spike stopped running.

“Girls.”

They stopped running and turned around.

“Don´t you feel an absence?”

Rarity gasped dramatically.

“The girls! They stayed behind! They must be in danger!”

She was about to run, but Rainbow stopped her.

“Don´t worry. Here they come.”

“With…” Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Cozy Glow?”

The young creatures caught up with them in a matter of seconds. They panted heavily.

“Well, well, look who we have here. The evil filly.” Pinkie scowled at her.

“How did you find her?” Fluttershy asked curious.

“That doesn´t matter!” Ocellus exclaimed.

“We have important news! Very important news!” Silverstream got Spike´s cheeks.

“Well, what is it?” he asked.

“Twilight! She´s alive!”

The mane 5 and Spike gasped.

“What?!”

Chapter 31: Together again

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Chrysalis nervously walked around the castle, desperately wanting to find Grogar to end with him once and for all. However, it was impossible to find him! That could mean two things. Either, he had left the castle to deal with all this chaos himself, something he would perfectly do, or he had entered the room she, Luna and Twilight had agreed on, already found them, and everything was over! The fact that none of the guards could give her his exact location made things worse for Chrysalis.

“Where is he? Where is he?” she muttered to herself.

For Chrysalis´ fortune and misfortune, she had her answer when the ram opened the throne room´s gates abruptly. Fortune, because she could finally do as agreed and misfortune because she didn´t want to see him again. However, his attitude was somehow different. Yes, Grogar was always angry, but he also maintained his posture and steady. But this time… He seemed to be slipping. Although, this made her think she would be able to defeat him more easily, she was also genuinely scared. One wrong move, and Grogar would kill her.

The guards immediately bowed. Chrysalis took a bit more time, as she was distracted with her thoughts.

“My emperor…” one of the guards said.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! YOU SHOULD BE OUT THERE FIGHTING AGAINST THOSE… Those… URGH!”

He blasted a window in anger. Chrysalis and the other guards stared surprised, with their eyes quite widened. They immediately left when he stared at them. Chrysalis wasn´t sure what to do. If she didn´t move, he would get her.

“I should have transformed into a maid instead.” she slapped herself mentally.

However, she realized it wasn´t too late. She could leave and change her disguise. Definitely. That was what she had to do!

What she didn´t realize, however, was that Grogar was staring at her. He narrowed his eyes.

“What are you doing here?!” he asked upset. “Why haven´t you left already?!”

Chrysalis widened her eyes.

“I was… thinking about ideas on how to deal with them!” she responded with a modified voice while turning around. “But it seems that I lost track of reality. I´ll leave immediately!”

She was about to rush out, however Grogar had other plans.

“No, actually stay here.”

Chrysalis´ breath stopped for a moment.

“Wh- Why your majesty?”

“I need a creature around me to protect me.”

Chrysalis held her laughter. How the almighty goat has fallen! However, she quickly cleared her throat. She was going to answer no, but then she realized that she had the perfect chance to do the final move. So, she decided to play along.

“Now that you say that, I know a place where you´ll be safe. Nopony will find us there. Come along!”

Grogar raised an eyebrow as he followed Chrysalis.

Twilight and Luna waited anxiously for Chrysalis to arrive. Although she wasn´t in a good state, Luna still had magic, so she cast an invisibility spell both on her and Twilight. They had to be careful on not making any noise though. So, when they spoke, they spoke on the lowest voice volume possible.

“Do you see them?” Twilight asked Luna.

Luna poked her head out.

“I´m afraid not.”

“Do you think he discovered her already?”

“I think he does know something´s going on.”

“Oh no…”

“But knowing Grogar, he likes to play cat and mouse with his victims, so it´s possible that he plays along and comes here. If we act quickly, we still have a chance.”

Twilight nodded. Her ears perked up when she heard hoofsteps.

“They´re here!”

She and Luna hugged tightly, watching how Chrysalis in disguise and Grogar entered the room. She was going to close the door, but Grogar interrupted her.

“Don´t close the door.”

Chrysalis pressed her lips.

“Don´t you want to be safe?” she asked him.

“Yes. But as you said, nopony will find us here. So there´s no need.”

“This goat´s playing me!” she thought to herself.

She could feel how the anger was building inside her. But she knew that if she let her rage out, it would be the end of her life. Plus, he was already suspicious, so she had to act extra careful.

“As you say, your majesty.” Chrysalis rolled slightly your eyes.

There was a brief and tense silence. She discreetly glanced around the room. The ram noticed her eyes darting from side to side.

“Is something troubling you?”

“What? No! Of course not!”

Grogar narrowed his eyes.

“Ok, actually there is. And that is you. You seem very, very scared sir.”

Grogar scoffed.

“I am not scared! If any creature is scared are the ones that are revolting.” he said while looking outside the balcony. He clenched his teeth furiously. “I´ll make them pay. I´ll show them there´s no way that they´ll take me out of the throne!”

Taking the advantage of the fact Grogar was distracted, she slightly took the potion out her armour and a cloth. She spilt some liquid on the cloth and prepared to put it on Grogar´s mouth. Unfortunately, the ram noticed what she was doing, as he saw the reflection on the window. He smirked before turning around.

“You know what? I changed my mind. I actually don´t need your protection. I´m going to deal with this myself.”

The sudden change of Grogar´s opinion scared Chrysalis, making her drop both the bottle and the cloth. Luna and Twilight widened their eyes and gave out a quiet yet horrified gasp. Chrysalis covered her mouth.

“My, my, what a misfortunate accident. What was it that you had in there?” he grinned maliciously.

“P- P- Perfume. M- My mother gave it to me. I always carry that around.” Chrysalis replied. She was sweating hard and in the brink of a panic attack.

“Oh really, let me smell it.”

“I´d… Rather you didn´t.”

“You´re saying no to your emperor?” Grogar asked in an intimidating tone.

Chrysalis didn´t know what to reply, so she stayed silent. Impatient, Grogar took her out of the way. He bent and smelt the liquid.

“Huh… Funny… This `perfume´ smells exactly like the potion they used to give me for sleep when I was a lamb. But that darn potion never worked!” he said resented. “Now that I think of it, I don´t know why I bothered asking Bray to bring the recipe to the cavern…”

He smiled in victory at Chrysalis while getting up.

“Nice try Chrysalis. NICE TRY!”

He zapped Chrysalis, undoing her disguise and throwing her against the wall. The blow was so hard that it made her cough. Grogar stomped his hoof against the ground.

“I should have killed you instantly once I got my bell!” he regretted. “But first I need you to answer me. I know that you haven´t come here alone. You, the centaur and the filly are inseparable, and therefore you three have come here to destroy me!” Grogar angrily stomped his hoof on the ground. “WHERE ARE THEY?!”

“I will never tell! I´d rather fight you instead.” she ignited her horn.

Grogar clenched his teeth.

“Then you´ve just dictated your death sentence.”

Grogar touched the bell with his hoof, ready to activate it. But Chrysalis still maintained her defensive posture.

Although she never liked her, Twilight couldn´t let Grogar kill Chrysalis. She would have started fighting Grogar herself, but couldn´t because she didn´t have any magic. So, she begged Luna, in the same tone as before.

“Do something!” she held her shoulders.

Luna covered her mouth and shushed her.

Ironically, Grogar heard the shush, not Twilight. His eyes stopped staring at Chrysalis and moved to the right, exactly where Twilight and Luna where. He grinned and went to target them. But just before he could fire, something unexpected happened.

“Hey boss!” Daybreaker said happily.

Grogar ended up firing, but luckily it didn´t hit Luna nor Twilight, although it ended up very near them.

Daybreaker´s appearance left Twilight´s mouth hanging open. Luna had already told her that Grogar corrupted Celestia, but that didn´t prepare her for what she was seeing right now with her eyes. Meanwhile, Luna looked away heartbroken.

Frustrated, Grogar growled.

“WHAT?! DON´T YOU SEE I´M BUSY?!”

Since Grogar wasn´t looking, Chrysalis broke the balcon´s windows with her magic and flew away.

“YOU! COME BACK HERE!” Grogar yelled to Chrysalis.

Chrysalis managed to get to the square safely.

“Code red! Code red! Guys we need your help!” she called Tirek and Cozy.

However, none of them were there.

“WHY AREN´T THOSE FOOLS HERE?!” she shouted angrily.

She was forced to stop complain, as Grogar was still able to fire her from the castle. She transformed into a fly, to hinder his aim, which allowed her to leave unharmed. Grogar yelled frustrated. She grabbed Daybreaker by the neck, which made Luna furious.

“Thanks to you, my enemy is on the run!”

“I- I just wanted to tell you good news.”

“WHAT GOOD NEWS?”

“I brought him!” Daybreaker said with a nervous smile as she tried to free herself from Grogar´s grasp.

“Who?!”

Daybreaker ignited her horn and brought Discord to the scene. Twilight gasped softly while Luna widened her eyes. Daybreaker dropped him. Discord smiled nervously as he waved Grogar.

“HE WASN´T THE ONE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BRING!” Grogar held her throat tighter.

“Well, he´s your son and he escaped, and I thought-”

“He´s my son no more…”

“In due time.” Discord muttered to himself as he rolled his eyes.

“And as such I don´t want him here. You should have killed him on the instant!”

Luna shed tears and covered her mouth while seeing how Grogar hurt his sister. Twilight could tell she wanted to help Celestia but at the same time she wanted to protect her. She noticed that nopony was paying attention to the door, meaning that she could escape and let Luna fight. She frowned in determination and held Luna´s hoof. With her eyes, she pointed at the door. Luna quickly understood what Twilight meant. She looked at her worried, asking if that was a good idea with just her look. Twilight nodded confidently and Luna did too after her. Twilight started creeping on the floor, and Luna waited for her to leave. Once she was out, she could begin to attack.

However, Luna wasn´t the only one who wanted to act. After remembering that Gusty saw him as a son, Discord realized that Celestia and Luna were practically his sisters. And as such, he had to protect them. So, by summoning magic with his eagle claw he struggled to take Daybreaker away from Grogar. By doing so, he angered the ram and made him decide to finish what he started. He rang the bell and targeted Discord. Luckily, he was quick enough to conjure up a force camp, making the magic ray bounce and hit the wall instead. From the scare, Luna stopped igniting her horn and covered herself with a wing. Unfortunately, she made herself and Twilight visible. Twilight was about to reach the door, so she quickly hid herself behind the door and covered herself with her wings, which enabled her to be unnoticed. Luna didn´t have the same luck, though.

Both Grogar´s and Daybreaker´s were hanging wide open when they saw Luna alive, whereas Discord was sighing in relief.

“She´s alive?!” Daybreaker thought aloud.

“She lives…” Grogar muttered shocked.

Then, he turned around to Daybreaker.

“I told you to kill her at the dungeon…” he scolded quietly as he advanced towards Daybreaker.

Daybreaker walked backwards in response.

“I did, I swear!”

“No, you didn´t! Otherwise she wouldn´t be here. This is the definite proof that you´re of no use to me.”

Grogar was about to ring the bell and target at her, but Luna hit him with her magic before he could do anything. She reappeared in front of her, using her good wing as an armour for her sister.

“You´ll have to go through me first.”

Daybreaker was shocked by what Luna just did. Even though she mistreated her and tried to kill her, she still loved her? She could have let her die or killed her herself. But no. She was still willing to defend her. Her ears fell down.

“Luna…” she mumbled.

“Go now Tia! Go!”

Unlike previous times, being called by another name didn´t upset Daybreaker. She didn´t even noticed it, as she was focused on Luna´s bravery and capability of forgiveness. Her mind came back to earth when she heard Luna´s order. Not knowing what to do, she decided that the best thing was to listen to her and go. So, she left.

“Me too!” Discord joined Luna.

“No, Discord this is between me and him. He´s tried to ruin my mother´s legacy by corrupting us and I won´t let that happen.”

“Talking about that, there´s something I should tell you but I don´t think that this is the right time.”

Grogar stomped his hoof on the ground.

“ENOUGH CHATTERING! You two want to fight me? Fine, let´s get this over wi-”

Grogar didn´t finish his phrase, as he saw something that unsettled him. Behind the door, he noticed a dark blue, with purple and pink stripes tail. He widened his eyes.

“It can´t be…” he thought horrified. He clenched his teeth. “YOU!” he exclaimed.

He ignited his horns and took Twilight out of her hiding spot. Discord´s mouth literally dropped from the surprise, whereas Luna bit her lip.

“HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO KILL YOU?!”

Immediately, Luna and Discord distracted him so Twilight would be free from Grogar´s grasp. She saw the balcony and had an idea. Though neither Discord nor Luna were able to hold Grogar for long, as he tied them up with his magic.

Grogar turned around and frowned when he saw Twilight wasn´t there anymore.

Starlight, Trixie and Sunburst finished fighting some changelings that were attacking many ponies.

“It´s alright. You may leave now.” Starlight said while panting.

“There are no more changelings that can hurt you!” Sunburst cleaned his glasses with his cape.

“And if there are, the Great and Powerful Trixie and friends will stop them!” Trixie threw her fist to the air.

The unicorns they helped smiled in gratitude and ran away.

“But now…” Trixie let herself fall on her tummy. “I need a break…”

“Sorry, but I´m afraid that will have to wait.” Starlight lamented while putting her hoof on Trixie´s shoulder.

“Why?”

“Because our friends are here!” Sunburst exclaimed as he saw the mane 5, Spike, the CMC and the Student Six running towards them.

His eyes widened when he saw that Cozy Glow was in fact, between them.

“And an enemy too…” he added, not as excited.

“What?!” Starlight and Trixie asked in chorus.

They ignited their horns when Cozy was near them.

“Alright, what have you done this time?” Starlight said angrily.

“It´s ok, it´s ok!” Spike lifted his hands. “She´s with us.”

“Pardon me?” Trixie asked incredulous.

“We´ll explain later, but we have important news!” Rarity said.

“Twilight´s alive!” Pinkie exclaimed.

The three unicorns blinked.

“How do you know that?” Sunburst asked.

“Did she tell you that?” Trixie narrowed her eyes at Cozy.

“Yes, but I am telling the truth!” the filly responded on self-defence.

“Oh really?” Starlight raised her eyebrow.

Cozy sighed.

“If we wanted to set you a trap, we wouldn´t do it in these conditions! Believe me, there´s nothing I want more right now than to see that goat defeated and humiliated the same way he did to us!”

Starlight, Trixie and Sunburst looked at each other.

“I hate to admit, but she does have a point.” Trixie agreed.

“Alright. We believe you.” Starlight told Cozy. “Now, where is she?”

Chrysalis didn´t find any sign of Tirek nor Cozy around Canterlot. She was furious and frustrated.

“They´d better have a good reason not to be there! This could go very wrong and this will be their fault!”

At that moment, something caught her attention. There were ponies and other creatures running towards the castle. And these were not ordinary ponies. They were Twilight Sparkle´s friends! And her dragon was also there.

“Wait, those six survived too?!” she thought aloud. “How is that possible?!”

But that was nothing compared to what she saw next. Her greatest enemy, the cause of her fall as queen, named Starlight Glimmer, was running around with them. This made her cough. A rage invaded her.

“YOU!”

All the creatures turned around to Chrysalis. Starlight didn´t have time to react, as Chrysalis tackled her against the ground. She ignited her horn in fury.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

“Uh… Saving everypony from a goat overlord?” she laughed nervously. “I don´t get it, I thought she was with us!” she said to Cozy.

“And we are! But she still holds her grudges…”

Chrysalis clenched her teeth. Every creature prepared to attack Chrysalis.

“However, she will not do you any harm. To none of you in fact!”

“Then why is she doing this to Professor Starlight?!” Smolder asked upset.

“I said why already!” Cozy replied angrily. Then she flew to Chrysalis. “You´d better stop doing that!” she whispered in her ear.

“Why should I?” Chrysalis asked defiant.

“Because if you do, it´s over! I know you hate her, but could you let her alive?”

“I wasn´t going to kill her.”

“What?” every creature asked.

“I´m just making it clear that I still hate you for what you did to me.” Chrysalis scowled at Starlight. “And that killing you would be give me great pleasure. But, given the circumstances we find ourselves in, I decided not to hurt nor kill you. At least not until we´re in the throne.” She muttered the last part to Cozy, which made her hold her laugh.

Starlight darted her eyes from one side to the other.

“So… is it a truce then?”

Chrysalis sighed.

“Yes.”

“Why thank you.” Starlight offered her hoof.

“Just because I´m in your side, doesn´t mean that I´m going to help you stand up.”

“Ok… That´s alright, I guess.” Starlight said as Sunburst helped her stand up.

When they listened to what Chrysalis said, no creature had any doubts. Well, except Yona.

“Um… Yona not understand… Nasty pony said nasty changeling was in castle. So why nasty changeling here?”

Though upset by the nicknames Yona gave them, Cozy focused more on the content of the question. She widened her eyes and turned slowly to Chrysalis.

“That´s actually a pretty good question…”

“Don´t blame me! I told you to wait outside the castle and when I came you weren´t there!”

“Ok, that´s my fault. But if you´re here that means…” Cozy put her hoof on her cheek. “Oh no…”

“Don´t tell me that Twilight´s with him…” Fluttershy said horrified.

Cozy smiled nervously.

“It´s the most likely thing.”

“We have to go there!” Applejack exclaimed.

“What are we waiting for? Come on!” Rainbow started to fly as fast as she could. Every creature followed behind.

Meanwhile, Chrysalis talked to Cozy, who was riding on Chrysalis´ back.

“Let me guess, you chickened out and Tirek followed you.”

Cozy took some air before answering.

“Yes.”

Chrysalis put her hoof on her forehead and sighed as she flew.

The bound and muzzled Discord and Luna watched in horror how Grogar searched for Twilight. They were hoping Grogar went to the wrong direction, which was the door. However, by doing so, his bells ignited as they were afraid when Grogar advanced towards there. He looked backwards and stared at the balcony. After raising his eyebrow, he slowly approached the balcony. When he reached at the end, he saw Twilight hanging from streetlights attached to the castle.

“Leaving so soon?” he asked playfully as he smirked maliciously.

Twilight swung to the left to avoid Grogar´s deadly strike. In the meantime, she noticed Celestia leaving the castle. Although she knew she wasn´t going to recognize her, she had no other choice.

“Celestia!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Knowing what she was doing, Grogar clenched his teeth.

“SILENCE!” he yelled as he threw Twilight another deadly strike.

This time, Twilight risked herself by jumping to another streetlight as he destroyed the one she was hanging from. Naturally, he tried to zap Twilight once again, but she jumped to another streetlight. Meanwhile, Twilight kept on calling Celestia.

“Celestia! Celestia! CELESTIAA!” she begged desperately in heartrending screams.

Daybreaker was hugging herself as she flew. She didn´t know what to do and her conscience consumed her in a way she had never experienced before. However, the answer cam when she heard Twilight´s screams.

There! The same darn name again! However, this time she wasn´t mad about it, but concerned. The voice yelling that name was familiar. Very familiar. It belonged to somepony she loved deeply. She turned around and saw a purple pony trying to survive Grogar. After hearing her voice and seeing the pony, she remembered who that pony was.

“Twilight…”

At that moment her fiery eyes, turned into concerned and teary lavender ones. After Twilight screamed her name once again, she came back to reality and decided to aid that pony.

“TWILIGHT!”

She flew back to the castle as fast as she could.

There came a moment in which Twilight couldn´t hold into more streetlights. They ran out. However, there was one streetlight near, at a higher altitude, however. She frowned in the determination, climbed on it, and jumped to the other streetlight, which she luckily reached. Though icy, and thus slippery and unstable, she was glad that she wasn´t hit by Grogar.

The ram breathed heavily as he stared at Twilight with a look of pure hatred.

“How did you survive? HOW?!” he asked.

“Ask Gusty.” she replied in full confidence.

Grogar widened his eyes. That mare… Even in death and almost disappearing she still haunted and interfered in his plans! He clenched his teeth, ready to strike Twilight with the magic his bell. However, he found another obstacle. He noticed fire in his skin. After moaning, he looked to the sky and saw Daybreaker. He entered in a bit of panic when he saw that her eyes were different meaning that she was starting to remember who she really was. So, he stopped focusing on Twilight and focused on Daybreaker. The alicorn dodged all his attacks, flew to Discord and Luna and freed them.

“Come on! We must protect her!” she told them.

Though confused, Discord and Luna nodded their heads and joined Daybreaker on the fight with Grogar.

Meanwhile, Twilight tried to hold into the streetlight all she could. She tried to hold on with her four legs and wings, but they slipped every time. Luckily, she had help coming.

Twilight´s friends finally reached the castle. Ocellus gasped when she noticed Twilight.

“Look!” she pointed at her with her hoof.

Every creature gasped horrified.

“She won´t hold for much longer!” Apple Bloom said to her sister.

The mane 5 and Spike nodded confidently and ran to the castle. Unfortunately, they met with opposition of brainwashed changelings. They walked backwards a bit scared. But Starlight hit one of them.

“Don´t worry professors!” Silverstream reassured them.

“We´ll fight them off!” Gallus added.

“We´ll be fine!” Sweetie Belle said to her friends´ sisters. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo smiled at Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

The ponies and dragon smiled back and went to aid their friend.

“Oh yeah! Let´s do this!” Gabby exclaimed excitedly.

“Oh boy here we go…” Terramar prepared himself mentally.

“I can´t believe me I´m doing this.” Chrysalis said to Cozy.

They started fighting every changeling that blocked Spike´s and the girls´ way.

Twilight could feel how her energy was running out. The cold from the streetlight didn´t help her either. Slowly, she lost her strength and consciousness, to the point of letting go of the streetlight and fall. Although focused on fighting Grogar, Discord and Luna noticed that.

“NOO!” they yelled in chorus.

Grogar turned around and smiled wickedly as he saw Twilight falling to her death. But for his misfortune, Rainbow and Spike caught her on time.

“Got you!” Rainbow exclaimed.

Spike panted hard. The girls cheered them on their accomplishment. They flew away as fast as they could.

Grogar growled and screamed in frustration. He tried to zap them with the bell´s magic, but Daybreaker prevented him from doing so, making him attack her instead.

As they were fighting, Fluttershy reached Discord.

“Dizzy!”

Discord gasped excitedly.

“Flutters!”

They hugged each other.

“We´re going to the valley, meet us there!”

Grogar overheard their conversation. He scowled when he saw Fluttershy. Before he could do anything to her, Discord threw a lightning in front of him, giving Fluttershy enough time to join her friends. When she did, Rarity ignited her horn and teleported her friends and herself to the valley.

Seeing that they fled, Grogar hyperventilated anxious. However, he stopped when he remembered he wasn´t alone. He frowned and clenched his teeth at Daybreaker.

“This is your fault!”

“What´s the matter? Afraid of being getting burnt again?” Daybreaker defied him.

“Oh. I´ll show you burning!”

He activated his bell, ready to target Daybreaker. The alicorn herself got ready to take the blow. However, Grogar changed his mind when he saw Luna. That would hurt her more than death. So, he targeted Luna instead. As soon as the magic came out, Daybreaker jumped in front of Luna to take the blow in her place. Luna didn´t have time to react, everything happened so fast. She watched in horror how her sister fell unconscious to the floor. She gasped.

“TIAAA!” she exclaimed in tears.

Indignant, Discord went to attack Grogar with lightnings, but the ram disappeared before he could even begin. Discord assumed he had gone to the valley.

“Quick! We need to-”

He didn´t finish his phrase. His heart ached when she saw Luna holding Celestia.

“Tia?”

There came no answer. She shook her body.

“Tia?” Luna´s voice cracked.

Discord approached Luna and put a comforting paw on her shoulder. He shed tears silently.

“Is she-” she tried to ask Discord.

The draconequus gave no answer. Slowly, Luna broke in tears while holding her sister´s body.

“No. No! Please… Please… Don´t leave me…” she sobbed hard. “I love you…” she muttered.

Her tears fell on her sister´s body. Suddenly, light appeared around Celestia and her body rose up. Luna walked backwards scared. She watched how slowly, Celestia returned to her normal form. Once the light disappeared, Celestia landed softly on the floor. Luna ran to her and held her once again. Celestia moaned slightly as she opened her eyes.

“Wh- What happened?” she asked confused.

Luna began to cry again. But this time, they were tears of joy.

“Tia!” she exclaimed before hugging her.

This caught Celestia by surprise, however she gladly returned the hug. She also cried of joy, seeing that her sister was alive.

“I thought I lost you…” Luna whispered.

This reminded Celestia of everything that happened.

“What? No! I should be the one who thinks that. Had you not covered yourself with your wings as I taught you, you wouldn´t be here. Because of me.”

Luna chuckled.

“The blow wasn´t that hard anyway.”

The two sisters smiled at each other and hugged each other once again.

Meanwhile, Discord watched, happy and uncomfortable at the same time, as he wasn´t sure what to do. He cleared his throat.

“I don´t want to interrupt your sister moment, but there are friends who need our help.”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other and nodded with a smile.

“Yes, of course.” Luna replied.

Then, she and Celestia hugged Discord. He widened his eyes in surprise.

“Thanks for helping us so much Discord.” Celestia told him. “You saved our lives and made so many sacrifices. Equestria is proud of you.”

The draconequus didn´t know how to react. He wanted to cry, but if he did, that would make them uncomfortable and estranged.

“You- You´re welcome, I guess.” he smiled sadly.

“By the way, you mentioned you wanted to tell me something before. So… what was it?”

The girls and Spike arrived at the valley as agreed. He and Rainbow held Twilight nervously waiting for a response.

“Is she-” Pinkie wanted to ask, but didn´t dare to.

Remembering Punja´s lessons, Spike put his hand on Twilight´s mouth. His reaction relieved the girls.

“Yes.” he answered, his voice breaking from joy.

Everypony´s eyes filled with tears. After some time, Twilight opened her eyes. She smiled when the first thing she saw was Spike.

“Spike…”

“Twilight…”

She chuckled at the same time as him. Then, she looked around. All her friends were there, smiling, with tears in their eyes.

“Is this- Is this the afterlife?” she asked confused.

Applejack sobbed.

“No. We still have a chance.” she told her.

“And even if we were…” Rarity began.

“We´d still be together.” Fluttershy ended.

Twilight sniffed and cried. Then, they all hugged each other tightly. After all the calvary they´ve been through, they were together again. This showed how strong their friendship was. Only friendship would have let them go on and end up with her. Gusty was right. Their magic didn´t come from her. It came from within. Despite the cold, she felt warmth, perhaps the warmest she´s ever been in her life. She would spend the rest of her life in her friend´s embrace.

However, it wasn´t still over. They still had to defeat Grogar. Speaking of him, he came to their place through a portal. Instead of the calm, serious and prideful ram they first encountered, this time they found a beast. A furious beast out of control. He breathed heavily as he stared at them. In contrast, the mane 6 and Spike frowned confidently but they were full of serenity.

“Leave it, Grogar.” Twilight began to speak. “Even if you killed us, you can´t separate us. We´ll always be together.”

“But you wouldn´t defeat me.”

“That´s true. But others might.” Spike clapped back.

“When you tried to have us executed, entire groups of creatures risked their lives to save us.” Applejack said.

“And reminded us of our strength.” Rainbow added.

“I´m pretty sure that if they all joined, you´d be lost.” Pinkie smirked.

“No, I am invincible.”

“If you really are, why are you so scared?” Fluttershy said while doing her stare.

Those words hurt Grogar´s pride.

“ENOUGH!” he stomped his hoof against the ground. “I´m not scared. I´m never scared, you pegasus witch!” he said to Fluttershy.

“Face it Grogar. Empires always fall.” Twilight continued. “And that´s because tyrants abuse their subjects. If they didn´t, their reign would last to the end of their lives.”

“Being benevolent doesn´t take you anywhere.” he shook his head.

“It does! Look at yourself! This is where your so-called power has taken you.”

Underneath him, there was a puddle. He could see that his mane was messy, his face was full of scars. He hit the puddle and growled.

“If you had been benevolent, you wouldn´t be in this situation. Whatever happened to you to end up like this? Did you even love some creature at one point of your life? What would they think?”

This time Grogar didn´t reply. He was crying. Crying of shame, humiliation and rage.

“THAT´S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!”

He was about to zap at the group with his bell. However, before he could do anything, something hit him. He moaned and turned around. What he saw, surprised both him, the mane 6 and Spike.

All the allies they had collected on their adventures were there. Ready to battle Grogar and defend their beloved heroes. Not only were their allies there, the villains were there too. They were frowning at Grogar.

Normally, he wouldn´t ask for help. But seeing the quantity of creatures that were against him, he had no choice.

“Ah… My allies.” he said nervously.

“Allies?” Chrysalis asked while laughing. “After he betrays and mistreats us, he still considers his allies. That´s so sweet.”

“Yeah, and naïve.” Tirek agreed. “Right Cozy.”

The filly laughed maniacally.

“Of course…”

Grogar bit his lip. He noticed the sirens flying.

“You! Help me in battle! If you do, I´ll repair your rubies.”

The three sirens raised their eyebrows, without a single sign of empathy.

“Yeah… Hmm… Sorry… Yeah… No.” Sonata said.

“The only reason we came here is because we don´t want to have singing classes.” Aria explained.

“But you know what? It´s a better fate than serving you. Besides, we had a life settled there so yeah… may you have fun defeated.” Adagio clapped back.

“See? I told you dialogue was the answer.” Stygian whispered in Starswirl´s ear, which made him smile.

“Hey beardo! Can you open the portal?” Aria asked Starswirl.

“With pleasure.” Starswirl smirked.

Stasrwirl opened the portal, so they could come back to their dimension.

“Bye!” Sonata waved her fin.

“Come on!” Adagio took her fin and dragged her with them.

“Wait no no!” Grogar begged.

But it was too late. The portal had already closed. He turned around and saw every creature frowning at him.

“You all better stay back!” he ordered them.

However, it was pointless. They all prepared for battle.

“It´s over Grogar. It´s you against the world. Give up. Now!”

However, Grogar realized he still had a last trick under his sleeve. Combining the magic from his horns and his bell, he transformed into a huge, demonic dragon, with the horns of a ram. His eyes weren´t yellow and red, they were only red, which reflected his thirst of blood.

Every creature watched in disbelief and shock. This was the biggest creature they had ever seen. This was going to be a huge challenge. Possibly, their final challenge of they don´t survive.

Unlike the other creatures, the dragons were upset.

“Oh, come on! Really?” Ember exclaimed.

“Not fair! Neither the former Dragon Lord was that big!” Garble exclaimed.

“What do we do Twilight?” Spike asked his sister.

The alicorn, who was pressing her lips, blinked.

“You know what?” she stretched her wings. “Let´s get this over with.”

“Wait. No speech?”

“For what? The difficulty is the same. He´s just trying to scare us. I think at this point every creature knows that being scared won´t take us anywhere. Right guys?”

Every creature nodded.

They all prepared for battle.

“Every creature. Assemble.”

Chapter 32: Magic

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At the moment Grogar roared, every creature ran for the attack.

As soon as Twilight tried to enlighten her horn, she realized that she forgot a tiny yet the most important detail.

“Oh no!”

“What is it?” asked Rarity.

“I haven´t got my magic.” she put her hoof on her temple. “I forgot completely.”

Grogar eavesdropped her. He smirked and blew fire at them. Rarity quickly cast a teleporting spell on herself and her friends.

They reappeared in a place far enough from being hurt by Grogar but near enough to watch over the allies.

“Oh dear. We were so excited about reuniting with you that we forgot about that.” Rarity said nervously.

“But don´t worry! You´ll get it back!” Pinkie surrounded Twilight with her foreleg. “We all have!”

“That´s true, I now realize it. But how much time did it take for you to get back your magic. What if it takes long for me?”

“Welp. In that case, we´ll stay with you.” Rainbow answered confidently.

“But girls! Every creature needs you.”

“They need you too!” Applejack replicated. “And for that you need to get your magic back in good conditions.”

“Hmm… Maybe if you tell me how you got your magic back, the process will be faster. So how did you get it back?”

“I guess it´s because somepony reminded us about the importance of our elements.” Fluttershy suggested.

“And we also accepted them by not giving up!” Pinkie Pie added.

“In other words, you´ll just have to remember your own strength. When you do, you´ll find the magic.” Spike smiled hopefully.

Those words strongly reminded Twilight of Gusty´s. Every creature had a magic inside, herself included. Yes, she might not be able to cast spells or fight physically against Grogar along her allies. But surely she had a strength inside that she could use. She just had to find which one was.

She observed the scene. She saw how many creatures were fighting against Grogar. Creatures that nopony had ever imagined that they would join with them. Changelings, dragons, yaks, so many! Despite their differences they all had one thing in common: they were all here because of her and her friends. Her friendship with the girls had changed so many creatures´ lives. Not only did it save Equestria multiple times, it reunited two sisters, helped a draconequus to see the beauty of having a friend, made an unicorn give a chance to friendship again, united different creatures, and opened to new possibilities. If they were here, it was thanks to what she and her friends built. All her adventures drove to this moment. The moment their actions would be gratified. After realizing how much impact she and her friends had, she almost shed a tear.

Her friend´s voices interrupted her thoughts.

“There, there. No! Not there…” Spike thought aloud as he watched the dragons fighting.

“Is it me or do they seem a little lost?” Rarity asked her friends.

“They do. They do.” Applejack confirmed while nodding her head.

Twilight´s ears perked up.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“It seems like they know they have to fight, but they don´t know how exactly.” Fluttershy explained.

It was then when it clicked for Twilight.

“That´s it! I know how to fight back.”

Her friends stared at her.

“You´re not thinking on going there to fight him just like that, are you?” Spike said scared.

“No. But what we need to win is leadership. And I happen to have a general idea on how to take the bell away from him.”

They smirked in determination. Rarity ignited her horn and took them back to the battlefield.

“Every creature, listen!” Twilight exclaimed.

There was no answer. The creatures were still focused on fighting Grogar.

“Guys?”

Her friends make her jump away when a magical zap was coming to them.

“They can´t hear you.” Applejack shook her head.

“Can´t you make the Royal Canterlot voice?” Spike asked her.

“I think I need magic for that.” Twilight lamented.

“Wait! Try this instead.” Pinkie handed her a megaphone. “I´ll hold it for you.”

Twilight smiled at her friend. She cleared her throat.

“Every creature that can create a force camp do it right now! I need to tell all of you. Quickly!”

This time, thanks to Pinkie´s megaphone, they heard her. All the unicorns, alicorns, changelings and Discord joined forces. It was strong enough for Grogar not to destroy it, but it needed a bit more magic to stabilize it. Twilight quickly saw who else was needed. She glared at Tirek and Chrysalis, who were avoiding eye contact with any creature.

“I said, every creature.”

Cozy poked both. They sighed frustrated.

“Do we really have to?” Chrysalis asked Cozy complaining.

“If you really want the throne, yes.” the filly whispered in her ear.

Tirek and Chrysalis sighed frustrated. They ignited her horns and united their magic with the others´, finally stabilizing the force camp.

“Thank you.”

Since Tirek was near Discord, the two creatures avoided eye contact, not so sure what to say to each other. They hated each other but since they were working together, they couldn´t insult or try to kill each other. However, they wanted to make sure they were aware of that feeling, so they just shared glances of mistrust.

“Alright. Our main goal is taking the bell away from him and in order to do that, we need to weaken him to the point he falls to the ground and loses conscience. Only then, we´ll be able to do that. You can help in any way you can, but you need to work together in groups. So, fire away all the ideas you have and I´ll lead you with them.”

Every creature nodded.

Grogar couldn´t hear very well what Twilight was saying, but he knew it was important and about how they´ll defeat him. He tried to break the force camp, but it was too strong. However, after some time kicking it and zapping it, he managed to break it.

“Go go now!” Twilight commanded every creature.

They were fast enough to avoid Grogar´s zap. Every creature separated from Twilight, except her friends.

“You may go now. We´re going to make it. I promise.”

They hugged Twilight before going into battle. However, a certain dragon stayed with her.

“You can go to fight if you want to.” she reassured him.

“N´ah… That can wait. I prefer staying with you.” he hugged her. “At least until you got you magic back. Besides I can help you guide them!”

She smiled sweetly at him. Then, they observed every creature in order to supervise them.

The dragons and changelings teamed up. They surrounded Grogar´s enormous head.

“Ready?” Ember asked Thorax.

At that moment, the changelings nodded at each other and transformed into dragons.

“Ready.” he confirmed.

They took a huge amount of air in and blew all the fire they could. Grogar clenched his teeth and blew fire in return. They yelped and dodged the attack.

Seeing that they needed help, Twilight notified Rainbow.

“Rainbow now!”

“Oh yeah!” Rainbow exclaimed excitedly as she, and all the flying creatures got off the ground. She flew in front of all of them.

“Remember. As hard as you can!”

“Yeah!” they exclaimed.

“On the count to three. One, two, THREE!”

They prepared their legs for a kick and flew the fastest possible to Grogar´s belly. When they got there, they gave the strongest blow. Though it affected Grogar as they expected to, they also ended up dizzy, as the blow sent them backwards.

“Urgh...” Rainbow put her hoof on her temple, as her eyes running in circles. She quickly shook her head. “Is every creature ok?”

Every creature was in the same situation as her. Dizzy, their eyes going everywhere and with a huge headache.

“Uh huh…” they all answered.

Fortunately, they recovered quickly.

“Did we hurt him?” Soarin asked.

Rainbow turned around. She saw Grogar holding his belly and bending his back forwards. He breathed smoke out of his nose and rang the bell.

“Scatter!” Rainbow ordered.

They all flew away from Grogar´s strike. Once it was safe, they reunited again.

“I think there´s our answer.”

Seeing what happened to Rainbow´s group, Twilight bit her lip.

“Whenever you feel like can´t anymore or your head hurts a lot, you can retreat to take a break and then fight again.” Twilight joined her hooves. “I don´t want you to get badly injured.”

“N´ah. They go away fast. Right guys?”

The creatures nodded their heads.

“Alright, go on then. You´re doing an amazing job.”

Rainbow nodded and carried on leading her group to kick Grogar´s belly.

Twilight turned to Applejack and Pinkie.

“They´re doing an amazing job, but I think they need help, don´t you think girls?”

Pinkie started laughing maniacally. Applejack smirked.

“You got it!” Applejack exclaimed excited. She turned back to her group. “Alright every creature. Let´s go!”

Earth ponies, kirins, yaks, pirates followed them. Zecora, Capper and Sugar Belle also joined them. They went for the legs and the tail. Applejack and her family held a lasso.

“Try to keep him as distracted as possible!” Applejack told them all. “We´ll join you once we´ve done our part.”

“Cover us too please! We also have something to do here.” Pinkie said excitedly.

Every creature raised their eyebrows confused. She, Cheese Sandwich, and Party Flavour were inflating balloons. Though not seeing the function of balloons in a battle, they shrugged and obeyed Pinkie.

The yaks jumped over Grogar´s feet as if they were smashing logs. The earth ponies jumped and kicked Grogar´s legs, in Rockhoof´s case, he used his shovel. They were helped by Sugar Belle, who started zapping at their legs. Since she was struggling, the kirins joined her and ignited their horns, combining their magic and creating a huge blast that made Grogar roar from pain.

“Didn´t know you guys had magic!” Fluttershy said surprised.

“Well, if you think about it, we´re unicorns. Different, but unicorns!” the kirin replied excitedly, making the pegasus smile.

“And that´s not everything!” Cheese Sandwich said, as he eavesdropped their conversation.

“Wait till you see what Pinkie has on store!” Party Flavour added.

“Um… The balloons?” Sugar Belle asked confused.

“No! My sisters!” Pinkie turned to them. “Girls! Rock manoeuvre!”

The three mares took a few steps backwards before jumping to Grogar´s legs and kicking them with great speed. Every creature had their mouths quite open.

“That´s some stamina.” Meghan commented.

“I know.” Mudbriar sighed dreamily as he watched Maud.

“We also have more to show!” Celaeno exclaimed as she and the pirates drew their swords out.

With great ease, they managed to make some cuts on his legs.

“Good job!” Twilight congratulated all of them.

She noticed that A.J and her family had some trouble binding Grogar´s legs, as his tail was down. Luckily, she knew who could deal with it.

“Guys.” she said to the Young Six, the CMC, Gabby, Terramar and Punja. “Do you see his tail?” she pointed at it. “Let´s see if you can put it up.”

“Yes professor Twilight!” Sandbar exclaimed excitedly. “Come on!” he told his friends.

He and his friends ran to Grogar´s tail´s back.

“Alright, so how do we do this?” Scootaloo asked.

“SMASH IT!” Yona exclaimed.

“That´s a great idea but I don´t think it will be enough for his tail to go up.” Apple Bloom lamented.

“Luckily you have two fiery fellas by your side!” Smolder said smugly.

Ocellus gasped excited.

“Oh yeah!” Ocellus transformed into a dragon. “I get to be a dragon! But wait, aren´t dragons immune to fire?”

“Real dragons are immune to fire. He might look like a dragon, but his body still works like a ram´s.”

Smolder held her laughter.

“And we could hit his back!” Silverstream surrounded her arms around Terramar, Gabby and Gallus.

“Yeah! It will be so much fun!” Gabby agreed.

“Fun is not the word I have in mind, but it will be very satisfying.” Terramar said.

“As much as I´d love to do that, I don´t think that we´ll be able to hurt this huge dragon just like that.” Gallus pointed out. “He´d barely feel a thing.”

“That´s true but I have something that might be of help to you.” Punja opened her bag and took two pictures out.

“What is it?” Sweetie Belle asked as she held them.

“Just a scheme of the most sensitive parts of any four-legged creature´s nervous system. With just a pinch in one of them, he will scream.”

They smirked mischievously at the same time as Punja.

“That´s so cool!” Scootaloo exclaimed-

“Did you just make these?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I made them weeks ago. When your only chance is surviving is a picture of your studies, that´s something you can never know.”

“Why is Spike in one of your pictures?” Apple Bloom asked curiously as she showed a picture of Spike´s nervous system.

“Did you experiment on him?” Smolder frowned.

Punja smiled nervously.

“He was in great pain after he reunited with Twilight, and I did acupuncture on him to make him feel right, but I accidentally hurt him some time, so I drew it to never again make that crime.”

“Oh, in that case it´s cool.” Smolder calmed down.

“Uh guys… We have a goat-dragon to defeat.” Sandbar reminded them.

The group approached the tail. They looked at Punja´s picture. They nodded and went to their respective places. Sandbar, Yona, the CMC and Punja on the tail´s triangle, Ocellus and Smolder a little ahead: and Silverstream, Gallus, Terramar and Gabby a little above Grogar´s tail.

“I hope this works.” Gallus thought to himself.

“Before we begin we should count to three so we all jump at the-” Ocellus tried to advise.

“SMASH!” Yona yelled excited.

Quickly, Smolder and Ocellus blew fire, the flying creatures kicked Grogar´s back and the earthly creatures jumped on the tail. Punja´s picture was accurate, as a chill ran through Grogar´s back making him paralyzed for a moment, with his tail up. Thanks to their work, the Apple Family was able to tie Grogar´s feet, making him lose some balance.

“Yeehaw!” Applejack exclaimed. “Well done!”

The young creatures high fived.

“So how much time does that last?” Silverstream asked Punja.

Suddenly, Grogar´s tail went down abruptly again. Luckily our friends were able to dodge it. However, Grogar had noticed what they had done, as he was frowning at them.

“We´d better get out.” Terramar said scared.

“Agreed!” Gabby said in return.

Twilight gasped horrified.

“He´s coming for them!” she exclaimed anxious.

“No worries!” Pinkie reassured them. “Party squad coming to the rescue!” Pinkie, Cheese Sandwich and Party Flavour showed their balloons.

They tied around their waists they also took out some fire extinguishers. Cozy, Tirek and Chrysalis held their laughs.

“Yeah, I don´t think that will take you to-” Cozy said sassily.

However, she and her mates were wrong, as the three ponies started to float. They used the fire extinguishers to approach Grogar´s head. They stared confused and surprised.

“I know that this question has no answer, but how do they do it?” Tirek asked.

Chrysalis shrugged.

“I suppose that they have the power of weirdness.”

As they flew up, Cheese looked away while blushing before he started talking to Pinkie.

“You know it´s been a long time since we last saw each other, so I was thinking that once this is over, we could… I don´t know… Do something together.”

“Like a date?” Pinkie raised her eyebrow playfully.

“Yes…”

“Then count me in!”

Party came near Cheese.

“See? I told you she´d accept!”

Cheese smiled.

Once they were at Grogar´s head´s level, they took out their weapons. While doing so, they dropped their fire extinguishers.

“Hey you!” Party Flavour caught his attention.

Grogar turned around angrily.

“Behold…. The PARTY CANON!” Pinkie screamed at the top of her lungs.

She fired confetti at Grogar´s nose. Every creature, specially Grogar, looked at her unamused. Cheese and Party looked at her a bit worried, fearing that the canon didn´t have any effect on the ram. However, the pink pony was relaxed.

“Wait for it…” she elevated her hoof.

Suddenly Grogar started taking short amounts of air. Seeing what was about to happen, Fluttershy flew to their help, followed by Discord. Just before Grogar sneezed fire, they were able to get the three ponies out of the way.

“Nice one Flutters!” Pinkie said to her friend, making her blush.

“Take us to him!” Cheese pleaded Discord.

Although unsure, knowing that they were friends of Pinkie, they surely had a reason for wanting that. So, he snapped his fingers and made them appear near Grogar´s arms.

“We still have something in store, you know?” Party said to Grogar.

“Beware because we´re using the power of static electricity!” Cheese drew his balloon swords out.

The two stallions started rubbing the balloons all around Grogar´s arms causing some painful sparks.

Meanwhile, Discord, Pinkie and Fluttershy observed.

“Figured you two might need this.” Discord summoned a collection of stones and handed them to Pinkie and Fluttershy.

The two mares laughed mischievously.

“Definitely.” Fluttershy grinned.

She and Pinkie divided the amount of stones to themselves. Pinkie put them inside her canon and Fluttershy on her tail. Grogar widened his eyes when he saw the stones.

“You didn´t think you freed yourself from the stones, did you?” Fluttershy said playfully.

“FIRE!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Pinkie pushed the button and Fluttershy threw the stones the fastest they could to Grogar´s eyes, making him close them.

“Seeing Discord in the battlefield, I think it´s due time we joined.” Rarity said to Twilight.

“You may.” Twilight smiled confidently.

Rarity made a gesture to every unicorn and alicorn.

“Let´s show these amateurs how it´s done!” Tirek smacked his fist against his hand before running into the battlefield.

Cozy smiled at Chrysalis. The changeling rolled her eyes and put her on her back.

“Yaay!” Cozy cheered.

“Just for this time. Only because you´ll be giving me advice.” she put her hoof on Cozy´s nose as she frowned.

They all started attacking Grogar´s chest and wings, the alicorns flying all around Grogar´s body, looking for spots to fire at. Discord rubbed his hands.

“Now you´ll see the potential you wanted in me.”

He opened flexed his fingers, however, nothing happened.

“OH, COME ON! Seriously? Right now?!”

Celestia and Luna heard Discord´s complain.

“What is it?” Luna asked concerned.

“While you still were separated, Grogar hit me in the chest and I´m having some problems with my magic. I wanted to throw a lightning at him but I guess the universe doesn´t want me to!”

“Well, you can always fight physically. Or throw stones like Fluttershy!” Celestia said to calm him.

She and Luna put their hooves on Discord´s shoulders.

“Whatever you do, we know you´ll do it well.” Luna reassured.

“Brother.” Celestia added.

Discord smiled at his sisters, feeling more confident. He nodded and they went to attack Grogar.

Though focused on defeating Grogar, every creature had some trouble, as Flurry´s magic was out of control. Cadence and Shining Armor were by her side, a bit nervous. Twilight bit her lip.

“Can you control her more?” she asked her brother and sister in law.

“We are! She´s just having some trouble.” Shining replied.

“I have an idea!” Cadence exclaimed. “Flurry, whenever you see creatures and you want to target Grogar, think of them as if they were Whammy. You never hurt Whammy, do you?”

Flurry shook her head.

“Then, let´s start again!” Shining exclaimed.

Before shooting, Flurry looked for a spot free of creatures and when he saw it, she threw magic.

“Now we´re talking. Good job Flurry!” Twilight congratulated her niece.

The baby laughed and her parents smiled in pride.

As she threw stones to Grogar´s eyes, Fluttershy noticed Discord was hitting Grogar instead of using his magic.

“Oh my, he´s still having trouble with his magic…” she thought aloud.

She looked at Pinkie.

“Um, Pinkie… Would you mind following without me for a few seconds. I think Discord needs my help.”

“Sure thing!” Pinkie accepted as she picked Fluttershy´s stones.

Fluttershy flew to Discord´s side.

“You still can´t control your magic, can you?” she told him.

“Nope. The magic just doesn´t appear!” Discord yelled frustrated.

Fluttershy put her hoof under her chin as she thought of a solution. She widened her eyes and smiled when she came up with an idea.

“After we returned to Canterlot, were you still very tired?”

“Well… Yeah!”

“Then maybe you need an energy rush….” Fluttershy started to blush hard.

Discord raised an eyebrow confused.

“And how are we going to do that?”

Fluttershy grabbed Discord´s cheeks.

“Just leave it to me…” she smiled shyly.

Then, she gave Discord a small and quick kiss in the lips. His muscles tensed up and his ears and tail went up. His eyes widened and his pupils´ size decreased.

“How are you feeling now?” Fluttershy grabbed her tail.

Discord took some time to answer, as he was still in shock.

“I feel…” Discord laughed as he shrinked and then stretched his body energetically. “MARVELOUS!”

Out of control, fireworks started going everywhere. Fortunately, it didn´t hit any of his allies, but each of them hit Grogar.

Fluttershy giggled excitedly.

“I need to go with Pinkie. Good luck!”

“Uhuh…” Discord replied in a dreamy tone.

Despite having experienced the best moment in his life, he quickly focused on fighting Grogar, now being able to throw lightnings at him.

In the meantime, Twilight gave every creature indications and cheered them up.

“More to the left Moondancer! Careful with Cheese and Party Flavour, go for the chest every creature! You´re all doing a great job! Come on, you can do this! We´re close to win, I know it.”

Every creature smiled at Twilight, and she smiled back. Spike hugged her foreleg.

“See? You´re still having an impact. You always do.” He told her.

Twilight smiled warmly at Spike and hugged him.

“Thank you.” she whispered.

Suddenly, her eyes went white. From the scare, Spike jumped backwards. Without controlling it, Twilight´s wings opened and elevated her from he ground as magic surrounded her. Then, there was a huge flash that caught every creature´s attention, making them stop fighting. After the flash disappeared, Twilight breathed calmly, with a serene smile on her face. When she opened her eyes and noticed she was flying, her eyes filled with tears from joy. She looked at her friends and they cheered. In fact, every creature was happy for her.

“I never thought I´d say this, but I am really relieved that she got her magic.” Tirek commented.

“Same for me!” Cozy elevated her hoof.

Chrysalis smirked at Grogar, who was in shock.

“Well, well, what you´re going to do now, huh?” she asked with a victorious smirk.

Grogar frowned and roared. With his wings, he pushed every creature behind, except for Twilight and Spike, who hid behind his sister. Grogar took a step and breathed heavily as he stared at Twilight, full of fury.

“You want a face to face duel?” Twilight asked. “Fine, let´s do this.” she accepted while lightning her horn.

Every creature widened their eyes. Spike held her leg.

“Twilight no! You said it yourself, you can´t defeat him on your own.”

“I know. But I´m sure that at least I´ll take him down.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Look at him! Look at the way he breathes. He´s completely exhausted, he´s at the brink of passing out. He just needs a last push. You all have done your part. Now it´s my turn.”

“But I haven´t fought him.”

“You´ve done your part by protecting me and staying by my side.” Twilight smiled warmly.

Spike smiled in return. However, he wasn´t still sure of the idea of letting Twilight fight Grogar alone. He still needed to be by her side, even though if it was farther than he wished.

“I´ll be nearby if you need me, though.”

“Fair enough.”

She cast a spell that made him visible to her but not Grogar until she made sure he was in a safe place. Spike hid behind a rock. They smiled at each other. Then, Twilight undid the spell and both she and Grogar stared at each other, with confidence and fury in their eyes.

Chapter 33: The tyrant falls again

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“Is she seriously going to fight him alone?” Tirek asked unpuzzled.

“From the looks of it, she is.” Cozy answered, unpuzzled as well.

“She´d better know what she´s doing. Cause if she loses, our plans go unfold!” Chrysalis exclaimed upset.

“What plans are you three talking about?” Starswirl, Stygian and the pillars glared at them suspiciously. Scorpan simply crossed his arms.

“For Twilight´s coronation of course! We´re planning to do a huge party for her!” Cozy lied.

The ponies and gargoyle raised their eyebrows.

“You´d better stay quiet.” Tirek put his hand on her shoulder.

“Shh! They´re going to start fighting.” Zecora shushed them.

The first one to fire was Grogar. He threw various magic rays and fire at Twilight. Though she knew that eventually she was going to beat him, it wasn´t as easy as she expected it to be. This time Grogar was full of rage, not thinking his actions through and letting his impulses dictate him instead. As a result, he attacked her nonstop and the poor Twilight had to react in the moment immediately all the time.

In the meantime, every creature observed anxiously the battle. Just like Spike, Twilight´s friends didn´t want her to fight that monster alone, so if they could help anyway, they would. They just had to wait for the right moment.

Twilight´s main strategy was to tire him until he fell, so she only had to fire back few times. After some time, Twilight saw the perfect chance to attack. She started flying around him in circles until she confused him. When she did, she zapped at his chest. Grogar yelled in pain.

“Rick´em rack´em purple coat! Free us from the evil goat!” Pinkie, Cheese, Party Flavour and Discord cheered Twiligh with their cheerleader outfits on.

The others cheered as well.

“Nice rhyme.” Punja muttered.

Zecora raised an eyebrow playfully.

Grogar turned around and blew fire at every creature. Luckily, they scattered soon enough before it reached them. As a response, Twilight blew magic at his head.

“Hey! This is between you and me! Leave my friends out of this!” she commanded.

Taking advantage of the fact that Grogar wasn´t looking, Discord took a small flag out and started moving it vaguely.

“Grogar, Grogar, he´s our ram, if he can´t do it, GREAT!”

Grogar kept throwing all the magic and fire he could at Twilight, and the alicorn maintained her strategy. This was the tensest moment in every creature´s life. Their destiny was at stake. They would be free and in harmony if Twilight won but if Grogar won, they would be enslaved and tortured forever. And what´s worse, they couldn´t know for certain who was going to win, as they seemed to be in the same level and equally as masterful in their attack and defence.

Time and time passed, and yet, the winner wasn´t still clear. Both Grogar and Twilight were exhausted, panting heavily, sweating. The two of them were about to fall. One more zap, and there would be a winner. However, they weren´t going to let the loser be them. So, they took some time to think.

As they were frowning at each other, Twilight took a quick glance of Grogar. She noticed his legs were trembling from the exhaustion. It was then when she knew what she had to do. When Grogar expected it the least, she flew between his legs and zapped them from behind, causing Grogar to fall.

Though Twilight had managed to make him fall, neither she nor them trusted Grogar´s immobile posture and closed eyes. Knowing him, he could be pretending.

“What do we do?” Silverstream asked the main 6.

They looked at each other, unsure of what to do as a next step. Twilight took a small step forward. Her friends gasped quietly and shook her heads at her, making Twilight think better. If he was pretending, that´s what he´d want her to do: come close to him so he could grab her and kill her immediately. However, she couldn´t stay there forever, especially after being so exhausted. So, she decided to fly far away from him to her friends. She looked back to Spike and nodded at him. The dragon understood the message and so, he opened his wings.

However, suddenly, just when Twilight was going to fly, Grogar opened his eyes, grabbed her with one claw and paralyzed with magic. Every creature gasped and without thinking it twice, they ran for battle. Unfortunately, Grogar trapped them all in a magical field. They helplessly tried to destroy it or held it in disbelief, others just watched in panic. Then, Grogar turned his head to Twilight and chuckled evilly and victoriously, knowing that this time there was no escape for her.

“It´s over princess. I win.” he told her.

But he didn´t count on one thing: Spike.

At the same moment Grogar opened his eyes, Spike hid behind the rock once again. He watched in horror that Twilight was going to be killed once again. However, he had an idea when he saw the bell. Yes, he couldn´t destroy it but it was made from metal. And metal burns a creature if given enough heat. Grogar may have the form of a dragon but he knew that he wasn´t immune to fire. So, he frowned and flew as fast as he could to Grogar and Twilight. He took a deep breath and blew fire to the bell. As he expected, it burnt Grogar´s chest slightly, making him both release Twilight and undo the magical field to contain every creature. They quickly surrounded Grogar. He frowned at Spike.

“THIS IS YOUR FAULT!” he yelled at him.

He rang his bell and took a deep breath to blow fire at him just as he did before. Twilight gasped horrified.

“Spike!”

The alicorn flew to her brother just when Grogar released his magic and fire. They held each other tightly and closed their eyes. When the magic and fire reached them, there was a huge blast of light that lasted for some time, so no creature knew for certain what had happened.

Every creature´s faces were full of horror. Some even started to cry, thinking that they had lost forever. Grogar, on the other hoof, was smiling with lots of satisfaction.

“Checkmate.” he whispered.

But Grogar would soon realize that he spoke too soon, as when the light disappeared, he saw Twilight and Spike embracing each other, protected by an aura of magic. Now, their emotions were reversed. Every creature yelled and cheered in joy, and Grogar looked at them astonished.

Twilight´s ear twitched when she heard the yells. She opened one eye slightly and then widened her eyes and smiled when she realized that she and Spike were alive. The little dragon was still panting heavily in her chest.

“Spike, look!”

He looked at her face and quickly undid the hug. Along Twilight, he smiled at every creature.

Grogar hyperventilated heavily, seeing that he couldn´t kill Twilight nor Spike. But then he realized that he could still kill the other creatures. So, he went on to target them instead, but Twilight and Spike stood between them and covered them every time they could. For the first time, Twilight was feeling safe from Grogar, and had no more fear. The aura surrounding her and Spike was much stronger than Grogar will ever be.

Then, suddenly, Discord´s body started shaking. Fluttershy noticed that, so she put her hoof on her shoulder.

“What is it Discord? Is something wrong?”

“On the contrary, it is good! Very good.”

From what the professor told them, the young six knew Discord was able to detect changes on magic. They look at each other.

“It´s back!” they exclaimed in chorus.

Twilight overheard their conversation. She knew who they were talking about. The Tree was regaining its strength, which meant that Gusty was coming back! Maybe it was because she and Spike combined their love energy. It was then when it clicked for her.

“That´s it! I know how to defeat him!” she told Spike.

They quickly flew to the girls.

“We need to hold our hooves! I think the aura will get stronger if you join us.” she explained quickly.

They quickly nodded and grabbed their hooves together. Twilight looked at every creature.

“You too guys.”

The pillars and Young Six understood the task. The rest didn´t do anything, but they realized that Twilight was also talking about them, since she was still looking at them with a smile.

“Wait. You want us to hold our hooves too?” Sunburst asked surprised.

Twilight nodded.

“And claws?” Ember added. The griffons, hippogriffs looked at their claws.

Twilight nodded once again.

“Do paws count?” Capper asked.

Twilight nodded again.

“Yaks and changeling and zebra hooves too?” Prince Rutheford asked while raising Thorax´s and Zecora´s hooves.

“It´s clear that the answer is valid to every creature.” Trixie to him.

This caught every creature by surprise.

“But Twilight, unlike any of you, we have no connection to the Tree of Harmony!” Starlight said nervously. “I don´t think we´ll be of much help.”

“Yes you will. You´ll understand later. But for now hold your hooves, wings, claws, or paws.”

Though unsure, they did as they were told.

“One last question.” Cozy intervened. “Are me and my fam-” she rectified when she noticed Chrysalis and Tirek glaring at her. “legion when you said every creature?”

“Yes.”

The three villains blinked. Tirek left out a raspberry from holding his laugh.

“Yeah, good luck! We haven´t got a single drop of the `magic of friendship´ in our veins!” he crossed his arms annoyed.

“Then why are you three together?”

They looked at each other.

“If you want to defeat him, it is the only way.”

“Fine.” Chrysalis accepted begrudgingly. “But this doesn´t mean we´re friends, understood?” she said while giving her hooves to the others.

When they did, they all elevated from the ground. This time, Twilight was the one smiling in victory and Grogar the one in terror.

“You might have terrified, separated, and hurt us endless times. But we came back up again. Because we have a stronger power. A power that has united kingdoms,” she looked at the dragons, yaks, hippgriffs, griffons and changelings. “healed hearts,” she looked at Luna, Discord, Sunset, Trixie, Starlight and Stygian. “fix broken relationships,” Luna and Celestia shared glances, and so did Starlight and Sunburst, the pillars, Stygian and Scorpan. “saved the day countless times,” Twilight looked at Spike and her friends. Shining Armour, Cadence and Flurry Heart observed her with great pride, which made Twilight smiled in return. “and created new families too!” she raised an eyebrow at the villains.

“Noooo!” the three denied in chorus.

Twilight rolled her eyes playfully. Then, she kept on with her speech.

“And you know why? Because friendship is magic!”

Before igniting her horn, she put her hoof on her chest.

“We´ve got you Gusty.” she muttered.

As soon as she lighted her horn, every creature´s eyes, including hers went white. Well, maybe except the villains´.

“Why aren´t our eyes glowing?” Cozy wondered aloud.

Tirek and Chrysalis narrowed their eyes and raised their eyebrows dryly.

“Yeah, I guess you´re right.” She agreed.

Then, from Twilight´s horn appeared a rainbow. Grogar covered himself with his arms and wings to protect himself all he could from the blow he was about to receive. But surprisingly, the rainbow wasn´t aimed towards him. It went backwards instead.

Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy widened their eyes.

“YOU MISSED! HOW COULD YOU MISS IT? HE WAS THREE HOOVES IN FRONT OF YOU!” Chrysalis yelled frustrated.

But they would soon understand where the rainbow went when they saw a rainbow boom far away. Then, there appeared a rainbowy wind blowing through the clouds, making the windigos disappear and letting the sun shine once again. Grogar widened his eyes and opened his mouth in shock, knowing what this event meant.

“Oh, the tree of harmony. That makes sense.” Chrysalis rectified.

“Are you sure it´s the tree?” Cozy said as he pointed.

They gasped when they saw that the wind wasn´t caused by the Tree of Harmony. But by a sparkly white unicorn mare with a flowing mane running through the clouds happily and confidently.

“What the…” Tirek said but shock didn´t let him speak.

When she was near enough, the mare jumped and floated in front of Grogar.

“Impossible! I- I- I made you vanish forever!” he exclaimed confused, scared and furious.

“I told you Grogar. No matter what you make me go through, I always come back. Because I am harmony.”

Grogar hyperventilated.

“And once again, I say checkmate.”

By combining every creature´s power she created a huge gust of wind combined with a rainbow and directed towards Grogar.

“NOOOOO!” Grogar yelled as Gusty´s magic hit him.

Afterwards, there was a boom that expanded throughout all Equestria, clearing the snow and clouds. Ponies all around sighed in relief and started cheering.

Slowly, every creature landed on the ground. They rubbed their heads or helped each other get up from the ground.

The mane 6 were the last to land. They opened their eyes, which filled with tears when they saw the green grass, and a blue sky once again. Then, they shared a glance and hugged each other.

“Wow… That was intense!” Gabby exclaimed. “Let´s do it again!” she took Terramar´s claw.

“I´d prefer not to… But….” he sighed satisfied. “Glad everything is over. Right guys?”

However, none of his friends did not respond. In fact, every creature was focused on another thing. Silverstream and Smolder´s jaws hung open. There she was, the legendary Gusty the Great.

The spirit took a relaxed breath before turning around and smiled at Twilight. Then, Twilight went on to hug her.

“You came back!” she exclaimed.

“No, you made me come back.” Gusty clarified. “Thanks to all of you, I came back.” she looked at every creature. “I might have disappeared for a while, but your faith and friendship was stronger than Grogar´s hatred and terror, which allowed harmony win once again.”

Applejack gasped in realization.

“Wait, if you disappeared, that means….”

“You´re the Tree of Harmony!” Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike and Fluttershy said in chorus.

Gusty nodded.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute. What?” Gallus asked confused.

“We thought that you had Twilight Sparkle´s form.” Sandbar said.

“No, this is my real form.”

“So you´re like a changeling?” Ocellus asked excited.

“Kind of.” Gusty tilted her head as she smiled.

“Then why tree not showed us real form?” Yona asked. “Tree not trusted us?”

“No no! Of course I trusted you. But I had my reasons. One, if I showed myself like this, you wouldn´t have recognized me, so I took the form of somepony close to you.”

“That makes a lot of sense…” Smolder muttered.

“And two, I knew that Grogar would find out about me eventually. And he did… In fact, if I disappeared, it was because he came to visit the Tree, we fought and casted a spell on me so I would disappear. But I´m afraid his plan backfired.” Gusty raised an eyebrow while smirking with Twilight.

Starswirl walked to Twilight´s side. He stared at Gusty with shock. He approached her, sat down and took his hat off,

“Gusty…”

“Starswirl…”

They both hugged each other. The stallion shed some tears.

“You left so soon…” he sniffed.

Gusty´s eyes got watery.

“I know… But I´ve been with you from the moment you and your friends planted that seed. I wasn´t done protecting you, you know?”

Starswirl chuckled slightly.

“Neither being by your daughters´ side, I see.” he made way for Gusty to see Celestia and Luna.

The two alicorns were covering their mouths. Their eyes were full of tears.

“Mother…” Celestia whispered.

Gusty ran towards them and hugged each other strongly.

“I thought I´d never get to hug you again…” Gusty said in tears.

The two sisters sniffed.

“We never thought you abandoned us. We never doubted you for any moment.” Luna added.

“I know Lulu.” Gusty dried her tears. “And I never stopped loving you, even though you turned into Nightmare Moon, if you had ever thought that. You have a great heart and are loved and amazing. Never forget that.” Gusty caressed Luna´s cheek. Luna took her hoof and pressed against her cheek as she sniffed smiling.”

“And this was never your fault either Tia. You´ve always been a good sister and a good daughter too. I´m so proud of you, I´ve always been, even if I couldn´t tell you.”

Celestia sniffed.

“Thank you, mom.”

Despite she was hugging her daughters, she knew that a child of hers was missing. She looked behind and found Discord, hiding behind Fluttershy, Cadence, Shining Armour and Flurry Heart. He looked ashamed and sad.

“Come on, Dizzy.” Fluttershy said.

“Don´t you see she wants to hug her child?” Cadence looked at Gusty.

Gusty smiled sweetly at Discord. The draconequus looked away unsure.

“She still loves you, I can tell that.” Shining reassured him.

“I´ll come with you if that makes you more comfortable.” Fluttershy held his hoof.

Discord nodded. He took a deep breath and started walking towards Gusty, Celestia and Luna. When he reached them, he cleared his throat.

“I… Um…”

But he didn´t need to say any words, for Gusty hugged him tightly. Discord started crying and sobbing hard as he hugged her in return. Gusty was also crying.

“I´m so sorry for having forgotten you and having turned evil.”

Gusty sniffed while she shook her head.

“No need to. That monster has harmed you so much to the point of making you think that nopony would ever love you. But he was wrong. Like I said to Luna, you are worthy of love.” she smiled at him. “I never stopped thinking about you and I always dreamed of hugging and playing with you in the afterlife.”

Discord smiled while drying his tears. Then, the whole family hugged together.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy walked to her friends and like Twilight watched the scene in tears, l. The rest of the mane 6 and Spike were mouth agape.

“You two knew this?” Pinkie asked them.

The two mares nodded.

“So that makes Discord Celestia´s and Luna´s brother!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Hard to believe, but yes.” Applejack replied.

“Good thing they´re retiring, I would have never been able to stand him as a prince!” Rainbow Dash commented.

She quickly rectified her comment when she saw Fluttershy throwing a death stare to her.

“But he´s a great friend.”

Fluttershy smiled.

Twilight walked towards Gusty. Once she arrived, she was about to bow down but Gusty stopped her.

“No.” she was the one to bow down instead. “You have saved us all.”

Twilight widened her eyes in surprise. Her friends and family were the next to bow down, followed by the princesses and Discord. Then, all her allies. She looked around surprised and humbled. It felt so weird, but she would have to get used to it. She was going to be Equestria´s next ruler after all!

However, Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy didn´t bother to bow.

“Yeah. Not happening.” Cozy shook her head.

“We might have worked together, but we´re not bowing down to you.” Tirek added while holding his head high.

Twilight sighed slightly frustrated. However, they would soon change their minds when Gusty threw a death glare at them. Although they were technically defeated by her power, it was nothing compared to what she did with Grogar. Like Grogar, she could kill them right in the spot. They gulped and started sweating.

“On second thought, it might not be so bad.” Chrysalis smiled nervously.

Gusty raised her eyebrow and smiled satisfied.

Suddenly, they heard some groans. They turned their heads only to see Grogar laying on the ground, opening his eyes, coughing, and struggling to move. His collar´s bells were all over the place and wasn´t hanging from his neck. But that wasn´t the most shocking part. The Bewitching Bell, the object he boasted about being indestructible, was broken in various pieces!

“So the bell was indestructible, huh?” Twilight asked him cockily.

When Grogar saw the bell, he gasped. He took the pieces with his hooves while hyperventilated.

“But how…” he muttered in shock, in the brink of tears.

His ears perked up when he heard Gusty´s hoofsteps. He frowned when she saw her in front of him.

“Looks like the roles have reversed once again, hm?”

Despite the state he was in, he tried to ignite his horns and blast Gusty once again. But nothing happened.

“What have you done to me?!” he asked in a mixture of panic and anger.

“I took away your magic.”

Grogar sighed. He closed his eyes.

“I have said it before, but I´ll repeat it. I understand you had a difficult past. I also did! And so did many creatures. But you also had a choice. Had you stayed in the path of good, none of this would have happened. Instead, now you must face the consequences of your actions.”

He wanted to refute Gusty´s words but had nothing to say.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Don´t ask me. Ask them.”

Gusty made way for Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy. In a matter of seconds, their frowns turned into terrifying smirks.

“What was it that he said before to us when he trapped us?” Chrysalis asked cockily.

“I don´t remember.” Tirek continued. Maybe something about… Sentencing us to death?”

Grogar´s face filled with horror when he heard those words.

“Yeah…” Cozy agreed before laughing evilly.

Chrysalis and Tirek ignited her horns whereas Cozy grabbed a big stone she found. The three villains wore evil smirks as they got nearer Grogar. The ram weakly crept backwards.

“No, p-please.U-Understand, h-have mercy,” he yelped when he reached a stone. “No no no!”

Afterwards, the last thing every creature heard of Grogar was him begging mercy. They all covered their eyes. When they opened, neither Grogar nor the villains were there.

“Where did those three go?” Applejack asked concerned.

“I don´t know.” Twilight replied.

“Wherever they might have gone to, they won´t bother us ever again.” Gusty said calmly. “Because if they do,” she stomped her hoof against the other. “They´ll have to deal with me.”

They smiled sweetly at her. Gusty looked at the distance.

“I must go now. The tree can´t spend too much time without me.”

Twilight nodded. Before Gusty did anything, Celestia, Luna and Discord grabbed her hoof.

“Will we ever see you again?” Celestia asked her.

Gusty nodded.

“We will. I promise.”

Before going, she kissed the three of them in the forehead.

“Take care of each other, ok?”

The three nodded. Gusty smiled.

“So long my children.”

“So long mom.” Luna said in return.

“We love you.” Discord added.

“I know.” Gusty replied.

Gusty ignited her horn. She conjured up some winds that made her vanish slowly.

“Thank you.” Twilight told her as Gusty vanished.

The mare nodded her head and smiled at her. She closed her eyes before vanishing completely.

Once she disappeared, every creature looked at Twilight. Suddenly a hole appeared on the ground. Then three Diamond Dogs poked their heads out.

“Are we late? Did we miss something?” Rover asked.

Every creature tilted their heads.

“Quite plenty, honey.” Steven Magnet replied.

Twilight, Spike and her friends looked at each other.

“So, what do we do now?” Rarity asked her.

Twilight put her hoof on her chin as she smiled.

“Who asked for a double ration of donuts?” Donut Joe asked as he raised a plate full of donuts.

“Ooh! That´s mine! That´s mine!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly.

She jumped from her seat and pranced happily to Joe. The stressed stallion cleaned his sweat.

“Take it easy Joe. Even though you have more clients than usual, think that you´ll have a great tip!”

Apparently, Twilight invited every creature that participated in the fight against Grogar to have some donuts and hot chocolate. That was the least she could do after all their help!

With one hop, Pinkie returned to her seat.

“I´m telling you Pinkie. Having four rations of donuts will be bad for your tummy.” Rarity insisted.

“But I´m so hungry!”

With just one bite, Pinkie ate all the donuts Joe had served her.

“Tell me about that.” Rainbow stretched her wings. “This has let me all stiff!”

“Well if you´re too tired of flying, you can stay in the farm for the night.” Applejack put her hoof on her shoulder smirking.

Rainbow smirked in return. Meanwhile, Fluttershy finished drinking her cup of hot chocolate. She sighed.

“So warm. I almost forget what the heat was!”

“Yeah. And I almost forgot what being safe was like!” Spike added. “I hope to never go through that again.”

“Me too.”

They laughed together.

Twilight smiled tenderly. Seeing her friends at the same table they went after the gala disaster gala brought her so many memories. It was a bittersweet. She and her friends will not be able to do this as often once she gets crowned as a princess. But if their last battle taught her something, is that nothing, absolutely nothing will separate each other. So, she knew everything was going to be fine. There were still letters and potions with which you could talk to your friends in long distances after all! And she was sure that she´ll have time to see her friends too.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Celestia, Luna and Discord.

“Hey! How are my sweetest ponies?” he asked as he brushed his face against Fluttershy´s face, making her laugh.

“I know that you´re having a break and everything but we need to talk to you about something important.” Luna said to Twilight.

“Let me guess. The coronation.”

“Yes.” Celestia nodded. “When do you want to do it? I´m saying this because depending on the date, we might not be able to do it, as the castle has to be rebuilt.”

Twilight took some time to think before answering. She smirked when she had an idea.

“I have a date in mind. But it doesn´t have to be in Canterlot…”

Chapter 34: The beginning of a new era

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Several weeks had passed since Grogar was defeated. Although Twilight decreed that the coronation should not be celebrated in Canterlot, she decided to wait for some time before celebrating it. Every creature was exhausted and had some wounds to heal, both physical and emotional.

But now, the right time had come. Twilight looked at her reflection on the mirror. She was wearing the gorgeous dress Rarity made for her, her mane picked up in a ponytail, ready to be crowned as ruler of Equestria. Who would have thought, after the whole ordeal they went through. But if facing Grogar brought something good, was that it gave her confidence. For the first time in forever, she was not doubting about her aptitude for a leader. She was fairly confident that she would be able to rule Equestria without any problem.

She took a deep breath and sighed with a smile on her face. Her ears perked up when she heard some knocks on the door.

“Come in!” Twilight said.

Twilight´s friends and Spike opened the door. They all wore their best garments.

“Heeey!” they exclaimed excitedly in chorus.

“How is our favourite princess doing?” Rainbow nudged her.

“I´m a bit tense but… pretty calm too.” she explained.

“Well, in case you´re not feeling good, I brought my relaxing apple juice. It helps me relax.” Applejack winked.

“Thank you, A.J.” Twilight picked up the bottle.

“What are you doing?! Don´t you see that you could ruin the dress?!” Rarity interfered between the two mares. “Talking about the dress, what do you think about it?” Rarity asked Twilight. “Is it perfect? Are you sure the cape isn´t too long?”

Twilight chuckled.

“It´s perfect, Rare.”

“And even if it was, that´s why I´m here. To hold it!” Spike lifted Twilight´s cape.

“I thought you were in charge of the fireworks.” Rainbow raised her eyebrow confused. “You know, conducting the dragons.”

“I am! But I can conduct them from up here.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes playfully. Rarity wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“See? I told you she would love it.” Fluttershy laid her hoof on her shoulder. “But you haven´t seen anything yet…” she raised her eyebrow playfully.

“Really?” Twilight followed Fluttershy´s game.

“Really.” Fluttershy giggled mischievously before replying.

“Ooooo! I´m so excited!” Pinkie Pie jumped excitedly. “We have many surprises in store for you! You won´t be disappointed!”

“I´m sure I won´t be.” Twilight said in reply.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Twilight breathed in and out.

“Well. The time has come.”

“The time has come…” Rarity calmly repeated at first. Then, she gasped in realization. “The time has come! What are we doing? Let´s go! Let´s go! To your posts.”

The five mares rushed out the door, bumping against Celestia and Luna, which caused them to the ground on their backs. They gasped.

“Oh dear, we´re so sorry!” Fluttershy apologized while she and her friends helped them to get on four legs.

Celestia and Luna giggled.

“That´s alright, just be a little more careful.” Celestia reassured them.

The five mares smiled and rushed out. Celestia and Luna walked to Twilight and Spike.

“Who would have thought? Your friends being more anxious about the coronation than you are!” Luna exclaimed.

“Well… I´m still feeling butterflies in my stomach…” Twilight looked away while smiling nervously.

“On everypony´s defence, I´m just going to say that this is a pretty big change for all of us.” Spike raised his finger.

“Yeah…” Luna agreed with a somewhat saddened tone.

Twilight noticed the change in the two alicorns´ moods.

“Are you ok?” she asked worried.

“Yes, it´s just…” Celestia sniffed. “After all these years we´ve spent together, teaching and guiding you, and seeing how much you´ve grown from when we first met.” she shed some tears. “It feels so gratifying to see you wearing such a pretty dress prepared for your coronation.”

“And it is more than we expected, especially after we almost lost you…” Luna added.

Twilight´s eyes filled with tears as she smiled sweetly at them.

“Hey… It´s ok.” she hugged them both.

The two sisters returned the hug.

“May I join?” Spike asked smiling.

The two sisters nodded. Spike embraced their legs.

“We´re sorry for making such a fuss…” Celestia apologized.

“It´s just this is all so bittersweet.” Luna justified herself and her sister.

“Very understandable.” Twilight said. “Besides, we still have some minutes before the ceremony begins. See?” she pointed at a clock.

Spike bit his lip nervously.

“Uuuh… That clock is behind ten minutes.”

Twilight gasped.

“Oh no! I´d better get going!”

“Whoah whoah! Wait. You don´t want to trip over your dress, do you?” Spike stopped her by holding her dress´s cape.

Twilight giggled nervously.

“Of course.”

The three alicorns and dragon walked to the balcony´s door. Before opening it, Twilight stopped for a moment. She could feel her heartbeat elevating and the butterflies in her stomach got stronger. However, her companions gave her reassuring smiles, and the two alicorn sister´s held her wings.

“Ready?” Luna asked her.

Twilight took a deep breath in and sighed before nodding her head with a confident smile. Then, Celestia and Luna opened the gates.

Twilight walked to the balcony after Celestia and Luna. She could hear trumpets playing and birds singing. There was not a single murmur, just the silence of thousands of creatures waiting to see a new ruler come out. When she was out in the balcony, every creature cheered her.

She took a glance around. It had been a great idea to do the ceremony at her Ponyville´s castle. Not only was did it bring Twilight great memories, but many life-changing events for many creatures had happened here too. For example, the Young Six´s friendship was born here. So, it was pure symbolism.

She smiled as she saw every creature. She waved at Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow and Applejack, who were sitting together on one of the many tables that were set up around Twilight´s castle. Fluttershy was near them, directing the singing of the birds. When she finished, she joined them.

However, she was so happy that she didn´t realize that she had stepped over the skirt of her dress, making her trip in front of every creature. Celestia, Luna and Spike widened their eyes. The music stopped playing abruptly. Some creatures bit their lips, others massaged their temples.

“We´re off to a good start…” Discord whispered to Twilight´s family.

To lessen the tension of the situation, Celestia started speaking once Luna and Spike had helped Twilight to get up.

“Creatures of all kind. We all gather here to witness one of the most important events in Equestria´s history. Nine years ago, I sent my dearest student to Ponyville so she could make friends to learn how valuable friendship is.”

“What none of us knew however, was that this mare along her friends would change Equestria forever.” Luna continued. “Over and over again, she and her friends have taught us to remain together, to have hope, to forgive, to be open to new possibilities…”

“And those lessons became more important than ever when Grogar attacked us. He almost took her away from us, but thanks to her lessons we were able to rise up and defeat Equestria´s greatest evil.”

“And today, after we healed from our wounds, the true ruler will be crowned.”

Celestia and Luna took off their crowns and combined them into one, which became Twilight´s new crown. Slowly, they laid it on her head.

Despite Twilight´s trip, everything was going well. That was, until Pinkie took a bottle of cider.

“Long live Princess Twilight!” she exclaimed at the top of her lungs as she shook the bottle.

Applejack gasped horrified.

“Pinkie no! The cider is filled with-”

But before she could finish her phrase, the bottle´s cap darted out. It went towards Twilight, who covered her wings as soon as she noticed the cap, but for her fortune, it didn´t hit her. Instead, it bounced off the crown and hit Smolder´s belly. Accidentally, the young dragon spit fire, lighting the fireworks in the process, which radiated in colors very near the princesses and Spike.

Every creature was shocked and nervous about how the coronation was going, specially the mane 6. Pinkie covered her mouth and laughed nervously while giving Applejack an apologetic smile.

“Ooops….”

“It´s a miracle none of those fireworks hit Twilight.” Rarity commented.

Rainbow gasped.

“Oh no.”

“What is it Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked concerned.

“I told the wonderbolts that just when the fireworks finished-”

Rainbow couldn´t finish her sentence, as the wonderbolts were already flying towards the balcony.

“That it was their sign…” Applejack ended her sentence.

“Yup.”

The wonderbolts did their stuntss but since the fireworks didn´t end, they had lots of trouble. One wonderbolt flew away from the fireworks and by doing so, it surprised Celestia and Luna, which caused them to drop the crown outside the balcony. Twilight jumped to get the crown on her head. Unfortunately, she jumped further than she should have, so she fell off the balcony. Every creature gasped in shock.

“She fell!” a pony exclaimed.

The crowd started to murmur. However, as soon as Twilight flew to the balcony, every creature started cheering and applauding.

“Long live princess Twilight!” Applejack raised her glass.

“Hail Twilight!” every creature followed her gesture.

Pinkie caught her canon and blew out confetti. Meanwhile, Twilight fixed her crown. Celestia and Luna hugged her once she was done.

“Congratulations.” Luna said in happy tears.

“Will I be able to ask you for help?” Twilight asked.

“Yes.” Celestia replied.

“And visit you?”

The two alicorns laughed.

After the banquet, it was present time. Every creature elaborated gifts for Equestria´s new ruler. For example, the changelings gave her the statue they had been making for so much time. After them, there came Starlight, Trixie, Sunburst and every student of the School of Friendship, along the CMC, Terramar, Gabby and Punja.

“As every creature, the three villains caught us by surprise while preparing our gifts.” Sunburst started explaining.

“And many of us had to start all over again!” Trixie continued. “Some were destroyed but others wanted to make a few changes…” she glanced slyly at the Young Six, the CMC, Gabby and Terramar.

“But we were all able to finish them!” the two unicorns said in chorus as they showed every student´s gift.

“Oh, they´re so beautiful! Thank you so much.” Twilight said as a sign of gratitude.

The group of friends high fived energetically. Having to remake the picture to add Grogar´s defeat and Gusty was a great idea.

“And that´s not everything!” Starlight took a mysterious book with her magic.

“What is it?” Twilight asked as she held it.

“Open it!” Starlight encouraged her.

Twilight opened the book. She gave out a small gasp and laughed.

“Oh! It´s a book with all our memories! Like the diary!”

“It was mine and Spike´s idea. You should also thank your friends, since they helped us to decide which memories to put.”

Her friends smiled at her. She was going to thank them, but she remembered something important.

“Oh! That reminds me.” she raised her eyebrow playfully at Spike, who tilted his head in curiosity.

She took her glass and hit it with a spoon to get every creature´s attention.

“Creatures of all kind. First of all, I want to thank all of you, not only for coming to my coronation but also for having helped me in my battle against Grogar. Without you, we wouldn´t be celebrating this.”

Every creature smiled at her.

“And neither I would be giving this gift to the creature I love the most.” Twilight handled a box to Spike.

“For me?” Spike asked.

Twilight nodded.

“Alright, let´s see what´s inside.” he said before opening the box.

He was confused when he saw a medal. He took it and read what it said.

“Royal advisor?”

“My first action as ruler of Equestria will be to assign Spike as my Royal Advisor.”

She put the medal on his neck.

“But Twilight… There are no Royal Advisors…”

“I know, but I can change that.”

Spike chuckled. Twilight held his claw.

“Spike. From the moment I hatched you, you´ve loved me, supported me and stayed by my side in the most difficult times, no matter if it was dangerous to you. You helped me see the light when I couldn´t. You´ve been not only a great assistant, you´ve been a great brother to me. Without you, I wouldn´t be here today. And to thank you, I assign you as my Royal Advisor in the same day of my coronation.”

Spike´s eyes filled with tears and hugged Twilight. Every creature left out an `aaw´, and like Spike, some had tears in his eyes, for example, Discord. However, he stopped when Fluttershy surrounded him with her wing. Then, the two rubbed their cheeks together.

Their hug was interrupted by Pinkie´s excitement.

“OOOOH! THE MOMENT´S FINALLY COME!”

“What moment?”

The girls and Spike shared mischievous smiles.

“The time to give you your gift.” Rarity explained.

Twilight blinked stunned.

“But I thought this was my final gift.” she said while looking at Starlight´s book.

“Hm hm. The surprises haven´t ended yet.” Fluttershy held her hoof and walked her out of the table.

“Wait. It´s not here?”

“Nope. We need to walk.” Rainbow explained.

“But what about the ceremony?”

“They agreed to give us a moment to spend together so we gave you our final gift.” Applejack explained.

Twilight looked at every creature worried but seeing them smiling reassured that she could leave.

“Alright, show me what you´ve got.”

After walking for some time, they stopped at a spot. There seemed to be a building covered in a huge blanket.

“We don´t know if you noticed this blanket in the distance.” Rarity told her.

“Actually, not. I was so busy helping to rebuild Canterlot´s castle and with the coronation that I didn´t notice.”

“Do you recognize the place we´re in?” Applejack asked.

“Well, we are where the Go-” Twilight stopped speaking from the shock. She covered her mouth while sobbing. “Wait, you didn´t…”

Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack nodded at Fluttershy, Spike and Rainbow. The three flew to get the blanket off the mysterious building. What Twilight saw, left her in tears. The Golden Oak Library, where everything began and had their best moments together, and thought to have lost forever, was rebuilt! Not only that, it was bigger and had more space! And some new additions too.

“Welcome to the new Golden Oak´s Library!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Twilight covered her mouth while tears of joy were running down her face.

“Knowing that you would leave Ponyville, we wanted to give you the best gift ever made!” Rarity exclaimed. “So, I contacted with Equestria´s best architects to rebuild the library! I helped to design the building.”

“As you can see, eveything´s as it was before!” Rainbow exclaimed happily. “But 20 per cent cooler!”

“We added some new things! We added crystals that resemble the Tree of Harmony´s to build symbols of all our adventures.” Fluttershy pointed at the hanging crystals resembling pictures. “This one for example symbolizes when we first met! And this one is when we defeated Grogar! Ironically, it was the most difficult one to make.” Fluttershy landed on the ground. “It was my idea.” she took the hair off her face. “At first, the architects wanted to do stained glasses, but I thought that was too cliché, so we did this instead! Because you´re the most original pony we know, every new little thing had to be as original.”

Twilight sniffed. Her ears perked up when she heard some knocks on one of the windows.

“Oh! There´s someone who´s been dying to see you.” Spike said while flying to the window.

When he opened, Owlowiscious opened his wings while smiling.

“Who!”

Twilight gasped.

“Owlowiscious!” she ran to him while the owl flied to herand hugged him. “Oh! I´m so happy to see you!”

Then, she looked at the library. They did all of this for her? Despite how close they were, it still felt like she didn´t deserve this.

“I-I don´t what to say.” she sobbed. “I´m so grateful for this! I don´t know how to thank you.”

She hugged all of them.

“Oh, you don´t have to.” Applejack. “We want your days before going to Canterlot to be the best. That´s the least thing we can do before you go.” Applejack sighed sadly while looking at the library. “It will be a bit empty after you go however.”

At that moment, Twilight had an idea.

“I think I know what my next act as new ruler of Equestria will be.”

“Really? Spit it out!” Rainbow told her.

“I decreet that at least once a month we reunite at my Ponyville´s castle. It will be the place of our Friendship meetings. And then, we´ll come to the library to read stories and sleep here.”

Everypony cheered.

“Oh yeah!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Am I invited?” Spike asked playfully.

Twilight chuckled.

“Of course you are.”

Spike laughed and hugged Twilight.

“GROUP HUG!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

The group hugged each other. All of them were crying of joy. They´d never imagined themselves spending another moment at the very place where everything started.

“What are we waiting for? Let´s go inside there are lots of new books!” Applejack told her.

Twilight gasped excitedly. They all laughed as they entered the library.

The sun was starting to set, and it was starting to get windy. But it wasn´t a cold wind. It was a warm and friendly, not to mention that the leaves it carried were multicoloured like the rainbow. A gust of wind blew while the friends entered to the library.

Author's Notes:

And thus, the book closes.

I thought that it was going to be 35 chapters, but apparently, they were 34 chapters!

Wow.... I´m feeling so bittersweet right now (I´m crying in fact!). This has been the longest story I´ve ever written and the one I put the most effort and all my heart in (and it won´t be the last ). Almost a year writing this story. I have this story in Word, and you know how long it is? 400 pages! It´s almost as if I wrote a MLP novel !

But the most important thing, thank you. Thank you all for taking some time to check my story and giving me all your support, comments and opinions. You don´t know how much that means to me

Anyway, I´m talking more than I should . I have another story planned, but you´ll have to wait. I´m just about to begin the finals and I also need to plan the story. However, I might upload some blogs in the meantime

Stay tuned and once again, thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it

The final challenge

by Dianabel

Chapter 1: An evil plan

Chapter 2: Something wrong

Chapter 3: Revenge is a dish served cold

Chapter 4: The game begins

Chapter 5: The emperor takes his throne

Chapter 6: Making plans

Chapter 7: Reflections about the past

Chapter 8: Let´s do some rescuing

Chapter 9: Villainous secrets

Chapter 10: The tables turn

Chapter 11: Grieving

Chapter 12: Encounters

Chapter 13: A villanous escape

Chapter 14:Hope after all

Chapter 15: Memories

Chapter 16: Every creature, rise up

Chapter 17: Remembering

Chapter 18: Two friends reunite

Chapter 19: Escaping underground

Chapter 20: A great discovery

Chapter 21: Unlikely alliances

Chapter 22: Getting used to a new team

Chapter 23: Laughter and generosity

Chapter 24: Honesty and loyalty

Chapter 25: Kindness

Chapter 26: Reunion at Ponyville

Chapter 27: Reunion at Canterlot

Chapter 28: Counterattack

Chapter 29: Ready

Chapter 30: The princess has returned

Chapter 31: Together again

Chapter 32: Magic

Chapter 33: The tyrant falls again

Chapter 34: The beginning of a new era