> Terraria: Friendship Is Magic
>  by Pomp-Neigh
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1 - The Eldritch Horror From Another World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna’s moon shines brightly over the blanket of the night that covers Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. 

The Element Bearers, along with their friends and loved ones, help put on a concert performed by Songbird Serenade, a talented singing pony, in celebration of The Storm King’s defeat. 

Originally, Princess Twilight Sparkle had planned for this to be the Festival of Friendship’s main attraction, which sadly was interrupted by the arrival of the Storm King’s army, led by Tempest Shadow.

Many ponies gather around a stage as a young purple and green dragon wearing shades stands before the crowd holding a mic: Spike, the Brave and Glorious.

[Mic noise]

“Ladies and Gentlecolts!” Spike exclaims before spinning around in place and sliding across the stage, similar to what a guitarist would do in a typical concert. “Get ready for a little Songbird Serenade!”

Applause in the form of stomping hooves erupts as Songbird Serenade takes the stage. Spike removes himself to join Twilight, and her fellow Bearers, who were also accompanied by Starlight Glimmer and Zecora in the crowd. 

As Songbird begins her latest song: Rainbow, Twilight sees her number one assistant approaching and welcomes him with a warm smile.

“Spike! Thank you so much for kicking things off; I really appreciate it!” Twilight exclaims. The alicorn princess was forced to shout as the crowd around them nearly drowned out her words.

“No problem, Twi. Besides, what’s more awesome than having Spike the Brave and Glorious on stage, huh?” He inquires confidently with a beaming smile.

“You can say that again; you’re almost as awesome as me,” Rainbow dash compliments.

“Oh, yes indeed, Spike.” Fluttershy comments.

“This concert is already quite the sight; it’s made better thanks to young Spike,” Zecora says.

“You looked fabulous, Spikey Wikey. You certainly work those shades I gave you.” Rarity compliments.

“Best. Intro. Ever!” Pinkie Pie exclaims happily.

“You were amazing, partner,” Applejack says as she tilts her hat.

“That was remarkable. Perhaps I should hire you to host the next convention at Our Town?” Starlight Glimmer questions as she ponders on the thought.

The group then erupts into laughter as they continue to enjoy Songbird’s song.





After some short time, Songbird Serenade’s song nears its climax as all the ponies and creatures in the audience listen contently, shouting various cheers. Twilight continues to mingle with her friends when she suddenly notices Tempest Shadow keeping her distance from the crowd with a saddened expression. 

Upon seeing this, the lavender alicorn takes to the sky, momentarily leaving her friends, and flies over to the former Storm king’s second in command. Tempest hears Twilight land behind her, prompting the broken unicorn to speak:

“That’s one thing that never changes around here, the parties...”

“Well, I hope you’ll stay. More friends are definitely merrier.” Twilight replies.

“But, um... my horn...” Tempest says sadly before sighing as if she were just defeated. The broken unicorn opened her mouth to speak again, but Twilight cuts her off.

“Actually, about that, Tempest. I’ve got a surprise for you,” Twilight interjects with a beaming smile. “I want you to know that I will always call you a friend, even with your broken horn. However, I can understand if it makes you feel incomplete, so...” As if on cue, three more alicorn Princesses land next to Twilight: 

The Princess of the Sun and Day, Celestia. The Princess of the Moon and Night, Luna. And the current ruler of the Crystal Empire, in addition to being the Princess of Love: Cadence. 

Twilight shifts her gaze towards Celestia and gives her a nod. The Sun Princess then steps forward with a motherly smile.

“My dear Tempest, Twilight has informed us of your plight, and we’d like to help you,” Celestia starts. “As my former faithful student has said, I, too, understand that a unicorn with a broken horn can feel incomplete. It’d be no different than a pegasus with a missing wing.” Celestia momentarily had a saddened expression before returning to the motherly smile she was well known for. The Sun Princess then looks to Luna and gives her a nod. 

Luna walks forth and stands by her sister’s side.

“We hath decided that we shall restore thy broken horn; thou shall become whole once more, Tempest Shadow,” Luna says with authority. The Night Princess’s words practically shot Tempest right through her heart as the broken unicorn imitates a goldfish by opening and closing her mouth in shock.

“W-what?! But why? After everything I’ve done and how I turned you all into stone and nearly destroyed Equestria, how could you all forgive me?!” 

Their gesture absolutely threw off Tempest. How could they ever forgive her after everything she’s done? And even offer to restore her horn just like that? 

The former Storm King’s commander was lost in shock as Cadence and Twilight walked forward. All of the alicorn princesses now stand before Tempesr as Cadence takes the initiative:

“We forgive you, Tempest. You were lost, alone, and broken in more ways than one. However, we can still see the good pony that lies within you. The very same pony we see standing before us now.” Cadence then turns her head to Twilight as a smile forms on her muzzle before she looks back to Tempest and continues: 

“Personally, I forgave you the moment you sacrificed your life to save my dear sister-in-law.” The Princess Of Love then nuzzles Twilight, who happily returns the gesture. Celestia and Luna also nod their heads with content smiles. 

Twilight then approaches Tempest, the broken unicorn nearly forming tears in her eyes, and says:

“Well, Tempest, what do you say?” Twilight lifts her left forehoof and extends it towards Tempest. “If you accept our offer, we-” Twilight’s words are suddenly cut off as Tempest lunges forth and embraces her in a hug. The once emotionally unbreakable unicorn mare was now sobbing with a river of tears going down both of her cheeks.

“I c-can’t thank you e-enough, Twilight. I owe y-you my life.” Tempest sobs as she tries her best to speak clearly. Twilight simply embraced her former foe and let her release all of the sadness she had built up within her. 

Celestia, Luna, and Cadence watch on with warm smiles. Suddenly, Luna grits her teeth and lets out a painful:

“GAUGH!” A small bit of Luna’s Canterlot Voice leaked into her painful exclamation as she fell to the floor in agony. 

Luna’s exclamation of pain also gets the attention of some nearby ponies, which include the rest of Twilight’s friends. Luna brings both of her forelimbs up to her head to ease her pain.

“Sister!” Celestia shouts as her once motherly tone faded when her beloved sister collapsed. Celestia, along with her fellow alicorns and a recovered Tempest Shadow, ran to Luna’s aide. 

They all inquire about her well-being, ranging from ‘If she needed to return to her chambers?’ to ‘Quick, cast a healing spell or something.’ Suddenly, Luna’s head looks up to her beloved moon with tears in her eyes, almost as if it were a parent looking towards their injured child.

“Our moon! Oh, our beloved moon, w-what has harmed thee?!” Luna inquires with her Canterlot Voice in full effect. 

The concert and celebration stop instantly as dead silence takes over. Every being in attendance looks up towards the moon only to discover a horrifying sight. The moon began forming what looked like a wormhole mixed with a twisting vortex. 

Even more disturbing was the unknown being coming through the portal, sending shivers down every creature’s spine. 

However, those in Canterlot weren’t the only ones to see this unnatural phenomenon as all of Equestria, possibly even all of Equus, witnessed the event. The being who now blocked out the moon and very nearly the whole midnight sky looked down upon the world before it. The entity spoke with a voice that nearly shook the entire planet and struck fear into every living thing.



“AS YOU GAZE AT THE MIDNIGHT SKY.
MY NEW SERVANTS, OBEY OR DIE.
THE LORD OF THE MOON APPEARS BEFORE THEE.
ALL WILL BOW TO THE GREAT RAZEEM.”
> Chapter 2 - Together against the Unknown Pt:1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





”BOW TO RAZEEM” 

Those words echo throughout the entire world of Equus, a stunned and terrified silence unifying the world as one. 

In the Dragonlands, Dragon Lord Ember and her fellow dragons watched with shocked expressions and faces of absolute horror upon the celestial event and the being who was now on full display in the night sky. Not much could install fear into a dragon, save for a literal Eldritch terror in all its terrifying glory. 

The exact same thing was happening worldwide, for as of this moment, all beings upon the world of Equus became equal for one reason: Fear. Griffonia, the Crystal Empire, the Wastelands, Neighpon, Zebrica, Cervainia, Nagania, Minotaurus, Satyria, and every fathomable nation and landscape that held life were no different from the Dragonlands. 

All were in fear of Razeem, the Moon Lord.





Canterlot is in absolute panic as pegasi fly off to their homes, unicorns teleported to safety, and earth ponies truly display their physical aptitude as they sprint down the streets of Canterlot, trying to reach a location they deem to be ‘safe.’ Even some of the royal guards, who swore an oath to defend their princesses against all threats, abandoned said oath to flee. Then again, who could truly blame them? Fleeing from something you cannot fight against, no matter how hard you try, is a survival instinct engraved into every living being; no one could really fault them.

Princess Celestia, along with her fellow alicorns, the Element Bearers, Starlight Glimmer, Zecora, Tempest Shadow, and an assortment of royal guards, looked up at the large entity. They now know its name but refuse to speak it - that is how terrified they are of this atrocity. 

In their eyes, no other villain or entity they had ever faced could compare to Razeem. Queen Chrysalis, Sombra, Discord, Nightmare Moon, Pony of Shadows, Tirek, not even the legendary Grogar could ever hold a candle to the fear this eldritch horror induced. 

Every being present is shaking uncontrollably. Poor Fluttershy, in particular, displayed her fear most as she began to urinate where she stood, much to her embarrassment. This caused Rainbow Dash to wrap herself around her terrified childhood friend in some attempt to offer her comfort. One couldn’t help but respect The Element of Loyalty’s action, even if it was momentary.

Celestia couldn’t contain nor hide her fear. Usually, she could put on a mask of courage no matter the opponent, but this was completely different. The Sun Princess managed to regain her composure as she turned to face everyone and everything she loved with all her being. 

“M... M-my...” Celestia tried her best, but the words just couldn’t form. Finally, her love for her people and those she held dear snapped her out of it as she took a deep breath, reared up; stomped her front legs, and followed her sister’s former example as she shouted in her own Canterlot Voice:

“NO! I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN! DO YOU HEAR ME, FIEND?!”

“...” The Moon Lord remains silent.

“SAY SOMETHING, TARTARUS, DAMN IT!”

“...” Silence remains as the entity doesn’t respond. At this point, Celestia couldn’t tell if the Moon Lord could hear her, let alone understand her words. Regardless, she refused to give up.

“I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT’S GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND! YOU SEE US AS NOTHING BUT DIRT, DON’T YOU?! OUR LIVES MEAN NOTHING AT ALL TO YOU, I SUPPOSE?! WELL, LET ME TELL YOU, RAZEEM, I CARE NOT FOR WHO OR WHAT YOU ARE, AND I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO HURT ANY LIVING THING IN OUR BELOVED WORLD WE CALL HOME!”

“...” Razeem continues to look down upon the world, remaining silent.

”STOP ACTING SUPERIOR TO US AND FA-” Celestia’s words are cut off as she then froze in place like a statue. Twilight, Luna, the rest of the Element Bearers, Zecora, and Tempest notice this as they stampede over to the Sun Princess. Cadence and Starlight remained frozen with their horrified expressions right where they stood while the royal guards’ numbers noticeably dropped even more.

“Dear sister, we must formulate a plan,” Luna says as she looks at the Sun Princess with hope.

“...” Now it was Celestia’s turn to remain quiet.

“Sister? Doth thou hear us?” Luna questions. Everyone else present was starting to worry.

“...” Celestia still doesn’t respond nor move an inch. Celestia simply just stood there, frozen in place. Luna extends a forehoof out to her sister and touches the white alicorn’s right shoulder.

“We know that our foe is indeed intimidating, but we must-” Luna was immediately silenced, for the moment her hoof made contact with Celestia, the solar alicorn’s body simply flopped to the floor. The group looked on in horror as Celestia’s once vibrant magenta eyes lost all life in them. But it wasn’t just her eyes, it was her whole body as well. 

Celestia had earned many titles in her time: Alicorn co-ruler of Equestria, the esteemed Goddess of the Sun, the mentor and motherly figure of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the adoptive aunt to Princess Cadence. 

Sadly, all of those aliases now share one similar trait.

”NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Luna screams to the heavens in her Canterlot Voice with tears pouring down both of her cheeks. Behind her, the sounds of crying and pleas for it to simply not be true could be heard as everyone present came to the same realization: 

Princess Celestia is dead.

Suddenly, encroaching steps could be heard as someone trekked along the marble floor toward the group. However, what was most curious about these steps was that they didn’t sound like the clopping of hooves. 

A mysterious figure caught the attention of the still-in-mourning equines, dragon, and zebra. This being was covered in a brown cloak with a hoodie covering their facial features, although the group could make out what looked like a green mane. But most notable was the fact that the being stood on two legs. 

This new, bipedal, and hooded entity now stood before them. Upon closer inspection, the group could tell that this individual was female.

“Words cannot express how sorry I am for your loss; I apologize for arriving too late,” The hooded figure says before materializing an enormous weapon that practically radiated with power. So much power, in fact, that it was felt by every living being present the moment it came into existence.





“I swear upon this grand Blade of Terra, and by the decree of my people, you will not claim this world... Moon Lord.”
> Chapter 3 - Together against the Unknown Pt:2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The hooded figure took its gaze from the Moon Lord and looked back to the group, the being's mighty blade still in hand. The unknown female entity is about to speak; however, Twilight unintentionally cuts her off:

“N-no... this can’t be. P-Princess Celestia?” The lavender mare questions with tears flowing down her cheeks “T-this is a new test, right? You’re just testing me... that’s it, isn’t it?” Twilight couldn’t accept what had transpired as she continued to question Celestia’s body as if the Sun Princess would respond. 

The lavender alicorn even begins to tap Celestia with her right forehoof. Even though Celestia wasn’t Twilight’s actual mother, the lavender alicorn loved her all the same. As far as she was concerned, she had the honor of having two mothers.

Princess Cadence was right there with Twilight on the opposite side of Celestia’s body. Here was her adoptive aunt, who practically raised her until she became old enough to be on her own. Like Twilight, the Princess of Love couldn’t accept this either as both mares almost looked crazy as they, metaphorically and literally, were beating a dead horse, although the beating is in the form of pleading.

Of all the alicorn princesses present, the one whose heart shattered most was the Princess of the Night: Luna. Her heart was filled with sorrow and regret as she recalled all the times she had hurt her sister without intention. Sure, they’d often argue with each other, but Luna would never willingly harm her beloved sister. Her biggest sin that she regretted all of her life was when she allowed the beings known as ‘Nightmares’ to enter her heart because of her jealousy and pain, which turned her into Nightmare Moon. All Luna could say was:

“I’m sorry, Celly... I’m so sorry...”

The rest of the group watched on with their own tears as they all moved closer to Twilight, Cadence, and Luna. Spike, in particular, walked up to Twilight’s left hind leg and held on to it as if his life depended on it. The rest of the Element Bearers, Zecora, Tempest Shadow, and Starlight Glimmer began to speak their minds, their own words of sorrow. 

Suddenly, their words of sorrow begin to shift and become much darker. Even though they were all heavily heartbroken, something erupted within them upon seeing their beloved sun princess lay dead before them, something that most Equestrians rarely feel: pure rage. 

Twilight, Cadence, and Luna watched their friend's and loved ones' reactions with wide eyes, and their mouths hung agape.

“That heartless fiend, how dare they! Princess Celestia didn’t deserve that!” Rarity shouts in anger.

“That no good varmint! Why, ah’ got half the mind to shove my favorite shovel right up their backside!” Applejack threatens.

“This Moon Lord is nothing but a brute; I shall avenge the Princess when I stomp him with my hooves. My combat staff is ready, as is my rage; you shall not survive this day!” Zecora exclaims.

“You know what?! Right now, I wish I was still evil because I need it for what I’m going to do to that thing!” Starlight Glimmer shouts angrily. 

“I was about to get my horn back! This loving princess offered to restore my horn, and you took it away from me! You took it from me!” Tempest Shadow roars out as magical energy leaks out of her shattered horn.

“You no good meanie! I’m gonna stuff you into a cupcake and stomp on it!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as her mane was noticeably deflated and the color of her body becomes darker. She even managed to pull out a kitchen knife from her mane.

“You will burn for this!” Spike antagonizes.

“I’m gonna clobber you until there’s nothing left!” Rainbow Dash exclaims.

“How dare you! We ponies simply want to live in peace, but here you are, trying to take away our way of life! I never wished for any living creature’s life to be snuffed out, but for you, I hope you die!” Fluttershy roars out as even the Element of Kindness became... corrupted.

“No, It can’t be...” The hooded figure says as the world around them suddenly takes on a darker shade of purple.





The alicorn princesses turn to the hooded figure as they recover from their surprise at the words spoken by their loved ones. Luna is the first to speak as Twilight and Cadence walk alongside her.

“Doth thou know what has transpired? We can see by thy reaction thou art familiar with this unknown phenomenon.” 

“Yes, but before we continue, I must shield your friends from the effects of the Corruption. They do not seem as resistant as you and your fellow princesses,” After saying these words, the hooded figure rips off her cloak and tosses it into the air. 

“Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Celebes, the Dryad.” Celebes thrusts the Terra Blade into the marbled floor, the blade's edge piercing the floor with little to no effort as a green aura engulfs the Dryad. This aura then alights the entire area, consuming every being present, and upon closer inspection, one could even see green leaves floating around as well.

Suddenly, Twilight, Cadence, Luna, and Celebes look back towards the others as they seem to have calmed down from their outburst, but the way they recovered made it seem like it wasn’t them saying those things and threatening to act upon it. Sure, they were indeed angry, but something seemed to have amplified their rage. 

The group recovered and began to question what was happening, ranging from: “Woah, I never thought I’d say those things.” to “I-I swear, I don’t want to be evil again.” Pinkie Pie, in particular, returned to normal as her mane was inflated; her kitchen knife also vanished.

“What did you do?” Princess Cadence questions. “And what’s the Corruption?” 

“We don’t have much time,” Celebes answers. “We need to stop the Moon Lord before things get worse,” She readies herself for battle, “Just know that you are all protected from the effects of the Corruption thanks to my prayer and that I’m your ally in this fight. I know you have no reason to trust me, but we must cast those things aside and fight together.”

”NAY!” Luna exclaims with her Canterlot Voice. ”THOU SHALL TELL US RIGHT NOW, DRYAD. OUR SISTER LAYS DEAD BEFORE US, AND THOU KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING. WE HAVETH THE RIGHT TO KNOW!”

“And I will tell all of you what is happening, but we must-”

[RAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRR]

An otherworldly roar cuts off Celebes’s words as the group looks to the skies. There in the dark purple skies of Canterlot, the group, except for Celebes, looked on in horror as multiple threats descended upon them, but it wasn’t the Moon Lord. 

These flying terrors were considerably smaller than the eldritch, but they still dwarf the average pony, even an alicorn in size. These beings were best described as flying parasites. It wasn’t just the skies, however; the very ground below them began to shake violently.

This instantly alerted Applejack and Pinkie pie thanks to their connections to the earth as an earth pony, not to mention Pinkie's ‘Senses’.

“Tail, eyes, legs, mane, everything! Twitching! My Pinkie senses are going crazy!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as she continues to twitch and shuffle.

“Pinkie’s right, y’all. This ain't no ordinary earthquake... somethin’ is moving, a lot of em!” Applejack comments

“You mean there’s something worse than those flying, things?!” Rarity questions.

Suddenly, the ‘earthquake’ stops but only for a few seconds before multiple worm-like creatures erupt from the floors, the streets, the ground, and the entire landscape of Canterlot. These worms easily dwarfed the flying parasites, many of them being three to five times the length and overall size of the aforementioned entities.




> Chapter 4 - Together against the Unknown Pt:3.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



The entire landscape of Equestria’s capital begins to change as trees instantly turned into vine-like abominations, other trees underwent other transformations as the wood became a light purple/black color while the very leaves themselves became a much darker purple/black coloration. The grass of the landscape wasn’t spared either as it too became corrupted.

“If we don’t close the Moon Lord’s portal, this infestation will just get worst,” Celebes notes as she watches the Corruption slowly take over.





“It’s time to act!” Celebes exclaims. “Now look, I can explain along the way, but right now, we must confront the Moon Lord. Princesses, I have a plan, but I must have your cooperation.” The Dryad then turns to the rest of the group.

Luna, Twilight, and Cadence nod in understanding, although Luna is still noticeably annoyed. The lunar princess leans down to her sister, and with the help of her magic, she gets Celestia’s body onto her back. Despite appearances, Luna is more than strong enough to hold the weight, likely thanks to her earth pony attributes as an alicorn. 

Now everyone in attendance sets their gaze upon Celebes.

“Here’s the plan: I want you seven ponies plus the zebra and the dragon to come with me. Together, we can banish the Moon Lord back to Terraria,” Celebes says as she points to Zecora, Spike, the Element Bearers, and Starlight Glimmer. 

“As for the rest of you must get to safety. You cannot stay here. I sensed the landscape around us, and I’d say your capital - Canterlot, I believe you called it, is ninety percent corrupted.” 

The Dryad then materialized what seemed to be a pouch filled with an unknown powder in addition to what appeared to be two different flowers: a rose and a rather large sunflower. Celebes tosses the items to Princesses Luna and Cadence, both of whom catch the items in their aura. 

“These will help you make your way to a safe location of your choosing. You can escape the Corruption by leaving its territory, but you must contain it by using those items. I have enchanted the sunflower to reproduce itself quickly once it’s planted, and as for the rose, it’s more of an artifact called the Floret of Purity. The powder is more of a deterrent, and should any of these creatures attack you, throw some at them; it will temporarily stop them. You can also use it to purify the Corruption. I have also enchanted that pouch to produce an unlimited amount of the powder, provided the pouch itself remains unharmed. Containment is all you can do for now until you feel as if you and your allies can defeat the monsters within the infection. I pray that you can destroy it before the orbs are created.”



“Those florae are truly out of this world; with them, the Corruption will surely be quelled. I never thought a plant had such prowess as Poison Joke, yet these possess a power that truly makes it look like a joke.” Zecora says as she can’t help but admire the plants before her.

Everyone remains silent for a moment after hearing The Dryad’s plan, and although they are terrified, they know that they must do this to save Equestria. Cadence took the initiative and knew exactly where she, Luna, Tempest, and the last remnants of the royal guards needed to go.

“The Crystal Empire will shelter us; I’ll see if I can find a way to integrate this artifact of yours with the Crystal Heart. Maybe if we can somehow combine them, we could one day save Canterlot.” Princess Cadence says enthusiastically as her hopes begin to rise. Everyone nods happily in understanding; however, a certain dark-blue alicorn is still infuriated by Celebes’s plan.

“If thou thinks that we will simply stand idly by and watch as everypony fights against this corruption, and that fool who dares to defy our moon, thou-”

[WHAP]

Luna’s words were cut off as a lavender-colored hoof strikes Luna across her muzzle, which dazes the lunar princess momentarily. The assailant is revealed to be Twilight Sparkle, much to Luna’s and everyone else’s surprise.

“Luna! That’s enough!” Twilight exclaims as she takes a breath and lowers the very hoof she used to strike Luna with. “My heart is broken because of Princess Celestia’s death, just like yours. In fact, all of us are suffering just like you are, but we need to push those feelings aside to save Equestria or, at the very least, halt the progress of this infection. You, Cadence, everypony... you all need to stop it while we deal with that monster.” 

The lavender alicorn’s words cause Luna to look at the rest of the group, all of whom bore the same expression as Luna: sadness. This causes the lunar princess to lower her head in shame as Twilight continues: 

“We must also think of the future, Luna. Now that Princess Celestia is... dead, you must carry on her legacy. Remember when she was forced to seal you in the moon when the Nightmare consumed you? She rose the moon in your stead. Why do you think she did that?”

Luna had silence as she couldn’t argue against Twilight’s logic, all while tears started forming in the dark alicorn’s eyes.

“She did it because she loves you, Luna. She did it because she wanted to protect the kingdom you both created. She raised the moon in your stead even though it pained her so much as it reminded her of what she had to do to you.” 

Twilight walks closer to Luna and raises their head with a forehoof which causes the dark alicorn’s eyes to meet the lavender alicorn’s own gaze. 

“But most importantly... she did it because she wanted there to be a world for you to return to. The world we all call home.” Twilight then walks over to everyone else as they all look at Luna. Most impressively and despite the chaos around them, they all still beamed the lunar princess with a warming smile. 

Celebes gives Luna an encouraging nod along with a smile of her own. However, deep down, she was somewhat bothered by something else, as she states internally:

-There’s… something familiar about this one. That includes her sister…-

“It’s time for you to rise up, Luna,” Twilight starts. “As of now, you are no longer just the Princess of the Moon... you are also the current caretaker of the sun. Do for your sister what she did for you, carry on your sister’s legacy and protect the world you both love.” Twilight finishes her speech as she and everyone else in attendance all stand firm before Luna as they shout in unison:

“For Equestria, for all of Equus!”

Upon hearing Twilight’s speech, Luna smiles and looks at her sister, whose body is laid upon her back.

“I shall not disappoint you. Not again, dear sister.”

The group splits up as Tempest, Cadence, Luna with Celestia’s body, and the royal guards are in one group while the Element Bearers, Zecora, Spike, and Starlight glimmer are in the other. 

Both Luna and Twilight step forward to converse:

“Be well, everyone,” Luna comments. “Make that fiend pay for our sister’s death.” 

“Celestia would be proud of you, Luna,” Twilight responds. “Be safe, and please watch over everyone for us.” 

Cadence runs over to Twilight as she embraces the lavender mare in a tight hug.

“I’ll make sure that Flurry Heart knows just how much of an amazing aunt you are, Twily,” The pink alicorn weeps. “I’ll tell Shiny everything as well.” The two alicorns separate as they then proceed to do their signature dance:


“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake.
Clap your hooves and do a little shake.”


The Dryad nods as all preparations seem to be in order.

“Alright then, everyone,” She turns around in one fluid motion and swipes her blade sideways, her brown cloak fluttering before settling down.

“Let’s go hunt down an eldritch.”





Celebes, the Element Bearers, Starlight, Spike, and Zecora make their way through hordes of the Corruption’s monsters throughout the streets of Canterlot. Celebes takes the lead and makes short work of the horrors thanks to her powerful blade, although bits and pieces of her kills manage to fly onto members of the group behind her. Rarity, in particular, made sure to express her displeasure. 

Creatures that did manage to get past the Dryad were finished off by Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight, whose magic was fortunately enough to push back and even kill some of the monsters of the Corruption. If any of the abominations got a little too close for comfort, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Zecora, and Pinkie Pie repelled them with physical force. 

"We're almost there!" Celebes exclaims.

"Wh-where are we going?!" Spike questions, mounted on Twilight.

"There's a mountain just outside of Canterlot that works perfectly for our approach," Celebes answers before hopping into the air and cleaving a flying abomination in half, landing onto the ground before resuming her run.

"Stay strong, everyone! I promise to get you out of this!"

……….

After some time, ruthless fighting, and exiting the ravaged capital, Celebes leads the group to one of the mountains outside of Canterlot, which happened to be perfectly positioned beneath Razeem.

As they follow a path up the mountain to reach its peak, they are ambushed by one of the flying parasites. It targets Fluttershy and takes her away with a pair of mandibles. The group looks on in horror; however, Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity begin to ignite their horns.

“Wait! Y’all might hit Fluttershy!” Applejack exclaims.

“Don’t worry; I’ve got this!” Rainbow dash excaims as she readies herself for combat. Suddenly, a dark pink blur zoomed past the rainbow pegasus as if someone was shooting a bullet toward the parasite. The creature sees this and lets out a roar:

”RRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW-” 

[SHLINK] [SHLINK] [SHLINK] [SHLINK] [SHLINK]

With incredible speed and ferocity, the parasite’s roar was cut off as the blur butchers the flying parasite by stabbing all of its eyes and hacking off multiple limbs, causing the monster to release its captive. The blur catches Fluttershy and lands on the ground while gently laying down the shy pegasus. Everyone’s jaw drops at the revelation of who was responsible for this rescue, even Celebes. 

Standing before them was Pinkie Pie; however, her form had changed just as it did in Canterlot. Simply put, it was a darker yet more serious version of the party pony.

”You think you can hurt Pinkamena’s friends, huh? Wrong move, bucko. Now look at you, chopped up and ready for me to stuff into a cupcake if I wanted to. You mess with my friends, I’ll beat you senseless. You threaten to kill my friends, I’ll slice you up...” Pinkamena says as she throws a kitchen knife into the air and catches it. She then turns her gaze to Fluttershy.

“P-Pinkie? I-is that you?” Fluttershy questions. Pinkamena was noticeably confused by this inquiry for a few seconds before a smirk forms on her muzzle.

”Of course it is, silly. No monster is gonna take any of my friends away,” Pinkamena says as she helps Fluttershy onto her hooves. ”And if anypony tries, well, that’s what happens,” Pinkamena comments as she points to the deceased parasite. ”Anyway, let’s get back to the others,” Both mares make their way to the rest of the group and as they pass everyone, whose mouths were still agape, Pinkamena lets out a simple: ”Come on, let’s go.”

Everyone in the group stares at ‘pinkie’ with expressions that could best be described as ”WHAT!?”

Pinkamena and Fluttershy continue to walk along the path until the dark pink mare turns her head back to the group and shouts:

 “well? Hurry up!”

Celebes stood shocked as she observed the others taking their leave, her gaze fixated on Pinkie Pie as she states internally:

-First Celestia and Luna, and now, her? That power she used... it's the power of an Ancient. This can't be a coincidence... this world has several connections to Terraria.-





The time has finally come as the group of ponies -- Pinky Pie noticeably returning to her normal state -- zebra, dragon, and dryad now stands at the peak of the mountain, just below the Moon Lord. Their titanic form floated high above them.

“Here we are; I’m confident we can defeat him so long as I have the Terra Blade,” Celebes starts. “Together, we shall banish him from your realm and return the lord of the moon back to Terraria. If you have any last words or questions, now’s the time to speak up. This might be the last battle of your lives.” She turns to the group, her words rocking the core of everyone else present. 

This was going to be, without a shadow of a doubt, their biggest challenge yet. Their worries ranged from hoping their loved ones were safe to praying their homes weren’t destroyed by the Corruption. One, in particular, worried about her animals; a certain cowmare tilts her hat as she thinks about a certain apple acre and her family who calls it home. 

Twilight turns to her number one assistant, Spike, and hugs him dearly.

“Spike, I want you to know that you have made me very proud. You are, in my eyes, my son, and I don’t care what anycreature says about it.” She says as tears begin to flow from her eyes.

“Thanks, Twi. I always loved you like a moth-”

“Which is why I’m going to miss you, Spike. Please help Princesses Luna and Cadence to defeat the Corruption,” Twilight interjects as she shoves a scroll into Spike’s claws and fires up her horn, taking her aim. 

“Take that note straight to Princess Luna, Spike. They should be en route to the Crystal Empire by now... goodbye, I love you.” 

Before Spike could say anything, he was sent away in a flash of purple light. Twilight then looks to everyone present with fresh tears coming down both of her cheeks. 

“I’m sorry, everyone... but I just can’t ask Spike to do this.”

“It’s fine, darling. To be honest, I don’t want my Spikey Wikey to have to deal with... this, either. You made the right call,” Rarity brings the alicorn into a hug. “And we are ready to fight with you until the end.”

“Exactly, we’re behind you one hundred percent, Twilight,” Starlight Glimmer says as she walks up to her teacher. “You are the reason I’m still here today. You saved me from myself, and I owe you my life for It. If this is our final battle, then bring it on!” Twilight’s student proclaims as everyone gives the lavender alicorn an approving nod.

“We are ready to fight, to show our foe our might, but the Moon Lord is high above; some of us can not fly like a dove,” Zecora says as she looks up at the Moon Lord.

“Um, I agree with Zecora. Only me, Rainbow, and Twilight can fly,” Fluttershy comments.

“I might be awesome, but I don’t think I could carry us all up there to clobber that jerk,” Rainbow Dash says as she punches the air.

“That won’t be a problem for us, well... those of us without wings, that is. I happen to have just the right potion for our current predicament,” Celebes says as she pulls out multiple purple potions, one for every non-pegasus or alicorn present. “And I have ten of them, more than enough for us all. These beauties are a gift from a friend in my world, the Gravitation Potion.”

“Oooooh, that sounds fun!” Pinkie says excitingly.

Applejack smiles contently before she proclaims:

“Then that settles it, y’all. Let’s go get that no-good varmint!”


> Chapter 5 - Boss Fight and Spike's message.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





“Ok, everyone, gather around me,” Celebes says as she ignites the Terra Blade, and a green aura engulfs everyone present. “With the Terra Blade’s blessing, I shall protect you all from his mental prowess. I won’t let what happened to your princess also take your lives. It will also amplify your abilities and strength; let’s just say you’ll have more ‘oomph’ in your attacks.”

“Aww yeah! Now he can’t cheat as he did with Princess Celestia. Time for some payback!” Rainbow Dash exclaims as she raises a hoof into the air.

“Don’t get overconfident, he might not be able to use his mental prowess, but he can still easily kill us physically, even with my blade’s blessings,” Celebes corrects Rainbow before she then looks up to the Moon Lord. “And that’s not even counting his laser...”

“Laser?! He can fire lasers?!” Rainbow Dash exclaims. Everyone else lets out a gasp at this revelation.

“Among other things, yes. I’ve seen it In action before, and trust me... It never ends well for those who are unprepared for it. Have no fear, my allies; I shall call it out, and you all must come to me when I do. I will shield us with this blade, and Razeem can’t fire it simultaneously as he needs time to charge up another shot so we can still get some good blows in. Just please dodge for the love of your world and my own.”

Everyone nods in understanding, and with their gravitation potions active, they take to the skies to confront their foe.

……….

”SO, CELEBES... HAVE YOU COME TO JOIN YOUR PEOPLE? I SHALL PERSONALLY MAKE ARRANGEMENTS.” The Moon Lord says as it spots the group being led by the Dryad.

“My people stopped your kind many times before, and this shall be no different,” Celebes replies as everyone behind her narrows their eyes.

”WORMS! YOU FACE A POWER BEYOND RECKONING!” Razeem antagonizes.

“Cthuhlu had powers beyond reckoning. Where is he, now?” Celebes retorts. These words finally kick things off as Razeem roars out in anger and fires his laser via his eye that was positioned on his forehead.

”RAAAAAAAAAWWWWRRG”

“Stay behind me!” Celebes exclaims as her Terra Blade enacts a protective barrier that appears around the Dryad and her allies. The blast consumes the barrier in a beam of otherworldly energy. Aside from the Dryad, everyone within the barrier stares on with awe and horror as the world around them disappears momentarily within the beam before everything finally returns to normal.

“THAT INFERNAL BLADE CAN’T SAVE YOU AND THOSE PATHETIC PONIES FOREVER.” Razeem says as the eye on his forehead closes momentarily.

Celebes smirks and thrusts her blade forward as she exclaims:

“Everyone! Charge!”





-Outskirts of the Crystal Empire.-

Spike, the Brave and Glorious, lies unconscious on the snowy planes of the frozen north. Shortly, the young dragon regains consciousness and manages to get back onto his feet.

“Ugh, my head... where- Twilight!” Spike exclaims as he looks around and sees the snowy landscape around him. His gaze instantly sets upon a familiar structure, more accurately, structures, in the distance. “The Crystal Empire...” 

Suddenly, Spike closes his left hand into a clenched fist and strikes the earth beneath him. “Darn you, Twilight! I wanted to fight with all of you... I wanted to protect you, Rarity, everyone!” Tears began to run down his face as he recalled his mother figure’s actions. 

However, Spike then recalls the words Twilight had told him before she sent him away.

-Take that note straight to Princess Luna Spike; they should be en route to the Crystal Empire by now... goodbye, I love you.-

These words cause Spike to wipe his tears away and take on a more serious expression.

“Come on, Spike. You are the son of Twilight Sparkle; you are the hero of the Crystal Empire, and everyone is counting on you!” Spike then looks to the rolled-up scroll he still had in his claw, and with determination, he runs towards the Empire.

……….

Some time passes by, and upon entering the Empire’s barrier, Spike comes across a shocking scene as many different ponies from all across Equestria had camps set up throughout the Empire’s territory. Ponies could be seen transporting goods to one another. Families could also be seen embracing those close to them, and among these families was one he was all too familiar with: the Apple Family.

“Big Mac! Granny! Apple Bloom! You’re all ok!” Spike exclaims as he runs towards the family.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac replies.

“Don’t ya’ go worrying about us, youngster. I’m just glad you and the others made it.” Granny Smith says; however, her words make Spike wince for a moment.

“Hey, where’s ma sis at? Did they already go an’ see the Princesses?” Apple Bloom questions.

“N-no... they...” Spike responds as he is incredibly hesitant to tell Applejack’s family about her current predicament. Spike then takes a deep breath and steels his nerves before he continues: 

“They stayed behind to stop Razeem. Twilight, she... she teleported me here to deliver a message to Princess Luna.” Spike finishes as he lifts the scroll in his claws to the Apple Family.

“What?! Dang ‘namit, Applejack! Why does she have to be so stubborn?!” Big Mac exclaims.

“No! We need ta’ go get ma’ sister back. She and the others can’t fight that thin’!” Apple Bloom shouts as tears begin to form in her eyes. 

Their pleads cause Spike to lower his head, but Granny Smith cuts in before the two apple siblings can go on any longer.

“Now you two listen to yer’ ol’ Granny. Spike was entrusted by everycreature, including Applejack, to give the princess that there message. Instead of harping the poor boy with questions, let him honor ma’ dear baby and her friends.” Granny then walks closer to Spike and raises his head with a forehoof. 

“Now, you go and git that there message delivered pronto. Twilight is a smart mare, and I know she sent you fer’ a reason.” 

Upon hearing the old mare’s words, Spike salutes her and runs off. Granny Smith and her grandchildren look off into The Empire’s skies as she says: 

“I know you’ll pull through, ma’ baby girl.”





The sounds of arguments and debates could be heard in the Throne Room of the Crystal Castle as many pony generals and nobles attend.

“We should evacuate the Empire now!”

“And where should we go, huh? That thing is huge!”

“The damage to my estate in Canterlot is gonna cost my family a fortune!”

“That’s what you’re worried about?!”

“ENOUGH!” A certain tone of voice interjects, which instantly silences all within the throne room as Princess Luna addresses everyone present with Princess Cadence and Shining armor beside her on their thrones. 

“This is not the time for thou to squabble amongst thy selves, and there are more pressing matters at hoof. The first is that fiend who has taken claim of our moon through yet unknown means. In doing so, I cannot enact our plan. The Elements have gone to face this foe along with a powerful new ally.” Luna finishes as she turns her head and nods to Cadence.

“The second issue is the Corruption,” Cadence says as everyone in attendance winces at the mention of the infection. “Myself, Princess Luna, Shining armor, the guards from Canterlot, in addition to our own, and our newest ally Tempest Shadow, have contained the infection via very powerful sunflowers. These were given to us by the same being who fights alongside the Element Bearers as we speak. I know that sounds ridiculous, but these sunflowers have proved most effective in containing the spread of the Corruption.” Cadence turns to Shining Armor, nodding.

“As of this moment, my soldiers out in the field have yet to report any further spread on this infection, and as you all can see here,” Shining says as he fires up his horn and projects a map of Equestria.





“So far, the Corruption has claimed Canterlot, Ponyville, and my sister Twilight’s castle. Despite how things look, we’ve managed to contain this. The sunflower my wife mentioned before is indeed very effective. They don’t form a perfect square around the Corruption, of course, but we figured it’d be better to simplify things. 

At first, it was just one, but then, once we planted it, the sunflower reproduced incredibly fast. Most impressively, though, the sunflower and its offspring created a sort of barrier, invisible to our eyes, around the infection’s outskirts. We know not how this particular flower works, but it seems to know how to contain this on its own accord.” 

Shining’s words caused the ponies in attendance to applaud in the form of stomping hooves. The Empire Prince then took on a saddened expression as he turned to Luna and saluted her.

“Now, for a more personal... concern,” Luna starts hesitantly. “Some of you may be wondering about our sister’s whereabouts. It pains us greatly to inform you all that Princess Celestia... our beloved sister... has passed on. 

“Due to current events, we have encased her body within a spire of crystals to preserve her very being so that we can give her a proper burial once this threat has been dealt with.” 

Luna’s words shocked everyone in attendance as some were even breaking out into tears. Both Shining Armor and Princess Cadence hugged each other with saddened expressions, and Luna herself could barely hold back her tears. 

“She bravely challenged Razeem but was struck down by an unknown force. To ensure that the cycle of day and night never changes, we have decided to raise our sister’s sun in her absence. We shall announce our sister’s passing to the rest of the populace at a later time.” 

Luna takes a deep breath and narrows her features before addressing everyone present. “Fret not, dear allies, for together we shall fight back against this infection and give our spiritual support to the brave Element Bearers who are fighting death itself as we speak. Let us ensure that the world we all love, the world my sister loved, continues to turn even with her absence. I have a plan to help fight back against the infection; however, we have not yet learned exactly how the Corruption works.” 

Suddenly, the large double doors of the throne room are pushed open as a fatigued Spike enters and runs past the crowd of ponies which causes some of them to react:

“It’s Spike the Brave and Glorious!”

“He’s come to save us yet again!”

“What? But that’s just a young dragon.”

“Silence you! He saved us from King Sombra!”

“Not to mention the Equestria Games!”

Spike reaches the base of the thrones and kneels before both The Princesses and Shining Armor.

“Everyone! I’ve got news from Twilight and the others. They wanted me to deliver this to you.” Spike says as he presents the scroll in his hand. Luna ignites her horn and takes the scroll from Spike, thus bringing it closer.





“This changes things...” Luna says with a smirk as she then turns back to Spike. “Thy title is well deserved, Spike the Brave and Glorious.”





-Battle with the Moon Lord.-





The battle rages on as the Element Bearers, Starlight Glimmer, Zecora, and Celebes attack the Moon Lord from multiple angles; in various ways. 

Starlight, Twilight, and Rarity fire off spells, while Zecora, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash use physical force to attack the Moon Lord by punching and kicking him with their hooves. 

Celebes made sure to use the Terra Blade to shield her allies and took several swipes at Razeem, efficiently rendering the entity’s flesh with every strike.

“Take this, jerk!” Rainbow dash exclaims.

“This is for Celestia and my animals!” Fluttershy shouts.

“It’s party time! Wohooooo!” Pinkie Pie yells cheerfully.

“Lemme show ya’ how ma’ family takes to monsters like you!” Applejack antagonizes.

“With the power of our might, you shall fall in this fight; you dare take away our right to be free? Now face Zecora of the Everfree!” Zecora exclaims.

“I made a promise to Luna, to everypony! You will not win!” Twilight declares.

“Sweetie Belle, Spikey Wikey, to all the beautiful ponies I love! I do this for you!” Rarity roars out.

“I can truly redeem myself! On behalf of this world, I will defeat you!” Starlight Glimmer challenges.

Celebes couldn’t help but admire her new allies’ bravery and courage as she charged up the Terra Blade for another strike. However, she notices the Moon Lord’s eye on his forehead open once more as she shouts:

“Everyone! To me, now!” Everyone heeds her warning and takes positions around her. Everyone, except Fluttershy, as Razeem uses his right hand to cut the shy pegasus off, preventing her from meeting up with the group, and takes his aim as the laser begins to charge on the entity’s forehead.

“FOOL... BE GONE.” Razeem declares as he unleashes the attack.

”FLUTTERSHY!” Everyone exclaims in horror.

“Oh... o-oh m-my...” Fluttershy says as she closes her eyes while her demise approaches her.

[SNAP]

Suddenly, a portal appears in front of the pegasus, which consumes the Moon Lord’s attack. Another portal, positioned right in front of the Moon Lord’s eye on his forehead, opens up as the blast from before shoots out and makes contact. Upon impact, Razeem was pushed back towards the portal he emerged from but not enough to push him completely through. A painful roar spreads throughout the entire area as Razeem cries out:

”EEEEYYYYAAAAAAHHHHHHHHUUUUGH!” 

Green ichor begins to leak down Razeem’s face as the eye that used to be on his forehead is gone. What remained was a massive wound thanks to his attack, which was redirected via the portals.

“You know, dear Fluttershy. You and your friends get into quite a sticky situation when I’m gone.” 

The shy pegasus opens her eyes upon hearing those words and notices her savior.

“Discord! You’re here!” Fluttershy happily exclaims as she hugs the Lord of Chaos. If one were to listen closely, one could hear her whimpers as she cries in Discord’s embrace.

“There there, my dear,” He comforts, patting the pegasus’s back. “I’m here now.”
> Chapter 6 - A whole new world.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“There, there, my dear. I’m here now,” Discord says as he comforts his best friend with gentle pats on her back. “Sorry I’m late, dear Fluttershy. Lulu had me running some errands for her.” The draconequus snaps his finger once more as he and Fluttershy disappears and reappears with the rest of the group.

“Discord! I’m so happy you’re here!” Twilight exclaims as she and the others rush to Discord and trap him in a group hug, showering him with praise and gratitude. 

Celebes wasn’t among them, but she couldn’t help but shake the feeling that this being was familiar. The Lord of Chaos managed to escape the others as he snapped his eagle’s talon and appeared next to the Dryad. Celebes takes notice, and after staring for a few seconds, a sudden realization comes to her as she says:

“Wait a second, aren’t you Disidian the-”

“Shhhh, don’t call me that here. Besides, that’s just one of my many aliases,” Discord says with a whisper as he cuts her off by putting his lion’s paw to her mouth. “And save the sentiments, please. I’ve already got quite the handful.” 

The draconequus then turns his gaze to the eldritch and narrows his eyes as the Moon Lord recovers. 

“Now then, ‘MoOn LoRd,” The draconequus emphasizes by forming quotations with his lion’s paw and eagle’s talon. “Arrogant name, by the way.” 

If one were to listen closely, the words ‘You’re one to talk.’ could faintly be heard from someone in the group behind Discord and Celebes. The draconequus’s pupils glow red as pink clouds begin forming around the entire area, with chocolate rain. 

Pinkie Pie was the only being present who loved the new weather they were having.

“How dare you try to take, Fluttershy!” Discord yells in anger as lightning flashes from his pink clouds, and he starts to laugh maniacally:

MWAHAHAHAHAHA!





“INSOLENT WORM! YOU WILL DIE FOR THIS!” Razeem roars as he clutches his right hand into a fist and launches it toward discord. 

However, at the very last second, the draconequus pops out of reality as the titanic fist misses its mark. The force of Razeem’s swing sends a hurricane-like force throughout the atmosphere, blowing away all of Discord’s pink clouds. Celebes was fortunate to see this coming as she erupts a barrier to protect everyone from being blown away. The force even causes the mountain below them, the same one Twilight and the others used to take to the skies, to crumble and leave behind a large crater where it once stood. 

Discord pops back into reality as he continues to antagonize Razeem.

“Ooooh, I always wanted to use this quote,” Discord claps his eagle’s talon and lion’s paw in excitement before he clears his throat and makes his voice sound deeper. 

“Razeem, I’ve come to bargain.”

“BE GONE, TRICKSTER!” 

Razeem swings at the draconequus again, causing the chaos lord to pop out of reality. Yet again, Discord re-appears. However, this time, there’s not just one draconequus, but fifty of them. All of whom continue to mock Razeem by shouting in unison:

“Razeem, I’ve come to bargain!”

All of the Discords continue to mock the Moon Lord. The eldritch, in turn, continues to miss them all as he gets increasingly annoyed to the point he’s swinging blindly. However, the force of his swings is causing havoc on the landmass below them. 

As this is happening, the Element Bearers, Starlight Glimmer, and Zecora look on with their mouths hung agape. Some begin to comment on the unusual yet incredibly destructive scenario before them.

“W-what I-Is h-happening here?” Twilight inquires as she imitates a goldfish by repeatedly opening and closing her mouth.

Rainbow Dash was currently laughing uncontrollably as she then managed to say: 

"I can’t tell what’s more hilarious! Discord, or that big idiot swinging his arms around to swat him.”

“Rainbow, darling, this isn’t funny!” Rarity responds. “That brute's destroying the ground down there with just his punches!”

“Ooh! Ooh! I know this reference. It’s-about-a-guy-who-is-a-doctor-who-is-actually-a-sorcerer-who-makes-a-bargain-with-”

“Pinkie!” Both Zecora and Starlight interject.

All the while, Fluttershy notices a vibrant and beautiful green aura that emits a powerful green light. The pegasus mare couldn’t help but admire the light show. 

Everyone else in attendance also notices this as they, too, are drawn to the light. The cause of this light is none other than Celebes as she gathers up all the remaining power within the Terra Blade.

“Thank you, Disidian, Lord of Chaos. You gave me all the time I needed to enact this spell. Forgive me, everyone, but I must send the Moon Lord back now!” Celebes exclaims as she raises the Terra Blade into the air; above her head. Her voice begins to echo across the landscape as she invokes her spell:

“Upon this blade, I beckon to you all, upon all the Dryads of time who brought forth winter, spring, summer, and fall. By my birthright as a Dryad, I cast this spell, banish the Moon Lord back to my realm!”

As the Dryad finishes her spell, the Terra Blade shatters into pieces. As a result, the portal Razeem used to enter Equus begins to suck him in like a black hole. However, as a consequence, everyone present is also drawn into the portal-turned-black hole. 

Twilight and all of her friends get dragged into the portal along with the Moon Lord and Celebes. And the eldritch lets out a roar and yells:

“NOOOOOOOOO!”

Only two beings remain; however, one of them is still being sucked in as the other tries to prevent this from happening: Discord and Fluttershy.

“Discord, you have to let me go.”

“No, Fluttershy. The realm beyond that portal is far more dangerous than Equus. I should know; I went there once!”

“That’s exactly why I must go with my friends, Discord. They need me.”

“Please, dear Fluttershy, you are my only true friend... please don’t leave me...”

“I’m not leaving you, Discord. I’m trusting you to help everycreature here, especially when it comes to stopping the Corruption.”

“I... I... No! You and I can help everyone stop it together; we-”

Fluttershy’s next action cut off discord's words. This surprises him so much that it causes him to let the pegasus mare go accidentally.





“Goodbye, Discord.” Was the last thing Fluttershy says as she too is sucked into the portal which closes moments after.





Some time before the Celebes casts her spell...





-The Crystal Empire: Castle Throne Room.-

“Citizens of the Empire,” Cadence starts proudly. “Thanks to the actions of Spike the Brave and Glorious, we now have further information regarding the Corruption.” She finishes with a bow to Spike. 

The pink alicorn’s proclamation causes many different reactions from the ponies present:

“I knew he wouldn’t let us down!”

“Celestia bless you, Spike!”

“Too bad he wasn’t a pony; I’d have his foals~”

“That won’t stop me from trying, missy.”

“Spike! Spike! Spike! Spike!”

Upon hearing their praise, not to mention some flirtation from a few mares, Spike’s face turns crimson red. A dark hoof is placed onto his right shoulder as he looks back to see Princess Luna, who comments:

“Thou hath made Twilight proud, Spike. Know this to be true. Thanks to your message, we can-”

Luna’s words were cut off as a voice spoke to everyone present in the throne room. All ears flickered about, trying to pinpoint where the source of the voice was coming from.

”Upon this blade, I beckon to you all, upon all the Dryads of time who brought forth winter, spring, summer, and fall. By my birthright as a Dryad, I cast this spell, banish the Moon Lord back to my realm!”

“By the stars... what is this?” Luna questions. Her answer is soon revealed as a bright green light shines through the throne room's windows, catching everyone’s attention. 

“Everyone! Outside, now!” Luna exclaims as she and everyone in the room make for the exit.

The doors to the castle open up, and everyone from the throne room can hear the sounds of cheering erupting throughout the Empire. They all look up towards the skies and can see Luna’s moon once more, but most importantly, the Moon Lord is no more, and his portal is now closed. 

The Princess of the Night’s facial features went from surprise to ecstatically happy as she exclaimed:

“Huzzah! Dear Twilight and her friends have succeeded! We’ve done it, Celly!”

“I knew Twily and the others could take care of it! That’s my sister for you!” Shining Armor exclaims with pride.

“Sometimes I forget how grown up my favorite filly, which I used to babysit, is. Way to go, Twi.” Cadence says as a tear forms in her eyes.

“Aww yeah, I knew they could handle it! I just regret that I couldn’t see that jerk's face when they beat him.” Spike says as he jumps into the air in celebration.

[POP]

Suddenly, a familiar draconequus appears before them, with tears going down his face. He looks to the group before him and yells: 

“They’re all gone! Sucked into the portal and sent to that world! Blast that Moon Lord; this is all his fault!” Discord’s words instantly shock everyone present. 

Luna recovers from her surprised state and questions him:

“What doth thou mean by ‘they’re gone,’ Discord? What’s happened?”

“Didn’t any of you see the green lights?” Discord questions in mild shock. “The Dryad used the Terra Blade and banished the Moon Lord, but everyone there got sucked in too, even... oh, my dear Fluttershy.” Discord replies as tears still flow like a river down his cheeks. This prompts Cadence to step forward and question the weeping lord of chaos.

“Discord, where did they go?”

“To their realm, Terraria!”





-TERRARIA-




It’s a sunny day In the world of Terraria as seven ponies, and a zebra, lay unconscious on a field of lush green grass. Birds could be heard chirping, and a squirrel could be seen grabbing an acorn from a nearby tree. 

Soon enough, Zecora stirs awake before anyone else and is immediately shocked by the world around her.



“Oh my, this can not be. This place is as wild as the Everfree. What was that spell the Dryad cast? Could this be the future or the past?” Zecora says rhythmically. She then looks around and checks on her still-unconscious friends. 

“Perhaps my survival skills could be of use; I shall build a home to shelter all of you.”

“Allow us to assist and guide you, please,” A male voice calls out, garnering Zecora's shocked attention.

“A talking Zebra? Even by Terraria’s standards, that’s a new one. Oh! Do you think they’ll need medical attention?”

“A good bullet to the head might do it.”

“I prefer explosions.”

“Hey, how much do you think those colorful ponies might sell for? Merchant's got to earn a living, you know...”
> Chapter 7 - New Beginnings, New Friends, Good Old Discord.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





Three days after the Equestrians arrive in Terraria...-









Twilight Sparkle is awakened from her slumber as the sun’s rays kiss her face via a window positioned just above the bed she laid upon. This stirs her awake as she lifts herself up via her forelimbs, yawning afterward. 

For a moment, she scans the room she now finds herself in, trying to familiarize herself with her new surroundings.

“Where am I?” She inquires. “The last thing I remember was being sucked into- wait! My friends!” Twilight exclaims as she fires up her horn and teleports out of bed. The lavender princess then swings open her room’s door and trots down a nearby set of stairs, reaching the lower level. 

“Hello?! Is anypony there?!”

“Good grief, Twilight. You know, you can be- Twilight! You’re awake!” Starlight Glimmer shouts as she runs into her teacher and hugs the alicorn with all her might.

“S-Starlight, I... can’t... breath...” Twilight says as she struggles In her student’s grasp.

“Oops! Sorry, Twilight.” Starlight says as she releases the lavender alicorn, thus finally allowing her to breathe. Twilight recovers and takes a few deep breaths.

“What’s going on? You hugged me like I was gone for a year or something.”

“Twilight, you were asleep for three whole days! We were apprehensive about you and thought you’d starve or dehydrate yourself in your sleep! I’m glad you’re awake now... I guess you can thank that alicorn body of yours, huh? I’m pretty sure that if you were a regular pony, you would’ve-” Starlight cuts herself off as Twilight stares at her with a look that could best be described as -really?- 

The unicorn mare then fidgets nervously and laughs sheepishly. “Ehehe... I’m going to stop talking now.” 

Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle at her student’s antics. She then smiles and puts a hoof onto Starlight’s left shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re ok, Starlight. Is it safe to assume that everypony else is alright? And what do you mean I’ve been asleep for three days? How could I? I don’t remember doing anything that could cause such a-” Twilight’s words are cut off as Starlight puts a hoof to her muzzle.

“Ok! I’m gonna have to stop you right there, Twilight. Let’s take it one step at a time for now. Yes, everypony is fine; It was mostly just you. As for what’s going on, well, why don’t you come outside and see for yourself? We can head to Candy Cane Corner for some breakfast.”

“Candy Cane Corner?” Twilight questions. “What’s that?” 

“You’ll see, now come on.” Starlight replies as she leads her teacher to the exit and leaves the house together.

Twilight followed her student down a stone-paved road, but she couldn’t believe what she was seeing all around her as a small community was built in her absence. She looked in multiple directions; from the looks of it, the alicorn could tell she was in some sort of sealed-off community. 

Stone walls surrounded the few buildings she could see around her, including the building she and Starlight had just exited. A rather large cloud was also positioned over the aforementioned building. And one could tell instantly that these stone walls served to keep land-based threats out and to protect those within. 





Twilight turns her gaze back to her student.

“This is amazing, Starlight. Did you and the others do this in just three days? This place is almost the size of Ponyville. Not to complain or anything, but there are only eight of us. Isn’t this a little overkill?”

“Actually, Twilight, there’s thirteen of us in total so far. Then again, Zecora has been spending a lot of time in the nearby jungle. I think Rainbow Dash saw her building something over there.”

“You know, that doesn’t surprise me. Zecora always did prefer to live in dangerous yet secluded areas, and If anypo- er, I mean, anyzebra, could thrive in such a place, it’s her. Especially since she called the Everfree Forest home.” Twilight’s head turns to and fro again, admiring her friends’ and loved ones’ ‘hoofwork.’ 

“So where in the world are we? I know this isn’t Equus anymore. This world feels so different, and the magic field here is much stronger than back home. I can’t explain it, but my body feels... amazing.” Twilight’s words cause Starlight to chuckle.

“We’re almost there, Twilight. I promise that everything will be revealed once we get to- oh! We’re here!” Starlight exclaims before turning around, facing Twilight, and raising her right forehoof into the air. 

The smell of baked sweets rushed into Twilight’s nostrils, something she was all too familiar with thanks to a particular pink pony. 

“Welcome to Candy Cane Corner, Twilight Sparkle.”

 “T-that’s a lot of candy cane... then again, this has Pinkie Pie written all over it.” 

The duo shares a bit of laughter before entering the building. 





Upon entering, the sound of a bell goes off, and a pink blur shoots down from upstairs and appears before the two mares at a podium.

“Welcome to Candy Cane Corner, where everything is super sweet and-” Pinkie Pie gasps. “Twilight!” The pink mare lunges forth and tackles Twilight, causing the alicorn to slide on the floor, with the party pony landing on top. 

“Oh-my-gosh-I-was-so-worried-when-you-didn’t-wake-up-because-then-I’d-have-to-throw-a-please-wake-up-party-for-you-but-now-you’re-awake-and-you’re-ok-so-now-we-” Pinkie Pie was cut off as Starlight ignited her horn and lifted the pink pony off of the alicorn.

“That’s enough, Pinkie. She just woke up, and I’d hate for you to put her back down.” Starlight states with a deadpan expression before she helps Twilight back onto her hooves.

“Oops, sorry about that, Twilight!” Pinkie responds. “I’m just super-duper duuuuper happy to see you. Go ahead and take a seat, you two. Dashie, Rarity, and the terrarians are inside.” Pinkie then zooms off upstairs in a pink blur, heading back to the kitchen. 

Pinkie’s words catch Twilight off guard as the lavender mare turns to Starlight and asks:

“The terrarians? Who or wha-”

“That would be us, miss. Come and take a seat. We’ve got a lot to talk about, and your pink friend makes amazing pastries!” A man sitting nearby at a table with other individuals calls out to Twilight as he overhears the alicorn’s question. 

He was wearing a light blue shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. Twilight’s eyes widen, and her mouth goes agape upon noticing his appearance and the various other members sitting at his table. These beings were similar in appearance to those in Sunset Shimmer’s world. In addition, two ponies sat with them: Rainbow Dash and Rarity, both of whom spoke up when they noticed Twilight’s reaction.

“See?” Rainbow Dash comments. “I told you the egghead would react this way when she sees them.” 

“Why, of course, darling,” Rarity replies. “It’s not every day somepony meets a terrarian, you know.” 





Starlight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash cover their muzzles with a hoof and try their best to hide their laughter as they witness Twilight’s reaction. The alicorn stood there momentarily as she imitated a goldfish, opening and closing her mouth.

“Heh, I see introductions are needed. My name is Tanner Lansworth, the Guide.”

“I’m Helena Harpner, the Nurse.”

“Name’s Vinny Bonsoot, and I make things go boom! Demolitionist, at your service.”

“Call me Ceeman Jones, the sharpest eye in Terraria and your local Arms Dealer.”

“Lucan Valerius, the merchant.”

“...” Silence was all Twilight had as she remained in her shocked state.

“Hey, uh, Twilight? This is when you greet them in return, you know.” Rainbow Dash says as she looks worriedly at the stunted alicorn.

“...” The Princess of Friendship remains quiet.

“Darling, It’s rather uncouth for a lady to not properly-”

“I have so many questions!” Twilight exclaims as she cuts Rarity off, conjures a pen and multiple sheets of paper with her magic, and takes a seat on the table.






-EQUUS-



-Princess Cadence and Shining Armor’s bed chambers-


Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, Discord, and Shining Armor, along with an unconscious Flurry Heart placed on the royal couple’s bed, are all lost in their thoughts as they ponder the events from three days ago.

“Alright, we know at the very least that the element bearers are still alive; they’ve simply been displaced,” Luna starts. “We’ve had our time to grieve these last few days, but alas, we must return to the matters at hoof. Lord of Chaos, art thou sure that ye can’t enter that realm with thy magic?”

“It’s not that my magic can’t get us there,” The draconequus replies. “I’m simply not allowed to go there. I’m, uh… banished.”

“Tis doesn’t surprise us…”

“Oh, shush, Lulu!” Discord harrumphs before crossing his arms.

Luna sighs. “Discord, we believe It’s time for thee to explain some things to us. For starters, what is this land of Terr-ar-ia you speaketh of?” 

Discord stares at the dark alicorn for a moment, sighing afterward in resignation. Everyone present, aside from Flurry Heart, who still remains asleep, is instantly brought to attention as the draconequus says:

“I’m not going to bore you with all the details, so I’ll cut it short. I recommend you all sit down; this is gonna be quite the tale.” Discord snaps his lion’s paw and conjures forth multiple desks paired with a single chair. 

The furnishings are positioned similarly to what you’d find in a classroom. Everyone looks on with minor annoyance before they sigh in defeat and take their seats, which prompts Discord to continue:

“The truth is: I’m not actually from Equus. I came from a world where the magic present there far exceeds what you could ever find here, and the things that one could do there were simply marvelous. As a result, I was brought into being from the chaotic energies of that world. Believe it or not, what I do here on Equus is considered the norm there. Oh, how I’ve missed the chaos I could truly wreak when I was back home.” 

Discord’s words left everyone in shock. Luna, in particular, recovers from her state and slams a hoof onto her desk as she exclaims:

“What?!” Luna exclaims In anger. “Thou means to tell us that you were born and knew of this world’s existence, yet thou hath never thought to tell any of us?!” 

[SNAP]

Suddenly, a closed zipper replaces Luna’s muzzle.

“Atatatata! No interrupting, Lulu. If you do that again, I’ll put you in the corner, and you even get to wear a pointy hat that says: ‘I’m an edge lord.’ Besides, we do have a child sleeping, you know. Truly rude of you, princess.” Discord finishes with a smirk. 

She, in turn, grunts irritably. But doesn’t retort.

“Now, where was I?” Discord inquires with a lion’s paw to his chin. “Oh, yes! Well, sometime later, a being named Cthu-”

[KNOCK] [KNOCK] [KNOCK] [KNOCK]

“Oh, for the love of- you know what? Class dismissed!” Discord barks in annoyance. “I’m returning to my pocket dimension; these interruptions are simply annoying me. I’ll be back later, tootles.” Discord then snaps his eagle’s talon and disappears, taking with him all of the desks and chairs, resulting in everyone falling onto their flanks. 

Luna’s zipper disappears as her muzzle returns to normal before she takes on an angered expression and yells:

“Thy wretched draconequus! Get back here and-”

“WAAAAAAA, WAAAAAAA,” Flurry Heart cries out as the lunar princess’s exclamation awoke her. Both Shining Armor and Princess Cadence look at Luna with deadpan stares. This, in turn, causes the dark alicorn to smile sheepishly as she fidgets in place.

[KNOCK] [KNOCK] [KNOCK] [KNOCK]

“Coming!” Cadence shouts, turning to Shining Armor. “Shiny, can you tend to the baby while I get that?” 

“No problem, honey.”

“Thank you,” The alicorn responds as she goes to the door and opens It via her alighted horn.

“Ma’am, the outposts have been established around the Corruption, and we await your next orders.”

“Excellent, Tempest. We shall enact the next phase of our plan once we deal with my... daughter, ehehe.”
> Chapter 8 - What Every Good Adventurer Needs. (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, CANDY CANE CORNER.-



“Ok, so based on my notes so far. You terrarians have the ability to materialize items into being and you store these items in a pocket dimension you call: Inventory. This dimension is one that you are each born with and the number of items you can store there depends on your magical output. In addition, each of you specializes in a particular set of skills and your powers reflect this.” Twilight says as she holds many of her notes with her aura.

“A fellow seeker of knowledge, eh? I like you already, Miss Sparkle. You’re correct about our abilities as well, I personally have knowledge in regards to this world's history and all of the items/artifacts one could find here. If you ever need any info on an unknown item, creature, or just the world in general, I’m your guy. My friend Helena here can heal any and all injuries, and I do mean any injury.” Tanner says as he points to The Nurse.

“That’s right, dears. I once restored Vinny’s missing left leg because he thought It was a great idea to blow up a slime point-blank.” Helena replies as she narrows her eyes to Vinny, The Demolitionist.

“Hey! It tried to take my bag of dynamites. Sucker literally gobbled them up and tried to hop off with them. So, I solved the issue the best way I know. Boom.” Vinny says as he tries to defend his past actions. This causes Helena to facepalm as she turns back to Twilight and says:

“As I’m sure you can tell, Twilight, that idiot’s powers are geared towards explosive devices and various types of bombs like the sticky bomb.”

“The Sticky Bomb? I assume you managed to find a way to prevent it from exploding on impact so that it can attach to the opponent before it blows up?” Twilight questions Vinny.

“Oh, yes! You see, I used some slime gel and-”

[BANG]

The sound of a gunshot goes off as it interrupts Vinny and causes everyone to jump out of their seats. Rainbow dash’s wings were extended fully in her freight and even Pinkie Pie, who was upstairs in the kitchen, jumped as she accidentally drops her newly baked cupcakes however she does manage to catch them before they reached the floor. The one responsible is revealed to be Ceeman Jones, The Arms Dealer.

“Now that’s about enough of that. As for me, well, my musket here shows what I’m capable of. Ranged combat is my expertise and I’ve got the guns you need. I also specialize in bows and other ranged weapons of the like so come to me if you want to hone your marksmanship.” Ceeman says as he blows the hot steam away from his gun's barrel.

“As you know, I’m the local Merchant. My brother and I sell various rare items for this world's currency. My brother’s out traveling at the moment so he won't be here to greet you all just yet. Our world's currency comes in the form of copper, silver, gold, and if you’re really rich, platinum. Our currency works as follows:



“Now then, The Guide and I saw fit to give you and your friends fifty pieces of silver coins each. Consider this a donation for you and your friend's help, Terra knows we need it. You can also earn more money in two ways: 

One: You can collect them from the monsters you slay on your journey. This might sound ridiculous but most creatures of Terraria uses this currency or they simply try to hog them in an attempt to lure in adventurers, so be sure to collect them. 

Two: You can sell various items to me. Heck, you could sell them to anyone here but I’ll give you a better transaction. You might be thinking: How in the world could a merchant have any power that benefits anyone aside from his or herself? Well, let me tell ya, my brother and I can get our hands on incredibly rare items thanks to our abilities. Then, you can purchase said items to help you on your journey and that reminds me, we all have a gift for you.” Lucan says as he then conjures up a set of copper armor designed for a pony along with a wand, three lesser mana potions, a copper pick axe, and a copper axe.



Twilight fires up her horn and took the items within her aura. She immediately straps on the copper armor and floats the wand in front of her.

“Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but... a stick? I can use my magic to help me, you know.” Twilight says as she puts the wand down onto the table along with the mana potions. She then leans the copper axe and pickaxe against the table on the floor.

“Twilight, don’t be so rude, darling.” Rarity comments. This causes Tanner to chuckle to himself as he then replies:

“Don’t let the appearance fool you, It might look like some normal stick with a single leaf but the beauty of it is that it doesn’t cost you any mana to use it. It can zap your foes with a lesser lightning spell, a spark if you will, and It’s strong enough to defeat a slime or a demon eye.”

“Wait, Slime? Demon Eye? And what do you mean by we helped you guys? I’m still a little confused about what’s going on here. I appreciate you giving me all of this free stuff and the money but can you tell me what I’ve missed these last few days?” Twilight questions. Tanner The Guide then takes the initiative to respond:

“Your Zebra friend explained to us about what happened back in your world and when the rest of your friends came to, they also informed us about you meeting a dryad who fought alongside you against The Moon Lord. We can’t believe that bastard managed to escape his confines but even more surprising  was the blade your friends told us The Dryad wielded, The Terra Blade. I’m sure you saw it for yourself but that blade is incredibly powerful. Sadly, we also heard that it was shattered when Razeem was banished. You’ll need to re-forge that blade and find that dryad once more so she can send you all back to your world. However, claiming the components needed to create it will be very... difficult. None of us are strong enough yet to obtain all of the various components needed to create the blade and no offence but you and your friends, despite the power I can sense from all of you, none of you would last a day going for just one of the components needed.” Tanner then conjures up a scroll. Upon this scroll showed many different blades combining together to form The Terra Blade:



“Three blades are within our reach however we must acquire them in a certain  order and based on our current power. The Blade Of Grass will be our first target. It’s hidden deep within The Jungle not too far from here which is why your Zebra friend decided to set up a base of sorts in that area. The second blade however, The Blood Butcherer, will be... terrifying to obtain. I must warn you, If you think The Corruption was bad you haven’t seen The Crimson yet.” Tanner’s words causes everyone present to shudder as Twilight regains her composer and says:

“I... I’ve heard of it, or more accurately read about it. You see, The Dryad, Celebes, gave me a scroll that contained information on both The Crimson and The Corruption. I can’t believe there are other dangers like that...” Twilight says as she shakes upon the memory of The Corruption’s monsters and the infection. Rarity leans in to her and gives her a hug as Rainbow Dash closes her eyes in thought. Helena The Nurse sees this and leaves her seat to hug Twilight as well.

“Words can’t express how sorry I am that your world has to suffer from The Corruption.” Helena comforts as she pulls away and returns to her side of the table. As she sits down, Ceeman Jones, The Arms Dealer, speaks next:

“I don’t mean to sound rude but your world should consider itself lucky. Trust me when I say that The Corruption is not nearly as bad in comparison to The Crimson. You see, with The Corruption you’re fighting against monsters who are the very embodiment of sin but at least you can do so alongside your allies provided your hearts aren’t filled too much with any type of sin. The Crimson on the other hand, or in your case the other hoof, is a sort of hive mind that can infect other living beings. Even your loved ones can turn on you should they die and be integrated into the living flesh, nasty business there. The Crimson’s knowledge also grows for every being it consumes, if one of you ponies were to be absorbed by the flesh, it would learn all about your world through your lives via memories.”

Upon hearing those words Starlight Glimmer sets her head onto the table in defeat and says: 

“Unfortunately for us, that’s what this world is being threatened by, among other things.” Twilight continues to take notes and scribbles down everything.

“How does that even work? Why did The Corruption show up instead of this crimson stuff you mentioned?” Rainbow Dash inquires. Vinny The Demolitionist took it upon himself to answer the rainbow pegasus’s question.

“You see, when Terraria is exposed to another realm, The Corruption pours through whatever means created the breach. Case in point was when The Moon Ass entered your realm via his portal which allowed the infection to pour through. Since The Crimson is the more dominant infection in this world, it kept The Corruption in a sort of slumber like state however Razeem presented The Corruption with a prime opportunity, one it wouldn’t ignore. Basically, the two compete with each other but neither can completely destroy the other so whoever dominates a realm first gets the metaphorical bragging rights as the other is forced to sit back and wait for an opportunity to claim another world.”

[ZOOM]

“Here’s your order, everypony!” Pinkie Pie interjects as she sets multiple plates onto the table filled with various food items from baked goods to eggs and bacon, said bacon was supplied by the terrarians. “Oooooh, Twilight, you’re wearing the armor already? It looks super de duperly amazing! I’ve got mine upstairs, oh! I think I heard the oven ring! Bye!” The party mare exclaims as she zooms off in a pink blur. All of the terrarians look to Twilight and her friends with confused gazes to which the ponies say in unison:

“It’s just Pinkie Pie."

After enjoying their meal, both the ponies and the terrarians leave Candy Cane Corner, each of them leaving a tip for Pinkie Pie on the register, and walks down the stoned paved path. Twilight had all of her items that were lent to the alicorn floating in her aura, specifically her wand and her potions. Along the way, Twilight notices a large gate which served to allow those within to exit and enter the community. Standing as a sentry donned in copper armor similar to Twilight’s was a certain cowmare, Applejack.



“Oh howdy, Twi! Fancy seeing you up again, partner.” Applejack says as she turns her head and takes notice of the approaching group.

“Hey there, Applejack! Are you some sort of guard? That’s honestly a surprise, I would’ve thought you’d start getting a farm of some sort together.” Twilight replies.

“I did reckon doing that but Ceeman asked me if I could watch the gate on this side of town. Fluttershy is stationed at the other gate on the opposite side of town, just head back the way you came and go just beyond The Library.”

“Fluttershy as a guardspony? I never thought- wait, library?! What library?!” Twilight exclaims.

“Why it’s the very same building you were asleep in, Twi. It’s upstairs and-”

[POOF]



“She just teleported back to the library, didn’t she?” Applejack questions with a deadpan look.

“Even In another world, she’s still an egghead.” Rainbow Dash comments. The terrarians, along with Starlight Glimmer, could be heard giggling in the background.

“Well, that’s our dear Twilight for you. Rainbow, darling, could you fly over to Fluttershy’s house and check up on the poor dear?” Rarity asks.

“Sure thing! I’ve got this!” Rainbow replies as she takes to the skies and flies towards the opposite side of the town.

Rainbow Dash could see the shy mare's new home, as well as her own, along with the other gate similar to the gate Applejack was assigned to watch over. The rainbow maned pegasus decided to make a detour to her home, one she created with clouds along with some furniture she purchased from The Merchant. 

“I Guess I could stop at home to put on my armor and get my weapons before I head to Fluttershy and switch out with her.” Rainbow Dash said.



“Alright! Looking awesome, Dash,” The cyan pegasus says as she poses in a mirror. She then leaves her home, which was positioned just above Fluttershy’s, and flies down to relieve her childhood friend as she says: 

“Hey there, Flutters, It’s my turn now. Any action today?” Rainbow Dash inquired to which she catches Fluttershy’s attention.

“Well, nothing as of yet but, um, I hope we won’t have to fight at all. I’ll take my leave then, Rainbow. Thank you.” The yellow pegasus responds as she flies off to her nearby home; allowing Rainbow to take her place.



“Ugh, I thought there’d be some action In this new world but all we’ve been doing Is building homes and standing guard.” Rainbow Dash comments with a hint of annoyance. Unknown to the rainbow maned pegasus, however, was that she was being watched by two entities who hid themselves within a large bush nearby.

”Report back to his majesty, a new town has been discovered.”

”It shall be done, all hail the Slime King.” 


> Chapter 9 - Equus Vs The Corruption. (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-

Celestia’s sun shines bright over The Crystal Empire, courtesy of Luna, enlightening every structure and kissing every pony with its warmth. A large crowd forms just outside the crystal castle as ponies await Princess Cadence and Princess Luna’s announcement. Soon enough, the aforementioned Princesses along with Shining Armor, Spike, and Tempest Shadow open the doors to the castle and stands proudly before the crowd which causes them to erupt into cheers. Cadence smiles to her subjects, along with the survivors of The Corruption, and raises a hoof to stop the crowd’s cheering before saying:

“Good morning, everypony. It’s been an entire week ever since the monster named: Razeem, had entered our world; bringing with him death and destruction. Thanks to the actions of our beloved heroes from Ponyville, my dear sister in law and her friends, The Moon Lord was cast out of our realm. They might be gone but they are very much alive and we will do everything in our power to see to their safe return. We all lost something dear to us thanks to these recent events either it be family, loved ones, our homes, or... Princess Celestia,” Cadence hesitated to mention the former sun princess as it pained her to do so, many ponies in the crowd also took on saddened expressions as well. “Despite The Moon lord’s defeat, we now find ourselves facing the aftermath of his actions in the form of a terrifying infection called: The Corruption. This infection is powered by the sinful actions of those within our world. The monsters within this biome, the term we are now using in regards to infected areas, are a byproduct of this sin.” Cadence then turns to Shining Armor and Tempest Shadow, giving them both a nod as Shining armor speaks first:

“We are happy to report that the infection has been contained for the time being. We have procured incredibly effective items that have effortlessly contained The Corruption,” Using his magic, Shining Armor materializes one of the sunflowers into being and floats it in front of the crowd via his magic. “This sunflower you see before you has the power to repel the infection. These currently surround the entire biome and keeps it sealed within. In addition, we have also obtained a pouch capable of producing an unlimited supply of a powder that purifies anything infected by The Corruption.  As a result, we have appropriately named it: Purification Powder. We are currently producing many bags of this powder so that everypony here, and eventually all of Equus, will have the means to protect themselves should the worst case scenario happen.” Shining then turns to Tempest and nods to her. Tempest stands before the crowd and takes a deep breath.

“Hello, everypony. Before I continue I’d like to say something,” Tempest looks back to Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor all of whom gives her am affirming nod. “As many of you know, I was the former Storm King's second in command. I’ve done things that I regret with all my being... but, there’s something I’ve learned from my time in Equestria: Forgiveness. Thanks to Princess Twilight Sparkle, she taught me that everypony deserves a second chance and it is up to the individual to learn from his or her own actions. Forgiveness can not be earned with words alone, you must open up your eyes and do so through your actions. Which is why I stand before you now. As Shining Armor has said, we have contained The Corruption. We have also set up outposts in strategic areas around the biome however the monsters within The Corruption can not be contained by the sunflowers. They only halt the spread of the biome itself but not the monsters within. Myself, along with many guardsponies and allies, have successfully defeated every monster that has tried to escape but I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have any casualties. So far there are only two known species: The Eater Of Souls and The Devourer.” Suddenly, a pony in front of Tempest raises their right forelimb. This pony is revealed to be an earth pony mare named: Octavia Melody. Standing besides her was Vinyl Scratch along with other ponies from Ponyville who managed to escape The Corruption. Tempest looks at her with a confused look before she nods to the musician, this prompts Octavia to speak:

“These monsters you mentioned, are they by chance the giant worm like creatures as well as those flying parasites?” Octavia’s words causes the ponies around her to shudder and release gasps as Tempest replies:

“Yes, the worm like creatures are a Devourer. They can chew through iron with ease which makes them a problem even for ponies wearing armor. We’ve even witnessed a dragon get bitten clean in half by the powerful jaws of these worms. The Eater Of Souls, on the other hoof, are the flying parasites and trust me when I say it lives up to its name. We’ve had cases when a guardspony would be killed but then the parasite would... suck out their soul.”

[GASP] 

The entire crowd gasps collectively at Tempest’s words. This causes multiple reactions from the crowd as well:

“That’s barbaric!”

“They truly are monsters!”

“I’d like to show em’ a thing or two.”

“Sombra was bad but these things are bad! Bad.”

Tempest was about to continue, however, a certain trio appears before her: The Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Woah, you fight against those monsters? Awesome!” Scootaloo exclaims.

“Ah' wonder, If we didn't have our current cutie marks, could we-”

“Don’t you even think about it, Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle interjects. "We are not doing that and we already have our marks.”

Tempest couldn’t help but to chuckle at their antics before she then leans in and says: 

“Why yes, just bucked one of those Eater Of Souls the other day with my own two hind legs.” Upon saying those words, what happened next was something that Tempest wasn’t expecting: Cheering, but not just from the crusaders, it was also from the entire crowd before her.

“My word, she’s so brave!”

“Yeah! Go kick their flanks!”

“That broken horn makes her look like a badass.”

“Hey, she’s pretty easy on the eyes.”

“Back off, buddy. I call dibs!”

“I wonder If she’s interested in mares?”

The broken unicorn was shocked upon hearing the crowd's reaction. It was as if they’d just forgotten about what Tempest had done, just a few weeks ago. Luna steps forward and stands beside Tempest with a smile.

“Thou hath earned everypony’s forgiveness, we’d reckon. Now, thou must forgive thyself. Trust us... we know this all too well,” Luna says as she then turns to the crowd and raises a forehoof which causes them to slowly go silent. “Citizens of The Empire! Now that ye hath been informed on our current situation, we ask that thou please help spread the news to everypony and being ye can encounter. Now then, we would also like to announce our decision to hold a meeting with the leaders of every nation. We shall seek an alliance! Pegasi messengers have already been dispatched and we shall see if our actions shall born fruit.” As if on cue, the sounds of buzzing could be heard. Everyone present turns to the skies only to see quite the spectacle: The entire swarm of the reformed changelings, lead by Thorax. However, there was one who flew beside him that made Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor’s eyes widened at first before they then narrowed their eyes in anger. The reformed changelings stayed hovered above the crowd as Thorax and his companion lands next to the alicorn Princesses. Thorax steps forward with a nervous expression and says:

“Hey, everyone. I, uh, ehehe... brought someone with me.” Luna then steps forward and stares right into the eyes of their new guest as she says:

“Chrysalis.”

“Luna.”





-TERRARIA, JUNGLE BIOME, ZECORA’S NEW HOME.-


It’s a new day In The Jungle Biome as Zecora finishes the final and latest addition to her new home: A cauldron. Upon looking at her handy work, she lets out a content smile.

“Now this is what I call a home, this hollowed tree makes for quite the abode. All of my supplies are tucked and away, now to brew potions for the rest of the day.” Zecora says as she starts mixing various components into the cauldron. Soon enough, a green substance forms in the cauldron.



“This new potion will make one bright, allowing one to shine like a light, digging in the earth can get too dark for me, this potion shall be my remedy.”



“Now that I’m set for today, I shall start searching for the blade, one that is green and has great mass, most of all is a blade of grass.”

[KNOCK] [KNOCK] [KNOCK]

“Oh? Who could that be? I thought many avoided this place like The Everfree,” Zecora says as she quickly puts on her copper armor and grabs a hoof full of shuriken's. “I shall don my armor and my blades just to be safe, who knows if it might be an unfriendly face,” The zebra then runs downstairs and opens the door. Her eyes widen and her mouth goes agape at the sight before her, more specifically, the being. Zecora recovers from her shock and says: “Hello stranger, Zecora would be me, who may I ask is standing before me?”

“A talking zebra? Well that is quite a sight. Fret not for I am not here for a fight. I've come to warn you if you’d please, The Witchdoctor, that’d be me,” Zecora continues to stare on but not in fear, in amazement. “Please do not let my appearance dissuade you or run back into your home, I’d rather be your friend, not foe. lihzhard is my race in case you didn’t guess, as for my name, that would be: Gex.”


(I do not own this image, it belongs to its respective user. This is purely for entertainment purposes.)
> Chapter 10 - Pinkie The Slime And The Goblin Who Tinkers. (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

Equipped with her copper armor and her copper bow, Fluttershy flies through the skies keeping her eyes focused on the land below; trying to find some food for her animals back in her home. Among a set of trees, she spots a particularly large tree adorned with many acorns along with various berry bushes littering the area. The yellow pegasus was about to start harvesting until she hears a commotion nearby which causes her to hide in the top portion of tree, hiding herself among the leaves. Sure enough, a small pink entity jumps out of the bushes but what comes out next terrified Fluttershy as three bipedal beings appears as well and from the looks of it, the shy mare could tell they intended to do harm to the pink being. She recognized these creatures instantly thanks to Twilight and the terrarians: Slime and Goblin.

“Oh my, how could they do this to that poor thing? I know the others said that slimes are dangerous but that one is so cute.” Fluttershy whispers.



Two of the goblins cornered the slime against the tree Fluttershy was hiding in. The pegasus recognized two of the goblin's clothing as a Goblin Scout/Plunderer and a Goblin Archer however the third goblin, with noticeably light blue skin; wearing glasses and a white lab coat, steps in front of the others and says:

“Hey come on, guys. Maybe we could let it go, It’s just a small slime so let’s just-”

“No, Gorglock. You weakling. Goblins be strong, we beat weakling slime,” The Goblin Scout says as he pushes Gorglock aside; causing him to fall to the ground as the scout walks closer to the pink slime with The Goblin Archer. “Now you die, slime. We take slime gel.” 

Both goblins approach the pink slime who was beginning to shudder until a yellow blur shoots down from the top of the tree and slams into both of the goblins. Gorglock’s eyes widen and his mouth goes agape at the scene before him. If the pink slime had a face, let alone a mouth, It'd probably have the same expression as the light-blue goblin.

“How dare you threaten this poor creature's life!” Fluttershy exclaims with a tone similar to what she had in The Grand Galloping Gala, long ago. She then does the unthinkable as the shy pegasus, who in this moment was anything but shy, grabbed each of the goblins by their legs and spins around in circles with her forehooves outstretched. After spinning for a few seconds at high speeds, she releases her hold and sends both goblins hurling into a nearby tree.

“GACK!” Both goblins yell in pain as they bounce off of the tree and fall to the floor, leaving quite the dent within the tree's bark. They slowly try to recover before both of their eyes widen as the angered pegasus approaches slowly.

“Both of you leave, right now! And if I ever see you do this again, I will shoot you with an arrow!” Fluttershy exclaims as both of the goblins manage to get back onto their feet and limps off as they say:

“You be sorry, stupid pony.” The Goblin Scout threatens.

“We tell chief, you all die!” The Goblin Archer exclaims

After scaring off the goblins, Fluttershy turns back to the small pink slime, who is still shaking in fear, as the pegasus quickly runs to the slime's aid and says: 

“Oh you poor thing, that must’ve been scary, are you ok?” The tone of Fluttershy's voice was perhaps the most motherly anything could’ve heard. Meanwhile, Gorglock still stares on and frozen in shock. Suddenly, both Fluttershy and Gorglock are surprised when they hear the words:

”T-thank you for saving me.”

“Oh my gosh, you can talk?! You have such a cute voice, I’m Fluttershy, what’s your name?”

”I’m Pinkie, The Slime Princess.”

“Princess?!” Gorglock exclaims.

“Oh! I have a friend named, Pinkie. She’d absolutely love you, would you like to come with me, little one?” Fluttershy questions.

”Y-yes, please. You are very nice, Miss Fluttershy. I can sense your intentions, your heart, and you are so... pure.” Princess Pinkie’s words causes the pegasus to blush. She then picks up the The Slime Princess and sets Pinkie onto her head. Fluttershy then turns to Gorglock, who was still on the ground with an expression of disbelief, and approaches him. She then offers him a hoof and asks:

“Are you ok? I saw you trying to talk the others into not harming Princess Pinkie and stood in their way. You were very brave and I’d like to say: Thank you.” Gorglock stared at her hoof in shock for a few seconds before he regains his composer and takes it, causing Fluttershy to help him onto his feet before she says: “There we are. Now, let’s get you all cleaned up.” The pegasus then starts to pat the goblin's lab coat in an effort to clean it. Finally, Gorglock snaps out of his daze and mutters the words:

“Goddess...”

“Wait, what?” Fluttershy inquires. Suddenly, Gorglock undoes Fluttershy’s cleaning as he gets down on both of his knees and starts to worship the pegasus.

“I am humbled by your kindness, oh great Goddess. Thank you for everything you’ve done. It’s like Princess Pinkie said, your aura... It radiates kindness!” Gorglock shouts as he continues to worship the ‘Goddess’. Fluttershy stares on with her mouth agape all while Princess Pinkie hops off of the pegasus’s head and lands next to the goblin.

”I must agree with this goblin, oh great Goddess. You are truly benevolent.” The Slime Princess says as she hops in place happily. 

Gorglock slaps himself in the face as he forgot to do something very important before speaking to a Goddess or at least what he and Princess Pinkie saw as a goddess.

“Oh, forgive me Goddess. In my shock, I forgot to introduce myself properly,” Gorglock says as he then raises back onto his feet and clears his throat. “I am: Gorglock, The Goblin Tinkerer.” He then bows to Fluttershy as the pegasus could only say in absolute shock:

“Oh... Oh my.”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

“H-hey, Guide...”

“Yeah?”

“That’s one of those supposedly extinct talking lizard men, right?”

“Lihzhard, actually.”

“... and we’re not in some kind of dream?”

“... no.”

Helena The Nurse and Tanner The Guide couldn’t believe the spectacle taking place before them. A creature they both once considered to be extinct and a culture lost to history was now standing before them. Twilight could be seen hyperventilating to which Starlight and Rarity were trying to help their friend recover. All the while, some of the others who were present are having a conversation with their new visitor: Gex The Witchdoctor. Applejack and Ceeman Jones were absent as they were still guarding the gates as Ceeman had relieved Rainbow Dash after he left Candy Cane Corner. Pinkie Pie was still working at Candy Cane Corner however she could sense something; someone, new has entered the town as she comments:

“My Pinkie senses are tingling.”

“You look awesome!” Rainbow Dash compliments as she gazes upon Gex's form.

“Well I’ll be, I thought your kind were extinct. No offence. Then, the zebra goes to The Jungle and comes back with a living Lihzhard.” Vinny The Demolitionist says.

“Hey, would you be interested in parting with some of those scales of yours?” Lucan The Merchant questions.

“Please friends, give Gex some room, allow him the chance to introduce himself to you.” Zecora comments with a deadpan expression.

“I appreciate the welcome, my scales are warmed by your kindness, never did I think to find beings of such likeness,” Gex says as the lihzhard looks around and takes notice of the beings before him. He was familiar with the terrarians as his kind has encountered some of them before but the colorful ponies were another story. “I see ponies of the land, ponies with horns above their eyes, most noticeably is the pony who can fly.” Gex says as he looks to Rainbow Dash. Recovering from their shock, both Tanner and Helena approaches the Lihzhard as Tanner says:

“Never in my life did I ever expect to meet a Lihzhard. I heard that most of you were, well, not exactly the nicest beings. No offence.”

“No offence has been made, your fears are right, I might be kind but my brethren can cause strife,” Gex replies as he then raises his staff into the air which catches everyone’s attention. “Listen well kind beings for I’ve come to warn you, I predict a war will be coming soon. Beings of green and ponies shall collide, caught in the middle will be this town of which you reside.” Upon finishing his prediction, Gex lowers his staff and slams it into the ground. For a moment, everyone just stares at him... until all present, aside from Zecora, shouts:

”WHAT?!”

“Um, hello, everypony,” Fluttershy comments as everyone turns to her but what catches their attention are the two beings she’s accompanied with. “This is Princess Pinkie and Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer. I hope we can all become friends.” 

Gorglock waves his left hand nervously as Princess Pinkie hops happily on Fluttershy’s head. Everyone then stares at Fluttershy and her companions and shouts, aside from Zecora and Gex:

”WHAT?!”

Suddenly, a pink blur zooms pass the ponies and terrarians; stopping right in front of Gex. It’s revealed to be Pinkie Pie who stares at the Lihzhard as she then turns to Fluttershy’s direction and notices The Slime Princess and Goblin Tinkerer. The party pony’s eyes widen as she then zooms off again in a pink blur. This time, Gex, Princess Pinkie, and The Goblin Tinkerer shouts in unison: 

”WHAT?!”

Everyone else simply chuckles as they reply in unison:

“It’s just, Pinkie.”
> Chapter 11 - A Council And A Prayer. (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-

It was now late into the afternoon as The Crystal Empire was colored in a beautiful shade of orange thanks to Celestia’s lowering sun mixed with the purple of the crystalline structures.

Luna’s decision to send out pegasi messengers bore fruit as many leaders from multiple factions/countries were arriving by means of flight, carriages, magic, and almost every fathomable means of transportation. Dragons, Yaks, Hippogriffs, Griffons, Minotaurs, ponies, and Zebras answered the call and made their way into the empire. Many ponies stared in awe at the display of multiple lifeforms passing by them, although they did get nervous when certain species like the dragons and the intimidating minotaur’s passed by.

Within The Crystal Castle’s Dining Room many representatives of each faction were in attendance. The table was set with various food items in order to accommodate every species in attendance both carnivorous and herbivorous alike. Upon seeing everyone get settled in, Princess Cadence; with Shining Armor and Princess Luna sitting on either side, clears her throat and starts to speak:

“Thank you all for coming. As I’m sure you know from your messages we sent via our pegasi, we of The Crystal Empire along with Princess Luna of Canterlot have decided that a coalition will be needed to deal with the threat we strongly believe will one day threaten the entire world, if we all don’t stop it. Before we begin, I’d like to familiarize my self with-”

[SLAM] 

“What in the name of Tartarus is she doing here?!” The minotaur representative cuts off Cadence’s words as he slams his fist onto the table and points towards a certain former changeling Queen, Chrysalis. “She is a known menace to many of us here! King Domihaus and his people will not join an alliance with a known deceiver in our midst, who’d sooner feed on us all rather than help us.”

“What’s wrong, big guy? Worried that someone as small as me will get under your skin? I’m flattered,” Chrysalis says with a sarcastic tone. “Let’s get something straight you fool, I don’t care about any of you. You’re all food to me! However, if all of you die, then I die, and I don’t want my food supply to go dry.”

“You are not helping, Chrysalis,” King Thorax interjects, “I allowed you to join us here because, despite everything you’ve done, you’re still a former royal of The Hive. Do that again and I’ll kick you out of The Empire myself, I mean it.”

“Who do you think you are to speak to your mother in such a way?! I am The Queen of-”

“Former Queen, mother, former. I lead the changelings now and don’t forget that it was you who left the hive that day when Starlight Glimmer offered you a chance at redemption, yet you threw it back in her face. I would have accepted you back as our ruler, we all would have. You decided to abandon the hive and your own children. Because of your absence, no one was left to lead us so I did. The hive is alive and well without any of my subjects having to starve every moment of every day because of me. So sit down, and shut up!” Thorax exclaims and stares daggers at the former ruler of the changelings.

Thorax wisely took his brother’s advice some time ago and steeled himself in order to become a more fitting ruler. The Changeling King can be very kind, but when angered, his anger can rival even Chrysalis’s. Thanks to feeding on the more powerful love he and his people had gained, willingly, and from their new friends, his power rivaled the Chrysalis’s very own.

Everyone in attendance looked at the scene with shocked expressions. Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor couldn’t help but smirk at the exchange. Shining armor leaned into Cadence and whispered:

“Ohoho, burn.”

Luna clears her throat and catches everyone’s attention, “If thou art finished we’d like to get back to the main matter at hoof. Now as our niece said before she was rudely interrupted,” Luna glances to King Domihaus, “Allow us to familiarize ourselves; introductions are in order. Let us start with The Griffon Representative and go down the line from there. Simply stand and introduce thy selves,” Luna says as she points a hoof to the aforementioned being. The griffon, noticeably being quite old, stands up and coughs before saying:

“You can call me: Grandpa Gruff. There hasn’t been a Griffon King in ages but I’m the next best thing. For some bits, I could- Ow!” Grandpa Gruff’s words were cut off as his female companion slaps his talon away and pulls him back down to his seat. The female Griffon is revealed to be an old friend of Rainbow dash: Gilda.

“Not now, gramps...” Gilda says as she turns to everyone present, “Sorry about the old coot, he never passes up a chance to get some bits,” Gilda then turns her head to The Zebra Representative who sat next to her, “You can go ahead, zebra.” With those words, The Zebra Representative, along with their companion, stands in unison as the rep says:

“Greetings everyone, how do you do? The zebra before you is Prince Zaku,” Prince Zaku then turns to his companion, “The zebra to my right is the mightiest of my land, a zebra whose name is Zellan. She be a mare of might and beauty, she serves me well as is part of her duty.” Both zebras nod to everyone present as they sit back down; beckoning the next representative to start: King Thorax.

“I am King Thorax, the current ruler of the changelings.” His words cause Chrysalis to grunt in annoyance, which he ignores, “I know my kind has a bit of a past with you all, but I want you all to know that we changelings have changed--no pun intended--for the better.” He then turns his head to Chrysalis and nods to her. She sighs annoyingly and says:

“I am Queen-”

”We already know!” Everyone aside from Thorax shouts in unison with angered expressions; thus cutting the former changeling ruler off from her statement.

“Well, well, it seems my illustrious reputation proceeds me,” Chrysalis remarks with a bow. She then turns to The Yak Representative next to her, “You may go, I’m satisfied now. Hahaha...”

The Yak rep stares at the laughing changeling for a moment before standing. However, the girth of the yak causes the table to shake, not to mention those who sat around them.

“Yak’s name be Prince Rutherford, yak pleased to meet you all.” The Yak Prince says. Unlike some of the other attendees, he was alone without a companion. After The Yak Rep seats himself and shakes all present once again, the next representative next to him speaks up:

“Some of you already know me but I am the current Dragon Lord: Ember. These two dragons with me are Garble and Smolder,” Ember says as she turns her gaze to her companions, specifically Garble, and narrows her eyes. This causes Garble to grunt in annoyance and waves his right claw. Smolder was already greeting everyone with a gesture and much to Ember’s delight. Once the dragons were seated, the next representative stands.

“Domihaus is King of the minotaurs. Domihaus will crush this infection you claim will hurt Domihaus’s people!” The Minotaur King says as he flexes his muscles and returns to his seat. Much like Prince Rutherford, Domihaus is alone with no companion. Finally, the last representative stands along with their companion; both are hippogriffs.

“Her Majesty, Queen Novo, was sadly unable to attend as she is very much needed back in Seaquestria. As such I, General Seaspray shall be representing her. My fellow companion here is Princess Skystar.” Both bow in respect and return to their seats. Princess Skystar can barely contain her excitement, however, Seaspray looks at her with a deadpan stare which causes her to fidget nervously in her seat.

“Excellent. It’s a pleasure to meet you all and we would like to once again thank you all for attending. The very world is at stake, thou honor thy nations by being here,” Luna finishes as she nods to everyone in attendance with respect, although she does roll her eyes when Chrysalis gagged herself, “Now, we shall allow Prince Shining Armor and our dear niece to take things from here. We must prepare to lower the sun and raise our moon,” Luna then teleports out of the room with a flash of her horn; leaving Shining Armor and Cadence to inform the others of their current situation, their plans, in addition to the death of Princess Celestia.





The Lunar Princess reappears at the very top of the castle and looks towards her sister’s precious sun. A tear falls out of Luna’s eye as she stares at the celestial object.

“We miss thou greatly, dear sister. Is this how ye felt when we were banished? Our heart aches every time we look upon thy warm morning star. We now understand fully the pain thou must’ve endured... the same pain we currently have to endure. Good night, dear sister,” Luna finishes as she fires up her horn, grits her teeth with closed eyes, and lowers Celestia’s sun, allowing the moon to take the sky in its stead. Suddenly, Luna hears a sudden:

[POP]

“Discord, we art not in the mood for-”

“Hahaha, It’s a good thing I’m not Discord, right? My dear student.”

“Starswirl!” Luna exclaims as she runs into her teacher and hugs him.

“Stygian, The Pillars, and I answer the call, Lulu.”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN LIBRARY, TWILIGHT’S ROOM-


Twilight Sparkle used her magic to prepare her bed as she walks towards the furniture having just finished washing up. Along the way, she looks towards the papers she had set on a table nearby. An idea comes to her although she is noticeably hesitant to act on it, after taking a deep breath she heads towards the table and ignites her horn floating over a quill onto the paper, and begins writing:

Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Terrarian Letters For Celestia - Entry: 1

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I realize that Spike isn’t here to send this to anypony back home, not that I’m sure that’d work even if he was, and I know that you’re... gone. Regardless, I feel that I have to document the events that have transpired ever since we arrived into this world, Terraria. I miss you soo much Princess Celestia, you were soo much more to me than a mentor... you were my second mother. I’m the luckiest pony alive to have both you and Twilight Velvet as my mothers.

You’ll be happy to know that as The Princess Of Friendship, me and my friends have made even more friends here. They call themselves: Terrarians. Each of them has amazing abilities, powers that complement their very being, and to be honest... it kind of reminds me of a cutie mark. Sure they don’t have such a thing here and the only thing that does resemble it is something they call a “Tattoo”, but the way their powers work, not to mention their appearance, is practically the same as a cutie mark. For example, my new friend Helena is a nurse and her powers reflect that tenfold. She even brought back someone’s leg! Do you know how much magic would be required back home to perform such a thing? To replace an entire limb back to normal function, and that’s assuming such a spell even exists in the first place back home. We’re all doing ok, Princess. The others have built a small town surrounded by stone walls to protect us from some of this world’s monsters. And trust me, thanks to what I’ve learned in the library we have here, there are many. I felt bad since, for some strange reason, I took three whole days to recover while the rest of my friends recovered the very same day we’ve arrived here. Chalk that one up as a mystery for now.

Earlier today some very interesting things have happened. First: Zecora returns to us from The Jungle, a place that’s so wild and unpredictable much like The Everfree Forest back home that many of the locals avoid it all the same, with a brand new friend called: Gex, The Witchdoctor. Oh, Princess, I wish you were here to see him. Simply put he’s a species called: Lihzhard, which were thought to be extinct, and yet there he is standing before us. Funny thing is, he speaks in rhyme much like Zecora. Those two have been kicking it off quite well.

Second: Fluttershy went out to get some food for her new animal friends she’s made here. It seems that even in this world our effects from The Elements still seem present, and if I’m being honest, they feel... amplified. However, Fluttershy then stops a pair of goblins from attacking a pink slime who turns out to be a Princess! A princess! Princess Pinkie is her name, a certain party pony we both know was very happy about that. I had soo many questions when she was brought here in regards to slime culture, but given what she had just gone through, I figured it was best to let her be for now. But mark my words, she and I will be having quite an extensive interview. Oh, Fluttershy also brought a goblin who tried to stop the others from harming Princess Pinkie, Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer. OH. MY. GOSH. He is a fellow seeker of knowledge just like me and Tanner The Guide! Gorglock is currently working on a new experiment he calls: The Rocket Boots. I shall support him in this endeavor and maybe I could bring some schematics back home for pony production.

There is another thing, Princess, it involves Gex. You see, earlier today he gave us a warning in the form of rhythmic riddles. I have some theories but I suspect he can somehow predict the future, but how far into the future is the mystery. Anyway, he predicts that green beings will attack us soon, and given what happened to Fluttershy, I fear he may be right. Based on my information regarding this world’s monsters, Fluttershy’s testimony, in addition to my talks with Gorglock... I have reason to believe we will soon be attacked by... a goblin army. Please watch over us, Princess.

Your Faithful Student, Even In Death,

~Twilight Sparkle.”     
> Chapter 12 - A Goblin Army Approaches From The West.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-



It’s a lightly rainy morning in the land of Terraria as Fluttershy tends to her animals along with the assistance of her new roommate: Princess Pinkie.

“Yes, Mr. Squirrel, those acorns are for you and your family. Please send my regards to your wife and children.” Fluttershy says as Mr. Squirrel runs in and hugs her before taking off.

”That should be the last of them, Goddess.” Princess Pinkie says as she looks over a checklist created by the yellow pegasus, which was sat on a nearby table.

“Oh no, I’m not a Goddess, Princess Pinkie. I’m just a normal animal-loving pony. Twilight’s actually more of a Goddess since she’s an alicorn,” The animal lover replies with a blush.

”Alicorn? Forgive me for my ignorance, Goddess, but I am unfamiliar with that term,” The pink slime replies as she hops off the table and onto the shy pegasus’s back.

“Oh, well, you see, we ponies come in three races: Pegasus, Earth Pony, and Unicorn. Rainbow and I are pegasus,” Fluttershy says as she flaps her wings, “We have the ability to control the weather. However, Rainbow and I don’t seem to be strong enough to control your world's weather at all; it’s simply too strong for us.”

”You can control the weather?!" Princess Pinkie exclaims in shock, "Truly, Goddess, you are both kind and powerful.”  Fluttershy sighs lightly, followed by a light chuckle before she continues:

“Applejack and Pinkie Pie are earth ponies; they are extraordinarily connected to the earth. Although, Pinkie Pie is a very... Special earth pony.” Fluttershy says nervously as she recalls Pinkie’s antics.

”I really like her, she’s funny, and we have the same name, which makes it soo much better. I haven’t met any earth ponies, but we do have horses here. They’re not as intelligent as your friends, but they are much bigger,” Princess Pinkie giggles, ”Please continue, Goddess.” 

Fluttershy nods in response with a vibrant smile, “Earth ponies can detect earthquakes long before anypony else. They can grow vegetation far more effectively, which is why many of them make for great farmers. These ponies possess the most physical strength of all three types. Finally, there are the unicorns.”

”I am familiar with unicorns, Goddess, but the ones here aren’t exactly... Nice. Like the ones who came with you," The slime 'hmms' in thought, "Are the ones from your world anything like mine?” Princess Pinkie asks.

Fluttershy raises a forehoof to her chin in thought, “Well, there are some bad ones like King Sombra," The yellow pegasus quivers, "Oh dear, he was a very mean unicorn, although Twilight did mention something about him being something called an umbrum, if I’m correct. Even so, there are many nice unicorns like my friends. Twilight used to be one too before she ascended to an alicorn. Alicorns are all three combined together, including having a lifespan that could be eternal. At least that’s what Twilight and Discord-” Fluttershy hesitates as she thinks back to the draconequus, specifically, to the moment they both shared before she was sucked into the portal. 

Fluttershy takes on a saddened expression and sighs lightly, “Discord...” 

”Goddess? Are you ok?” Princess Pinkie asks as she could sense the pegasus’s inner turmoil. Suddenly, a pink tendril extends from the slime and touches Fluttershy, which sends a surge of happiness through the pegasus.

“Oh, oh my, what did you do just now? I feel so... Happy.” Fluttershy questions as she looks on with a confused gaze.

”My type of slime can affect the feelings of others, Goddess," Princess Pinkie replies as she hops happily in place, "I sensed that your feelings were troubled, so I made you happy.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Pinkie. Oh, sorry, your highness.” Fluttershy says as she grabs the slime, lifts Pinkie to her muzzle, and nuzzles The Slime Princess.

”It’s no problem at all, Goddess.” 

Suddenly, before the two could go on any further, Mr. Squirrel hops into the pegasus’s home via an opened window and runs over to Fluttershy. Seeing this, the pegasus says:

“Oh, Mr. Squirrel? Are you-”

[SQUIRREL NOISE] [SQUIRREL NOISE] [SQUIRREL NOISE]

“Oh no... Oh no, no, no, no. Thank you very much for telling me, Mr. Squirrel, please go before they show up.” Upon hearing Fluttershy's words, Mr. Squirrel salutes and leaves out of the window. Princess Pinkie looks on as the shy pegasus stares at the floor in utter shock. Sensing Fluttershy's feelings once more, Princess Pinkie says:

”You seem to be panicking, Goddess. What did-”

“Goblins! Oh, Princess Pinkie, this is bad! I need to warn my friends! Please get to safety Pinkie, I don’t want anything to happen to you,” The pegasus pleads as she turns her gaze to the slime.

”G-goddess... You’re worried about me? A slime?” Princess Pinkie asks with shock.

“Of course, silly, you’re my friend. Now please go, I need to leave now.” Fluttershy answers as she exits her home and flies over to Candy Cane Corner, in the lightly pouring rain.

”Goddess... You’d call a monster like me a friend?” Princess Pinkie questions as she couldn’t believe the words she had just heard. “Goddess Fluttershy, my friend, I will not allow any harm to come to you. I shall seek aid immediately.” The Slime Princess then exits the home, leaves the community, and hops off into the woods

..........

Within Candy Cane Corner, everyone in the community, aside from Zecora and Gorglock who returned back to The Jungle with Gex, are in attendance as they eat their breakfast and chat amongst themselves. Suddenly, the door flies open as Fluttershy gallops into the bakery/Pinkie’s home and spots everyone on a nearby table. She approaches them as they are deep in conversation, in regards to future plans, and says:

“Everypony, everypony, you need to listen.”

“...” Sadly, her words aren’t quite loud enough to gain their attention.

“Everypony, please listen.”

“...” Her plead goes unanswered as everyone continues to speak, unhindered by her words. She then narrows her eyes in anger and shouts:

“LISTEN TO ME NOW!”

Finally, everyone turns their attention to the pegasus.

“Good grief, Fluttershy, couldn’t you just use a hoof to-”

“No!" Fluttershy cuts off Rainbow Dash's words, "Everypony listen, Gex’s prediction is true, there’s a goblin army approaching from the west!” Fluttershy cuts Rainbow Dash off as she warns everyone present about what Mr. Squirrel had told her earlier.

“WHAT?!” Everyone exclaims in unison as they get off their tables and leave the bakery together.





(play on loop)


The time is now, everyone stands upon the stone wall facing towards the west as they wait for the encroaching goblin army. Ceeman the Arms Dealer, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight, Starlight, and Tanner The Guide remain on the wall with their ranged weapons and their unicorn horns at the ready, along with Helena The Nurse on standby, ready to heal any of her allies harmed in the coming battle. 

Lucan The Merchant began to board up all of the homes' windows and lock the doors in an effort to hopefully protect them from intruders. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Vinny The Demolitionist are on the ground level just behind the wall, in case any goblins manage to get through. Rainbow Dash draws her blade in the air and flies down to Vinny. The Demolitionist sees her and says:

“Ok, Dash. You know the plan, right?”

“You bet! I’ll grab some bombs from you and drop them on the goblins to support everypony. Then, if they manage to get through we’re gonna clobber them!” Rainbow replies with a hint of arrogance as she jabs the air with her blade.

“Stick to the plan, Rainbow," Applejack says with narrowed features. "Ah' don’t wanna hear bout’ you get’n arrogant and hurt because of it, ya hear?” 

The cyan pegasus smiles sheepishly in response.

Vinny then turns to pinkie and says:

“As for you, my pink friend, that cannon of yours... Party cannon, I believe you called it, will fire upon the goblins once I call it out. Capiche’?”

“Okie dokily yolkily! I’m ready to party!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as she narrows her eyes in determination.

..........

On the stone wall, Twilight Sparkle looks to the horizon where the goblins should be appearing from. Tanner The Guide puts a hand onto her shoulder, causing The Alicorn to turn and look up to him, which prompts him to ask: 

“You gonna be ok, Sparkle? I know you and your friends don’t take lives where you come from, but...”

“It’s fine, Tanner. To be honest, I’d be lying if I said that me and my friends aren’t hesitant to... Kill something," Twilight responds, looking down regretfully. She then raises her head and takes on a determined expression, "But I realize things are different in this world." 

Both Starlight and Rarity nod their heads and light up their horns upon hearing Twilight’s words.

“It’s uncouth for a lady to resort to such brashness, but by Celestia, I refuse to die to a bunch of barbarians!” Rarity exclaims.

“Let them come, we’ll show them what our world is made of!” Starlight shouts.

Fluttershy, being the element of kindness, wasn’t holding it together all too well as she could be seen shaking and whispering to herself: ”I can’t kill somepony, I can’t kill somepony, I can’t kill somepony, I can’t-”, Suddenly, Fluttershy’s words were cut off as Helena The Nurse places a hand onto the shy pegasus’s shoulder and says:

“Words can’t express how sorry I am to see a kind and gentle soul like you have to do this, I’m just like you. I hate fighting, I hate violence, I wish this world was anything like yours... A world of peace. Sadly, we got the short stick, so to speak. But let me tell you something, Fluttershy,” Helena then raises the shy pegasus’s head with her right hand, “It is not a sin to fight for the right to live. All living beings cherish their lives and they will fight to protect them. Just think about the animals you love, when something threatens them, they often use their superior speed to escape or their enormous strength to fight off their opposition. Do you know what animal I think represents you most? Despite you being a pony, of course,” The Nurse asks, giggling afterward. 

Fluttershy looks on, waiting for Helena to finish their words. 

“You are a honey badger, Fluttershy," Helena smiles as she removes her hand from the pegasus's chin, "Small, yet dangerous, and relentless if you mess with them. Be. The. Badger.”

[MMMMMMMRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMM]

Suddenly, the sound of a horn goes off in the distance. Everyone in Home Town braces themselves as the force they were waiting for marched towards them. The hoard of goblins now stood before the walls as the green menaces came in all types; making up their ranks:



A Goblin Mage stepped forth and shouts: 

“Stupid ponies! Weak Terrarians! No prisoners! All will die!” The entire hoard laughs together upon hearing those words. Without even letting the ponies or terrarians have a retort, the entire hoard charges towards the wall.

“Open fire!” Ceeman exclaims as he begins to shoot goblins with his musket, dropping them instantly via headshots. 

Twilight fires up her horn and releases powerful, purple energy beams, which instantly vaporize a few goblins while injuring others. However, those goblins won’t be suffering for long as Rarity ‘generously’ ends their life with a follow-up attack. Starlight mimics her teacher's actions as she releases energy beams much like Twilight’s, but are a light blue coloration.

[BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]

The sounds of explosions go off as Rainbow dash drops multiple bombs upon the hoard. 

“Eat that, ugly!” Rainbow Dash exclaims as the pegasus releases every bomb she had. Goblin Archers try to shoot her out of the sky, but the cyan pegasus is simply too quick as she dodges the arrows and flies back behind the wall to grab more bombs.

“Now! Fire away, my pink friend!” Vinny The Demolitionist exclaims, having just placed one of his bombs into Pinkie Pie’s party cannon, and closes his ears.

“You got it! Eat confetti and explosions, you meanies!” Pinkie Pie shouts as she fires her cannon.

[BOOM]

Another explosion goes off as goblin gore spreads throughout the area, along with hints of confetti. Despite this, the goblins continue to run towards the wall. 

Starlight then hears something teleport beside her and turns her gaze to a horrifying sight, a Goblin Mage, who teleported onto the structure and managed to knock out Fluttershy. The goblin began to form in its hand a purple orb of energy and hurls it at the group, causing Starlight to shout:

“Everypony, watch out!” Starlight fires up her horn and unleashes a beam of magical energy, en route to the purple orb, as a struggle between their attacks takes place. Twilight, Rarity, and Helena notice this, but Ceeman shouts to them:

“She can handle it! We need to reduce their numbers!”

“Ceeman’s right, we need to focus on the task at hand. Have faith in your friend, she can handle that mage.”, Tanner The Guide says as he continues to fire arrows killing multiple goblins in the process. Twilight and Rarity are hesitant but Tanner’s words have truth to them, as such they resume their attacks on the goblin army. Starlight continues to struggle against her foe, and vice versa, as their beam struggle still goes on.

“Stupid Pony will die!”, The goblin mage antagonizes.

“Not a chance ugly, I can do this all day!”, Starlight replies, suddenly, an arrow pierces the goblins right leg causing it to cry out:

“Graugh!, what?!”, looking back the goblin sees who is responsible for the attack, Fluttershy, who regained her consciousness and fired one of her arrows. Starlight smirks upon seeing this and says:

“Sucks to be you buddy, ha!”, Starlight shouts as she takes advantage of the goblins weakened state, overpowers the goblins energy ball, and vaporizes her foe with her magic. The unicorn then trots over to Fluttershy and asks: “Are you ok Fluttershy?, thanks for the assist.”

“Y-yes, I’ll be fine...”, The yellow pegasus says as she turns her head to the hoard outside of the wall.

“Are you sure? You can head down if you want we can-”

“No, I’m fighting too, because I’m...”, Fluttershy says as she cuts off Starlight’s words, She then draws her bow and pulls an arrow out of her quiver. Narrowing her eyes in concentration she finishes her words and says: “I’m The Honey Badger!, and you’ve made me really, really, mad!”, the yellow pegasus then goes on to kill multiple goblins via arrow shots to their heads and necks. Starlight smirks upon seeing this, as does Helen who also witnessed this causing Helen to say:

“Way to go, Fluttershy the Badger.”

“Harpoons in-coming!, they’re trying to climb the wall!”, Ceeman shouts as the goblins who managed to get close to the wall attempted to climb it with the aforementioned weapons.



“Quickly everypony, destroy the harpoons while I continue to- GAUGH!”, Twilight cries out in pain as an arrow impales her shoulder. Rarity sees this and notices the goblin archer below the wall who was responsible and in a fit of anger she alights her horn and shouts:

“How dare you brute!”, Rarity exclaims as she vaporizes the goblin with an energy beam similar in coloration to Twilight’s and continues to do so along with Starlight Glimmer. Fluttershy, Ceemon, and Tanner begin to destroy the harpoons that were attached to the wall. Helena The Nurse runs over to Twilight and says:

“Don’t worry dear, I’ll fix you right up.”, Helena places a hand over Twilight’s wound and a white aura consumes The Nurse’s hand. In an instant the arrow dissipates into thin air as the wound closes up and heals perfectly, even the missing fur from the puncture wound regrows making it looks good as new.

“W-wow Helena, your magic is amazing!. I must pick your brain about-”

”TWILIGHT!”, Everyone shouts in unison as Twilight laughs nervously, everyone present resumes the battle and the war wages on.

“Ok Vinny, I’m ready for more”, Rainbow Dash says as she attempts to grab more bombs to drop onto the goblins.

[BOOM]

“Bullseye!”, Pinkie Pie exclaims as she fires her cannon yet again.

“Here you go rainbow, give em hell!”, Vinny shouts as he gives the pegasus more bombs.

Rainbow takes to the skies and flies over the wall, she suddenly gets a rather daring idea as she smirks and says: “Get ready for the boom, the Sonic-rainboom. This is gonna be awesome!”, The pegasus says as she begins to fly high into the air and reaches her max altitude. “I’ve got to time it just right, Sonic-rainboom then drop these bombs right on top of them.”, Then, she shoots down and begins to descend. Applejack notices this and screams out:

“Rainbow no!, ya dang stubborn fool. What did I-”

  [VROOM]

The Sonic-rainboom activates which catches everyone’s attention, The Goblins look on in shock however Twilight and the others react the same way Applejack did as each of them thinks to themselves internally: -What is she doing?!-, Rainbow dash begins to slow herself down and readies her bombs however she was too focused on her stunt she didn’t notice a goblin mage charging its attack and hurls it towards the stunt pegasus. Rainbow finally sees this and barely dodges it but with a horrible cost, she drops the bombs accidently which lands at the base of the wall causing Rainbow to stare on in horror and say: “Oh buck, no...”, Seeing this, Tanner The Guide shouts:

“Everyone, get off now!”, fortunately, everyone heeds his warning  on time and hops off the wall into the town.

[BOOM]

Unfortunately, there’s now a large hole in the wall.
> Chapter 13 - Fluttershy, The Slime Goddess.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(play on loop)


Shock and awe was the best way to describe how everyone was feeling aside from Rainbow Dash who was now feeling overwhelming guilt. Tears almost filled the stunt pegasu’s eyes as she stuttered the words: “I-i’m s-sorry everypony...”

“Kill them all!, Pillage!, take!, kill!.”, The Goblin Army shouts as they enter the breach in the wall.

“Here they come y’all!”, Applejack shouts as she readies her copper broadsword along with Tanner The Guide who follows suit. Pinkie Pie pulls out of her mane dual copper shortswords and takes a combat stance while growling like a dog. Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight fires up their horns while also floating their ‘wands of sparking’ alongside them, Ceeman The Arms Dealer pulls out a shotgun, and Vinny materializes some grenades. Helena The Nurse and Fluttershy remain behind the group as the yellow pegasus readies her arrows along with Lucan The Merchant who also had a bow standing besides her. Recovering from her regretful actions Rainbow Dash draws her copper shortsword and swoops down to strike at the goblins just as Tanner The Guide shouts:

“Charge!, for Terraria!”

“For Equestria!, for Equus!”, all of the ponies shout as the two sides clash into each other in close quarter combat. As the battle wages on many different scenarios took place as everyone who calls this town home fought for their very lives.

Rainbow Dash continues to swoop in however during one of her sweeps she loses her copper shortsword from a goblin who managed to catch her. Fortunately, Ceeman saw this and tossed the mare a spare musket with two-hundred rounds of ammo, which she immediately wraps around herself, as he shouts to her: 

“Wanna make it up to us?, put some rounds into these bastards heads simply point and shoot. Show me how sorry you are Dash!”

The Arms Dealer pumps his shotgun and kills a goblin who tried to attack him during the exchange. Rainbow Dash looks to the weapon in her hooves and takes her aim at a Goblin who tried to ambush Ceeman from behind.



[BANG]

“GAUGH!”, the goblin cries out as it falls limp to the floor, Ceeman looks up to rainbow and says:

“Nice shooting kid, now get to work!”, Upon hearing those words Rainbow narrows her eyes and shoots multiple Goblins as she flies around the community. Rainbow meets up with Fluttershy along the way who was killing multiple goblins via arrows to the head while also dodging the goblins attacks in return. The two team up and swoops down onto the army firing their ranged weapons along the way, the yellow pegasus even gives Rainbow her copper shortsword. Apparently, Fluttershy had found Rainbow’s weapon and gave it to the rainbow pegasus not knowing it already belonged to her. In a beautiful display of ranged weaponry mixed with closed quarters combat thanks to her shortsword Rainbow Dash became quite the force on the battlefield.

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Tanner The Guide all stand back to back while being surrounded by goblins. “Stay in formation Y’all, let them come to us and cut em’ down.”, the cowmare says as she slices a goblins head clean off of his shoulder as it tried to attack her as she spoke. Tanner followed suit as he parried a goblins attack and successfully punished the green menace with a follow up attack. Pinkie Pie leaped towards the crowd of goblins and spun around in a flurry of blades causing blood to gush into the air and spill onto the floor, after doing her ‘dance’ she retuns back to the others and they are once again back to back in a trio of blades.

“We gotta get to a bet’r position, this is playing right into their hooves and- GAUGH”, Applejacks words were cut off and she releases a painful cry as a goblin spike ball hits the cowmare in her stomach region.

“Applejack!”, Tanner The Guide shouts as he catches the orange earth pony in his grasp. Pinkie Pie stares on to the scene before her, the world around her practically disappears and fades to black even the voices around her be they friend or foe dissipates. All she could see before her was applejacks unconscious body, then... She sings:

“Fun time, fun time, you’re all going to... die!”, her mane deflates instantly and the color of her entire body greys out, Pinkamena takes the stage. ”RRRRRAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRRR”, she roars out like a monster who’s treasure was just stolen and like an absolute madmare she hops into the fray cutting down every goblin who surrounded Tanner and the unconscious cowmare with her dual blades. She then pulls out a bomb she had tucked away in her mane from Vinny and grabs a goblin. “Open wide!”, was all she said before she shoves the bomb into the goblins mouth, snapping its jaws in the process, and tosses the body into the other goblins.

[BOOM]

“For the love of Terra...”, was all Tanner could say as he stares on nervously with a pinch of amazement. Put simply, Pinkamena slaughtered all of the goblins present as she then walks back to The Guide and Applejack. She looks down to Applejack with a saddened expression, something that was rare even in this state, and puts the orange earth pony onto her back with some help from The Guide. She then turns to Tanner and asks:

”Nurse, where is she?...”

“...”, Tanner was speechless.

”Didn’t you hear me?, I SAID WHERE IS SHE?!”, Pinkamena exclaims.

“Oh, uh, your friend Fluttershy sent her and Lucan to the library.”, Tanner replies.

”Thanks...”, Pinkamena says as she then runs off with Applejack killing a few Goblins along the way.

“Note to self, don’t harm her friends.”, Tanner says as he picks up his sword and runs off to engage more foes.

Helena The Nurse and Lucan The Merchant were being chased as they tried to make their way to the library, unfortunately there were goblins already present there who took notice and cuts them off resulting in them being surrounded. They turn back to back. “Damnit, I’m no good in combat especially close quarters. Can’t you use one of your items to help us?.”, Helena says as she looks back to Lucan.

“You know I can’t do that while in battle!, that’s the drawback to being The Merchant. I can only use items given to me before combat and all I’ve got is this bow Ceeman gave me, which doesn’t at all help here.”, Lucan replies however both of their prayers were answered as Ceeman The Arms Dealer blows away some of the Goblins with his shotgun that were in front of the duo. He walks up to the two and says:

“You know, I love you guys but you suck in combat. Well, at least Helena has an excuse being a nurse and all but what’s yours Lucan?”

“Aw shut it you petulant teenager, take care of these guys behind us. No respect for us old timers I swear...”, Lucan replies with annoyance.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”, Ceeman says as he waves his left hand however before he could take his shots all of the goblins before him gets their heads amputated. Standing among their corpses was Pinkamena with Applejack still unconscious on her back.

”You, nurse... Heal her, now.”, Pinkamena says as she points a hoof to Helena, The Nurse catches on instantly and runs over to Applejack to inspect her.

“She’ll be ok, please take her inside and lay her on the couch for me so I can take care of her properly.”, The Nurse replies.

”Alright...”, The grayed out earth pony says as she follows Helena into the building, before closing the door Pinkamena then turns her head and tells Ceeman and Lucan: ”Guard the door you two, I better not see any of them get in...”

[BAM]

The door is slammed shut as Pinkamena kicks it with her hind legs, Ceeman and Lucan stare at each other dumbfounded. Both of them agree to follow her orders as they both think internally: ”-She’s scary...-”

[BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]

The pair are startled as the sounds of explosions goes off in the distant side of town as Vinny The Demolitionist achieves his life long dreams, making things explode.

Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity found themselves battling on the rooftops as they are being chased by teleporting goblin mages. From the roof of Candy Cane Corner all the way to the roof of Fluttershy’s home the display of magical energies shot through the skies as both sides avoided and attacked each other.

“We’re just wasting energy at this rate and we’re outnumbered, we need a plan.” Rarity says as she and the others teleport onto the same roof.

“I’m not sure sadly, I tried everything I can think of from barriers to offensive attacks. Our wands are effective but they’re not strong enough to inflict a fatal blow, I don’t know what to do!”, Twilight exclaims as she wipes a bit of sweat away. Starlight grits her teeth as she tries to catch her breath. Then, an idea comes to her as she realized the goblin mages are staying together and as one of them fires off an attack the others are charging theirs, she turns to Twilight and asks:

“Twilight, do you still have any of your physical weapons on you?”

“Not really, however I do have a pickaxe on me in my inventory I got from The Merchant. Why, what do you have in mind?” Twilight questions.

“Remember when you told me about goblins and their magic abilities along with the physical properties of the projectiles they cast?, well, what if we batted one of their attacks right back at them?. It’s like you said in your studies, magic back on Equus can’t be reflected by a blade or any weapon unless it was enchanted but here in Terraria some can. And a goblin’s energy ball happens too?...”, Starlight says as she spins her hoof around trying to get Twilight and Rarity to catch onto her plan.

“Of course!, that’s genius Starlight!”, Twilight exclaims as she then materialized her copper pickaxe into being, she was about to volunteer however Rarity snatches the pickaxe and says:

“Allow me darlings, I’ll have you know that me and Sweetie Belle play baseball from time to time. Surprising I know but how else do you think I maintain my perfect form”, everyone present nods their heads and drinks a lesser mana potion before they enact their plan. The ponies teleport out into the open just as a goblin mage spots them, charges its attack. And fires it towards Starlight while the other goblins were charging their own energy orbs. Starlight sees this and calls out:

“Now Rarity!”, These words causes Rarity to teleport right in front of the attack with the pickaxe held like a baseball bat as she yells out:

“Show me the money!”

[WHAM]

Rarity successfully hits the energy ball right back to the group of goblin mages at high speed, they have no time to teleport away as the energy ball makes contact and in combination with the energy balls the other Goblins were charging up a huge explosion engulfs them, killing them instantly. Rarity smiles at her handy work and says: “That’s what happens when you mess with a group of proper ladies you brutes.”, The trio of unicorns nods happily at their achievement and teleports away to fight more foes.

Fluttershy flew high into the air and took a moment to survey the warzone bellow her, she saw many of her friends achieving victory here and there however she could see the enormous number of goblins. She comments: “Everypony is doing great but there’s too many of them, we need to-”, The yellow pegasus’s words were cut off as the rain around her, not to mention the entire area, changed in a drastic way. A small green slime lands on her head:

”All hail the great goddess”, These words causes Fluttershy’s mouth to go agape as slimes began to rain down from the skies and attack the goblins, some of them even eats a goblin by forcing them into their bodies causing the goblin within to dissolve into nothing. Everyone on the ground level looks on with shocked expressions as the slimes continue to rain down and start killing off the goblin army. This causes some of the other members of the town aside from Fluttershy to respond:

“Wait, they’re helping us?” - Tanner The Guide.

“Well I’ll be damned...” - Vinny The Demolitionist.

“Woah...” - Rainbow Dash.

“So, do we shoot it or just let it keep eating them?” - Ceeman The Arms Dealer.

“You kidding me?, let them eat the green bastards.” - Lucan The Merchant.

“OH. MY. GOSH. This only happens once in a millennia at least according to the documents given to me by-” - Twilight.

“Twilight!” - Rarity and Starlight.

Fluttershy flies down, with the small green slime still on her head, and meets up with Twilight and her fellow ponies. The yellow pegasus walks up to them and asks:

“What’s going on here everypony?, I’m grateful for their help but how did they-”

”Goddess Fluttershy!”, Princess Pinkie says as she hops onto the shy mares back, as this goes on the rest of the goblin army either runs away or are being killed off by the slime hoard.

“Princess Pinkie!, did you do this?, thank you so very much!”, Fluttershy says as she and the other ponies smile at the slime princess. All of the Terrarians along with Rainbow Dash arrive as well. Pinkie, Helena, and Applejack are still in the library.

”I simply informed my father about your predicament and of your kindness Goddess Fluttershy, he is responsible for this.”, Princess Pinkie replies.

As if on cue, a large blue slime wearing a crown lands before them causing the area to shake.



”Who among thou is the Goddess Fluttershy?”, The Slime King asks in a rather deep voice compared to the other slimes. Everyone stares in amazement, with a small bit of fear, at the sight before them. Here was a slime so large it could simply hop right over their towns walls maybe even plow through it if the being chose to. Fluttershy takes a deep breath and walks forward with Princess Pinkie and a green slime on her back. Fluttershy’s friends were being very cautious as they whisper to the shy pegasus to ‘be careful’ as she passed by. She stands before the King Slime and says:

“Um, that would be me your majesty. I, um, hope I didn’t offend you.”, The King Slime ‘stares’ at her for a moment, despite not having a face everyone present could tell, before he then extends a blue tendril from his body and sets it onto her head.

”By my decree as The Slime King, I hereby grant you the power to summon those of my kingdom to your beck and call, I shall give to thee: The Slime Staff.


> Chapter 14 - Roles To Be Given, Conflicts To Be Had.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

On a cliff overlooking “Home Town”, home to The Terrarians and the ponies of Equus, a large goblin dressed in royal attire complete with a crown stares down to his army, his defeated army that is which causes him to stomp the ground in anger.

“How is this possible?!, that army is finished... Completely destroyed! Damn that Slime King’s interference. I need to protect myself, I’ll head back to my nest, reproduce with my prisoners, as long as I’m alive there will be a next time I shall have-”

“You will have nothing.”, a female voice says which causes the goblin king to turn around.

“Who are you woman?!, on second thought... Perhaps I shall take you with me. I can use you to reproduce my-”

“Your nest is destroyed and those women you’ve captured for your disgusting means have been saved, all that’s left... Is you”, The female being then emits a powerful green aura, her aura also materializes green leaves into being. This causes the goblin king’s eyes to widen in horror.

“No!, It can’t be... You’re a Dryad!”

“I, Celebes, will be the last thing you will ever see. Be gone.”, Celebes says as she then sends forward a powerful force of wind which sends the goblin king off the cliff, falling to his doom as he lets out a roar which lasts for a few moments before it is finally silenced. Satisfied with her work, The Dryad looks towards the town and says: “All of you must get stronger Twilight Sparkle, my blade has been shattered but I shall watch over you all on your journey as you retrieve the other blades. That which has been shattered can be re-forged once more. You have time but you mustn’t waste it, both of our worlds depends on you all.”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, ONE WEEK AFTER THE GOBLIN ARMY’S DEFEAT-

It’s a beautiful morning and a whole week has passed ever since the battle against The Goblin Army. Thanks to the combined efforts of everyone in town including the assistance of The Slime King, the town was repaired back to its former glory. Fluttershy had a tearful goodbye with Princess Pinkie as she had to leave with all of the other slimes due to her eventual role as The Slime Queen, to eventually replace The Slime King. At first Twilight was saddened having missed a chance to interview The Slime King but was very happy when Fluttershy gave her the juicy details about The Slime King and his subjects, they were very different from other slimes because they were born from The Slime King who was a one of a kind entity all together and as a result they also inherited his intellect. The King also gave them permission to slay any other wild slime that would attack them so long as it wasn’t a slime from his kingdom. Finally, thanks to Fluttershy The Slime King even gave them Slime Mounts to aid them in their journey.

Interesting enough, all of the ponies decided that an inventory upgrade was called for and thanks to The Goblin Army they now possessed the funding to upgrade their equipment via the money they looted from the corpses and the items they sold to The Merchant. Zecora temporarily visited Home Town in order to purchase some goods of her own, she spent these last few days searching for The Blade Of Grass in The Jungle and accumulated some funds of her own from the monsters she, Gex, and Gorglock had slain but was in shock when she learned of what has happened in her absence. Gorglock, who also returned with Zecora but stayed behind in Home Town, was happy to announce that he had finished his latest creation, much to Twilight’s delight, The Rocket Boots. He even went so far as to customize some of the boots for pony, Zebra, and Terrarian use. He offered to customize one for Gex but The Witchdoctor denied the request. Lucan The Merchant’s brother, Lamar Valerious The Traveling Merchant, stopped by and also sold some rare items to all of the ponies and Zecora.





Aside from Twilight, the others decided that they needed to get an Inventory of their own as to allow them to store items in the pocket dimension rather then hauling their items around. This was very fortunate for their inventory upgrade which goes as follows: (Revealed in the Author’s note.)

Everyone decided that building themselves for a specific role would be for the best as to allow them to properly allocate resources and weapons. Tanner The Guide recommended certain roles for the ponies, Fluttershy desired to become a Summoner/Ranger hybrid. She didn’t like the idea of having her allies fight for her and do nothing, considering she was getting quite adept with a bow she settled for this role. Twilight, to the surprise of no one present in town, chose to become a Mage. Starlight surprised everyone as many assumed her to do the same as Twilight however she also wanted to be of use in close quarters combat therefore she decided to become a hybrid as well, Mage/Melee. Rarity also chose a Mage given that she is a unicorn however she was inspired by Fluttershy’s summoning role so as a result the fashion pony combined the two, Mage/Summoner hybrid. Applejack and Pinky both chose the same hybrid role, Tank/Melee. Rainbow Dash had to admit that she loved the ranged aspect of her musket that she received from Ceeman Jones during the goblin invasion, she of course also loved close quarters combat so she combined them and became a hybrid herself, Ranger/Melee.

All of the ponies in town along with some of the Terrarians are huddled together in the library at the request of Twilight and Tanner The Guide. “Ok everypony, Starlight, Tanner, and myself have been discussing this thoroughly and we’ve decided to tackle two blades simultaneously.”, Twilight says as she fires up her horn and floats over some of her notes on a nearby table. “Zecora and Gex have a lead on The Blade of Grass. Therefore, we think Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow can-”

“Ah’ reckon Pinkie would be a better option Twi, Rainbow’s no good underground.”, Applejack says grudgingly, both Twilight and Rainbow winces at this statement. Truth be told, the Alicorn has been trying to pair the two up ever since what happened with The Goblin Army. Applejack has been resenting Rainbow for her Sonic-rainboom stunt which backfired and allowed the goblins to invade the town.

“Well, I suppose so, Pinkie is great at digging after all so I guess that could work.”, Twilight replies with a forced smile. She then sighs lightly and says: “Alright then, if all three of you are ready you can start traveling to Zecora’s home in The Jungle.”, Upon hearing those words Applejack nods and turns her head towards the door, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy look to each other with a saddened expression as they follow her out of the library. A moment of awkwardness unfolds as Applejack passes by Rainbow Dash who was positioned near the library’s exit. The rainbow pegasus had hoped that the cowmare would say something, anything, but alas Applejack practically ignores her as she passes by and heads out the door. Fluttershy and Pinkie both give Rainbow a smile including a hug before they too take their leave. Rarity took this opportunity to say:

“I’m going to be exploring the nearby areas darlings, no need to worry I will not get into any trouble. This world is quite fabulous and I’d like to see if I can get any inspirations for my designs back home”, Rarity heads towards the door but stops next to Rainbow Dash and says: “Rainbow darling, everything will be fine. Nopony hates you for what happened and we’re all still alive, hang in there sweetie.”

“I wish I could believe that Rares... But Applejack...”, Rainbow says as she lowers her head to the floor. Rarity wanted to say more but was at a loss for words, she sighs sadly and takes her leave.

“It’ll be ok kid, Applejack doesn’t hate you. Sure, she’s pissed at you but I can read people like a book and let me tell ya, she still loves ya you just need to give her some time.”, Ceeman The Arms Dealer says as he puts his left hand onto the pegasus’s shoulder.

“Ceeman’s right, look, we know that you’d never willingly harm any of us you just made a mistake one that I’m sure you will be sure to fix. We might just have that very thing for you.” Tanner says which causes Rainbow’s ears to perk up. Starlight takes over from there and says:

“You see Rainbow, are you familiar with something called a ‘Sky Island’?”

“What?, you mean there are islands that can fly?... Awesome!”, Rainbow exclaims as she floats into the air and celebrates. “Let me guess, you want me to scout out those islands huh? No problem, I’ve got this.”

“Be careful Rainbow, those islands are the territory of The Harpies. If they see you, there is no doubt they’ll call you a threat they’re very territorial.”, Tanner says as he then gets incredibly nervous along with Starlight and Twilight. Tanner continues: “However, there is something worse that lives amongst those islands. I personally don’t want any of us to go there but Twilight assures me that you can handle yourself thanks to that incredible speed of yours.”

“Well duh, I am the fastest flyer on Equus and eventually Terraria. So, what’s this danger that you want me to watch out for?”, Rainbow asks. Twilight looked towards one of the shelves of the library and plucked a book off of the shelf setting it onto the table. The book is titled: ‘Monsters Of Terraria’, she flips through the pages and finds exactly what she’s looking for. Rainbow then walks over to the table and reads its contents:

“Chapter 47 - Wyvern.”





-EQUUS, CORRUPTION BIOME OUTPOST #1-

At the decree of Princesses Luna and Cadence three outposts were created In order to monitor The Corruption, prevent any monsters from escaping, protect the sunflowers that acted as a barrier to contain the infection, and to develop ways for them to explore The Corruption effectively. Outpost #1 is specifically tasked with trying to enter the lost city of Canterlot. Outpost #2 is tasked to do the same with Ponyville. Outpost #3 is tasked with supporting Outpost #2 by monitoring the outskirts of Ponyville along with their main target, Princess Twilight Sparkles Castle.

A gathering of many guards and protectors of Outpost #1 took place at the request of Dr. Whooves who wants to announce his latest breakthrough. The crowd consists of ponies, Changelings, Yaks, Hippogriffs, Griffons, Minotaurs, and Dragons thanks to the results of The Coalition. They all stand before an outdoor makeshift stage as well as a large screen which was currently inactive.

“Attention everypony and every being present, my name is Dr. Whooves. Now that you know who I am allow me to skip over any further introductions. Now then, by the order of the Princesses I’ve been tasked with developing a way to explore The Corruption without putting any lives in danger. Therefore, I have developed a flying device complete with a camera that will enable us to do just that, BEHOLD!”, Dr. Whooves exclaims as he pulls a sheet off of an object he was standing next to which was held on top of a pedestal. The object is revealed to be a drone:


(This was the best and closest thing I could find to resemble Dr. Whoove's creation.)

“I call it, PON-E. This device is my most successful of the batch, If it can survive todays excursions then I will be able to equip it with many addons. Yes, I’m referring to weapons in addition to a dispenser that will store a fair amount of purification powder. I designed it so it could be connected with the magic field of Equus allowing us to fly it any distance without the worry of range deficiency. My assistant, Derpy Hooves, shall demonstrate as she controls the device with the controller.”, Dr. Whooves says as he points to the aforementioned mare. Derpy, with the controller in her hooves, flies the drone off of its pedestal allowing it to hover before the crowd. “Now then, if you all could turn your attention to the screen behind me.”, Dr. Whooves says as he moves aside. The large screen was activated and began to receive the camera feed from PON-E, it showed the entire crowd standing before it which causes said crowd to applaud. “Now that we have demonstrated how it works, let the field test commence!”, Hearing these words Derpy flies the device high into the air and takes off towards The Corruption Biome.
> Chapter 15 - The Journey Of PON-E.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, CORRUPTION BIOME, OUTSKIRTS OF CANTERLOT, PON-E POV-



PON-E slowly flew over the infected landscape below the device, sending all of its camera feed back to those stationed at Outpost #1. The very wood of various trees were turned light purple as their leaves took on a much darker purple coloration. The grass below were no different from the trees as they too took on a light purple color however what was most concerning was the very earth itself. The soil was, to put it simply, devoid of all life and no amount of earth pony care could ever make life sprout in these lands. PON-E lowered itself so it could fly not too far above a road that leads to Canterlot, along this road a horrifying discovery was made. A cart was wrecked beyond any fathomable attempt to repair it as the infection began to grow onto the cart but most disturbingly was the condition of its owners, two earth ponies laid dead however their remains were so twisted and grotesque, rotten and mummified that it would be impossible to tell what their gender was. PON-E hovered over the scene to take it all in likely due to its pilots actions, the device flew around in order to get multiple angles of the deceased ponies before it then turns back to the road and continues its path towards Canterlot.

PON-E now found itself just outside the gates of Canterlot but before it could enter its first obstacle arrived, a Devourer. The large worm like abomination could be seen feeding on various bodies of ponies along with what looked like a large red dragon whos body was cleaved in two but from the looks of it something must've dragged the deceased firebreather to Canterlot judging by the drag marks imbedded into the earth. Everything was going rather well, until the worm took notice of PON-E and slithered over to the drone. Now the eyes of the Devourer focused onto the device, its pupils shrunk as if it were to represent the creatures current curiosity. Then, it simply turned back to its feast however the ground begins to shake which takes the Devourers attention away from its meal. The ground shifts which causes the buildings to crumble from the phenomenon, then, a loud roar could be heard:

[SCREEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW]

Mere seconds after the loud roar was heard the ground beneath the dragon erupted sending a large fog of purple dust into the air, the Devourer that was present bit down onto a deceased pony, took it into the creatures maw, and slithered away from the commotion. PON-E caught the entire affair however with the fog of dust currently present it couldn't make out what had caused the commotion. Therefore, PON-E began to take to the skies in an effort to fly above the fog. The device managed to succeed but what was revealed was quite the sight, whatever was here completely leveled the city of Canterlot and took the dragons entire body with it. All that remained of this once proud capitol of Equestria was the Castle itself, PON-E heads to the castle in question.

Finally, PON-E manages to reach the castle and fortunately for the device no one closed the doors to the castle as they made their escape the day Razeem invaded Equus and The Corruption took its hold on Canterlot. Flying through the hallways many pony remains were observed, ponies of all kinds laid dead in a state similar to the two earth ponies that PON-E observed on the road to Canterlot. Pegasus, Earth Pony, and Unicorn bodies littered the castle halls but most disturbingly it was evident that something had moved these corpses here. This was soon answered as PON-E encounters and observes multiple of the flying parasites known as The Eater Of Souls, with them was a fresh kill: A mare pegasus gaurdspony and judging by the armor she wore she was once a guard for The Crystal Empire, likely a latest casualty from one of the outposts. Like the Devourer, the parasites also ignored PON-E as they added their latest kill to the hallway. What happens next was shocking to the device's pilot as one of the parasites bites down onto the mare guardspony but most disturbingly was what happened next, she was still alive. The parasite's bite awakens her and she screams out:

"AAAAWWWWWWWWWW!, PLEASE BY CELESTIA I DON'T WANT TO-", The mare was silenced immediately as a white energy was being sucked right out of her body, the color of her body went pale instantly and her eyes began to cave into her skull. The process was finally complete and within the parasites mandibles was the very thing it was named for, it has her soul. The parasite immediately swallows the soul and then flies off in a direction any pony was all too familiar with, The Throne Room. PON-E follows the flying parasite. PON-E and the parasite now entered the throne room which was in an equally tarnished state as the rest of Canterlot was before it was destroyed by the unknown force. Tapestries of a moon and sun insigne were on the floor covered in various debris or still managing to hang onto the walls and ceiling but torn and aged due to The Corruption's influence. There, floating above where the thrones of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna once stood was now replaced by a large floating orb with a dark purple coloration:



The Eater Of Souls that had taken the mare guardspony's essence was now hovering just before the orb, then, it spat out the soul of the aforementioned mare which was immediately absorbed into the floating orb. PON-E observed this affair through and through, the device began to back away and head towards the exit but unfortunately a new entity stood, or more accurately floated, in its way.



"Did you enjoy the tour mortals?, you think we, The Hive Mind, are contained?. All you're doing is allowing us to... Evolve. The Corruption... We... are a monument to all your sins, a display of our might is in order. We will summon he who shall devour you all, he who will cause your greatest structures to fall, the being whos very movements causes your hearts to go awhirl, behold... The Eater Of Worlds.", The Hive Mind antagonizes with a terrifying voice that echoes throughout the area, many other voices spoke alongside the dominant demonic voice. A purple aura surrounds The Hive Mind which causes the nearby wall of the throne room to bend and open revealing a view of the outskirts of Canterlot. PON-E observed as the landscape began to shake, pieces of the mountains began to crumble. Finally, a large entity erupts from the ground and displays its massive form in all its glory:



"The show is over now mortals, we shall see you all... very soon.", The Hive Mind says as it destroys PON-E causing the camera feed to stop.





-EQUUS, CORRUPTION BIOME OUTPOST #1- 

Silence and shock was present as the crowd standing before the outdoor stage, of which Dr. Whooves and Derpy stood on who also had the exact same expressions, remained for a few more moments before the action many would expect to happen took place. Some among the crowd began to run and scream out in horror, Dr. Whooves regained his composer and trots over to a nearby device positioned to the far left side of the large screen on stage. The Doctor activates the device upon which a videotape was ejected, he then turns to Derpy and says: 

"Get this to The Crystal Empire right now!, we were fools to think we've contained this!.", Derpy immediately heeded his words and took to the skies flying towards the empire.





-TERRARIA-

It's now mid day in Terraria as Rarity continued to travel along its landscape on her Slime Mount, she took in the beautiful sights of the world before her and taking in deep breaths of the rather refreshing air. She had traveled a bit further then she would've liked but she simply couldn't help it as she says: 

"Oh this world is quite lovely, it might not be home... and it's dangerous, but I must say the views are divine.", Suddenly, she notices some ruins nearby but most interesting was the fact that these ruined structures had dark pink walls and pink bricks. The fashionista was impressed by this ancient structure. "Despite the age of these ruins everything is simply marvelous, the colors of these walls and bricks are quite lovey oh if only Spikey Wikey were here. Wait, what's that?.",  Rarity says as she takes notice of a much larger structure and despite its age it was far more intact compared to the rest of the ruins. Rarity dismounts her slime and trots up the stairs, as soon as she reaches the summit her eyes widen and her mouth goes agape in shock. Standing before her was an elderly man similar in age to The Merchant. The man notices her and says:

"Oh?, hello there little pony. Forgive me for saying this but I suggest you leave this place... It's not safe."

"Um, w-who are you sir? why are you all alone out here?."

"You can talk?, now that's something. As for who I am, I'm nothing but a foolish... Old Man."


> Chapter 16 - Rainbow Dash And The Sky Island Of Awesome.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-



Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but to admire the skies of this world, unlike back on Equus the skies here felt so much... Bigger. Then again, she wasn’t surprised since Twilight informed her that the planet of Terraria was a bit larger then the planet of Equus. Therefore, both the landscape and the skies were no doubt going to offer more room and for a pegasus, that was paradise. After a few minutes of flying Rainbow Dash finally spots her main objective, one of the many Sky Islands. At first she thought the term ‘Sky Island’ was an exaggeration and assumed it was nothing but a rather large cloud with some structures built on it similar to Cloudsdale, she couldn’t be more wrong. Her eyes shot wide open as she yells:

“No way!, there’s actual land on a cloud?!, how is that even possible?!”, Yet, despite her disbelief the truth was plain to see. Before her very eyes was indeed a small forest and its  foundation was made on a large cloud. Snapping out of her shocked state Rainbow landed onto the the floating landscape as curiosity got the better of her, as she trots her way through the small forest she soon sees a structure that could best be described in one word: Beautiful. From what she could see from the outside of the structure the bricks were made of pure gold in combination with a dark blue coloration, what caught her attention was the door. The very same door she purchased from Lucan The Merchant and used for her new home back in Home Town was now before her, it would seem she has discovered how The Merchant came into possession of one of these doors likely from another Sky Island.

“Woah, this place looks awesome. So this is where Lucan got his hands on one of these doors huh?, Rarity would be throwing a fit if she saw this.”, Rainbow says as she then walks closer to the door and begins to knock. “Hello?, anypony there?”

“...”, no reply nor any sound was made, this prompts Rainbow to knock again albeit a bit harder and shout a bit louder.

“Hello?!, listen I’m not going to hurt you I just wanna-”

[CREAK]

Finally, the door to the golden building slowly opens with a creaking noise and sure enough Rainbow was once again entranced by its beauty. The walls inside the structure had a very unique design in addition to being a darker coloration of gold compared to the outside. Much like the door, Rainbow also discovered where The Merchant procured her storage chests and the rest of her furniture. In addition, beautiful banners were hanging from the ceilings and two windows could be seen on either side of the building.



Rainbow instantly focused all of her attention on the blue chest before her, she chuckled to herself as this reminded the pegasus of her favorite book series written by A.K. Yearling, Daring-Do. She slowly opens the chest and what she finds inside amazes her beyond belief: A few Health Potions, some money, an enchanted balloon, some crafting materials, and most noticeably was a rather large blade. The blade’s pommel, grip, and cross-guard is dark purple and the emblem of a golden star sat at the base of the cross-gaurd. The rest of the blade took on a pink color from the rain-guard all the way to the point of the blade.



“Woah!, Rainbow Dash and the sky island of awesome!, that should be the next issue of-”

[CREAK] [CREAK] [CREAK] [CREAK]

Rainbow’s words were cut off as she could hear something walking on the roof of the golden building, her ears flickered about as she stores her newly acquired items in her inventory and slowly turns back around walking to the exit. Unknown to the rainbow pegasus a female entity watched her as it was perched on a tree positioned perfectly above one of the windows allowing the entity to look right into the structure and, most unfortunately, straight at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow happened to be looking out that very same window and her eyes met the creature’s gaze, the being was a female similar to The Nurse but with some major differences. Her arms were covered in feathers, likely acting as her wings as was most of her body and from the knee caps down to the beings feet was very similar to an eagle. Rainbow knew exactly what it was, a harpy.



Rainbow materialized her new found blade and looked upon it with a smirk as she says: “Well, let’s see what you’re made of...”

[CRASH]

Rainbow bursts through the door and gets on her hind legs using her wings to balance herself. She uses her front hooves to hold the blade but what she sees before her wasn’t just a harpy, but many harpies. Some were perched on trees while others flapped their wings in the air staying aloft.

“Aw hay, a harpy flock. Listen, back off now or I’ll make you sorry!”

“...”, No response but all that could be heard was the flapping sounds of the harpies wings.

“Last warning you flying chickens, leave!”

“...”

“Fine then bird brain, let’s get- Woah!”, Rainbow was cut off as all of the harpies fired at the pegasus with projectiles she was not expecting: Sharp feathers. Rainbow quickly dodges the barrage of feathers and takes to the skies, the entire flock gives chase.

If anyone on Equus were to watch the current display of acrobatics they’d think this was a wonderbolt’s show as Rainbow Dash flies in circles, dives through the air, and performs various impressive feats however this is far from a show, Rainbow was doing this to save her life as she constantly tries to dodge the flock of harpies. Because of her current situation she didn’t have time to conjure her musket from her inventory, the flock of harpies were not far behind and to make matters worst they kept firing their feather projectiles. Rainbow noticed that their feathers grew back instantly because every time they’d fire a feather another would grow back and replace it, this made the pegasus a bit envious but now was not the time for admiring the very same beings who clearly want you dead. Having no other option Rainbow looked to the blade she currently held and looked back to the flock as she says:

“I don’t know much when it comes to magic like the egghead but please, for the love of Celestia, do something awesome.”, Rainbow turns around and flies straight towards the flock. She dodges some of their attacks however a few feathers manages to hit her, the pegasus’s silver armor was enough to prevent some of the feathers from puncturing her flesh but her exposed legs did take some cuts here and there. Regardless, she pushed on and came into contact with her first harpy.

[SHLINK]

The harpy was split in two and both pieces of the body falls to the earth below however, suddenly, a barrage of pink stars rained down from the heavens killing more harpies in the process. This shocked both sides as the harpy flock and the stunt pegasus stare at each other for a second. Then, Rainbow smirks and says:

“What do you call an awesome pegasus like me holding an awesome blade that can summon stars?.”, she then turns sideways as she prepares to swing the blade once more with her front hooves. “A badass!”, Rainbow swipes at the air in front of her but made sure to be facing the flock as every swing she made continued to rain down the stars above killing many harpies in the process. One harpy manages to reach her and goes to take a swipe, Rainbow barely dodges the attack as some of her mane was sliced away. This angers her as she shouts: “Do you know how long it takes to grow some of that back?!”, The pegasus spins around in a full circle and slashes the harpy’s head clean off of its shoulders causing the body to fall down to the earth below.

The battle waged on and Rainbow was beginning to feel exhausted from swinging her blade and summoning the stars however she now had time to switch out her newly acquired weapon for her trusty musket. She loved her new weapon but it was beginning to sap her magic reserves away, rather quickly too. She realized that this weapon, despite being a sword meant for melee combat, was also really meant for a wielder who excelled with magic. While Rainbow was physically capable her magic was nothing compared to that of Twilight, Starlight, or Rarity. Taking aim with her musket she fires away and kills more harpies however they in turn do quite the number on her as the flock takes turns taking swipes at their foe, needless to say Rainbow was very thankful for her new armor although she realized that if this continues the armor will eventually give in. Suddenly, Rainbow’s worst nightmare came true as she and the harpies froze in place when they heard a frightening roar:

[RRRRREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWW]

The falling stars, the loud sounds of the harpy flock, and the loud noises coming rom Rainbows musket with every one of her shots has attracted the apex predator of the skies: The Wyvern. One word, just one word went through Rainbow’s mind as she stares upon the apex predator who was eyeing both her and the harpy flock hungrily: 

“Nope!”




The pegasus shouts as she flies away from the wyvern. The harpies, in some vain attempt, tries to combat their new foe. As Rainbow was flying away she glanced back and saw something unexpected, the harpies weren’t fighting the apex of the skies blindly, they did it to allow the others to escape. Those who were being eaten and slaughtered by the wyvern were willingly doing so, despite being her enemies Rainbow couldn’t help but to show pity for them. Being the element of loyalty and seeing how far these harpies were willing to go just to save their flock mates, Rainbow couldn’t help but to admire their loyalty to their flock. She looks forward again and just to make sure she’d get away safely she uses her Sonic-rainboom.

[BOOM]





-TERRARIA, JUNGLE BIOME, UNDERGROUND-


[BING] [BING] [BING]

The sounds of pickaxes striking against the earth echoes throughout a tunnel network that Zecora, Gex, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy created starting from the surface. Fluttershy was acting as a light source for everyone as Zecora had given her one of her new potions: Shine Potion. Thanks to their connection to the earth as an earth pony Applejack and Pinkie Pie were leading the group. Applejack turns her head and says:

“We’re almost there y’all, just a little bit further.”

“I can’t wait to see what’s in that big place beneath us, it’s so big and massive and gargantuan and-”

“Please Pinkie that’ll be enough, I can never find out how your mouth never stops, I don’t mean to sound rash but we must dig fast.”, Zecora says as she cuts off Pinkie Pie.

“The pony of pink is a marvel indeed, her antics are unusual, her abilities are a surprise, is she perhaps an Eldritch being in disguise?”, Gex question's as he puts a hand to his chin in thought.

“Oh, um, Pinkie Pie is a very special pony, it’s best to just accept it.”, Fluttershy says as she continues to light the way for the group.

Finally, Applejack hits the last wall of dirt upon which some unknown light shines through. After she and Pinkie Pie clears the way the entire group stares on in shock and disbelief, everyone, except Gex. The ponies and Zebra stare in amazement at the marvel before them: An underground jungle with an artificial light source that looked like a sun yet it wasn’t a sun at the same time. 



Gex looked on to the world before them and mutters:

“I never should have come back here...”

Unbeknownst to the lizard folk, Zecora managed to overhear this as she turns to look at him with a raised eyebrow.
> Chapter 17 - Lullaby For An Old Man.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

Rarity was having the time of her life as she was having quite the discussion, along with some tea and a table set with two chairs she bought from The Merchant that she conjured from her inventory, with someone who much to her own surprise shared the same interests as her.

“Ohoho, that is simply fantastic darling!. I can’t believe you are a fellow fashionista like moi , we simply must exchange designs sometime.”, Rarity says as she listens contently to her new companion’s story: Steven, The Old Man.

“It’s true Miss Rarity, my clothing line used to sell instantly throughout Terraria. Terrarian’s would literally fight over the chance to allow me to design clothing for them, it’s quite lucrative business too as I’m sure you know given what you told me about your world, Equus, I believe you called it?”

“That’s correct darling, but I don’t do it for the money love, not always. I do take some bits to keep a roof over myself of course but I always offer my first time clients a free outfit of their choosing. I take their measurements, I ask them for some time, and fulfill the order without question.”

“That’s mighty generous of you!, I wish I met you back when I was still in my prime we could’ve been great business partners. Well, aside from the fact you don’t really belong to this world.”

“Aw yes, If you were born in my world I don’t doubt that for a second darling. Alas, the universe can be quite cruel.”, The two fellow fashionistas laugh as they finish their conversation.

Steven regained his composer from their laughter as he suddenly took on a saddened expression. Rarity caught on to this immediately and asks: “Are you ok Steven?, your entire face just dropped suddenly?”

“Oh, well...”, Steven then sighs deeply before he continues. “Rarity, we’ve only been speaking for ten to fifteen minutes at best and you’ve already made this old man happy. It’s nice being able to talk to someone again but... You need to go, this place is not safe for you.”

“Oh I’m sure darling but you’re here with me, so it can’t be that bad right?. I know you told me not to enter that, Dungeon, as you called it... But I’m happily content with just speaking with you.”

“Rarity, please, you are very kind and quite generous but you must keep your distance from me. This place is dangerous because of all the dangers within The Dungeon but...”, Steven cuts himself off as he hesitates to finish his words.

“But what darling?, I might not look it despite wearing this silver armor but I can take care of myself. Please, tell me what’s frightening you?”, Rarity pleads, her words causes Steven to look at her worryingly before he sighs and finally gives in.

“I-I’m what makes this place dangerous Rarity... My curse is a threat to all of Terraria, this curse is also my punishment. Please, take my warning and leave me be.”, Steven says as he looks away with his eyes closed. He could hear Rarity get off of her seat and sighed sadly as he assumed she would walk away in fear, like many have before. Suddenly, he was surprised when a white hoof lifts his head and turns his gaze back to his new acquaintance and possible friend, Rarity.

“I will not walk away until you give me the full story Steven, something is clearly bothering you and as your friend it is my duty to hear you out. So, more tea?”, Rarity offers as she conjures a tea pot and refills Steven’s cup.

“Y-you’re not afraid?, you... Consider me a friend? But why?. I mean no offence dear Rarity but we barely know each other that well. Besides... You wouldn’t want to be my friend when you hear my story.”

“Then I’m all ears love, we still have quite some time before the sun sets so come now.”, Rarity claps her hooves twice. “Start talking.”, Steven stares at her in disbelief before he then chuckles to himself.

“You’re one stubborn lady-pony you know that. Alright, I’ll tell you about my curse but you must promise to leave before it gets dark. Swear it to me Rarity.”

“I, Rarity, the bearer of the element of generosity, and a true lady, hereby swear to you that I will keep that promise. Just as long as you tell me the truth Steven, you do not strike me as someone with evil intent.”

“Ok Rarity, I shall tell you about how I became possessed by... Skeletron.”









Many years ago a well known clothier merchant and fashionista felt that he wasn’t adequate enough to aide Terraria against the forces of Skeletron and any other threat that would destroy the world. As I’m sure you can tell this... Is me: Steven, The Clothier. You see, Skeletron is the lord of death and a powerful necromancer to boot. He’d send countless undead beings to pillage and destroy many settlements, each person that died was added to his army as a zombie or any other type of undead. Most disturbingly was when he used his powers to summon a horrible event: The Blood Moon. It’s exactly as it sounds, his influence on the moon empowers his army of the dead. The zombie’s in his army are usually, well, brain dead but thanks to this event they become much more intelligent and much stronger. They can plan, they can plot, their strength is enhanced to the point they can rip a Terrarian in two. Knowing all of this I devised a foolish plan... To seal Skeletron within myself, bind us to The Dungeon, and control his powers in defense of Terraria. I had help from an unknown mage, I forgot his name but I do recall what he looked like although that’s not entirely accurate since he was covered up.



Time went by and things were going surprisingly well. I used this power, despite how some people would react to my use of it, in order to protect the world. This very dungeon we stand upon? I built it, well, me and my army of undead. I know, I know, I was a fool to resort to such tactics but you must understand how desperate me and my fellow Terrarian’s had become. We were tired of having to sleep with an eye open every night as the undead wandered around us, they’d come out every, single, night. By controlling Skeletron’s powers I forced all of the undead to remain within The Dungeon, that is why we never see the undead wandering the land at night nowadays. There are even worse nightmares than the walking dead such as the restless spirits that plagued the lands of Terraria, they too are sealed up here. You can defeat a zombie, you'll struggle to 'harm' a spirit.

But then it happened, Skeletron’s influence grew within my psyche to the point that every night he would take control of my body. My only relief is that he’s still bound to The Dungeon but that doesn’t stop him from claiming poor adventurers and travelers who he tricks through lies and deceit. Since our minds are at conflict neither of us can order the undead to attack or leave The Dungeon, and I’m going to keep it that way until I die and take him with me. Thanks to the seal, If he dies, I live. If I die, we both die.







“And that, dear Rarity, is the story of the foolish old man you call a friend...”, Steven finishes his story and puts both of his hands onto the table, he then cups both hands and brings them to his face in shame. “I’m such a fool, I don’t deserve a life-”

“Do. Not. Say. That!.”, Rarity exclaims as she gets off her seat, trots over to Steven, and hugs his right leg with all her might. Steven was shocked beyond belief but not entirely due to her hug, what caught his attention most was the river that flowed down both of her cheeks: Tears. She sobs as she says: “Y-you just w-wanted to protect e-everyone... Y-you are an u-unsung hero Steven!. You are t-the bravest p-person I’ve ever known!”, Rarity’s words pierced Steven’s heart as he began to do what he never thought he could ever do again, he followed Rarity’s example and allowed the tears to flow.

The two friends stayed like that for half an hour before they finally parted, the fur on Rarity’s cheeks were still damped from her tears. Steven’s heart, for the first time in many years, felt an emotion he thought was lost to him thanks to this curse: Happiness. He looks her dead in the eyes and says: “Thank you, Rarity. My friend.”

“Why of course darling, it’s what a true friend does.”, Rarity says as she lets go and walks back to her side of the table, she takes a seat and with a deep breath she says: “Your story was truly a sad one darling, but, I cried not only because of what happened to you... I also cried because of how alike we truly are.”

“What do you mean Rarity?”

“You aren’t the only one who got possessed by an evil force, I was too... The circumstances were a bit different but it was also the same.”, Rarity’s words shocked Steven. His new friend was soo much more then just a fellow fashionista, she was also someone who understood his pain. Rarity takes a deep breath and says: “I have a story of my own dear Steven. Allow me to tell you about, Nightmare Rarity.”


(Art belongs to its respective owner)

(You can end the story here or you can continue on to the Instrumental song I made for these two. The song is canon to the story but it won’t be a big loss if you choose to skip it.  )






> Chapter 18 - Ritsu.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND JUNGLE BIOME-

“This is ah’mazin... How’s this even possible?”, Applejack says as she looks on to this underworld marvel.

“Oh, oh, oh, maybe-it-was-a-goddess-who-was-a-plant-who-actually-was-a-”

“Pinkie!”, Applejack exclaims as she cuts off her friend.

“Oops, sorry.”, Pinkie replies as she smiles contently.

“Wait, um, does anypony else see that in the distance?”, Fluttershy asks as she points a hoof towards a large structure in the distance. “It looks like... A temp-”

“Never go there friends the dangers are great, I say we turn around before it’s too late!”, Gex The Witchdoctor exclaims as everyone takes notice of how nervous he is. Zecora is the first to comment on this and says:

“You know something about this place Gex, it’s the reason you are such a mess, I noticed your fears, you shake and you quake, you owe it to your friends, what is this place?”, Zecora asks which causes all eyes to fall on Gex who sighs deeply and replies:

“This underground world is dangerous friends, we must avoid that temple at all cost. None of us are strong enough to face the horrors within... I know these horrors well.”

“...”, everyone was silent as they looked to him in shock.

“What is it friends?”, Gex asks.

“Y-you just spoke normally... We thought you were just like Zecora...”, Applejack replies. Pinkie’s mouth literally dropped to the floor as Fluttershy looked on to Gex with a confused expression. Zecora simply laughed with a hoof over her muzzle.

“I can see why that would confuse you, aside from rhyme I can speak normally too, It’s not something my kind does in their lives, I however do it out of spite.”, Gex says as his expression becomes angered and he grits his teeth on full display while growling like a crocodile. Applejack could tell it was a personal matter to The Witchdoctor so she tries to derail the conversation and says:

“Come on Y’all, the sooner we find that blade the better.”, The whole group nods and makes their way down to the underground jungle.

Some time goes by as the group treks through The Jungle, many different forms of life thrived within this underworld environment ranging from various types of birds, bats, turtles, along with many types of fauna and flora. Fluttershy was of course very happy about this entire affair, along the way the group observed a particularly large tortoise.



Gex warned Fluttershy that this tortoise was one of the apex lifeforms in this environment and despite her love for animals he didn’t want her to go anywhere near it. Fluttershy pouted but decided to heed The Witchdoctor’s warning, albeit hesitantly.

Pinkie Pie was simply having the time of her life as she talked about throwing various types of parties which causes Applejack to facehoof throughout  all of her antics. The group searched and searched for what felt like hours, it wouldn’t surprise any of them if it was already nightfall on the surface. Suddenly, they came across an injured deer, a doe, with a badly wounded leg. Naturally, Fluttershy rushed into action as she quickly tended to the injured animal even going so far as to give the deer one of her Health Potions. The doe rubs itself against the pegasus in gratitude which causes Fluttershy to blush and hug the doe, suddenly, a noise could be heard nearby in the form of cracking sticks and rustled bushes. The being responsible for the commotion soon reveals itself which causes the whole group to stare on in shock, especially Fluttershy. The entity was female, dark skinned, and bipedal however what stuck out most was the fact it looked like a terrarian and a fox were blended together.



“...”

“...”

Fluttershy and the new being simply stared at each other in shock, then, the inevitable happens as they both shout:

“Oh my gosh you’re such a cute pony, what?!, you have wings?!, you can talk?!”

“Oh my gosh a talking fox lady!, you’re so cute.”

The two run into each other as they attempt to smother the other with love and affection. Fluttershy was caught within the embrace of the fox-woman being slightly lifted off the ground which causes the pegasus to rub her cheeks against them. The fox-woman in turn hugged Fluttershy and continued to stroke her mane with her hands, she then realizes something as she shouts:

“There’s more of you?!, eeek!”, like a predator pouncing its prey she gently puts Fluttershy down and leaps onto the other ponies trying to get them into a group hug. Pinkie Pie was noticeably enjoying the whole affair as she says:

“Once we get back home we’re throwing a party!”, Applejack, throughout the entire affair, was simply frozen in shock even as the fox-woman held her and her friends in their embrace. Zecora and Gex stared on with the same expression as Applejack.

“Eeek!, I love all of you this one looks so cute with that cowboy hat. You’re all so colorful too. Wait, no way, shut up, a zebra?!. I’ve never seen one before!”, The fox woman exclaims as she once again gently releases her hold on the ponies and leaps towards Zecora as she shouts: “You’re going to love me!”, suddenly, she was caught mid air by Gex who intercepts her before she could smother the zebra with love and affection.

“That’s enough Ritsu, stop smothering my friends, I’d like for them to be in one piece by days end.”, Gex says as he holds Ritsu in the air with both of his hands.

“Aww, you’re no fun Gex... Fine, I know what I have to do so can you put me down now?”, Ritsu asks which causes Gex to lower her down to the ground, Ritsu clears her throat as she turns to everyone present and says: “Hello everyone my name is Ritsu, The Zoologist. In case you’re wondering I’m a Kitsune hehe, and let me just say you’re all the absolute cutest!”, Ritsu says as she admires the ponies and zebra before her. Fluttershy walks forward and asks:

“Oh my, you love animals? I do too, I’m Fluttershy.”, The two animal lovers continue to conversate, meanwhile Pinkie is hopping around happily gibbering on about throwing multiple parties. Everyone else looks towards Gex with expressions that could best be described as: “What?...”, Gex sees this and responds:

“I, well... You know what? I’m not even gonna rhyme for this one. She’s a long time friend, I’ll explain as we continue.”





-DISCORD’S POCKET DIMENSION-

“Come on you blasted spell, I’m The Lord Of Chaos for goodness sake why can’t I simply rip a hole into reality and get into Terraria?!. If I weren’t banished Fluttershy would be back home already... Well, the others too I suppose.”, Discord says filled with annoyance. He then takes a deep breath and sighs deeply. “Oh dear Fluttershy... Why didn’t you express those feelings before all of this had to happen?, I wish you knew that... I felt the same way.”, The draconequus says as he stares at a photo of the two friends together. He then narrows his eyes in determination. “No!, I’ll get into that realm one way or another. Let’s try this again...”, Discord continues to snap his fingers as he continues his attempts to enter Terraria.





-EQUUS, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-

Derpy Hooves couldn’t afford any interruptions as she flew through the empire with speeds that could almost rival Rainbow Dash, she zipped through many of the crystalline structures as she made her way to her destination with her package in hand. A package that was without a doubt the most important thing she’s had to deliver in her life, Derpy finds herself nearing the castle gates. Instead of slowing down to speak to the two guardsponies stationed on either side of the gate, a pegasus and an earth pony, she had to be bold, this package needed to be delivered, Derpy flew right over the gate which causes both guards to shout:

“Halt!”, the pegasus guardspony takes off and flies after Derpy.

“By order of the Princesses I order you to stop citizen!”, the pegasus guardspony exclaims.

“I’m sorry, but I need to deliver this without any delay!. The whole world is at stake!”, Derpy replies as she nears the doors to the castle.

[CRASH]

Derpy rams right into the doors causing them to open forcefully, she was honestly very fortunate the doors opened inward rather then outwards otherwise she’d be hitting the doors much like a brick wall, to no avail. The pegasus guard continues to order her to stop but she had a mission that simply needs to be completed, Derpy maneuvered through the hallways until she finally sees her target: The Throne Room. Unfortunately, another ‘roadblock’ occurs as six guardsponies were stationed outside of the room. Derpy had no choice but to confront them, in addition to the guard pegasus behind her who was closing in rapidly.

“I have vital information regarding The Corruption, you need to let me through!”, Derpy pleads.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve!, you can wait alongside everypony else-”

“There is no time to wait!, if we do we all die!”, Derpy exclaims as she soon finds herself surrounded completely by all of the crystal royal guards present.

“What’s going on here?!”

Everyone present turns their gaze towards a nearby hallway, there standing in all of their glory were the ancient heroes of the world: The Pillars. Among them, the former villain Stygian takes the initiative to step forward and asks:

“Well?, you heard my dear friend Starswirl. What is this all about?”, Derpy wasted no time as she immediately shouts:

“I have important information from Dr. Whooves, this must get to The Princesses asap!”, Derpy then turned back to the guards. “I’m sorry, I know you’re just doing your jobs but I’m also doing mine and as of this moment my job could possibly save Equestria.”, The guards continue to glare at her however Stygian and The Pillars step forward, Starswhirl takes the initiative and says:

“I’ve heard quite a lot about you Miss Derpy, the citizens of Ponyville speak well of you. Is it safe to assume that the package in your possession is this ‘vital information’ you claim to have?”

“Yes, we of Outpost #1 have made a dire discovery. Please, let me in to see The Princesses.”, Derpy pleads but what shocks everyone present was what happened next, tears were flowing down the pegasus’s face. “Please, I... I have a daughter and if things get bad I’m scared of what might happen to her, to all the children of the world.”, Upon hearing Derpy’s plead Mistmane, an elderly unicorn from neighpon and a member of the pillars, walks up to Derpy and places a hoof onto Derpy’s right shoulder.

“Go forward my dear, take that message straight to The Princesses.”, Mistmane says with a loving tone, one of the guards was about to say something... That was until another member of The Pillars, Rockhoof, narrows his eyes and practically dared the guardspony to say something.

Within the throne room Luna, Cadence, Tempest, Chrysalis, Thorax, and Shining armor are currently lost in discussion.

“The Corruption is contained and there are only two types of monsters coming out of it, you have that powder stuff right? Just dump it on the blasted place!”, Chrysalis says as she lift’s her left front leg into the air.

“Even if we tried doing that we still haven’t procured enough powder to even attempt such a thing.”, Thorax replies, Chrysalis then turns her head to Princesses Cadence and Luna and asks:

“You have a pouch that has been enchanted to create an unlimited number of this powder, why haven’t you collected enough yet?”

“We’ve been producing the powder around the clock however, according to Shining Armor’s report, tis would appear that once thy pouch is emptied there is an hour interfold before it replenishes thyself.”, Luna replies with annoyance as she still hasn’t taken a liking to have the former changeling queen among them.

“Well, at least we have a fair amount of time. The Corruption is indeed contained and-”

[THUMP]

The doors to the throne room were flung open as Derpy Hooves along with The Pillars, Stygian, and some of the crystal guard trots up to the royals and changelings. Derpy displays her package before them and says: “Your highnesses, I have vital information straight from Dr. Whooves from Outpost #1.”
> Chapter 19 - Slimes Vs Hornets.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND JUNGLE-



Fluttershy and Ritsu, to put it simply, were practically long lost sisters. They continued to talk about many of the animals both have taken care of in their time. Everyone else present couldn’t help but to smile at the exchange taking place before them.

“Oh my, so you can talk to animals too?. I wish you could’ve met angel bunny back home I think he’d like you.”

“Oh yeah, it comes with being a Kitsune. We have the ability to speak with any animal we want, the only other species that ever beat us as far as being connected to nature goes were The Dryads.”

“Oh, we actually met a Dryad named Celebes. She kept to herself but she was very nice too, she played a big role in helping us beat the... Moon Lord...”, Fluttershy says as she begins to shake nervously.

“I’ve got to say, you guys got guts. I know powerful adventurers who crapped themselves just from hearing his name.”, Ritsu says, suddenly, a pink blur zooms next to Fluttershy.

“Oh, you mean like how Fluttershy wet herself when Razeem came and crashed the-”

“Pinkie!”, Applejack exclaimed, Fluttershy was red in embarrassment as she tries to hide behind her mane.

“Don’t be ashamed Fluttershy, It happens to the bes-”, Suddenly, Ritsu cuts off her words and her fox ears flicker about as she hears something nearby. “Wait, I hear something everyone... I can’t put my finger on it but it sounds like buzz- oh no.”, Applejack’s curiosity was peeked as she asks:

“What do you mean you here a buzz?, as far as I know that could only be a-”,

[BZZ] [BZZ] [BZZ] [BZZ] [BZZ] [BZZ]

“Oh no, not the bees!.. Wait, they look more like hornets.”, Pinkie Pie says with confusion.

“Oh, they look so cut-”

“Normally I’d agree with you my fellow animal lover but those are not the friendly types!”, Ritsu says as she cuts off Fluttershy’s words.



“Those bees are... Pretty darn big...”, Applejack says in shock.

“Hornets actually.”, Pinkie Pie interjects which causes Applejack to look at her with a deadpan stare.

“Now’s not the time for talk, move those hooves and- Duck!”, Zecora shouts as a hornet tries to swoop in. Everyone dodges in time however this causes the rest of the swarm to give chase.

“Run!”, Applejack exclaims as the entire group makes a run for any type of shelter, the hornet swarm were relentless as they pursue the group with no intentions of letting up.

The group have been running for a good ten minutes and some of the ponies were beginning to have trouble catching their breath, suddenly, Fluttershy’s Slime Staff begins to pulse with energy and the words:

“Use us”, pops into her psyche. Something snaps within the yellow pegasus as she turns to the swarm and, to everyone’s surprise, her eyes began to glow white and her body was surrounded with a red and purple aura. She floats into the air and her voice deepened as she says:

”By the call of the slime, I summon the green hoard, come to me, my servants of green!”, The moment those words were said a large portal appears over Fluttershy. Pouring out of this portal was, literally, hundreds of green slimes.

[BOIK] [BOIK] [BOIK]

”All hail the Goddess Fluttershy!.”, All of the slimes say in unison. Fluttershy’s white energy filled eyes narrows in anger towards the swarm of hornets and makes her proclamation as she points a hoof to the hornets and says:

“By the decree of Crimulan and Ebonian, destroy my enemies!”





-FLASHBACK, KING SLIME AND PRINCESS PINKIE-

”Father, not to sound ungrateful but why did you bestow the slime staff onto Fluttershy?. She definitely does deserve it but why did you do it?” 

”Daughter, do you remember what I told you about The Slime Gods: Crimulan and Ebonian?.”

”Of course father, they existed ever since this worlds creation and brought to life all slimes in existence. They were also the ones who bestowed you with your power and authority.” 

”Indeed my child, but before you ascend to the eventual role of Slime Queen you must know the truth about The Slime Staff. You see, the staff doesn’t seem like much to anyone else but when I bestow the staff on one who is deserving the staff judges their new owner on behalf of the gods. When I put my tendril onto Fluttershy’s head that day I saw a vision my child, your friend is truly impressive.”

”What did you see father?”

”I saw her... She was fighting a great foe along with her allies but by their side, by her side, was... The gods themselves. She will eventually tap into the staff’s true powers, she is worthy!”



-END FLASHBACK-





The hornet swarm and the green slime army battle it out with both sides taking losses, Fluttershy returns to the earth and lands on the ground. Her eyes were still filled with a bright white energy and the green aura around her has yet to dissipate. Everyone stares on with disbelief as they each comment:

“Ah can’t believe what ah’m seein’, Fluttershy just summoned a whole army.” - Applejack.

“Fluttershy’s superly duperly awesome!, we need to throw a party for this!” - Pinkie Pie.

“It can’t be... This energy she’s giving off, it’s hers yet it’s not.” - Gex, he was so surprised he once again decided to not speak in rhyme.

“Never did I expect such might, to come from one so shy, her heart is so pure devoid of hate, what we’re witnessing is a righteous flame.” - Zecora.

“She’s a fellow animal lover and a summoner?!, Eeek, you ponies are too much.” - Ritsu.

Suddenly, the ground around them shakes violently and new foes enter the battlefield as large vine like monstrosities erupts from the ground instantly eating various hornets and slimes.


(Image belongs to its respective user)

The energy that once surrounded Fluttershy and overtook her eyes dissipated, she wobbled in place and was about to collapse to the floor until Applejack catches her and says: “Ah’ gotchya sugarcube, come on everypony we’ve got’ta go while they’re distracted.”, Everyone nods in agreement and uses the ensuing chaos to escape.





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN- 

“Ok, slow down Rainbow. What did you see again?”, Twilight asks, Starlight Glimmer’s mouth was agape as she listens to Rainbows tale.

“I told you already Twilight, I went to one of those Sky Islands you guys wanted me to check out and when I got there I-”

“Wait!, I need to document this!”, Twilight cuts off Rainbow’s tale as she conjures a quill along with multiple sheets of paper into being. Starlight and Rainbow sigh lightly before Rainbow continues:

“Like I was saying egghead, I found one of those islands and found a house on  one of them. A golden house that would make Rarity go insane, I entered the house and found a chest just like Daring-Do!. Anyway I open up the chest and got this baby, stand back.”, Rainbow backs away from the two mares and conjures her newly acquired blade into being.

Twilight and Starlight stare upon the blade in utter shock but most surprisingly, Starlight seemed even more ecstatic about this discovery as drool nearly slips out of her mouth as it hung agape. Twilight continues writing down her notes as Starlight shouts: “That’s The Sword: Starfury!, it can summon stars to rain down on your foes. It costs both magic and physical strength to use but it’s an amazing blade, I’m so jealous!”, Starlight begins to hyperventilate which causes Twilight to stop taking notes in order to support her student.

“You know, I figured you eggheads would know more about this thing. Well, Starlight, you want it? Twilight is going for the pure mage route and I know you wanted to mix in some melee with your magic. It’s awesome but I don’t-”

“Yes!, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, a hundred times yes!.”, Starlight exclaims as she gets so close to Starfury she could kiss it. Twilight chuckles to herself and says:

“I think that’s a wonderful idea Rainbow Dash, it also gives me time to study the blade alongside Starlight. I’m not really interested in any weapons like this, if you find a rare staff on one of those islands though give me a call, that’s when it gets gooooood.”, Rainbow hands the blade over to Starlight whos eyes sparkled just like the stars themselves. Putting the blade into her inventory Starlight runs into Rainbow and hugs her tightly.

“Oh my gosh Rainbow you have no idea how happy you’ve made me!, I’ve read all about this blade in the library and I’ve been dying to get my hands on it while we were here. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”, Starlight repeats as she nearly had tears form in her eyes.

“No... Problem b-but please... I need... Air...”, Rainbow struggles to say.

“Oh sorry, ehehe.”, Starlight lets go of the rainbow pegasus who takes the time to catch her breath, Twilight finishes her notes and sends them away via her magic onto the nearby table. “I really appreciate this Rainbow, hey, you know what? I think I can repay you back in full.”, Starlight says with a smirk as an idea pops into her head.

“What’s that?”, Rainbow asks. Twilight catches on to what Starlight was suggesting and continues:

“You see Rainbow, these last few nights we’ve been collecting stars that literally fall from the skies. Trust me, I lost my mind about it.”, Twilight’s left eye noticeably twitched. “However, we were working with Ceeman The Arms Dealer and we’re currently working on a new project.”, As Twilight finishes her words she turns her head and nods to her student, Starlight takes over and says:

“It’s very fortunate you’re aiming to be a ranger to go alongside your melee attacks Rainbow because we want you to be the first to use, The Star Cannon.”



“Aww yeah!, now we’re talking. I bet I can kick that Wyvern’s flank the next time we-”

“You met a Wyvern?!”, Twilight exclaims as she cuts off Rainbow’s words and teleports in front of the pegasus. Twilight fires up her horn and takes Rainbow into her aura, she rematerializes her quill with multiple sheets of paper and says: “Tell... Me... EVERYTHING!”
> Chapter 20 - The Blade Of Grass
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND JUNGLE BIOME-

(Play on loop)


Having escaped from the hornets the group has decided to set up camp and catch their breath before night has fallen, Ritsu and Gex had informed the group that a day and night cycle does in fact exist down in this underworld landscape however there’s no moon for obvious reasons. They explain that the energy which creates the artificial ‘sun’ during the day is somehow  connected to the actual sun on the surface. Fluttershy still remained unconscious from the events of today’s battle.

“No luck finding that Blade Of Grass yet Twi.” Applejack says as she stares off into the distance, she then sighs sadly and says: “I think ah’ was too hard on Rainbow, I need to talk to her when we get back.”, The cowmare then looks to an unconscious Fluttershy with a look of curiousity. “What was that?, ah’ know summoning things is pretty powerful stuff in this world but ah’ never woulda thought Fluttershy could do that. She changed physically when she activated her staff.”

“She’s been chosen by The Slime King, hasn’t she?”, Ritsu The Zoologist asks having overheard Applejacks question. As their conversation continued Pinkie Pie, Zecora, and Gex were chatting in the background.

“Well, yeah actually. The Slime King gave Fluttershy that there staff she used today, but why does that matter?”, Applejack questions.

“You see, when the king bestows the staff onto an individual the staff judges their heart and soul, specifically, their kindness. You told me Fluttershy was this ‘Element of Kindness’ right?”, Ritsu asks which causes the cowmare to nod her head. “That surely played a huge role in the king’s decision, I suspect that element of hers will have all sorts of effects on this worlds various creatures. For a very long time many beings of Terraria only ever considered slimes as pests, bothersome insects that needed to be destroyed whenever they appeared in an area. No one ever takes the time to consider the fact that maybe, just maybe, slimes have a consciousness and feelings of their own. I know for sure I wouldn’t want people to look at a Kitsune and call us vermin, to be removed simply for being what I am. Because of this many slimes went feral, wild, and assumingly lost themselves to their rage thus becoming the more dangerous slimes that attacks you for no reason. Which brings me back to The Slime Staff, what if I told you that there exists Slime Gods?”

“Wha’?!, you mean they have their own divine figures?”, Applejack asks in shock, Ritsu chuckles a bit and replies:

“No Applejack, they’re not ‘Divine Figures’, they’re literal gods who created every type of slime you can think of. Every color, shape, and type of slime you can imagine including The Slime King, they created them.”

“Darn... That’s ah’mazin, but then, what does that hav’ta do with Fluttershy.”, Applejack asks.

“The Slime Gods, Crimulan and Ebonian, felt immense pain having to watch their slime children be treated in such a way. However, they also knew that they couldn’t just manifest into this world and start killing everyone in vengeance, not everyone in Terraria has ever hurt a slime unless in self defense. They understood this so they created two things: The Slime King and The Slime Staff. The King’s first objective was to gather up slimes whos minds didn’t go feral yet and bring them together, he also created more slimes who in turn inherited his consciousness and intellect. Having completed this he began his next objective, to find those who are worthy of The Slime Staff. Beings whos hearts didn’t judge slimes crudely and call them monsters but a possible friend, a living being, an entity that wants to be welcomed with open arms not with blades or spells, but friendship and love.”, Ritsu then looks towards Fluttershy. “Your pegasus friend there?, she is one of the chosen.”

Unbeknownst to the group a being was observing them as they set up camp and chatted amongst themselves.

“I must report this to The Queen, these outsiders are here for the blade. Glory to the hive.”, The observer says as they take to the skies and, simply put, buzzes off.

Some time has past and the hornet who observed the group of outsiders nears their home, a large hive that’s reminiscent to a bee hive but for hornets. Many of the hornet’s fellow hive members were out doing various tasks from storing honey to moving larvae. As the hornet made its way through the rather large hive they reach the royal chamber and their main goal was in sight, The Queen Bee.



Floating above her emanating a green aura was the very blade the group of outsiders were looking for, The Blade Of Grass.


(Image belongs to its respective owner)

Apparently, their species are mostly comprised of hornets however when a hornet becomes a queen they ascend to a Queen Bee. Becoming a bee is considered a sacred honor. The Queen Bee then builds her own hive, asexually reproduces, and gives birth to the next generation of hornets thus the cycle continues. The hornet observer lowers itself to the hives honey covered honey comb floor and says:

“Queen Beezma, I have urgent news.”

“Report, hornet 626.”

“My Queen, intruders have entered our realm.”

“Intruders are always entering my kingdom, why is this any different from the last... Hmm, I lost count of how many Terrarians I’ve killed it seems.”

“They... They seek the blade, your Majesty.”, Upon saying those words every other hornet in the vicinity stopped dead in their tracks, Queen Beezma’s insectoid features narrowed. One could easily tell, she was very angry. Queen Beezma’s voice practically echoes throughout the entire hive as she screams out:

“They dare take my treasure?!, the blade belongs to me!. Ready our forces, I want you all to attack in the morning. Their bodies have better be laying before me by tomorrow evening!. I, Queen Beezma and Mother Of The Hive, have spoken!”, Upon making her declaration most of the hornets in attendance flies out of the royal chambers, except hornet 626.

“My Queen, would it not be wise to speak with these outsiders and learn the truth of-”

[WHAM]

Queen Beezma strikes 626 with one of her legs sending the hornet aloft and skiing across the honey combed floor.

“You dare question my decree 626?, consider yourself lucky that I don’t kill you right here and now with the blade. It’s taboo for a Queen to kill her own children but do that again and I will consider it. You’ve been warned, now leave!”, Having heard her words 626 manages to recover from the queen’s strike, the hornet lowers itself to the floor in a kneeling gesture and leaves the chamber. Queen Beezma turns her gaze to the blade that floated above her and says: “None shall take you, my precious.”

Exiting Queen Beezma’s royal chambers Hornet 626 flies down the corridors of the hive and says: “That blade has changed you dear mother, you’ve become so obsessed with it you don’t see the consequences of your actions.”, 626 continues to make their way through the hive until they finally reach its entrance and leaves. 626 then flies to the very top of a large nearby tree and looks out to the underworld horizon as the light from the artificial sun begins to die out. “My Queen, why can’t you see that your actions endangers us? You kill anyone that you see as a threat but not for the hive, for that blade. You care more about what happens to that weapon than any of us, you have changed... Mother.”, 626 says as they watch the last remaining light from the artificial sun fade and all goes dark.





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Twilight was about to close down the library for the night and head to her bedroom however the door to the library opens up only to reveal Rarity, Twilight sees her friend and says: “Aw there you are Rarity, where were you today?”

“Oh, well, I was just... Exploring darling. Nothing happened really, I did however find many things to inspire some new clothing lines for back home.”, Rarity replies as she hesitated to tell her friend the truth. “Oh and I’m sad to report that I have yet to discover the location of the next blade on the list, the Muramasa.”

“It’s ok Rarity, It’ll take some time and I want you to stay here with the rest of the Terrarians to keep searching for it. Ask them for help whenever you can ok?”, Twilight says which causes Rarity to look to her with confusion.

“Wait, I’m staying here? What do you mean darling where are the rest of you going?”, Rarity asks.

“Myself, Rainbow, Starlight, and many other Terrarian adventurers Tanner The Guide managed to gather are going to make a voyage to...”, Like Rarity, Twilight also hesitated to tell her the truth but unlike the fashionista she takes a deep breath and reveals the truth shortly as she says: “We’re going after another blade, The Bloodbutcher. Its location: The Crimson Biome.”

“...”, Rarity just stares at Twilight with her eyes wide open and her mouth agape.

“Rarity?, are you ok?”, Twilight asks however she gets a different type of response from her friend, Rarity faints.

After closing up the library, not to mention escorting an unconscious Rarity to her bedroom, Twilight washes up and is preparing for bed however she needed to complete something very important before she embraces her bed and falls asleep: Her letter to Celestia. She walks over to the table, conjures a pen and multiple sheets of paper, and begins writing:



Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Terrarian Letters For Celestia - Entry: 2

Dear Princess Celestia,

Ok, many things have happened since my last entry so I’ll try to summarize it and split them up into separate sections:

First: My fears were indeed correct as The Goblin Army attacked us but thanks to an early warning from Fluttershy and her animal friends we were able to prepare ourselves for the conflict. It was going very well, we were holding out despite the far greater numbers of the goblins but I must say, they’re not very bright creatures. There was one type among them that proved the most difficult: The Goblin Mage. Their intellect was far superior in comparison to the other goblins, my theory is that they had to improve their intellect in order to use their spells however, as far as I noticed, they only performed two types of spells: Teleportation and a purple orb that acts as an offensive projectile. Sadly, Rainbow Dash thought it would be a great idea to try and show off her Sonicrainboom as a form of attack... It backfired. She blew a hole into the wall which allowed the goblins to invade our home, poor Rainbow was devastated. Luckily, thanks to Fluttershy’s actions with Princess Pinkie her father, The Slime King, sent his forces to aid us and together we successfully defeated the goblins and repaired the town. Fluttershy was also nice enough to give me all the juicy details in regards to The Slime King and his children, all of whom have inherited his intellect. Finally, The King saw fit to give Fluttershy a staff that allows her to summon slimes to aid her, which I’ve sadly yet to see in action, The Slime Staff.

Second: This one is going to be short but allow me to... Vent, when I say... STARS. CAN. FALL. FROM. THE. SKY. It shouldn’t be possible Princess and yet it is!. Princess Luna would be losing her mind if she were here!, admittingly, I’ve yet to truly recover from this experience. We are currently using the stars we’ve collected for various experiments, most notably are our two current projects: The Star Cannon and the ability to use these stars to increase our magic reserves, Tanner has informed us that if you combine ten fallen stars you are able to use the resulting ‘Star Gem’, the name we gave it, to increase your magic capacity. Ceeman Jones has a way to integrate some of these stars into what will eventually create The Star Cannon, I shall update my entries once we have achieved this goal.

Third: We sent Rainbow Dash to explore the nearby Sky Islands, yes you read that right, Sky Islands!. I still don’t know how they achieve this but you know what?, If stars can fall from the sky and be picked up I’m just going to treat this situation similar to how I treat Pinkie Pie’s antics: Just accept it and move on. Anyway, on one of these Sky Islands Rainbow dash recovered a legendary weapon called Starfury. If you think falling stars was already a mind blower you’ll be surprised to hear that this blade can, and I’m not exaggerating here, SUMMON STARS WITH EVERY SWING!... For the sake of my sanity I’m just going to stop there, I feel my left eye twitching again. That’s not all princess, words can’t express how grateful I am for the fact that Rainbow Dash has amazing speed to aide her because earlier today not only did she encounter Harpies... She encountered a Wyvern. I’m nervous to go into further details but I can say this, as far as we know it is the undisputed apex of the skies. We have yet to encounter any other flight based monsters that surpasses its ferocity within its, “sky environment.”

Lastly, I’d like to say that we’ve split up into three groups to hopefully retrieve three of the many blades we need in order to re-forge the Terra Blade, which can be used to send us back home provided we find Celebes The Dryad again. Applejack, Fluttershy, Zecora, and our Lizhard friend Gex have begun their search for The Blade Of Grass within The Jungle. I have assigned Rarity and our fellow Terrarian allies to scout the area in hopes of finding a lead for another blade, The Muramasa. As for the third group that would be myself, Starlight, Rainbow Dash, and a large group of Terrarian adventurers who have agreed to aid us in retrieving the third blade, Bloodbutcher. I’m honestly terrified Princess, The Corruption we witnessed back home was already scary enough but this... Crimson... I have yet to see it in person and yet I can already feel how dangerous it is. Some of our new friends have two nicknames for it: The Living Flesh and The Flesh That Hates. Please watch over us as we embark on our journey tomorrow.

Your Faithful Student Even In Death,

Twilight Sparkle


> Chapter 21 - Journey To The Flesh And A Bee-utiful Plan.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

It’s bright and early in Terraria as Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Starlight Glimmer say their goodbye’s to their Terrarian friends and Rarity as they double check their armor, weapons, and equipment before they take their leave. This causes everyone to comment:

“Please be safe darling, we already lost Princess Celestia... I don’t want to lose any of you too.” - Rarity.

“Twilight, I will continue to work on my next experiments in your absence. I call my next project: Tinkerer’s Workshop.” - Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer.

“You won’t have me there to heal anything fatal, please don’t be reckless, ok dears?” - Helena The Nurse.

“That goes especially for you, Rainbow. Speaking of, I got something for ya.” - Ceeman The Arms Dealer, he then tosses Rainbow a new weapon along with one-thousand rounds of ammo: The Minishark. Rainbow nods in understanding and makes the weapon/ammo vanish as she stores them into her inventory.



“I wish I could go with you ladies, sadly I’d just end up getting in the way.” - Lucan The Merchant.

“I wish you all luck on your journey... I wish we could assist you more but we need to watch over the town while you’re gone. Just be sure you all come back.” - Tanner The Guide.

“Don’t you worry ladies, I might not be able to accompany you but I can give you all some of these babies. Been saving em’ for a rainy day haha!” - Vinny The Demolitionist, he gives all of the ponies five sticks of dynamite, they all nod gratefully and store their pieces of dynamite into their inventory.

“Ok, everypony ready?”, Twilight asks as she turns to Rainbow and Starlight, both of whom nods enthusiastically. The trio leaves the eastern gate and stand side by side as they look towards the dirt road, they all narrow their eyes in determination and take a step together. “Ok, let the journey to the flesh begin!”, Twilight exclaims as she and her fellow ponies summon their slime mounts, mounts them, and ‘hops’ down the road giving one last wave to their friends as they hopped off into the distance.

The trio couldn’t help but to admire the landscape around them as they made their way to their destination, Twilight trusts Rainbow and Starlight to know where they’re going and what their plan of action was but she wanted to play it safe as she asks:

“Everypony remember the plan?”

“You bet!, we’re gonna rendezvous with the rest of the adventurers outside of The Desert.”, Rainbow Dash replies.

“Then, we’re gonna march together through said desert and make our way towards The Crimson Biome just beyond that. I got to say, I am a bit nervous Twilight.”, Starlight says as she takes on a saddened expression.

“I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t afraid too Starlight, but I do know this. As long as I have my dear friends with me, we can handle it. We’ve overcome so many challenges together and we’re gonna do it again.”, Twilight’s words causes both Rainbow and Starlight to perk up and smile. Together, the trio shouts:

“For Equus!”, As they continue onward towards their new, yet incredibly dangerous, adventure.





-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND JUNGLE-

“Give us one good reason why ah’ shouldn’t buck you all the way back to Equestria you varmint, or simply slice you in half!”, Applejack exclaims as she stares daggers at her foe, the cowmare’s silver sword at the ready against the groups new... Visitor, Hornet 626. Everyone else in the group are ready for battle as they take combat poses behind Applejack however Fluttershy tries to stop things before they escalate and says:

“Um, maybe we could avoid conflict.”, Sadly, her words falls on deaf ears which causes her to sigh sadly. 626 narrows their insectoid  features and says:

“Listen to me, neither of us likes each other especially after what happened yesterday. However, I know why you’re here... The Blade Of Grass.”

“You better tell us what ya’ know, you hornets attacked us fer’ no reason yesterday. We did nothin to y’all!”, Applejack exclaims.

“It’s not about what you did pony, It’s about what you’re going to do. My Queen has the weapon you seek however she will not let you take it, I’m here speaking to you because unlike my mother I’d rather not put The Hive in danger. That blade has been nothing but a burden yet her majesty is so obsessed with it. We survived for a long time, long before that blade ever came into our lives. She fails to realize that more adventurers will seek the blade and sure, we could fight some of them off, but what about the day when a powerful opponent comes for it and slaughters The Hive?”, 626 asks which causes everyone to ponder on the words the hornet just spoke. Fluttershy, to everyone’s surprise, walks forward and asks:

“So, you want us to take the blade away from your hive?. But, wouldn’t that anger your Queen? Oh dear, I didn’t think these blades would be so much trouble”, 626 looks upon the yellow pegasus curiously.

“Yes, pony, that is exactly what I’m offering. My mother will be angry for a time but at least her obsession over it might disappear, worst case scenario I’ll... Challenge her. I must admit I’m glad It’s you I’m speaking to now because I have a plan, it strongly involves you and-”

“Hang on fer one dang minute hornet!”, Applejack exclaims as she cuts off their conversation, everyone else watches the conversation go on as Pinkie Pie nervously put a hoof in her mouth. “Lemme guess, you want Fluttershy to give herself up so y’all can take her prisoner huh?, yeah that’s right, I can read you like a book. You expect us to just let you take-”

“You’re coming too, orange pony.”, 626 says as the hornet points one of their legs towards the cowmare.

“Yer crazy if ya think-”

“Enough!, both of you!”, Everyone, aside from 626, stares on in shock at the being who was responsible for the exclamation and cut off Applejack’s words, Fluttershy. “Applejack, we need to do what they say.”

“Ooh, this is getting good. Popcorn anypony?”, Pinkie asks as she looks towards Gex, Zecora, and Ritsu munching on the delicious snack. They all stare at her with a deadpan expression.

“Are you out of yer’ mind Fluttershy, we can’t trust this hornet.”

“Applejack, we don’t have a choice!. What do you suggest huh? That we fight our way into The Hive which is probably swarming with hundreds if not thousands of hornets?. We’ll be killed, we need to go with their plan. You’re the element of honesty for Celestia’s sake Applejack, why is it that I can sense this hornet’s desperation yet you can’t? And don’t you dare tell me it’s because they are animals. This is our best chance at getting the blade...”, Fluttershy says as she looks down with a saddened expression.

“Your pony friend is much wiser than you, I can get you the blade but you must let me catch the both of you. You want the blade and I want it far away from The Hive, you have no reason to trust me but your friend is right. I’m your best chance at getting that blade... So what say you, pony?”, 626 asks as the hornet looks to Applejack.

“...”, The cowmare remains silent as she stares right back to the hornet, she then turns her gaze to Fluttershy whos eyes practically begs her to agree with the hornet’s plan. Finally, Applejack takes a deep breath as she tells Fluttershy: “I’m only doing this fer’ you, sugarcube. I trust you with ma’ life so if you think we should play along, even though I still don’t like it, I’ll be there for ya.”, Applejacks words causes Fluttershy to hug her as the pegasus whispers:

“Thank you Applejack.”, The cowmare then turns back to 626 and says:

“But let me say this hornet, to be honest with ya? I don’t care one dang bit about what happens to me or even yer’ hive, sorry if that sounds cruel but it is what it is ya hear?.”, Applejack then walks closer to 626, with Fluttershy following behind her, and says: “Fluttershy is right, I can sense no lies in your words. As much as I hate to admit it both of y’all are right, we need that blade and this might be our best chance... But, I’m gonna warn you right here, right now hornet. If Fluttershy is... Killed, by you or any other one of you hornets, I don’t care if it’s the last thing I do... I’ll make sure your hive burns down. We clear on that?”

“Clear as newly harvested honey, pony.”, 626 says as the hornet nods its head. Applejack turns her head back to the rest of the group and says:

“Ok y’all, while our hornet... Guest, takes us away y’all got’ta follow us. Don’t do anything to attract attention to yer’self ya hear?”, Gex and Zecora nods in understanding however a pink blur zooms past them as Pinkie Pie hugs Applejack and Flutteshy, along the way she managed to scoop up the pegasus. She brings them into a group hug, on the verge of tears, and says:

“Please be safe you two, I love you both so very much.”, Applejack and Fluttershy hugs the party pony with content smiles. Suddenly, Pinky escapes their grasp in a pink blur and re-appears in front of 626. “Now you listen to me bucko, Applejack said that if anything happens to Fluttershy she’ll make you sorry. But, If I hear anything happens to either of them...”, for a very brief moment Pinkie’s mane deflated and her fur greys out.

”I’ll hunt you down...”, As soon as Pinkamena finishes those words she returns back to her normal state and says:

“No pressure, just a warning. Good luck everypony!”, Pinkie says as she zooms away in a pink blur and returns to Gex and Zecora. 626, admittedly, felt something very...eerie about the pink pony’s warning.

“So, how do we go ‘bout this hornet?”, Applejack questions.

“I’m going to sting you both, I won’t inject you with anything dangerous, fear not. However, we need to make it look believable, It won’t threaten your lives It’ll just be enough to knock you both out.”, 626 replies as the hornet prepares its stinger. “Hold still.”





-TERRARIA, EDGE OF THE DESERT BIOME-

Twilight, Rainbow, and Starlight stares in amazement at the sight before them. Every direction they could look there were Terrarian adventurers going about their business from  preparing their equipment to chatting amongst themselves. Everything was going well, until things got awkward for the group of ponies as everyone present took notice of the trio and... Stopped. Awkward silence ensues as all eyes were on the ponies, then, the most unusual thing happens:

[CLAP]

[CLAP] [CLAP]

[CLAP] [CLAP] [CLAP]

It started from a single adventurer clapping slowly until it erupted into the whole crowd clapping their hands and cheering for the ponies as they scream out:

“Woah, they really are ponies... Tanner was right!”

“Two of them has wings?!”

“Check that one out its got a rainbow mane.”

“The lavender one in the middle looks like the other two combined.”

“What’s that on their butts?, brands?”

“You ponies draw quite the crowd, huh?”, A mysterious female Terrarian says as she walks up to the ponies, she was wearing silver armor just like the trio of Equestrian’s but what made Twilight, Rainbow, and Starlight’s jaws drop was the color of her hair. It was the colors of the rainbow however it changed passively from one color to the next, she also had magenta eyes and light colored skin. A most notable part of her appearance was the simple fact, she has large angelic wings. The Terrarian continues as she says: “I’m a mage from the far southern continent, my name is: Celestia.”


> Chapter 22 - Preparations.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, OUTSKIRTS OF THE DESERT BIOME-

To say that fate can sometimes play a practical joke wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate as the trio of ponies, especially Twilight, couldn’t believe what they were seeing before their very eyes. This Terrarian was practically what would happen if Celestia had been born into this world rather than Equus or If the Celestia from Sunset Shimmer’s world came here instead. The female Terrarian’s hair changed passively from one color to the next, most notably was the fact that she had a pair of large angelic wings.

“Are you all ok?.”, Celestia asks as she then smirks and says: “Why the long faces?”

“...”

“Eh, get it?”

“...”

“Oh come on, that was good...”, Celestia says as she pouts sadly. What happens next shocks the terrarian as Twilight, with tears coming down her cheeks, trots over to Celestia’s right leg and nuzzles against it. Starlight and Rainbow Dash lower their heads with a saddened expression, some of the other adventurers sees Twilight’s tears and comments:

“Nice goin Celestia, you made her cry.”

“How could you make such a joke like that?”

“You probably offended them!”

“Why do I feel like this is a ‘too soon?’, joke.”

Celestia’s eyes twitched as she responds back to her fellow adventurer’s: “Oh, and you’re all golden children huh?!”, Celestia then looks down to the weeping Alicorn and puts a hand onto her head. “I’m sorry if I offended you dear, If what Tanner told me is correct you’re... Twilight correct?”, Twilight looks up and wipes her tears away, she then nods and takes a few steps back. Starlight and Rainbow walk up to Twilight with Starlight saying:

“I’m sorry Twilight, words can’t express how awkward this situation must be...”

“I... I know I suck when it comes to these kind of things but, this isn’t... Our Celestia. If that helps in any way...”, Rainbow Dash says with slight hesitation which causes Starlight to wince. Twilight surprisingly managed to recover from her sorrow and takes a deep breath before saying:

“I’m sorry Pri- I mean, Celestia. You remind me so much about someone we... Lost.”, Twilight’s words causes Celestia to look upon the ponies with pity. In an attempt to change the subject Celestia clears her throat and says:

“Well then, let’s get down to business shall we? you all made perfect timing. Follow me and I’ll take you over to the meeting we’re about to have in a few minutes.”, The ponies all nod in understanding as they follow Celestia throughout the encampment.

Along the way to the meeting, Celestia introduced the ponies to various adventurers of all types. Twilight was especially happy when she met other mages and despite how badly she wanted to just conjure a quill with some papers to take notes the Alicorn knew that time was of the essence. Finally, they all reach and attend the meeting which was positioned only mere inches away from the very first grain of sand of the Desert Biome.



A mysterious male terrarian donned in armor that was completely new and unknown to the ponies stood in front of the adventurer’s facing towards The Desert. He turns around and notices Celestia approaching him with the ponies behind her.



“Aw, there you are Celestia. I presume these are the ponies Tanner was talking about?, got to say I wasn’t expecting them to look like unicorns and pegasus. Hell, one of them is both combined.”

“That’s right Sai, the very same ones.”, Celestia says as she walks over to Sai and turns back to the ponies. “Everyone, this is Sai Sahan. He’s probably the next best thing to a leader here. Sai these ponies are... Wait, oh Terra damnit. I know Twilight is the lavender colored pony but I’m afraid Tanner didn’t mention you two.”, Celestia says as she points to both Starlight and Rainbow Dash. Both ponies grunt in annoyance as they took offence to this. Rainbow Dash, being her ever boastful self, smirks as she says:

“I’m Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer on Equus and the future fastest flyer in Terraria. Hold your applauds, I know, I’m awesome.”

“...”

“What?”, Rainbow asks in confusion as everyone looks to her with a blank expression. She got her answer as a sudden uproar of laughter from everyone in attendance envelops the area causing some of them to comment:

“Bwahaha, that’s a good one!”

“I like this pony, she’s hilarious!”

“You should take notes from her Celestia!”

“Hey!, my joke wasn’t that bad!”

“She might be the fastest wherever this Equus is, but Terraria?, bahahaha”

Rainbow Dash’s face went red with both embarrassment and anger, she crosses her two front legs across her chest as she mutters: “Jerks...”, Starlight chuckles to herself and says:

“Keep a cool head Rainbow.”, Starlight then turns to everyone present and as soon as the other adventurers recover from their laughter she says: “I’m Starlight Glimmer, Princess Twilight Sparkle's student and, if I’m being honest, a rather powerful unicorn mage. It’s nice to meet all of you.”, Starlight’s words causes some of the mages in the crowd to raise an eyebrow and comments:

“Eh, you don’t look like much.”

“I doubt she could cast a water-bolt spell.”

“Water-bolt?, could she even use a Wand Of Sparking?”



Starlight’s eyes begins to twitch, suddenly, a cyan hoof is laid on her shoulder which causes her to turn to a snickering Rainbow Dash. “Keep a cool head, Starlight.”, Rainbow says which causes the unicorn to glare at her.

“Alright everyone, now that introductions are over with let’s get to the meat of this meeting.”, Sai Sahan says as he then takes a deep breath before he continues: “Tanner The Guide has informed me that the time to strike back at The Moon Lord is soon at hand, the ponies who are accompanying us today have fought against and beaten Razeem back in their world.”, Sai Sahan’s words causes some of the adventurer’s to say:

“What?!, they did?!”

“Ok, maybe there’s more to these ponies after all...”

“But they’re wearing silver armor and robes, there’s no way they fought Razeem in those!”

Little did the crowd know, the ponies were helped and supported by Celebes The Dryad in addition to being powered up by the Terra Blade. Rainbow Dash and Starlight simply smirked towards the crowd with looks on their faces that could be translated to: “Yeah, that’s right. Get on my level.”, Sai Sahan raised his hands to calm the crowd down before he continues:

“Now that you know what these ponies have been through I expect all of you to respect them the same way you would to your fellow adventurer. Now, our objective is The Crimson Biome. However, in order to get to it we need to trek through this here desert. Luckily for all of you, you’ve got me as your guide.”, Twilight raises her hoof which catches Sai Sahan by surprise. Sai chuckles to himself as he says: “I appreciate that Twilight but you don’t need to raise your hand, er, hoof. What’s your question?”

“Yes, well, you said that you can guide us through the desert and reach The Crimson Biome however the way you say it makes it sound like you’ve made this journey before. Did... Did you, well, visit the living flesh in your travels before?”, Twilight tried to be very careful with her question as she winces the moment her words left her mouth. Sai Sahan was taken back by this inquiry, some adventurer’s in the crowd were obviously curious themselves as they focused their attention. Sai sighs sadly as he responds:

“Yes Twilight, I’ve been there a fair amount of times in my life. I wish for no living being to go there unless it was absolutely necessary, the monsters who thrive there are things straight out of a nightmare. I’ve lost and seen many good adventurer’s who tried to brave The Crimson, but I swore that I’d avenge them and luckily for us I happen to be wearing the very thing that will aide us in our fight. You see, retrieving The Bloodbutcher for you ponies and Tanner is our main objective however we also have a secondary goal: To harvest the materials we need to make crimson armor and weapons.”, This causes the crowd to erupt into cheers however this leaves the ponies confused.

Twilight and her friends couldn’t fathom what they just heard, how could one turn The Crimson into armor and weapons for their own use without any dangerous side effects?. Twilight was about to press the issue until Sai Sahan unknowingly cuts her off and says: 

“However, before we even reach The Crimson there is another matter we must address. The desert isn’t without its fair share of threats, the very sun itself will be against us but thanks to some of our mages we have ways to deal with the excruciating heat. Our biggest problem however, and I mean that literally, is a monster who stalks these deserts looking for its next meal: The Desert Scourge.





-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND JUNGLE BIOME, HORNET’S HIVE-

“Well done 626, you say that these two were among those who tried to steal my blade?.”, Queen Beezma asks as she glares at the unconscious ponies, Applejack and Fluttershy.

“Yes my Queen, If I may be so bold I’d like to end their lives myself. Especially the orange pony, I’ll throw them into a chamber and seal them within. Once they come to I’ll torture them into giving me the location of their allies.”, 626 says as the hornet lowers itself to the honeycombed floor. Truth be told, the hornet was taking a gamble and what happens next is all up to The Queen. Queen Beezma ponders on it for a moment and finally comes to a decision:

“Very well 626, I suppose I shall reward you for this by granting your request. Take comfort in knowing that you’ve redeemed yourself after yesterday’s incident, now be gone, I have my blade to attend to.”

“Yes, my Queen.”, 626 replies as the hornet grabs both ponies and leaves the royal chamber.

After a short while 626 flies to a very secluded portion of the large hive and begins to construct a chamber that was smaller in comparison to the chambers that littered the rest of The Hive but the perfect size for the two ponies. The hornet, having finished constructing the chamber, gently sat Applejack and Fluttershy inside. 626 then brings out a vial and says: 

“This is my antivenom, I’ll have you both drink it and once you come to we can enact our plan. I’m sorry my Queen but I must do this, for the glory of The Hive.”
> Chapter 23 - Boss Fight: Desert Scourge.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, DESERT BIOME-



“Hey Rainbow.”

“Yeah?.”

“If we make it out of this, I’m buying you the first round of cupcake’s from Candy Cane Corner.”

[BZZZZZZ] [BZZZZZZZZ] [BZZZZZZZZ]

Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle are currently flying for their lives as a swarm of large insects chases them through the desert.



However, this wasn’t a random occurrence as this was all part of a much larger plan.

“There!, I see the trap ahead!”, Twilight exclaims as she points a hoof to a nearby trench. The pair flies through the trench with the large flying insects closing in until a new voice calls out:

“Now!”, Sai Sahan orders as a large net catches all of the insects within the trench thanks to the aid of the many adventurer’s. Celestia flies down from her hiding spot as she and a few other adventurer’s secure the net thus officially capturing the swarm.

“I love it when a plan comes together!, great call Rainbow Dash.”, Celestia says as she turns her head to the stunt pegasus.

“What can I say?, told you I was awesome. Now we’ve got the bait we need to attract that, what was it again, Desert Scourge?”, Rainbow asks.

“That’s right Rainbow, Sai Sahan confirmed that this desert is its hunting grounds.”, Starlight Glimmer says as she lowers herself to the ground with her rocket boots. “Did I ever mention how much I love these boots?, Twilight, we need to get Gorglock to hand us some schematics for pony production.”

“Celebrate about those boots later egghead’s, it’s time for the next part of the plan remember.”, Rainbow Dash says as she lands on the ground and walks over to Sai Sahan.

All of the other adventurer’s are currently celebrating the plan’s success as the swarm of insects tries their best to chew their way through the net. Fortunately, Sai and the others foresaw this and used incredibly durable material to create the net. Sai chuckles to himself as he walks over to the ponies and says:

“Well done ponies, nothing makes a better bait than two ponies who look absolutely defenseless, not to mention delicious, to a swarm of large Antlion Flyers.”, Sai then turns to Rainbow Dash and says: “Especially you my rainbow maned friend, this was your idea after all.”, Sai’s words causes Rainbow to blush however what surprises her was what happens next, all of the adventurer’s cheering her name:

“Rainbow Dash!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow simply smiled and sucked in all of the glory, Twilight stares on with a deadpan expression as she says:

“You know I was the bait too right?...”, Celestia and Starlight chuckles as Starlight walks up to her teacher and says:

“Let Rainbow have this one Twilight.”, Starlight then leans in closer and whispers to her teacher. “Besides, her plans don’t often work.”

“Hey!, I heard that Starlight!”, Rainbow exclaims, everyone then shrugs and bursts out into laughter. Sai Sahan recovers from his laughter and makes his next announcement:

“Ok everyone, we’ve got the bait now lets wait for that bastard. Get to your positions!”, Upon hearing those words all of the adventurers immediately hide in various spots around the trench. Sai, Celestia, and the ponies hide at the very top of the trench as Twilight turns to everyone present and asks:

“Everypony remember the plan?, better to be safe then sorry I always say.”

“Of course Twilight, as soon as the beast takes the bait we’ll use the dynamite you and your friends have planted around the trench and bury that beast in its new tomb. Sure, It’s a burrower, but that won’t save anything from having multiple tons of rocks and boulders fall on them.”, Sai Sahan says which causes everyone present to nod as they wait for The Desert Scourge to take the bait.

After a few minutes of waiting, not to mention sweating in the heat of the desert, Rainbow Dash was bothered by something and just had to voice her concern:

“Hey so, uh, I don’t mean to sound like I doubt the plan and all but how do we know this thing will show up at all?”, Celestia takes the initiative and answers:

“This desert we’re in?, that wasn’t always the case. According to the legends, many years ago this used to be a large ocean but a certain event had transpired which caused the ocean to disappear. Unfortunately, this is where The Desert Scourge lived before the ocean’s disappearance. The beast we see today is nothing compared to what it used to be as it shrunk considerably due to the loss of its old environment.”, Celestia finishes her story with a sigh. The ponies all look on in awe at the story that was just told, before any of them could say another word the earth begins to shake and the sands part from the commotion.  Suddenly, a large moving sandhill appears in the distance and was making its way towards the trench with amazing speed.



“Here it comes!, get ready everyone!”, Sai Sahan exclaims. The trapped insects seem to be able to sense the oncoming threat as they double their efforts in trying to escape the net which they sadly still can’t damage. Then, just before reaching the trench, the sandhill suddenly stops.

“Wait, what’s going on? Why did it stop?”, Twilight question’s however Sai Sahan suddenly gets nervous as he says:

“No, it couldn’t have...”

“Sai, what’s wrong?”, Celestia inquires.

“The beast... It knows this is a trap.”, Sai replies however before anyone could press the issue further the large entity emerges but not from the sands of the desert, from the rock formation itself that formed the trench.

[VVVVVVRRRRROOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL]



“Dodge!”, Celestia shouts as she, Sai, and the ponies barely manages to escape The Scourge’s attack as it burrows back into the trench. Unfortunately, The Scourge killed many adventurer’s who were positioned nearby in one fell swoop, consuming them instantly before it returned to the earth. Twilight, Rainbow, and Celestia take to the skies each of them materializing their weapons all the while Starlight and Sai Sahan hops off of the trench using their rocket boots to stay aloft. To Twilight’s surprise, Celestia had a sapphire staff just like her own however the Terrarian’s staff seemed to be more... Refined. Rainbow Dash smirks as she brings out what she’s been dying to try ever since she received it from Ceeman The Arms Dealer: The Minishark.

Fortunately for the group, The Scourge did indeed go for the bait after it failed to eat the ponies, Sai, and Celestia in its first attack which unfortunately resulted in the death of some other adventurers. The Scourge erupts from the trench’s stone wall and, in one swift motion, consumes the insect filled net whole. As The Scourge begins to burrow again a large portion of its body was still exposed as Sai Sahan sees this and shouts: “Now!”

[BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]

“Aww yeah, we got it!”, Rainbow Dash exclaims as she looks down to the large rubble that used to be the Trench. The sticks of dynamite’s had successfully gone off causing the entire trench to crumble onto The Desert Scourge and the beast is now dead, right?. At least, that’s what everyone thought as a loud roar sends a chilling senation down everyone’s spines:

[VVVVVVRRRRROOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL]

That was the last thing everyone heard before The Scourge resurfaces, but sadly, it yet again consumes a group of adventurer’s in an effort to satiate its legendary hunger. This angers not only Sai Sahan but every pony and Terrarian present as Sai exclaims:

“We need to draw it out again, it’s using guerilla warfare and it’ll keep retreating underground and try to pick us off.”, Upon hearing this, Twilight thinks back to what Celestia said earlier:

-Unfortunately, this is where The Desert Scourge lived before the ocean’s disappearance...-

“No way... Could that really work?”, Twilight ponders. As she’s lost in her thoughts high in the air various scenarios plays out below the Alicorn:

Rainbow Dash tries to shoot the desert scourge with her Minishark however she misses her chance as the beast continued to use guerilla warfare tactics, burrow into the earth then re-emerge for just a moment to try and pick off some of the adventurer’s. Rainbow screams in frustration:

“Damnit!, if that thing could just stay still for a moment I can unload this puppy. How can something so big be so difficult to truly be hit?. And even when we do land a few blows on it we can’t hit a vital spot, it doesn’t even flinch!”

Starlight Glimmer holds two weapons in both of her hooves: Starfury and The Sapphire Staff. She attacks The Scourge with an energy blast from her staff hoping to hit it before it goes back underground, the blast does indeed make its mark as it hits The Scourge and leaves behind a small wound. Green blood leaks out of the wound however this doesn’t seem to bother The Scourge at all as it still disappears and burrows into the earth while taking more lives in the process. The other adventurer’s also try to do the same however The Scourge doesn’t stay surfaced long enough to allow anyone to hit a vital spot. Starlight grits her teeth in frustration and looks to the blade she held in her right hoof, Starfury, as she says:

“If we could just get it to stay still I could rain down the stars and really bring the pain. All we need is to get it to stay on the surface long enough for us all to bombard it with our attacks.”

Sai, Celestia, and a few other adventurers try their best to predict the scourges attacks as it continues to strike at the large group of adventurer’s then burrows back into hiding. Suddenly, Twilight lands next to Sai and says:

“I have a plan everypo- uh, I mean everyone!”, Before she could go any further her attention was stolen by The Scourge as it once again resurfaces and attacks some of the adventurers. Twilight decides to teleport taking Sai and Celestia with her while the other adventurers continues to wage war against The Scourge. The trio reappears nearby as Twilight continues: “Ok Princ- I mean, Celestia... You said that thing used to live in this desert when it was still an ocean right?”

“Yes that’s correct, but why do you ask?”, Celestia replies.

“Well, this might sound like a bad plan but what if it... How can I say this, feels homesick?”, Twilight replies as she smiles sheepishly. Celestia raises an eyebrow but before she could say anything Sai comes to a realization and says:

“That, that might just work Twilight!. It’s a risk but it may very well work to our favor.”, Celestia couldn’t help but to feel left out as her two companions caught onto the plan before she could, this causes her to say:

“Can I please be invited to the, ‘We think it’s homesick from the loss of an ocean so we now have a plan clu-”, Celestia’s eyes widen as she realizes exactly what they want to do. “Club’, oh... I get it now. Let’s do it!.”

“We have a plan but how are we going to relay it to everyone else?, we’re all scattered amongst the battlefield trying to get that thing to hold still for just a moment.”, Sai Sahan says as he looks on to the battle taking place nearby. Twilight clears her throat and says:

“I know a way, back home we call it: The Canterlot Voice.”

The battle continues to wage on as Starlight, Rainbow, and the rest of the adventurers continue to strike at the scourge before it burrows into the earth and disappears. The Scourge, in turn, sadly claims more lives as it swallows adventurers whole. Suddenly, a loud voice echoes throughout the area which catches everyone’s attention:

”EVERYONE LISTEN UP, CAST ANY AND ALL WATER BASED SPELLS YOU HAVE IN YOUR POSSESSION. IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW LARGE OR HOW SMALL IT IS JUST DO IT, PLEASE TRUST ME. AIM IT TOWARDS THE GENERAL AREA, IF MY THEORY IS CORRECT THE SCOURGE WILL EMERGE AND IT WILL BE VULNERABLE FOR AN ATTACK FROM ALL OF US COMBINED. IF WE SUCCEED WE CAN DEFEAT IT!”

Starlight and Rainbow smirks and says in unison:

“We hear you Twilight!”, Starlight ignites her horn and casts a water spell, aiming it to the dry desert ground beneath her as she stays in the air thanks to her rocket boots. Rainbow Dash flew down to the other adventurer’s and exclaims:

“Well?!, you heard the egghead start casting those spells. Those of you without the ability to use water attacks, we’re gonna protect everyone else and get ready to strike when that thing is vulnerable!”, The adventurer’s nod as every Terrarian who could cast water spells and prepare their water based weapons start to channel their abilities as they scream out:

“Waterbolt!”

“Rainshower!”

“Typhoon!”

“Aqua Scepter!”

“Aquamarine Staff!”

Twilight, Celestia, and Sai join in as they also use their water based attacks and aims it towards the earth:

“Hydro Blast!”, Celestia shouts as blue energy surrounds her hands, she puts both of her hands together which causes a large stream of water to come pouring out.

“Keep at it everyone!”, Sai Sahan exclaims as he braces his weapon, a legendary tiered silver broadsword, for battle.

“Here’s something I learned from Star Swirl The Bearded, Greater Raincloud!”, Twilight shouts as she aims her horn to the skies above and channels all of her magic into her horn. A large grey cloud begins to magically form above the battlefield, soon after, rain begins to pour down onto the earth below. Twilight grits her teeth and says: “Come on, I know you miss the sea that used to be here... Guardian Of The Former Sea.”, Twilight hated to admit it but she was saddened to have to do this to the creature, she did however understand that this needed to be done. The monster has already claimed too many lives and will continue to do so, suddenly, she gets exactly what she wanted as the scourge takes notice of the water being poured onto the landscape:

[VVVVVVRRRRROOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL]

The Scourge erupts from the earth and begins to do exactly what everyone had hoped it would, the beast made itself vulnerable as it begins to roll around in the moistened sands and landscape like a worm in mud. Sai smirks as he yells:

“Attack, give it hell!”

[SSSSKKKRRREEEEEAAAAAQQQQ]

The Scourge cries out in pain as everyone strikes it simultaneously, different types of ranged magic and weaponry punctures The Scourge’s body creating many wounds of various sizes. Those with melee weapons made quick passes at The Scourge slicing into its flesh then backing away and due to its current onslaught the large entity couldn’t counter the melee based attacks in time before they retreated.

Rainbow Dash unloads her Minishark screaming out: “This thing is awesome!, take it all ugly!”

[TWINKLE-BOOM] [TWINKLE-BOOM] [TWINKLE-BOOM]

The sounds of explosions mixed with stars falling goes off as Starlight Glimmer swings Starfury and blasts The Scourge with her staff. The unicorn shouts: “Thank you again Rainbow!, I love this thing!”

“Haaaa!”, Twilight exclaims as she fires a beam of energy from her horn in addition to using her Sapphire Staff. Celestia flies next to Twilight and, with her own Sapphire Staff in hand, joins Twilight’s attack as she fires a barrage of energy blast from her weapon.

“This day you fall beast, for all the lives you took!. I, Sai Sahan, shall witness and aid in your end!”, The Terrarian shouts as he fires flame arrows from his silver bow from a distance and takes a swing at The Scourge when he and other adventurers run in to attack the large entity.

[SSSSKKKKRRRR........ EEEEEEEE.......... AAWwww...]

The roars of The Scourge cuts itself off and slowly fades, everyone stops their attacks due to fatigue and various other reasons such as ammo or mana shortage. A dusty fog/smoke covers The Scourge’s body however slowly but surely the cloud begins to dissipate and what is revealed to everyone causes them to look on in surprise: The Scourge lies dead.

“We did it!”, Twilight exclaims as she and everyone present starts to cheer victoriously. Rainbow and Starlight rushes over to Twilight as the three come into a group hug, Celestia and Sai look on with content smiles as the rest of the adventurer’s cheer in the background. Suddenly, something appears around the scourges body: Various items. All of the ponies look on in shock however the Terrarians, having seen this many times before, shout in unison:

“Loot!”, As if on cue the items begin to duplicate themselves and scatter to everyone present, including the ponies.

“What’s happening?”, Twilight questions as she, Rainbow, and Starlight stares on in amazement.

“Don’t you know?, the world itself awards those who manage to defeat a powerful monster. These powerful beings come in two types: Boss and Mini-Boss.”, Celestia states as she raises a finger to express her point.

“Don’t worry about not getting your fair share, the world blesses us all so long as you put forward the effort to take the Boss down.”, Sai Sahan assures. Rainbow Dash then walks up to him and asks:

“So these mini-bosses you talked about, I got to know...”, Rainbow hesitates for a moment before she steels herself and takes a deep breath: “Does a Wyvern count as a mini-boss?”, The pegasus’s words instantly catches the attention of the other ponies as Twilight and Starlight’s eyes widen in realization, the Alicorn was about to say something however what stops her was what floated in front of her and her friends: Their loot. (See Author’s Note)

The names of their loot and the item’s capabilities somehow engraved itself within the minds of every pony, this amazes Twilight as she couldn’t fathom how this works. Just one look at their loot was enough to tell them what it was, the type of weapon they possessed, and what the item was capable of. This causes the ponies to react and comment:

“These are amazing, some of these could even go to my friends!. Fluttershy would love this staff that summons a starfish to fight for you. As soon as we get back to Home Town I’m thoroughly studying these items.” - twilight.

“Wow, these sand cloaks are gonna be very helpful if we ever need to conceal ourselves or be stealthy.” - Starlight.

“Oh sweet, this Aero Stone gives us a buff!. It Increases movement speed by 10%, jump speed by 20%, and all damage by 3%. Boss loot are awesome!” - Rainbow Dash. The stunt pegasus then narrows her eyes as she thinks to herself internally: -One day I’ll get strong enough to come after you, Wyvern-

Sai and Celestia couldn’t help but to chuckle as they observe the ponies before them, the duo then sends their items to their inventory and approaches the Equestrian’s as Celestia comments: “We’ve won a great battle today friends, well done, my little ponies.”, Celestia’s words causes Twilight to snap her head towards the Terrarian’s direction, Twilight couldn’t hold herself back as she trots over to Celestia, hops into the air, and hugs her with tears going down her face. Celestia catches Twilight who continues to weep in her arms, she looks towards Rainbow Dash and Starlight with a look that screams: ”Did I do something without realizing I did it?”, the two ponies simply sighs sadly and walks up to her. Starlight simply says:

“You remind her... Remind us... Of someone most dear to her. A mother figure even... You even have her name.”, Starlight’s words causes Celestia’s eyes to widen with realization, as this is going on Sai can be overheard in the background speaking to the rest of the adventurer’s. During their conversation Sai respectfully backed away to address everyone else present.

“All right everyone, this is just one of the many victories we shall claim on our journey. Let’s move out!”, Sai exclaims as he motions for the remaining adventurer’s to follow him. Celestia, Rainbow Dash, and Starlight overhears this and start to follow. As for Twilight, the trio were shocked to realize that she had fallen unconscious in Celestia’s arms. The Terrarian didn’t mind one bit as she gently lays Twilight’s chin onto her shoulders and places one of her arms just beneath her flank to support the Alicorn’s weight. Together, the group walk towards the desert horizon and much to their surprise they didn’t realize how much time had passed during their fight with The Desert Scourge. They couldn’t help but to admire the orange silhouette of the lowering sun.

Unknown to them all, a cloaked bystander with a hood covering their features was observing the battle the entire time as the individual says:

“You’re progressing well Twilight Sparkle, but now your true test lies ahead. I have faith that you and your friends will succeed, The Bloodbutcher is nearly at hand.”, The individual then lowers their hood and continues: “I, Celebes, will soon be called to arms. You have truly proven yourselves worthy of my assistance dear ponies.”, Suddenly, flames begins to surround Celebes’s hands which soon takes on the form a greatsword:



“None of us are strong enough to fight The Moon Lord just yet, however, we shall soon face the scourge of the underworld and its armies. You’ve held this world down by the chains of darkness and light for far too long... You abominable Wall Of Flesh.”





-TERRARIA, DUNGEON-

Rarity spent most of the day with Steven as the two continued to chat about various topics over a nice cup of tea. Their latest conversation caused the pair to laugh hysterically, however, they were so caught up in their conversation they foolishly didn’t realize the sun had lowered in the horizon and all that was visible were the beams that shot up into the skies as it lowers itself behind a mountain in the distance. Understandably, Steven panics and shouts:

“Oh no!, we’ve lost track of time Rarity. You must go, now!”, In his mind he couldn’t help but to think: -How is this possible?!, there’s no way we could’ve made such a mistake!- His words shock Rarity at first however she then looks on towards the lowering sun and her eyes shoot wide open.

“I-I’m sorry darling, I didn’t realize how late it was getting!. I shall leave at once-”

[AURGH] [RRRRRAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLL]

Steven lets out a roar that sends an absolute chilling sensation throughout Rarity’s body, the unicorn could only stare in disbelief as she had to watch her friend physically change. A dark energy slowly consumes Steven’s body starting from the lower portion of his back, it spreads out from there and before his face was covered by the black energy he looks towards his friend with tears in his eyes and says:

“R... Run... Rarity.”

[VROOM]

A pillar of black energy shot into the air, the energy then starts to morph into three separate shapes: Two skeletal arms and a large skull. Most disturbingly was the fact that at the end of each arm, where the arm socket would’ve been were they attached to a proper body, a trail of red energy mixed with blood radiated off of the limbs. The Skull was no different as the base of the neck had the exact same energy/blood radiating from it. The all looked as if someone had just amputated them. This new being towers over Rarity who was still frozen in shock along with tears flowing down both of her cheeks, black energy leaks out of the skulls eye socket as it ‘looks’ down to the quaking pony. The being then says:

”Pleasure to finally meet you, worm... Enjoy your stay.”


> Chapter 24 - Boss Fight: Queen Bee Pt: 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND JUNGLE BIOME-

It was now nightfall and the time to enact their plan had finally come as Applejack finally wakes up from 626’s venom that rendered her and Fluttershy unconscious. Apparently, the hornet’s venom comes in two different varieties of which the hornets have full control over: They can inject venom meant to kill or apply a certain amount to simply knock their foes unconscious without the worry of killing them. Their opponent will feel quite uncomfortable from the after effects of the venom but much like a hangover it’ll fade in a short amount of time. This is exactly how the cowmare felt as she, unfortunately, runs over to a far end of the chamber and pukes. She wipes her muzzle and says:

“If ah’ had known this is how I’d feel after that sting I’d rather they’d just have taken us forcefully.”, Applejack then looks around the chamber and notices Fluttershy who was still unconscious. “Well, least we’re still alive. Time I wake up Fluttershy, poor sugercube’s gonna hurl just like ah’ did...”, after saying those words Applejack places a hoof to the pegasus’s unconscious form and starts to rock her in an attempt to awaken her friend. “Time to wake up Fluttershy, we’ve got a job to do.”

“Mmmf... A... Applejack?, where are we-”, Fluttershy asks however her face turns green after a few seconds, just as the cowmare had predicted, as Fluttershy ran over to the very same section of the chamber Applejack had ran to earlier and puked. “[COUGH] That was, very unpleasant. I’m never going to let a hornet sting me again in my life.”, The pegasus says which causes Applejack to chuckle. Before they could converse further an opening to the chamber revealed itself, this causes Applejack to take on a combat stance and materializes her silver broadsword. Fluttershy materializes her slime staff and her bow, she beckons for her slime allies to come to her aide but what surprises her is the fact that only a single green slime was summoned this time.

“What happened? Last time you summoned a whole army sugarcube.”, Applejack says with a confused expression.

“I don’t know... Something’s different this time.”, Fluttershy replies however the two were cut off from their conversation as someone speaks into the chamber:

“Be at piece ponies, it’s just me. The Queen has no idea that the two of you can conceal your weapons in an inventory like the Terrarian’s, this plays well into our favor.” 626 says as the hornet turns around and heads out of the chamber to see if any other hornets are nearby. “Coast seems clear for now, follow me.”, Both Applejack and Fluttershy complies as they ‘tip-hoof’ behind their guide, the green slime hopping onto Fluttershy’s back.

After a while of sneaking around The Hive the trio soon find themselves just around the corner of Queen Beezma’s royal chamber and, no surprise, five hornets were stationed just outside of the chamber. 626 sees this as the hornet peeks around the corner and says:

“Ok ponies, I’m going to lure them away and once I do you two need to retrieve the blade and make a run for it. Queen Beezma has an enchantment in place that tells her if the blade has been moved from its current position so be quick about it, if all goes well you get your blade and I can ensure The Hive’s future.”, Upon hearing the hornets words the two ponies nod their heads, Fluttershy speaks up and says:

“I know you don’t really... Like us, but um, I wanted to say... Thank you, 626. That blade is part of our only way back home so I really appreciate it, If that’s ok with you...”, Applejack simply rolls her eyes as 626 looks to Fluttershy and says:

“You can thank me by getting that wretched blade far away from this place, if you have to take it to a whole other world then by all means go. Enough talk, we must act now.”, both ponies nod their heads as the hornet turns the corner and heads towards the small swarm of hornets saying:

“Warriors!, the allies of those wretched ponies have been spotted nearby. I shall stay here and guard the blade as you scout the area, kill anything that would dare to threaten us. For the glory of the hive!”, the other hornets buzz their wings rapidly as they jump up and fly down the corridor. 626 turns to the corner Fluttershy and Applejack were still hidden behind and says: “Come, I’ve bought us some time.”, the two ponies trot up to the hornet and sneaks a peek into the throne room. There, floating above Queen Beezma’s honeycombed throne was The Blade Of Grass in all its glory.

“Ah’right sugarcube, once we take this thing we got’ta hoof it, ya’ hear me.” Applejack says as she turns to Fluttershy.

“Ok, I hope we won’t have to fight anymore. But, um, everypony is counting on us... I’ll do what I can.”, Fluttershy replies which causes the cowmare to nod happily, the slime on her back hopping in place. Applejack takes a deep breath and runs towards the blade, just before she reaches the base of the throne she leaps into the air and snatches the blade with her muzzle.

[BZTCH]

(Play on loop)


Just as 626 had warned them the enchantment goes off the very moment Applejack plucked the blade from its position which causes the cowmare to scream: “Run!”, She and Fluttershy runs out of the throne room and passes by 626, Fluttershy turns her head for a moment and screams back:

“Thank you again for this!”, 626 nod’s their head as they fly off into a different direction which happened to be towards Queen Beezma’s living chambers.

Fluttershy and Applejack continue to make their way towards the exit, 626 had informed them of the hive’s layout as they made their way towards the throne room. Sure enough, resistance from other hornets were made as they chased after the pair of ponies.

[SHLINK] [SHLINK] [SHLINK]

Applejack slices through various hornets who got in her way as she clears the path for Fluttershy, Fluttershy’s slime leaps onto any hornets who tries to snag the pegasus from behind and distracts them giving the ponies enough time to make their escape. Thanks to the slime staff Fluttershy doesn’t have to worry about leaving the slime behind as it calls the slime back to her side regardless of the distance between them. Applejack continues to slice through many more hornets, she couldn’t help but to admire the power of this blade and could understand why it was one of the many needed to reform The Terra Blade. The cowmare’s eyes narrows in determination as she sees what they’ve been looking for, the exit. She calls out:

“There it is!, we’re almost there Flutt-”

[BZZZ] [BZZZ] [BZZZ]

A whole swarm suddenly appears  in front of the exit which causes both ponies to suddenly stop and skied a short distance on the honeycombed floors. The two mares turns back to back as Fluttershy’s slime lands in front of her all while Applejack prepares to slice through the hornets in front of her. Then, a loud voice echoes throughout the entire hive:

“Stop those ponies now!, only I shall have the blade!”, Queen Beezma’s proclamation instantly causes the entire swarm surrounding Fluttershy and Applejack to mob the two ponies, all the while the Queen Bee’s large figure could be heard nearing them down a corridor.

“Go my slime friend!, attack!.”, Fluttershy commands as she fires some of her arrows towards the swarm killing a few hornets in the process. She then materializes another two staves into being: The finch and Snow Flinx staves. “Go my dear friends, support the slime and do what you can!”, as this is going on Applejack continues to slice multiple hornets into shreds and amputating various of their body parts. The Finch Fluttershy had summoned faces a hornet head on which causes the large insect to laugh out loud saying:

“Pathetic bird, what can you possibly do to-”

[PECK]

“RAUGH! [BZZ]”, With lightning speed, The Finch closes the distance and pecks one of the hornets eyes out. The hornet tries to retaliate however the finch simply dodges their attacks with little effort as its smaller body easily aids it in avoiding the large hornet’s blows. Unbelievably, the finch manages to cause the hornet to kill itself as it tricks the hornet into impaling its own head with one of its sharp ended legs. The Snow Flinx Fluttershy summoned looks towards the swarm before it and takes a deep breath.

[FWOOOOOOOOOM]

A large cloud of freezing air leaves The Flinx’s mouth and freezes every hornet in front of it causing them to fall to the floor and shatter on impact. Applejack could be seen nearby dodging hornet stingers and slicing the hornets apart. Fluttershy continues to fire her arrows while also dodging the hornets, the slime she summoned stays with her on her back.

“Enough!”, Queen Beezma exclaims as she finally makes it to the battle taking place just before the hive’s exit. Her body is so massive she nearly takes up the entire hallway. “I’ll finish you myself!, give me that blade right now or die!”

“Who ya’ tryin’ to kid ya dang bee?!, you’ll kill us either way!”, Applejack exclaims.

“Indeed!”, Queen Beezma replies as she rushes forward with all her might intending to ram and crush the ponies, in addition to Fluttershy’s summons, with her weight alone.

[CRASH] [BOOM]

The Queen Bee causes a large hole to be formed as she breaks through the hive’s wall, unfortunately, she did indeed ram both ponies in the process even her own hornets as some of them were squashed against the walls of the exit chamber. Fluttershy and Applejack are sent flying outside from the force of the Queen Bee’s attack as they then ski across the jungle floor. Applejack manages to recover in time, with the blade of grass still in her possession, and trots over to Fluttershy who was now unconscious and as a result her summoned allies were sent away.

“This ain’t good, she’s knocked out in the middle of this fight!”, Applejack exclaims however before she could do anything further Queen Beezma and her hornets quickly come after the ponies.

“Give me the blade now!”, Beezma exclaims as she slams into the floor where Applejack once stood. The cowmare dodges in time however due to Fluttershy being unconscious the force sent the pegasus flying into a nearby bush and disappears into the undergrowth. Applejack looked on with concern hoping her friend would be alright however she has to return her gaze towards The Queen Bee and her hornet swarm. The cowmare readies the blade of grass and shouts:

“Come at me ya varmints!”

“Kill her!”, Queen Beezma orders which causes the entire swarm to rush at the mare, Applejack prepares herself for battle when suddenly:

[BOOM] [FRRRRP]

The combined sounds of an explosion and a party whistle goes off which kills many of the swarm however Queen Beezma dodges it in time.

“No pony, er, hornets!, hurts my friends you meanie!”, Pinkie Pie shouts with a hoof pointed to the remaining hornet’s and Beezma as she aims her party cannon at them from afar. Suddenly, a spear kills a hornet which causes some of them to turn to various individuals behind Pinkie Pie as the individuals shout out:

“That spear goes for all of you, hurt my friends and the same fate shall befall you!” - Zecora

“A well placed shot my Zebra friend, head her warning insects or another shall enter your heads!” - Gex

“I might be an animal lover, but I won’t forgive you hornets for what you’ve done to so many innocent people!” - Ritsu The Zoologist

The trio runs/trots over to Applejack and prepares themselves for combat as The Queen Bee charges at them once again with her swarm of hornets behind her.





-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON-

After being captured by Skeletron Rarity was not expecting to wake up at all, truth be told, she expected to be dead. Fortunately for her, she was indeed still alive as she slowly begins to rise from her slumber and gets onto her legs.

“W-where am I, oh goodness my head hurts...”, Rarity says as she rubs her head with her left hoof. She then scans her surroundings only to realize she’s being held within a cell, the unicorn then sighs sadly as she mutters the words: “Oh Steven... Was that the monster that tortures your mind?”

“So you met him too huh?, you’re one of the lucky ones... Like us. He usually just kills most people.”, A female voice replies. Rarity was able to see the individual clearly as their cell was placed just opposite of her own, from what the unicorn could see this was another Terrarian just like her friends back in Home Town. However, one thing stuck out most: A large red wrench was strapped to her back. It wasn’t just her however as a few others, likely in the cells nearby, join in and says:

“Oh, oh, oh, I can throw us a party!. I'll call It: We're-still-alive-just-captured-so-thank-you-party!”

“Now’s not the time for any parties, we still need to find a way out of here. [SIGH] I think I’d rather be running a Tavern in The Crimson...”

“I’d rather be out fishing in The Crimson than having to deal with this place.”

“I’m so tired of this place, I can’t even style my hair properly.”

“These cells are blocking my magic. If not for that I could teleport us all out of here.”
> Chapter 25 - Boss Fight: Queen Bee Pt: 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND JUNGLE BIOME-



The war between hornets and ponies waged on as they contend for the possession of The Blade Of Grass. Most of Queen Beezma’s hornets were slain by Applejack’s mighty blade in addition to the cowmare’s allies’ various attacks. In a nearby bush Fluttershy was slowly coming to and rises back on to her hooves, she suddenly gasps as she says:

“Oh no!, everypony is still fighting. Oh dear, um, I need to summon my friends again!”, The pegasus then re-summons her animal/creature allies with their respective staves to which she then sends back to her inventory: A Snow Flinx, Green Slime, and a Finch. Fluttershy looks towards the slime with a confused expression as she asks: “Why is there only one of you now?, Applejack and the others told me I summoned a whole army of you but, um, I don’t remember doing that...”, The shy pegasus sighs sadly however she quickly narrows her features in determination as she conjures her silver bow equipped with fire arrows and looks towards the battle taking place nearby as she says: “This isn’t the time for that, everypony needs me. Come my animal friends!”

Zecora, Ritsu, and Gex were surrounded by a swarm of hornets as the trio stood back to back in a triangular formation. Suddenly, an arrow punctures one of the hornets heads killing them instantly followed by a finch who plucked out another hornet’s eyes.

“I’m here everypony!”, Fluttershy shouts as she trots over to the group and joins their ranks which causes them all to nod happily. Fluttershy points a front hoof towards the swarm and says: “Go Mr. Slime and Miss. Flinx, support Sir. Finch in his attack!”, upon hearing her orders The Flinx and Slime get to work. The flinx freezes some of the hornets solid upon which the slime comes and shatters the frozen forms of said hornets killing them in the process. This causes the others to comment:

“Talk about calling in the Calvary, nice to have you back to the world of the living Fluttershy!” - Ritsu, The Zoologist.

“Your abilities as a summoner are truly great, with our increased numbers these hornets shall meet their fates!” - Zecora.

“I never met a snow Flinx in my life, I’m proud to have one by my side in this fight.” - Gex.

The group continues to face off against the swarm of hornets however, in the background, Pinkie Pie and Applejack can be seen fighting together against Queen Beezma.

“Give me the blade peasants!”, Queen Beezma exclaims as she attempts to ram into her foes.

“Not on yer’ life, ya overgrown varmint!. ‘Sides, this blade is nothin but a hindrance to yer’ hive. Why the blazes do you want it so badly?!”, Applejack exclaims as she and Pinkie Pie dodges Beezma’s attack. Pinkie Pie takes advantage of the opportunity and takes a swing at the queen bee with her silver broadsword as Beezma flies over the party pony.

“GRAUGH!”, Queen Beezma exclaims as Pinkie Pie lands a successful blow onto the queen of the hornets, green blood starts to leak out drip from the wound.

“Hehehe, that was fun. Come and get me, fatty!”, Pinkie antagonizes as she teases The Queen Bee by putting her front hooves to both of her cheeks and says: “Nananana boo boo, ppffffft”, Pinkie sticks out her tongue in a mocking gesture.

“I will mount your bones on the walls of my royal chambers you pink abomination!”, Queen Beezma antagonizes.

“Oooooh, back it up then, fatty!”, Pinkie retorts as she turns around and shakes her flank towards Queen Beezma. This further angers The Queen Bee however before she could go any further a sudden surge of immense pain engulfs her body which causes The Queen to once again roar out in pain:

“GRAUGH!", Beezma turns her head to her lower abdomen only to discover that a smirking Applejack has impaled her with The Blade Of Grass, the cowmare using her rocket boots to get aloft. Green blood leaks down the queen’s abdomen, in retaliation, she uses one of her back legs to strike Applejack.

“ARGH!”, Applejack cries out as she’s sent flying towards the jungle floor, however, her silver armor is able to absorb some of The Queen Bee’s attack and as such the cowmare regains her composure in time and lands onto her hooves before she collides with the earth causing her to ski across the landscape leaving behind a small crater from her legs. Pinkie runs over to Applejack as the two stand side by side ready to attack their foe once more however Applejack’s eyes widen in horrific shock as she says: “Ah dagnammit, I dropped the blade when she struck me!”

Suddenly, the world around Pinkie, Applejack, and Queen Beezma slows down as they all focus their gaze on the blade of grass that sat just between them. The two ponies on one side, The Queen Bee on the other. The moment almost felt similar to a western showdown as both sides knew that whoever is quicker will be the one to claim the blade. Coincidently, a leaf flies by acting as a metaphorical, ‘tumble weed’. 

[CLOP] [CLOP] [CLOP]

[BZZ] [BZZ] [BZZ]

The sounds of clopping hooves and intense buzzing roars out as both sides rapidly makes their way towards the blade, Queen Beezma seems to have the lead until Applejack smirks and shouts:

“Now Pinkie!”

“Okie dokily yokily!”, The party mare replies as she then pulls out a tray of cupcakes from her mane and shouts: “Here you go!, honey flavored cupcakes for your eyes!”

[BLOINK] [BLOINK] [BLOINK]

“You wretched trickster!”, Queen Beezma exclaims as she was blinded by the cupcakes splattered onto her eyes. The two ponies smirked as they had assumed the blind Queen Bee would relent however, to their utter shock, Queen Beezma still rapidly makes her way towards the blade as they both cry out:

“NO!”, The ponies come to a sudden stop and to their horror the worst case scenario played out before them, Queen Beezma has won the race and to the victor goes The Blade.

“Fools, we bees don’t rely entirely on our eyes to navigate. Even if you were to gush my eyes out I’d still find you thanks to my senses. Finally, The Blade is right where it belongs. Now perish you worthless ponies, behold the blade’s power!”, Queen Beezma proclaims as she raises the blade over her head. A dark green aura emanates from The Blade Of Grass as she says: “Come forth creatures of vines, consume my enemies!”, In mere seconds, the very same vine creatures that had appeared in the groups first conflict with the swarm of hornets erupts from the jungle floor: Snatchers.


(Image belongs to its respective owner)

“We’ve got ta’ get to the others Pinkie!”, Applejack exclaims as she and the party pony run over to the rest of the group who were now being surrounded by the vine creatures and the hornets.

The entire group now stands back to back, including Fluttershy’s three summoned allies, in a large circle formation and braced themselves to fight off their foes. The swarm of hornets were about to start mocking them but everyone was shocked to see what happened next. The Snatcher’s began to eat the hornets as they cry out:

“My Queen, why?!”

“Why are they attacking us?!, they follow the commands of the blade’s wielder.”

“Mother, please!”

“How could you?!”

Everyone stared on in horror at the gruesome scene before them, the entire swarm of hornets were being casually devoured by The Snatchers and most disturbingly, it was by Queen Beezma’s command. Fluttershy had tears going down her face as the animal lover couldn’t help but to say: 

“B-but t-they are h-her children...”, Zecora sees this and leans against the weeping pegasus as does her summoned Slime, Flinx, and Finch who could sense their summoner's emotional state.

“This Queen is nothing but a brute, to sacrifice ones own children, shame on you!”, Zecora shouts as she stares daggers towards the Queen Bee who was laughing manically throughout the whole massacre.

“Ya no good heartless insect!, not even Chrysalis ev’r done something this bad to her own children!”, - Applejack.

“You are such a meanie!” - Pinkie Pie.

“She is the main reason why I always avoided the hornets' nest, she’s willing to sacrifice her own brood just for that stupid blade!” - Ritsu.

“She is unworthy of life, let us end her and this strife!” - Gex.

A whole hour goes by as the group start to feel the fatigue of their current predicament, for every Snatcher they slayed another would quickly regrow and replace it. These creatures literally had to be taken out by their roots which sadly no one in attendance had an effective way of doing. During this time even Pinkie Pie had changed her appearance as her mane deflated and her fur grayed out. All the while, Queen Beezma monologues and taunts the group saying:

“Oh how I enjoy watching you all squirm, to fight for your meaningless life!. I am Queen Of The Jungle, none have any authority over me. I decide on who lives and who dies!. I am- AURGH!”, Suddenly, Queen Beezma roars out in pain and is in utter shock as green blood starts to spill onto the jungle ground beneath her and to the shock of everyone present the queen’s leg that had once held the blade was amputated as it fell to the floor. The vine creatures noticeably stopped their assault and to the delight of the ponies, Zebra, Lihzahrd, and Kitsune, the creatures retreated underground never to be seen again. For now it would seem.

“You are unworthy of being The Hive’s Queen for any longer, mother!”, 626 shouts in anger as it is revealed the hornet was responsible for cutting off Beezma’s front leg and, held in 626’s own leg, was the blade of grass. “For my fellow siblings that you murdered!”

[SHLINK]

The battle has finally been won as Queen Beezma’s decapitated head falls to the earth below and after a few moments a loud crashing sound engulfs the area as the rest of her body followed soon after. Everyone watched on with their mouth’s agape, aside from Pinkamena who casually says: 

”Queen Bitch got what she deserved...”

“That she did partner, good riddance to ya. No good rotten apple.”, Applejack says as she spits onto the floor. Suddenly, two things happens next: 

The first, various items begins to form around Queen Beezma’s corpse and shortly after each item floats into the air and duplicates itself into eight identical items, one for everyone present including 626. Ritsu and Gex smirk as they say in unison: 

“Here comes the loot!” (Revealed in Author’s Notes)

The second, 626 made everyone flinch, aside from Pinkamena who simply looked on carelessly, as the hornet tosses The Blade Of Grass towards the direction of the ponies and begins to burrow into Queen Beezma’s dead corpse. Shock and a sense of disgust was present on Applejack, Zecora, and Fluttershy’s expression however Gex and Ritsu looked onto the spectacle as if they knew what was going to happen next.

“Prepare yourselves friends, we are about to witness something remarkable by this nights end, the scene before us may seem disturbing and grotesque, but watch as a new Queen Bee arises from the corpse of the dead.”, Gex says as sure enough 626 exits the corpse of the deceased Queen Bee with some sort of gel like substance in the hornet's mandibles.

“Royal jelly huh?, no wonder that hornet burrowed into her. Doubt she’d give it up willingly soooo...”, Ritsu says as she shrugs her shoulders. Suddenly, a yellow glow surrounds 626 which causes the hornet to slowly grow in size. No one could see the hornet as 626’s body was completely consumed by the yellow energy but judging by the outline of the yellow energy consumed figure everyone could tell instantly, a new Queen Bee was being born. Shortly, the yellow energy disperses and a large figure similar in size and appearance to former Queen Beezma hovered in the air above the group.

“You have my gratitude Ponies, Zebra, Lihzahrd, and Kitsune. Now, fulfill your part of the bargain and take the blade. From this day forward I am Queen 626, I must admit I’ve grown attached to that name.”, Queen 626 declares.

“Oh my, I must say, you look so beautiful.”, Fluttershy compliments.

“Fer what it’s worth, we couldn’t have gotten the blade without your help, Yer’ Majesty.”, Applejack says as she nods her head.

“Oh, oh, oh, maybe we can throw you a congratulations-for-helping-us-kill-Queen-Beezma-and-becoming-a-Queen party!”, Pinkie pie congratulates as she returns to her normal party pony self.

“So what happens now?, you’d better not follow your mother’s example...”, Ritsu says as she narrows her eyes.

“My mother was a fool, murdering her own children just to satiate that blade’s power was the last straw. As Queen I shall never commit her sins against The Hive, I shall find a new home beyond this place and construct a new nest, farewell.”, Queen 626 says as she turns around and takes to the skies however she suddenly stops and looks back to the group. “Heed my warning, the hornets from my old hive may no longer dwell in this jungle but know that there are greater dangers here. Dangers that not even The Blade Of Grass can combat, like what lurks within that large temple in the distance.", The moment Queen 626 mentioned The Temple, Gex noticeably winces. "I can say this for certain, none of you are prepared... Leave this place and get stronger. Only then can you possibly face greater foes.”, With those final words Queen 626 takes their leave and disappears into the distance. The entire group of friends were waving their hands and hooves as Queen 626 flew away to say their good bye's. Applejack sighs with a content smile and says:

"Well y'all, I'd say we got ourselves a successful mission. Come on everybody, let's go home.", Everyone begins to cheer for their success in retrieving the blade as they make their way towards the surface. However, unknown to them all something was watching them nearby as it remained hidden amongst the greenery:



"So you're with the surface dwellers now... you traitorous fool."



 

Some time has passed and the group find themselves on the surface of The Jungle once more. Coincidently, morning has just arrived as the group starts to part ways in order to return home.

“Thanks fer’ helping us Gex, ye’r always welcome to Home Town. Watch over Zecora fer’ us ya hear?”, Applejack asks.

“Fret not dear friends for that is what I intend to do, by my honor as a Witchdoctor this I assure you.”, Gex replies.

“Fare well for now my friends, I shall stop by Home Town later to purchase goods from Lucan.” - Zecora

“See you later Gex and Zecora, I can’t wait to meet those other ponies you guys told me about!, eek!”, Ritsu The Zoologist says as she jumps happily.

“You can even stay with me Ritsu, my house has lots of room and animals. If that’s ok with you?”, Fluttershy asks with a content smile.

“We are throwing so many parties!”, Pinkie exclaims as she hops around merrily. The two groups depart as Zecora and Gex enters the zebra’s home while everyone else summons their newly acquired bee mounts thanks to their Honeyed Goggles item. They take to the skies and head towards Home Town, everyone is celebrating their accomplishment in addition to enjoying their new flying mounts. Applejack looks into the morning sky and says:

“Mission accomplished everypony... and Rainbow Dash, ah’m so sorry...”
> Chapter 26 - Get In Line.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, DUNGEON-



It was now early in the morning outside of The Dungeon, but that was just it, outside The Dungeon. Unfortunately, those within had no way to tell. Rarity was shocked to learn that she was not going to be alone within the deepest and darkest depths of The Dungeon as a few individuals placed in cells around her start to introduce themselves one by one starting with the woman whos cell was placed directly adjacent from the fashionista’s:

“Since we’re gonna be stuck here together I suppose introductions are needed. I’m Katelyn Pierce, The Mechanic.”

“Oh, oh, oh, me next!. I’m Diane Candymena, The Party Girl!, you can call me Candy for short. Speaking of party, we should totally throw you a oh-my-gosh-you’re-a-pony-who-can-talk-so-let’s-be-friends party!”, This admittedly caused Rarity to say internally:

-By Celestia please... I love my dear friend but please, not another Pinky Pie. Wait, what did she-

“Now that she’s got that out of her system... I’m Jeremy Bravos, The Angler. Wait a second... A talking pony?, how did you know she’s a talking pony?. Your cell is at the far end of the hallway!”

“Eh, call it a hunch. My Candy senses are never wrong!”

“My name is Livian Hesper darling, The Stylist.”

“I’m Ross Bosman, The Tavernkeeper and future destroyer of the old one’s- you know what?, never mind.”

“And I am Magius Swirl Magnus, The Wizard.”



“Oh my word, how long were you all down here?. This place is truly dreadful!”, Rarity exclaims as she then slowly looks down to the floor with a saddened expression. “Oh Steven, I’m so sorry... You tried to warn me.”

“Why are you apologizing? Steven is nothing but a monster!”, Katelyn shouts angrily as she overhears Rarity’s words.

“He is not a monster!, if anything is monstrous around here it’s those terrible clothes you’re wearing!”, Rarity replies as she disgustingly points a hoof towards The Mechanic’s clothes. The aforementioned Terrarian responds with gritted teeth:

“Are you stupid?!, he’s the reason you’re down here with us, why we’re all down here!”

“It wasn’t his doing!, it was that monster Skeletron. Steven is being possessed by him!”

“Enough!, both of you!”, Magius The Wizard exclaims as he cuts off their argumentized conversation. “None of that matters now, what does matter is that we continue to find a way out of here.”

“We’ve had this discussion hundreds of times already Magius, the only way we can possibly ever leave this place is if A: Skeletron is defeated, or B: You somehow can escape with your magic, and assuming you’ll come back for the rest of us, which won’t happen while you remain in that cell.”, Jeremy The Angler says as he sighs in defeat.

“Aw come on everyone, cheer up, once we escape we can throw a lot of parties. That’s the cure to all forms of sorrow.”

“It’s always parties with you Candy...”, Livian The Stylist comments.

“Well duh, that’s why I’m The Party Girl- wait... My Candy senses are tingling, I can’t quite put a finger on it but I think there’s someone else who really loves parties out there. Oh my gosh!, they love parties as much as I do based on the party energy power levels I’m detecting, it’s over nine thousand!. Then again power levels were always bull- wait... There’s something else too... Hmm... This being feels so, familiar.”, An awkward silence ensues as Candy finishes her... Assessment. Rarity couldn’t help but to say internally:

-Note to self, do NOT allow her and Pinkie Pie to meet-

“Awww... But I want to meet her so badly...”

“W-wait, did you just read my-”

[BRRRRRRK]

Rarity’s words were cut off as the doors to the hallway of cells opens revealing The Old Man, Steven. The sound of multiple wheels echoes throughout the hallway as Steven pushes a cart upon which many plates of food are set on, the food ranged from eggs to bacon to pretty much every food item one would come to expect from a morning meal. Most notably was the fact that he walked down the hallway with a saddened expression as he tells everyone:

“I... Your food is ready, as is a variety of drinks. Tell me what you want and I’ll hand it to you, I know we’ve been through this a lot already but I’m so sorry-”

“Shove your apologies Old Man, I don’t wanna hear any excuses from you.”, Katelyn The Mechanic says as she stares daggers at Steven who happened to be standing between The Mechanic and Rarity’s cells.

“Stop being so rude to him you brute!, at least he’s feeding us out of the goodness of his own heart. He could’ve left us all to starve to death but he didn’t!, I already told you THIS. IS. NOT. HIS. FAULT!”, Rarity roars out in anger.

“C-can we please stop fighting everyone?...”, Candy says as her hair deflates and she pouts sadly, if one were to observe this they couldn’t help but to feel a sense of déjà vu.

“Got to agree with Candy, you two never keep your mouths’ shut. You’re both almost as bad as Candy is.” - Jeremy The Angler.

“Hey!, meanie...” - Candy The Party Girl.

Steven winced as he looked towards the newly added prisoner in the cell before him, his eyes met with its current occupant: Rarity. “I’m so sorry Rarity, this is all my fault.”

“That’s an understatement.”, Katelyn interjects sassily.

“Enough Katelyn.” - Ross The Tavernkeeper.

“Don’t blame yourself darling, it wasn’t your doing.” - Rarity.

“What would you like to eat Rarity?”, Steven asks with a smile.

“Everything looks quite lovely I must say, aside from the... Meat. Could you hand me some of the pancakes? Oh, and don’t be shy on the syrup either.”, Rarity replies with a smile, this causes The Mechanic to roll her eyes with a look of disgust. Steven nods contently and gives Rarity her requested food as he lays the plate gently onto the floors of Rarity’s cell. She quickly but gently grabs his hand and says: “We will find a way to free everyone, including you. My friends will find me and when they do we will help free you from that monster, I made you a promise Steven and I intend to keep it as is required from a proper lady.”, Rarity’s words causes Steven to smile and nods his head saying:

“Thank you, Rarity.”, After handing the pony her eating utensils Steven then turns around to Katelyn and asks: “What would you like Kate-”

“Don’t you say my name, monster. You might have her fooled, maybe even everyone else here, but I know you and Skeletron are one in the same. Give me my damn food and get out of my face.” Katelyn retorts with absolute venom in her voice. Steven sighs sadly and places a plate of eggs, bacon, and rice onto the floor of Katelyn’s cell. He then travels to every cell and hands over the requested food items of their inhabitants, he walks up to the final cell which holds Candy The Party Girl and says:

“Hello Candy, how are you this morning?”

“Super duperly rific!, oh, and guess what Steven?”, Candy says as she leans into the cell bars and lowers her tone into a whisper. “My Candy senses indicates there is another being in Terraria who loves parties like I do, but they seem so familiar too. I’m so excited to meet them, when we get out of here one day of course.”

“Hahaha, I always enjoy your enthusiasm dear Candy. It’s really hard to believe there exist a being in Terraria who could ever match your party finesse. I promise, one day powerful heroes will defeat Skeletron and free you all from this place.” Steven replies.

“AND you too silly, you’re gonna be free just like us then I’m gonna throw you a party to celebrate. I already have seventy-six different parties planned too so I have a lot of catching up to do. Katelyn might be a big old meanie to you but I agree with the pony three cells over, I know you’re a very nice person Steven.”, Candy’s words puts a smile onto Steven’s face who nods happily and makes his way towards the exit. He pauses in front of Rarity’s cell and says:

“I’ll be back later to bring you all some lunch.”, He then turns his head to Rarity and leans towards the cell door. “Please tell me someone knows you’re here Rarity?, you may very well be our last hope. No one has ever stopped by yet looking for any of the others here, I hope the opposite happens for you.”

“Well, they don’t exactly know where I am but I have faith in my friends darling. Twilight and the others are getting those blades we need and the Terrarians from Home Town will search for me. I’ve been gone a whole night so they’re probably looking for me already. If I may ask Steven, why don’t you just let us out?”

“I want to dear Rarity, more than you know, but there’s a curse placed on this god forsaken dungeon. Skeletron saw fit to assign a terrifying being to kill anyone who dares to enter or leave this place, The Dungeon Guardian. [SIGH] Skeletron only left you alive to torture me dear Rarity, he intends to make me watch all of you rot away down here. I pray that your friends can gather the strength to beat him, they are our last hope.”

“My friends are incredibly strong dear Steven, both in body and in their hearts. They’ll come for me and I hope that no good Skeletron can hear me in that body of yours when I say...” Rarity narrows her eyes in anger. “They will beat you, brute. I know you can hear me in there.”

Suddenly, Steven grunts uncomfortably as a red aura leaks out of his eyes and a black aura covers his entire body.

”Hmm hmm, get in line.”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

“Oh wow!, this place looks beautiful. I’m more of a nature girl of course but I like the look of this town.”, Ritsu The Zoologist says as she stares on in marvel at Home Town. All of the Terrarians are present and stares at her in shock. Lucan The Merchant recovers from the shock and says:

“Ok introductions later, we’ve got a problem. Rarity has been missing all night!”, Lucan’s words causes Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to gasp. Applejack grits her teeth and shouts:

“What?!, dang namit Rarity!, why didn’t she tell any of y’all she was going alone?!”, Applejack exclaims as she stomps a hoof onto the ground.

“We were supposed to look for The Muramasa yesterday, together, but when we went to check up on her she was already gone. She’s been missing all night already, we tried looking for her all day yesterday but we had no luck.”, Tanner The Guide says as he sighs sadly.

“Oh dear, we need to look for her now. I’ll ask any of my animal friends if they’ve seen her and I’ll fly around to scout the area.”, Fluttershy says as she takes to the sky however before she departed she turns to Helena The Nurse and says: “Oh, thank you so very much for watching over the animals in my home Helena, I really appreciate it.”

“No problem dear, now go on, start searching for your friend and we’ll be right behind you.” - Helena The Nurse replies. Fluttershy nods happily and flies off.

“Sounds like a plan, in the mean time I know you ponies just got back from your adventure in The Jungle but I trust you got The Blade Of Grass?. We can use it to help us should we run into anything dangerous.”, Ceeman The Arms Dealer asks.

“You bet!, go on Applejack show them!”, Pinkie Pie shouts enthusiastically as she hops in the air. Applejack nods and in one swift motion she conjures the blade and holds it in her left front hoof, raising it into the air. All of the Terrarians have various reactions ranging from simple ‘Ooooh’ to ‘That looks so beautiful’, Tanner The Guide smirks and says:

“[WHISTLE] Nice.”
> Chapter 27 - Battle In Ponyville Pt: 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, OUTPOST 2-

A large force comprised of many different beings don in armor of various types now stands at the ready to invade The Corruption Biome, specifically, the infected region of Ponyville.   Ponies, Dragons, Minotaurs, Changelings, Hippogriffs, griffins, Yaks, and Zebras make up most of the rather large force. Standing before them was Shining Armor along with all the members of The Pillars, Tempest Shadow, Queen Chrysalis, Garble, and Stygian. Shining Armor looks onto the infected town of Ponyville in the distance as he then turns around to the large force and exclaims:

“Ok everyone, here’s the situation!. We’ve recently received intel that the monsters in The Corruption have begun to evolve and grow in strength, size, and power. Most disturbingly, we also now know there appears to be a leader of sorts calling itself: The Hive Mind. We have two objectives today: Scout the biome for anything that could possibly help us against this infection and, should the opportunity arise, slay The Hivemind. All of your armor has been enchanted to prevent the effects of The Corruption and to stop any one from feeding it more... Sin. I trust each of you remembered to grab a pouch full of Purification Powder-”, Suddenly, Shining Armor’s attention was turned to one of the armored ponies in front of him who raises their right hoof. The unicorn prince nods his head which prompts the individual to speak who is revealed to be an armored Big Macintosh:

“Yer’ Highness, ah know that the mission comes first, but, if you’d allow some of us to... Salvage what we can from some of our homes along the way?. Mah’ sister is gone... We a’int got nothin to honor her with, no piece of her left behind...”

“The Grrreat And Powerful Trixie would agree with the large stallion next to her, Trixie would like to retrieve some items that belongs to my... [SIGH] to Trixie’s best friend, Starlight Glimmer. Also, Trixie would like to say that this armor is pretty annoying to wear...”

Chrysalis’s right eye twitches at the mention of her name. The former Changeling ruler says internally with gritted teeth: -That sow...-

Garble rolls his draconic eyes.

Suddenly, one of the members of The Pillars walks forward and says:

“I’m sure that many of you want to retrieve items that holds a memory of those who were lost that day against the monster known as Razeem and this corruption. I understand that Ponyville was the home to most of the element bearers not to mention some of you who joined this army. However, I respectfully ask that you all put those feelings aside for now. We can honor those who have fallen by succeeding here today.” Star Swirl The Bearded says as he then sighs lightly with a saddened expression and continues: “Tell you what, if we manage to be passing by some of your homes and provided we have some extra time you can grab something to remember your loved ones by however I strongly recommend you choose something that won’t hold you or the rest of this army back. My apologies if that sounds harsh but we are facing dire times.”, Upon hearing Starswhirl’s words some among the crowd nods their heads contently. As Star Swirl and Shining Armor continues to address the crowd/army a handful of nearby bystanders have a conversation of their own:

“You ponies and your sentiments...”, chrysalis says under her breath with disgust.

“Tch, I thought we were here to burn this stuff away? Not set up funerals for a bunch of ponies.”, Garble says with flames coming out of his mouth.

“Both of you have better choose your next words carefully.”

Garble and Chrysalis turn their heads to a pony who overheard their words and was now approaching them, Stygian. “I will not stand for such disrespect, why you two are even here is beyond me. Especially you, Chrysalis.”

“Oh my, look who’s suddenly the hero type now. Isn’t that right? Pony Of Shadows.”

“Do not call me by that name Chrysalis!, I am Stygian and you will refer to me as such.”

“Both of you are starting to annoy me, why Dragon Lord Ember ever agreed to join this stupid coalition is beyond me.” - Garble.

“That’s enough you three, the true enemy is The Corruption. If we don’t stop it here the whole world will become no different than what we see before us.”, Tempest Shadow interjects as she walks up to the trio. “Open up your eyes and see that this is bigger than any of us, ponies, dragons, changelings? It doesn’t matter... We’re all dead if we don’t stand together.”, Before Tempest or anyone else could continue they overhear Shining Armor shout:

“Let’s move out!”





-EQUUS, CORRUPTION BIOME, OUTSKIRTS OF SWEET APPLE ACRES-


Some time passes by as the army nears their objective however they had to travel on a very particular path, one that anyone who were born in the now infected town would be all too familiar with: The road to Sweet Apple Acres. Of the entire army there was one pony who’s heart was likely shattered upon seeing the sad state of the once lively apple orchard: Bic Macintosh. The stallion couldn’t help but to stare on to the now barren wasteland, not a single apple tree remained as the corruption literally turned most of them into dust or vine like abominations. The small house that once sat on the hill including the large barn that was placed not far from it were, simply put, decayed. Not even the clubhouse of The Cutie Mark Crusaders was spared as the tree that had once held it aloft was reduced to dust and as a result the structure fell to the earth. The structures on the property looked as if millions of years have passed, the stallion stopped and as a result the rest of the army would walk around him. Some would look at him with confusion while others would have a sympathetic look and simply give Big Mac a sorrowful nod. There would be no retrieving of anything from this ruined place. The apple stallion couldn’t hold it back... A trail of tears begins to run down his face as the red stallion says:

“Ma’... Pa’... I’m so sorry, ah’ wasn’t strong enough to stop any of this. Our home is gone now...”

“It’s not your fault Bic Mac... None of us could have known things would get this bad.”, A mare’s voice says which causes the red stallion’s ear to perk up and he turns his attention to her saying:

“Thank you Sugar Belle, ah’ know you’re just trying to help me but... Ah’ can’t help but feel like I could’ve done more.”

“Big Mac, you got your family out of The Corruption and yes, you did lose your home, but you still have your family.”, Sugar Belle says as she then puts a hoof onto the stallion’s left shoulder. “They’re alive because of what you did, never forget that. Your sister would be proud of you... just as Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, and I am.”, The mare’s words causes Big Mac to have a smile form on his face as he lifts his head up high confidently and replies with his signature:

“Eeyup.”, The two ponies laugh as Big Mac continues and says: “Thank ya Sugar Belle, yer’ a good friend. Come on, let’s get goin.”, He begins to walk in front of Sugar Belle a short distance away as she says with a saddened expression:

“Yeah... [SIGH] a friend.”, She regains her composure after a few moments and catches up to the red stallion as the entire army continues to march towards Ponyville which was only a short distance away.





-EQUUS, CORRUPTION BIOME, PONYVILLE-

At long last the army has arrived into the once peaceful town of Ponyville, since there were some ponies who lived and were born from this place among the army many of them let out shocked gasps and took on saddened expressions. Many familiar structures were no different than Sweet Apple Acres  as they too were decayed Sugar Cube Corner, The Carousel Boutique, The Ponyville Schoolhouse, The Spa, all of Ponyville was rotted away thanks to The Corruption. Suddenly, everyone’s eyes shot wide and some of their mouths’ goes agape as they see what was floating in the center of the town. Specifically, what was floating over a rotting Town Hall/Town Square:



“Oh my goodness... It’s all ruined, everything...”, An armored mare says who, much like Big Mac, had quite the connection to the structure. She was none other then: Mayor Mare.

“Listen up everyone!, we’re gonna spread out and search for anything that might help us. Make sure no one goes off alone, we will meet up back here in thirty minutes.”, Shining Armor declares as he then turns to Tempest Shadow, Chrysalis, The Pillars, Stygian, Garble, and Trixie. “We’re gonna stay here and deal with this orb, we saw what it’s used for thanks to Dr. Whoove’s video footage.” Many in the army begin to break up into various groups in an effort to cover the town more efficiently.

“Finally, we get to burn something!” - Garble.

“We’d like ta’ stay with you too, if we can destroy this thing then ah’m game!” - Big Mac.

“Me too, where Big Mac goes... I go.”, Sugar Belle says as she fidgets in place.

“As the former town Mayor I shall be staying here too.”, Mayor Mare says as she then pulls out her pouch filled with Purification Powder. “Time to see for myself how this works.”, The town mayor says as she grabs a hoof full of powder and throws it at the Town Hall. What happens next makes her eyes widen as she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, what was once a structure infected by the purple disease was now, put simply, normal. It was still wrecked of course thanks to the actions of the monsters who likely destroyed the building. The earth beneath the structure looked healthy once more and even the grass which was once a light purple color returned to the beautiful green that it once was.

“Trrrixie is impressed, she’s never seen it work in pony but Trixie is glad to see it does.”

“Indeed, now then let’s get down to-”

[RRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHRRRRRRRR] [RRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHRRRRRRRR] [RRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHRRRRRRRR]

Suddenly, everyone jumps as the sense of fear travels up and down everyone’s spines. Multiple roars from many of The Corruption’s monsters erupts the very moment Mayor Mare purified Town Hall and the small area around it. Soon after, the distant screams of various members of the army goes off as some begin to cry out:

“What is that thing?!”

“By the gods, it bit him clean in half!”

“Help me!, don’t let it tak- [BLEUGH]”

“W-we can’t fight against this!”

“Don’t be a coward!, fight!”

“Never have I saw such beings of freight, brace yourselves and prepare to fight!”

“Get ready everypony, looks like we got the attention of our local neighbors..”, Tempest shadow says as she, The Pillars, Stygian, Garble, Big Mac, Sugar Belle, Trixie, Mayor Mare, and Shining Armor take a combat stance as the monsters of The Corruption descends from the skies all around them.
> Chapter 28 - Battle In Ponyville Pt: 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, CORRUPTION BIOME, PONYVILLE-


The sounds of energy blasts via magic based attacks and the clanking of metal from physical weapons engulfs the area as all out war breaks out in Ponyville. Eater Of Souls were seen picking off various individuals from the army as they plead for mercy, sadly, the monsters of The Corruption have no mercy. Such a concept was simply non existent to beings who fed off of sin, in a way these abominations might as well be called demons straight out of the absolute depths of Tartarus. One wouldn't be wrong to call them that.

"Stay strong everypony!, fight them off and make sure to use the purification powder to cleanse the area as we push them back!", Shining Armor exclaims as he and his allies, comprised of The Pillars, Stygian, Chrysalis, Tempest Shadow, Trixie, Big Mac, Mayor Mare, Garble, and Sugar belle form a circle formation in front of Town Hall fighting off various of The corruption's monsters, specifically many of The Eater Of Souls. Multiple scenario's play out in the group:

Shining Armor would blast away any of the eater of souls who tried to swoop into the group hoping to pick someone off.

Sugar Belle would do the same as the unicorn prince while also bucking a small Eater Of Souls.

Garble honestly felt he was having the time of his life as the dragon scorched any parasite's who were trying to drop down on the group from above, the red dragon would even take to the skies to slash some of the parasites clean in half with his claws as he shouts out: "Hah!, these things are so weak!"

Big Mac used his royal guard lance, one of many weapons that was gifted to those who agreed to join the army to help fight back the infection, to literally skewer every parasite right through their heads upon which he'd then toss the corpse of the Eater Of Souls towards another parasite. A couple of the rather smaller sized parasite's managed to get closer however Big Mac was quite the earth pony. He bucked them so hard that they'd explode on impact causing their body parts to disperse in the area.

The Pillars, despite some of them being old, were still just as powerful as they've always been. Star swirl's magnificent magical abilities would often make short work of the flying parasites not to mention he'd support Shining Armor in casting a barrier in order to give everyone some time to recollect themselves before removing the barrier and returning to battle. 

Rockhoof was essentially a more powerful version of Big Mac, where the red stallion sent parasite's flying and the smaller parasite's to explode on impact with his powerful bucks Rockhoof effortlessly tossed them away with his might, stomped them to a fine paste, and batted/killed many of the parasite's with his trusty shovel. 

Mage Meadowbrook was the team's healer and as such they all tried their best to protect her. Most surprisingly, it was Chrysalis who dedicated her efforts into protecting Meadowbrook much to the mage's surprise. The former changeling queen would zap away any parasite that tried to come after the mage however Chrysalis was surprised to see that she couldn't suck any love away from the flying parasites often commenting: 

"This can't be, everything has to have a shred of love no matter what!", little does she know these beings, to put it bluntly, are nothing but empty husks. They have only one objective: To take your soul and die trying.

Somnambula would shout various strategies to her allies upon which they'd enforce and enact, she wasn't very gifted in terms of combat prowess however her intellect was, to put it bluntly, vastly superior. She comprised plans with back up plans and back up plans for the back up plans. Yes, she was an incredibly smart pegasus mare and she knew how to apply it. The only one in the group who matched her intellect possibly even surpassing it was Stygian.

One can not let Mistmane's appearance fool them for she was still a very powerful sorceress. Much like Star swirl, she too effortlessly blasted away any parasite that tried to swoop in for a bite.

Flash Magnus took to the skies and combated the flying monsters head on striking them with his hooves and a lance similar to what Big Mac had possessed while also using his superior agility to avoid their counter attacks. He'd return to the group to recuperate whenever Shining Armor and Star swirl would cast a barrier. Surprisingly, he and Garble even performed a combo attack in the skies above Ponyville.

Many would not expect this from 'The Great And Powerful Trixie' but she too was handling herself quite well. Thanks to using various smoke bombs throughout her performances she was comfortable with using Purification Powder in combination with her own attacks. Thanks to Starlight Glimmer, Trixie's magical abilities had improved thanks to her friend's tutorage as she'd throw some purification powder right into the face of a parasite followed by an energy blast powerful enough to push back and kill some of The Eater Of Souls.

Mayor Mare was not an earth pony to be underestimated, the saying: "Desperate times calls for desperate measures.", represented the Ponyville mayor perfectly as she did everything in her power to fight off the hoard of parasite's. Bucking, slicing with her royal guard blade, headbutting smaller parasite's, throwing Purification Powder at her foes much like Trixie, the town mayor did everything in her power to contribute. She might not be much compared to most of the other members of her small group but one couldn't help but to admire her fighting resolve. Determination was the best way to describe how hard she fought to support her allies.

Tempest Shadow, despite having a broken horn, was still a powerful force to be reckoned with. Combining her physical attacks with powerful blasts of magic she was the ultimate example of a Melee/Mage pony. Had she been thrown into Terraria with Twilight Sparkle and the others this would have been her role.

Stygian, in combination with Somnambula, shouted various combat strategies while also attacking their foes with magic blasts of his own. It was he who suggested for Garble and Flash Magnus to perform various combat combinations in the skies. After the events of The Pony Of Shadows, Stygian dedicated himself to improving his magical aptitude and as such he blasted away some of the opposition while dodging and striking others.

Various fighting scenarios played out through out all of Ponyville as the rest of the army fought hard and well against the flying parasites on both the land and in the skies. Surprisingly, despite losing some of their numbers everyone did manage to fight the parasites evenly and matched/overpowered their foes. Unfortunately, things were about to get worse as the flying parasites were just the beginning, the first wave so to speak. The ground begins to rumble as if something were burrowing underneath the earth, this was quite accurate however it wasn't just one but many of the large worm like abomination's of The Corruption: The Devourer's. 

The battle was instantly turned towards The Corruption's favor as these large worm abominations made quick work of various members of the army even killing many individuals with one swoop. The Devourer's would emerge from the ground and shoot up into the air as they then open up their large mouth's while falling back to the earth over those unfortunate enough to be caught. In one swift motion the individual, or individuals, would be swallowed whole as the worm burrows back into the earth. Every Devourer performed this act of guerilla warfare as they continued to feast on all members of the army. Changeling, Dragon, Pony, Yak, Hippogriff, Griffon, Zebra, Minotaur, It matters not what specie you were for as of this moment they were all equally prey for the worm abominations. One couldn't help but to pity those who lacked the gift of flight as they were forced to deal with the worms burrowing in the earth. Those in the skies were not entirely saved however as not only did they have to face the flying parasites they also shouldn't underestimate just how high the large worms could launch themselves up into the air. Dragons, Hippogriffs, Griffons, and Changelings who felt too safe in the air payed dearly as the jaws of the worms closed down on them before returning to the earth. 

As if things weren't already bad enough three new types of enemies presented themselves much to everyone's displeasure, some of these new creatures were more powerful versions of The Eater Of Souls and the Devourer's including a whole new enemy: Corrupt Slime, World Feeder, Corruptor.



Shining Armor and the others stare on in disbelief and absolute horror as the unicorn prince shouts: "No, it can't be!. They've already begun to evolve at such a rapid rate, we have no documentation on these new creature's!. That Hive Mind was right, we gave them time to spawn new allies!"

"We must retreat for now Prince Shining armor, these new foes are tearing our army apart!." Rockhoof exclaims.

"I hate to admit it but I agree, I ain't no coward but even a dragon knows when we've bitten off more than we can chew!" - Garble

"I'm going to cast a spell around all of Ponyville, I pray those in our army hasn't left its borders yet. It will teleport us all to The Outpost, Pillars, support me with your magic!", Star Swirl exclaims as he and various members of the Pillars start to channel their spell. Shining Armor casts a barrier around the group while gritting his teeth in order to buy them enough time to cast the powerful teleportation spell. The group could only watch in horror as those outside the barrier were still locked in combat or being killed off by the arrival of the new monsters of The Corruption.

"We must hurry!, once we cast this spell we can save those who are still alive out there so long as they are within Ponyville's vicinity.", Star Swirl exclaims. As this goes on everyone else in the barrier can't help but to pray that Shining Armor's barrier holds up and The Pillars can cast their spell in time. Suddenly, Mayor Mare gets an idea and turns to Chrysalis asking: 

"You're a changeling, that means you can feed on love right?"

"Of course you fool, what of it? I already tried to do that with these monstrosities but they have no love to give!" - Chrysalis.

"Don't do it to them, do it to the rest of us and give that power to The Prince and The Pillars!" - Mayor Mare.

"Of course!, a changeling can give their power to others if need be. Thorax proved that himself, Chrysalis you must do what Mayor Mare says!" - Stygian.

"I don't want some bug to take anything from me!, but, If that gets us out of here then fine!" - Garble.

"The Grrreat And Powerful Trixie still despises you for that whole incident with your hive. However, Trixie will go with this plan."

"Ah' agree too, take it!" - Big Mac.

"As do I!" - Sugar Belle.

"Do it now!" - Tempest Shadow.

As this goes on the monsters begin to slam, bite, and claw at the barrier much to Shining Armor's displeasure. The world goes in slow motion for Chrysalis as she ponders the words everyone has just spoken. She despises them all however she also doesn't want to meet her end, gritting her teeth she shouts: 

"I hate all of you!, but I refuse to die today so fine!", Instantly, Chrysalis opens her jaws and sucks the energy from everyone present aside from Shining Armor and The Pillars. Once she gets her fill everyone she sucked the energy from collapses to the floor however she immediately floats into the air and extends all of her limbs upon which many light purple energy rings fires at Shining Armor and The Pillars. The energy rings enters the bodies of The Pillars and Shining Armor and as a result they all couldn't help but to feel empowered and rejuvenated. The barrier suddenly became denser from the new surge of energy Shining had collected as Star Swirl exclaims:

"Well done Former Changeling Queen!, the spell is ready!"

"I AM The Queen you old-"

[POOF]





-EQUUS, OUTPOST 2-

[POOF]

The remnants of the army dropped to the floor as everyone was teleported by the spell Star Swirl and The Pillars had casted. What was once a large force comprised of many different species was now cut entirely in half possibly even lower. Everyone groans as they start to come to, Star Swirl looks around and asks:

"Is everyone ok?, it would seem the spell has successfully been casted. Well done Pillars an-"

"Everyone, we need to leave now!", A Changeling shouts out as they look towards the skies in utter disbelief. 

Large flying entities began to do the unthinkable: Spreading The Corruption. They began to spit projectiles that would further spread The Infection upon making contact with any object and, most disturbingly, any one. Some members from the army were hit by this spit and what happened next made some want to hurl. They'd scream out in pain as their body was taken over by The Corruption which resulted in grotesque abominations, a complete mockery of what they once were. A griffon was hit before the groups very eyes and they watched on in horror as the bones in the Griffon's body cracked and various body parts began to shift unnaturally. The griffon's head was now placed on its chest, both wings were completely plucked of feathers as they sat on opposite sides of the body. Purple ooze began to leak out of the griffon's ears, mouth, nose, and eyes followed by a deafening yet disturbing moan.

"By Celestia... come everyone, we must retreat to The Crystal Empire!", Shining Armor shouts as he and everyone present made a run for it. All around them this horrifying display played out as every being present, that wasn't a monster from The Corruption, ran and flew away for their lives or became corrupted much like the Griffon had become thus turning on their former allies. Tempest Shadow couldn't help but to think internally, the very same thing that was no doubt on everyone's mind:

-This is absolute madness, how the hay do we fight against this thing?!-





-EQUUS, EVERFREE FOREST-

A group of survivors from the outposts makes their way deeper into the wild forest of The Everfree. Miraculously, the magical forest has been combating against the corruption as the vines of the Everfree manages to kill off some of the monsters while also preventing The Corruption from spreading into the forest. The group was made up of survivors from all three Outposts and were being lead by an earth pony and a pegasus: Derpy Hooves and Dr. Whooves.

"This is absolute madness!, things couldn't have gotten any worse!. Now we're forced to seek shelter in what is arguably just as dangerous as The Corruption itself. You know what?, I take that back, I'd rather be here then out in that infection.", Dr. Whooves says as he and the survivors stop to catch their breath.

"Dr, perhaps I could fly back to The Empire and seek help?. There has to be a way to fight back.", Derpy Hooves asks.

"I'm sorry my dear assistant but that option has already been exercised, that army we sent into Ponyville was the absolute pinnacle of the entire coalition. No, we need something to help tip the scales in our favor. But what?, great whickering stallions I'm at a loss.", Dr. Whooves replies.

"Everypony wait, we found something.", An armored earth pony mare says however her voice was very, monotonous. "I've spent most of my life studying rock science and I've never seen a mineral like this one before. It radiates an otherworldly aura, it's both dangerous yet if harvested correctly it can be applied to various uses.", The pony is revealed to be Maud Pie as she both studies and admires the unknown 'rocks'. Maud was accompanied by two other armored mares who are revealed to be Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch. DR. Whooves, Derpy, and the rest of the group trot/runs over to the trio of mares as the doctor asks:

"What is it?, what did you-"

The doctor's words were cut off as he and everyone else present stares on to the unknown marvel before them. Some strange type of purple rock vein was formed on the forest floor but most shockingly, there were many large veins of this unknown material scattering the area.



"Do you know what this stuff is doctor?", Derpy asks.

"No, but for some reason I feel like we could... use this..."
> Chapter 29 - Ponyville Aftermath.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, CRYSTAL EMPIRE-

Despite everything that’s going on from Equestria’s Capitol to the small town of Ponyville, the ponies of The Crystal Empire along with various survivors try their best to maneuver around these hard times. Sadly, their sense of peace will soon be interrupted and shattered as Shining Armor and the rest of the survivors from the battle of Ponyville come bursting through the empire’s barrier. They were all covered in dirt, snow, along with other... Substances. The ponies watch on in shock as the unicorn prince and the rest of his group make their way hastily towards the castle however one among them, Big Mac, spots his family and breaks off. As a result, Sugar Belle sees this and decides to go with the red stallion.

“Granny!, Apple Bloom!, I’m glad y’all are ok!”, Big Mac exclaims as he runs into his two remaining family members from the apple orchard and hugs them both. Sweetie Belle watches the group with a smile forming on her face, Granny Smith pulls away after a few moments and says:

“Why of course we’re ok ma’ grandchild, we all came here together r’member?, and ma’ word boy!, You’re filthy. What ‘appened out there?”, Granny asks as she then takes notice of Sugar Belle and says: “Well I’ll be boy!, looks like you don’ got yer’self a fine mare while you were away. Now you look here Miss, so long as you treat my grandkid good I’ll give you ma’ blessin.”

“Granny!”, Big Mac shouts as his face becomes absolutely flustered. Apple Bloom was laughing in the background throughout the entire scene.

“W-well... I... I, thank you ma’am.”, Sugar Bell replies as she fidgets in place with a blush.

“Now, you tell yer’ old Granny just what’s been botherin’ you boy?. Then you can go get yer’self cleaned up.”, Granny smith says. After a few moments of gathering himself Big Mac takes a deep breath and starts to tell his family everything that has transpired in Ponyville with the assistance of Sugar Bell.





-EQUUS, CRYSTAL EMPIRE CASTLE: THRONE ROOM-

“We shall hear of the army’s success very soon, let us take comfort in knowing that our combined forces shall prevail over that wretched fiend who calls thyself: Hive Mind!”, Princess Luna exclaims as she, princess Cadence, Spike, and all the representative’s of the coalition raise a hoof, hand, claw, and mandible into the air shouting:

“To victory!”

[CRASH]

Suddenly, the doors to the throne room are flung open as Shining Armor, Stygian, Chrysalis, Mayor Mare, Trixie, Tempest, and all of The Pillars run with bated breaths over to the base of The Throne. Naturally, everyone in the throne room notices them and were about to congratulate them on their, ‘victory’. Their world is about to get a rude awakening.

“Oh my dear Shining!, I’m so glad you’ve all achieved victory an-” - Cadence.

“We didn’t win!, The Hive Mind was right... There are new monsters that have been born in The Corruption!.”, Shining Armor exclaims as he shakes with absolute fear, this causes Cadence to teleport to his side and comfort him. The representatives, Spike, and Princess Luna all gasp in surprise which causes a series of interactions:

“What doth thou mean?!” - Princess Luna.

“Domihaus demands to know what do you mean by, ‘we didn’t win?!’” - King Domihaus.

“[COUGH] That’s not possible!, we had a whole army made up of every race present here!” - Grandpa Gruff.

“Chrysalis, please tell me none of my subjects lost their lives?!, I knew I should’ve been there... I was supposed to fight alongside everyone!” - King Thorax.

“Of course some of The Changelings died you fool, we faced monstrosities far worse than anything we could’ve imagined!. And don’t be an idiot, if you die the mind link of The Hive will die with you and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what that means for the rest of The Changelings?” - Chrysalis.

“This is madness!, you mean to tell us that even our combined forces were nearly wiped out?!” - General Seaspray.

“Garble!, I’m so glad you’re ok. What in the name of my father happened out there?!”, Dragon Lord Ember questions as Garble’s sister, Smolder, flies over to hug him with tears in her eyes and says:

“I’m so glad you’re ok big brother.”, Surprisingly, even Spike came over to the red drake to see to his safe return:

“I’m glad you’re ok Garble, I really am. What happened out there?”

“I’ll tell you what happened, we got our asses kicked!. At first everything was going well, we were practically winning... Until those other monsters arrived...” - Garble.

“This blows me away, my heart breaks for every zebra and ally that has passed on this day.” - Prince Zaku.

“Yaks can’t believe monsters kill yak’s allies and other yaks so heartlessly, yak prince shall get revenge for us all!” - Prince Rutherford.

“We need a plan, and we need it now.” - Tempest Shadow.

Princess Luna trots over to Star Swirl, Stygian, and the rest of The Pillars as she says:

“Dearest teacher and friends, we are glad thou art ok. What happened out there?, how dire is the situation?”, Stygian walks up to Luna and replies:

“Things are not looking well your highness, just as Prince Shining Armor and the red dragon Garble has said... New enemies have entered the fray.”

“And that’s not even the worst part...”, Star Swirl says as he too steps forward and stands by Stygian, the rest of The Pillars converse amongst themselves. “Luna, I’m truly at a loss my dear student... If these new monsters could push us back as they did what hope do we have to face the giant monstrosity... This Eater Of Worlds?”

“We... We art not sure Star Swirl... We, I must think in private. Forgive us for leaving on short notice!”, Luna exclaims as she teleports out of existence.





-EQUUS, CRYSTAL EMPIRE CASTLE: CRYSTAL HEART CHAMBER-

[POOF]

Luna re-appears in the very same chamber that holds The Crystal Heart however there has been another precious treasure that’s recently been added. Encased in a purple spire of crystals the preserved body of Princess Celestia rests against a wall on the opposite side of the chamber’s entrance. The Princess Of The Sun looked as if she were sleeping peacefully on her own bed only in this case her form floated off of the ground encased in crystals. Decorating the crystal-grave was a series of beautiful flowers including one of the sunflowers that were used to contain The Corruption. Luna walks slowly up to her sister as tears threatened to escape her eyes, she then bows in respect to her deceased sibling and says:

“Dearest sister... We apologize for not coming to visit thou these last few days. We tried... We tried to attack The Corruption but now there are new enemies we must face. The Hive Mind told us itself that we gave them enough time to increase their forces. We... We thought it to be a ruse, a way to try and intimidate us but from what Prince Shining Armor and Star Swirl has told us we know not what to do. Oh dear sister, if only thou were here... Ye would likely know what course of action we must take...”

[POOF]

“[SIGH] You know... Every time I come here I always think Sun Butt is just playing a prank on us, that she’d eventually just wake up after having her fun. I honestly can’t believe she’s really gone... I know we’ve had our differences but death is the last thing I ever would want, For both of you.”, Discord says as he snaps his fingers and conjures a large bouquet of rainbow colored roses, he then lays the roses upon the crystal grave and says: “I doubt you can hear me Sun Butt, but... I’m sorry.” After saying those words Discord and Luna remain silent for a few moments. Luna finally breaks the silence as she says:

“We... Appreciate thou respect for our sister Lord Of- Discord.”

“Well, well, this is the first time in over a thousand years you’ve ever used my name Lulu.”, Discord says as he grins at the Alicorn with his lion’s paw stroking his beard.

“Thou would be wise not to ruin the occasion with thy words... [SIGH]  we have something to ask of ye, Discord.”

“Oh?, well go on Lulu.”

“Firstly, thou shall stop calling us Lulu. Secondly, we would like to ask thou about what we discussed some time in the past.”

“You’ll need to be more specific, Moon Butt.”, Discord replies which causes Luna’s left eye to twitch at the new, ‘nickname’.

“When we last spoke thou were telling us about that other world, Terraria. During thou lecture ye mentioned a name, thou didn’t say it completely but it started with: Cthu?”

Luna’s inquiry caused Discord to momentarily shudder in, what Luna couldn’t believe to be, fear. Discord sighs heavily and regains his composer as he replies:

“Alright Luna, given everything that’s happening this might be called for. What you do with this information is completely up to you.”, Discord then snaps his fingers and conjures two soft, and rather large, pillows for them both to sit on. Luna sets herself down on one of the pillows which coincidently was dark purple in coloration with the symbol of a crescent moon as she says:

“Thank ye.”

“No problem, Fluttershy always did drill me on proper manners. Now then, allow me to tell you a story that’s well known in Terraria: The Coming Of Cthulhu.





-TERRARIA, FOREST AT THE EDGE OF THE DESERT, ENCAMPMENT- 

It was now becoming late into the afternoon as the Terrarians and Ponies made their way safely out of The Desert and saw fit to rest up before nightfall. They begin to construct an encampment as well as starting dinner before the sun sets. Twilight, Starlight, Rainbow Dash, Celestia, and Sai Sahan were sitting around a table as some among them talked about their recent victory over The Desert Scourge:

“We were so awesome!, I was like, ‘bam bam bam bam’, with my new gun and Starlight was like, ‘shlink shank boom’, together, we all showed that overgrown worm who the real boss was!” - Rainbow Dash

“I must say Rainbow, your plan to use those giant bugs as bait was pretty genius. The loot we got from it was nothing to scuff at either.” - Starlight.

“Indeed, luring it out with its incredible hunger was quite sound.” - Celestia.

“The beast was a true force to be reckoned with, let us celebrate this victory over tonight’s feast!” - Sai Sahan.

As they continue on, Twilight was lost in her own world as she was reading a book she recently received from Sai Sahan, a book titled:

“The Coming Of Cthulhu.”
> Chapter 30 - The Coming Of Cthulhu.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Multiverse can sometimes play a funny scenario of irony and coincidence. In one universe a human or even a pony could be a Man/Stallion while in another they could be a  Woman/Mare. In one universe there exists a renowned hero while in another the hero is the worlds greatest tyrant. In this case Princess Twilight Sparkle and Discord: The Lord Of Chaos, are an example of a ‘multiverse Coincidence’, as the two unknowingly tell and reads the very same story, as of this very moment, even from worlds apart. The story of an event that has transpired in the distant past of Terraria: The Coming Of Cthulhu.





Chapter 1 - The Coming Of Cthulhu.



Many years ago in the early stages of Terraria, the world enjoyed a time of peace. The ones who were mostly responsible for this time of peace and the lush lands of paradise were: The Dryads. Of all the beings in the world none were connected to Terraria in the same way of The Dryads, It is said that the world itself gave birth to this great and noble race, there are even those who say that the world is in a sense... Alive. The Dryads even brought forward the four seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.

It was they who contained the greatest infection this world has ever witnessed thus far: The Crimson, a deadly biome that goes by many different aliases from ‘The Flesh That Hates’ to ‘The Living Flesh’.



The powerful purification powers of these ancient beings, The Dryads, were un-matched or without equal. Every land that The Flesh had infested were instantly returned to their former, beautiful state thanks to the efforts of The Dryads. Rumors even tell that they reduced another infection, The Corruption, to nothing more than a microscopic biome.



One disease is enough, the world doesn’t need two. However, it is said that should Terraria ever be exposed to another world The Corruption will take that chance to infect said world. Peace continued on and the world seemed to be headed to a brighter future.

Then, everything changed when the sky itself bent and cracked open revealing a terrible monster, an Eldritch abomination that laid claim to this world and enforced its rule through death and destruction. A being who was one of, if not, the most powerful foe ever to ‘grace’, Terraria with its presence: Cthulhu.


(Image belongs to its respective user)

Many horrible monsters and abominations were brought into being with just a simple breath from this entity and to make matters worse Cthulhu even enhanced the effectiveness and spread of The Crimson. As Cthulhu continued to destroy and conquer the land so too did The Crimson as the living flesh swept across the world absorbing all forms of life into its biome of death, flesh, and decay.

And so, it was decided by The Dryads to form a coalition but one unlike any other. This alliance was comprised not only of the many mortals who called this place home but also Gods, Goddesses, Demi-Gods, Titans, and Legendary heroes of old such as the great Terrarian ruler, King Arthur, with his mighty blade: Excalibur.

Even the demons of The Underworld understood how much of a threat Cthulhu posed for his very existence was a blight on all. They, temporarily, agreed to aid in the fight against Cthulhu.



Even the creatures of the deepest and darkest parts of The Jungle, The Desert, The Oceans, The Snow Biomes, and every fathomable landscape there ever was agreed to fight against the eldritch.

Even Disidian, The Lord Of Chaos And Disharmony, finally chose to join The Alliance. He who was many creatures at once, Disidian simply chose to call his specie: Draconequus. Disidian went by many aliases but there were two that he enjoyed most: The name we often call him by here on Terraria, Disidian, and another name he gives on other occasions: Discord.

At first, Discord aided Cthulhu because of the chaos that had ensued which fed and grew his powers. However, regret soon filled Discord’s ‘heart’ as he saw what his partnership with the Eldritch had done not to mention the spread of The Crimson. In an effort to redeem himself, Discord gifted the mortals of Terraria with armor and weapons that were created from The Crimson itself. The armor in particular, should one wear a full set of it, instantly healed most wounds and could even restore lost limbs given time.



A great battle took place upon the world as all who had a connection to this planet and called it home fought in unison to defeat the being who would bring about its end. For the first time and possibly the only time ever in the world’s history, all were united as one. Many lost their lives in the skirmish and even those who called themselves ‘Divine’ met their end at the hands of the eldritch horror. Some abandoned the battlefield and ran for their lives/existences, both mortals and immortals alike. Finally, after many losses in the alliance and when victory seemed to belong to Cthulhu, The Dryads made a desperate move: Self sacrifice. Using their combined might and their greatest weapon, zenith, all but one Dryad gave their lives to hopefully end the eldritch nightmare. They were unable to destroy him completely but they did manage to cut him down and break apart his being into four separate pieces, these pieces became living entities, each being containing a fraction of Cthulhu’s power:

Cthulhu’s Brain.


Cthulhu’s Eyes.


Cthulhu’s largest organs became a large monstrosity that mysteriously disappeared. Most disturbingly, it has a striking resemblance to the monsters of The Corruption.


Last, but not least, Cthulhu’s remaining skeleton and body gave rise to a whole new being. The strongest of them all and one we often call, ‘The Brother Of Cthulhu’: Razeem, The Moon Lord.



In their final moments and thanks to their sacrifice, The Dryads sealed away The Moon Lord. However the other pieces, the other entities, managed to escape. Due to their now weakened state they went into hiding, never to be seen again.

The land was ravaged and desolate, only one Dryad remained to tend to it. This last remaining Dryad swore upon herself a great oath and wielding The Terra Blade she did all that she could to revitalize the land, she even managed to reduce the ever growing Crimson Biome considerably but unfortunately she couldn’t destroy it entirely as she had a more pressing matter to attend to. Once her job was done she was about to fulfill her oath and keep watch over Razeem’s prison on the moon, however, Disidian approached her and introduced himself by his second alias, Discord. He begged to be banished from this world forever not only as penance for his foolish actions but also, to put it simply, he feared this world. Despite being born of this world Discord was utterly afraid of these recent events, he offered her any aid she required in exchange. The Dryad revealed her own name before she granted The Lord Of Chaos’s request: Celebes.

All beings born into Terraria have a pocket dimension called: Inventory. This pocket dimension can also be given or bestowed to others should they be unfortunate enough to not be born with one. It is here that they can store items, however, it can also be used as a home or a place of sanctuary. Before Celebes banished Discord he chose his own inventory as his new home, with a simple spell from The Terra Blade Celebes banished him from Terraria... Never to return. Disidian, or Discord, was never seen again.

It is believed that Celebes is currently fulfilling her role and remains on the moon watching, waiting, for any signs of The Moon Lord’s escape. Don’t ask me how she got up there by the way, I personally think it’s an exaggeration but then again this is Terraria so... Maybe?

You might be wondering, who the hell am I?. Well, that’s another story and funny I should mention Hell, or The Underworld in this case, because they play a role in my upbringing. Or “downbringing”, in this case... Did that make you laugh?, I’ll kill you if it did and I’m not joking. Tell you what, I’ll give you a hint considering you found my book and all. Now, to be fair most who knew my name are likely dead... I might’ve had something to do with that when myself and Yharon burned down- Eh, just forget it. Anyway, here’s a hint:

Jungle Tyrant.

PS: Yes, it was me who ripped out the other 200+ chapters from this book.







-EQUUS, CRYSTAL EMPIRE CASTLE: THE CRYSTAL HEART CHAMBER-

“And that Luna... Is, The Coming Of Cthulhu.”, Discord finishes his tale with a deep sigh.

“...”, Luna was absolutely speechless, what could one even say to everything that was just spoken?. To learn that The Corruption was brought into their world by a being who was the end result of another even more powerful being. To learn that the giant menace that currently lives in her world, within The Corruption, The Eater Of Worlds, was yet another incarnation of the very same being who brought to life Razeem. And, of course, to learn the full truth about Discord’s origins and his role in the fight against Cthulhu which was very familiar to a certain event that happened some time ago including a certain centaur.

The Alicorn and the Terraria born Draconequus remain silent as they sit and stare at Celestia’s crystalline grave.





-TERRARIA, FOREST ENCAMPMENT AT THE EDGE OF THE DESERT-

It was mere moments before it became nightfall in Terraria as all of the adventurers had set up their tents and already ate their fill of tonight’s dinner. Everyone decided to turn in early due to the battle that took place earlier today in The Desert. Starlight and Rainbow were already in the large tent that the trio of ponies had acquired from one of the other adventurer’s who were generous enough to lend it to them.

Just outside of the tent, Twilight sat on a chair as she finished up reading the book that was lent to her by Sai Sahan.

“Oh. My. Gosh... T-that... Was a lot to take in.”, Twilight says as she closes the book however her eyes looks towards the name that happened to be on the back of the book, the very same name she read in the story. “Jungle Tyrant huh?, hmm, never heard of him. Interesting book though... Despite the fact its own author torn all but the first chapter out. I wonder how Sai got his hands on this?”, Deciding to push those thoughts aside she yawns tiredly and hops off of her chair, entering the tent.

Inside the tent both Rainbow Dash and Starlight were already unconscious within their sleeping bags along with a third sleeping bag meant for Twilight. The Alicorn instantly entered the bag, made herself comfortable, and slowly allowed herself to fall into the sweet embrace of sleep... At least she tried to. Twilight was noticeably bothered by something as she had difficulty sleeping and continued to turn in place. She couldn’t quite put a hoof on it but she could’ve sworn she felt as if...

A dark presence was watching them...
> Chapter 31 - To Save Rarity.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON: ENTRANCE-

It’s a beautiful morning in Terraria as three ponies from Home Town search for their dear friend, Rarity.

“Well ah’ be... You weren’t kidding Fluttershy, this place is huge.” Applejack says as she, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie are flying through the air on their Bee Mounts, despite Fluttershy being a pegasus, and spots a large structure that was completely unknown to them much to their surprise: The Dungeon.

They land their mounts at the bottom of the large flight of stairs as Pinkie Pie comments:

“Oooooh, spooky, Wait a second...”, The party mare then puts a hoof to her chin in thought.

“What’s wrong Pinkie?”, Fluttershy questions.

“I can’t quite put a hoof on it but... I sense a large party energy level nearby... Oh. My. Gosh!, there’s someone here who loves parties as much as I do!. Oh, oh, we can throw a party together!. We’ll call it: We-both-love-to-make-parties-so-we-could-”

“Pinkie!, we’re looking for Rarity remember?”, Applejack intervenes.

“Oops, sorry. I’m just so excited to meet them and find Rarity!”, Pinkie Pie responds as she hops excitingly in a circle. As this is going on Fluttershy giggles to herself with a hoof covering her muzzle.

The trio of ponies reach the top of the steps and at that very moment their eyes instantly locked onto a certain Old Man: Steven. The old terrarian notices them and says:

“No, please, turn back now po- wait... I know you ponies!”

“Oh, um, you do?. We’ve never seen you before.”, Fluttershy says with a confused expression. Suddenly, a pink blur zooms right into Steven’s right leg as Pinkie Pie hugs it and says:

“Hi-I’m-Pinkie-Pie-can-you-tell-me-where-this-party-person-is?”, Steven was silenced momentarily due to absolute shock, this pony’s antics reminds him of... Someone else.

Applejack couldn’t help but to feel as if something was very wrong with this place, she also was at a loss due to the fact that she could sense both evil and good emanating from this old man. As the bearer of The Element Of Honesty, she could tell that this man was both a deceiver and a being of absolute truth. This puzzled the cowmare beyond all belief, she finally takes a deep breath in an effort to push those concerns aside as she says:

“Ah’right you two that’s enough, especially you Pinkie. We’ll get to that later sugarcube but for now-”

“You’re all Rarity’s friends correct?!”, Steven interjects as he finally recovers from Pinkie’s antics with a look on his face that could best be described as both desperation and concern. This causes the ponies to react:

“Oh my gosh, you’ve seen Rarity?” - Fluttershy.

“Oh, oh, oh, is the party person in there with her?!”, Pinkie Pie asks which causes Steven to think internally:

-Ok, she really is like Candy...-

“Tell us everything ya know!.” - Applejack.

Steven recollects himself from Pinkie and Candy’s similarities as he hears Applejacks inquiry and replies: “To answer all of your questions, yes, I’ve seen Rarity... She’s been captured by a horrible monster. She’s trapped within this dungeon and-”

“We’re comin’ Rarity!” Applejack exclaims as she starts to gallop into The Dungeon. However, a pink blur zooms past her and stops the cowmare. Shockingly, it’s not exactly Pinkie Pie who stopped Applejack as the party pony’s fur greyed out and her mane was deflated.

”Don’t go in there Applejack... This place... I don’t like it.”, Pinkamena says as she then growls towards The Dungeon entrance. ”My whole body shivers just from standing near the entrance of this place, which reeks of death. To be honest with you, I didn’t like this place ever since we got here.”

“I was trying to explain that ponies, please, do not enter The Dungeon or else you’ll be killed by The Dungeon Guardian. There is no fighting back against it, you will die. There are only two ways one can enter this place, both being unpleasant. They must be captured or somehow manage to defeat... Him...”, Steven says as he shudders from even speaking his ‘Other self’s’, name.

“Who’s he?”, Applejack question’s. Fluttershy starts to shake in fear however, unexpectedly, Pinkamena lays a hoof on the shy pegasus in an effort to comfort her.

“Skeletron...”, Steven replies as he then takes on a saddened expression, “He took Rarity... My one and only true friend... She’s imprisoned in the darkest depths of The Dungeon. I’ve been tending to her and the other prisoners claimed by Skeletron but I can’t journey far from this place, only someone who isn’t bound like I am can help her.”

“Now wait just ah’ minute, why are you bound to this place?. If you really are a friend to Rarity, like you claim to be, why didn’t you come looking f’r any of us?.”, Applejack question’s. This causes Steven to sigh as he says:

“It’s because I-”, Suddenly, Steven’s words were silenced as a dark grey/pink blur rushes into him and drags him against a nearby stone wall of the dungeon. Pinkamena, using both of her front hooves, slightly lifts Steven off the ground against the wall thanks to her earth pony strength. Fluttershy continues to stare on in shock however Applejack seemed to understand where Pinkamena was coming from as the cowmare walks forward and stands next to the dark-pink earth pony.

”You... My pinkie senses has been going off like crazy ever since we got here but it’s not just this place... It’s you too.”, Pinkamena says as she narrows her eyes angrily.

“I’m with Pinky, you don’t sit right with me feller. Ever since I saw you I’ve been getting weird vibes, there’s somethin’ about you that ah’ just don’t like.”, Applejack says as she too narrow’s her features with suspicion.

“Enough!, both of you!”, Fluttershy exclaims as she finally regains her composer, this catches both Pinkamena and Applejack’s attention as they turn their gaze to the shy pegasus. “Can’t you two see that he’s suffering?, look at him... There’s tears in his eyes. He clearly cares for Rarity and there must be more to this, so please, let him explain himself.”

Both Pinkamena and Applejack stare at Fluttershy for a moment before Applejack finally sighs and says: “Let em’ go fer’ now Pinky, we’ll give him a chance.”, The cowmare then turns her gaze to Steven and says: “But ah’ warn ya, If you try to pull a fast one on us Pinky and I will make you sorry.”

”Very sorry.”, Pinkamena threatens as she lowers Steven back to the floor. Fluttershy couldn’t help but to feel sorry for the old man as she says:

“I’m sorry about this, we just really care about our friend. But, I can tell, you care for her too.” Steven regains his composure and sighs lightly as he says:

“Don’t worry, I hold nothing against your friends. I understand their concern and, to be honest, they are right to fear me.”, Steven then conjures a chair from his inventory and places it on the ground. He also generously conjures three more chair’s for the ponies as he says: “Please take a seat, I have a lot to tell you about.”

Nearly half an hour passes by as Steven explained everything to the ponies, from his time as a young fashionista and clothing merchant all the way to him sacrificing himself to seal away Skeletron within his own body. He even told them about Rarity revealing her own story to Steven about Nightmare Rarity and how alike the two of them were. Finally, he told them about Skeletron capturing Rarity due to their own mistake. The two friends were so caught up in their conversation they foolishly didn’t notice the lowering sun in the distance, as crazy as that might sound, which resulted in her capture.

“And that everyone, or shall I say everypony, is my story.”

“Ah’m... Ah’m so sorry sir. I didn’t realize what you had to go through... And how much like Rarity you truly are. I’m mighty sorry for how ah’ roughed you up earlier.”, Applejack says as she holds her hat against her chest with a saddened expression.

“T-that wa-was t-the saddest story e-ever.”, Pinkie Pie sobs as she pulls a box of tissues out of her mane and blows her nose into one. She noticeably turned back to normal during Steven’s story.

Fluttershy had tears going down her face as she stares on until finally, she gets off of her chair and trots over to Steven as she hugs him on his chest.

“I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry...”, Fluttershy repeats in a whispered tone. Steven simply embraces the pegasus’s affection which reminded him a lot about what Rarity had done when he first told her his story.

A few moments passes by and everyone manages to recover from their sorrow. After nodding her head contently, Applejack asks:

“So how do we go about saving Rarity, Steven?. If this Skeletron varmint is as strong as you mentioned then we’re gonna need everypony. Sadly, twilight and the others are far away searchin’ for the other blade we need. Zecora and Gex are in The Jungle trying to gather ingredients fer’ some ah’mazin potion she’s been work’n on.” Steven ponders on this as he strokes his beard in thought with his right hand until he finally comes to a realization.

“There is something that can help us Applejack, I’d go with you all were it not for my blasted binding to this place.”, Steven replies as he then looks off into the distance and continues: “To the east, just beyond this place, there lies a snowy region or as we like to call it: The Snow Biome. Now, I highly recommend you all get yourselves some warm clothing or something. I know you ponies have fur but I still strongly believe you should prepare yourselves.”, The ponies all nods in understanding which prompts Steven to continue: “Within that biome you must seek out an ancient artifact, more specifically, The Ice Mirror.”



“With it, the user can teleport themselves and those around them to anywhere they have previously visited in Terraria. If you can retrieve that mirror for me I can give it to Rarity who in turn can use it to escape from this place.”, All of the ponies suddenly have large smiles forming on their faces as they all enthusiastically say:

“Now that’s what ah’m talkin about, yeeha!, I’m In!” - Applejack.

“New adventure here we come!” - Pinkie Pie.

“Thank you very much Steven, we really appreciate this.” - Fluttershy.

“I wish I could give you more details about the mirror but that’s sadly all I know. Of course, and this goes without saying, there are dangers within The Snow Biome that you must be wary of. Never let your guard down!”, Steven exclaims which causes the ponies to reply:

“You got it!” - Pinkie Pie.

“I’m honestly scared, but, if it’s to help Rarity... Then I’m ready.” - Fluttershy.

“We’ve got this Steven, we’ll get that mirror and if anything tries to stop us I’ll personally introduce them to my Blade Of Grass.” - Applejack

The ponies all take on a face of determination as they start to take their leave. Before descending down the flight stairs, Applejack turns her head one last time towards Steven and says:

“We’ll get her out of there Steven then, when this is all over, ah promise you...”, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie seemed to know exactly what Applejack was about to say as they all turn back to Steven. Applejack stomps the stone grounds of The Dungeon and continues: “We’re all gonna come back here with the rest of mah’ friends and save you too from that no good varmint, I swear to you Steven.”, Applejack then narrows her eyes as if she were looking right into Steven’s soul as she threatens: “You hear me Skeletron?, I know you can ya sack of bones. We’re coming after you soon, we’re gonna win, and when we free Steven he’ll laugh with us as we take him away from this place. This ah’ promise, no, we promise... you”

After finishing her threat, with determined nods from both Pinkie and Fluttershy, the three ponies reaches the bottom of the stairs and mounts their bees as they take to the skies. Unknown to everyone, even to Steven, the entity did indeed hear the cowmare’s words. Deep within Steven’s very being, his very soul, Skeletron sarcastically and condescendingly says:

”Good luck.”
> Chapter 32 - The God-King.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, CRYSTAL EMPIRE CASTLE: THRONE ROOM-

Luna, Cadence, Tempest Shadow, Spike, and Shining armor are currently alone in The Throne Room discussing the recent events of the battle in Ponyville. The two Alicorn Princesses sat on their thrones while everyone else present stood at the bottom of the steps located at the base of each throne. In addition, Luna also saw fit to tell them about Discord's shocking tale within The Crystal Heart’s Chamber.

“Tis the truth dear friends, Discord himself has revealed to us thy true origins. The threat we now face is but a mere aftermath of a war not of this world, the large monstrosity who calls thyself: ‘Eater Of Worlds’, is but a part of an ancient being who was split into many different parts due to an act of desperation.”, Luna says as she then sighs heavily with a hint of annoyance and frustration.

“Ok... Let me get this straight.”, Shining armor says as he raises a hoof to his chin in thought. Everyone else present just stares on in shock upon Luna’s revelations. “That giant worm creature from Dr. Whooves’s P.O.N-E footage is but a piece of another creature that Discord and the beings of that other world, Terraria, defeated but not entirely destroyed. In addition, that Moon Lord monster is also a piece of that very same being?, Cthulhu... I believe you called it?”

“That’s right Shining armor.”, Luna replied. Shining Armor nods as he continues:

“And then, when he came to our world he not only brought with him The Corruption but by association The Eater Of Worlds?. How does something that big travel within The Corruption?, why didn’t we see it when the infection first began to spread?... Where was it hiding?”, Tempest Shadow had a sudden realization upon hearing those words as she says:

“Wait a second... When I watched that footage, thank you for letting me by the way, what stood out to me most was that big, purple, floating orb thing. It’s just a theory of mine but could they be connected somehow?. Not to mention, we found another one in Ponyville floating above Town Hall.”

“That’s right!, Shining told me all about that when you all returned from the battle.”, Cadence interjects, this causes Tempest to nod as she continues:

“I know this might be too soon to ask for, especially after what happened in Ponyville, but I have a strong belief that there lies yet another orb inside of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Castle and I think it might be best that we see it for ourselves.”, Tempest then puts a hoof to her chin as something else begins to bother her. Luna notices this and asks:

“Is something the matter Tempest Shadow?”

“Well, it’s just, don’t you all think it’s suspicious that these orbs were placed in such key locations which also happens to be three of The Corruption’s greatest or most well known cities and towns?”, Everyone ponders on those words however Spike suddenly seems to catch on to what Tempest is implying:

“Wait a second... You’re not saying that somepony, helped... The Corruption, are you?”, This causes various reactions from Shining Armor, Luna, and Cadence:

“What?!, who would be mad enough to want this horrible infection to spread?” - Shining Armor.

“That’s very discomforting if it does turn out one of our own had coerced with The Corruption.” - Cadence.

“Tis a bold claim, doth thou have something to support this Tempest Shadow?”- Luna.

“Nothing concrete yet princess, but think about it?. Of all the places for The Corruption to settle down into, of all the world, it specifically chose Canterlot and the nearest town including Twilight’s Castle. How could they have known this from the very moment they entered our world?. I’ll be honest with you, If I were some monstrous infection from another world and came here I wouldn’t have a clue of where to start. I wouldn’t at all be familiar with this worlds populace let alone various nations and landscapes, I’d settle down somewhere secluded and slowly but surely learn about this world before making my move.”, Luna, Shining Armor, and Cadence’s eyes shot wide open as they all came to understand the broken unicorn mare’s, for lack of better word, theory. Luna is the first to regain her composure and says:

“T-that... Makes sense Tempest Shadow. We must admit, when we first re-emerged as Nightmare Moon from our imprisonment we didn’t know much about how our kingdom has changed in our absence. It took stealth and cunning to familiarize ourselves with the nation before we made our presence known to all.”

“So, if we do find another one of those orbs in Twily’s castle... By sweet Celestia, there might truly be a traitor among us.”, Shining Armor says with a slightly horrified expression. Cadence was pondering on this during their conversation as she finally speaks up and says:

“Ok, let’s say there is indeed a traitor in our midst we still have a bigger problem. We’ve yet to find a way to successfully fight against the monsters of The Corruption, none of our current weapons and armor helps us much against these new monsters that have recently been revealed. They destroyed all three of The Outposts and to make things worse one of the new creatures, which we are now calling: Corruptors, can spit a projectile that kills the living and spreads The Corruption-”

“Wait!, I got it!”, Spike exclaims as he accidently cuts Cadence’s words off. This catches everyone’s attention as they all turn their gaze towards the young drake. “Let’s go back to the story Discord told you Princess Luna, you said he tried to make amends by giving those beings weapons and armor made from that other infection, The Crimson. Well, can’t we do the same with this infection, The Corruption?”, Everyone stares at the young drake with wide eyes as he sighs’ and says: “Yeah... You’re right, maybe that is a stupi-”

“Huzzah!, Thou art a genius Spike The Brave And Glorious!”, Luna declares as she cuts off the drake from berating himself.

“Spike!, I can’t believe we didn’t even think of doing that!. You really were raised by Twily you little genius.” - Shining Armor.

“Heh heh, not bad kiddo. Now I understand why Twilight called you her number one assistant when I had her imprisoned... No offence.”, Tempest says as she smiles nervously. Cadence gets off of her throne, runs over to Spike, and bows before him saying:

“You have saved us again oh Spike The Brave And Glorious.”, Spike was momentarily shocked by their praise but he manages to recover and puffs out his chest, giving it a quick bump with his closed fist as he says:

“Of course, I am Spike The Brave and Son Of Twilight Sparkle you know?”, This causes them all to laugh, it was a reassurance to them all to be able to find some moments of happiness in these troubled times. Luna recovers from her laughter as she clears her throat and declares:

“Then it is settled, we shall contact Discord and ask if thy know of a way to turn this infection into weapons and armor of our own to use against it. We shall soon reclaim not just Canterlot, but all of Ponyville and Twilight’s domain.”, Luna then gets off of her throne and begins to walk down the stairs located at its base to join the others at ground level. “Come dear friends, we have much to do. We must tell our allies of this plan, also, I’d like to check on the Flim Flam Brothers if they’ve managed to complete their new weapon to aid us against The Corruption.”

“Wait, a weapon?”, Spike interjects.

“Of course, it utilizes The Crystal Heart in combination with an artifact The Dryad has given us alongside the Purification Powder and The Sunflower. This artifact has the appearance of a pink flower, one that she herself has enchanted. We believe she called it: Floret Of Purity.”







-EQUUS, CORRUPTION BIOME, CANTERLOT CASTLE: THRONE ROOM-

The Hivemind watched over the corrupted landscape of their beloved biome. Where others see nothing but disgust and repulsion, The Hivemind saw only beauty and admiration In its own twisted way exclusively known only to the gathered intelligence of The Corruption. The Hivemind turns around and looks upon the large purple orb floating above the ruined thrones of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

”Beautiful... Simply, beautiful. Thanks to these orbs granted to us by The Eater Of Worlds, my beautiful infection can spread throughout the land. You have my eternal allegiance and gratitude... Spawn Of Cthulhu.”

Suddenly, the clopping of hooves could be heard nearing the throne of which The Hivemind was currently located. The Hivemind then turns and says:

”Ah, welcome my dear ally. We couldn’t have gotten this far were it not for you, future God-King Blueblood. The information you’ve provided us for this world has been most lucrative and you will be handsomely rewarded.”

“Why of course, this is a business transaction after all and I always aim to please my fellow benefactor.”, Blueblood replies with a face full of malice. “It’s unfortunate that my aunt Luna had the foresight to take all of the castle’s artifacts with her but worry not, they’re all likely stored away in The Crystal Empire.”

”Very good... And with you acting as our... [chuckles] ’Trojan horse’, we can enter that pathetic Empire once The Corruption spreads to its borders.”

“It’s a shame you can’t drink Hivemind, at least you never seem interested to, because I’m going to toast to that.”, Blueblood replies as he conjures a bottle of wine accompanied with a glass flute Champaign cup. “Here’s to our future endeavors and my eventual ascension.”





Some time goes by and Blueblood was now within Celestia’s room in the solar section of the castle, or at least, her former room before Blueblood self proclaimed it to be his own. Apparently, Blueblood wanted the room to remain spotless and undamaged as per the agreement with him and The Hivemind. The unicorn then spots a painting that was made in Celestia’s image and scowls as he says:

“You... You made me like this Aunty... I was supposed to be the next ruler of Equestria!. Instead, you planned to make that peasant Twilight Sparkle the inheritor of both you and that witch Luna’s thrones!. To make matters worse you made sure she became an Alicorn, not me!. All of those so called ‘problems’ you made her and the rest of her peasant friends face was to prepare her for the ascension that should’ve been mine!”, Blueblood exclaims as he fires up his horn and destroys Celestia’s painting with a beam of yellow energy.

[BOOM] [CRASH]

“My only regret was that I didn’t kill you myself, but, I can kill those you love. Twilight Sparkle might be beyond my reach but your sister and that whore Cadence are not!. I will make them suffer just to spite you as I take my rightful place as God-King!”, Blueblood then walks out to the patio and looks off into the distance of the corrupted landscape saying:

“It might not look very presentable now, but that’s what servants are for. Pegasi and Earth Ponies are only useful for that and any Unicorn who dares to question my rule will join those lower classed peasants. Soon, all of Equestria will be mine!”, Blueblood proclaims.

Maniacal laughter echoed across the landscape and if one were to look closely they could see The Corruption was getting stronger as it feeds on the sinful actions of the self proclaimed unicorn God-King.
> Chapter 33 - A Connection?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, SNOW BIOME-



“Here we are everyone, or shall I say, everypony. Welcome to: The Snow Biome!”



Ritsu The Zoologist exclaims as she stands before a certain trio of ponies: Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, all of whom comments:

“This kind of reminds me of  The Crystal Empire, all this snow ah’round that is.” - Applejack.

“Oh, oh, let’s make a snowpony!” - Pinkie Pie.

“I, um, think we should focus on getting the mirror for Rarity, Pinkie Pie.” - Fluttershy.

“Then what are we waiting for y’all?, let’s get to searchin’. Hey Ritsu, ya certain about that lead you got in finding that mirror?”, Applejack questions which causes Ritsu to turn her gaze to the cowmare.

“Indeed, legends say that long ago there existed a powerful Archmage named: Cryogen. It’s unknown as of yet what has become of The Archmage however I do know the location of three of his many laboratories. He’s got a bunch of them scattered across The Snow Biome both above and below ground, if you ever find an abandoned house around these parts with a bunch of research equipment odds are it was his. Now, you might be wondering: ‘What does that have to do with the ice mirror?’, anyone want to take a guess?”

“Oh, oh, oh, is it because he was singing ‘Let It Go’, while wearing a dress and using the mirror as a microphone?!”, Pinkie Pie exclaims excitingly with a raised hoof.

“Uh, no... And thank you for that Pinkie, I now have the image of some dude wearing a dress singing with a mirror stuck in my head.”, Ritsu replies as she shudders at the thought. Applejack and Fluttershy looks at Pinkie with deadpan stares before Fluttershy chuckles and says:

“I, um, don’t think that’s the case Pinkie. Oh my, do you think he was the one who created the mirror.”

“Ding ding ding!, we have a winner. That’s exactly what happened, Archmage Cryogen used his amazing ice/frost powers to create the Ice Mirror which allows the user to teleport to any area they’ve visited before. The Old Man Steven was pretty smart to have you guys try and retrieve that mirror, with my help now of course.”, Ritsu says as the group starts to walk deeper into The Snow Biome.

After a whole hour of searching through The Snow Biome, Ritsu finally decides to change things up a bit and says:

“Ok, I’m starting to think surface level isn’t gonna cut it for us so there’s one last option: The Underground Snow Biome.”

“Are you serious?, does every Biome have an underground counterpart to it?. First it was The Jungle now this one too?”, Applejack says with sleight annoyance.

“Oooooh, so does that mean there’s an Underground Desert, an Underground Forest, an Underground Corruption, an Under-”

“Yes Pinkie, that’s exactly it. Every Biome has an ‘underground’, counterpart to it. This is no different which means we’ve got to dig my friends, get those silver pickaxes out and let’s get to digging!”, Ritsu declares as she and the trio of ponies conjures their pickaxes, however, Fluttershy stops momentarily and says:

“Oh wait, Zecora gave me three of those Shining Potions. I’ll drink one and light the way for us as we dig down.”

“Good thinking sugarcube, let’s get to it.”





-TERRARIA-

Twilight, Starlight, Rainbow Dash, and all of the remaining adventurers are now making their way through a forest on route to their main objective: The Crimson Biome. Something was clearly bothering Twilight to which both Starlight and Rainbow Dash, the pegasus currently floating in the air above them, notices this which prompts them to ask:

“You ok Twilight?, you seem so down right now.” - Starlight.

“Tell me about it, usually the egghead is going on and on about this world’s landscape and trying to ask the other adventurers hundreds of questions.” - Rainbow Dash.

Their inquiries finally brings Twilight back to the real world as she says:

“Oh, what?”, Starlight chuckles as Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. Starlight then puts her right hoof onto Twilight’s shoulder and says:

“We asked if you’re ok Twilight?, what’s wrong with you today?. You seem so, how can I put this, disconnected from reality. It’s a miracle you didn’t walk into a tree or any of the other adventurers yet.”

[SIGH]

“I’m sorry everypony, It’s just... Something’s been bothering me. Well, two things actually.”, Twilight replies as she finally comprehends the words spoken by her friends.

“Well don’t leave us in the dark Twilight, tell us what’s bothering you so we can get the old egghead back.”, Rainbow Dash says which causes both twilight and Starlight to look at her with a raised brow. Starlight returns her gaze back to her teacher and says:

“Despite Rainbow’s rude choice of words she does make a point Twilight, talk to us, what’s going on?”, Twilight nods her head contently and says:

“Well... Sai Sahan gave me a book yesterday when I asked him if he could enlighten me about this world's history, more distant history to be exact. The book is written by someone named: Jungle Tyrant. I’ve never heard of this pon- I mean, person, but what was revealed in that book made me so... Scared. This world has a history that would not only blow the minds of everypony back home but even instill fear among the populace. There’s another thing that stood out to me in that book... It involves Discord.”, Both Rainbow and Starlight shouts in unison:

“Discord?!”

“Yes, our Discord.”, Twilight replies as she then lights up her horn and materializes the aforementioned book from her inventory: The Coming Of Cthulhu. She floats the book in front of the three ponies and opens it to the first chapter. “Apparently, he was born in this world and was banished to his pocket dimension. Speaking of, it turns out his pocket dimension is actually his inventory. Anyway, he was banished from this world and some time later found his way to ours but that begs the question: Is this world somehow connected to Equus?. I mean, I know he's powerful, but what are the odds that Discord would find our world of all the possible realities?. It’s not just Discord, The Moon Lord found our world too, but how?”

“I don’t really get it Twilight, are you trying to say that both of our worlds are connected somehow?. How can that be?, none of us has ever even heard of this place before coming here, hay, even The Princesses were surprised when that big moon jerk showed up.”, Rainbow dash replies as, much like Twilight, she takes on a confused expression.

“That makes me curious too, this world isn’t connected to ours in the same sense as Sunset Shimmer’s world beyond the mirror and yet, If what you’re saying is true, then where is the connection?”, Starlight asks as she joins the two mares in confusion.

“I don’t know girls but that’s what frightens me most... I’m scared that when, and if, we discover the connection it won’t be as pleasant as a mirror connecting our worlds. I can’t help but feel like we won’t like what we find.”, Twilight says which causes both of her fellow ponies to have looks of concern form on their faces. Rainbow Dash shakes her head in an effort to regain her composure and says:

“Whatever it is, we can take it!. We’re the toughest mares in Equestria, we always find a way no matter the odds and this will be no different!”, Rainbow exclaims as she raises a hoof into the air confidently.

“You know what?, Rainbow is right Twilight. Yes, maybe it won’t be pleasant... But, with all of us together not to mention our new friends we've made in this world, we can beat anything. You should know Twilight, you were the one who taught me that lesson... When you and Spike saved me from myself that day.” Starlight says with a smile as she hugs Twilight. Rainbow Dash nods in agreement as she lands on the ground and joins the hug, Twilight pulls away after embracing her friends for a short while and says:

“You’re right everypony, we’ve got this!”, Both Rainbow Dash and Starlight smile's contently as the trio of ponies continues on along with the rest of the adventurers. However, there was something Twilight refrained to mention as she says to herself internally:

-Still... What was that strange presence I felt watching us last night?-

Suddenly, everyone’s attention was captured instantly by the sudden exclamation of Celestia as she declares:

“We’re gonna take a break for thirty minutes everyone!. Check your weapons and equipment because we’re finally here!”, The crowd begins to cheer and hype themselves up for what was about to come next. The trio of ponies continued to walk forward and soon found themselves standing next to Celestia, they look on with determined features as they gaze upon the biome of the living flesh, The Crimson.







-TERRARIA, ???-

A cloaked figure walked along a path made entirely of obsidian but all around the individual, the entire ‘landscape’, was nothing but fire, brimstone, seas of lava, and even large structures made out of blackened bricks. The entire place lacked a sky for one reason: It was below the earth... Far below, this entire place was practically a very large cavern comprised of many different large chambers in addition to large stalagmites and stalactites. Winged monstrosities flew through the air and even a large skeletal snake would hop out of the lava and the ash like ground every once in a while. One could even catch the faintest hint of a creature who seemed to be teleporting around this vast underworld, this place that was reminiscent to hell itself.



Soon, the cloaked figure stood on the edge of a large cliff overlooking a sea of lava but out in the distance of the inferno sea something could be seen nearing the cloaked being’s current position. A sort of wall comprised entirely of grotesque flesh along with many flesh like appendages reaching out as if trying to grasp at any living thing it could find. Waves of lava began to form as The Wall Of Flesh made its way towards the figure on the cliff through the vast ocean of lava:



The large Wall Of Flesh stops just before the cloaked individual and, most disturbingly, hundreds of its eyes opens up in unison as the pupils of each eye looks down upon the cloaked figure. Then, each of the hundreds of mouth’s opens up and as if a large crowd were speaking in tandem they say:

”We have been expecting you... Tell us of what has transpired on the surface world.... Legion, has spoken...”

“My lord, I am steering them towards the various blades they need in order to reform the Terra Blade. Soon, they will stand against you which will be the perfect opportunity for you to consume them and gain their knowledge. Speaking of my lord, forgive my ignorance but what could you possibly hope to gain from them?. Why not just kill them and be done with it?”, The cloaked figure asks which causes Legion to growl from its many mouths which in turn nearly shakes the entire underworld. The many voices of Legion once again speaks and says:

”You have much to learn about The Underworld... It acts as not only a place to punish the damned and to house the demons, but also... As a gateway to other worlds. All worlds have an underworld... All goes by different names and have different appearances but we are all connected... I will use their knowledge to enter their underworld... Their... Tartarus. It matters not to us how you do it, just lure them down here and they will become one with us.”

“Very well my lord, It shall be done. I will return to the surface before anyone notices my absence, farewell.”, Upon saying those words the cloaked figure pulls out a mirror and raises it high into the air. The mirror activates and consumes the cloaked figure in a flash of light thus causing them to disappear.







-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Many of the Terrarians in Home Town are currently eating at Candy Cane Corner. While Pinkie Pie is away, she had asked Lucan The Merchant to look after the establishment and left him various recipes to serve for the town.

“Order Up!”, Lucan shouts as he opens the doors to the restaurant and walks over to a nearby table upon which Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer, Helena The Nurse, and Vinny The Demolitionist are seated and awaiting their meal. Lucan sets plates of specific food items in front of those who specifically ordered them.

“Aw good, I’m starving!”, Vinny exclaims as he rubs his hands together in anticipation.

“Mmmf, nothing beats a nice bowl of greens and vegies.”, Helena comments.

“That is madness Helena, you need some meat thrown in there. I don’t know how you can go without it for a while but I refuse to go, as they say, vegan.”, Gorglock says as he begins to consume his order which consisted of Porkchops covered in gravy which sat upon a bowl of rice.

“Hey, where’s Tanner at?”, Vinny asks and as if on cue the doors to the establishment opens up followed by a heavily breathing Tanner, The Guide.

“Sorry... I’m late... Everyone. [SIGH] You wouldn’t believe how far I had to run.” Tanner says as he takes a seat at the table with the rest of the Terrarians.

“Where have you been?, we wanted to get lunch together and tried to get you but you were gone.”, Helena questions. Tanner chuckles to himself as he replies:

“Oh not much, I was just visiting an... Old friend. He lives further down the road, way down.”
> Chapter 34 - The Worm Of The Underground.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND SNOW BIOME-



[CLANK] [CLANK] [CLANK]

The sounds of multiple pickaxes goes off as Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Ritsu The Zoologist continues to dig into the frozen earth of The Snow Biome with Fluttershy serving as their main light source thanks to her drinking a Shine Potion.

“Oh, oh, do you feel that too Applejack?. There’s a large chamber not too far below us kind of like what we felt in The Jungle.”, Pinkie Pie says as she continues to strike the frozen earth with her silver pickaxe.

“Sure do Pinkie, but unlike back in The Jungle this chamber feels a bit smaller. It doesn’t feel like ah’ forest is down there, which is kind’ah disappointin’. Let’s be extra careful not to let any monsters catch us off guard, that goes double for you Fluttershy.”, Applejack says as she turns her head back to the yellow pegasus. Ritsu seems to catch on to Applejack’s worry which prompts her to say:

“I don’t mean to sound rude or anything Fluttershy but you have a tendency to always try and befriend creatures that wants nothing to do with any of us. You did very well with the slimes and we got very lucky with the hornets. However, there are ‘animals’ in this world that doesn’t care about friendship and kindness. They’d sooner see you dead rather then offer you a friendly gesture, I say this because I care a lot about you my fellow animal lover. There’s nothing wrong with showing the wildlife empathy, but you must still respect their strength.” Fluttershy is admittedly saddened by this but before she could reply, Applejack interjects and says:

“Couldn’t have said it better mah’self Ritsu, we just don’t want you to be heartbroken is all we’re saying sugarcube. Ah’ know you love animals but the ones in this world are a bit different from our world, some might accept yer’ friendship but others would rather do you harm. Like that no good varmint Queen Beezma...”, The cowmare grits her teeth in anger upon the memory of the former Queen Bee. Fluttershy sighs in defeat as she finally comes to accept their worries, there definitely were some merit to them thanks to recent events. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie shouts out:

“Tail twitching, mane stretching, body shaking, somethings coming everypony!”

“Ah dangit, this is not the time fer’ some monster to come after us. These mines we’re in are too narrow, this aint’ no place to fight. Come on y’all, we gotta dig faster!”, Applejack exclaims as she, Pinkie Pie, and Ritsu double their efforts. Fluttershy materializes all four of her staves and says:

“Come forth my Slime, Finch, Snow Flinx, and Hornet friends!”, Instantly, the aforementioned beings are summoned and face towards the darkened mines. “Everypony, keep digging and we’ll take care of anything that tries to harm us.”, Fluttershy says as she then conjures her new bow: The Bees Knees.



[TCK TCK] [TCK TCK] [TCK TCK]

Fluttershy’s ears begins to flicker about as she could hear something burrowing around them, the others wants to stop and stand at the ready but as Applejack has said earlier the narrow mine they were currently in would not provide them with enough room to combat their unknown foe successfully. They decide to put their faith in Fluttershy and her summoned allies to fight off the burrowing foe.

[TCK TCK] [TCK TCK] [TCK TCK]

[BSH]

Suddenly, the icy earth in front of the shy pegasus erupts as a large worm entity rears its head back as if it were ready to strike at the group like a snake.



“P-please Mr. Worm, maybe, we can settle this peacefully and-”

[SKREEE]

The large worm roars out as it lunges towards Fluttershy and her summoned allies to which she says:

“Oh no you don’t Mr. Worm, I’m sorry... But you leave me no choice!”, Fluttershy exclaims as she points a hoof towards the worm entity and shouts: “Attack!”, On cue, all four of her summoned allies rushes forward in an attempt to mob the large worm. The hornet manages to get to it first and attempts to sting the worm, however, looks can be deceiving as the worm dodges the strike and burrows into the frozen earth. The slime decides to give chase as it hops into the hole created by the burrowing worm and tries to capture it.

Moments goes by as Fluttershy and her remaining summons listen carefully for the worms movements or even for the return of the slime. As this goes on, the rest of the group are still digging towards the large chamber positioned below them. Applejack could only feel frustrated as she could easily kill the large worm creature with The Blade Of Grass were it not for the fact that the current mine they were in was too narrow to effectively swing the blade in. Ritsu and Pinkie Pie continues to dig with due haste however Pinkie begins to start using her own mane, which somehow turns into a drill, in an effort to speed up the process... Much to Ritsu’s confusion.

Suddenly, Fluttershy can feel her slime staff vibrating as she says:

“Oh no, the slime I summoned is defe-”

[BSH]

The large worm monstrosity erupts from the frozen walls of the mine and aims directly for Fluttershy, the world around her goes in slow motion as the shy pegasus looks on to the worms open maw coming to claim her life.

“EEP!”, Fluttershy lets loose a painful squeak as the worm manages to hit her and pushes her against the frozen wall of the mine. Fortunately, her bee armor absorbs most of the damage and fortune begins to smile upon her as the worm triggers the effect of one of her currently equipped items: The Honeycomb. In mere seconds, a swarm of bees appears out of no where and with lightning speed they both catch and mob the worm entity. Fluttershy’s summoned Finch and Hornet joins the fray as her Snow Flinx stays with her to protect her. Thanks to the effects of her bee armor, Fluttershy’s summoned allies were empowered and as they all attack the large worm entity it simply became too much for it.

[BLICK]

The worm’s body explodes as its gore flies around the narrow mine splatting against the frozen walls. Money drops onto the floor of which the shy pegasus collects, she then takes on a saddened expression and says:

“I didn’t want to do that... Why didn’t it try to see reason?, I just wanted to...”, Fluttershy asks but what causes all of her friend’s hearts to break was seeing tears coming down her eyes. This is exactly what Applejack and Ritsu were talking about... And feared. Having to watch the animal lover go against what she always loved to do, befriend animals. Applejack turns to both Pinkie Pie and Ritsu saying:

“Y’all keep digging, ah got’ta comfort her... Poor girl...”, The cowmare then sends her silver pickaxe to her inventory and walks over to her weeping friend. All of Fluttershy’s summoned allies were currently hugging the weeping pegasus in an attempt to comfort their summoner’s troubled emotions. Applejack finally stands by her friend and leans her head against Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“Ah’m so sorry sugar... I know this is hard for you, it goes against everything you’ve ever worked for in yer’ life.”, Upon saying those words Applejack is shocked by what happens next as the tearful pegasus snaps her head towards the cowmare and shouts:

“Hard for me?!, of course this is hard for me!. I’ve had to kill goblins, hornets, and now a large worm who was probably just too hungry to think straight!. You want to know how I really feel Applejack?, I hate this world!. Ever since we’ve been here I’ve had to do the opposite of what I promised myself, to never take a life!. To never harm a living being let alone an animal!... I... I hate it so much...”, Fluttershy falls to the icy floor and continues to whimper all the while her summoned allies look on with, at least from what one could tell from their features and lack thereof, sadness. Applejack narrows her features and, using her left front hoof, grabs Fluttershy by her right front leg and lifts her wobblily form into the air as she says:

“Now you listen here Fluttershy!, ah’m sorry for what’s been happening lately. It sucks, everything we’ve been through ever since The Moon Lord entered our world, sucks. But, let me tell you right here, right now. You are the reason we got this far ever since the fight with that no good Moon Lord, you know that right?”

“W-what?... But, but I didn’t do-”

“Yes you did sugarcube!”, Applejack exclaims as she cuts off Fluttershy’s words. “You want me to list down every reason why you got us this far?, fine.”, The cowmare then lowers the shy pegasus back to the frozen floor of the mine, setting her down on all four of her hooves, as Applejack continues:

“Who was it that got Discord, the lord of applebucking chaos, to be reformed?, you. Who was it that Discord came to save which bought us time fer’ Celebes to cast that spell to defeat The Moon Lord?, you. Who was it that helped a Slime Princess who then asked her pa’ to send a whole army of slimes to save us from the Goblin Army?, you. Who was it that summoned yet another slime army to save us from a bunch’a hornets who meant us nothing but harm?, you!”, Applejack exclaims as she then places a hoof gently on to the yellow pegasus’s shoulder. “Now you tell me Fluttershy, what exactly is it that makes you think you didn’t do anything?. Because ah’ tell you what, from where I’m standing and ah’ know Pinkie Pie and Ritsu will agree with me, you’ve been nothin’ but helpful to us all... And we love you sugarcube.”, Applejack then pulls Fluttershy into a hug as she says: “Despite you being one of the most timid mares ah’ know, you don’t seem to realize how strong you can be. Ah always looked up to you, ya’ know that?, and it ain’t just me either. I think I can say a lot of us do, you’re kind and gentle, you never want to hurt anyone. But, when it comes down to it you’ve got the strength to help us when we need it most.”

“Applejack’s right Fluttershy!”, Pinkie Pie exclaims as she zooms away from Ritsu and joins Applejack as they hug the shy pegasus together. “You’re superly duperly rifficly amazing!. That’s why if anyone tries to mess with you, your aunty Pinkie Pie will take care of them.”, Pinkie Pie says happily which causes a smile to form on Fluttershy’s muzzle who then replies with:

“I’m a year older than you.”, The trio of ponies giggle amongst themselves as Ritsu observes them from afar and says:

“I really envy you guys, it’s rare to find such friendships like yours in Terraria.”, Pinkie Pie over hears this as she leaves the group hug with Fluttershy and zooms back to the Kitsune saying:

“You’re our friend too Ritsu, we might be from different worlds but we’ll never leave your side. That’s what real friends are for, you can always count on us!”, Pinkie Pie then rematerializes her silver pickaxe and resumes digging into the frozen earth. Ritsu nods happily and returns to digging alongside Pinkie Pie, however, she takes on a saddened expression as she says internally:

-None of you would ever be my friend... If you saw me in the moonlight...-

"Hey so, uh, is now a bad time to say that... the worm isn't what activated my Pinkie senses?", Pinkie Pie says as she laughs sheepishly.

"..."

"WHAT?!"
> Chapter 35 - Boss Fight: The Eye Of Cthulhu Pt:1.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, CRIMSON BIOME-



The time has finally come as Twilight, Starlight, and Rainbow Dash looks onto The Biome before their very eyes; narrowing their features in determination. Moments ago, Sai Sahan and Celestia finished briefing the adventurers about their plans and stratagems. The two terrarians walks up to the trio of ponies with Celestia saying:

“Here we are everyone... We're finally here. Are you sure you’re all prepared for this?. The Crimson Biome can be overwhelming for the faint of heart.”, The ponies turn their gaze towards the terrarian and replies:

“I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t scared, however, if this gets us one step closer to getting back home... Then I’m ready for it!” - Twilight.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself Twilight, besides, we’re all together. How bad can it be?” - Rainbow Dash.

“You know Rainbow... I can’t help but feel like you shouldn’t have said that. Tempting fate and all that...” - Starlight.

“We’re all ready to depart friends, we march out in five minutes.”, Sai Sahan says as he joins the group in their conversation after addressing some of his fellow adventurers. “Weapons, armor, magic... We can extract them from this biome. I’ll ask the blacksmiths to design some armor for you and your friends when this is all done.”

“About that Sai...”, Twilight interjects as she puts a hoof to her chin in thought. “That book you gave me, it mentioned that Disco- I mean, Disidian, gave terrarians the knowledge needed to create those materials from The Crimson. My worry is, aren’t there any side effects?”

“A fair inquiry indeed twilight, well, to answer your question the answer is quite simple: Purification Powder. My family has procured a large sum of the powder thanks to one of my ancestors who had good relations with The Dryads. With it, we managed to design and craft weapons using a specific type of ore that can only be found within this biome: Crimtane Ore.”



“Aw I see, The Dryad who helped us gave some of that powder to princess Luna before we fought The Moon Lord. So if I understand correctly, it can protect anyone using such weapons without the worry of having any negative side effects?, that’s genius really!”, Twilight exclaims excitingly as her curiosity was being satisfied, to which both Starlight and Rainbow Dash rolls their eyes.

“[CHUCKLE] You have a healthy sense of curiosity Twilight Sparkle, just don’t allow yourself to get too curious. We have a saying here on Terraria and I suggest you heed it: ‘Gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”, Sai Sahan says with a raised hand to emphasize his warning. “And F.Y.I, we literally have an abyss here on Terraria...”

“Bwahaha, like that’s gonna stop the egghead. In this case the abyss will run away because she’s staring for too long.”, Raindow Dash says with a smirk which causes Sai, Celestia, and Starlight to laugh followed by a pouting Twilight who grunts in annoyance. Sai Sahan recovers from the laughter and says:

“Alright then everyone, let’s be off.”





Some time passes by and the large force of terrarian and pony adventurers are now trekking their way through the biome of repulsive flesh. Admittedly, Twilight almost lost her breakfast having witnessed the mangled remains of deceased beings and the overall, utterly disgusting, fleshy environment of the biome. What made Twilight and her friends concerned however was the fact, at the very moment they entered the biome, the skies had darkened. This place was simply unnatural and they could sense it in full. On Equus, they say that a pony’s instincts, specifically the instinct to run, kicks in when they can sense something that’s so dangerous they simply couldn’t fight against it. The ponies didn’t want to admit it, but they felt it, they were utterly afraid of this place. Even Rainbow Dash, who ever so often puts on a brave face filled with confidence, couldn’t hide her shaking form. She wasn’t even flying in the air as she usually does since the cyan pegasus was currently huddled against Twilight and Starlight, wings tightly clutched against her body.

The Living Flesh truly lives up to its name as fleshy tendrils moved about the area but for some reason they didn’t seem to be aggressive towards the adventurers as they passed by.   Seeing this, Twilight was beginning to wonder why they even called this place ‘The flesh that hates’, among other things. The poor Alicorn quickly scolded herself for even thinking that less she tempts fate. As the large group continues on, they currently find themselves in a rather large and open area. Suddenly, Sai Sahan lifts a hand into the air and clutches his fist as he declares:

“Everyone halt!”, His words echoed throughout the area upon which every adventurer, including the trio of ponies, heeds to his call and stops dead in their tracks. Celestia was currently positioned behind Sai as she slowly walks up to him and asks:

“Are you feeling what I’m feeling?, this isn’t right... Nothing has attacked us since we entered this place. It’s called: ‘The flesh that hates’, for a reason yet nothing has happened-”

“Yet...”, Sai Sahan says as he finishes celestia’s words with an ominous tone. “I don’t like this Celestia, it’s too quiet. Even our pony friends can sense it, I don’t want to sound as if I doubt our current strength but perhaps we should-”

[rooROORGH]

A loud roar engulfs the area and before anyone could question it the fleshy earth nearby explodes, throwing flesh into the air in the process, as a large circular being slowly rises into the air. Twilight, her fellow ponies, and all of the terrarians looks on with widened eyes and shocked expressions as the being literally looks down upon them, a large eye:



[rooROORGH]

The large eye roars out again and in mere moments it begins to fire out of its pupil smaller versions of itself. These smaller entities soon filled the air around them. That wasn’t all however as suddenly, nearby, The Crimson Biome truly showed why it’s called: ‘The Flesh That Hates’, as grotesque beings of pure red flesh begins to erupt out of the fleshy landscape.



The flesh abominations gave the adventurers no warning as they ran towards them in a hoard, almost zombie like as they groan hungrily. All of the adventurers regains their composure and narrows their features in anger and determination. Mages charged up their spells, warriors held their melee weapons at the ready, while those who specializes  in ranged combat readies their bows and clicked, or pumped, their various guns.

“Attack!”, Sai Sahan exclaims as he, Starlight Glimmer, and a large portion of the entire army runs towards the encroaching swarm of flesh monsters while others, including Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Celestia, targets the large eye floating above them in addition to the smaller eyes around it.

“I know that thing... It was in the book. The Eye Of Cthulhu!” Twilight exclaims as she, Rainbow Dash, and Celestia spreads their wings and materializes their weapons.

After gaining new weapons from The Desert Scourge Twilight decides to manifest two staves and dual wields them in each of her front hooves. In her right hoof, she held her Sapphire staff while in her left hoof, she held her newly acquired staff: Storm Spray. Celestia did the exact same and mimicked Twilight’s duel wielded weapons. Rainbow Dash also duel wielded two weapons but of different types: The Minishark, and her newly acquired melee weapon: Aquatic Discharge.

“Forward my little ponies!, mages and archers, fire at will!”, Celestia exclaims as she points her Sapphire Staff towards the flying foes. A series of spells and various ranged attacks follows as the ground forces of the adventurers fires upon both The Eye Of Cthulhu and its smaller counterparts.

Rainbow Dash begins to unload her Minishark thus killing many of the Demon Eyes in the process and those that got too close to her met their end when she slashes them with Aquatic Discharge. What shocks Rainbow is what happens next as she uses her newly aquired weapon. After killing a demon eye, a spark of electricity would shock any nearby foe thus killing them in turn. This causes the Pegasus to smirk as she continues to dodge and fly around her foes in a beautiful display of both ranged and close quarters combat.

Celestia and Twilight were truly an impressive pair as they both fly back to back extending their staves out, unleashing their weapon’s fury in addition to Twilight’s horn. The Alicorn admittedly doubted how her new weapon, Storm Spray, could even hurt anything with just water alone. She soon realized how wrong she was as she sprays a flow of water into a large gathering of Demon Eyes upon which the water damaged and killed them before her very eyes. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, but, was not going to complain as she smirks and continues to fire away at her foes.

[rooROORGH]

The massive eye roars out and begins to charge at its foes by rushing forward with all its might. Twilight didn’t want to find out how a large eye, a very soft part of any living beings body, could ever be that painful by ramming into you as she and Celestia dodges its pursuit. The Alicorn soon got her answer as the large eye entity, unfortunately, manages to ram into some of the adventurers below which results in a fairly large crater thus wounding and killing some of them in the process. What shocks everyone present is what happens next: The eye fazes right through the fleshy earth it had made impact on.

“How the hay can it do that?!”, Rainbow Dash shouts as she, along with every one else present, looked on with shocked expressions. However, their attention quickly turned to the Demon Eyes that still littered the skies above them and rained down to attack them.

“I don’t understand!, can it change its body’s density at will?. It rammed into the ground and created a crater, but then just phases right through it as if it were taking a swim.”, Twilight exclaims as she kills a few more Demon Eyes in the process. Celestia flies alongside her and says:

“I don’t know dear Twilight, but we- look out everyone!”

[CRASH]

The ground erupts once more, specifically underneath an unfortunate group of adventurers, as The Eye Of Cthulhu rapidly zooms out of the fleshy earth, killing and harming more of them in the process. It then tries to ram into Celestia and Twilight, as it spots them in the sky.

“Move!”, Twilight exclaims as she and Celestia dodges to the right together, as the large form of the eye passes by due to a missed attack. However, the eye now has a new target: Rainbow Dash, who was currently being distracted by a few Demon Eyes.

“Rainbow!, watch out!”, Twilight and Celestia exclaims in unison which catches the cyan pegasus’s attention, said attention then snapped to the large form that was rapidly encroaching her. But, Rainbow Dash wasn’t panicking at all... She was determined. Tightly gripping her melee weapon, Aquatic Discharge, the pegasus flies downwards to meet her foe head on. Mere moments before she makes impact with the large entity, Rainbow dematerializes her minishark and brought forth a certain gift from Vinny The Demolitionist: A stick of dynamite.

[rooROORGH]

The Eye Of Cthulhu roars out just before it tries to make impact. However, Rainbow Dash barely manages to avoid the large figure, but she doesn’t avoid the entity entirely, as she quickly stabs it with with her melee weapon and ‘catches a ride’, by holding onto the weapon pierced into the large entity’s flesh. A large jolt of electricity travels throughout the eye, causing it to roar out in pain. The stunt pegasus wasn’t done yet as she quickly removes her blade and shoves a lighted stick of dynamite into the wound. Rainbow Dash smirks as she lets go of the large eye and flies down to her fellow comrades.

“Rainbow!, what were you thinking?!”, Twilight exclaims as she sees her friend floating before her. Rainbow Dash smirks as she counts down:

“3”

“2”

“1”

“Awesome.”

[BOOM]  [rooROORGH]

The large eye roars out in agony as the stick of dynamite explodes, this causes the adventurers below to cheer for the pegasus as they continue to fight the smaller demon eyes. Celestia and Twilight smile happily as they shout in unison:

“Way to go Rainbow!”

“Like I said, I’m awe-”

[rooROORGH]

Rainbow’s words were cut off and everyone is shocked as their attention is once again drawn to the large eye who suddenly begins to... Spin rapidly. At first, everyone had hoped that this was just some sort of death dance before the large eye met its end, they couldn’t be more wrong. This, was a transformation... Phase two one could say. All present looked up in horror as the pupil that used to exist in the eye disappears and what remains was something entirely different: A mouthed Eye Of Cthulhu with razor sharp teeth.



“Well... Buck...”
“Well... Fuck...”





-EQUUS, CRYSTAL EMPIRE CASTLE: MECHS AND DEVICES CREATIONAL CHAMBER-

Princesses Luna and Cadence were currently being accompanied by Spike and a few of their royal guards as they make their way down a hallway. However, Cadence has in her possession a very familiar artifact: The Crystal Heart. Soon, they find themselves just outside of a large pair of double doors adorned with crystalline decorations, much like the rest of the doors throughout the castle.

“Open it, please.”, Cadence orders as two of the guardsponies grabs either side of the doors with their hooves and pulls them open.

[CRANK] [CRANK] [BOTCH]

As soon as the doors open, the sounds of tools and various working equipment erupts from the room. Various ponies work tirelessly on a rather large machine that sat perfectly in the middle of the room. Spike and The Princesses head inside as the guardsponies remain outside of the room to guard the entrance as they slowly shut the doors. Various ponies takes notice of the Princesses and bows respectfully before returning to their work. Two ponies in particular, who were currently at the top of two separate sets of ladders, notices them as they says:

“Look what we have here dear brother of mine, let us amaze the royal Alicorns with this here device!”

“Why yes dear brother of mine, to save Equus!”

The Flim Flam brothers exclaims as they hop down the ladders in unison, lands on the crystal floor, and bows before the aforementioned royals including Spike. Luna raises a hoof to the brothers and says:

“Be at peace and rise, Flim Flam brothers. We see thou hath progressed well with thy current project.”

“Indeed your Highness!”, The brothers say in unison as they stand on opposite sides of the machine and says:

“I Flim...”

“And I flam...”

“Present to you our weapon against the horrible corruption: The Flim-Flam-Purification Tower!”

“Amazing... However, there’s one final piece we need.” Cadence says as she floats The Crystal Heart to the top of the device. “There, now it is complete. Well done everypony!.”

> Chapter 36 - Boss Fight: The Eye Of Cthulhu Pt: 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, CRIMSON BIOME, A FEW MINUTES BEFORE RAINBOW DASH’S DYNAMITE EXPLOSION.- 

[SHLINK]

[CLINK]

[BAM]

[BOOM]

The sounds of various types of weaponry and even an explosion or two echoed across the fleshy landscape as Starlight Glimmer, Sai Sahan, and a large portion of their fellow adventurers waged war against the monsters of The Living Flesh. Gore flew up into the air on both sides as a couple of noticeable scenarios plays out:

One adventurer, a male terrarian wearing golden armor and wielding a golden broadsword, got too overconfident and strayed too far away from the group as he continues to cut down various foes of the flesh. He begins to mock his enemies referring to them as being weak and pathetic, his boastfulness would cost him dearly for a new foe had entered the fray. More accurately, a swarm of them. They swooped down from the skies and bit him clean in half, ending his life instantly, as they continued to devour every last piece of the former terrarian.



A trio of adventurer’s, which consisted of two male terrarians with melee weapons and a female terrarian wearing magic robes whilst wielding a Sapphire Staff, were being hoarded by a large number of the flesh abominations. They soon found themselves trapped atop of a large boulder upon which the fleshy hoard tries to reach them and as the two male terrarians fight them off, the female starts to gather all of her magic into her staff. The male terrarians looks back to their female ally and nods in understanding, this was their last ditch effort... Even if it will result in their deaths. Finally, the female’s staff begins to glow as she slams it into the large boulder beneath her and her allies as she cries out:

“For Terraria!”

[BOOM]

Starlight and Sai Sahan fought back to back as they were surrounded by a large force of the flesh abominations. Using Starfury, Starlight summoned the stars to rain down on her foes around them while using her magic to levitate her Sapphire Staff and Storm Spray upon which she uses to blast and wash away her foes in the process. Should any of her foes manages to get too close, the unicorn would swing Starfury and cleave them in half. As this goes on Sai duel wields his Silver Broadsword along with his recently acquired weapon from The Desert Scourge, Aquatic Discharge. Using his silver crafted broadsword he cleaved the heads off of multiple flesh monsters with a single swing, however, he was shocked when these monsters began to regenerate their missing body parts. Immediately, he decides to use Aquatic Discharge and to his utter delight, the moment he slayed another flesh monster with the blade a spark of electricity engulfed his enemies, killing them in addition. Starlight looks back to her ally and says:

“You hanging in there Sai?, don’t you go dying on me now, I need you to watch my back.”, As Starlight finishes her words the unicorn smirks which causes Sai to reply:

“Hah!, you kidding me?, I can do this all day. [SHLINK] Besides, we need to hold these abominations off so our allies can deal with The Eye Of Cthulhu. I never would’ve imagined that beast would be here, damnit all!”

[BOOM] 

Suddenly, the duo along with nearby adventurer’s has their attention stolen by a large explosion. They look on with shock at first until they realize what has happened, The Eye Of Cthulhu has been injured greatly as it lets out a painful:

[rooROORGH]

“Looks like our allies has landed a devastating blow to the monster!”, Sai Sahan exclaims.

“Alright!. Judging by that blue blur I bet it has something to do with, Rainbow Dash.”, Starlight replies as she blasts away a few more flesh monsters with her staff and her horn.

“Wait, what’s it doing now?”, A nearby adventurer question’s as they witness a strange spectacle, The Eye Of Cthulhu seems to be spinning rapidly.

“Hah!, maybe it’s spasming out and dying!”, Another adventurer replies. Starlight was about to celebrate as well until she looks towards Sai and saw... Worry?.

“What’s wrong Sai?, wait... You’re not thinking...”

“Yes Starlight, it might be greatly damaged now... But, I fear this is far from over.”

As if on cue, Sai Sahan’s worries were manifested into physical form as The Eye Of Cthulhu stops spinning and reveals its new transformation: A mouthed monstrosity with razor sharp teeth. Everyone looks on as they say in unison:

“Well... Fuck...”
“Well... Buck...”





Twilight, Celestia, Rainbow Dash, and the rest of the adventurer’s who were nearby watch on with gritted teeth and narrowed expressions as Celestia shouts:

“Be ready everyone!, the monster is-”

[rooROORGH]

Celestia’s words were cut off as she and the two ponies were forced to dodge as the mouthed abomination rushes at them with speeds even greater than it had possessed before which causes Rainbow to say:

“What the hay?!, why is it even faster than before?!”

“I don’t know but we need to act fast!, it’s heading straight into the other adventurers!”, Twilight shouts in horror. However, her words were simply too late as the horrible event plays out before her.

”GRAUGH!”

“BLEUGH!”

In one swift motion, the mouthed spawn of Cthulhu scoops up and devours a fair number of adventurers in its maw. Twilight freezes as she happened to stare into the terrified eyes of a female Terrarian, who was currently locked between the monster’s jaws. The world slowed down for just a moment as the Alicorn stared into the woman’s eyes which practically pleaded for help, not wanting to depart from this world just yet. Then, the world returns back to normal as the female Terrarian disappears behind the closed jaws of The Eye Of Cthulhu as it phases through the fleshy earth once more.

“Twilight!”

“...”, Twilight remains speechless and frozen in place with widened eyes, the Alicorn was in such a shocked state mixed with fear, she couldn’t hear Celestia and Rainbow Dash calling out to her as the world around the Alicorn went silent.

“Twilight!”

“...”

“Twilight!, get it together!

“...”

Having enough of the lavender mare’s current state, Celestia flies over to the pony and with some hesitation, slaps Twilight across her muzzle.

[WHAM]

Rainbow Dash winces at this but does seem to understand Celestia’s intention. As this is going on the mouthed monstrosity can be observed in the background fighting the other adventurer’s as it re-emerges from the ground. Demon Eyes and various monsters of the flesh can also be seen trying to attack the adventurers as they try to fight back against The Eye Of Cthulhu. Rainbow Dash decides to let Celestia handle her best friend and joins the battle once more.

The sudden surge of pain from Celestia’s strike finally brings Twilight back to the real world although just barely.

“W-what?”, Twilight finally replies with a lowered tone but what shocks her is what she sees before her for a very brief moment. No longer was Celestia a bipedal Terrarian, what was floating in the air before her was a large equine figure which temporarily replaces the ‘Terraria born Celestia’. The equine Celestia says one final thing before she disappears and returns back to, what one could properly call, Terralestia.

“Focus Twilight!”

[GASP] Twilight sucks in a sudden breath of fresh air, which was ironic given the biome she was currently in, as she finally comes to. The sounds of battle and warfare returns to her as her ears flicker about and her eyes begins to look around in all directions, shooting back and forth in confusion.

“Twilight, look at me.”, Terralestia says in a motherly tone as she puts a hand onto Twilight’s left cheek to which the Alicorn’s gaze focuses on her. “I’m sorry that you have to see all of this, you ponies come from a world that’s so peaceful and filled to the brim with kindness and friendship. I wish our world wasn’t introduced to yours simply because of how completely different our worlds are, complete opposites to each other. But, you are in Terraria now... Death, pain, and loss is practically a constant for us terrarians but we still push on. When I look at you ponies and when I think of the world you come from do you know what I see?, what I feel?. The very thing I know we can achieve together.”

“What?”, Twilight replies with tears threatening to leave her eyes.

“Hope Twilight, you and your friends give me hope. You give us all hope that one day our world can be just like yours, to be purified of diseases like The Crimson and for all of us to come together in harmony. You told me something last night... [CHUCKLES] Before you got lost in that book Sai gave you that is.”, Terralestia then brings Twilight into a hug as she says: “Friendship Is Magic.”, Upon hearing those words Twilight tightens the hug for just a moment before she then sighs lightly and breaks it. The Alicorn then narrows her features in determination as she says:

“You’re right, as The Princess Of Friendship I always believe anything can be achieved if we work together.”, Terralestia nods as she and Twilight turns their gaze back to the battle taking place nearby as they observe Rainbow Dash unleashing her Minishark upon The Eye Of Cthulhu. The Flesh Monsters and the Demon Eyes numbers were noticeably beginning to dwindle thanks to the efforts of the terrarians and ponies. Twilight continues and says:

“This battle, will be no different!”

“Now you’re talking!”, Terralestia replies as the two make their way towards the battlefield. Twilight turns her head towards Terralestia as she says internally:

-Thank you, Celestia-

“Take this ugly!”, Rainbow Dash exclaims as she unloads the full might of the Minishark upon the spawn of Cthulhu. Suddenly, two magical blasts zooms past her which makes contact with the mouthed menace. The pegasus turns around to see both her Alicorn friend and Terralestia.

“You finally made it egghead!, now come on, let’s finish this!”, Rainbow Dash exclaims which causes both Twilight and Terralestia to nod.

[TWINKLE-BOOM] [TWINKLE-BOOM]

A series of stars and explosions goes off as a certain student of Twilight’s flies up to the group with her Rocket Boots and says:

“Sorry we’re late, had a bunch of fleshy monsters to fight. The Calvary has arrived!”

“Everyone!, focus all firepower on the The Eye!. Take it down!”, Sai Sahan proclaims as a series of attacks follows his declaration:

Magical energies were fired from multiple sources ranging from staves to magical books, including the horns of both Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer. Arrows and various forms of ammunition and ranged attacks met their mark as they all took aim towards the mouthed menace. Among them, Rainbow Dash decided to up her damage output and was currently duel wielding both The Minishark and her Musket, each held in either hoof. Starlight continued to rain down the stars with every swipe of her blade in addition to having duel wielded weapons of her own. With her horn alighted, she levitated both her Sapphire Staff and Storm Spray as she unleashed her fury onto the large entity. Twilight and Celestia did the same as they too duel wielded the very same staves as Starlight. Sai Sahan, along with other melee based fighters, bide their time and slice away at the monster as it tries to devour more adventures with every pass. Together, everyone continues to dodge and attack The Eye Of Cthulhu but to the monsters credit, it does manage to claim more lives in the process. Finally, despite both sides taking losses, the mouthed Eye Of Cthulhu finally surrenders to the onslaught of attacks as it lets out one final roar:

[rooROORGH]

[SPLAT]

The large eye begins to spasm chaotically until it finally explodes and sends gore flying in multiple directions, everyone stares on in shock until that slowly turns to amazement and happiness as they all cry out:

”Victory!”

“We did it!”, Rainbow Dash exclaims as she then turns to her fellow ponies and says: “You know what that means, right?!”, Twilight and Starlight nods their heads as the ponies shout in unison, which coincidently was unified with the terrarians as they too shout:

“Here comes the loot!”

“...”

“Wait... Why did we only get a bunch of rocks and these red seeds?!”, Rainbow asks disappointedly.

“Those aren’t just any rocks my rainbow maned friend. That, right there, is Crimtane Ore.





-EQUUS, OUTSKIRTS OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-

The survivors of The Outposts, who were being lead by Dr. Whooves and Derpy Hooves, were nearing the empire with great haste. With them, Maud Pie along with Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, and a few other survivors were pulling a large cart filled with the newly discovered mineral they found in the Everfree Forest. In front of them, a unicorn was using their magic to support the weight of the cart to which Dr. Whooves says:

“We can’t thank you enough for giving us this cart, Prince Blueblood. You’ve saved us all by doing this!”

“It is no trouble at all, we must work together to fight back against The Corruption. I was out there looking for any more survivors, until I came across your pegasus friend there.”

Soon, the group manages to reach The Empire itself with batted breath and looked as if they’d just return from a sort of world war. They were very similar to how Shining Armor and the others appeared when they first returned from the battle in Ponyville. A trio of pegasus royal guards spots them as they immediately tend to the survivors, one of them steps forward and says:

“Hello everypony, my name is Flash Sentry. We are glad to see you all survived The Corruption, how can we-”

“Yes, yes, you can help us by allowing us to get this here cart into the castle. The contents within might just help us in our fight against The Corruption.”, Dr. Whooves interjects as Flash Sentry, along with the other guards, gasps in shock causing Flash to ask:

“Wait, you mean you all found something that can help us?!”

Maud Pie steps forward as she monotonously replies:

“I’ve been studying rock science for a very long time. To put it simply, this stuff is some type of ore. We can likely smelt them to create weapons and armor... I’d also like to keep one as a pet.”
> Chapter 37 - Battle In The Frozen Underground.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND SNOW BIOME-



“Ah’ got’ta admit, I’m kind of intimidated being down here... Large ice caverns were never my thing.”

“I have to agree Applejack... I, um, don’t like it down here.”, Fluttershy says as she looks around the underground frozen cavern cautiously.

“I think it’s kind of fun, oh, maybe we’ll find snow hornets this time!”, Pinkie exclaims as she hops enthusiastically which causes everyone else to look at her with a deadpan expression. Ritsu shakes it off as she says:

“Be careful everyone and keep an eye out for any Ice Bats or Spiked Ice Slime. There’s something else too, and I hope this doesn’t happen... But should we ever run into a wild Snow Flinx it’s best we simply just maneuver around it.”

“Oh yes, Ritsu is right. Snow Flinx are neutral creatures unless you approach or bother them. As for the Ice Bats and Ice Slimes, I’ve read that they are very aggressive...” Fluttershy says factually however she shudders in fear when she mentions the Ice Bats and the Ice Slimes.

“Wait ah’ second sugarcube, the bats I get but aren’t you or can’t you try to work somethin’ out with them Ice Slimes?”

“Not all of them sadly, they’d have to approach us and introduce themselves. But, if they attack first then we have no choice but to defend ourselves. I’m sorry Applejack...”, Fluttershy replies.

“Naw, don’t mention it sugar. If it comes to it we-”

“Uh oh!, tail, mane, legs, twitching, the real danger is coming!”

Upon hearing Pinkie’s warning the four allies stands back to back in a hallow square battle formation. Applejack materializes her Blade Of Grass while Pinkie Pie brings out her melee weapon, Bee Keeper. Ritsu surprised everyone as she conjures an unusual type of weapon: A leather whip.

Fluttershy summons her Finch, Hornet, and Snow Flinx by using their appropriate staves. However, when she uses her Slime Staff to summon forward an ally she got quite the shock of her life as she summons: Princess Pinkie.

”Hello again Fluttershy!, I missed you so much dear goddess.”

“Oh my, it’s Princess Pinkie!” - Fluttershy.

“Well howdy partner, thanks fer’ showin’ up.” - Applejack.

“Awesome!, when we get back we totally need to throw a welcome-back-to-Home-Town-Princess-Pinkie-who-has-the-same-name-as-me-which-makes-it-even-more-awesome-party!” - Pinkie Pie

“Oh my goodness, I... It’s an honor to meet you, Slime Princess.” - Ritsu.

“Wait a second... Does anypony else hear that?”, Pinkie Pie question’s as her ears flickers about trying to pinpoint the sound’s location. Unfortunately, before anyone could reply a small army of undead beings erupts from the icy floors of the cavern. Ritsu immediately recognizes these foes as she screams out:

“Undead Vikings!”



“Vikings?!”, Pinkie Pie and Applejack shouts in unison.

“Un... dead?”, Fluttershy mutters as she quivers in fear. Princess Pinkie places a tendril onto Fluttershy and shouts:

”Heart of the lion!”, Instantly, Fluttershy’s body stops quaking and she soon finds herself feeling more... Confident.

“T-thank you for that Princess Pinkie, I, um, forgot you can effect feelings.”, Fluttershy says as she narrows her features in determination, points a hoof towards the encroaching undead, and shouts: “Go my friends!, attack!”, On cue The Hornet, Snow Flinx, and Finch rushes into battle. Princess Pinkie decides to stay with Fluttershy in order to protect her.

“Here’s a little buff for them too!”, Ritsu shouts as she whips all of Fluttershy’s summoned allies, including princess Pinkie, although they didn’t seem to be bothered by it. Regardless, this causes the pegasus to shout in anger:

”WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there Fluttershy. It doesn’t hurt them at all, their strength is increased against every enemy I whip however I have to apply the buff to your summons. Don’t worry my friend, I’d never harm any animals.”, Ritsu replies.

”Please forgive her goddess Fluttershy, it’s not meant as an attack but to empower us. We feel no pain from it whatsoever unlike what’ll happen to our current enemies.”

“Oh... Really?, I’m sorry.”, Fluttershy says as she hides her face behind her mane.

“Here they come y’all!”, Applejack exclaims as the undead Vikings rushes towards the group bearing rusted blades and armor along with gnashing teeth.

“Time to test out this Bee Keeper, hiiiiiyah!”, Pinkie Pie exclaims as she slices one of the undead Viking’s head off, however, she gets quite the surprise when a swarm of bees is summoned thanks to the blade and rushes forward to attack the Vikings. “Ok, this. Is. Awesome! Hahahaha.” Disturbingly, Pinkie Pie laughs maniacally as she continues to dodge the attacks of the undead and counter attacks thus summoning more bees in the process. Her maniacal laughter is similar to when she fired a barrage of cupcakes at one of the Storm Monsters in Canterlot.

[WHOOPACK]

A Vikings head flies up into the air as Ritsu’s leather whip cleaves it right off.

“Ooooh, you’re just like Indiana Jones!”, Pinkie Pie comments as she dodges another attack and retaliates with her Bee Keeper.

“Indiana who?”, Ritsu replies.

“Now’s not the time fer’ your randomness Pinkie!”, Applejack exclaims as she cuts down more of the undead with The Blade Of Grass.

Fluttershy’s summoned allies continues to fight back the undead hoard as she herself takes aim with her newly acquired bow: The Bees Knees. Upon firing an arrow she is immediately surprised to see it transform into a swarm of bees as she comments:

“Oh my, are all of the loot we earned from Queen Beezma, well, bee related?”

”Allow me to answer that Fluttershy.”, Princess Pinkie says as she eats an undead Viking’s arm off as it tried to reach out and grab Fluttershy, the shy pegasus in turn sees this and fires a swarm of bees at it point blank in retaliation. Princess Pinkie lands on her summoner’s back and continues:

”As I’m sure you know, when you defeat a powerful monster in Terraria you are rewarded with powerful loot in the process. However, this loot often takes inspiration from the Boss/Mini-Boss you’ve slain- watch out goddess!”, Heeding her words, Fluttershy leaps up into the air and just barely manages to avoid an undead Viking who emerged from the icy floor behind her. Fortunately, Applejack was nearby and took care of the Viking, the pegasus had just dodged. Ritsu and Pinkie Pie could be seen nearby fighting off the undead along with Fluttershy’s summoned allies.

“That was a close one, thank you Princess Pinkie.”

”No problem Fluttershy, now as I was saying befor- fire your arrow at three o’clock!”

[FWEWM]

[BZZZ] [BZZZ] [BZZZ]

Once again, Fluttershy heeds her slime ally’s warning and fires her Bees Knees at yet another foe. This causes Fluttershy to say:

“Maybe we can talk about this after we beat these things Pinkie.”

“You called Fluttershy?”, Pinkie Pie asks.

“Oh not you Pinkie, slime Pinkie.”, Fluttershy replies.

“Oh, ok!”, Pinkie says as she zooms off and joins Ritsu in fighting off a group of undead Vikings.

”Maybe you should just keep calling me Princess Pinkie, just so things don’t get confusing.”, Fluttershy nods as she continues to fly in the air and shoots her arrows-turned-bee-swarm projectiles.

After a well fought battle, with only minor injuries which were easily healed up from a Health Potion and mostly absorbed from their armor, the ponies and kitsune successfully defeats the Undead Vikings as they take a minute to catch their breaths.

“Ah’ be darned... They weren’t very strong but they were overwhelming.”, Applejack says as she opens and closes her mouth in exhaustion.

“That’s... The undead for you... Not exactly strong but in a hoard they can be annoying.”, Ritsu replies.

“I’m just glad everypony is ok.”, Fluttershy says as she then turns to her summoned allies. “Thank you all soo very much for helping me and my friends, you too Princess Pinkie. Are you going to return to your father now?”

”If it’s ok with you goddess, I’d like to accompany you for the rest of your journey. If what my subjects say is true, I believe you and your friends are looking for The Ice Mirror, correct?” 

“Woah wait a second, how’d ya’ know we were tryin’ to find that mirror.”, Applejack asks in amazement as she, Ritsu, and Pinkie Pie joins the conversation.

”Oh, well, my father and I wish to protect our dear friend Fluttershy and all of you of course by extension. So, we have slime units stationed near Fluttershy at all times to keep a watchful eye on her.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about something Princess Pinkie, I still absolutely love the fact that we have the same name by the way, hehehe. BUT!, why does Fluttershy only summon one slime at a time even though we saw her summon a whole army in The Underground Jungle?”, Pinkie Pie asks which causes Applejack, Ritsu, and Fluttershy’s ears to perk up. In Ritsu’s case it’s fox ears.

“I’m curious about that too, is there a sort of cooldown or something?”, Ritsu asks.

“Ooh, ooh, you mean like an MMO?”, Pinkie Pie asks which causes everyone to momentarily look at her in confusion.

”I don’t know what an MMO is Pinkie Pie, however, there is a reason for it and it’s actually quite simple. You see, if The Slime Staff detects that Fluttershy’s life is in danger it will do everything in its power to protect her as it takes over her very being, which is completely safe for her of course. It uses two things in order to summon both powerful and numerous slimes to her aid. The first cost is of course: Magic.”

“Ah’ ok, no surprise there really, so that explains why Fluttershy passed out after that whole army appeared when she saved us from the hornets.”, Applejack says.

“Oh my, so that also explains why I can’t remember doing that. But, then, if it responds to me being in danger why didn’t it happen during our other battles like with Queen Beezma?”, Fluttershy questions.

”You misunderstand Fluttershy, when I say that The Slime Staff detects if your life is in danger I mean that literally. As in, when you’re threatened with certain death.”

[GASP]

A collective surge of gasps echoes throughout the area as everyone is shocked by that revelation.

“So... You’re saying that The Slime Staff will attempt to save her life should it deem that death is certain?”, Ritsu asks.

”yes, that is correct. It likely activated against that large swarm of hornets because it sensed that Fluttershy would’ve died in that confrontation.”, Princess Pinkie replies. Suddenly, a pink blur zooms right into Fluttershy as Pinkie Pie hugs her with tears going down her cheeks as she says:

“Oh Fluttershy [SNIFF] that means you saved us all.”

“What?, b-but, I don’t entirely understand...” - Fluttershy.

“Ah’ think I do sugarcube and Pinkie Pie is right. If what the Princess says is true then that means The Slime Staff also took into account all of us being there and if it still saw fit to give you that army it means...” - Applejack.

“We would’ve died too...” Ritsu says as she finishes Applejack’s words and her eyes widen in realization.

“... Yes, that is true. Despite your friends presence, the staff still deemed that you all would’ve met your ends had it not empowered the goddess in that very moment.”, Princess Pinkie replies as she hops onto Fluttershy’s back and continues: “As for what Ritsu mentioned, in regards to a cooldown, there is one of sorts. Fluttershy, the staff can only save your life once every three days. Please, I beg of you goddess, try to be safe in the rest of your journey throughout Terraria.”

“I promise, I will Princess Pinkie... Thank you soo very much for looking after me. You and your father...”, Fluttershy replies with tears coming down her eyes. Pinkie Pie finally releases Fluttershy from her hug as she looks to Princess Pinkie and asks:

“So, what’s the second thing it costs for Fluttershy to summon you all?. You know, when you come to save her life.”

”Aw yes, the second isn’t entirely just a cost but also a measurement. A measurement... Of one’s Kindness.”

“...”, All of the ponies mouth’s drops which causes Ritsu and Princess Pinkie to look on with confusion, despite the fact that Princess Pinkie lacked facial features.

“Is there something wrong?”, Ritsu asks.

“No... Waaaaaaaaay!”, Pinkie Pie exclaims excitingly as she recovers from her shocked state.

“Well ah’ be darned, no wonder you were able to pull that off Fluttershy. You’ve got soo much kindness, you’d probably summon every slime on the planet.”, Applejack says with a beaming smile.

“Indeed, I sensed goddess Fluttershy’s kindness the very same day we met.”, Princess Pinkie replies.

“Oh my, that makes a lot of sense now. It must also be because of my element.”, Fluttershy says with realization.

“Wait, element?” Ritsu question’s.

“Ah’ that’s right, I don’t think we’ve ever come around to telling y’all about our elements but sugarcube here is...”, Applejack pauses as she then turns to Pinkie Pie. The two nods understandably as they each make their way to either side of the shy pegasus. The cowmare and party pony lifts a front hoof into the air and exclaims in unison:

“The Element Of Kindness!”


> Chapter 38 - Deception Pt: 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, CRIMSON BIOME ENCAMPMENT-

After the battle with The Eye Of Cthulhu, Sai Sahan saw fit to set up a temporary camp within The Crimson Biome, to allow everyone a chance to rest up a bit before they continue on their journey. Using some of the Purification Powder, Sai cleared away a large area of The Crimson thus using the now purified land for the encampment’s foundation. A small light in this fleshy darkness, one could say. The ponies watches in amazement at the spectacle before them and of course, to the surprise of no one, Twilight’s curiosity skyrocketed as she gave the terrarian an endless supply of questions. Celestia comes to Sai’s rescue all the while Rainbow Dash is laughing her flank off and Starlight stares at her teacher with an expression that could best be translated to: Really?

“Now, now, dear Twilight. Spare my friend please, I beg you haha.”, Terralestia says as she holds the Alicorn up in the air and places her on the ground, away from Sai Sahan who was simply frozen in shock as he says:

“How could one pony have soo many... questions...”

“Way to go Twilight, I think you broke him...”, Starlight says as she shoots her teacher with a disapproving look. Rainbow Dash is still laughing...

“B-but I can’t help it!, I need to know how this powder works!. The very moment he threw the powder onto the flesh it disappeared in an instant, no trace left behind, and returned the earth to it’s former state before The Crimson took hold!. I. Must. Know!, It’s driving me crazy!.” Twilight replies as she then starts to... Hyperventilate.

“Oh boy, she’s Twilighting again. [SIGH] I’ve got this.”, Starlight says as she walks up to her teacher and places a hoof onto her back. The unicorn then lights her horn and conjures a brown bag upon which she places it onto Twilight’s muzzle and says: “Here, take this and breath... That’s it, steady breaths.”, As a result, the brown bag inflates and deflates rapidly.

Having recovered from her laughter, Rainbow Dash walks over to Celestia who was currently still helping a shocked Sai Sahan as the pegasus says:

“Hey Celestia, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you but, well, it might be too... Personal.”

“What is it Rainbow?, and don’t worry, I promise I won’t get mad at you if it happens to be a... Touchy subject.”, Terralestia replies as she pats Sai on his back. Rainbow Dash bit her lower lip nervously as she was still hesitant, however, she takes a deep breath and finally says:

“Well... Ok, back on our world, the Celestia we know has a younger sister. Her name is: Princess Luna, do you have a sister as well?”, Terralestia’s eyes were shot wide open, even Sai Sahan managed to recover from his shocked state as he overhears Rainbow’s inquiry. Terralestia sighs heavily with a saddened expression and says:

“I don’t have a sister Rainbow... But I do have a younger brother, his name is: Lunaris.”, Rainbow winces as she could tell this was a very painful conversation for Terralestia, the pegasus’s facial features dropped instantly as she says:

“I... [SIGH] I’m such an idiot. I knew I should’ve kept my mouth shut-”

“It’s fine Rainbow Dash, you and the other ponies told me all about your world and your adventures. Telling you this seems only fair. I admit, I don’t like talking about it but I feel like I can trust you all... Like I trust Sai here.”, Celestia says which causes Sai to look at her with both gratitude and pity as he replies:

“Are you sure about this Celestia?, I know this is something you don’t want to talk about. I feel the same way as you do... Lunaris was my best friend and my brother in arms.”

“W-wait, was your best friend?. What happened?”, Rainbow Dash question’s.

“The Lunar Cult happened... But they used to go by another name, one that’s also fitting: The Lunatic Cultists. They were lead and formed by the very same madman who corrupted my brother. A madman we all used to trust...”, Celestia replies.

“What the hay?, that’s messed up. What’s this jerks name?, that way I know who to clobber when I see them.”, Rainbow Dash asks with an angered expression.

Celestia’s features also turns into seething anger, however, she then takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself before she answers Rainbow’s inquiry.

“His name is: Yharim, not much is known about that monster but I shall tell you the tale of how he has wronged us. Sai and I will never rest until we end his life and free my brother. Make yourself comfortable Rainbow, my brother’s tale... Our tale, is one born of deception.”





TERRARIA, 7 YEARS AGO.

Hysterical laughter, coming from a female terrarian, could be heard within a building which belongs to an organization called: The Order Of The Guide. This building acts as a sort of guild hall as many adventurer’s would stop by to pick up quests and various missions.

“Did Master Yharim give you that Lunaris?, you look so ridiculous!”, Terralestia says as she continues to laugh hysterically.

“Oh come now sister!, these robes enhances my powers exponentially!”

“And what is up with that mask?!, you look like a pseudo magical plaque doctor!”



“Come on Celestia, leave him be, Master Yharim gave it to him as a gift. It might not look... Presentable, but it enhances his effectiveness on the battlefield.”

“You know something Sai, I can’t tell if what you just said was to help me or to mock me. Like my dear sister is currently doing... Who’s side are you even on?”

“[CHUCKLE] I am on the side of laughing at you both my friend, the fairest side of them all.”

Upon saying those words, Terralestia and Lunaris stares at Sai with a deadpan expression before they all shrug their shoulders and laughs together. Lunaris recovers from his laughter as he says:

“As much fun as it was allowing you two to mock me, that’s sarcasm by the way Celestia, I’ve got a very important matter that I must attend to. A mission given to me straight from Master Yharim himself.”

“Aw yes, you’re heading up towards the northern continent correct?. Something about helping a fashionista or clothier merchant?”

“Indeed Sai, this fashionista is an old but good friend of mine. I’m meeting with him in a settlement positioned at the edge of The Snow Biome up in the north. The place has been plagued by a powerful necromancer.”

“By the gods!, Lunaris, that sounds awful!. What’s this necromancer’s name?, foul devil...”, Sai mutters with disgust.

“Skeletron.”

“I’ve heard of that name dear brother, please, be very careful up there. On another note, what’s your friend’s name?, I didn’t know you even had friends.”, Terralestia says with a giggle.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny sister.”, Suddenly, Lunaris smirks as he continues: “Like I said before, he’s an old friend of mine. You might be familiar with him sister, his name is: Steven, The Clothier.”

“Oh. My. Gosh!, as in the Steven?!. His clothing line is to die for, oh, I’m so jealous... I wish I got this mission. How could you never tell me you were friends with a well known fashionista?”, Terralestia says as she pouts sadly.

“Well one, you never asked. Two, it’s because we’ve got history and he knows what I’m capable of. And three, Master Yharim specifically chose me for this.”

“[SIGH] I guess you’re right brother... Just promise me you’ll be safe ok?, don’t do anything stupid you hear me?”, Terralestia question’s as she runs into her brother and gives him a tight hug, a gesture he returns in kind.

“Of course sister.”, Lunaris then breaks away from the hug as he continues: “Now go on, you and Sai Sahan have a mission of your own to take care of. It was guarding a caravan or something like that, right?”

“In a manner of speaking, Celestia and I are to protect a traveling merchant caravan who are trying to make their way towards the west. Apparently, bandits have been picking off traveling merchants along that route so we’ll be there as a deterrent. The merchants will be meeting us here and The Headmaster of the order will be bringing them shortly.”

“[CHUCKLE] Then I shall wish you both a swift and successful mission. I doubt a group of bandits could ever defeat the both of you. Farewell Sai and dearest sister. Look after each other, alright?.”

“I’m the older sibling here Lunaris, you’re stealing my role.”, Terralestia says as she sticks out her tongue teasingly.

“[CHUCKLE] Of course my friend, be well, Lunaris.”

The trio nods in understanding and with a simple wave of his hand Lunaris vanishes in a beam of light. As soon as this happens, the doors to the building opens up revealing the current Headmaster of: The Order Of The Guide.

“Alright you two, the merchants are here and ready to go!”

“You got it Tanner.”, Terralestia and Sai replies in unison.





-SETTLEMENT ENTRANCE-

Some time later, in a flash of light, Lunaris reappears before a settlement that was positioned at the very edge of the northern Snow Biome.

“I’m so grateful to Master Yharim for teaching me that spell. Now then, to find my-”

“Lunaris!, It’s good to see you’ve gotten my message. Your skills with magic are legendary and I can think of no one better to call upon. What’s with the costume?, you’re completely covered up. As someone who excels in fashion I simply must advise a... Wardrobe change.”

“Gee thanks... It’s a gift from Master Yharim so go easy on the insults, alright?. It’s good to see you Steven, I’ve come to aide you per our contract. I’d love to catch up but now’s not the time for small talk, where’s this necromancer that’s been troubling you all?”

“Straight to business eh?. Come with me, there’s a Tavern inside the settlement. Let’s discuss this over a drink and then we can get down to business.”

The two men shake hands as they then make their way into the settlement; on route to the aforementioned Tavern. The town was quite lively as various individuals performed their daily task and simply trying to live their lives to its fullest.

[DING DING]

The sound of a bell goes off as the doors to The Tavern opens up. Steven and Lunaris enters the establishment as The Clothier shouts:

“Hey Ross!, one table for me and my friend here!”

“Go ahead and take a seat Steven!, there should be some free tables available!. Sorry for the mess!, we just had some Party Girl here not too long ago!.”

“Appreciate it Ross!”, Steven exclaims as he gestures for Lunaris to follow. “That’s Ross Bosman, good man there. Come on, let’s grab a table and I’ll fill you in on our local necromancer.”

After some time passes by, both Lunaris and Steven stare at each other as the fashionista has just finished explaining the threat of Skeletron, their “local necromancer”. Lunaris didn’t completely take his mask off but only enough to reveal his mouth in order to finish up his drink as he brings it to his lips. He places the empty wooden cup back onto the table and says:

“So let me get this straight, this Skeletron entity has been sending hoards of the undead to attack the local towns and establishments. In addition, you have reason to believe that the necromancer will target this place next. So to combat this, you want me to cast a sealing spell on you so that you in turn can capture it?. Do you have any idea how crazy you sound right now?. You’re a fool, Steven...”

“Now just hold on Lunaris, I can explain-”

[SLAM]

“No!, you can not ‘explain’, anything!.” Lunaris exclaims as he slams his left hand onto the table. “Do you truly comprehend what it is you’re asking me to do?. I will not condemn an innocent life to a terrible burden, let alone one of my friends.”

“Please Lunaris!, I want to protect Terraria just like you do!. Look at me... I’m nothing but an old fashionista. What kind of help is that against the many forces of destruction that threatens Terraria on a daily basis?.”

“There’s more to it than-”

“No!. Now you listen here, you don’t know how terrible things have gotten. The undead are relentless thanks to Skeletron who orders them around with tactful precision. Every night another settlement is destroyed which further adds to his undead army; you haven’t even seen how bad it gets during the Blood Moon!. We’re getting desperate here and since no one else seems to be wanting to take that risk, to make that sacrifice well damn it, I am!”

“[SIGH] Look Steven, please, just think about this for a moment. Your life will be over and you will suffer a fate worse than death, is that really what you want?. I understand wanting to help the world, trust me when I say that I was in your shoes once. But this... This is different, you will become the vessel to Skeletron and who knows what side effects that will have.”

“I’m both willing and able to handle this burden. Skeletron is a blight upon the land and do you see anyone else trying to make an effort like I am?. Adventurers of all types have already tried to fight him but they all met their ends, and most disturbingly, are likely added to his undead army. It’s soo much more than just simple undead too, even restless spirits have been causing a ruckus. You ever tried fighting a spirit?, I’ll tell you, it’s like swinging a blade at water or casting a spell towards a cloud. End result: Nothing.”, Steven then sighs lightly as he regains his composure and says: “Right here, right now, I put the offer out. Lunaris, will you help this fashionista with a spell that will seal Skeletron within me while also allowing me full control over his powers?. I’m begging you my friend, only you can do this for me.”

“This is still madness Steven, why don’t we just gather a large force from The Organization and have us all attack Skeletron?”

“No Lunaris, that won’t work. You see my friend, like I said before, Skeletron controls the undead and the restless spirits. If we remove him from the equation then they will wander the land randomly and continue to wreak havoc upon everyone here in the north. No, there is only one way, let me take control of Skeletron’s power so that I may seal up the dead forever.”

“That’s another thing Steven, where will you even store such large numbers of undead?. Hypothetically speaking, let’s say I did help you with this crazy plan of yours where will you keep all of the undead and restless spirits, hidden and away from the world?”

“It just so happens that Skeletron makes his domain in a nearby catacomb. I will use his own powers against him, so to speak, and will order the undead to build a structure above it. You must then promise me that you will bind us to this structure Lunaris. I’ve given it some thought and I’ve decided that it shall appropriately be named: The Dungeon.”

Lunaris just stares at Steven in disbelief as he ponders on what course of action he should take next. Then, he sighs deeply as he replies:

“I still think you’re a fool Steven, but, you’re a fool who reminds me of... Myself. Not to mention... I do owe you a favor for helping me a few years ago when my sister and I couldn’t afford my parents funeral services. [SIGH] Fine, I’ll fulfill your request old friend. But remember, I tried to stop you from doing this Steven.”

“Very good Lunaris, words can’t express how grateful I am to you my friend. I take it you have the sealing spell ready to go?”

“I do, it works by binding your life force to Skeletron’s. Should you die, he will die too. But, should he die, you get to live.”

“Then our contract is fulfilled, your organization will have my full appreciation reflected upon your review and the extra money I’ll give you.”

“Alright then Steven, come, take my hand and I’ll teleport us to a secluded area so that I may cast the spell on you. I just hope you know what you’re doing...”

“I know exactly what I’m doing youngster, just be sure you cast your spell correctly. The last thing I want is to walk up to the lord of death with a, metaphorically speaking, ‘Wand Of Sparking’.”

“Oh ye of little faith, you wound me Steven.”

With a wave of his hand, Lunaris vanishes once more as he and Steven disappears in a beam of light. Ross Bosman, The Tavernkeeper, walks over to the table in order to clean it up as he says:

“They don’t even bother to leave me a tip.”

[POOF]

[CLINK] [CLINK] [CLINK]

As if on cue, three pieces of gold coins is materialized into being and drops onto the table.

“Well then, pleasure doing business with you.”
> Chapter 39 - Deception Pt: 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



It was nearly nightfall and after bestowing upon Steven a powerful sealing spell, the two men make their way towards the Catacomb with The Clothier taking the lead. Steven was donned in silver armor while also wielding a silver broadsword; despite his old age one couldn’t help but to respect his courage. Looking around, Lunaris was quite surprised by the unusual scenery. It certainly was not what he was expecting. Instead of a foreboding landscape filled with rotting trees and various graves, or even a graveyard, there was instead... A lush forest?. This forest didn’t at all give off any sense of danger, in fact, one couldn’t even tell there was a catacomb in the area. There is however one thing that stood out most to Lunaris as he says:

“Hmm, no undead walking around this place... Not even any guards or undead guardians. There’s literally... Nothing, nothing unusual at all.”

“Exactly... Do not let appearances deceive you Lunaris. That’s exactly what Skeletron wants you to think, It’s how he’s been catching people off guard during the day and why we couldn’t, at first, track down his lair. That previous bunch of heroes and adventurer’s I mentioned back at The Tavern?, they all disappeared. The local populace became too fearful to investigate but I couldn’t allow their lives to be snuffed out for nothing. So, I followed the path they took and found myself in these very woods. I had the exact same reaction as you did and I was about to call off the search, at least, until I saw zombie. It was one of the adventurers...”

“Good god, Steven... What the hell are we truly dealing with?. I heard of Skeletron’s powerful necromancy but you make it sound as if this was all-”

“Intentional?, yes... Because it is. I mentioned this too back at The Tavern, Skeletron is incredibly smart. He’s got the mind of a tactician despite being a sack of bones, he’s not exactly your typical ‘Saturday morning cartoon villain’. We need to be careful. There!, up ahead... That’s the entrance to this place.”

Finally, they stand before the entrance of The Catacomb which was in the form of a large cave opening. With determined expressions, Lunaris turns to his friend and asks:

“You sure you want to do this Steven?, I know I sound like a broken record but it’s not too late to turn back now.”

“It’s fine Lunaris, I’m going to see this through to the end. I appreciate you worrying about me my friend but this must be done, I just want you to know... No matter what happens here tonight it will not change the man that I am. I shall wield Skeletron’s power in order to protect Terraria, this I swear to every man, woman, and child. None shall fear the undead plague of the north any longer.”

“[SIGH] Alright then Steven... I’ll take your word for it.”, Lunaris then conjures up a spherical/orb shaped object which floats itself just above the two men. “Orb Of Light, best thing to have to explore a dark cave or a catacomb, in this case. Well... A Shine Potion might be a bit better.”

“Ok, let’s go meet our necromancer.”





-CATACOMBS-

Some time goes by and the two men now finds themselves within a large chamber, so large in fact that it may very well be the largest throughout the entire Catacomb. The skeletal remains of long deceased individuals were placed within the walls of the chamber, via manholes, along with rusted weapons and armor sat nearby. Some individuals were even laid to rest with their effects still equipped. The two men gazed upon a particular object which floated in a rather noticeable portion of the chamber surrounded by blue energy. 



"Is that... a sword?"

"Wait... why would Skeletron have a-"

[HEAHAHAHAHA]

“Here he comes Lunaris!, be ready!”, Steven shouts as a most unusual, yet highly disturbing, scenario plays out before them:

The skeletal remains that littered the walls of the chamber begins to float in the air as they all then fly towards the sword. The eye sockets of each skeleton were both glowing and leaking a black aura while that same aura enveloped the rest of their skeletal structures. All of the skeletons, suddenly, broke apart and begins to meld together creating a much larger skeletal being.



“W-wait, what’s going on?”

“What are you talking about Steven?”

“That... That’s not Skeletron’s true form!”

“Seriously?, why am I not surprised... Show yourself you coward!. What’s wrong, too afraid to show the real you?. You disappoint me, Skeletron.”

”[CHUCKLE] You speak of cowardice... Have you forgotten whos domain you are in?. Worms, I don’t need to fight you personally. I have more pressing concerns to attend to.”

“The hell do you mean by that?!, your biggest concern is the two of us standing before you!”, Lunaris exclaims as an electrical surge surrounds his right hand, Steven grits his teeth and readies his silver broadsword. Lunaris then aims his hand towards ‘Skeletron’ and says: “Tell us right now!, what do you mean by that?!”

“I don’t like this Lunaris, this is different from his usual approach. Why would-”, Suddenly, Steven’s eyes shot wide open with realization. “Oh my god... I’ve doomed everyone back in the settlement. Lunaris... He wants us to be here!”

”Aw, good boy Steven. I knew you would catch on, my old friend.”

“Steven!, talk to me!. The hell is this psycho on about?”

“We must return to the settlement right now Lunaris!. Skeletron is attacking it as we-”

”You two aren’t going anywhere. This catacomb... Is now yours, enjoy your stay.”

[SLAM]

The doors to the chamber are suddenly forced shut with frightening force. The large skeletal being lifts its right hand into the air and summons forth two large, floating, skulls.

”[CHUCKLES] You’re going to have a bad time.”, ‘Skeletron’ antagonizes as he extends his right hand forward and points an index finger at the two men shouting: ”Kill them!”

On cue both of the large skulls rushes forward, separates towards their chosen target, and attempts to ram into the two terrarians. Both men managed to dodge in time upon which Steven lets out a war cry and slices into the side of the large skull that targeted him as it flies by. Lunaris lets loose a powerful bolt of lightning which strikes the other large skull, causing it to shatter on impact. The mage then turns his attention towards the skull that continues to pester Steven as he puts both of his hands together, generates a large surge of electricity in his hands, and thrusts his arms forward releasing yet another powerful bolt of lightning.

[CRASH] [CLONK]

The sounds of bones falling to the floor engulfs the chamber as the second skull is shattered as well.

“Thanks for the assist, Lunaris.”

“No problem Steven.”, lunaris replies as he then turns to ‘Skeletron’. “That all you got?, at this rate you’re just annoying.”, Lunaris antagonizes as he prepares another bolt of lightning.

“Ok, I confess... I’m not actually trying to kill you. This piece of my consciousness lacks the power to do so I’m afraid. However, It’s enough to keep you... Entertained.”, Upon saying those words, ‘Skeletron’ takes on a rushing stance as the large skeletal being takes off and runs forward shouting: “I will continue to annoy you both until you drop and rot before me!”

“Here he comes again!”, Steven exclaims as the two men brace themselves for the oncoming skeletal behemoth’s impact. Lunaris teleports away but before Steven could dodge again, ‘Skeletron’ suddenly stops; skis across the floor for a moment, and side steps with Steven. The large skeleton then extends their right hand out as its large skeletal hands covers Steven’s head completely. ‘Skeletron’ lifts Steven into the air, the fashionista muffling his words in the process, as the large skeleton says:

”Is this the best you could offer Steven?, come on, let me hear you squeal. Beg me to let go of you, so I can tighten my grip and pop your head like a grape.”

“[MUFFLE]... I... Make...”

”What’s that Steven?, I can’t hear you in there. Are you asking me to squeeze harder?, oh, you masochist.”

“A... Great... Distraction.”

[ZAP] [SIZZLING] [BOOM]

Suddenly, a large bolt of electricity impacts ‘Skeletron’s’ back causing the entity to shatter to pieces thus dropping Steven in the process.

“He’s saying you forgot about me, smart ass.”, Lunaris retorts with a smirk. Steven recollected himself and ran over to the mage as he says:

“He’s just toying with us now, we need to put that thing down for good and get out of here. Who knows how much damage Skeletron is already causing to the settlement by now.”

[WHIRL] [CLANK]

The same black aura from before begins to whirl around the chamber as if a small tornado were trapped with the two men. The bones of the shattered entity begins to reconstruct itself, much to the displeasure of the terrarians. In mere moments, ‘Skeletron’ now stands before them once again.

”I told you before, this body can not be destroyed permanently. It may lack the power to kill you both in an instant, but it’s more than enough to-”

[WHAPACK]

Suddenly, ‘Skeletron’s’ words were cut off as Lunaris throws a blue pouch at him. The mage then points a finger towards the pouch, which now laid at the feet of the skeletal being, and charges up another bolt of lightning.

”[CHUCKLE] What’s this?, desperation?, is this a pouch of gold?”, ‘Skeletron' antagonizes.

“No, Purification Powder.”, With that retort, Lunaris fires his bolt of lightning from his finger which makes impact with the pouch resulting in a small explosion. This causes the powder to completely cover the entity as it dissolves the bones of ‘Skeletron’.

“RRRAAAAWWWWwww.....rrrggghhhh”, ‘Skeletron’ cries out; said cries slowly dies down as the powder reduces the being’s form to nothing but ash. In that very instant, the doors to the chamber opens up again allowing the two terrarians to leave.

“How in the hell did you get Purification Powder?”, Steven question’s in disbelief.

“My friend Sai Sahan has some connections to The Dryad’s. His family more specifically, they’ve been collecting this stuff over the years and has hidden away the stash. He gave that pouch to me as a gift and I’ve been saving it for a rainy day. To be honest?... I didn’t expect that to work.”

"Well, now that that's over with let's attend to this swor- It's gone!, the blade is gone Lunaris."

"What?!, when did he- no, there's no time for that now Steven!."

"You're right, you're right. let’s get back out there and stop him!”, Steven exclaims which causes Lunaris to nod his head understandably. Magical energy begins to form around the mage as he says:

“I’ll teleport us back to the settlement, take my hand Steven!”, Heeding his request, Steven takes the gesture as the two disappears in a beam of light.

[SHIM]





[SHIM]

The two men reappears in a beam of light as Lunaris regains his composure first and says:

“Alright, I’ve teleported us back to the...”, Lunaris cuts off his own words as his eyes shot wide open.

“I’ve got to learn that trick of your- oh my god...”, Steven’s train of thought was also derailed as he witnesses the same spectacle before him.

Before their very eyes was the settlement being torn apart by a large hoard of undead. Fires began to consume the buildings as the screaming of men, woman, and even children echoed across the landscape. Most disturbingly of all was the large, floating, skeletal abomination himself looking down upon the town condescendingly: Skeletron.

”Took you long enough, gentlemen.”

Skeletron's presence wasn't the only thing that shocked the two men as they realize that the night sky was noticeably... red?. Especially, the moon itself. Steven sees this and says: 

"Oh no... The Blood Moon!"


> Chapter 40 - Deception Pt: 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The settlement that was once a town filled with life, with those who were just trying to get by, was now nothing more than a town filled with the wandering dead. Those who were still alive had to fight off these undead monstrosities less they join their ranks.

Thanks to the Blood Moon, the strength of the undead were amplified and their intelligence increases. Also, the appearance of these zombies changes rapidly for upon prolonged exposure to the Blood Moon, zombies become twisted and cursed with overflowing blood which pours out of their rotten flesh. This results in what is now called: Blood Zombie. In addition, some of the Demon Eyes were present but much like a zombie, they too undergo a horrifying transformation under the Blood Moon. The Demon Eyes become erratic under a Blood Moon, sometimes twisting together into a dripping cluster of cursed blood and eyeballs.



One group of Blood Zombies manages to force open the doors to a building of which a few townsfolk ran into. No one could see what was happening inside but they got a hint as a splash of blood spews across one of the building’s windows.

A small group of armed guardsmen, those who were stationed in this town, did their best to fight off the undead. They had their fair share of victories as some had decapitated the heads of a few undead. However, all of that ended when they were descended upon by a swarm of Dripplers. The flying entities would land onto the heads of some of the guardsmen upon which the fleshy abomination would completely overtake them, turning them into a Blood Zombie in the process.

To add on to all of this, not only was there the presence of the Blood Moon... It suddenly starts to rain too. This poetically added despair to the already doom driven town.

High above the broken town was a being who looked down upon it with satisfaction; being absolutely content with their handiwork. Despite being a giant skull, if one were to look closely at Skeletron, they’d somehow see this form of expression.

”How unfortunate gentlemen, had you not spent soo much time contending with my consciousness, you might’ve saved this town. But, there is some good news... My army now has more soldiers to do my bidding.”, Skeletron antagonizes as he condescendingly looks down upon Steven and Lunaris. Both men grits their teeth and stares daggers towards the large skeletal entity. “What’s with that look?, I never said it was good news for any of you...”

[CHUCKLE]

The series of chuckling let loose by Skeletron begins to echo throughout the area, sending a foreboding chill down the spines of some of the survivors in town.

“Steven!, where the hell have you been?!”, Ross Bosman questions as he manages to escape the chaos taking place within the town.

“Ross!, there’s no time to explain, you need to go!. Lunaris and I will take care of that fiend, get going now!”, Steven exclaims.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you all, however, I assure you that we will defeat Skeletron. Now go!”, Lunaris exclaims to which Ross nods his head understandably and flees from the destroyed town. Lunaris begins to channel another large surge of lightning bolts within his hands. “Get ready Steven!. While I keep him at bay, you must get into position to seal him away.”

“Alright, I’ll be ready!. Be careful out there, Lunaris.”



Magical energy begins to surround Lunaris as he then lowers himself to the ground and kicks off into the air, flying towards Skeletron. The large entity sees his approach and says:

”How amusing, the prey thinks to turn and nip at its hunter. It is a small thing...”

[RAWARGHHH]

Skeletron roars out as the undead lord sends his right arm forward with a clutched fist, in an attempt to snuff Lunaris’s life out with a single punch. However, Lunaris does something quite unusual as he makes a series of hand gestures and shouts:

“Divide!”, Upon saying those words, the mage splits himself up into nine identical entities, shadows of his own very being.



Skeletron was effectively thrown off by this as his arm does make its mark, but not with the real Lunaris. The mage’s shadow disappears from the strike as the rest of the clones, including the real Lunaris, continues onwards towards their foe.

”You think you’re safe with mere mind games?, be gone mage!”, Skeletron exclaims in anger as he sends forth both of his arms to contend with Lunaris and his clones. The clones each attacks either limb with various spells in the form of fire, ice, and lightning attacks. The real Lunaris heads straight for Skeletron’s skull, the skeletal being sees this and opens his enormous maw in an attempt to swallow the mage whole. Just mere moments before Skeletron can chomp down onto Lunaris, the mage teleports behind the skull sand unleashes a powerful lightning bolt.

[SKROOOM]

“Rawwwwwwwwr!”, Skeletron roars out as the entity took the full force of the blow to the back of his skull. A large hole remained from the counterstrike, however, Skeletron chuckles as the necromancer effortlessly reforms and closes up the hole. Lunaris’s eyes, despite being behind his mask, opened widely in shock as he says:

“What the hell... What are you?, you’re not just some undead necromancer... You’re like-”

”A spirit, mage, I am a restless spirit. You could also consider me to be a demon. I’ve come to lay claim to all of your souls, to rule over your rotting corpses. Which means, your ass belongs to me!”, Once again, Skeletron attempts to devour Lunaris in one fell swoop as the skeletal entity rushes towards him with its maw parted, ready to chomp down on the mage. As this is going on, Lunaris’s clones could be seen in the background, still contending with Skeletron’s arms.

Time and time again Lunaris would strike Skeletron, leaving some form of damage in the entity’s skull, only for it to repair itself in mere moments.

“I’ve already told you mage. No matter how hard you struggle, no matter how much I might seem to hurt, I’m always good for a laugh. You could say, I’m a funny bone. [CHUCKLES]” 

“[ERCK] Did he really just crack a joke like this is nothing?. I guess I have no choice... I didn’t want to use this spell, but this foe is far stronger than I thought.”, Lunaris then looks over to his clones who are still contending with Skeletron’s arms. Four clones have been destroyed leaving only four more remaining. Much like Skeletron’s skull, the arms keep reforming any damage that is dealt to them. “Alright, I’m gonna have to contact Steven via a mind spell.”





Steven is currently making his way through the destroyed town as he tries to make his way towards The Tavern. Of all the remaining buildings, to which there weren’t many left, The Tavern was the tallest remaining structure throughout the entire town. It broke Steven’s heart to have to see all of the violence and bloodshed taking place around him. Blood Zombies could be seen eating people alive while other townsfolk tries to combat these literal bloody foes. As The fashionista continues to make his way towards The Tavern, his eyes narrows in determination as he says:

“Once I have you sealed within me, all of this will stop. The undead will never cause this amount of destruction ever-”

“Steven, can you hear me?. It’s Lunaris, I’m communicating with you via a mind link.”

“I hear you loud and clear my friend, it’s hell down here... Now you see why I resorted to this plan in the first place.”

“Indeed... Skeletron cannot be killed in the traditional sense. All of my attacks do effect him but he simply regenerates himself, with no limit too it seems. Regardless, I have a plan Steven. The sealing spell is still active on you correct?, if you look on your stomach there should be a glowing rune.”, Heeding the mage’s words, Steven looks down his shirt only to see that the spell was indeed still active.

“It’s ready to go Lunaris, I’m heading to The Tavern to get a good vantage point.”

“That’s perfect, be ready Steven because I’m about to send Skeletron your way.”

“Wait, Lunaris, what are you-”

“End mind link.”, Lunaris interjects upon which the mental communication is shattered.

“Lunaris you crazy little youngster... I’ll never forget this, my friend.”





“Shadows!, come to me!”, Lunaris exclaims upon which the aforementioned beings heeds his call and teleports away from Skeletron’s arms. The arms reunites with the large skull as Skeletron says:

”Who are you to stand against me?, I who razes your towns to ash, I who devours your souls.”

“Take formation!”, Lunaris declares upon which his four remaining clones acts on accordingly. They take on a circle formation with Lunaris positioned at the very top. Suddenly, they begin to generate a golden aura which begins to leak out of them and forms a sort of giant rune within the circular formation.



”I who instills terror in the hearts of terrarians. I who rules over your dead!”

“I invoke: Stardust Dragon!”

”I am Skeletron!. You will die by my hand!”, Skeletron exclaims as the entity rushes forward with both arms and skull at the ready, prepared for battle. However, Skeletron is surprised by a bright flashing light and soon after, a loud roar goes off. The roar... Of a dragon:

[Enter your favorite dragon roar here]



“Go Stardust Dragon!, send him down to the earth!”, Lunaris declares upon which the spectral dragon obeys as it flies forward in the air in a serpentine manner, on route to meet Skeletron head on.

”A toothless worm will not stop me!”

“Maybe not... But I don’t have to stop you, that’s Steven’s job.”, Lunaris mutters as he watches his spectral, serpentine dragon, go to war against the oncoming skeletal entity.

[RooOORGH]

[Enter your favorite dragon roar here]

[FWOOM]

A small shockwave emits from the collision of the two titans as they wrestle against each other in a contest of strength, high in the air. The serpentine dragon tries to coil around Skeletron’s skull only for the two skeletal arms to come and pull the dragon off. In this moment, Skeletron punches the dragon which does have an effect on the spectral entity. However, the dragon recovers and is able to retaliate by biting down onto the skeletal arm it was just struck by. Then, the dragon takes this opportunity to wrap its body around the arm it bit down upon including the skull, to which it is successful. The other arm, which still remained free, was about to assist the skull and other arm appendage only for Lunaris to blast it with a bolt of lightning.

“Oh no you don’t!, I’m your opponent now!”, Lunaris turns his gaze back to his spectral dragon and shouts: “Stardust Dragon!, take him down!”

[Enter your favorite dragon roar here]

Obeying Lunaris’s order, the dragon forces Skeletron downwards as the two entities drops down towards the town just below. Incidentally, they were falling towards The Cavern.

“Steven!, now!”, Lunaris exclaims.

”What?!... What are you-”

“For everything you’ve done Skeletron, I seal you within, from this day forward your reign comes to an end!”, Steven exclaims as he’s currently positioned at the very top of The Tavern, upon its roof. The seal on his chest glows with a golden aura and has a similar to appearance to Lunaris’s golden rune when he summoned the Stardust Dragon. Suddenly, as if a black hole were placed on Steven’s chest he begins to suck Skeletron into his very being causing the entity to cry out:

”NOOOOoooooooo”, Both Skeletron’s skull and arm gets sucked into Steven. Soon, the other arm follows suit as it stops fighting with Lunaris and is being dragged into the seal along with its cohorts.

“Good riddance.”, Lunaris says as he spits in disgusts.

"F-finally... It is over.", Steven says as he recovers from the experience. The fashionista then looks down towards the seal, which now held Skeletron, and smirks as he says: "As you once said Skeletron: 'Enjoy your stay'."





Some time goes by as Steven and Lunaris stands before a ruined settlement. However, two things have happened during that time:

The first: 

After sealing Skeletron within himself, Steven could instantly wield his powers and control over the dead . As such, he makes his decree and stops the undead from attacking any one else any longer. Standing behind Steven was a large force comprised entirely of undead abominations ranging from blood zombies to flying blobs of flesh.

The second:

The fashionista raises his hand into the air, aims it towards the moon, and ends the Blood Moon event. The night sky returns to its natural self as the metaphorical “curtain of red”, is pulled away thanks to Steven’s actions.

This should’ve been the time to celebrate, normally, it would have been. However, a crowd of survivors from the town walks up to the two men but their attention isn’t on Lunaris. A very angered crowd stares daggers towards Steven, the living prison of Skeletron, as they all exclaim with venom filled in their voice:

“Be gone you abomination!”

“You’re no longer even human!”

“You think you saved us?!, you have that monster inside you!”

“Look behind him, he controls the undead!. He might turn them on us!”

“I say we end him right here, right now!”

Steven looks on with a saddened expression. Lunaris, on the other hand, was seething with rage as electricity begins to form around his hands as he exclaims:

“How dare you!, he saved all of you!. All of your lives would’ve been snuffed out here tonight were it not for his sacrifice!. You’re all lucky that he’s not the monster you think he-”

“Enough Lunaris, that is enough.”, Steven says as he puts a hand onto Lunaris’s shoulder. The mage looks at him with a questioning gaze before he then takes a deep breath which causes the electricity around his hands to dissipate. “I didn’t do this to be revered Lunaris, I’m not even asking for a 'Thank you', really. Should people come to hate me or even fear me, that’s entirely up to them. Regardless, I will not retaliate for that would make me no different than... him.”

As this is going on, one could hear the various moanings and growls of the undead army positioned behind Steven.

“It’s time for me to take my leave now Lunaris, I shall seal away all of the undead. The world will never have to fear the north any longer, I will keep Skeletron away from all of you.”

“Then I’m coming with you Steven, you can’t just expect me to-”

“No!”, Steven exclaims as a black aura leaks out of his eyes momentarily. The fashionista then takes a deep breath before he continues: “Lunaris, I want you to do me a favor.”

“Anything my friend, just name it... But by the gods please, don’t send yourself into isolation.”

“I’m sorry my friend, but this must be done. Now, as for that favor... I need you to wipe the minds of every one present.”

“What?, why?, you can’t just-”, Suddenly, Lunaris’s words were cut off as one of the town survivors shouts:

“You see?!, he’s a devil!. He doesn’t want any of us to remem-”

“Silence!”, Steven roars out thus cutting off their words as a small bit of a black aura leaks out once more. “All of you listen here, especially you Lunaris. I must be forgotten so that no one will come after me and possibly release Skeletron in the process.”, Steven then turns his gaze towards Lunaris and says: “Please Lunaris, do me this one final service. Cast your spell and erase their memories once I leave with this undead army. No one must ever know that I have him sealed within me and I trust you enough to not go spreading any rumors.”

Lunaris looks upon his friend with confliction, does he honor the fashionista’s request or simply tries to beg him to let Lunaris find another way. Finally, Lunaris sighs deeply as he says:

“Alright Steven, you win. I’ll... Cast the spell once you’re gone.”

“Thank you Lunaris, for everything. I do this not only to protect the world but to also protect those like you.”

“Where will you go?, what do I tell everyone?, people are going to question about your whereabouts.”

“I will return to the catacombs and will use this army to build a prison for all of the undead, as I mentioned before: The Dungeon. As for what you will tell them... [sigh] Tell them only that Skeletron is dead, for real this time. And that Steven The Clothier, died with him.”, Upon saying those words, Steven turns toward his undead army and starts to walk in the direction of the catacomb. The undead follows suite and before long, they all vanish into the forest.

“Good bye, my friend.”, Lunaris says sadly as he then narrows his features in determination and turns back towards the town survivors. “Well, I guess this is the last time any of you will see him. Even me it seems...”, Lunaris then lifts a hand and aims it towards the crowd. “I’m going to wipe your memories now. You’ll still remember what happened here tonight but, in honor of my friend’s request, none of you will ever know of Skeletron’s... Of Steven’s... True fate.”

“W-wait, what are you doing?”, One of the town survivors asks which causes various reactions from the rest of crowd.

“Don’t worry, I will not harm any of you. Once your memories are wiped I’ll leave you all to it. The town is a wreck not to mention the Catacomb isn't too far away from here. So I’m going to influence you all to relocate, far away from this place. Please, hold still.”
> Chapter 41 - Deception Pt: 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the battle with Skeletron and Steven’s unfortunate, condition, Lunaris couldn’t help but to feel conflicted as he sighs sadly and says:

“Did I make the right call?, Steven’s a good friend of mine and I know that he’d never abuse Skeletron’s powers but... I don’t know. Maybe I should go back and-”

“Doubting yourself are we?, you disappoint me my dear student. Did I not teach you, Sai, and Celestia to always stay true to your convictions?”, A mysterious, deep toned, male voice says as these words echoes throughout Lunaris’s mind which shocks him momentarily. Suddenly, a portal opens up as the source of the voice is revealed. A mysterious figure now stands before Lunaris as they exited the portal; donned in spectacular, yet unfamiliar armor.



Instantly, Lunaris recognizes the figure as he smiles behind his mask and says:

“Master Yharim, it’s great to see you again. These robes you’ve given me have been amazing assets as of late and the magic I’ve learned during your teachings have been astronomical. I’m able to help those in need and save soo many lives thanks to you, you have my eternal gratitude. Please master, call upon me should you have any need of my help, anything at all.”

“That’s good to hear Lunaris, you’ve made me very proud... My precious puppet.”

“... W-what?”

[AURGH]

Suddenly, Lunaris cries out in pain as Yharim lifts his right hand and aims it towards his former, ‘Student’. Lunaris grasps his head with both of his hands as he falls down onto his knees. With gritted teeth and a very painful expression he says:

“Wh... Why master?, what are you... Doing?”

“Why, I’m collecting my pay of course... Your eternal servitude. Didn’t you read the fine print?, oh what am I saying, of course you didn’t. That tends to happen when someone uses you... Sorry, but not sorry.”

“I... I thought you wanted me to... Save Terraria?, you... You believed in me!. You taught me everything, Sai and Celestia-”

“They are not important right now. Get with the program Lunaris, I used you, all of you. It’s kind of what I do...”, With his hand still reaching out and aimed towards Lunaris, Yharim tightens his grip with an invisible force which causes Lunaris to cry out in pain again. “The only thing I ever believed in... Is how great of a useful servant you will become. Isn’t that right?, my new leader of The Lunatic Cultist.”

“N-no!, I won’t... I won’t become... A maniac like them!”

“Now, now, puppet, don’t be that way. I even took the liberty of having them dress up like you, come on out everyone!”, Yharim exclaims as he snaps his fingers. On cue, many other portals opens up behind Yharim which causes Lunaris’s eyes to widen, even behind his mask. He was sick to his stomach as every member of this cult wore robes similar to his own, however, there were those among them that took on a slightly different appearance yet still similar to Lunaris’s clothing:



“See Lunaris?, you even get to have your own posse. Oh, let’s call them something else in your image. How about... The Lunar Cultist?, yes, let’s go with that.”

“What do you want from me?!, leave me be you traitorous fiend!”, Lunaris exclaims with tears going down his cheeks.

“[CHUCKLES] Calling me a traitor is implying that I ever saw you as an ally, which I never did, so that’s already null and void. The word you’re looking for is: Deceiver. As for what I want from you... That’s simple, I want you and your new cult to release Razeem, The Moon Lord.”

“You’re mad Yharim!, The Moon Lord must never escape!. Do you not realize the forces of which you are trying to meddle with?, Razeem will be a danger to you too!”

“You don’t seem to realize what I’m capable of, Lunaris. Granted, sure, The Moon Lord might be an obstacle... Which is exactly why I had Calamitas gaze into the future some time ago. Tell me Lunaris, do you believe in alternate realities?, other universes?”

“What does any of that have to do with the madness you’re spewing?, why release The Moon Lord at all?, and who the hell is Calamitas?”

“I just told you didn’t I?, she’s a... friend of mine who looked into the future and let me tell ya. [CHUCKLES] You wouldn’t believe what’s going to happen, more specifically, what’s going to put The Moon Lord down.”

“What?, who?, what do you mean?”

“Ponies, Lunaris, ponies will play a huge role in removing Razeem out of my way. In the process, the two worlds will become one and when that time comes... I shall rule over both. Why be a king of only Terraria?, if I could also rule over that other world too. I believe Calamitas called it: Equus.”

“No... You, you heartless tyrant!. Why?!, why do this in the first place?, who do you think you are to play with people’s lives like this?!”

“I do it because I can Lunaris, and, because this world deserves it.”, Yharim says as he then tightens his grip once more which as a result causes Lunaris to cry out in pain again. “Ruling over Equus is just a bonus, nothing personal to them. Now enough talk, say goodbye to your freedom: Puppet.”, Finally, Yharim clenches his hand into a closed fist and as a result Lunaris lets out one final, painful cry.

[RAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHHHH]

In Lunaris’s mind, many memories of past events played out before him:

He remembered the times when he and his sister would play in a forest together as children.

He remembered the first time he and Terralestia met Sai Sahan, during one of their adventures together.

He remembered the first time he met Steven, The Clothier, resulting in the two becoming best friends.

He remembered when he and his sister had to return home due to their parents passing away, the grief from that day still heavy on his heart.

He even remembered his most regretful action in his life: Yharim taking him, Sai, and Terralestia on as his students.

All of these memories and more disappeared in an instant as they all faded to black, but before that happened, Lunaris could only say one word before the memories in his mind seemingly left him forever:

“Si... Ster.”

After the process was done, Lunaris’s unconscious form falls limp onto the ground. Yharim looks up towards the night sky, specifically the moon, as he says:

“Rest well, Cult Leader. We have much to do...”





-TWO DAYS LATER-

It’s early in the afternoon as Terralestia and Sai Sahan are returning back to the guild after the success of their recent mission. They trek their way through a fairly large town exploding with life and various activity all around them.

[LAUGHTER]

“Did you see how scared you made that bandit leader?, poor thing. Also, I beg you Celestia... Don’t ever kick me in the manbits. Thank you...”

“What?, he deserved it!. He kept bragging about how he’d, and I quote, ‘Dominate me like he would any wild animal’. So, this animal planted her armor platted right foot, into his manbits. As you called it.”

The duo continues to converse as they soon reach their destination: The Order Of The Guide. Sai opens the door but doesn’t enter as he moves aside, stretches an arm out, and says:

“Ladies first.”

“[GASP] Why thank you darling, you’re quite the gentleman. Pfffft! [LAUGHTER] I can’t say that with a straight face.”

“[CHUCKLE] The day you allow a man to woo you with chivalry is the day The Moon Lord announces his retirement.”

The two enters the guild only for a certain presence to immediately stun them momentarily. The being before them chuckles before saying:

“Now, now, my students. Is that any way to properly greet your teacher?”

“Master Yharim!”, Celestia and Sai exclaims in unison as they bow in respect towards their teacher.

“That’s not necessary but I appreciate the gesture you two.”, Yharim replies.

“Sorry master but, if I may, this is necessary to us.”

“Celestia is right, Master Yharim. Your teachings has aided us greatly in our adventures. Neither us, nor Lunaris, could’ve gotten this far without you.”

“Speaking of my brother, where is he?. I was expecting him to be waiting for us at the guild entrance with a sly smirk. The little troll...”

Due to Yharim wearing his helmet, the duo couldn’t see his expression. He takes on a saddened tone as he says:

“That’s why I’m here my dear students... Lunaris... Has been captured.”

“What?!, who dares to take my brother?!”, Terralestia question’s as she runs up to her teacher and grabs him by his armor platted chest region. “Master!, we have to go after him!”, The enraged sister exclaims as she turns around and starts to exit the building, spreading her wings as if ready to take off.

“Celestia!, wait!”

“I can’t Sai!, I have to go find my brother!. He’s all I have left!.”, Terralestia shouts as she turns back to Sai with tears going gown her cheeks.

“I want to find him too but we don’t even know where to look yet, let alone who took him. Now, listen to me Celly, you need to get a hold of your emotions. I’m sure Master Yharim has vital information for us to find Lunaris, but, we can’t do that if you blindly go rushing off with no direction. We’d lose both of you in the process!.”

“Sai is right, Celestia. Try to calm yourself... You were always an emotional wreck, I believe I told you to get that under control during our training sessions?.”, Yharim question’s as he approaches his students. Celestia still wore an angered expression on her face however she soon recovers and takes a deep breath before exhaling.

“I... I’m sorry, Master Yharim. To both of you...”

“We understand Celly, you’re concerned for your brother and we get that. However, let’s handle this with a cleared head that’s not clouded by emotions.”, Sai says which causes Terralestia to nod as she wipes her tears away with her right arm. Sai turns to their teacher and says: “Now then, Master, Is it safe to assume that you have some information for us. [CHUCKLE] Knowing you, you probably got wind of his whereabouts mere seconds after you found out he was missing.”

“[CHUCKLE] You give me too much credit Sai. I don’t know his exact whereabouts but I do know how we can find him. You see, the ones who’ve taken Lunaris is the same group I’ve been tracking as of late. They’re currently searching for powerful allies and given Lunaris’s gifts... I was a fool to think they wouldn’t target him.”

“W-who are they?”, Celestia question’s with a hopeful expression. Yharim pauses for a moment as he then walks forward, in the direction of town, and looks up to the sky saying:

“The Lunatic cultist. However, there’s a rumor going around that they’ve been going by another name. Now then, I see our ride coming in the distance.”

Suddenly, the flapping of large wings echoes throughout the city as a large being nears Yharim and his students. The aforementioned students eyes were shot wide open as they gaze upon the large entity now starting to land in front of their teacher which causes Terralestia and Sai to say:

“N-no way... That’s a...” - Terralestia.

“A Jungle Dragon...” - Sai Sahan.



The dragon causes the local landscape and the town buildings to shake, the very moment the large entity lands upon the stone paved streets in front of the guild. The dragon lowers its head upon which Yharim places a hand onto and says:

“Hello Yharon, It’s good to see you again.”
> Chapter 42 - Deception Pt: 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was nearly nightfall as Yharim, Sai Sahan, and Terralestia, while riding on the back of Yharon, makes their way towards a location indicated by Yharim’s knowledge. Terralestia couldn’t help but to enjoy herself. Despite having wings of her own, she couldn’t deny how much she enjoyed riding on the back of a Jungle Dragon. A species who were thought to have been extinct.

“We’re almost there you two, be ready.”

“How can you be sure, Master Yharim?.”, Terralestia question’s.

“The robes and mask that I’ve gifted to him has an enchantment placed on them by me. Wherever he goes, I can follow.”

“That’s brilliant master!”, Sai Sahan exclaims.

“There Yharon!, set us down on that clearing.”, Yharim says as he points a finger towards the location. Sai and Terralestia couldn’t help but to be amazed by how well trained this dragon is. In fact, they were fairly certain this dragon was quite... Sentient.

The earth begins to shake momentarily as the large dragon lands upon the open, grassy, plane. Yharim, Terralestia, and Sai Sahan dismounts the jungle dragon which prompts Yharim to say:

“Be at the ready my friend, you know what to do should a conflict arise.”, Heeding Yharim’s words, the dragon takes off once again with a flap of its mighty wings. Terralestia and Sai Sahan watches with their mouth’s hung agape. Their teacher sees this and says: “I assume you have a lot of questions about-”

“Yeah we do!”, Terralestia and Sai shouts in unison which cuts off Yharim’s words.

[CHUCKLE]

“We don’t have the time for that now, but, I don’t mind filling you in after we save Lunaris. Come my students, we must make haste.”, Yharim says as he starts to walk towards a nearby forest positioned at the end of the large clearing. Terralestia and Sai were still momentarily dazed from the experience but they finally do manage to recollect themselves as they shrug their shoulders and follows their teacher.

The trio continues to trek their way through the forest until they notice the faintest hint of a light source in the distance which was being suppressed by the dense forestation. Yharim lifts a hand into the air and says with a whispered tone:

“There, up ahead... That must be their encampment.”

“Good, I can’t wait to make them pay for taking my brother.”, Terralestia says as she grits her teeth in anger.

“Remember Celestia, keep your feelings in check. Subterfuge is our greatest ally for now and I don’t want you to blow it by running in there blindly.”

“[SIGH] I know Sai... I just want to get him back right away. I won’t let these insane cultists do whatever they have planned to my brother, never...”

“Your brother shall soon be returned to us my student, this I promise you as your teacher.”

“Thank you... Master Yharim.”

The trio continues to approach the encampment stealthily as they soon draw near. They quickly deduce that the Cultists had set up their camp upon the remains of a shattered ruin. However, Terralestia and Sai’s eyes were shot wide in horror as they witness the spectacle before them. Due to Yharim’s helmet, no one could tell what his expression was upon seeing this.



“What are these madmen doing?, that looks like... A ritual?”

“I don’t know Sai but I don’t like this, it feels... Wrong. How shall we approach this, Master Yharim?. I... I want to save my brother but that ritual just screams danger to me.”, Terralestia question’s.

“I’d love to save your brother too... But I feel the same way as you do. We must stop this ritual at all cost, I must gather my strength in order to cast a powerful spell to counteract that ritual. You two must buy me some time, I’m sorry for doing this my students but I must-”

“No Master Yharim, do not be sorry.”

“Sai is right, we understand that powerful forces are at play here. Take all the time you need, we’ve got this.”, Terralestia says with pride. “After all, we were trained by you.”, Terralestia’s words causes Sai to nod in agreement as the two make their way towards the cultists. Yharim watches on as his two disciples make their way towards the encampment and says:

“Oh my dear students, it’s time I taught you another lesson...”





-TERRARIA, MOON-

The cold and barren wasteland of The Moon was quite a foreboding sight. From afar, the celestial object has such beauty to it and yet if one were to look up close, to actually be on The Moon itself, looks can be quite deceiving. Normally, the celestial object would be devoid of all life or at least a form of life. And yet, deep within this white wasteland two beings are currently having a conversation with each other. One bound in powerful bindings while the other watches the former in a fashion similar to that of a guard watching over a prisoner.

”YOU THINK THIS WILL HOLD ME FOREVER CELEBES?, YOU ONLY DELAY THE INEVITABLE. [CHUCKLE] YOU’LL FIND THAT I CAN BE QUITE... PATIENT.”

“You’re also quite annoying, Razeem. Even so, as long as I am here to tend to your prison you won’t be going anywhere. So just shove it, would you?”

[PSHSHSHS]

Suddenly, a gust of wind combined with flickering energy starts to form nearby. This instantly gets Celebes’s attention along with, surprisingly, that of The Moon Lord’s. After a few moments, a female voice begins to echo across the lunar landscape as the mysterious being says:

“Aw, you must be The Dryad from my lord’s book. Celebes, I presume?.”

“Who are you?!, why are you here?!”, Celebes replies angrily as she materializes her sacred weapon: The Terra Blade. The mysterious voice seems to ignore Celebes’s inquiry as it says:

“Oh and of course, my main interest. Hello there, Moon Lord.”

”WHO ARE YOU?, WENCH.”

“Oh my, you really are as cocky and rude as the rumors say my dear Moon Lord. I’ll tell you this though, to both of you... [CHUCKLE] You underestimate my power. Regardless, is that anyway to talk towards the one who’s going to help free you?, hmm?.”

“What?!... No!, I’ve heard enough!, show yourself you wretched fool!. The Moon Lord must never be freed, you know not the horror you will unleash so why-”

“Ugh, you’re so annoying little Dryad. Fine, I’m a big girl so I suppose I can give in to your little tantrum.”

On cue, red energy begins to materialize itself as it slowly starts to form into a physical being.


(Image belong to its respective owner.)

“Are you happy now, child?”, The new female being question’s.

“W-what are you?!”

“Really?, there’s a tentacled eldritch horror not even ten feet behind you and I’m what throws you off?. If I didn’t know any better... I’d say you’re calling me even uglier than, that thing.”, The female entity says as she points towards The Moon Lord.

“WATCH YOUR TONGUE WORM, LESS I RIP IT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH.”, Razeem retorts as the entity growls which causes the entire moon to shake.

“Stop dodging the question!”, Celebes exclaims as she points the Terra Blade towards the female entity. “Who and what are you?!”

“[SIGH] Alright, fine, fine you little brat.”, These words causes Celebes to grit her teeth in anger as she says:

“Stop treating me like a child and answer my questions!”

“[AHEM] What I am is a witch, a Brimstone Witch, one that you do not want to fuck with missy. As for who I am, you may call me: Calamitas.”





-TERRARIA, CULTIST ENCAMPMENT- 

Sai and Terralestia were currently dodging the attacks of the various cultists. However, something seemed to bother the female terrarian as she says:

“Why do they look so familiar?, I’ve seen their clothing somewhere before...”

“Celestia, look out!.”, Sai Sahan shouts upon which Terralestia heeds his warning and manages to dodge a frost attack from one of the cultist. She retaliates by firing a bolt of lightning similar to that of Lunaris’s lightning bolt attack.

“Thank you for that Sai... I’m sorry but something is bothering me.”, Terralestia says as she pants from exhaustion.

“Here, drink this.”, Sai replies as he tosses her a Restoration Potion.

Terralestia catches the potion and quickly downs the restorative beverage which instantly revitalizes her body. All the while, the two allies continues to dodge the cultists various attacks.

“Thank you again, but, why do they look so... Familiar?”, Celestia question’s.

“Wait a second... Celly, aren’t they wearing robes similar to- GAUGH!”, Sai cries out as he’s suddenly attacked by a jolt of electricity which causes him to fall to the ground paralyzed.

“Sai!, hang on I’m- RAUGH!”, The exact same attack makes impact on Terralestia as well. It came so fast and out of nowhere that neither she nor Sai could make out their assailant. They both expected the cultist to take advantage of this moment and to finish them off... They just stood there, unchanging. Suddenly, a portal appears as a certain individual exits the anomaly. The two terrarians look on in horror as they realize who this individual is, which prompts them to say in unison:

“B-brother?”
“Lunaris?”

“No... I have no recollection of this ‘Lunaris’, you speak of. I am Siranul, leader of The Lunar Cult. I must say, you two are quite unusual... Most would die from those spells I shot you with- GRAUGH!”, Siranul cries out as he holds his head in pain with both of his hands placed onto his forehead.

“No!, I... I won’t be used... For t-this!.”, Terralestia and Sai witness the inner struggle taking place before them as they say:

“Lunaris?!, fight it dear brother!.”

“Come back to us my friend!, you’re stronger than this!”

“I... I...”

“...”

“I already told you, I am not Lunaris.”, Siranul replies as he aims his hand towards the two terrarians and, with an electrical surge, begins to charge up his next attack. “It seems I was holding back the last time...”, The energy gathered around Siranul’s hands begins to grow exponentially to the point that electricity flickers about his radius, leaving small scorch marks in their wake. “I won’t hold back this time.”

“Hold it right there.”

Another voice joins the fray upon which all who were present on either side turns to its source. The voice is revealed to come from Yharim as he exits the forestation and makes his way towards the battlefield.

“Master Yharim!, quickly, something is wrong with my brother. He’s under some-”

“He’s under someone’s control, yes, I already know.”

“I knew you wouldn’t let us down Master. Once you free him we can-”

“You misunderstand the situation, Sai.”, Yharim replies which causes Terralestia and Sai Sahan to look on in confusion. “Lunaris is indeed under someone’s control... My control.”





-TERRARIA, MOON-

“You know, I’m curious... How can you even breath up here?. Seriously, do tell.”

“Enough of your childish games, witch!. Is dodging my attacks all you’re good for?!”, Celebes exclaims as she rushes forward with her blade and takes a swing towards Calamitas who dodges the strike with little effort. The witch smirks as she replies:

“Oh?, alright then. How about I let you hit me, ok?. Hit me as hard as you can.”

“...What?”

“[SIGH] Do you Dryads have hearing problems?, I’ll say it one last time kiddo. You, me, hard as you can... Are we clear?”

“Crystal!”, Celebes exclaims as she rushes forward and attempts to swing The Terra Blade at her foe with all her might.

[SHLINK]

[CRASH]

The Dryad’s blade makes contact with her foe which results in the nearby lunar landscape being ruptured in the process. However, Celebes’s eyes were shot wide open as she could feel a strong force pushing against the blade. To her utter horror, The Terra Blade did manage to land a blow onto Calamitas but it simply did... Nothing. The edge of the blade begins to shake as Celebes tries to put more strength into her blow, hoping to cleave right though her foe. What was most disturbing of all was where Celebes had struck the witch, her neck region.

“H-how can this be?... Your... Your head sh-should be cleaved right off your shoulders...”, The dryad says as she shakes with utter fear as The Terra Blade struggles against Calamitas’s neck. It was as if someone attempted to cut a steel wall with a plastic butter knife. The witch smirks as she pinches The Terra Blade and lifts it up into the air, along with The Dyrad whos grip still remained firm on the blade.

“Was that all you could muster, little one?. I expected more from the legendary Terra Blade... Then again, It is me  you’re trying to attack. Cute effort by the way.”, Calamitas says disappointedly. Celebes, while being held up in the air via Calamitas’s grip on The Terra Blade, was now staring at her foe with utter shock and fear. The Dryad thought to herself internally:

-What can I do against her?... I put all of my strength into that attack. This isn’t good, she’s going to release Razeem and there’s not a damn thing I-- 

“You’re right sweetie, there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. Oh and for the record, I’ve already weakened The Moon Lord’s prison and before you ask, yes, I can read your mind. It seems The Lunar Cultists managed to get the ritual running smoothly.”

“What?!, b-but why?!”, Celebes question’s with tears beginning to stream down her face. “Please... I beg you, my people died in order to stop Cthulhu... To stop Razeem... Please, don’t let my family’s sacrifice be in vain... Please... I lost everything because of these monsters!”, The Dryad pleads as her tears continues to flow like a river. Calamitas looks upon the weeping Dryad but not with a condescending expression or arrogant triumph, not even an antagonistic glare. She looked upon the last Dryad with pity, with true sympathy, as she says:

“I’m going to be sincere with you Dryad... You have my sympathy, you truly do. I say this because you remind me of myself... And that is why...”, Upon saying those words, Calamitas pulls Celebes into her grasp with an invisible force. Before anything else happens, the witch pulls the dryad closer and whispers into her ear: “You’ve got seven years Dryad, make it count.”

[FWOOM]

[CRASH]

After saying those words, Calamitas tosses Celebes off into the lunar distance thus causing the dryad to crash into a nearby mountain, said mountain begins to crumble onto itself.

“Now that that’s settled...”, Calamitas says as she turns around and faces The Moon Lord. “You and I’ve got to talk; I suggest you listen. This may very well be the best damn thing you’ve ever heard.”

In the distance, Celebes erupts from the rubble of the collapsed mountain as she shakes her head in an attempt to regain her composure. The Dryad looks towards Calamitas who, much to Celebes’s horror, was speaking to The Moon Lord.

“No!, I won’t allow this!.”, Celebes exclaims as she rematerializes The Terra Blade and launches herself forward shouting: “I don’t care how strong she is, I can not allow this!”

[FWOOM]

“And that’s how you’ll-”

”STOP!” , Calamitas was cut off from her conversation upon hearing the rapidly approaching exclamation of Celebes. The witch turns to look directly at the enraged Dryad as she lifts her right hand and prepares to snap her fingers. Celebes was mere inches away from Calamitas and was about to strike once more, that is until a sudden:

[SNAP]

With a snap of her finger, Calamitas was gone. Celebes stops dead in her tracks and surveys the landscape, hoping to see the witch reappear once more. Her search stops as she comes to a conclusion and says:

“She’s gone... Who the hell was she?. Why was she so strong?, and what did she mean by ‘You’ve got seven years’?. Why would-”, Suddenly, Celebes’s eyes were shot wide open in realization.

”[CHUCKLE] DID YOU FIGURE IT OUT, CELEBES?. IT WOULD SEEM THERE ARE THOSE WHO WANT MY RETURN. SOON, MY HANDS WILL BE AROUND YOUR NECK.”

“What did she say to you?!, answer me!”

”HAHAHAHAHA...”, The continuous laughing of The Moon Lord echoes throughout the lunar landscape as a mocking response towards the Dryad’s question, causing said Dryad to grit her teeth in anger. The laughter stops after a few moments as the large eldritch being holds up both of its hands. On one hand, all five of its fingers were raised while on the other, only two fingers were raised. ”SEVEN YEARS... MY DEAR DRYAD. I’LL SEE YOU IN SEVEN YEARS.” 





-TERRARIA, CULTIST ENCAMPMENT-

Both Sai Sahan and Terralestia were currently rendered unconscious. Yharim looks down upon his ‘Students’, and keeps his gaze fixed on them for a short while, until, one of the cultist begins to walk towards the two terrarians with a drawn blade and says:

“Allow me to finish them my lord, I’ll slit their-”

[SKROOM]

Instantly, the cultists body was reduced to ashes as Yharim swiftly points a finger at them, blasting the individual mere seconds after.

“No, you will not. These two play a vital role in my plans... Idiot.”, Yharim then turns his gaze towards the skies and whistles loudly.

[Enter your favorite dragon roar here]

In mere moments Yharon, adhering to his master’s call, descends from the night clouds and causes the landscape to shake as the large dragon lands before its master. The dragon lowers its head upon which Yharim puts a hand onto it saying:

“[SIGH]  You’re the only one I can ever truly rely on, buddy.”, Yharim then turns to the remaining cult members, including Siranul, as he says: “You’ve all got a job to do, so get to it. As for you Siranul, hop on, you’re coming with me.”

“Yes, my lord.”, Siranul replies.

[POOF]

“Well, well... Looks like you’ve handled things here, Yharim.”

“Calamitas, I assume your work on the Moon is done?”

“Of course it is, you insult me Yharim. A menial task like that is Childs play for me... That poor Dryad didn’t even stand a chance. Speaking of, we should probably get going. I can sense that The Dryad will be coming here shortly, probably to chase after me.”

“Alright then... Be gone Calamitas, I’ll see you back at the hideout. Oh!, and give Draedon a message for me.”, Yharim says as he teleports onto the back of Yharon, Siranul following close behind him, and continues: “Given Lunaris’s recent accomplishment, I want you to tell Draedon to add another project onto his current roster. I believe he’s only working on two mechanical entities at the moment.”

“Alright, what’s the name of the third going to be?”, Calamitas question’s.

“Hmm, good question. I trust him to come up with a proper name of his own but let’s go with: Skeletron Prime.”





-TERRARIA-

The morning rays of the sun shines down upon Terralestia and Sai Sahan as the two were leaned against a tree. Terralestia is the first to awake as she slowly opens her eyes and says:

“Wha... What did- [GASP] Lunaris!”, Terralestia exclaims which causes her to jolt onto her feet. Sai Sahan is also awakened due to the female terrarian’s exclamation. Terralestia runs towards a nearby cliff, with tears going down her face, as she falls onto her knees towards the edge of the cliff and says: “Lunaris... Lunaris... LUNARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!.”, Loud sobbing could be heard seconds after Celestia’s cries and pleading. Sai Sahan, much like Terralestia, had tears coming down his cheeks as he walks over to the weeping sibling and puts a hand onto her shoulder.

“Damn you Master Yharim... You’ve been deceiving us all along...”, Sai says with venomous spite.

“I am so sorry for your loss, words can not explain how truly sorry I am... And I know your pain well.”, A mysterious voice says which causes both Sai and Celestia to turn towards the source of those words. Their eyes widen as they couldn’t believe what they were seeing before them which causes Terralestia, tears still streaming down her face, to say:

“Y-you’re a... Dryad.”

“Yes, my name is Celebes and I’ve been watching over you both all night. We have much to talk about, Sai Sahan and Celestia.”
> Chapter 43 - The Monster?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, CRIMSON BIOME, ENCAMPMENT-

Various adventurers began to break down the encampment as it was soon time to move on. In the middle of the encampment, a group of certain ponies and terrarians were gathered together.

After hearing Terralestia’s tale, all of the ponies remained silent with stunned expressions and tears flowing down their cheeks. During the terrarian’s story both Starlight and Twilight had joined in, listening to Terralestia’s tale. Rainbow Dash’s heart was pierced upon hearing this tale of utter deception, as the bearer of The Element Of Loyalty, this disgusted her most amongst the ponies. Starlight felt absolutely aghast towards the actions of Yharim. The unicorn once believed Queen Chrysalis to be the most heartless schemer she’s ever known and yet, compared to Yharim, the actions of the former Changeling Queen was nothing at all. Twilight looked upon Terralestia with sorrow who was beginning to weep from the recollection of her tale, with Sai patting her back. The Alicorn runs into the heartbroken sibling and hugs her with all of Twilight’s might, desperately trying to shower her with affection.

“I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry...”, Twilight repeated as the group takes a moment of silence.

After a few moments of grief, Terralestia manages to regain her composer all the while Twilight is still hugging her. The terrarian smiles as she says:

“I’m ok now dear Twilight, thank you for that.”

“A-are you sure?, I know this can’t be easy to deal with...”, Twilight replies.

“That guy is such a bucking ass!. You all trusted him, he was your teacher, and that’s what he does?!. I didn’t even meet the guy yet and I already hate him...”

“I know, Rainbow. Celestia, Lunaris, and myself believed in Mas- I mean, Yharim. He taught us everything we know and continually told us about how he believes we would ‘Save Terraria’, under his tutelage. He has taken our hearts and crushed them...”, Sai says as he narrows his features in anger.

“I’m sorry if this sounds weird to ask, but, how did you guys know about the parts you weren’t there for?. You know, like when The Dryad fought that Calamitas person on the Moon... I’m still trying to wrap my head around that...”

“That would be because of me, Starlight Glimmer.”

A mysterious female voice says which causes the group to turn towards a hooded, cloaked individual. The female being removes her hoodie which causes everyone to gasp in recognition, even nearby adventurer’s were shocked to see who was behind the veil as they say:

“No way... Isn’t that...”

“Woah, that’s a Dryad!”

“For real?, you’d better not be messing with me since I’ve got these coverings on.”

“No I’m serious, there’s one right there.”

“That’s amazing!... I thought they were all extinct...”

“Watch it idiot, don’t say that!”

As the rest of the adventurers continues to look on in awe and voice their shocked minds, Terralestia, Sai, and the trio of ponies manages to recollect themselves. Twilight walks forward and bows before the now revealed Dryad with a smile as she says:

“It’s good to see you again, Celebes.”

“You too, Twilight Sparkle.”

As they continue to converse, the entire encampment failed to realize that they were being watched by an unknown entity. A being comprised entirely of the living flesh with multiple eyes and mouths, even faces, present all over the entity.







-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND SNOW BIOME-



A trio of ponies along with a kitsune and a royal slime Princess are still searching vigorously throughout the large, underground, frozen cavern in search of an abandoned research facility which belongs to the ancient Archmage: Cryogen. It felt as if the group has been down here for centuries, an exaggeration to be sure, but the feeling was all too real.

“Ugh... It’s one thing to know that a lab exists but it’s another to know where it is. You guys are really going far for your friend...”, Ritsu The Zoologist says as she takes on an annoyed expression.

“It’ll be fine, Ritsu. Sure, we haven’t turned anything up yet but ah’ ain’t walking out of here without that mirror.”, Applejack declares confidently.

“Me too, me too!. If the situation were reversed I know that Rarity would be down here trying to save me, so I’m going to search this place from ceiling to floor, behind every stalactite to every stalagmite!.”, Pinkie Pie exclaims as she pulls out a magnifying glass from her mane along with a detective’s hat. Applejack looks at the party mare in shock as she says:

“How do ya’ even know those words?”

“We’d do anything to save our friends, no matter who they are or what we’re up against. Even if it can sometimes be, um, very scary.”, Fluttershy says as she smiles nervously.

”Truly... You are a goddess, Fluttershy.”, Princess Pinkie says in admiration which causes the aforementioned ‘Goddess’, to giggle.

As each of the ponies spoke their proclamation and determination of friendship, Ritsu’s teeth were beginning to grit in... Anger?.

[SLAM]

“That’s absolute bullshit!”, Ritsu exclaims as she stomps her right foot onto the floor of the frozen cavern which causes some of the ice to shatter on impact. This causes all of the ponies, and slime, to turn around shockingly. “Friendship?!, acts of loyalty?!, nonsense!”, The Kitsune’s rage was so great that the ponies were horrified upon witnessing their ally’s sudden change in behavior. Ritsu begins to growl furiously thus exposing her fangs in the process, her nails begins to grow and sharpen as if to replicate claws. Most disturbingly was the kitsune’s eyes which dilates and became similar to that of an angered fox, no surprise given her nature. Applejack recovers from her shock, takes on an angered expression, and says:

“What the hay do you mean by that?!, where’s this all coming from Ritsu?!.”, As this is going on, both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were hugging each other with saddened expressions. Pinkie Pie in particular had her mane deflated. Suddenly, Princess Pinkie hops off of the shy pegasus and rapidly makes her way towards the enraged Kitsune. Applejack tries to defuse the situation as she says:

“Ritsu!, calm down will ya’?. What in the world has gotten into you?, and how could you say that... Friendship is what makes life all the more-”

“Such a concept is nothing but a lie!, you are all fools to ever believe in-”

”Enough!”, Princess Pinkie exclaims as she manages to sneak up on the kitsune and places a pink tendril onto Ritsu’s lower right leg. At the moment of contact, Ritsu begins to calm down as her ‘Clawed nails’, and her fangs both recedes and hides themselves. The kitsune’s pupils also returns to a normal, neutral state, as she slowly regains her composure and says, with tears beginning to form in her eyes:

“W-what?... Why did I... I’m so sorry...”, Upon saying those words, the Kitsune falls down to the Icey floors of the cavern and begins to sob as she repeats: “I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry...”, Ritsu was absolutely devastated and ashamed of her actions, that of which the ponies were still shocked by as they continue to look upon her with confusion and caution along with some sadness.

”By the Slime Gods... You... You’ve suffered a great betrayal.”, Princess Pinkie says as she removes her tendril from the kitsune’s now shaking form.

Ritsu could only shake in sorrow and fear upon what she knew was about to happen next. Her anger has revealed to all of the ponies her inner nature which was fueled by a pain yet unknown to everyone present. Everyone, except Princess Pinkie. The trio of ponies could see it bright as day, something they never wish for any living thing to have to feel in their hearts: Pain, absolute pain. Tears begins to flow down Fluttershy’s cheeks as she stampedes over to the kitsune. Ritsu sees the pegasus’s rapid approach and says internally:

-She’s coming to do it, isn’t she?. The same thing they all do when they see--

The chilling temperature of the cavern suddenly became much more bearable as Ritsu feels a new source of warmth wrapping itself around the weeping kitsune. Her words were cut off by this action as she turns to see Fluttershy hugging her with tears flowing like a river. Applejack and Pinkie Pie follows the pegasus’s example as they too join in on the hug which results in a joined group of warmth and, for the ponies, love.

“Ah’m so sorry... I don’t know what you went through... But ah’ can see it.”, Applejack says as she closes her eyes in sorrow.

“No- [SNIFF] Nopony should ever feel like you do... I can’t stand seeing someone sad, I want to see you happy.”, Pinkie Pie says as she pulls out a box of tissues from her mane and blows her nose into a tissue. “Does anyone need one?”, The party pony offers.

“W... Why?, why are you all doing this?. Just leave me be...”

“That’s enough of that Ritsu!”, Applejack exclaims as she pulls away from the hug, gets onto her hooves, and looks down upon the kitsune with an expression of anger mixed with concern. “We thought you’d know by now, haven’t we told you already?. We’ve said this multiple times and ah’m about to say it again, so perk up those fox ears of yer’s. You. Are. Our. Friend. We don’t leave friends in their misery and sadness which you clearly are suffering from. Now, I’m not gonna demand an explanation yet, especially since we’ve got’ta job to do, but as yer’ friend ah’ want to know what’s been hurtin’ you so much that you’d explode like that out’ta nowhere.”

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy both nods in agreement as they too break away from the group hug and joins Applejack, up on their hooves. Princess Pinkie hops onto Fluttershy’s back as she then says:

”I do not doubt these ponies, not even for a second. Their bonds are incredible and it’s enough to even make a slime like me be pulled into its warmth, especially Goddess Fluttershy’s. Whatever pain you have that eats away at your heart, I swear upon the Slime Gods, these ponies will save you from it. You just have to let them into your heart, just like I let Fluttershy into mine... And I don’t regret it for a second.”

“Awww, thank you Princess Pinkie. I really appreciate it.”, Fluttershy says with a beaming smile.

“Yepperoni!, I couldn’t have said it better myself!. So now it’s time for you to smile Foxy, oh!, can I call you foxy!?”, Pinkie Pie questions which causes her fellow ponies to chuckle. Applejack walks forward and offers her hoof towards the kitsune, who was still on the floor looking up to the ponies in shock with her tears still flowing down her cheeks. The farm mare asks:

“What do’ya say partner?, will you take my hoof and let us help you through this?. Ah’ don’t like seeing my friends in pain and ah’ know I sound like a broken record, but, you’re my friend, Ritsu.”, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who was now hopping happily in place, nods in agreement and anxiously awaits Ritsu’s response.

To say that Ritsu was shocked would be an understatement. She expected the ponies to reject her, to fear her, to call her a monster for her actions. But then she realized, how could they?. They never once suggested that they’d dislike her based on her looks or what she is, heck, there’s a slime Princess sitting on the back of the yellow pegasus’s body. If they could accept a slime, why couldn’t they accept her?. Not to mention the fact that they even befriended Gex, a lihzahrd. There was one simple factor in all of this: She never truly gave them the chance to prove themselves. This fact dawns on the kitsune whos face turns from sadness to happiness as she smiles contently, raises her right hand, and takes Applejack’s offered hoof as the cowmare helps Ritsu back onto her feet.

-I suppose... I should test the waters.-

Ritsu states internally as she sighs lightly, confidently adjusts her stance, and says:

“Forgive me everyone. I unfairly judged you by my past experiences... I should’ve known better, especially after everything we went through in The Jungle. I probably look like the biggest idiot right now, huh?”

“Naw, don’t you beating yer’self up about it Ritsu. We’re all here for ya’, all we ask, is that you tell us the truth so we can help you.”

“Applejack’s right, tell us!. Ooh, ooh, can we play a guessing game?!. Ok, uhm, you’re a mermaid who fell in love with a Prince who sadly died?!, am I right?!”, Pinkie Pie’s words causes everyone to laugh hysterically, including Ritsu.

“Um, I don’t think that’s it Pinkie.”, Fluttershy replies as she recovers from her laughter. Ritsu also manages to recover as she beams a smile and says:

“Ok, I’ll tell you guys. I’m going to cut it short but to put it simply, many terrarian’s judge me for my true form.”

“Wait, your true form?”, Applejack question’s.

“Yes, you see, the form standing before you now is more or less my suppressed form. In this state I have access to half of my strength and my appearance is, well, friendlier. On the night of a full moon or even when I am consumed entirely by anger, my body transforms. I become a much larger entity, probably three to five times my current height and size, imagine a very large fox who can walk and run on both two and four legs.”


(Image belongs to its respective owner)

“There was an event that happened some time ago, back when I was still a full on adventurer. I was a member of a guild called: The Order Of The Guide. I wasn’t there for long though which explains why Tanner didn’t recognize me back in Home Town. Me and my... Friends, went on a mission to protect a Traveling Merchant caravan. We got very lucky and escorting them to their location went rather smoothly. However, it was coming back that was the problem.”

“Oooooh, what happened?. [MUNCH] Anyone want some popcorn?”, Pinkie pie asks as everyone suddenly realizes her munching on the aforementioned snack. Ritsu was momentarily dazed by this as she then takes a deep breath before she continues:

“Anyway, on our way back it was close to becoming nightfall as we were chatting amongst ourselves about our recent mission. Suddenly, we were surrounded by a large group of bandits who laid in wait and were pretty adamant about killing us all. There seemed to be no way out for us and to be honest with you... I just wanted the bandits to end it quickly. Although, judging by their lustful gaze... They probably had other plans for me. I was one of the only two female members of the group, after all. All seemed loss... Until luck would smile upon me and my, at the time, friends. The full moon.”

“Oh my... Did you transform?”, Fluttershy question’s.

“I did... And I’ll spare you all the details but it was very, gory, to say the least. However, even In that state I can still tell the difference between friend and foe. It’s not like a werewolf who loses their mind and tears away at everything in sight, that’s the biggest advantage of a werefox, you could say. I saved us from the bandits, but, my friends turned on me.”

[GASP]

“What?!” - Fluttershy.

“You saved their lives!, how could they do that?!” - Applejack.

“They sound like nothing but a bunch of meanies!” - Pinkie Pie.

”I understand...”, Princess Pinkie says which causes the ponies to look towards the slime with a surprised expression. ”There’s a saying among the terrarians that goes well with situations like these, if I recall correctly: ‘People fear what they do not understand’. The reaction of those adventurers were uncalled for, but, I can also understand their reaction as well. We slimes have also been at the receiving end of these situations.”

“That’s right Princess Pinkie... But, what happened next is what made me the very monster they claimed me to be.”, Ritsu replies which causes her to cover her face in shame. Applejack decides to question her, in an effort to make her continue, as she asks:

“Ritsu, what happened sugar?. You can tell us, ah’m sure it can’t be-”

“I killed them!, ok?!. I killed them because they tried to kill me!, they instantly called me a monster just because of my form even though I was never a danger to them!. We were friends!, we went on many different missions together!. I saved them for Terra’s sake!, and yet, they still drew their blades and aimed their magics at me as if I were no different than those bandits. They just suddenly forgot that we were comrades, friends, all because of my transformation. But, hey, when you have large teeth and claws I guess you’re automatically ‘The Monster’, right?. [SIGH] They judged me before they even got to know me. You know what the worst part is?, even after I transformed I tried to talk to them just like I’ve always done in this form. Want to know what they told me?”

“...”, The ponies all remained silent with shocked expressions which prompts Ritsu to continue:

“Silence monster!, we don’t care what you have to say!. Your friendship means nothing to us now, you’re nothing but a beast!’. That’s what they told me before they attacked me!. That’s why I decided it was best to leave The Guild and retreat to The Jungle after I... Killed them. I was defending myself but no one would ever believe that the monster is innocent, why would they?. That’s not role of the monster after all, right?.”

The ponies were all simply shocked. They could not believe the story that was just told to them, to hear of such an action from both parties. Surprisingly, It was Fluttershy who manages to recover from the shock and walks up to Ritsu, looking right into the kitsune’s eyes.

“Well Fluttershy... Go on, now that you all know the truth... Punish the monster. Go ahead, punch me or kick me, whatever the hell you pegasus’s do. Come on!, slay the mons-”

“Shut up!”, Fluttershy replies exclamational which causes Applejack and Pinkie Pie to watch with surprised gazes, their mouths hung agape. “You are not a monster Ritsu!, you defended yourself against people who wanted to hurt you. Sure, you retaliated against them which resulted in their deaths but you have the right to!.”, The shy pegasus then flies into the air; right into the arms of the kitsune. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you and what they did was wrong. I admit, I do feel that you shouldn’t have retaliated like you did, but you know what?, I forgive you. You’re not a monster in my eyes, you’re still my friend.”

“F-forgive me?, why would you need to forgive me?. None of you did anything wrong to me, I’d say you’re the nicest beings on this planet.” - Ritsu.

“Because you need someone to tell you this so you can stop punishing yourself. Asking me to hit you is proof of that. Ritsu, I want you to know that no matter what happens, no matter what you transform into, so long as you remain the Ritsu we know, our friend, we will never abandon you.” - Fluttershy.

“R-really?...” - Ritsu.

“Yes!, we don’t care if you transform into a giant fox under a full moon or when you get really angry. We are your friends not because of how you look, but because we like you. If being a giant werefox is part of that, then so be it.” - Fluttershy.

“Darn right!, ah’ don’t care one bit about yer’ appearance. Ah’ like ya just fer’ who ya’ are.” - Applejack.

“Me too, me too, I like you a lot Foxy!.”, Pinkie Pie exclaims as she raises her left front hoof into the air and hops happily in place. “So what if you become a big fox?, you’re just Mega Foxy now!, Oh!, that should be your name when you transform!”

“T-thank you... All of you... I don’t know what else to say. Just, thank you so much.”, Ritsu says as she smiles happily with tears threatening to leave her eyes. After wiping her tears, the kitsune takes a deep breath and sighs lightly in an effort to regain her composure. She then clears her throat and says: “I’m ok now, thank you all again. Come on packmates, we’ve got a mirror to find.”

“Oh, um, Packmates?. We appreciate that Ritsu, but, I thought a group of foxes were called a skulk?”, Fluttershy question’s.

“True, but I’m not exactly your traditional fox. A fox is a sneaky predator, pretty intelligent too. I don’t need to be sneaky and prefer the good old ‘In your face’, approach.”, Ritsu replies as she poses confidently which prompts the ponies and slime to laugh together, the kitsune joining in soon after.

After a short while, the group continues their search as they make their way through the icy cavern. Ritsu watched the three ponies, and slime, in front of her as they chatted amongst themselves. A huge smile appears on the kitsune’s face as she says internally:

-For as long as I live, I will use all of my strength to protect you... My precious packmates- 

Fluttershy glances back towards the kitsune and slows down her pace, all the while, Applejack and Pinkie Pie are starting a game of I Spy. The shy pegasus purposely allowed the kitsune to catch up with her as she says:

“Hey, um, Ritsu?”

“Yes Fluttershy?”

“I meant everything I said back there, we all did. I just want to make sure you know that.”

“I do now, my friend. In fact, I see you all as so much more than just friends, you’re my packmates now which is a step above for a kitsune. I thought that... When I revealed my true form, my story, you’d all abandon me. And yet, you all still accepted me... I will forever be grateful for this.”

“It’s no problem at all, Ritsu. [GIGGLE] You know... You remind me of somepony I, um, care about a lot. He went through something similar to what you did, ponies would judge him pretty badly just because of how he looked and this was before he did, well, bad things.”

“Really?, who?”

“Discord.”
> Chapter 44 - Melony.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND SNOW BIOME-



Ritsu’s eyes shot wide open at the mention of that name as she turns to Fluttershy and asks:

“Did... Did you just say, Discord?”

“Oh, um, yes... Why?”

“...”

“Is something wrong Ritsu?, you look shocked. Did Discord, um, do something wrong-”

“Something wrong?!, no, no, something very right!. Fluttershy... Why didn’t you tell me you were friends with the hero of my people?!.”

“Oh my gosh, Discord’s a hero to your kind?”

“You bet your flank he is!. Although, he did admit that saving us wasn’t his intention.”, Ritsu replies as she laughs nervously.

“[SIGH] That sounds like Discord. So, did he visit this realm and save you while he was here?”

“Visit?, didn’t Lord Disidian tell you?... He was born here.”

“D-Disidian?!, Discord’s name is Disidian?!. B-born here?!”

“It’s one of his aliases. He used Disidian when he saved us but we do know of that name too. Yes Fluttershy, this world is his birthplace.”

Fluttershy’s eyes shot wide open and her mouth hung agape upon hearing this shocking revelation. However, she suddenly thought back to what Discord told her before she and the other ponies were sucked into the portal and came to this world. Applejack and Pinkie Pie are still playing I Spy, although, the cowmare is feeling regretful.





-FLASHBACK-

“Discord, you have to let me go.”

“No Fluttershy, the realm beyond that portal is far more dangerous than Equus. I should know, I went there once!”

“That’s exactly why I must go with my friends Discord, they need me.”

“Please dear Fluttershy, you are the only true friend I ever had... Please don’t leave me...”

“I’m not leaving you Discord, I’m trusting you to help everypony here. You have to help them stop The Corruption.”

“I... I... No!, you and I can help everypony stop it together we-”

Discords words were cut off by Fluttershy’s next action, this surprises him so much that it causes him to let the pegasus mare go.



“Good bye, Discord.”

-END OF FLASHBACK-





“He told me that he came here once, but, if he was born here...”

“He must’ve lied about his origins to protect you, you must be very important to him.”

Fluttershy suddenly blushes as she recalls her actions with The Lord Of Chaos. Ritsu sees this and a smirk starts to form on her face as she says:

“Oooh~, did you and Lord Disidian, hook up?”, Ritsu says as she winks her eyes suggestively.

“N-no!, um, I mean, we... We just... kissed.”

“You know I heard that, right?”, The kitsune teases as she points to her ears. “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. I assume you haven’t told those two yet?”, Ritsu asks as she motions towards Applejack and Pinkie Pie, both of whom are still playing I Spy.

“[SIGH] No, I haven’t told anypony about it yet. I’m scared of how they’ll react...”

“You’re kidding me, right?”, Ritsu replies with a raised eyebrow. “Fluttershy, I’m sorry, but that is the dumbest excuse I’ve ever heard.”, Fluttershy was about to respond however the kitsune beats her to the punch and says: “But, that’s for you to decide. I won’t press it any further, when you feel comfortable you just need to tell them, simple as that.”

“Thank you, Ritsu. I, um, really appreciate it. So, what did Discord save you all from?”, Fluttershy’s inquiry causes Ritsu to momentarily flinch as the kitsune then takes a deep breath and sighs heavily.

“It’s not something many of my kind likes to talk about. However, I trust you and the others with my life so here it is: Many years ago, before Lord Disidian vanished from this world forever, we kitsune’s were forced into servitude by a terrible chaotic being. A monster who fed on the chaotic energies of this world, quite similar to Lord Disidian.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry... W-what was t-this being’s name?”

“[SIGH] If Disidian is considered the God Of Chaos, then she would be its Goddess. Her name is: Cosmos, The Goddess Of Chaos and The Kitsune Tyrant.







-DISCORD’S POCKET DIMENSION/INVENTORY-

The Lord Of Chaos was currently taking a nice bubble bath, accompanied by a floating rubber duckie, as a cold shiver suddenly goes down his spine causing him to say:

“Oh boy... I sense a disturbance in the force... Someone’s talking about something that should never be mentioned, hmmm.”, Discord says as he strokes his beard with his lion’s paw. The Draconequus then turns to the rubber duck and says: “Howard, what do you think?”

“...”

[SNAP]

“I think you’re the most handsome being ever and everyone goes crazy for you. Your overwhelming good looks even managed to catch the attention of Fluttershy.”

“Oooh, you’re right about that. [SIGH] I miss dear Fluttershy... I wonder if she’s talking about me right now?. If only I had known about her affection towards me sooner... She’d be safe here with me instead of being in that world.”

“I’m sure your handsome good looks can bring her back from that other world.”

“Ok, now you’re just brown-nosing. Tata for now, Howard.”

[SNAP]

“Alright then, once I’ve finished my bath I can get back to trying to enter that realm. Maybe I should check in on Lulu to see how she’s doing with that new ore they’re using.”

The Draconequus then starts to sing as he continues to take his bath, this time, without the company of the rubber duck.





-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND SNOW BIOME-

“I spy, with my little eye, something... White!”

“Is it snow, Pinkie?”

“Oh my gosh!, you got it again Applejack!. You’re really good at this game!”

“Yeah sugarcube... I’ve got lots of hints laying around.”

Ritsu, Fluttershy, and Princess Pinkie giggles amongst themselves as they bare witness to the farm mare and the party pony’s game of: I Spy.

“Is... Is she always like this?, I mean no disrespect of course. Seriously, ever since The Jungle I could never really get a fix on her.”, Ritsu question’s.

“Oh, it’s ok. It’s just Pinkie Pie but don’t let it bother you too much, she’s really sweet.”

”I agree with the goddess, I like Pinkie Pie a lot. Maybe I should join them in their-”

“Wait!”, Ritsu suddenly exclaims which cuts off the slime princess’s words and catches the attention of everyone present.

“What is it, Ritsu?”

“Don’t you hear that?, flicker your ears about Applejack. The same thing goes to all of you ponies.”, Ritsu replies as she continues to listen determinedly. The ponies all heed the kitsune’s words as they begin to adjust their ears in various directions, all the while, dead silence takes over.

“Oh wait!, I hear it!”, Pinkie Pie exclaims.

“Ah’ do too... It sounds like, a little filly is... Crying?”

“Oh dear, you’re right Applejack. I can hear it too...”, Fluttershy replies.

“Come on everyone!, I’m picking up a scent in the same direction of the crying!”, Ritsu exclaims as she follows her nose and picks up her pace, assumedly following the scent trail. Upon hearing the Kitsune’s proclamation, everyone else present nods agreeably as they then follow Ritsu’s lead.

After tracking down the source of the unknown scent, and drawing near said source, Ritsu could hear the crying getting louder. The ponies could also pick up the sounds and even princess Pinkie was starting to hear it as it was now loud enough for even those without sharp ears to comprehend.

“Hello?!, are you ok little one?!”, Ritsu calls out.

“H-help me, please!. I’m so scared, mommy and daddy left me behind to fight off those monsters!”, The unknown child calls out which, judging by the voice, was revealed to be a young girl.”

“We’re coming youngster!”, Applejack calls out as she then turns to Pinkie Pie and says: “Pinkie!, if you’ve got somethin’ random to get to her faster, now’s the time to do it!.”

“Okie dokie!”, Pinkie Pie replies as she then zooms off in a pink blur. Ritsu sees this and says:

“Ok, seriously...  Does she decide when to be that fast?. It’s like she has Boots Of Hermes equipped but doesn’t use them. That, or they’re enchanted to be random.”

“Ah’ wouldn’t try to figure her out Ritsu, Twilight already goes crazy doing that. Just go with it, trust me.” - Applejack.

“[CHUCKLE] I’ve been trying to just accept it but even by Terraria’s standards, that’s just random.”, Ritsu replies as they all continue to make their way towards the young girl.





Pinkie Pie zooms around the icy caverns as she closes in on the little girl whose cries were becoming ever closer in the process. The little girl calls out again as she exclaims:

“[SNIFF] Are you all still there?!, please, I’m all alone and I-”

[ZOOM]

“Hi there, I’m Pinkie Pie!, what’s your name?!”

“[SNIFF] I’m Melony, you’re... You’re a cute little pony.



“Ooooh, Melony, that’s a nice name!. Sounds delicious too, oh!, do you like melon cake?!. Wait, does melon cake exist here... Hmm... Oh well, I’ll find a way to make some later. By the way, here’s a towel to cover yourself with.”, Pinkie Pie says as she pulls the aforementioned towel out of her mane.

“Pinkie!, did you find her?!”, Pinkie’s ears perks up as she hears these words causing her to shout:

“Over here Applejack, I found her!”

Finally, after being guided by Pinkie Pie, the rest of the group manages to join in upon which they instantly spot the young girl. She was wrapped in the towel given to her by the party pony which causes Applejack and Fluttershy to say:

“Oh my goodness, are you ok?” - Fluttershy.

“Good job, Pinkie Pie!. Now looky here youngster, we’re gonna get you out’ta here, ya’ hear me?” - Applejack.

As the trio of ponies continues to tend to the little girl both Ritsu and Princess Pinkie, who had hopped off of Fluttershy’s back, observed the scene from a short distance. The slime Princess hops onto the kitsune’s shoulder as she says:

”Ritsu... I don’t like this...”

“I hear you, Princess. This scent... I didn’t realize it before but now that we’re closer... It smells like-”, Ritsu’s eyes opens wide with realization as she growls in anger and roars:

[RAWWWWWRRRRRR]

“[GRRRR] Get away from my packmates!.”, Ritsu threatens as her nails starts to grow out during her anger and her fangs on full display. “Now!”, she barks out.

“Ritsu!, how could you?!. She’s just a-”

“No Fluttershy!, I smell it on her... She smells of blood and it isn’t hers!”

“Ehehehehehe... What a smart little kitsune you are...”, Melony says as her features narrows menacingly accompanied by a sly smirk forming onto her current expression.



The ponies all froze in horror, eyes shot wide open, as they could suddenly feel an evil aura. To make matters worse, Melony was positioned right behind all three of them. “I’m looking forward to seeing what a pony tastes like. Freeze!.”, Upon saying those words, all three of the ponies are frozen solid in a block of ice as Melony’s eyes begins to glow with a blue aura.

“You let them go!, right now!”

“Oh come now little fox, be real, when has that line ever worked?.”, Suddenly, Melony materializes a certain artifact into being and raises it high into the air. Ritsu’s eyes widens in realization and says:

“That’s... The Ice Mirror!”

“Right again fox girl, awww, if only these ponies were as sharp as you are. Now then, I’ll need to get these here frozen treats back home. Wouldn’t want them to melt before I get there, right?”

“Noooooo!”
”Goddess Fluttershy!”

Ritsu and Princess Pinkie shouts in unison as they lunge forth in an effort to stop Melony from teleporting away.

[SHIM]

[CRASH]

Unfortunately, the kitsune falls onto the frozen floor causing some of the ice to shatter on impact. She wasn’t fast enough as Melony manages to disappear in a beam of light mixed with ice, taking the ponies with her in the process.

[SLAM]

[SLAM]

[SLAM]

“Damnit all!, I had one job!.”, Ritsu exclaims as she slams both of her fist into the iced cavern. “You stupid, stupid, stupid kitsune!. All you had to do was to protect them, all you had to do was be fast enough to catch that monster!”

”Ritsu.”

“But no, you foolishly let your guard down and it cost you your packmates!”

”Ritsu!”

“They were the only ones who’ve ever accepted me for who and what I am, how did I repay them?, I failed to save them and now they’re going to-”

”RITSU!”

“What!. Is It!. Pinkie?!.”

”Slime Staff... Fluttershy has the Slime Staff. I can lead us to wherever that monster has taken our friends.”

Upon hearing Princess Pinkie’s words, Ritsu’s ears perks up and her angered expression slowly starts to disappear as realization dawns on her. The kitsune turns her gaze towards the Slime Princess and says:

“O... Oh.”





-TERRARIA, DUNGEON-

Steven was currently making his way towards the cells which contains those who were captured by Skeletron. Along the way, the fashionista couldn’t help but to wonder about a certain event from his past. Seven years into his past, to be precise. He stops and leans against a nearby wall as he says:

“Can you hear me?, you sickening, skeletal, abomination.”

”That’s a stupid question, Steven. I’m always listening even when I don’t want to... Especially when you get all lovey dovey around those ponies. I can’t wait to rip them away from-”

“You will never hurt them!, any of them!. No one will suffer from your tyranny ever again!, not as long as I live!. I promised you seven years ago and I’m telling you now!”

”About that Steven, why bother going on?. I keep you alive just so I don’t die due to your many weaknesses, you’re welcome by the way. However, I always wondered why you don’t just... Oh I don’t know, kill yourself?”

“Heh... You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

”More than you’d ever know, Steven, even if it does result in my destruction. But, seriously, why carry on?. You do realize that both of our lives are bound together?, in fact, you have it better than I do. If you die, I die, but If I die, you get to live. Whatever’s left of your sad life that is.”

“You said it yourself, bone head. ‘If you die’, which is why...”

”Hmm?, oh... Oh!, do you actually believe what that stupid group of ponies told you?. Do you have any idea how pathetic this plan of yours is?, you’re relying on ponies to defeat me, ponies!. It’d be funny if it weren’t so pathetic... Meh, I’ll laugh anyway.”, Skeletron begins to laugh hysterically which causes Steven to grit his teeth and shout out in anger:

“What is so funny?!, do you not realize that I have you trapped?!. The great and powerful Skeletron, forever bound to a mere old man... What about any of this is so funny to you?!”, Skeletron simply continues to laugh hysterically. “If anything, I’m the one who should be laughing here. I have you exactly where I want you, even when you take over my body at night you are still bound to this place. So why are you-”

”You really don’t get it, do you?. It’s funny, your determination to see me dead and to live on is exactly what will be your undoing. But, it’s exactly what I need.”

“What do you mean by that?”

”All I’m saying, Steven, is that your trust in these ponies... Will be my salvation.”

“What madness are you spouting?, what could you-”, Suddenly, Steven’s eyes widen in realization as he finally comprehends Skeletron’s meaning. “You... You wanted this...”

”Go on Steven, don’t be shy, tell me what you’ve realized. I want to see how stupid you just realized yourself to be.”

“Everyone you have imprisoned in those cells... Rarity... It wasn’t you just trying to torture me, you wanted to capture them. You chose people who you thought would attract other adventurers to seek them out.”

”Ding, ding, ding, Steven. That pony is quite the bait, she has quite the number of friends who wants to come and save her. They even want to save, you. Now, here’s the question Steven, how could they possibly do that?. How can they free you from me?, here’s a hint: We just talked about it.”

“They’d... Have to face you...”

”Mhmm, and you’re delivering them to me on a silver platter. They’ll retrieve that Ice Mirror, you’ll give it to Rarity, she’ll escape and will convince her friends to come back and save you. For all your planning, all of your attempts at keeping me contained, it will all be pointless. I ask you, Steven: How badly do you want to live?. Will you take your own life, killing me alongside you?, or, will you keep your faith in these ponies and hope that they will be strong enough to destroy me?. When they bring that mirror back here... I want you to think about it, carefully.”

“Wh-why are you telling me this?, if this is your plan why are you revealing this to me?. This doesn’t make any sense!.”

“...”

“Well?, say something damnit!”

“...”

Skeletron’s silence makes Steven grit his teeth in anger to which the fashionista then moves away from the wall he’s been leaning against and punches it with all of his might, resulting in a bloodied fist. The skeletal entity’s words were metaphorically trapped within The Clothier’s mind as he says:

“I don’t know what to do... I’m trapped... If I allow Rarity to have The Ice Mirror, that plays into Skeletron’s hands. If I don’t give her the mirror, her friends will go on a suicide mission trying to breach the entrance or they’ll come here at night to face him. I could kill myself... But In doing so I’d be dooming Rarity, she needs that mirror in order to escape and only I can give it to her... But If I do give it to her...”

”RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”, Steven shouts in frustration as his exclamation echoes throughout the bowels of The Dungeon.

”[CHUCKLE] Oh Steven, I believe this is what you terrarians would call: Check Mate.
> Chapter 45 - The Savage Nymph.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, ???-

“Wake uuuuup, don’t worry ponies. You’re not dead... Yet.”

“...”, The ponies all remain unconscious.

“Rise and shine my little venison’s, don’t make me force you all to awake. None of you would like that...”

“Mmmf...”, Applejack lets out an annoyed moan as she slowly opens her eyes and gets onto her hooves.

“Aw, good, I see you’re coming to. Hope you don’t mind the chain around your hind leg, I don’t want my ‘Three course meals’, running off now do I?.”

“W-wha... [CLINK CLINK] What in tarnation!?”, Applejack exclaims as she tries to move her body forward only for her right hind leg to pull her back. Finally getting a grip onto reality, the cowmare’s eyes widen in horror as she recalls the recent events and sees her. “You!, ya’ no good varmint!. You tricked us!.”

“Wow... Get a load of pony obvious over here.”

“Zip it, Melony!. If that even is yer’ name, ya monster!”

“You know, for someone who’s chained up and completely at my mercy... You’re pretty defiant. I love it... I prefer my prey to fight back, it adds salt to the meat.”, Melony replies as she licks her lips hungrily.

“Yer’ insane, ya’ know that?. What kinda’ person tricks people like this just to eat them?. Ponies, in our case. And yeah, why don’t you go ahead and let me out of these chains so ah’ can really fight back.”, Applejack retorts as she narrows her eyes in anger. “What’s wrong partner?, afraid to get yer’ flank kicked by a pony?”

“[LAUGHTER] Ohoho, you’re just too much!”, Melony shouts in laughter upon hearing the cowmare’s challenge. Suddenly, as if someone had just hit a switch, Melony’s facial features went from laughter to murderous intent in an instant as she says: “But, no... I don’t think I’ll be doing that cowmare. I’m not stupid you know, I can sense something powerful hidden within your... Inventory.”, Applejacks’s eyes widen in realization as she knew exactly what Melony was referring to, The Blade Of Grass.

“H-how did ya’-”

“Oh, you didn’t know?. Certain items, weapons, and even armor can give off a powerful aura even from within one’s inventory, It’s sort of like a passive Intimidation effect. Impressive, isn’t it?, even from a whole pocket dimension away I can still sense its power. Think about it, would you fight me if you could sense that blade’s power?, would you fight a heavily armored guard as a naked civilian?, exactly. Intimidation at its finest and ok, I admit, you frighten me with that blade of yours. Thankfully, those chains you and your fellow ponies have strapped onto you?, It blocks any access to your inventory. Compliments of the one who built this place.”

“Wait a second, ‘The one who built this place’?.”, Without even realizing it, Applejack didn’t take the time to truly take in her surroundings.

With a glance, the orange mare could tell she was in some sort of facility, quite advanced too unlike anything she’s ever seen on Equus. In fact, had this place existed on Equus the entire world would likely fight for the right to posses it, much to the farm mare’s discomfort. That is just how unreal the sight before her was, it felt so alien and yet it also offered a sense of curiosity and wonder.



A sudden realization dawns on the cowmare as she says:

“Hang on... You’ve got The Ice Mirror... This place looks like somethin’ Twilight would have Princess Luna create for her in a dream. Is this... Cryogen’s Laboratory?!”

Melony just stares at Applejack with a confused expression as she replies:

“Cryogen’s lab?, you’ve got the wrong idea. Cryogen is an enormous monster who, at this very moment, is arguably the strongest thing in these frozen lands. Well, monster isn’t really accurate since it’s more of a moving fortress. Anyway, no, this isn’t Permafrost’s lab. This place belongs to my creator: Draedon.”

“Wha’?, you were created in this place?. What the hay are ya’?, Permafrost?, Draedon?, who are they?”

“Enough questions pony!”, Melony exclaims as she begins to change rapidly before Applejack’s very eyes. Melony’s pale skin slowly begins to take on a dark green coloration as her eyes turns green with violet red pupils. Her height doubles and what was once a ‘Little girl’, was now a six foot tall nightmare. Fangs begins to sharpen and form within her mouth, to which she exposes happily. Most disturbingly was the fact that her nails begins to elongate as if they were retractable claws. As a metaphorical ‘Cherry on top’, blood stains begin to reveal themselves as if she had just finished devouring her latest meal.


(Image belongs to its respective owner)

“Aww, much better... Now I feel like a real Nymph. You know something, I wish I could just remain in this form all the time but I suppose my other form works well as bait. After all, I did catch all of you...”

“Sweet Celestia... Yer’ not a monster, you’re a demon straight from Tartarus!”

“Oh!, if you mean hell then I’ve been there and I find it to be quite lovely.”, Melody replies as she begins to laugh manically. “Now then, I’ve played with my food long enough. So tell me, pony, how do you choose to die?”, Melony asks as she opens her mouth, baring her teeth, and prepares to lunge towards Applejack’s neck region.

“Wait!”, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy shouts in unison as they finally come to and are horrified by the scene playing out before them. Their exclamation causes Melony to pause, her teeth mere inches away from Applejack’s neck

“P-please!, e-eat me instead!, let my friends go and take me!.”, Fluttershy shouts with tears beginning to stroll down her face as she pulls against her chains, trying to stop this event from happening.

“Don’t listen to Fluttershy!, eat me instead!. I’m like a piñata, if you eat me you get more treats!. Just, please, let my friends go!”, Pinkie Pie exclaims who, much like Fluttershy, had a river of tears running down her face, said face filled with desperation.

“No!, both of y’all shut yer’ muzzles!.”, Applejack exclaims as she looks towards her friends with tears of her own. “Close yer’ eyes, both of ya’...”, The cowmare then turns back to Melony and pleads: “Look, ah’ know you’re just gonna eat us all... But I beg you, I’m pleading with all of my heart, make this ma’ last request, spare my friends. You can tear me apart if ya’ want, make it painful or quick, torture me, ah’ don’t care. Just... Please... Let them go...”, Applejack’s pleading and cries for mercy causes Melody’s gaze to look at the other two ponies, then back to her, as a sinful smirk forms on her face.

“Aww, isn’t that cute. It’d be enough to break my heart... If I had one that gives a damn.”, Melony then gets an idea as her facial features suddenly turns to that of one who’s up to no good. “Oh!, how about...”, The Nymph puts a hand onto her chin in thought as she turns her gaze towards her next target, a target that makes the two other ponies eyes widen in horror: Fluttershy. “What do you say I make you two watch me devour this yellow one first?, her wings reminds me of a chicken. I wonder if she tastes like one too.”, In that very moment, the sounds of rattling chains echoes throughout the room as Applejack and Pinkie Pie shouts:

“Don’t ya’ put one darn claw on Fluttershy you bucking fiend!. Once I get out’ta here I’m gonna buck you so hard you’ll explode into pieces!” - Applejack.

“No... No... You bitch!, I’m going to murder you!, do you hear me?!. I will gut you right where you stand if you touch her!”, Pinkamena exclaims as Pinkie Pie’s body instantly darkened, her mane deflated, dropping down to the sides of her neck. ”I will kill you!”

“Pipe down you silly ponies, you bitches will get yours next.”, Melody replies to their threats as she then turns her gaze towards Fluttershy and slowly walks towards the shaking pegasus, singing a lullaby along the way: ”Tell me how you’re sleeping easy, how you’re only thinking of yourself...”

“Get away from her!”, Applejack and Pinkamena exclaims in unison as they continue to pull against their chains. Fluttershy continues to stare on in horror upon the encroaching Nymph.

”Show me how you justify telling all your lies like second nature...”, Melody now stands mere inches before Fluttershy as she grabs the pegasus by her neck and raises her up, looking straight into each other’s eyes. This causes Fluttershy to go unconscious due to her absolute fear as Melody continues: ”Listen, mark my words: This day, you’re my prey, you’re my prey, Melody’s gonna come collect your heads!”

[SLAM]

[SLAM]

[SLAM]

Suddenly, a series of powerful strikes against the room’s metal door startles the Nymph, along with the ponies. Every bang causes the door to slowly indent until finally, the door gives in.

[CRASH]

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

[GROWL]

”Get away from her you bitch!”, Ritsu exclaims as she stomps her way into the room, growling menacingly. The kitsune was very different for she now towered over anyone else in the room. Her body was now covered in fur and she was simply massive, easily standing from eight to nine feet tall on two legs. A large bipedal fox stares murderously towards the Nymph with her teeth in full display, claws at the ready.



 “Pick on someone your own size!”, The werefox exclaims as she rushes forward with all her might, practically shaking the entire room with every step.

“Ooh!, this is gonna be fun!”, Melody replies as she turns away from Fluttershy’s unconscious form and runs towards the giant werefox, despite Ritsu being a few feet larger.

”RAWWWWWWWWWRRRRR!”, Both the Nymph and Werefox roars out as they rapidly close in on each other, ready to tear the other apart.

“Goddess!, I’m here to free you all!”, Princess Pinkie exclaims as she begins to work on their chained bindings. The Slime Princess successfully frees all of the ponies by melting the chains via wrapping around them with her gelled form. Now freed, Applejack and Pinkamena stares murderously towards the Nymph, who was currently in combat with the Werefox.

“Princess Pinkie, do us a favor would ya’?. Get sugarcube out’ta here.”, Applejack says as she grits her teeth in anger.

”Trust us, we don’t want Fluttershy to be here... For what we’re about to do to that bitch.”, Pinkamena says as she growls angrily towards the aforementioned, ‘Bitch’.

”Understood, I’ll take Fluttershy back to the surface.”, Princess Pinkie replies as she suddenly enlarges her form and covers the unconscious pegasus. The Slime Princess then returns to her normal size, Fluttershy disappearing as a result. This confuses both Pinkamena and Applejack as they look upon the slime with confused expressions.

”Oh, don’t worry, I sent her into my inventory. You can store more than just items there, it’s a pocket dimension after all. The Goddess is perfectly safe and I wish you all luck in your battle.”, Princess Pinkie says as she notices their facial expressions. The two ponies nods in understanding upon which the pink slime hops off with rapid speed. Applejack sets her hat onto the floor, turns to Pinkamena with a smirk, and asks:

“You ready to party, sugarcube?”

”[CHUCKLE] Yeah, while we’re at it... Let’s turn her party... Into a funeral!”


> Chapter 46 - Righteous Fury.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND SNOW LABORATORY-



Maniacal laughter echoes throughout the entire room as Melony zooms around her foes, all of whom are currently standing back to back in a triangular formation. The trio are noticeably injured with various ‘Claw marks’, likely due to Melony’s elongated nails. Despite the ponies wearing silver armor, the Nymph’s strikes were still able to puncture through. Fortunately, they have their Health Potions. Unfortunately, they all ran out of it in the duration of the battle.

“She’s so darn fast!, If we could just get ‘er  to stand still I can slice her!”, Applejack exclaims as she holds The Blade Of Grass at the ready.

”She’s an annoying pest, if I could just get a good grip on her she won’t be going anywhere.” - Ritsu (Werefox).

As this is gong on, Melony is still using her incredible speed to zoom around the room, taunting and laughing at the trio before her.

”Ugh!, I want to kill her!. I can’t stand her annoying laughter and that’s coming from The Element Of... Wait... You’re strong enough to get a hold on her, right?”, Pinkamena question’s as she turns to Ritsu.

”You bet your pink flank I am. Honestly, Applejack could beat this psycho in a contest of brute strength and I’m probably five times stronger in this form, no offence A.J.”, Applejack nods understandably in response as the farm mare keeps an eye out for Melony who continues to rapidly maneuver around the room, waiting for an opening.

”Why do you ask, Pinky?”

”You and Applejack are our team’s heavy hitters, be ready to snatch that Nymph. I, on the other hand...”, Pinkamena then lowers herself to the floor as if she were about to pounce onto her foe. ”I’m our team’s speedster!”

[ZOOM]

In a dark pink blur, Pinkamena chases after the Nymph speedster who hasn’t taken notice of the aforementioned pony.

“[LAUGHTER] What’s wrong?, am I too fast for you all-”, Suddenly, Melony’s eyes widen in realization. “Wait, where’s the pink one-”

“Right here, bitch... You’re not the only one who’s fast!”

[WHAM]

In one swift motion, Pinkamena strikes the Nymph with her left front hoof, causing Melony to fly right into a nearby wall. However, Melony manages to recover before impact and lands on the wall, on all four of her limbs. At this point, the Nymph was practically crawling on the wall. Using all of her strength, Melony launches herself off of her new ‘Foundation’, and rockets towards Pinkamena.

[WHAM]

[ZOOM]

[WHAM]

[ZOOM]

Two blurs collide into each other multiple times, one that’s light blue and another that’s dark pink in coloration. Back and forth, both speedsters would punch, kick, and slice away at each other all while ricocheting off of the walls, ceiling, and floor of the room. Blood would splatter and drip from their conflict as they continue to fight. Applejack and Ritsu can be heard cheering:

“There ya’ go Pinky!, show that Nymph what speed is all about!” - Applejack.

"Get her nice and close, Pinks. I’ll grab her by that neck of hers and never let go!” - Ritsu (Werefox)

[ZOOM]

[SLAM]

In retaliation, Melony flies right into Pinkamena and grabs the pony by her neck upon which the nymph drags the equine to the other side of the room, slamming her into another wall. Pinkamena lets out a painful:

”GRAUGH!”

“HAHAHA!, you’re fun to play with!. Come on pink pony, that all you got, bitch?”, The nymph then prepares to impale the pony with her claws as she raises her right hand above her head and says: “I’m going to dig your eyes right out of your skull you little-”

[BZZ]

[BZZ]

[BZZ]

“What the?!... Bees?!”

Pinkamena smirks as she knew exactly what was about to happen. Unlike Melony, the pony has a certain effect that activates when she takes damage. During their conflict, a certain  equipped item was activated: The Honeycomb.

”Funny thing about my Honeycomb item... I sometimes like to get hit.”

“AWRAUGH!”, Melony screams out in pain as the new swarm of bees stings her without mercy to which she tries to swat away the swarm, swinging her hands violently. “You fucking pony!, I’m going to-”

[SHLINK]

“AAAWWWWWW!”, Once again, the Nymph cries out in pain as Pinkamena impales her with a certain blade: The Bee Keeper. As Melony tried to swat the bees away, Pinkamena materialized her blade and stabs the psychotic entity right through her stomach region.

“Oh, it gets better by the way. This sword has the same effect as The Honeycomb... But you won’t live long enough to get stung by them!, RAWR!”, Pinkamena roars out as she pulls her blade out of Melony’s stomach and slices upwards.

[SHLINK]

[SPLAT]

Blood begins to spray out of the wound and splatter on the floor as the pony manages to slice her foe from their mid section all the way up towards their neck. The bees summoned by Pinkamena’s items vanishes during these current events.

“GARG-GARG-GA...”, Melony could barely form words as her throat became flooded by her own blood. However, even in this state she seemed aware enough to warrant a counter strike as she glares at Pinkamena murderously. The nymph prepares to strike at her foe once more until a large claw and an orange hoof grabs both of her hands.

”Did you forget about us, Psycho?”

“Good job Pinky!. Hey Ritsu, wad’dya we get her nice and familiar with this here floor?.”

As this is going on, Melony struggles to get loose but fails to do so as she simply can not overpower the werefox and cow mares’ superior strength.

”That’s a beautiful idea Applejack. What about you, Pinkie?”

“Hang on for one second, let me juuuuust...”, Pinkamena then materializes both of her Silver Shortswords and plunges them right into Melony’s shoulders which causes the Nymph to cry out in pain again. “Mwah, she is, finito!”, Pinkamena exclaims as she kisses her right hoof. She then leans into Melony and stares right into the nymph’s eyes. ”What was that you said?... Oh!, right: ‘That all you got, bitch?’. You can keep those blades by the way, they’re disgusting now.”

“Ya’ know what?, ah’ don’t need to use The Blade Of Grass fer’ this.”, Applejack says as she dematerializes the blade and, using her free hoof, punches Melony repeatedly. “Don’t. You. Ever. Threaten. Ma’. Friends. You. Bucking. Psycho!.”, Applejack then stops her flurry of attacks which causes Ritsu to smirk. The werefox grabs Melony by her right leg, lifts the nymph high into the air, backs away from the two ponies, and says:

”Hey girls, did you know I used to farm a lot?. Here, let me show you how a werefox plants something... That pisses her off.”, The werefox then smiles menacingly as she shouts: “Imma plant me a psychotic bitch tree!”

[SLAM] [SPLAT]

[SLAM] [SPLAT]

[SLAM] [SPLAT]

[SLAM] [SPLAT]

[SLAM] [SPLAT]

Ritsu continues to slam the Nymph into the hard floor of the Laboratory, causing more blood to splatter out in the process. The werefox would simply raise her new found toy high up into the air and over her head before promptly slamming the toy back into the floor. Very, very hard. Finally, feeling satisfied with her work, Ritsu spins around in place, releases Melony, and sends the nymph flying with rapid speed, right into another wall.

[SPLAT]

Upon contact, Melony’s body explodes and ruptures as her body’s gore flies around the general area and splatters against the wall. Suddenly, three items begins to materialize where Melony’s body was currently, “Positioned”. Normally, someone would be excited to see what kinds of loot they’d get from defeating a powerful foe. However, this was personal for the trio. No excitement or cheers of victory would escape from the victorious ponies and kitsune, just absolute anger and hatred burning in their eyes, a righteous flame. They all gaze upon Melony’s mangled remains as they say in unison:

“Death was too good for you.”, They then walk towards their loot and claim their prize, most notably, The Ice Mirror. Alongside this mirror, there was also what appeared to be a Metal Detector and a particular pair of boots. The aforementioned items begins to clone themselves upon which they then float towards the trio, The Ice Mirror doesn’t duplicate itself but also follows suit and floats towards Applejack. (See Author’s Note)

“Finally... We’re coming to save you, Rarity.” - Applejack.

”These Flurry Boots... No wonder that crazy chick was soo fast.” - Ritsu (Werefox).

”Huh... My sister Maud would actually love this Metal Detector.” - Pinkamena

”I want to get out of this horrible place, but first... There’s two things we need to take care of.”, Ritsu says as she then turns towards Pinkamena and asks: ”You got anything flammable in that mane of yours or your inventory?”

”I’ve got some torches, why?”

”Burn this bitch, I don’t want any chances of her returning. We’ve got our loot and that mirror, now, burn her.”

Heeding Ritsu’s request, Pinkamena smirks as she then materializes three torches and hands two of them to her fellow allies. They all nod understandably as they gaze towards Melony’s corpse, holds their torches over it, and says in unison:

“Go to Hell.”

[WOOSH]

The flames instantly consumes the entire body as the trio stands there and watches, being absolutely sure that the Nymph was truly gone. Upon looking around, it only now occurred to them... They weren’t her only victims as chained, skeletal remains, littered the room.





A whole hour passes by and Melony’s body was nothing more than ash. During this time both Pinkamena and Ritsu returned to their normal selves, the mare becoming her party loving self once again and the werefox losing some of its size and stature, returning to her suppressed form. Applejack glances one last time towards the ashes and spits on it in disgust.

“[SIGH] Ah’right everyone, we’ve got a job to do and a certain friend of ours to save. Let’s get on out’ta here-”

“One moment, Applejack. This chest is the second thing we should take care of.”



“Oh right!, I noticed it earlier but we were dealing with that... Meanie.”, Pinkie Pie replies as she grits her teeth in anger.

“Ah’ noticed it too... It certainly don’t look like a normal chest. Ya’ know anything about it, Ritsu?”

Ritsu puts a hand to her chin in thought. After a few moments, she comes to an answer and replies:

“Legends tell of a powerful chest which appears in every biome, one that can only be opened with a certain key. The appearance of each chest matches that of the biome they are associated with, therefore, this one must be: The Ice Chest. I’ve never actually seen them in person but I can just... Sense it. Whatever is stored within that chest is pretty powerful. Unfortunately, without the key that goes with this chest... We can’t access it.”

“Oh, so, do we take it with us?. I don’t think we should leave it, someone else who isn’t friendly could come along and open it.”

“Ah’ agree with Pinkie, we should take it with us. As fer’ this lab... We should come back with Twilight and the others, maybe they’d be more knowledgeable about this kind of stuff. Besides, now that we got this here Ice Mirror we can come back anytime.”

Everyone nods in agreement as Ritsu takes it upon herself to carry the chest for the ponies. Applejack materializes the Ice Mirror from her inventory, holds it high into the air, and exclaims:

“Rarity, here we come!”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“Sooooo... Anypony know how to activate this thing?.”
> Chapter 47 - Salvation.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, DUNGEON ENTRANCE-

Steven stares off into the distance, specifically, towards the direction of The Snow Biome. The fashionista sighs sadly as he says:

“What do I do?, ever since I spoke to Skeletron my mind has been at war. No matter what I choose... Skeletron still benefits in the end. What do I tell Rarity’s friends when they-”

[SHIM] [WHIRL]

Suddenly, Steven was cut off by a beam of light mixed with a chilling twister. In mere seconds, three familiar forms now stands before The Clothier which causes a happy expression to form onto his face.

“You’re all back!, thank the gods!”

“Hey there partner!, mission success!”, Applejack exclaims as she proudly holds The Ice Mirror high into the air.

“We managed to get it from a really big meanie!, oh!, I need to throw a: We-defeated-the-meanie-so-now-we-can-save-Rarity-with-the-Ice-Mirror party!”

“Wow Pinkie... That’s a mouthful.”, Ritsu says as she currently has The Ice Chest held upon her left shoulder, leaning against her head. Despite what it looks like, the kitsune seems to have no trouble supporting its weight as she shows off her physical attribute. “Sup, name’s Ritsu. Yes, I’m a kitsune, no, we’re not extinct. We just know how to hide well is all.”

Steven was truly glad to see them not to mention the fact that they now hold Rarity’s salvation. However, his expression slowly turns to sadness as he was still being haunted by Skeletron’s words. Applejack immediately catches on to this change and asks:

“You ok, partner?. Ah’ thought you’d be happier about this, we can finally get Rarity out of this place!”

“I’m happy Applejack, I truly am... But... [SIGH] There’s something I have to-”

“Don’t say another word, Steven. Ah’ know what’s on yer’ mind and all I can tell you is that me and ma’ friends can defeat that no good Skeletron.”

“W-wait, how did you-”

“Recent events have made me, well, sharper. What we’ve experienced in The Snow Biome, in that lab... Ah’ swore to mah’self that I’d never be fooled again. So, ah’ decided to focus on my abilities.”

“Abilities?”

“That’s right, as the bearer of The Element Of Honesty, I can detect if someone is lying and I can read someone’s expression to a T. Ah’ should’ve known that she was up to no good. I... I almost got us killed because of it.

“Applejack, you can’t blame yourself for-”

“No Ritsu, it’s mah’ fault... I should’ve sensed that Nymph’s schemes sooner... Ah’ failed us.”

“Wait a second, what happened to you all out there?”

“That’s not important right now, Steven. What is important is that ah’ know what you’re going to say and I’m telling you, forget it.”

“You... You don’t know how frightening his power can be. So much death and destruction... I don’t want any of you ponies to have to face this terror.”

“You are a fool to assume that they will fight alone, my friends and I will defeat this great and powerful foe.”

“My zebra friend is right, trust that to not be a lie, let the enemy come, against us they shall die.”

Two more voices joins the conversation, each noticeably rhythmic. This causes everyone to turn around, their gaze instantly focused on a certain zebra and lihzahrd.

“Zecora!, Gex!, y’all are here?!”

“That is correct Applejack, we finished our newest potion and found you by testing the latest batch. A potion that takes one far and wide, to join their friends and fight by their side.” - Zecora.

“That is so cool!, what’s this potions name?!” - Pinkie Pie.

“It is called the Wormhole Potion, drink it and a journey to your friends will be set in motion.” - Gex, The Witchdoctor.

“That’s amazing!, this potion will take us to anyone we consider a friend?. Wow... You two are amazing, Gex.” - Ritsu.

As this is going on, Steven just couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Before his very eyes, the fashionista saw something he never thought he’d ever see in physical form: Hope. The words of Skeletron no longer haunted his mind as he smiles contently and says:

“It is time, everyone.”, The fashionista’s words catches their attention to which they all stop their current conversation and turn their gaze towards him. “Give me The Ice Mirror, we’ve got a friend to save.”, Steven then smirks as he says: “And, a large skeleton to kill. Well, kill him again that is.”

At first, everyone just stares at him in silent disbelief... That is until Applejack kicks off a series of shouting as she exclaims:

“Now that’s what ah’m talking about!, yeehaw!. Good to see you come’n to yer’ senses, Steven.”

“Hooray!, we’re going to save Rarity and then we’re gonna beat up the big skull guy!. Oh, we need to get everypony else to help us.” - Pinkie Pie.

“Well, why hell not?!. I did just smash some psychotic Nymph, I guess it’s time to break some bones again... Literally.” - Ritsu.

“Ah’right then, it’s settled. Here ya’ go Steven, take this straight to Rarity.”, Applejack says a she offers the Ice Mirror to Steven. The fashionista was just about to grab the mirror until the cowmare, instead, grabs his hand and pulls him into a hug. This gesture shocks Steven momentarily, until, he finally returns it. This prompts Applejack to say: “Thank you soo much fer’ this Steven, we owe this all to you. Please, go in there and save ma’ friend... Ah’ just want to see her safe again...”, Upon saying those words, a saddened expression forms onto the cowmare’s face.

[ZOOM]

“Ooh, ooh, please say hello to that person with all that party energy for me!. I can’t wait to meet her!”

“[CHUCKLE] I promise you, Pinkie Pie, Candy will be delighted to meet you and I’ll be sure to pass on your message.”

“[GASP] Oh my gosh!, her name’s Candy?!. Now I want to meet her even more!”, Pinkie Pie exclaims as she then pulls a mic out of her mane and begins to sing:

“I want candy,
I want candy,
There’s somepony I can’t wait to meet,
All that party energy is meant to be free,
Once she’s out, we’ve got parties to make,
Together, we’ll party all day,
Because, I want candy,
I want candy...”

As Pinkie Pie continues her song, Steven chuckles to himself as he turns around and makes his way into The Dungeon with a determined expression.





-TERRARIA, DUNGEON DEPTHS-

Rarity and Katelyn Pierce, The Mechanic, were currently having a conversation about the pony fashionista’s home world. As this is going on, the other prisoners were going about their own business, although, Candy did sense the presence of a certain party pony which causes The Party Girl to dance excitingly.

“Wait, wait, wait, you’re telling me that griffins exists in your world?!”

“They sure do, darling, there’s a whole nation of them too. Why?, don’t they exist here?”

“If they do, I’ve never seen one in my life. They mostly just exist in stories and legends.”

“Aha!, so that means it’s possible for them to exist after all.”

“How do you figure?”

“Well, legends are mostly based on something that actually existed, or, something that inspired the legend. Of course... It could also be someone who’s had too much to drink.”

This causes the two fellow prisoners to laugh before Rarity recovers and continues:

“If your world truly does have legends about griffons then odds are they probably do exist, or, they once existed. Why, back in my world, there used to exist these giant lizard looking things called: Dinosaurs, who existed long before anypony showed up. Many legends were passed down about them and according to Twilight, these legends predates even before the very first dragon ever existed, mind you, dragons have inhabited my world even before ponies.”

“Your world had dinosaurs too?, huh, they once existed here but I don’t think they all went extinct. Apparently, there are adventurers who uses certain types of dinosaurs as pets and mounts. I’ve never ran into any of them, yet.”

[SKREEAR]

Suddenly, the doors to entrance of the hallway of cells opens up as Steven happily walks in and turns to Rarity’s cell. This catches the attention of the other prisoners as well.

“Rarity, it’s time to get you out of here. You remember when I told you about your friends retrieving that Ice Mirror for you?”

“Why yes, darling, but whatever could you-”, Rarity’s words were silenced as Steven pulls out the aforementioned object, The Ice Mirror.

“They’ve done it, Rarity. Your friends have recovered it for you, now, be free.”, Steven says as he gives Rarity the mirror by sliding it into her cell.

Rarity’s tears began to flow freely as she was truly touched by her friends actions, to know how far they’d truly go for her. She never doubted them, of course, especially after the Nightmare Rarity incident. However, it was still heartwarming to know all the same.

“I... But... What about everyone else here!. I can’t just leave them all!, can’t you open the cell doors and let us all out so I can-”

“I’m sorry, Rarity... This won’t turn out as you’d hope. Sure, The Ice Mirror can transfer its user and those within their vicinity to a location they’d been to before. However, these cells shields and hides you all from... The Dungeon Guardian, you remember me telling you about that?”

“I do, but, if these cells hides us from it then that means...”

“We’ll die if we leave them, The Guardian will spot us and will catch us before we could even use that mirror together.”

“B-but Katelyn... I... I don’t want to leave you all-”

“You’re not leaving us, Rarity!. I know what kind of pony you are, all of us does, we know you’ll come back for us. Then, when you save us, you know what we’re gonna do?”

Katelyn’s words causes the rest of the prisoners to voice various replies of their own:

“I’m going to let you always drink for free at the very next Tavern I run, you’re a good mare, Rarity.” - Ross Bosman, The Tavernkeeper.

“If you ever need any type of fishing equipment or ever need to rent a boat, I’m your guy.” - Jeremy Bravos, The Angler.

“I will style your mane anytime you wish, darling. Free of charge.” - Livian Hesper, The Stylist.

“I shall teach you all of the magic that I know, I’ve grown quite fond of you and everyone else here.” - Magius Swirl Magnus, The Wizard.

“I’m just going to hug you like my life depends on it. But, I am a mechanic so I can hook you up with some appliances and anything technological.” - Katelyn Pierce, The Mechanic.

“I’m going to throw you a-”

“We all know, Candy.”, Everyone says in unison as they then laugh together, this causes The Party Girl to giggle.

“Oh!, that’s right!. Candy, Pinkie Pie says hello and that she can’t wait to meet you. She’s some sort of party pony.”

In that moment everyone present, aside from Steven, shudders from that statement as they all say in unison:

“Oh no... Not another Candy.”

“[GASP] Pinkie Pie?!, I love that name!. Thank you soo much, Steven. Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh!”, Candy then pulls a mic out of her hair and starts to sing:

“If you wanna be my lover,
You got to get with my friend,
Candy and Pinkie forever,
The friendship never ends,
If you wanna be my lover,
Our parties you must attend,
Candy and pies forever and that’s the way it is...”

As Candy continues her song, which causes most of her fellow prisoners to facepalm, Steven leans into Rarity’s cell and says:

“I think you should go, but, before you do... Let me just say: Thank you, Rarity. For everything...”

“Thank you, darling... Everyone. I promise, I’ll come back to save you all, I’ll bring an entire army if I have to.”, Steven nods understandably as Rarity lifts the mirror high into the air and thinks of The Dungeon Entrance as she then disappears in a beam of light mixed with ice.

[SHIM] [WHIRL]

After watching his pony friend disappear to freedom, all the while Candy is still singing her song, Steven said to himself internally:

-I hope you’re watching, Skeletron. This is the beginning of the end, for you.-

”[CHUCKLE] Let them come, Steven.”
> Chapter 48 - Reunion.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, DUNGEON ENTRANCE-

A certain group of ponies, zebra, lihzahrd, and kitsune are currently chatting amongst themselves as they wait patiently for Steven to deliver The Ice Mirror to a certain prisoner. Some of them starts to voice their concerns as they say:

“Ah’ hope Steven isn’t havin’ any trouble in there, it’s taking a while...”

“I’m sure it’ll be ok, Applejack. He seems to want to get her out of there just as badly as you all do.”

“Ritsu’s right, this place is really large too. It probably takes him ages just to walk to where ever Rarity is being held. Oh!, and the party person.”

“Now that is truly a marvel, if there’s another who exists here like you, I feel bad for Twilight Sparkle.”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, my zebra friend, her antics are unusual, her abilities are a surprise, is she perhaps an Eldritch being in-”

[SHIM] [WHIRL]

Suddenly, Gex’s words were cut off as a beam of light mixed with ice accompanied by a chilling whirlwind materializes before the group. Then, in mere seconds, a very familiar form appears before them all. Applejack and Pinkie Pie stares on in disbelief, Zecora simply nods happily and beams a smile towards the now freed unicorn standing before them all: Rarity.

“...”

Silence was present as three ponies stare at each other, two on one side, one on the other. Then, tears begins to flow on their faces and the rapid clopping of hooves removes the silence as they run into each other which results into a trio of hugs.

“Rarity!, ah’m so glad you’re ok!. Not a single moment went by that ah’ didn’t worry about ya’.” - Applejack.

“Oh Rarity, don’t you ever disappear on us like that!, Pinkie Promise me that you’ll never do this again!” - Pinkie Pie.

“I promise darling, I missed you all soo much... I’m so sorry for making you all worry.” - Rarity.

Ritsu, Zecora, and Gex watches on with a smile as this reunion of friendship takes place before them. After a few moments, the three ponies part from their group hug upon which Rarity notices the kitsune. She fixes her mane and says:

“Oh, pardon my manners, a true lady simply must introduce herself to new friends. Any friend of Applejack and Pinkie Pie is a friend of mine, the same goes for Zecora. [AHEM] My name is: Rarity, fashionista of Ponyville and the bearer of The Element Of Generosity. It is a pleasure to meet you and, might I say, your fur is quite lovely. Your clothing on the other hand is... Questionable.”, Ritsu raises a brow at Rarity’s assessment of her current clothing.

“[CHUCKLE] Now, now, Rarity. Don’t ya’ go and scare away our new friend.”, Applejack says as she walks over to the aforementioned entity. As this is happening, Gex, Zecora, and Pinkie Pie are laughing in the background. The farm mare raises her front left hoof and motion’s towards the kitsune. “This here kitsune is Ritsu, she’s been a huge help to us all and is our newest friend.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Rarity. Your friends have told me a lot about you and, as for my clothes, uh, sorry?”

“It is quite a pleasure to meet you too, Ritsu. Do not worry, once I get your appropriate measurements we shall fix your, um, wardrobe.”

“Ouch... Lay it on me gently, why don’t ya?”

“I’m sorry darling, but, I will not allow an affront to fashion to exist without properly tending to it. You’re a beautiful mare, Ritsu, you shall wear only the finest of clothing to express your beauty.”

“Actually, I’m a woman... A mare is what you’d call a female-”

“Ok everyone, ah’d like to continue the introductions and reunion, not to mention fashion advice, someplace a little more familiar. Rarity, use that mirror to take us all home.”

“Ah, of course Applejack. I want to get away from here as well, but, I shall return with help. I want to free everyone who’s-”

“That’s exactly what we intend to do but we’re gonna need everyone fer’ this. Zecora made us a potion that will take us to Twilight and the others.”

“Aw yes, they went to retrieve that other blade. Wait!, that’s another thing!, there’s another blade being held here too: The Muramasa!”, Rarity’s words shocks everyone present which prompts various reactions from them all. Applejack recovers from her shocked state and says:

“Then that’s all the more reason fer’ us to defeat Skeletron. Come on, let’s get back home. Ah’ want to check up on Fluttershy too... Poor mare...”

“What?!, what happened to Fluttershy?!”

“I’ll explain later, Rarity.”, Applejack replies sternly as she didn’t want to recall their recent battle with Melony.

Everyone gathers around the pony fashionista as she raises the mirror into the air upon which they all disappear together, on route to Home Town.





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Some time passes by ever since the group has returned to Home Town, it was also noticeably becoming nightfall. The group decided to inform the terrarians of the recent events from the moment they found The Dungeon, all the way to their encounter with Melony within the unknown laboratory. Rarity took it upon herself to also inform them that there lies prisoners of Skeletron within the dark depths of The Dungeon. Much to her delight, Tanner The Guide suggested that they wait for the return of the adventurers who were currently accompanying Twilight, Starlight, and Rainbow Dash. Together, Tanner vowed that they would all go to combat Skeletron. Although, he was under the impression that the aforementioned entity was destroyed seven years ago but was quite surprised to learn that the skeletal tyrant still lives.

Princess Pinkie leads the group to Fluttershy’s home where the pegasus still remained unconscious. Helena, The Nurse, attended to the shy pegasus and was happy to report that she’d be fine physically, however, The Nurse wasn’t sure how this event might effect the animal lover mentally.

Applejack decides to take initiative as she turns to the group and says:

“Ok y’all, ah’ think I know what we must do next. Zecora, how much of them potions do ya’ have?”

“The Wormhole Potion is a tricky remedy, I have four more within my possession, what I ask is for your intentions?”

“That’s perfect, we need to go to our friends in The Crimson Biome. You, me, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie are gonna take a little trip. We’re gonna help the others to acquire the next blade we need. Then, we’re all comin’ home together.”

“Good thinking Applejack!. I still have some parties that needs to be made, but, helping our friends takes top priority!” - Pinkie Pie.

“I’ve been out of the game for far too long darling, count me in!”

“That reminds me Rares, I’ve got some items fer’ you to take. This Bee Armor, Hornet Staff, and this magical Bee Gun is right up yer’ alley.”

“Thank you Applejack, I’ll equip them right away.”

A few more moments goes by as Zecora, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all prepare to drink their Wormhole Potions. Before they consume the magical beverage, Applejack turns to Ritsu, Gex, and Princess Pinkie.

“Ah appreciate this y’all, thanks fer’ keep’n an eye on Fluttershy fer’ us. Ah’m not gonna lie... The poor mare wouldn’t do well in The Crimson Biome, I’m glad she’s still unconscious.”

“Leave her to us, Applejack. You all just make sure you come back safe, ok?. I don’t want to lose my packmates after just getting to like them.”

“No worries Ritsu, we’re all comin’ back in one piece. Ah’ promise.”

“Ooh, ooh, make that a Pinkie Promise!. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” - Pinkie Pie.

“We’d never break a promise, darling. Especially a Pinkie Promise.” - Rarity.

“Thank you for helping me with this remedy Gex, please watch after everyone and give Fluttershy my respects.” - Zecora.

“Be safe on your journey my friends, I shall pass on your message to our unconscious friend, let us be reunited at journey’s end.” - Gex, The Witchdoctor.

”I’ll protect the goddess with my life if need be, she will be safe upon your return.” - Princess Pinkie.

After saying their goodbyes the trio of ponies and zebra drinks their potions. Suddenly, they are all transformed into a beam of light however each beam was of a different coloration as it reflects the color of the potion’s consumer. An orange, white, gray, and pink light flies up into the room’s ceiling. The lights phases through the structure and shoots up into the night sky, heading towards The Crimson Biome.





-TERRARIA, THE CRIMSON BIOME-

Twilight, Starlight, Rainbow Dash, Celebes, and all of their fellow adventurers are currently making their way deeper into The Crimson Biome. Sai Sahan strongly believes that a large vein of Crimtane Ore lies in a large crater nearby. As the dryad, alicorn, and unicorn were chatting amongst themselves, the pegasus turns to Sai and asks:

“Hey Sai, you said that you got that armor of yours from this place before, right?”

“That is correct, Rainbow. Some time after we lost Lunaris, I decided to take a small band of adventurers from the guild to search for any weapons and armor within this forsaken place. Celestia was among them, of course.”

“I understand you wanting to get stronger but how could you be sure that there’d be anything at all here?. Way back then that is.”

“My family has great history with the dryads and thanks to those connections, we’ve allocated a handsome amount of Purification Powder. Now, I’m not going to bore you with all of the details but to give it to you simply, my greatest ancestor was among those who fought against a mighty foe: Cthulhu.”

“Oh yeah!, Twilight was telling me about that not too long ago. Discord played a part in it too if I remember correctly?”

“That he did, you see, he worked with my ancestor to create the armor and weapons. Then, using his powerful chaos magic, Disidian duplicated the items so that we’d have enough for damn near the entire world. After the battle was ended, my family was given permission by a certain dryad to keep the large reserves of the powder in addition to the knowledge of how to turn Crimtane Ore into weapons and armor.”

“Wait a second... That dryad you’re talking about...”, Rainbow Dash then glances towards Celebes who was still chatting with the other ponies.

“That’s right, Celebes is the exact same dryad who spoke to my ancestor and gave him permission to keep, well, everything.”

“Woah, she’s even more awesome than I thought. Hey, what was your ancestors name?”

“Aw, forgive me my friend. My ancestor’s name is: Sombra.”

Rainbow’s mouth practically drops to the floor upon Sai’s revelation. However, before the pegasus could even speak her mind four beams of lights shoots through the nearby skies, begins to descend, and starts to land in front of the pony and terrarian adventurers. Everyone looks on in wonder, especially Twilight who was imitating a goldfish, as the four beams starts to form themselves into four certain entities: Three ponies and one zebra.

“Ah’ don’t think I ever want to do that again, ah’ think I’m gonna hurl...”

“I thought it was a lot of fun!, oh!, let’s do it again!”

“Pinkie dear we can’t just- By Celestia!, this place is horrible!”

“This place is filled with repulsive flesh, but, it would seem we have arrived before our friends.”
> Chapter 49 - Seeker Of Knowledge.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND CRIMSON BIOME-

Deep underground of the biome of flesh there lies a large series of caverns. The walls of these caverns were absolutely covered in fleshy material, in fact, one couldn’t help but feel as if they were walking within someone else’s body as they traverse the repulsive underground. A large entity comprised entirely of flesh is currently floating its way through these caverns.



As the entity makes its way towards its destination, all around it were various corpses of many different victims. These victims ranged from animals to terrarians, even a few lesser known species were currently integrated into the cavern’s walls of flesh. In addition, various monsters of the biome moves about the caverns transporting newly deceased corpses. These corpses were particularly unique for the fact that they were only a few hours old, as if some great battle had just taken place on the surface.

The large entity then stops and turns its body towards one of the fleshy walls of the cavern. If one could listen closely they’d hear what sounded like a series of... Heartbeats?. The being’s large eye starts to glow with a dark red aura upon which the aforementioned wall splits apart, blood actually starts to leak from the ceiling in the process. A large chamber is revealed upon which the entity enters floatingly, the walls close shut behind it once again as streams of blood slides down in the process.

There within this large chamber, floating before the aforementioned being was yet another entity: A large brain.



Behind this brain like entity, held up on the walls of the chamber were three very large hearts all of which continues to beat livingly, said beats echoing throughout the chamber.

[THUMP THUMP]

[THUMP THUMP]

[THUMP THUMP]



Now floating before the large brain, the flesh entity begins to speak using its multiple mouth’s to perform the action:

”The intruders are drawing near, my Lord. The same adventurers who have defeated your fellow incarnation of Cthulhu.”

”This pleases me well, Perforators. What happens to my fellow brethren is of no concern to me. If The Eye fell to these mere specs of flesh, then my brother was weak.” 

”By your will, Lord Brainiac. Shall we continue to hold our forces back until they enter the heart of our domain?.”

”Mmmyes, I want those equines alive, do with the others as you please. I have peered into the minds of those ponies and I must say... My appetite is stirred. They have knowledge hidden deep within their minds that I simply must posses, all knowledge belongs to me. My will is universal, my knowledge is everlasting and infinite. All others are nothing compared to my vision and brain.”

”Very well, we shall return to the surface.”

”One last thing, Perforators. There is one among those ponies whos knowledge Intrigues me most. It would seem, we have a fellow seeker of knowledge amongst them. I have found a buffet of knowledge and soon it will be time to feast.”

”Which among them do you speak of?”

”[CHUCKLE] From what I gathered in her mind, she is the ascended pony, the lavender alicorn Princess Of Friendship. And, by my calculations, the future ruler of Equestria: Twilight Sparkle.”





-TERRARIA, CRIMSON BIOME-

After successfully traveling to their friends, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Zecora now face a new threat: An endless barrage of questions from a certain lavender alicorn. Sai Sahan, Terralestia, and Celebes watches on with shocked and concerned expressions. The rest of the adventurers observes the commotion while also chatting amongst themselves.

“You’re all here?!, how did you do that?!, what kind of magic did you use?!, how did you become a beam of light and travel so far?!, what’s that armor Rarity is wearing?!, wait... You said potion?, what potion?!...”

“[SIGH] Here we go again... I’ll take care of her, again.”, Starlight says as she alights her horn and floats her now hyperventilating teacher away from their, ‘New arrivals’. Rarity, Zecora, and Pinkie Pie all go to help Twilight as well. Applejack watches them from a short distance, laughs a bit, and says:

“Ah’ see Twilight is the same as ever-”, Applejack’s words were cut off as she notices a certain stunt pegasus who in turn stares with wide eyes towards the farm mare. The orange earth pony then starts to slowly walk towards Rainbow Dash, the pegasus noticeably shivering from her approach. The cowmare was now mere inches away from the pegasus which causes Rainbow to say:

“A-Applejack... I’m so sorry- Aw!”, Rainbow lets out a surprised exclamation as she was suddenly smothered into a warm embrace, her head now laying onto Applejack’s chest region as an orange hoof is wrapped around the back of the pegasus’s neck.

“Ahm’ so sorry Rainbow, ah’ never should’ve been that mad at ya’. I ignored you ever since the goblin army’s attack, please, fer’give me.”, These words shocks the pegasus who jumps back in surprise and replies:

“W-what?... A.J, it’s me who should be apologizing to you. I’m the one who thought it was a good idea to pull off that stupid stunt.”

“Ah’ don’t care ‘bout that no more, Rainbow. All ah’m concerned about is if ma’ friends were safe in this... Twisted place.”

“You should’ve seen Rainbow’s recent achievement, she bravely forced a stick of dynamite right into the sides of The Eye Of Cthulhu. It worked out well for us, granted, the monster did transform but it was surely weakened nonetheless.”, Sai Sahan interjects.

“Heh, still showing off ah’ see?”, Applejack question’s with a smirk.

“Aw please, I wasn’t even trying when I did that.”, The pegasus replies as she poses confidently. Terralestia forms a smirk of her own as she interjects:

“Such confidence, but, oh my, where was it when we first entered this biome... Hmm?”

“What?, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know Rainbow, now that I think about it, you were huddled tightly against your fellow ponies as we traversed the flesh.”

“Oh shut your face,Sai!. I was just, you know, making sure Starlight and the egghead were ok.”

“Ya’ know somethin’ Rainbow?, ah’ love ya’ but I’m inclined to agree with Sai here. Speaking of which, sorry fer’ not introducin’ ma’self to ya’ partner.”, Applejack says as she turns to Sai Sahan. “I’m sure you already know this but I’m Applejack, Element Of Honesty. Put it there, partner.”, Applejack then offers her left front hoof to which Sai shakes happily and says:

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Applejack. Your friends have told us all about you, especially Rainbow.”

“Hey!, stop ignoring me you two!”, Rainbow interjects.

Applejack then turns to Terralestia. However, upon seeing the female terrarian, the orange mare’s eyes shoot wide open and her mouth drops agape as she says:

“P-Princess Celestia?!, how in the wide world of Equus are ya’ here?!.”

“WHAT?!”, Pinkie Pie and Rarity exclaims as they both overhear Applejack’s question and stampedes over. In Pinkie’s case it’s more like zooming off in a pink blur.

“Princess Celestia!, oh, it’s so good to see you again darling. When that brute Razeem killed you, I was just so heartbroken.”

“Rarity’s right!, but now, we can throw you a: I’m-alive-again-so-let’s-party party!”, Terralestia laughs nervously all the while Sai Sahan and even Rainbow Dash are trying their best to hide their laughter.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you dear ponies, but, I’m not... Well... your, Celestia.”

“...”

“Huh?”, the ponies reply in unison.





Some time passes by as the group continues onward, their new visitors joining in. Applejack had informed her friends about the events that has transpired within The Jungle and their success in retrieving The Blade Of Grass. Rainbow Dash asked if the farm mare could show it to them to which she obliges and causes various reactions from the adventurers. Although she was hesitant, the farm mare also told them about their fight with Melony within the mysterious lab of The Snow Biome. As a result, Applejack was once again assaulted by questions courtesy of Twilight Sparkle.

Zecora and Pinkie Pie are currently mingling with the other adventurers. The party pony in particular zooming around asking the adventurers about their favorite cakes and treats. The zebra was interested in various potions that the other adventurers offered and gave her the recipes to create them with.

After Applejacks various revelations, Rarity informed everyone about her being captured by Skeletron along with the location of another blade: The Muramasa. Twilight, Starlight, and Rainbow Dash were absolutely shocked by the revelation of this entity. Little did Rarity know, this caused Terralestia to be seething with anger as she asks:

“What?... What was that name, again?”

“Oh, why Skeletron, darling. That foul brute is nothing but a-”

“He’s supposed to be dead!, my brother Lunaris killed him seven years ago!”

“I’m sorry darling, but, Skeletron is still very much alive. He even has prisoners!, oh, once we return I simply must ask you all for your help.”

“Oh you’re gonna get my help, that thing should’ve been destroyed a long time ago. How did it-”

“It would appear I have more to reveal to you, Celestia.”, Celebes interjects.

“What do you mean?!”

“I told you and Sai seven years ago about the events that transpired on the moon. However, I also know of your brother’s battle with Grogar.”

“Grogar?!”, Twilight and Starlight shouts in unison.

“It was his name back when he still had some meat on his bones, he was the last of the tyrannical Giants. The powerful lord of the dead: Grogar. Even after he died, he managed to become more of a demonic spirit rather then simply being undead. I’m surprised you two know about him.”

“Not with this Grogar!”, Twilight fearfully replies with chattering teeth.

“Rainbow and ah’ are curious as well. Who in the hay is Grogar?” - Applejack.

“Yeah, I’ve never heard of a giant skeleton dude terrorizing Equus.” - Rainbow Dash.

“Are you kidding me?!. Back on Equus, Grogar is perhaps the most evil force our world has ever known. Well, before The Moon Lord appeared that is. His sorcery and necromancy were legendary; his bell could steal and store anypony’s magic. The biggest difference was that he wasn’t a Giant like this Grogar, he was a ram.”, Twilight says factually. Starlight lets out a small chuckle as she replies:

“That is until Gusty the Great rose up and stopped him. I’ve read about it in some of the books held within the royal library, a thank you gift from Princess Celestia when I was called there for my friendship problem.”

“Hanging out with Twilight is turning you into an egghead too.” - Rainbow Dash.

“If you all don’t mind, I’d like to get back to Skeletron’s true fate. [AHEM] As I was saying, Lunaris actually sealed away-” - Celebes.

[ZOOM]

“Mane, eyes, tail, everything!, twitching!” - Pinkie Pie.

[RRRAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRR!]

[RRRAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRR!]

[RRRAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRR!]

Seconds after the party mare’s warning, multiple roars echoes throughout the landscape, startling everyone in the process. Nearby, a large mound of flesh suddenly erupts revealing three large entities:



“Get ready everyone!, multiple large entities inbound!”, Sai Sahan exclaims which causes the adventurers and ponies to stand at the ready, weapons drawn and spells being charged.

“T-Twilight, those t-things aren’t wh-what’s making me go c-crazy.”

“What?!, Pinkie that can’t be right!. Those must be-”

Suddenly, a large entity materializes and floats behind Twilight: The Perforator’s Hivemind.

”Ah, there you are. You ponies are coming with me, Lord Brainiac has need of you.”

The very moment those words were spoken, a blob of flesh engulfs Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie which causes various reactions from the captured mares:

“What in tarnation?!, this stuff is disgustin’!. Get off me ya’ darn- Mmf!”, Applejack was cut off as she disappears within a blob of flesh.

“No!, I’m not going down that easy you disgusting- Mmf!”, Rainbow Dash’s words becomes muffled as her face is covered by the blob of flesh.

“This is not pleasant at all!, what do you say we settle this over a cupcake?, no?... Please?”, Pinkie Pie asks as she too is covered completely within the flesh.

“No!, keep fighting everypony- ARGH!, I... Can’t... Give... In.”, Despite putting up a valiant effort, Twilight too disappears within her own blob of flesh.

As for Starlight and Rarity, the two mares were incredibly lucky for Zecora manages to save Rarity from a blob that targeted her all the while Celestia manages to save Starlight, the unicorn practically in tears as she tried to free and save her teacher.

“Nooooo!”, Starlight, Zecora, and Rarity shouts in unison as they watch the four blobs begin to phase into the earth, taking the captured ponies with them in the process.

“Now then, the rest of you can die. We will-”

“No!”, Celebes exclaims as she rushes towards the Perforator’s Hivemind with her Fiery Greatsword.

[SHLINK]

[CRASH]

Unfortunately, the dryad misses her mark as the entity phases into the earth and her flaming weapon collides with the fleshy earth beneath her. Celebes grits her teeth in anger as she comes to a very unpleasant realization: Four ponies have been captured and are now gone. To make matters worse, Celebes, Starlight, Zecora, Rarity, and the remaining terrarian adventurers must now contend with their new foes.
> Chapter 50 - The Power Of Brainiac Pt: 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND CRIMSON BIOME-

Lord Brainiac floats before four ponies, all of whom are currently strapped onto the fleshy walls of the large chamber. The sounds of various heartbeats echoes throughout the chamber, likely coming from the three large hearts positioned just behind the large brain. Brainiac begins to glow with a red aura as the entity declares:

”Awaken, all of you. I release you from your slumber.”, Upon saying those words, all of the ponies come to as they begin to groan uncomfortably and say:

“Wha’?, what happened?... The last thing ah’ remember was- Holy sweet Celestia!, ah’ giant brain!” - Applejack.

“Yuck!, that’s not a very good looking gummy brain!, wait, you are a gummy brain, right?” - Pinkie Pie.

“Now’s not the time for that, Pinkie!. Hey ugly, how about you let me out of this disgusting stuff so I can beat the hay out of you!” - Rainbow Dash.

“Wait a second... You were inside of that book, just like The Eye and Razeem. You’re... The Brain Of Cthulhu.” - Twilight.

”Ah, I was right about you... Twilight Sparkle. You may call me: Brainiac.”

“You know my name?, wait, what do you want with us?!”

”The same thing you have spent most of your life trying to seek, knowledge. I can sympathize with you my fellow seeker of knowledge.”

“Don’t you dare try to compare us!, you monster!. Yes, I love knowledge... But I’d never take somepony else’s life just to obtain it.”

”The end justifies the means, my little pony. Now, it’s time that I learn more about you all. Especially, that world you all come from.”

“We aren’t telling you anything!, you disgusting brain!” - Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah!, and you’re not invited to my next party you meanie!” - Pinkie Pie.

”Your cooperation isn’t a factor, I’ll take what I want from you all. Regardless.”

“Now why da’ hay do ya’ even want to know about our world?, what’s it to ya’?. It’s not like you can even do anything-”

”That’s where you’re wrong, Applejack, daughter of Bright Mac and Pear Butter.”

“H-How did ya’-”

”I know a fair amount about you, all of you. While you all slept, I peered into your minds and have uncovered most of your secrets. I know your past, your present, and from them... I can even tell you your future. The Rainbow maned pegasus, Rainbow Dash. The pink earth pony, Pinkie Pie, and her love for parties. Thanks to your minds I even know about your fellow Princesses. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and of course... you... Twilight Sparkle. Aw, and let’s not forget the potential of your little niece: Flurry Heart. By my calculations she’ll grow up to be a powerful ruler, she’d surely make you and your favorite foalsitter very proud.”

Twilight and the other ponies were absolutely dumbfounded in horror. This entity managed to learn about their loved ones through the memories of their lives. To say that they were all afraid was an understatement.

“But why?, why do you think that peeking into our minds will help you at all?. Applejack is right, even if you do take all of our knowledge it doesn’t matter!, you can’t harm our world-”

”Do you believe in alternate realities, Twilight Sparkle?. I’d assume you would, given your recent and current predicament.”

“What kind of question is that?, we’ve just talked about this. Yes, I’ve always believed in its concept. Ever since I entered the world beyond the mirror and even now, in Terraria.”

”Ah yes, I found those events to be quite promising. Sunset Shimmer stole your crown upon which you were forced to pursue her, entering that world beyond the mirror. Another Equestria, one could say. I also know about my brother Razeem, he managed to puncture into your world. That, right there, is what interests me.”

“Why would that interest you?. Also, answer me this, why are you soo interested in us?. Of all the adventurers you could’ve captured, you specifically told that other creature to target us... Why?”

”Hahahahaha...”

“What’s so funny?!”

“You want to know why I chose you all?. Well, you’re not the first versions of yourselves that I’ve seen before.”

”What?!”, The ponies shout in unison.

”I suppose a little lesson is in order. I will say this: The multiverse is everlasting and immeasurable, every universe has a potential clone of itself but with different events and scenarios. For instance, you Twilight Sparkle are currently a well renown hero in your realm as are your friends here. What if I told you there exist realities where you and your friends are, well, not so heroic.”

“W-what...”, Twilight gulps in hesitation as she continues: “What do you mean by that?”, The alicorn question’s. All the while, her fellow ponies just stare on in utter shock.

“Why tell you when I can show you all. I can see into other universes thanks to my limitless intellect, I can mentally breach the veil but not pass through physically... Yet. That’s where you and your friends come in.”

A sudden gasp echoes throughout the chamber.

”Ah, I suspect by your surprised gasp that you’ve figured it out, Twilight?”

“No... You... You want to enter our world the same way as Razeem did?!”

Brainiac starts to laugh which causes the entire chamber to shake, the ponies wincing in the process. After a few moments, the large brain’s laughter dies down.

”I knew I liked you, that mind of yours is sharp, Twilight Sparkle. Yes, by peering deep into your minds I can extract what my brother used to enter your reality. Then, I will use it myself to enter your world... To enter all worlds within my comprehension. All will become one with me!, both in body and mind!”, Brainiac’s proclamation causes various reactions from the ponies:

“No!, you won’t win!. You will not touch any of my loved ones!” - Twilight Sparkle.

“Apple Bloom... Granny Smith... Big Mac. No!, ah’ ain’t gonna just sit here and let you do that ya’ monster!” - Applejack.

“Don’t you dare touch my parents or Scootaloo you bucking fiend!” - Rainbow Dash.

“Oh no!, The Cakes... The Twins... Sugarcube Corner... Ponyville...” - Pinkie Pie.

”As I said, your compliances isn’t a factor. Now then, since your minds will pave the way for The Crimson’s glorious future, I think I’ll award you all by living out the last few moments of your lives... In another reality. Consider this as my way of providing you all with entertainment while I extract the information from you all.”

“What?!”, The ponies exclaim in unison.

”Your bodies will remain here of course but a piece of your consciousness shall be transported to another world. After all, I did promise to show you, did I not?”, Suddenly, four brain stems elongates from Brainiac’s very being as they all begin to slither their way towards a separate pony. The stems each lays themselves upon the heads of each pony. At the very moment of contact, nothing happened... That is until each pony begins to scream:

“AAAAWWWWWWWWW-”, The ponies were all suddenly silenced as their heads go limp. The same unquestionably happened to the rest of their body but due to it being covered in the flesh, one couldn’t tell the difference. Their forms were now in a comatose like state, not entirely there, yet not dead either.

”Do me a favor, ponies. Tell the denizens of those realities that I will come for them, soon. Although, you won’t like what you find there.”





-UNKNOWN UNIVERSE-

Twilight Sparkle





Twilight awoke in a large forest, one that she was not familiar with... And yet, the world she currently found herself in felt so familiar. Admittedly, the word ‘Felt’ wasn’t entirely accurate as she looks down to her body and is shocked by what she sees.

“What the buck?!, I look like... A ghost!. I can see right through my own form!, this is so weird!. Ok, ok, calm down Twilight. First thing’s first, I need to test my body despite its current... Condition. Test number one: Magic Usage.”

Twilight narrows her features and tries to channel her magic into her horn... To no avail.

“Oh come on!, I need my magic!... Without it I feel so, empty. Come to think of it, my whole body feels empty and yet it feels alive as well. How is this even possible?, Brainiac said that he... Wait, is it even accurate to call it a he?. I’m just going by the tone of its voice but for now I am officially declaring his gender to be a stallion.”, The ghostly alicorn lets out a sad sigh as she says: “Of course I of all ponies would get caught up about some giant brain’s gender. Ok, time for the second test...”

The ghostly figure gets onto her hooves, which admittedly felt natural to the alicorn... In a very strange way.

“Ok, time to test my physical attributes. Let’s start by simply trotting around my general area.”

.....

“Ok... This is definitely weird. My movement seems to work as intended and yet I’m not making any noise. Normally, a pony walking on most surfaces would result in the sounds of clopping and yet I hear, nothing. Hmm, test number three: Physical Contact.”

Twilight then walks over to a nearby tree and attempts to strike it with her front left hoof. The most bizarre thing happens as she... Manages to strike the tree?, or didn’t?.

“Ok, my hoof doesn’t phase through it--which I admittedly thought was going to happen--but it does seem to make contact with the tree. Most curiously, much like my soundless trotting, there’s no sound being emitted from my strike against the subject. I made contact with the tree and yet... I didn’t?. This isn’t good, I’m going to drive myself insane from all of this. Ok, final test: Flight.”

The alicorn instantly begins to flap her wings and much to her great delight, she does manage to take off as she floats in the air just a few feet above ground level.

“Oh thank Celestia, I thought my flight would be taken from me in my body’s current condition. Where ever Rainbow Dash was sent she’s probably going to be very happy about this. Ok, now to confirm my suspicion.”

With a single flap of her wings, the alicorn flies up into the air and over the tree line. Twilight narrows her eyes and looks around in an effort to spot something, anything at all. There, out in the far distance, was something she never thought to see again.

“That’s... The Crystal Empire!. Wait a second, if I’m in the north then why is all of the ice, well, gone?. There’s not even a spec of snow in the area. Never mind, I can think of that later. Oh!, I wonder if Cadence, Flurry, and my B.B.B.F.F is there?!”

Filled with excitement, the Princess Of Friendship flies off with due haste towards The Empire.





-THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-

After sixteen minutes of flight which consisted of traversing over large planes of grass and through the various structures of The Crystal Empire, in addition to avoiding ponies, Twilight finally reaches the castle upon which she lands at the gate and spots two guards currently standing at attention.

“Celestia damnit!, I was hoping to avoid any contact with anypony else but It was wishful thinking for me to not expect any guards.”, Twilight lets out an annoyed snort before she says: “I suppose this is a good time to test if whether or not other ponies can see me. Then again, can I even touch them?, Can I even speak to them?. Well nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

The alicorn walks up to the guards and stood awkwardly before them.

“...”

“Um, hello there...”

“...”

“Can either of you hear me?”

“...”

“Can you even see me?”

“...”

“Ok then, well, I guess I’m just gonna go on in... Here I go... Trespassing into a castle. You two should probably, you know, stop me. I cooould be an assassin, here to take over Equestria.”

“...”

The guards continue to stand at the ready and completely oblivious to the lavender mare’s presence.

“Hmm, I suppose my hunch was right. Nopony can hear or see me, no doubt Brainiac did this just to spite us. Ok then, time to-

“Halt, state your business!”, Twilight’s ears perks up at this which causes her to turn back towards the guardspony and replies:

“Oh finally!, seriously is this some sort of-”

“We’re here to see her, we’re the element bearers.”

Upon hearing those words, Twilight gasps in absolute shock and exclaims:

“Applejack!, you’re all here?!”, The alicorn trots over to her friend and attempts to hug the farm mare... Only to phase right through her in the process. “Wait, what?... I can’t touch anypony?. I can’t do... Anything?”

Twilight suddenly becomes soo zoned out, due to her current situation, that the entire world around her went silent for just a few moments.

“Ah’right partner, thanks fer’ everything.”

These words finally brings Twilight back to her senses, ironic given her current condition, as she notices her friends start to make their way into the castle. The alicorn quickly regains her composure and goes after them.

The doors to the throne room opens up revealing its inner sanctum. Twilight and this world’s version of The Mane Six starts to make their way inside, however, something immediately sticks out to Twilight. Calling them The Mane Six wasn’t entirely accurate as they were currently missing a certain member, the leader, one could say: Twilight Sparkle. A purple aura causes the doors to slam shut behind them which promptly startles ghost Twilight.

“Hey, wait a minute... Where am I?. In fact, I don’t even see Spike with them either. I wonder if-”, Twilight’s words were instantly stopped dead in their tracks as she sees who it was that sat upon Cadence’s throne: A lavender colored alicorn whos height and stature even slightly surpassed that of Celestia’s, this world’s Twilight Sparkle.

“Ah, I see you’ve all made it back. Report, now.”

“Empress Twilight Sparkle, we’ve successfully conquered Seaquestria. We currently have Queen Novo and her little brat in our custody. What shall we do with them varmints?”

“To be honest with you?, I don’t really give a buck. You can kill them both if you want, actually... Wait, don’t you need a few more hooves on your Orchard, Applejack?. Oh!, I do hope Big Mac and Apple Bloom are enjoying their new playthings.”

Applejack lets out a loud series of laughter before she then recovers and replies:

“Naw, we’re good. All them griffons makes fer’ great slaves, darn bastards do tend to muck it up but a good buck to their ribcage reminds them of whose farm they be workin’ on. Oh yeah, Big Mac couldn’t be any happier and Apple Bloom’s already turned five of those griffons into her, as she likes to call them: Sexual reliefers.”

Twilight begins to laugh hysterically upon hearing those words as she then beams a bright smile and says:

“I was always a fan of how you discipline your slaves, Applejack. What about the rest of you?, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie?. Does any of you need another slave?”

“I’m good, egghead. The slaves I have are totally awesome so I don’t need another. I also help A.J. To keep her slaves in check so that keeps me occupied. When any of those griffons tries to fly off, I snap their wings right off them. Those bucking morons are lucky we don’t do what Fluttershy does.” - Rainbow Dash.

“I am quite fine as well, darling. My fashion line is already selling like hot cakes and I’ve already turned most species on Equus into, well, material. For example, the fur of those walking cat things make for excellent merchandise.” - Rarity

“Oh, well, um, my animals are already being well fed thanks to the healthy supply of meat my slaves provide. I really appreciate this, Twilight. The bears and wolves of my cottage absolutely loves being fed baby zebras, as does my pet manticore. Oh!, you all should watch one of my hunting events. I allow some of the slaves to run loose in The Everfree Forest and then I let my animals track them down. It’s soo much fun, I just enjoy watching nature take its course.” - Fluttershy.

“Ooh!, ooh!, If we’re gonna kill them then can I keep them?!. Maud’s been asking for a living punching bag to relieve some stress on but let me tell ya, the last few slaves she’s punched exploded into bite sized pieces!. Oh!, maybe I should feed those pieces to those useless life forms during our next slave party!” - Pinkie Pie.

“Very well, as the Empress Of Equus, I’ve come to a decision. Since Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy seem to be the only ponies interested I’ve decided to bestow Queen Novo onto Pinkie Pie and Princess Skystar shall go to Fluttershy. Being younger, I’m sure the Princess will offer your animals more of an exciting chase. I trust that you’ll be cutting her wings off in her hippogriff form?”

“Oh yes, I can’t allow any of the slaves to fly away. Thank you again and I really appreciate this, Twilight. Oh, don’t worry about her swimming away either. I have a large pack of piranhas and crocodiles guarding all of the nearby water sources, I even have a large serpent!”, Empress Twilight simply laughs at her friend’s excitement before she continues:

“I’m glad to hear that. As for you, Pinkie Pie, I’ve decided to give you Queen Novo. Being older than her daughter, but not too old, she’d be perfect for your sister’s stress relief. I hear hippogriffs can be quite durable.”

“Before that, we need to throw her a: Thanks-for-being-maud’s-stress-relief-but-it’s-too-bad-we-have-to-kill-you party!, I’m soo excited!. I even want to try a new game called: Pull the wings off of a hippogriff!”

“Then as Empress, I hereby declare that this meeting of The Elements Of Superiority is officially adjourned. Remember everypony, our motto is:

“Ponies on top!, everything else?!, who gives a buck!”, The Elements Of Superiority shouts in unison.

Ghost Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Despite her body’s current condition, tears were already flowing down her cheeks as she bore witness to this world’s version of herself and those of her friends. To see just how terrible things are here, how heartless they’ve all become. Only one thing went through her mind:

-I... I have to get out of here, this world is just... Just... Terrible!. Me and my friends would never do anything like this!, ponies on top?!, what the buck is that about?!-

[RRRREEEEEAAAAWWWWWW]

“Aw, here comes Spike!.”, Empress Twilight exclaims happily. This causes the other ponies, including ghost Twilight, to turn towards the closed doors of the throne room’s entrance.

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

A series of powerful and loud stomping echoes just beyond the doors until finally, they are parted by a very large dragon’s hand. A large purple and green dragon enters the throne room with powerful wings protruding from its back. The entity was so large in fact, that it had to lower itself beneath the foundation of the large entrance.

“Twilight!, I have returned my dear mother!”

“Spike!, there’s my number one assistant!”, Empress Twilight then teleports over to the large dragon and rears up to hug him with her forelimbs. Spike returns the gesture by using his large dragon hands to cover his mother in a warm embrace.

“Oh Spikey Wikey, it’s so good to see you. And, oh my, how you’ve grown~”, Rarity says as she wiggles her eye brows suggestively.

“Now, now, Rarity. If you want to breed with my son you’ll need his consent.”

“Oh don’t worry mom, she already has it. Besides, I’ve already bred her before.”

“I’m going to ignore that. Anyway, how was the mission?, were you able to subjugate The Dragonlands?”

“Hah!, it was hardly even a warm up. They were all fat and lazy fools, even the former Dragonlord was nothing compared to my might. I believe that weakling’s name was: Ember?. Doesn’t matter, she’s now being digested in my belly.”

“I’m so happy to hear that son, Oh!, we’ll need to tell your grandmother Celestia and Granny Velvet about this. Your aunt Luna is still massacring the deer populace so she won’t be here for a while, she’s even using her Nightmare Moon form. You especially need to see Granny Velvet, she’s turning one hundred this year you know.”

Spike lets out a momentary sigh as he replies:

“I keep telling granny that you could just turn her into an alicorn, she won’t need to worry about age ever again.”

“You know that she’s an old fashioned mare. Besides, she wants to see dad again in the afterlife so we can’t deny her that.”

“By the way, where’s Cadence, Shining, and Flurry Heart?. I was surprised to hear that you were currently ruling The Empire.”

“Oh, Cadence and Shining took my niece out to massacre the Changelings, those who remain that is. I wish you could’ve seen it Spike, Queen Chrysalis looked soo pathetic begging us to spare her children’s lives, that is before we killed them in front of her and then killed her too. Some of them got away so that’s why they chased after them and asked me if I could watch over The Empire in their absence.”, Empress Twilight lets out a sigh of relief as she says: “My niece is going to become a great Princess Of Genocide.”

As their conversation goes on, ghost Twilight’s world was literally turned upside down. She was simply broken, speechless, with tears flowing down her face but these tears were just as ghostly as their owner was. They existed and yet they didn’t exist either. Everyone she has ever loved were now heartless racists’ and were treating any non-pony as if they were garbage, mere playthings. The ghost alicorn could only hope that their non-pony friends were still alive in this world, those who weren’t captured by her twisted counterpart.

“I... I hate this world... I don’t want to be here any longer...”


> Christmas Special: Sombra And The Unknown Snow globe.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-

Over a thousand years ago, before the banishment of Nightmare Moon, there was once an Empire that was ruled over by a heartless tyrant: King Sombra. This pony was a stallion unicorn and he was unlike any other that has ever lived. The thing is, was it even accurate to call him a unicorn pony?. Sure, he certainly looked like one, but what many don’t realize is that he was actually: An Umbrum.

The Crystal Empire looked as if any happiness that once existed within, died off from the very moment the umbrum tyrant made his claim. Ponies were chained against their will and forced into servitude. Those who didn’t bow to Sombra, died. If you were considered weak, you died. If you were unfortunately born with a disability, you died. The self proclaimed King would see to that personally. There was one act that he was well known for, something he possibly loved even more than conquering or killing: Breeding mares without mercy.

It’s about to be nightfall within The Empire as Luna’s moon starts to rise and Celestia’s star sets. The Tyrant king was currently within his bedchambers as various maids were attending to the room, cleaning behind every nook and cranny. Sombra was currently feeling impatient, and very annoyed.

“Where is she?!, your King demands to be pleasured!”

“P-please, your Majesty, we are preparing her as we speak.”

“Be quick about it!, I have many more mares to breed and give my seed to!. You should all be grateful to me, I am securing my line’s future rule. My bloodline shall last until the end of time. So declares the great, Sombra.”

The maid mares all nods understandably as they quickly finish up their cleaning and preparation for their King’s night activity.

“Aww, yes, Long live the King.”

“She’s ready, my lord.”

“Good, now bring her in-”, Sombra’s words were cut off as he gazes upon a beautiful unicorn mare, who now stands before him. Her fur is dark gray and her tail, along with her mane, are as white as the snow just outside of The Empire’s boundaries. Her pupils were a vibrant orange coloration, inhabiting beautiful eyes that could practically pierce through any stallion’s heart. It was really no surprise that she managed to silence King Sombra, the very moment he laid eyes on her. What was most interesting is her cutie mark, something that equally interested the umbrum king:



“Do you like what you see, my King?. [CHUCKLE] Judging by your reaction, I can see it clear as day. Both on your face, and, down there~”, The mare says seductively as she winks suggestively. Sombra finally snaps out of his shocked state, shakes his head, and beams a very vibrant smile.

“My word, you are a fine mare, the finest I’ve ever laid eyes on. Please, give me your name so that I know what to scream as you pleasure me.”

“Oooh~, a stallion with confidence. I love it, the rumors about you were true.”

“All pleasant, I hope.”

“Oh they are, you see... I’m not like other mares. You could say, I’m out of this world. Unlike other mares, I can see if a stallion knows how to show me a good time. Looking at you now, I’m quite impressed.”

“My naughty mare, you flatter me. You still have me at a disadvantage, what’s your name?”

“My apologies, you may call me: Calamitas.”

“[LAUGHTER] What a magnificent name, strong yet beautiful. I assume that has much to do with your cutie mark?”

“More than you know, my King. Oh!, before we begin... I’d like to give something to you.”, Calamitas then conjures up a circular object with a flat base, a rather unique: Snow Globe.



Calamitas then floats over the snow globe upon which Sombra takes it within his left front hoof, looking down upon the object with a small hint of confusion.

“The gesture is appreciated, but... What exactly is this thing?”

“Why it’s a snow globe, my King. Go on, give it a quick shake... Maybe then, I’ll shake something for you~”

“[CHUCKLE] If it lets us get down to business sooner, fine.”, Heeding the mare’s request, the umbrum shakes the aforementioned object. Within the snow globe, the makeshift snow begins to rain down upon the small plastic house held within. Suddenly, even The Empire begins to snow. Sombra notices this change but doesn’t pay it any mind, this was the cold north after all so surely-

“Wait... The Crystal Heart’s barrier shouldn’t allow even a spec of snowfall within the-”

“Hahahahahahaha!”, Calamitas lets out a long and drawn out series of laughter’s before they slowly die down and she recovers. “Oh you foolish, little, pony. Oh!, wait, umbrum.”

“You blasted succubus!, what did you just do?!”

“What I did?, oh no, it’s what you did. Well, have fun with The Frost Legion. Merry Christmas!, dumbass!”

“[GRRRRR] Rawr!”

[POOF]

[BOOM]

In a fit of rage, Sombra attempts to blast Calamitas with a beam of dark energy. Unfortunately for the umbrum, she was already long gone, vanishing without a trace.

“Who in the name of Tartarus was that she devil?!, I will ring her neck the next time I-”

[SLAM]

Sombra’s words were cut of as his bedroom door is slammed open and a stallion crystal guardspony exclaims:

“My king!, we have urgent news!”

“What is it now?!”

“Enemies!, my King!. There are creatures of ice and snow closing in. They are truly strange, they look like somepony stacked three large snowballs onto each other. Some of them even has a red scarf, a hat, and a carrot for a nose. They wield such strange weapons-”

“Enough talk you fool!, get out there and handle it!”

“That’s just it, my King. These enemies have already taken down most of our army by firing their strange weapons.”

“[GRRRR] Go!, take all of the castle guards if you must!”

“Yes, my king!”, The guardspony salutes as he turns around and runs down the hallway.

“What is happening here?, who dares to attack the great Sombra?.”, Sombra looks down towards the snow globe which he still held within his hoof. “It was this blasted snow globe... I knew something was off when it started to snow within The Empire!, I foolishly brushed it off!”, Upon saying his exclamation, Sombra throws the snow globe out of an opened window with all of his might, exits his room, and trots down the hallway.





-THE CASTLE OF THE TWO ROYAL SISTERS-

A large force of royal guards which consisted of both the day and night shift ponies, and bat ponies, are currently assembled before a beautiful castle. The Castle was positioned within a mystical forest, wild in its very nature. Some could even say that this forest was rather, free.

Before the army of guardsponies, high above them and looking down upon the equines from a balcony were two royal equine figures. Two princesses, one dark and one light. One with the vibrant emblem of the sun sat upon her flank, the other with the emblem of a mysterious yet gleaming crescent moon. Princesses Luna and Princess Celestia. The white alicorn takes the initiative as she breaths deeply and exclaims in a powerful voice that nearly shakes the very forest around them:

“Our precious ponies!, the time has come to rid The Crystal Empire of the foul tyrant: Sombra!”

“Verily!, our sister speaketh the truth!. We shall cut down thy fore mentioned tyrant!, together!, we shall lead you all into battle!”

The royal declaration from the sisters causes their army to shout with praise and war cries:

“For the future of Equestria!”

“By the honor of the Princesses!”

“For princess Celestia!”

“For the Princess Of The Night!”

“Rawr!”

The two sisters watch on with content smiles as they both alight their horns and conjures up their armor.


(Image belongs to its respective owner.)





-THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-



Sombra couldn’t believe what he was seeing, even though the truth was before his very eyes. Ponies were running for their lives in the streets of The Empire and some among them were badly injured, noticeably filled with holes from an unknown ranged weapon. Some even dropped dead before his very eyes. For the first time in Sombra’s reign, these ponies were not running from him, but from a foe unlike any other: Snowmen.



“What in the name of-”

“Stick em’ up, sonny. Do it now before I blow your brains out, ya see?”, A snowman holding a shotgun says as it aims the aforementioned weapon directly at Sombra’s head.

“How in the devil did you-”

“Now I a’int gonna tell you again sonny, stick em up!”

“You dare threaten me you foolish creatu-”

[BANG]

The shotgun is fired point blank which results in Sombra’s head being completely destroyed. A dark aura leaks out of the umbrum’s body as it falls limp to the floor. Satisfied with its work, the snowman turns around and begins to hop away as it says:

“Now to move on to the next-”

“You think you’ve finished me, snowbeast?”

The snowman was just about to hop once more until it instantly stops upon hearing those words. Suddenly, a green aura is slowly built up behind the snowman as it turns around slowly.

“[CHUCKLE] Be gone creature!”

[BOOM]

[SPLAT]

Snow splatters onto the crystalline street below Sombra’s hooves. He was about to celebrate his victory until the tyrant notices that he was being surrounded by these entities. Some were holding melee weapons while others wielded the exact same ranged weapon as the snowman he just destroyed. Sombra grits his teeth in anger and says:

“These things will not take my kingdom from me!, never!”, Gathering all of his magic, the umbrum conjures large pillars of blackened crystalline structures and sends them into multiple directions. He didn’t care one bit if he hit any ponies for as of this moment, he was entirely focused on fighting these beings comprised entirely of snow.

The war between the umbrum King and the mysterious snowmen carries on as Sombra continues to blast and smash away at the snowmen. He’d fire off a beam of magic, melting a few snowmen in the process, while also levitating a large chunk of his dark crystals, slamming it down upon the snowmen. The snow entities also landed fatal blows of their own as they continue to hop towards the umbrum in a large hoard. Snowmen would stab, shoot, and even throw a powerful snowball projectile at Sombra. His only saving grace was the fact that his body wasn’t like any normal pony’s, it was as if he were made entirely of shadows. Unfortunately, unlike the snowmen he still had one fatal weakness: Fatigue. His magic reserves were running low from having to fight against a near endless hoard of these snowmen while they seemed to lack such a weakness. They never stopped coming, it mattered not how many of them would fall before Sombra, they would just keep coming. For every snowman that fell it felt as is twenty more took its place.

“T-this... Is not... Possible. There’s no end to these blasted things...”, Sombra says tiredly as he tries to catch his breath. “I am not a coward... But... I must retreat...”, Gritting his teeth in what seemed to be a combination of pain and fatigue, the umbrum turns into a shadow and phases into the crystalline foundation below him. Vanishing before the snowmen in the process.

The night goes on as the snowmen continue to destroy The crystal Empire, tearing it apart by every means available to them. Ponies were still leaving the Empire in droves as they flee from their home, now plagued by this ravenous army... This legion of eternal frost.

Sombra reappears on a nearby cliff which overlooked his once grand kingdom, which was currently still being overrun by the frost legion. He could only stare on in disbelief as his fatigue causes him to drop onto the snow. Before the world around him goes black, the umbrum says:

“Why?... How could I fail?. I’ve faced the two sisters, the living goddesses... I’ve conquered an empire... Nopony could ever challenge me.”, Suddenly, there before Sombra’s very eyes was a certain object that laid before him, mocking him with its presence. His eyes widen as he recognizes the object: The Snow Globe.

“N...noooo...”, Finally, the tyrant king give in to unconsciousness.

[POOF]

“Well, you put up a good fight... I guess. I’m bored now, I was hoping I’d see something more entertaining but I guess that’s-”, Suddenly, a portal opens up behind this entity which cuts off their words in the process and another voice joins in:

“Calamitas, are you done playing with ponies yet?”

“Yeah, yeah, real funny. I guess I’m done here, let’s go back, Yharim.”





-CRYSTAL EMPIRE OUTSKIRTS-

It was now morning as Celestia’s star begins to rise above The Empire. The alicorn sisters decided to scout ahead of their army as they fly towards The Crystal Empire. Soon, they draw near their destination but are shocked to see a certain umbrum sitting down on his flank upon a cliff, which they happened to be flying over. Spotting their foe, the royal sisters nods their heads and descends towards the tyrant king.

“Sombra!, today thou meet thy end, foul cretin!” - Luna.

“Surrender yourself, Sombra. We will only ask you once.” - celestia.

“I surrender, Princesses. You may have The Crystal Empire... Whatever is left of it, that is.”

“W-wait, what?. Does this have anything to do with the ponies we found running away?” - Celestia.

“Celestia... Luna... There are forces out there that are beyond my own comprehension. Creatures that I have come to fear, even more than you two.”, Sombra then points a hoof towards the snow globe, still laying in the same spot as it was all night. “I surrender to you both on one condition: You must seal that abomination away, swear to never use it. You always go on and on about how much you love your ponies, Celestia... Now prove it. If you’ve seen what that... Thing... Is capable of, you’d fear it just as I do. That fear changes your outlook on things. Do not be mistaken, I am not surrendering to you, not exactly. I am surrendering to that thing, you two are just the best option I have to contain it.”

The sisters were simply in utter disbelief and shock. Had they not caught themselves, both of their mouth’s would’ve dropped upon hearing Sombra’s surrender. The sun Princess suddenly gets an idea as she says:

“Sombra, we accept your terms. However, with your permission, I would like to look into your mind.”

“If you think that’ll help you then fine.”

“Sister, art thou sure this is wise?, he could be tricking us...”

“Sombra is absolutely fearful of that object, Luna. Despite him being one of our greatest enemies, if he fears this thing... I wish to see why. I want to know what we’ll be up against should anypony ever foolishly activate this... Thing.”, Upon saying those words, Celestia’s horn is surrounded by a golden aura upon which she taps it against sombra’s own horn. Her eyes shoot wide open and her body buckles down to the snow covered ground. The sun princess begins to shake in utter fear as she could barely say:

“So... Much... Destruction... D-death... Everywhere...”

“Sister?, what hath thou seen?. By our mother and father, you’re trembling awfully!.”

“She’s seen what I’ve seen, Princess. She witnessed death, she witnessed endless destruction, she witnessed... The Frost Legion.”

The End.






(Image belongs to its respective owner.)
> Chapter 51 - The Power Of Brainiac Pt: 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-UNKNOWN UNIVERSE-

Rainbow Dash.





A rainbow maned pegasus was currently flying over the peaceful town of Ponyville. Normally, many ponies would be shouting out to her often asking for an autograph or, in some cases, even asks her to become a potential lover. This offer coming from both stallions and mares alike. Unfortunately, none of this would ever come to pass for one simple reason: She was literally a ghost.

“Well... This is just bucking great. Sure, I can still fly, but nopony can see my awesomeness!. I’m nothing but a ghost now!”, Ghost Rainbow lets out an annoyed grunt as she says: “I went to Fluttershy’s place and no matter what I did, even she didn’t see or hear me. That giant bucking brain is such a-”

“Has anypony seen our friend?!, her name is Scootaloo!”

“If you have any information please forward it to us, the Cutie Mark Crusaders!. Myself and Apple Bloom will always be available!”

Rainbow Dash’s words were cut off by two very familiar ponies: Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Upon noticing the two crusaders, Rainbow begins to descend and lands right next to the aforementioned ponies. Both crusaders are desperately searching for their friend as they pass out various sheets of paper to every pony passing by. These papers had the face of Scootaloo upon them along with something that makes Rainbow Dash’s fur quake in horror: MISSING

“W-what?!, Scootalloo’s missing?!. Who in the buck would dare to take my number one fan?!, she’d never leave without telling anypony!”

“It’s no good, Sweetie Belle... Nopony’s seen her. Not since she failed that there Flight School Graduation Test, ah’m startin’ to think that she-”

“We can’t give up!, the only lead we have so far is that she was last seen in Cloudsdale. Some even say that she was spotted going into The Factory.”

As the two ponies continue to converse, Rainbow Dash narrows her features in determination and exclaims:

“Last spotted at The Factory?!, ok then!. If nopony else is gonna get to the bottom of this then by Celestia, I am!. I’m coming Scoots!”, Rainbow Dash takes off into the sky and flies at max speed towards Cloudsdale.





-THE CLOUDSDALE FACTORY-

A series of clopping hooves echoes throughout the hallways of The Cloudsdale Factory. At least that would be the case if Rainbow Dash wasn’t currently a ghost like figure. She determinedly searches behind every corner of every hallway, behind every door of every room, searching for her beloved number one fan. Admittedly, the cyan pegasus often considered Scootalloo to be a long lost sister.

“Ok, the girls said that Scootalloo was last seen here in The Factory but I checked everywhere!. Where in the hay could she-”, Suddenly, a very unique metal door is spotted towards the end of the hallway. This door was unlike any other within the facility, most noticeably, were the words that was written just above its foundation. “Restricted Access?, what the hay?. This doesn’t exist back home... Wait a second!, maybe I’m so awesome in this world that they gave me a secret part of The Factory!. It all makes sense now, I bet this world’s version of me hired Scoots and made her swear to keep it a secret!. I bet it’s like Daring-Do and that this is actually a secret organization meant to protect Equestria. Totally, awesome!”

To say that Rainbow Dash was happy would be an understatement. However, there was still another problem she faced: How to get in.

“Seriously?, what kind of ghost can’t just go right through a door or wall?... Isn’t that sort of their, thing?”

Suddenly, as if her prayers were listened to and answered, the metal door opens up revealing two pegasi dress in lab coats. At least, that’s what it looked like to the cyan pegasus. Rainbow Dash suddenly takes on an annoyed expression as she says:

“Don’t tell me I hired the egghead too?, why are a bunch of nerdy pegasi leaving my secret organization’s hide out?. Well, at least I can get in now!, thanks guys!”, Rainbow exclaims happily as she rushes into the now opened section of The Factory, moments before its metal door automatically slams shut. The door startles the pegasus in the process but her eyes are widened in shock as she finally sees what this section of the facility is called. There, posted on the interior section of the door were the words:

“Rainbow Factory.”

The stunt pegasus is currently making her way through the unfamiliar section of The Rainbow Factory, she assumes that she’ll see some great organization meant to defend Equestria from all threats in secret. Little did she know, this was far from the truth.

“I can’t wait to see how Scoots is doing, I wonder if her wings managed to grow out in this world. You know... This place isn’t very bright for a secret organization. It’s kind of... Dark, where’s all the lights and-”

”Why?... Ho... But I... Please don’t... This is... Wrong!...”

Rainbow’s words were cut off as she could hear faint voices nearby, barely able to make out what she was hearing. As she drew closer, her facial features drops instantly as she could hear two very familiar voices. The words coming from one of these voices were absolutely cruel, most disturbingly, it was her voice. Rainbow continues to draw closer to the voices as she finally comes to a large room which housed a very large machine. Large vials of rainbow liquid were stored nearby as armed pegasi watched over various portions of the room. The ghost pegasus’s eyes were shot wide open in horror as she sees, her. Another Rainbow Dash wearing a lab coat similar to the other ponies who granted her access to The Rainbow Factory. Even more so was the pony who this version of the stunt pegasus clearly intends to do harm to: Scootaloo.

“How could you do this to me?!, I thought you loved me!”

“I did love you kid!, Celestia knows I did!. I’ve always known about what they did here which is why I tried soo hard to make you the best!, to be the best flyer anypony has ever seen!. I even wanted you to be better than me!. How did you repay me?, you failed!. You’re a disgrace to the pegasi!, you’re dead and worthless to everypony in Cloudsdale!. But most of all... You’re dead to me!, my love for you is now foregone!. Strap her to the machine!”

”NO!”, Ghost Rainbow Dash exclaims as she attempts to rush into her alternate self. “You take all of that back!, Scootaloo is not worthless!. I love her with all my heart!.”, Unfortunately, the ghostly pegasus simply phases right through her other world self, not effecting the entity at all. Rainbow refused to give up as she recovers and lands before her alternate self, swinging her fore hooves violently towards her foe as she screams out: “You’re not me!, you’re just a bucking psycho!, let Scootaloo go!. She has soo much to live for!, let!, her!, go!”, Despite her body’s current condition, tears begins to form and leak down the ghost pegasus’s cheeks as she continues to strike away at her lab coated counterpart.

“But don’t worry, you’re still useful for something else!.”, The lab coated Rainbow Dash exclaims as she suddenly hits a switch that was positioned just before her. Ghost Rainbow tries to hit the aforementioned switch... To no avail. She tries to plead to her other self despite knowing all too well how fruitless it would be:

“Please!, look deep into your heart and spare her!. I beg you!, please!, I know that you still love her deep down!.”

[BSHOOOOM]

The large machine, of which Scootaloo was currently bound to via a set of chains, was now activated as it slowly starts to rise the chained pegasus up into the air. There she remained elevated as her body is slowly guided towards the top portion of the machine. The chained pegasus was now before the lab coated Rainbow Dash who suddenly stops the machine and looks right into Scootaloo’s eyes.

“Any last words you worthless piece of filth?.”

“Y-you... You have beautiful eyes...”

Ghost Rainbow was now an emotional wreck as her tears managed to leak from her eyes and trail all the way down to her chest region. With a broken heart she says:

“Scootaloo... I’m here for ya kid. Hang in-”

[BSHOOOOM]

The machine fires up once more as the lab pegasus hits the switch once again. Ghost Rainbow flies into the air and hugs Scootaloo with all her might as the chained pegasus begins to weep, fresh tears flowing down her cheeks. All while being guided towards the machine’s entrance point. The ghostly pegasus couldn’t do anything, nothing to save her beloved sisterly figure, her number one fan. There was only one act of compassion Rainbow could perform: Be there for her, spiritually.”

“Scootaloo, I know you can’t hear me... You probably don’t even know that I’m here. But... I love you kid... With all my heart and soul. I’m so sorry you have to go through this... To be betrayed by... Me...”

The machine stops as Scootaloo’s body is positioned perfectly above the machination’s entrance. Both pegasi, ghost and living alike, looks down towards the chained pegasus’s imminent demise.

“Scootaloo, I want you to know that the you who lives in my world, she’s loved by everypony. She isn’t worthless and neither are you. I want you to know that I love you both, I don’t care if you’re from a whole other universe. I hope that somehow... Someday... You can be reborn into my world. If not, then maybe you could go somewhere you’ll be loved all the same-”, Suddenly, ghost Rainbow’s words were cut off as Scootaloo screams in utter fear:

“Awwwwwww!”, The once chained pegasus is now dropped into the machine, gasping and screaming in the process. The ghost pegasus, who watched on in horror, was now forced to close her eyes as the sounds of flesh being grinded against the gears of the machination echoes throughout the room and after a few moments, rainbow liquid is dispensed into a large nearby vial. Ghost Rainbow’s tears continued to flow as she grits her teeth in a combination of anger and pain.

“Good bye, Scoots... I love you...”

“Hahahahaha!, see ya never you useless piece of baggage!”

Ghost Rainbow’s eyes narrows in utter rage as she turns towards her other self, staring at her with murderous intent. She growls with gritted teeth as she scorns the entity before her and says:

“I... Am... Going... To... KILL YOU!”

The pegasus rushes into the lab coated psychopath, who was still laughing manically, and swings her ghostly hooves’ at the source of her hatred.

“I HATE YOU!, I HATE ALL OF THIS!. I HATE THIS WORLD!, I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE ANYMORE!. LET ME OOOOUUUUT!”







-UNKNOWN UNIVERSE-

Pinkie Pie.





The party loving pony is currently hopping happily through the small town of Ponyville. Try as she might, no matter how hard the pink pony would greet anyone they simply ignored her. Not intentionally of course, this was mostly due to the fact that much like a certain other two ponies: Pinkie Pie is literally a ghost-like entity.

“This is soo weird but soo much fun too!, it’s too bad that I can’t surprise anypony like this. Oh!, I wonder what Sugarcube Corner is like here?”, Upon saying those words, the pink mare zooms off in a pink blur towards her aforementioned destination.

[DING DING]

The bell positioned over the door to Sugarcube Corner goes off as a new customer enters the establishment. However, It wasn’t ghost Pinkie who opened the door and she doesn’t enter alone as she now has a companion: This world’s Rainbow Dash. The pegasus takes a deep breath and shouts:

“Pinkie!, I’m here!”

“I’m in the kitchen, Rainbow!. Come on back!, there’s a new cupcake I want you to try for me!”

Ghost Pinkie was simply excited to see this play out before her very eyes. Despite being sent to another universe, while not entirely being here, she was having a surprisingly good time. Then again, it is Pinkie Pie.

“Ooh, a new cupcake?, I want to see this. Oh!, maybe I can copy the recipe!. Sorry this world’s me but I won’t pass this up!”, Ghost Pinkie exclaims with a mischievous smile. She and this world’s Rainbow Dash starts to make their way into the kitchen.

The ghostly pink pony’s eyes were shot wide open as she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, yet she was very happy about it: Another Pinkie Pie, this world’s party pony.

“Ooooooh, who’s this good looking mare?.”, Ghost Pinkie question’s with a smirk.

“What the hay?, you made me come here just to test a new cupcake?”

“Awww, come on Dashie... I need somepony who I know will tell me the truth if they’re good or not.”

“Then why not call Applejack?, she’s literally The Element Of Honesty...”

“Her number didn’t come up yet, silly!”

“Her what?”

“Never mind that. Now, cupcake time!”, This world’s Pinkie exclaims as she zooms off in a pink blur and returns with a brown cupcake covered in green frosting.

“That. Looks. Soo. Good.”, Ghost Pinkie comments as a lob of drool almost escapes the right side of her muzzle. Rainbow Dash sighs in defeat as she says:

“Fine, fine, I’ll eat your cupcake. I guess this isn’t too bad, I skipped breakfast after all.”, The stunt pegasus then takes the cupcake into her front left hoof. Without any hesitation, the cyan pegasus devours it whole, munches on the delicious treat, and swallows it whole with utter delight. “Mmmph, that’s some good stuff Pinkie. What’s it made out of?”

“Oh!, ponies!”

“...”

“...”

“... W-what?”, Rainbow and Ghost Pinkie question’s in unison.

“Oh yeah and there’s some sedatives in there too!, they should be taking effect right abooouut...”

“P-Pinkie... I don’t feel so... Good.”

“Hey, w-wait a second... Why is Dashie feeling bad?. Treats are supposed to be-”

“Well duh!, of course you wouldn’t feel good... You ate the sedatives, Dashie. Oh!, you also ate Mr. And Mrs. Cake!. Here’s a secret: The frosting is made from The Twins.”

[FLOP] [CRASH]

The cyan pegasus falls to the kitchen floor, instantly rendered unconscious. Ghost Pinkie stares on in shock and disbelief as she witnesses this.

“Wha... What did you do to Dashie?, why is she-”

“Unconscious?, I just explained it. I slipped sedatives into the mixture.”

“W-wait!, you can hear me?!”

“I can’t see you but yes, I can hear you... Other me.”

“B-but how?”

“Um, hellooo, we’re both Pinkie Pie... We see and do things that nopony else can ever imagine. Even from different universes we all share that in common, the difference is how we use it. Now be quiet, I’ve got some-”

“What are you going to do with her?!. Wait... What did you do to The Cakes?, The Twins?”, Ghost Pinkie interjects.

“Oh come on, I can’t be this stupid in whatever universe you came from. I’ll say it slowly so you can understand me: I. Killed. Them. All. Dashie here will join them too, we’ve got lots of cupcakes to make and ponies are the best ingredients.”

“Noooo!, please no!, don’t do it!. Leave Dashie alone!”

“You know, it’s pretty funny. I can hear your words but all it sounds like to me is: Kill her kill her kill her.”, This world’s Pinkie Pie then picks up the unconscious pegasus as she hurls Rainbow’s body onto her back. “Now stop wasting my time, other me. I’ve got some materials to harvest and this pegasus is nice and full of it.”

“Where are you taking her?!, let her go you meanie!”

“Ok, One: When has that line ever worked. Two: Simple, the same place I take everypony whos number is chosen... The cellar.”


> Chapter 52 - The Power Of Brainiac Pt: 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

”Rainbow Daaash, wakey wakey...”

“No Rainbow!, don’t listen to her!”

”Shut up, me. Besides, she can’t even hear you so why bother?”

“Leave her alone you meanie-”

“Mmmf...”

Ghost Pinkie’s words were cut off as the formerly unconscious pegasus starts to come to and lets out a muffled moan. Rainbow slowly begins to open her eyes and instantly notices, her.

“P... Pinkie Pie?... What’s going on?. Where am-”

[CLINK] [CLINK]

Rainbow attempts to move her body only for a series of restraints to rattle as a result. The pegasus’s eyes widen as she realizes her current predicament: She’s strapped to a table that’s leaned up against a stone wall. She also notices that the party pony is very different, her mane is deflated and her entire body has become darkened.

”Oh!, you’re finally up!. Good, that means we can get started. I have soo much fun planned for you, Rainbow. Perfect for my best friend ever.”

“No!, no!, no!, please don’t do It!”, Ghost Pinkie pleads as tears begins to form in her eyes as she has already seen what pinkamena has in store for the pegasus.

“Hey P-Pinkie, this isn’t funny... I’m actually kind of weirded out.”

”Oh Dashie, don’t you worry one bit. Wait here for a moment, I need to grab my tools. Not like you have much of a choice, right?”, Pinkamena then turns around and makes her way into a nearby room, ghost Pinkie following behind her.

As the two Pinkies take their leave, Rainbow seizes the opportunity to truly absorb her surroundings and what she finds... Absolutely frightens her. The skulls of various ponies are lined neatly on a nearby shelf, dried blood was present just below her very position, and there was even what appeared to be a large tapestry. However, the pegasus suddenly wanted to hurl as she realizes that this ‘Tapestry’, is in fact the stitched together remains of cutie marks... With the skin of the owners flanks still attached.

“Wh... What the buck?!”, Rainbow’s eyes are suddenly drawn to what sat on a table positioned just in front of her: A griffon’s skull with the word ‘Gilda’, carved into it. The more she observed, the more it became all too apparent. This was a living nightmare and unfortunately for Rainbow Dash, she wasn’t asleep.

In the nearby room, ghost Pinkie and Pinkamena are currently having a debate. The purpose of it is for one reason: Rainbow Dash’s fate.

”How many times do I have to tell you to shut up?!”

“Never!, If I have to haunt you until the end of time then fine!. You will not touch Dashie!”

”I already did touch her, moron. What you should be worried about is if I’ll kill her, which I am. Now shut up so I can concentrate and find my Celestia damned tools!”

“Oh!, talking will save Dashy?!, ok!.”, Ghost Pinkie clears her throat as she begins to sing a tune: “Na na na na na na na na na na...”

”Shut up!, shut up shut up shut up shut up!”

“Sorry!, trying to save Dashie!. Na na na na na na na na...”

”If you don’t shut your mouth I swear to Tartarus, I’ll just forget about the number system and kill everypony!”

“Too bad, soo sad, na na na na na na na na...”

”AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!”

As this is going on, Rainbow Dash can overhear Pinkamena’s various exclamations. She isn’t entirely sure how to react, in fact, were it not for her current situation it’d be enough to make her laugh.

“Give up you big meanie, I won’t stop until you leave Rainbow alone and set her free!.”

”You know what?, I’ve got a better idea. How about, I just eat Rainbow Dash whole!”

“What?!, you can’t do that!. You said it yourself, you need Rainbow for your cupcakes reme-”, Ghost Pinkie’s eyes were widened in horror and her words were cut off as pinkamena’s body undergoes a drastic change. Pinkie was confused for a moment when the killer pony returned to normal... Only to quickly morph into what could simply be described as an eldritch abomination or a pink demon.



”How about this, Pinkie?!. I even made sure to look like my original self, do you still think I can’t eat her now?!

“N-no... P-please...”

”I was going to turn Rainbow into a cupcake but I’ve changed my mind, I’ll make you watch as I devour her!”, The pink abomination turns around and runs back into the other room, towards the restrained Rainbow Dash. The pegasus screams in horror upon seeing this being run at her with its giant maw agape. ”Here I come, Rainbow!”

“No!”

”AWWWW-”, Rainbow Dash’s scream was instantly silenced as a sickening crunch is heard. Ghost Pinkie could only watch on with tears in her eyes as the abomination feeds on the cyan pegasus who was now nothing more than a gory mess. Most notably, Rainbow’s head was bitten clean off as her body twitches and spasms. All the while, the pink monstrosity continues to gorge on the rest of the pegasus’s body.

Ghost Pinkie was simply devastated, her mane deflated and her fur darkened. There was nothing she could do as she had to watch this take place before her very eyes. Anger starts to build up inside her as she screams out with tears flowing down her cheeks:

”I’ll bucking kill you!, I’d destroy you in a heartbeat!. You took my friend... You forced me to watch this happen... I hate this world!. You and it can both burn for all I care!”







-UNKNOWN UNIVERSE- 

Applejack.





Applejack awoke in terror as she was immediately presented with a horrifying sight. Were it not for the fact that she was a ghost-like figure, she’d undoubtedly be joining those who were unfortunately being... Eaten. She wanted to hurl and puke her guts out as she watched zombified ponies kill and devour those who were still living. The orange earth pony took a quick glance around her as she realizes, this is Canterlot. The entire sky was darkened with a gray fog which prevented any hope of Celestia’s sun to shine upon this city of the dead. Buildings were in poor states as shattered glass and blood marks were on full display, most disturbingly, there were even ponies who had hanged themselves via a noose. Applejack could’ve sworn... She saw The Wonderbolts amongst them. Death, was simply everywhere.

“Wha... What in the pit of Tartarus is going on here?. Everypony is... Monsters, dead monsters and yet they ain’t dead at all. They’re just like those undead Vikings... Why is this happenin’?”, Suddenly, Applejack lets out a surprised gasp as she witnesses a new zombie who slowly limps around a corner which causes her to say: “Oh my garsh’... P-Princess Celestia?.”, This monstrosity was indeed the alicorn Princess Of The Sun but a decaying mockery of the once motherly, all loving, ruler of Equestria. “What is going on here?!, how could this happen to everypony?, to Celestia?. How did-”, Applejack cuts off her own words as a horrifying realization comes to mind. “Oh no... Everypony in Ponyville!, Sweet Apple Acres!, ah’... Ah’ got’ta get there now!”, With all her might, Applejack stampedes towards the exit/entrance to Canterlot while also ignoring the various carnage taking place all around her.

Even the outskirts of Canterlot were no different as corpses laid upon the lush planes of grass and judging by their placement, these were ponies who met their ends to the zombie apocalypse but weren’t turned in time as the undead fed on their flesh. Even so, Applejack was on a mission and if there was one thing she was grateful for in her body’s current condition, stamina wasn’t an issue.





Applejack’s eyes were shot wide in horror as she bares witness to the scene playing out before her. What was once Ponyville, a place of friendship and love, was now nothing more than a dark mockery of its former self. Buildings that were once lively and so bright as if they truly had their own life, was now nothing more than dead structures. It broke Applejack’s heart to see that among these buildings, both Sugarcube Corner and the Carousel Boutique were among them.

In a disturbing way, this was fitting due to the fact that the ponies of Ponyville were just as dead. Zombified ponies limped blindly throughout the small town, the conditions of these various ponies varied from each individual. Some zombies looked as if they were freshly turned while others had their bones already exposed due to decomposition.

“This is a bucking nightmare!”, Applejack exclaims as the cowmare makes her way through the undead. “Ah’ don’t like this one darn bit, this world just ain’t right. I can’t-”, The cowmare’s words were cut off and tears begins to stroll down her cheeks as she bares witness to the very last thing she ever wanted to see. There, limping awfully and groaning unemotionally was a large decaying red stallion: Big Mac. “No... No... No!, not you too Big Mac, by Celestia... No!. Not ma’ big brother too!”, Now that the cowmare takes a moment to look around, there were in fact many ponies that she recognized all around her. She could see The Cakes, Octavia, Vinyl, Miss Cheerilee, Bulk Biceps... Sweetie Belle. Stallions, mares, colts, fillies, all of the undead came in many different age ranges and sizes. Unfortunately, there were four ponies among the undead that shook the cowmare to her core: Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy. “No!... Not all of ya’ too!, mah’ brother was already hard enough but y’all... I’m soo sorry... Everypony here... Ah’m soo sorry. Please, somepony... Save me from this-”

“There, attack the center of town!. Spells at full power and fire at will!.”

[BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]

The zombies were suddenly blasted by a barrage of attacks moments after those words echoes throughout the area. The ghostly earthpony was unharmed of course but all around her, she could hear the roars of the undead ponies as they were consumed by flames and disintegrated from the barrage of attacks. She even took her ghostly hat off in respect as she watched her zombified friends and Big Mac become consumed by the flames. After a few moments, the attacks stop and all that’s left behind are charred remains and various destroyed structures.

“Good shootin’ everybody, ah’ wish we could’ve gotten here sooner but we’ve got a job to do!. Fer’ Equus, for Big Mac, for ma’ sister!”

Applejack’s ears flickered towards that voice, a voice she couldn’t believe she was hearing. The ghost mare turns to its source only to see a large army comprised of many different species. Ponies, griffons, changelings, minotaurs, many different forms of life made up this army. There, standing on the back of a large green and purple dragon was a much older Apple Bloom. Sat upon her head was a certain hat, the same one that sits upon ghost Applejack. The cowmare smiles as she says:

“Apple Bloom... Ma’ baby sis, yer’ ok.”

“Thou hath done thy siblings proud, dear lover.”

Ghost Applejack’s mouth drops instantly as a certain Princess Of The Night lands next to Apple bloom and pecks her on the cheek. This causes the ghost mare to say:

“What the hay?!, Princess Luna and Apple Bloom?!”

“Aw shucks, it was nothin’ Lulu. Ah’ been wantin’ to purge Ponyville fer’ quite some time now but with the whole world dealin’ with this here virus... We never had the time...”

“Art thou going to be ok, my love?. We understand that Big Mac was amongst the undead we’ve just destroyed not to mention thy fellow crusader, Sweetie Bell. If... If thou needs some time-”

“It’s ok, sugar. That thing wasn’t Big Mac nor was any of those walking corpses anypony we knew and loved. It was just somethin’ that was left behind as they passed on. Ah’ know that Mac, granny, and ma’ sister are wait’n fer’ me on the other side.”, Apple Bloom then laughs as she says: “I bet Applejack’s gonna want her hat back.”, This causes Luna to laugh in response before she replies:

“We miss our dearest sister in law.”, Luna’s features then saddens as she says: “And, our beloved sister... I’m so sorry, Celly.”

“Now don’t you go blaming yerself fer’ that, Luna. Princess Celestia is the reason yer’ still here today, she’s the reason why ah’ got to fall in love with ya’.”, Apple Bloom grabs Luna’s right front hoof and raises it with her own. “Canterlot is next to be purged and if we run into her, we’ll handle it... Together.”, This causes Luna to smile as she replies:

“Yes my love, we art ready for when our sister’s rotten form stands before us. We also believe that Celly is waiting for us on the other side. When the time comes we shall destroy her unholy remains.”

Apple Bloom nods and then looks down towards the large dragon she stood upon, with a saddened expression, and asks:

“You ok big guy?, Twilight’s body was in that hoard too.”, A loud rumble vibrates from Spike’s body as he then sighs deeply and replies:

“I’m fine, Apple Bloom. I guess for me, Twilight died the day she jumped into Rainbow’s path when she tried to charge at me... When she tried to, eat me. Back then, Twilight asked me to burn her body... She knew that she was turning but I... I wasn’t strong enough to do it back then.”, Spike’s features narrows in determination as he says: “But now, I can at least ensure that everypony’s corpses gets a proper send off. Get back everyone!, I’m going to burn Ponyville to-”, Suddenly, an undead moan can be heard just in front of the large dragon, Applejack currently positioned right next to the drake. Ghost Applejack and Spike’s eyes were shot wide open as the moans are revealed to be coming from the undead Rarity and Twilight.

Fate was absolutely cruel for somehow the two zombified mares managed to survive the barrage from earlier and were currently making their way towards the army. Apple Bloom grits her teeth and exclaims:

“Ah’ got this Spike, ya’ don’t need ta’-”

“No, I’ve got this. Do me a favor, I need for you and Luna to get off my back for a second.”, The two mares simply nods understandably as they each gets off Spike’s large frame.

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

“Twilight... Rarity... I love you both. I’ll tell Pinkie Pie that I finally got to put your bodies to rest, I should also tell her that we took care of Mr and Mrs Cake. The Twins might not have their parents any more, but, Pinkie will be an amazing mother to them. Good bye Twilight, my mother... And Rarity, my love.”, Spike rears back, takes in a large breath of air, and then lowers himself forward as he emits a large surge of flames. These flames not only consumes his zombified loved ones but also the entire portion of the town in front of him.

Ghost Applejack was still in tears as she watches on with her hat lowered as a sign of respect.

“Rest in peace ma’ friends, y’all didn’t deserve this fate, nopony deserves any of this. Ah’m glad that Apple Bloom is still alive and managed to find love but... Ah’ hate this world. I need to find a way out.”


> Chapter 53 - A Plan Of Action.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE CRIMSON BIOME-

The Perforators floated high into the crimson skies as the entity looked down upon the battlefield with utter joy. It watched as its allies, the three large serpent like entities of flesh, continued to wage war against the adventurers.

Starlight, Rarity, Zecora, Terralestia, and Sai Sahan were currently patching up their wounds via drinking their Health Potions. Rarity is the first to recover as she question’s:

“How do we destroy these things?!, every time we manage to inflict damage on those large... Flesh worms, they just heal themselves instantly!”

“They seem to be using the very landscape around us to repair their bodies, we need to find a way to destroy them quickly or enough to prevent any chance of regeneration.”, Terralestia replies.

As the conversation goes on, loud roaring and the screams of the adventurers echoes throughout the landscape in the background. Celebes can be observed amongst them, fighting off the entities with her flaming broadsword. Sai Sahan notices this and grits his teeth in anger before saying:

“Let us rejoin the battle with haste!, those monstrosities are feasting on our allies!”

“I suspect our foe who has taken our friends is at fault, the one who has many eyes and mouth’s.”, Zecora replies.

“What makes you say that?”, Starlight question’s.

“It’s a suspicion my friends, think back to what the creature said before our fight began.”

Everyone takes a moment to think back, just before their pony allies were taken.

”My lord has use for you...”

“The rest of you can die...”

Then, It hits them like a truck as they come to realize Zecora’s suspicion. Starlight narrows her features and says:

“You know what?, I agree with Zecora. It’s not a coincidence that those flesh monsters showed up just moments before that thing took everypony.”, Zecora nods and replies:

“Indeed, but let us not forget the greatest proof of all.”, Everyone looks towards the zebra in silence as they wait for Zecora’s revelation. “Our dear friend Pinkie Pie sensed our mysterious foe, she called it out to her friends before she was taken by the flesh.”, Starlight’s eyes widen upon hearing those words as she exclaims:

“Of course!, Pinkie’s senses always detects the absolute worse danger present and if she detected that monster instead of these ones-”

“Then that creature must be The Boss!, meaning...”, Sai interjects.

“These things are nothing more than its summoned pawns, or as we like to call it, adds. If we can kill it, we kill them.”, Celestia states.

“Good show, darlings!. But, where do we find it?, how do we even know it’s still nearby?.”, Rarity question’s.

Zecora narrows her eyes determinedly and materializes a very peculiar potion, one that causes Terralestia and Sai’s eyes to lock onto it as they question:

“Wait... Is that a, Hunter Potion?” - Sai Sahan.

“How did you make that?” - Terralestia.



Zecora beams a large smile as she then chuckles to herself and replies:

“Thanks to this potion I have procured with Gex, we shall find our foe who has taken our friends. I doubt that our foe is hiding very far, allow me to drink the potion so the hunt for the boss can be set in motion.”, The zebra then drinks the magical beverage which causes her allies to say:

“Alright Zecora!” - Starlight.

“By Terra, your skills in potion crafting is amazing!” - Sai Sahan.

“You are simply marvelous, darling. I know you’ve always been a potion expert but this is just divine!” - Rarity.

“You know... You should consider selling your crafts at the capitol. You’d make a killing as an expert in potion crafting.” - Terralestia.

“Thank you for the kind words, my friends.”, Zecora’s gaze was stolen away as the potion takes effect and she notices a certain entity floating high into the air, over the battlefield. She points her front left hoof towards their foe and shouts: “There!, I see our foe high above. Ready your Rocket Boots, Rarity and Starlight, we shall fly up there and show him our might.”

“Before we go, take these Zecora. I think you can make use of this throwable weapon and cloak, much more than I ever could.”, Starlight interjects as she gives Zecora the aforementioned items: Dune Hopper and Sand Cloak.

“Oh, these items are quite the surprise. With this cloak in mind, perhaps I shall become one who strikes her foes from behind.”, Zecora says thankfully as she immediately equips her newly acquired items. Starlight nods happily as she then turns to Rarity and says:

“As for you, I know you don’t want to hear this but I think you should go look for the others.”

“What?!, but, I want to make that brute pay for taking them!”

“Don’t argue with me!, Let us handle this... Please Rarity. I need you to trust us, somepony needs to find our friends while we face that monster. Besides, I don’t even want to think about what they’re doing to Twilight and the others right now.”

“But, where do I even start?. I don’t have the faintest clue-”

“I shall go with you, If my suspicion is correct then I think I know where we can find them.”, Sai Sahan interjects. Terralestia turns to Sai and asks:

“Sai, what are you thinking?”

“I have a strong belief that our friends are being held prisoner within the underground of this biome. Remember when I said that the Crimtane Ore was positioned in a nearby crater?.”

“Well, yes, but what does that-”

“That crater is actually a large hole, one that goes down into the bowels of this place. There’s something else, it’s that name the monster mentioned before it took Twilight and her friends.”, This catches the attention of everyone present, however, Starlight seems to catch onto Sai’s suspicion as she replies:

“Wait, Brainiac is the exact same brain creature that was spawned from Cthulhu?, the one from that book of yours?”, Sai lets out a small chuckle as he replies:

“The name says it all, my little pony. If Brainiac truly is involved then our friends are in more trouble than we could ever imagine.”, Sai then turns to Rarity and says: “Come, we must be swift, things are getting worse by every passing second.”

“Ok then, lead the way.”, Before departing, Rarity turns her gaze towards Terralestia and says: “Celestia, please be a dear and watch over these two for me while I’m gone.”

“Consider it done, ma’am.”, Terralestia replies as she salutes in confirmation towards the unicorn mare. Rarity and Sai nods understandably as they take off towards their destination, moving away from the battlefield. As this is going on, the war continues to rage on in the distance to which Terralestia glances over to and says:

“Celebes, I’m putting my trust in you to take care of every one else.”, The terrarian then turns back to Zecora and Starlight. “Alright, let’s be off. Lead the way my zebra huntress.”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

“What?!, my friends all left to fight and nopony woke me up?!”, Fluttershy exclaims with a small hint of anger.

“Woah, woah, easy there warrior Goddess. The others were just looking out for you, I also agreed with their decision.”, Ritsu replies.

“B-but, I want to help them, no!, I need to help them. I can’t just stay here while my friends are in danger!”

”If the Goddess wants to help her friends then I shall accompany her, I will not question her determination.”, Princess Pinkie interjects.

As this is going on, Gex is silently observing the conversation taking place before him. However, he seems to be sporting a smirk on his face. Ritsu sighs lightly as she says:

“Look, I support her decision too but Applejack specifically said-”

“Applejack does not get to decide if whether or not I can come to save my friends!. Nopony gets to decide that for me. Besides, she’d do the exact same thing if she were here.”

“I know that, Fluttershy. Trust me... I do, however, we have an immediate problem.”, This causes Fluttershy and Princess Pinkie to look at each other as they then ask in unison:

“What?”

“How are we going to catch up to them in time?. It’ll take days for us to traverse to The Crimson Biome and even then, we don’t know where they-”

“Hahahaha...”, Everyone instantly turns to the source of the sudden series of laughter as it is revealed to be coming from Gex, The Witchdoctor.

“Zecora is most wise, it’s a good thing she and I had a plan hidden from your eyes. My apologies for lying to you all beforehand, fear not for I have a plan.”, Before anyone else could question the Lihzhard, the door to the room opens up revealing all of the terrarians and denizens of Home Town. Fluttershy looks on with a confused expression as she says:

“Oh my, um, what are you all doing here?”

Tanner The Guide chuckles to himself as he and the other denizens replies:

“Isn’t it obvious?, we’re coming to help you. We’ve been on the side lines for far too long.” - Tanner, The Guide.

“It’s time to make things go boom!. I’ve been itching for a fight ever since The Goblin Army. Er, no offence Gorglock.” - Vinny, The Demolitionist

“None taken my explosive friend. Besides, my brethren deserved it for what they did and my only regret is that I wasn’t there to help everyone. Anyway, I’ve been wanting to repay you oh great and kind, Fluttershy. I’ve got some gizmos that I’d love to try out in combat.” - Gorglock, The Goblin Tinkerer.

“I want to check up on my latest recruit, Rainbow Dash. I’ve finished my latest project and I promised her that she’d be the first to use it.” - Ceeman, The Arms Dealer.

“I might be old but I ain’t rusty. This merchant usually avoids a fight but when it comes to my friends, I’d do anything for them.” - Lucan, The Merchant.

“There are probably going to be those who need my healing powers, I’m no good in combat but I can support us nonetheless.” - Helena, The Nurse.

Fluttershy was nearly in tears as she was touched by her fellow town’s members determination to help the pegasus’s friends. However, realization dawns on her as she says:

“I appreciate the help, everypo- I mean, everyone. But, how are we going to get there?, Zecora and the others used the last-”

“Actually, they didn’t.” Gex interjects as he then materializes eight more of the Wormhole Potions, one for every being in the room. “Zecora and I suspected that you’d insist on aiding them. Therefore, we are the backup plan and I have eight more potions. Let us drink so that we may travel to our friends, to ensure that we all return home by day’s end.”
> Chapter 54 - Boss Fight: Perforators And The Brain Pt:1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



The Perforators continues to observe the battlefield below as its three large serpent like allies continues to cause death, mayhem, and destruction.

”Yes, my brethren... Eviscerate them a-”

[SPLAT]

”ARGH!”, The entity cries out as three rather peculiar shaped spears punctures its flesh. Most interestingly, two of the three spears disappears and fades back into the lone spear that remains. Afterwards, the spear automatically releases itself and flies back to its owner as if it were a being of its own. Most notably, its owner happens to be a zebra.

“I see my new spear has portrayed my might, you can not hide from my sight, reveal yourself and prepare to fight!”, Zecora exclaims as she floats in place thanks to her Rocket Boots. “He is in front of me, Starlight!. Use your blade and rain down its magical stars, hit this monster from afar!”

“You got it, zecora!.”, Starlight replies as she swings Starfury with all her might, letting out a war cry as she performs the action.

”You!, I will butcher you wh-”

[TWINKLE-BOOM]

[TWINKLE-BOOM]

”ARGH!”, Once again, the entity lets out another painful cry as it is bombarded by a series of pink colored falling stars all of which explodes on impact. As a result, the entity is no longer hidden from everyone’s sight, aside from Zecora who still has the effects of the Hunter Potion active, as it begins to reveal itself. The Perforators largest eye begins to glow with a red aura as the monster cries out:

”Enough!, you shall crumble before our might!”, Upon saying those words in exclamation, a series of energy blasts are released from the being’s largest eye and various mouths’. These energy based attacks floats above The Perforators for a moment as they then begin to rain down upon Zecora and Starlight, this causes them both to say:

“Oh buck!”

Using their Rocket Boots, both Zecora and Starlight starts to perform evasive maneuvers. If Rainbow Dash was present, she wouldn’t be able to hide just how impressed she’d be by their amazing feats while flying, despite not having wings of their own. Zecora was practically dancing as she tentatively avoids every last bit of these energy blasts as they continue to rain down upon the zebra and her unicorn ally.

Although Starlight wasn’t particularly gifted in her physical attributes, as is often expected from a unicorn, she made up for it via teleporting short distances should she fail to physically avoid any attacks in time. She then retaliated by materializing her Aquatic Discharge and sprays a flow of water onto her foe.

[SPLASH]

This causes the rainfall of energy blasts to stop. However, a sudden series of chuckling echoes out from The Perforators who then says:

”How generous of you, giving us a bath.” 

Starlight and Zecora’s eyes were widened in horror as the water emitted from Aquatic Discharge did absolutely nothing to the entity. The unicorn grits her teeth as she then materializes Starfury, rains down another barrage of stars, and shouts:

“Let’s see how cocky you are after this!”

[TWINKLE-BOOM]

[TWINKLE-BOOM]

Starlight beams a bright smile upon seeing her ‘hoofwork’, as she exclaims:

“Hah!, I bet that thing really felt-”

”Actually, we felt nothing at all. Wait... We’re wrong, we do feel something. No!, it can’t be!... It’s... Utter boredom.”

“W-what?, my attacks aren't working?. It... It didn’t feel anything?!”, Starlight shouts in disbelief.

“Hang tight and hold back, Starlight. Let us try the force of physical might!”, Zecora exclaims as she readies her newly acquired spear, Dune Hopper, and throws it at her foe in full force. “This spear has punctured you once before, now it’s time to double the score!”, The throwable weapon rockets towards the entity as Starlight and Zecora observes with hopeful expressions.

[BING]

The weapon instantly repels itself off of the entity as if it were thrown into a steel made wall. Zecora was in utter disbelief as she couldn’t fathom why their attacks were suddenly made moot. Moments before, these very same series of attacks did indeed cause some damage to The Perforators. They both begin to voice their concerns as they say:

“What is going on?, how is he making our strikes become undone?” - Zecora.

“I don’t know how it’s doing this, why is it suddenly able to become resistant to our attacks?” - Starlight.

“Your struggle is pointless, nothing you can do will harm me any longer-”

[BOOM]

”ARGH!”, The Perforators cries out in pain as a large explosion engulfs its body.

“Sorry I’m late you two, I managed to gather enough power for that attack.”, Terralestia says as she flies over to her allies.

Starlight and Zecora simply stares at her with confused expressions which causes the terrarian to ask:

“What?”

“Y-you managed to hit it.”, Starlight replies.

“Our foe has been negating our attacks, how is it that yours managed to make impact?”, Zecora question’s.

“You know, I almost feel insulted here... Are you two saying that I’m weak?”, Terralestia asks as a sad pout starts to form onto her mouth.

“N-no!, it’s not that... It’s just-”

”It seems another worm has joined the fray.”, Suddenly, The Perforators eyes widen in realization as it says: ”Well, well, we didn’t expect to see you here... Celestia. We didn’t even notice you until now.”, This causes the aforementioned terrarian’s eyes to shoot wide open as she question’s:

“H-how do you know of me?, I’ve never seen nor heard of you before in my life!”, As this is going on, Zecora and Starlight observes the exchange with shocked expressions.

”The two of us have never actually met but we’ve heard all about you from our creator.”

“Let me guess, Brainiac?. We already know of that monster’s-”

”You know, there’s a saying you terrarian’s have that applies to you perfectly. We believe it’s: ‘Never make an assumption, it only makes an ass out of you.’.”, Terralestia grits her teeth in anger as she then replies:

“Stop playing around with us and cut to the chase!. Are you implying that The Brain isn’t your creator?!”

”That is correct, Lord Brainiac is more of an invaluable ally but they are not our creator. That privilege belongs to: Dr. Draedon.”

Terralestia was utterly confused by that revelation, her two allies were no different either. The terrarian recovers and question’s:

“Who in the underworld is Draedon?!, they have nothing to do with me!”, The Perforators simply laughs in response as the entity then recovers and says:

“Ah, poor and ignorant Celestia, Dr. Draedon does indeed have a connection to you. We wonder, how’s that brother of yours doing lately?, Is he still sucking off Master Yharim?”

Terralestia and Starlight’s eyes were shot wide open in horrific realization upon hearing those words. Zecora notices this and asks:

“What’s wrong?, does this foe have a-”

“You... You’re telling me that your creator works for, him?!”, Terralestia exclaims as she rushes forward, materializes her Sapphire staff and Storm Spray, then starts to scream out as she bombards her foe in a series of attacks. Starlight and Zecora gasps in horror as they then shout:

“Celestia!, you need to stop it!.” - Starlight.

“Do not be blinded by your rage, our foe will take advantage of your pain!” - Zecora.

“I hate you!, die!”, Terralestia screams out as she continues to bombard her foe with a seemingly endless supply of offensive magic via her weapons.

After unleashing her fury, Terralestia begins to pant in exhaustion which causes her attacks to slowly die down. A thick fog covers the space of which The Perforators once floated, a result of the terrarian’s assault. She then smirks and says:

“It’s over, that’s for my-”

[WHOOM]

With lightning speed, The Perforators rushes forward, out of the fog, and attempts to ram right into Terralestia. The world slows down around them as Zecora and Starlight watches on in horror. The terrarian’s eyes widen and just before the entity makes contact, it says:

”Wrong, it’s over when we say it’s over.”

[BOOM]

[FWOOM]

[CRASH]

Terralestia was sent flying into the fleshy earth below as The Perforators rams into her at full force. Her allies takes on an expression that’s a mixture of horror and concern as they shout in unison:

“Celestia!”

”Now, it’s over... Celestia.”, The perforators comments as the entity then turns towards its remaining foes: “Do not worry, you’ll both be joining her... Very soon.





-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND CRIMSON BIOME-

Rarity and Sai Sahan are currently making their way through the fleshy underground. They managed to reach the bowels of this place thanks to Sai’s usage of a grappling hook while also holding Rarity on his back in the process. Due to them not wanting to draw attention to themselves, Rarity refused to use her Rocket Boots in order to fly down as the aforementioned equipment would make too much noise. However, there was another reason they needed to have stealth as an ally: They were literally invisible.

The unicorn mare was becoming very displeased with their current predicament as she says:

“I must say, Sai... This place is absolutely dreadful!”

“Shh, do you want everything to hear you?.”, Sai replies with a finger over his mouth, despite the terrarian being invisible at the moment. “We may be invisible to our foes, thanks to the Invisible Potion, but we can still be heard. Try to tone it down and make sure that you don’t let go of me. The biggest drawback to this potion is that even your allies can’t see you, I don’t want to lose you in this place.”

“I-I’m sorry, It’s just that-”

[THUMP THUMP]

[THUMP THUMP]

[THUMP THUMP]

A sudden series of heartbeats cuts off Rarity’s words which causes both the unicorn and terrarian to look around in confusion.

“By Celestia... Is that, heartbeats?”, Rarity question’s in a hushed tone.

“It certainly sounds like it... Hold up, I think it’s coming from the walls.”, Sai then leans his right ear against the wall’s fleshy surface.

“Sai, I can’t see you but I must ask: Are you putting an ear against the wall?, the same one that’s covered in flesh?”

“... No.”

“That wasn’t very convincing, darling. Just, do be sure to wash your face after we’re done here. Oh and for the record, you know that my ears are probably better than yours, right?”, Rarity question's as she flickers her ears in the process, despite being invisible. Sai lets out a small chuckle as he then replies:

“Heh, perhaps you should take the lead.”

“Thank you darling, I shall.”

"Alright, allow me to grab onto you."

"..."

"..."

"S... Sai."

"Y... Yes?"

"That's. My. Flank."

"We're invisible!, I can't see-", Sai then puts a hand over his mouth in an effort to silence himself.

"Who's loud now, darling?"

"Sh... shut up."

Rarity then chuckles in response. The two continues onward, with Rarity now in the lead and Sai leaning down to hold onto her back, as they try to track down the source of the heart beating echoes.

A few more minutes goes by as Rarity and Sai were beginning to draw near the source of the heartbeats, specifically, behind a wall of flesh that now stood before them.

“It’s behind this wall... Do you have a way to get through, darling?”

“Stand back.”, Sai replies as he then materializes a Silver Hammer and braces himself by taking on a combat stance. “It’s hammer time.”

Behind that very same wall a certain entity along with four captured ponies are completely oblivious to what is about to happen. Brainiac continues their work as the entity tries to harvest its most desired information from the four captured ponies, all of which are still in a coma like state.

”Yes... Yes... Very soon I shall have what I desire. Hmm, so they defeated this Storm King?. This must’ve happened not too long before my brother entered their rea-”

[	SKROOM]

[SKROOM]

[SKROOM]

Brainiac was suddenly startled by a series of powerful strikes against the large chamber’s entrance which was currently in the form of the very same wall being struck against. Blood starts to drip out of the wall as a result.

”What?!, who dares?!”

[SKROOM]

[SKROOM]

[SPLAT]

Finally, as if flesh were being tenderized the wall finally gives in as a large river of blood starts to flow down from both the ceiling and the damaged wall, which now has a fairly large hole present. Two figures steps through after the waterfall of blood stops flowing, most notably, a pony and a terrarian. They both grit their teeth in anger as they come to realize the state of the captured ponies.

“By Terra!, release them at once you monster!”

“Get your fowl tentacles off of my friends, you brute!”
> Chapter 55 - Boss Fight: Perforators And The Brain Pt: 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Sai and Rarity are currently starring murderous daggers towards their foe, Brainiac. The effects of their Invisibility Potions have already timed out mere moments ago. All the while, the sounds of various heartbeats echoes throughout the large chamber and four ponies are still in a comatose like state. Most notably, each of these ponies has a tendril placed onto their heads, said tendrils belonging to the large brain that floated just before them.

”I did not calculate this outcome. More specifically, I did not expect you to be accompanied by a terrarian, little pony.”

“I will say this one final time, brute.”, Rarity says angrily as the unicorn lights up her horn and materializes a magical ranged weapon: The Bee Gun. The unicorn also summons a Snow Flinx and a Hornet, via their respective staves. She takes aim with the Bee Gun and says: “Let my friends go, now!”

“Do it now, monster!”, Sai interjects as he materializes two melee weapons in both of his hands: Aquatic Discharge and Silver Broadsword. He then leans into the unicorn and says with a hushed tone: “Rarity, I will tank his attacks and draw his attention. My armor is made from The Crimson and will more than-”

”You two think you can hide your minds from me?. Sai Sahan, descendant of the legendary warrior: Sombra Sahan. Rarity, well renown fashionista of Ponyville, the bearer of The Element Of Generosity, daughter of Hondo Flanks and Betty Bouffant. I know what you two plan to do, even before you formed the words to speak it.”

Rarity’s eyes shot wide open in horror as she says:

“How in the world did that-”

“Brainiac is an incarnation of Cthulhu, It being able to read our minds doesn’t surprise me.”, Sai interjects.

“If it can read our minds... H-how are we supposed to fight this thing if it knows, well, everything?!”

Brainiac lets out a chuckle before the entity then glows with a red aura and says:

”Allow me to provide you with a calculated answer: Your submission is highly advised, to fight me is not recommended.”, Rarity grits her teeth and shouts:

“Here’s my calculation!”, The unicorn then fires her Bee Gun which in turn summons a large swarm of bees.  She then orders her summoned allies: “Go forth my darlings, beat that ruffian to a pulp!”, Heeding her words the hornet, bee swarm, and snow flinx rushes forward. Sai Sahan also follows suit as he shouts:

“Go Rarity!, free the others while we-”

..........

Suddenly, everyone present are frozen in place. A red aura surrounds Rarity, Sai, and both of the unicorn’s summoned allies. They all struggle in place as Rarty shouts:

“What?!... I, I can’t move my body!.”

“N-neither can we!”, Sai replies as the terrarian, hornet, and snow flinx continues to struggle in place.

”You all underestimate the power of the mind, you are subjects to my will. Now then, this chamber’s ceiling is calling to you all.”, Brainiac then starts to laugh as the entity performs a cruel form of retaliation. The Brain lifts its enemies up into the air and sends them flying into the ceiling with frightening force and speed which results in everyone releasing painful exclamations. Poor Rarity in particular spat out blood as a result of the collision, her bee armor only able to absorb some of the damage but not completely nullifying the pain. The unicorn’s summoned allies were killed on the spot as they fade away.

Sai Sahan could still feel some of the pain but thanks to his Crimson Armor, the terrarian didn’t feel it as much as his unicorn ally did. He noticed Rarity spitting out some blood and shouts:

“Hang in there!”

”Shall I return you both to the earth?, very well.”, Upon saying those words, Brainiac then forces the terrarian and pony down slamming them both into the flesh covered earth. Rarity once again spits out blood and is rendered unconscious all the while Sai grits his teeth in pain. Sai turns his head and looks torwards Rarity’s unconscious form. The red aura that once surrounded Sai’s body dissipates which allows the terrarian to recover. He gets back onto his feet, materializes his weapons once more and shouts:

“Brainiac!, the pony is of no concern to you any longer!. I am your only opponent, come, face me!”

”Commendable courage... Stupid, but commendable.”, The Brain replies as the entity glows with a red aura once more, said aura surrounds Sai instantly. ”Then shall we continue?”

“Do your worst, monster.”

”Gladly.”

[FWOOM]

[CRASH]

[FWOOM]

[CRASH]

Sai is slammed into the ceiling, slammed into the floor, and then is sent back up again. This process repeats itself five more times until Brainiac launches the terrarian into a nearby wall which results in the tortured individual letting out various painful exclamations. Spitting out blood, Sai gets back up after being thrown into the wall, forms a smirk onto his face, and asks:

“Is that all you’ve got, Brainiac?.”, The terrarian then coughs before he continues: “Is tossing me around all you’re good for?, I expected more from a spawn of Cthulhu.”

”As a matter of fact, no.”, Suddenly, four blobs of flesh rises up from the ground and then starts to mold themselves into four bipedal entities. Hands, legs, a face with actual features, and even a particular set of armor was present on these newly formed individuals. Sai’s eyes were widened in shock at what was now standing before him: Four Sai Sahans’. The terrarian lets out a small chuckle and says:

“Aw shit, here we go again.”, The real Sai then materializes his weapons and lets out an annoyed grunt as he asks: “Alright... Who’s first?”

The four Sais’ runs forward and each of their right arms starts to shift into a blade comprised entirely of bone. Before making contact, the real Sai Sahan lunges forward and decapitates two of his clones, sending their heads flying up into the air and landing not too far from the unconscious Rarity. However, those same clones starts to regrow their heads all the while the other two clones draws near and swipes at the original Sai.

[CLINK]

The collision of blades echoes throughout the large chamber as Sai blocks his clone’s attacks via his duel wielded weapons. Before he could retaliate, the other clones who regrew their dismembered heads rejoins the fray and attempts to assassinate him from behind. In one swift motion, Sai pushes the two clones that he was currently in collision with away as he then jumps into the air in order to dodge those coming to attack him from behind.

“You’re going to need more than that, impos- What?!”, Sai’s body is once again consumed by a red aura and thrown against a nearby wall once more. The terrarian shouts in pain as he then says: “That’s cheap...”

“What were you expecting?, me to just float here and give you a chance to defeat these clones while I do nothing?. This isn’t a kids show, terrarian.” The Brain then lifts the terrarian once more, all the while his clones of flesh watches in anticipation as they then prepare themselves to pierce the real Sai Sahan with their bone made weaponry. “Farewell, Sai Sahan. This is where you-”

[BANG]

[BANG]

[BANG]

[BANG]

Suddenly, a series of gunshots “kills” each of the clones via blasting their heads off which stops them from skewering their real counterpart momentarily.

”What?, what just-”

[BOOM]

”GRAUGH!”, Brainiac cries out in pain and the entity’s words were cut off as a sudden large explosion makes contact with its form. The Brain is sent backwards and collides into a wall that was positioned just behind it, crashing through it in the process. As a result, the red aura that surrounded Sai Sahan dissipates and drops the floating terrarian onto the fleshy earth below. In addition, even his clones disappears as each entity falls apart into chunks of flesh.

“Well, well, looks like we got here just in time. My aim is as good as ever and it’s high noon.”

“Great shooting, Ceeman. However, it was my explosion that did all the work, haha!”

Ceeman replies with a middle finger.

“You two are such children... Now then, time for me to save my packmates. Yo nurse, go on and heal Rarity for us will ya?.”

“I’ll take care of her right away!”

Sai Sahan couldn’t believe what he was hearing as he then looks towards the entrance, which was the wall he himself destroyed, and sees a kitsune along with three other terrarians. The new party enters the chamber as they then walk up to Sai Sahan who in turn asks:

“Who are you?, wait... By the light of Terra, you’re all them!.”

“That’s right, I’m your local Arms Dealer. Call me: Ceeman jones.”, Ceeman replies as he helps Sai back onto his feet. “This here is The Demolitionist, Vinny Bonsoot. The beauty over there helping Rarity is Helena, The Nurse. And finally, the kitsune here to my left is: Ritsu.”

“Thank you all, words can’t express how happy I am to receive aid from three of The Pillars.”, Sai replies happily.

Rarity was finally coming to as Helena finishes her work in healing the unicorn mare.

“Wha... What happened?, whe- Sai!, where is- wait, Helena?”, Rarity question’s as she then takes a moment to look around the chamber and notices her fellow members of Home Town. “How are you all here, darlings?”

“That’s not important right now, Rares. Let’s get your friends free before that giant brain recovers.”, Ceeman interjects.

“Are you feeling better now, dearie?. Let me know if anything still hurts.”

“I’m quite fine now, Helena. Thank you soo much, but, please tend to Sai now.”

Helena nods in response as she makes her way over to the aforementioned terrarian and starts to heal his various wounds that weren’t healed yet from his Crimson Armor’s set bonus.

As this is going on, Ritsu starts to free the captured ponies as she rips off the fleshy substances that binds and holds them to the wall. Afterwards, Ritsu sets them all down gently next to the chamber’s exit as they each still remain unconscious. The kitsune then looks over their unconscious forms tentatively as she says:

“You’re all going to be ok now, Applejack... Pinkie.”

“How’re they looking, Ritsu?”, Vinny The Demolitionist question’s.

“They’re unconscious but I think they’ll manage. I don’t even want to think about what that thing was doing to them.”

In the background, Sai Sahan lets out a sigh of relief as Helena finishes attending to his wounds.

“Your healing powers are as legendary as I’ve heard, Pillar Of Healing.”

“And you’re even hotter up close, sexy~”, Helena replies with a flirtatious wink. Rarity smirks upon seeing this and says:

“Oh my, Sai. Let’s not make Celestia jealous now, ok?”

“Oh be quiet, you. Come now, we must-”

Suddenly, a red aura starts to leak out of the large hole made from Brainiac’s collision as the large entity reveals itself and slowly floats back into the large chamber.

”You will regret that you worthless life forms!”, The Brain roars out as it causes the entire chamber to shake in the process.

Ritsu, Rarity, Ceeman, Sai, and Vinny prepares for combat while Helena turns around and runs back towards the unconscious ponies.

“Looks like we get to kick some brains in!”, Ritsu exclaims as she growls furiously.

“Come and get it you damn abomination!”, Sai roars out as he wields his weapons and narrows his features in anger.

“For what you put my friends through, it would be uncouth for me not to punish you!”, Rarity exclaims as she alights her horn in anger.

Despite not having a mouth, Brainiac emits a sound that could best be describe as a growl as the entity then says:

”I will grind your bones into dust, all of you. Your flesh will be-”

“You!... Bucking!... Jeeeeerrrrk!. You made me watch Scootaloo die!”, A new voice cries out which catches the attention of everyone else present and cuts off Brainiac’s words. Rarity smirks as she immediately recognizes the source of the voice and its owner: Rainbow Dash. 

However, the cyan pegasus wasn’t alone as three other ponies rose up alongside her all of whom were very, very, angry. A certain pink pony in particular literally darkens and her mane drops as she glares at Brainiac, murderously: Pinkamena.

”I’m going to murder you!, bucking asshole!. I had to watch soo many of my friends get tortured and killed by that other me!”

“Ya bucking ingrate!, ya sent me to a world that was a living hell and all ma’ friends were undead monsters!. Imma kill ya!”, Applejack roars out as she materializes the Blade Of Grass.

“You made me watch as a heartless version of myself and my friends enslaved everything that wasn’t a pony...”, Twilight’s magical energy slowly begins to build up around her. “I had to witness unforgivable actions made by my other self!”, The alicorn's magic now surrounds her in a lavender colored aura as she stomps her right front hoof and shouts in her Canterlot Voice:

”NOW YOU’VE MADE ME ANGRY!. VERY!, VERY!, VEEEEERY!, AAAAANGRY!”

The four mares rushes forward with murderous intent and a fire burning in their eyes. Upon seeing this, Rarity simply smiles as she says:

“Well now, brute... I dare say: You’re bucked.”
> Chapter 56 - Boss Fight: Perforators And The Brain Pt: 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE CRIMSON BIOME-



Zecora, Starlight, and Celebes were currently extremely grateful for the sudden turn of events, although that didn’t change the threat that they still faced. During their battle against the Perforators, the zebra and unicorn were struggling awfully against their mighty foe. That is, until Celebes shows up and manages to inflict a handsome amount of damage to the entity.

“Thanks for the assist Celebes. But, what about everyone else down there fighting those flesh worms?”, Starlight question’s.

“Worry not, your fellow members of Home Town showed up and are now supporting the other adventurers as we speak. Your pegasus friend, Fluttershy, is down there fighting with them.”

“Is she going to be ok?, Fluttershy doesn’t exactly perform well in places like this. I figured she’d be scared out of her mind.”

“Do not be worried, Starlight. Although the pegasus can often be shy, when it comes down to it she displays her might, a strength powerful enough to overcome her freight.”, Zecora interjects.

Suddenly, Celebes narrows her eyes in concentration as she says:

“Get ready you two, it’s recovering from my attack.”

A large growl echoes out of the now recovered entity as The Perforators says:

”We must admit... We were not expecting to fight you head on, dryad. You are a problem for us...”

“Flattery won’t save you, hivemind.”

These words shocks the entity as it didn’t reveal to anyone present that it was indeed the hivemind of The Perforators. In anger, the entity demands:

”How do you know about that?!”

“Before joining up with Twilight Sparkle and these adventurers, I found your creator’s Research Facility. You know the one, after all... You were made in it. It lies deep below this biome.”, The Dryad then braces her fiery greatsword as she says: “Starlight, Zecora, if we kill this thing then all of this will be over. Those flesh worms fighting everyone else are linked to this entity hivemind. In short, we kill this thing... We kill them.”

Starlight and Zecora nods understandably, however, the unicorn suddenly takes on a worried expression and says:

“We’re making progress but we still have a problem. Whenever we attack that thing, it just nullifies them. What’s strange is that we managed to harm it once before but now it’s completely immune.”

Celebes ponders on this for a moment, however, the hivemind roars out as it starts to rush forward in an attempt to ram into its enemies. Starlight, Zecora, and Celebes manages to dodge in time however one of the hivemind’s mouths’ shoots a beam of red energy that was headed straight for The Dryad.

[SKSH]

A type of beam struggle takes place as Celebes blocks the attack with her weapon and tries to push back against the beam of red energy. During this struggle, Zecora leans into Starlight and says with a whispered tone:

“I have a theory that I must test, please help Celebes to stall our foe, If I’m right I can deliver a devastating blow.”

“I don’t know what you have in mind, Zecora... But I trust you.”, The unicorn replies as she flies forward with her Rocket Boots and attempts to slice the hivemind while also raining down pink stars in the process. The attack was of course nullified, however, it did help Celebes to push away the energy beam as the dryad and the unicorn continues to wage war against The Perforator’s Hivemind.

As this is happening, Zecora uses her Sand Cloak and literally disappears in a whirlwind of sand. She observes the battle between her allies and foe as she says internally:

-I suspect subterfuge will be our friend, could it be that the enemy must see our attacks in order to nullify them?-

The zebra was now positioned behind the entity as she readies her spear, Dune Hopper, and prepares to throw it with all her might.

Meanwhile, Starlight and Celebes are having quite the hard time as the hivemind continues to nullify their attacks. Starlight pants in exhaustion as she says:

“It’s no good... Our attacks still can’t effect that thing.”

“You’re right, but then... How was it that I was able to strike it earlier?”, Celebes replies.

The perforator’s Hivemind simply chuckles as it says:

”Your struggle is pointless, fools. We will enjoy-”

[SPLAT]

”RAUGH!”

Suddenly, the entity cries out as three spears puncture’s its flesh. Afterwards, two of these spears fades away and the original returns to its owner: Zecora. The zebra smirks as she says:

“It seems I have found your weakness, your eyes can nullify our attacks but you can’t stop those that strikes at your back!”

”What?!, how did you-”

“I thought back to when we first initiated our attacks, they struck you by surprise and caused you to writhe. Celebes and Celestia were then able to strike a blow because you couldn’t see your foes!”

Starlight and Celebes simply smirks as they say:

“Zebra, you’re growing on me.” - Celebes.

“Heh, looks like you’re not as untouchable as you might think, Perforators.” - Starlight.

“It matters not!, we will kill you all and your corpses shall join the legion!.”, The Perforator’s Hivemind roars out in protest as it prepares to fire a rainfall of energy blasts.





While Starlight, Zecora, and Celebes continues to fight the hivemind high above, those contending with the flesh worm entities on ground level continues their struggle. Fluttershy and her summoned allies which was comprised of a hornet, snow flinx, finch, Princess Pinkie, in addition to a large swarm of bees which were summoned by her ranged weapon: The Bees knees, all continues to fight against the smallest of the worm like entities.



However, no matter how much they’d damage their foe, the flesh worm would simply regenerate its wounds via absorbing the fleshy earth around them and burrows back into the fleshy landscape as it then shoots back out in an effort to devour its opponents.

Gex, Lucan The Merchant, and Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer are currently contending with the second largest of the worm entities.



Gex would throw various spears and even performs various spells in a language that was most likely his native tongue, seeing as he is a lihzhard.

”YOL TOOR SHUL!”, Upon shouting this particular spell, the lihzhard unleashes a stream of fire from its staff upon the entity which causes it to scream out in pain as the flesh worm then burrows back into the earth, causing Gex to say: “Nii nivahriin filok! (It cowardly escapes!)”

Gorglock and Lucan hears this as they look at each other with questionable gazes that could be translated into: What did he just say?. Regardless, the terrarian and goblin continues their fight as they support Gex via ranged weaponry and a new type of throwable weapon that Gorglock fused together via the Tinkerer’s Workshop, using a Spiked Ball and a Bomb.

Tanner The Guide leads the rest of the adventurers into battle as he shouts various orders and stratagems against the largest of the flesh worm entities.



“Mages!, keep suppressive fire on the monster and buy time for our Rangers to reload their weaponry!.

Melee fighters!, prepare to strike once the entity resurfaces itself!.

Rogues!, I want you to keep to the shadows and strike at any vital points you deem necessary!”

Tanner momentarily looks off into the distance, specifically towards the direction of the large hole that Rarity and Sai had delved in, including the other members of Home Town, as The Guide says:

“I hope you’re all doing ok...”, He then turn his gaze back to the battle before him and says internally: -My master would be very displeased if you all died here.-

Suddenly, everyone is startled as the entire flesh covered landscape starts to shake violently. Most shockingly, it wasn’t being caused by the flesh worm entities. Then, a loud voice echoes throughout the landscape and everyone is stunned to see a new entity present itself as it erupts out of the ground and floats high into the air: A large brain who noticeably has many flesh wounds of various sizes throughout its body/form.

”PERFORATORS!, COME TO ME!.”





-TERRARIA, UNDERGROUND CRIMSON BIOME-

Some time before Brainiac goes to the surface:



Brainiac prepares itself for battle as three ponies, whos eyes are burning with rage, were currently rocketing towards the entity. The Brain was about to use its psychic like powers and starts to glow with a red aura until two blurs strikes at the entity.

[ZOOM]

[ZOOM]

[SHLINK SHLINK]

”RAURGH!”, Brainiac cries out in pain as two large wounds created by two separate blades were left behind as a result. These blurs came in two different colorations: One pink and another, orange. Suddenly, Pinkamena and Applejack reappears on two separate walls as the two blurs are revealed to be the two ponies who were using their Flurry Boots to increase their speed.

”Ah’ told ya’ I’d buckin’ kill ya’!”, Applejack roars out.

Pinkamena growls towards the entity as she starts to sing out loud:

”Slicing!,
Dicing!,
Gutting your insides!,
My smile widens as I watch you die!,
You’ve hurt me more than you know!, inside!,
Now it’s time for the monster to ariiiiise!,
Like Jekyll and Hyde!,
I’ll gut you alive!,
You’ve pissed me off and now it’s time to diiiiie!”

Before Brainiac could retaliate against the two mares, the entity forgot about the third pony who was literally charging up a very large energy blast via her horn along with two of her staves, Sapphire staff and Storm Spray: Twilight Sparkle. With absolute rage in her eyes, the alicorn exclaims:

“I don’t care about being the Princess Of Friendship right now!, you don’t deserve it!. Buck you!. SUCK MY ALICORN HORN AND TAKE THIS!”

[BOOM]

[BOOM]

[BOOM]

[SPLASH]

Blood starts to absolutely pour out of The Brain like a river as the entity is bombarded by Twilight’s endless assault. In addition, both Applejack and Pinkamena zooms by in a blur and slices away at the large brain. Suddenly, a certain rainbow maned pegasus starts to chuckle as she slowly flies up to Twilight and floats right next to her. She then materializes a rather large ranged weapon as she shouts:

“Say hello to my little friend!.”



“This is for Scootaloo!. Eat stars!, motherbucker!”

[TWINKLE-BOOM]

[TWINKLE-BOOM]

[TWINKLE-BOOM]

Rainbow Dash unleashes her fury as she relentlessly fires powerful stars out of her large cannon and grits her teeth in anger. Her fellow ponies continues their assault and their attacks are soo fast, soo precisive, that Brainiac barely had enough time to react and retaliate.

As this onslaught continues, Helena, Ritsu, Rarity, Vinny, Ceeman, and Sai Sahan simply watches on. The Demolitionist turns to everyone else and asks:

“Hey... So, should we help them?”

“It’s fine, darling. That brute has no doubt wronged my friends in a way that can never be forgiven. Let the poor darlings blow off some steam. By the way, Ceeman, what is that weapon you gave to Rainbow Dash?”, Rarity question’s.

As this goes on they could hear the four ponies shout in anger, along with Brainiac crying out in pain:

“Die die die die die die die die die!...” - Pinkamena.

“Send us to worlds filled with pain!, ya’ said!, it’d be fun!, ya’ said!. Well buck you!, ya’ varmint!” - Applejack.

“How’s it feel, ugly?!. Does it feel like someone who you forced to watch her sisterly figure die to some bucking machine is shooting you?!” - Rainbow Dash.

Twilight drinks one of her two last remaining Mana Potions as she then charges up her horn and exclaims in her Canterlot Voice:

”READY FOR ROUND: THREE?!”

”RAUUUUUUUUUUUGH!”, Brainiac roars out in pain as the entity continues to take damage from their brutal assault.

“Well Rarity, to answer your question: That there is called the Star Cannon. I’ve been working on it for a short while, with the help of your friends, and managed to collect two hundred fallen stars to which it uses as ammunition. Yup, judging by how pissed Rainbow is she’s probably going to unload all two hundred stars onto that thing.”, Ceeman The Arms Dealer says as he finally replies to Rarity’s question.

“Yikes... This is overkill. Cathartic, but overkill.”, Ritsu comments as she winces from watching the ponies unleash their fury against the entity who had wronged them.

“Someone’s gonna need a nurse, eh Helena?”, Sai question’s sarcastically.

“Oh yes indeed, if only there was a nurse present to help that... thing.”, Helena replies matching Sai’s sarcasm.

Suddenly, Brainiac roars out in a mixture of pain and anger as the entity suddenly flies up into the ceiling, blood dripping in the process as the entity was missing large portions of its brain, and literally forces its way towards the surface.

“You’re not getting away!”, The four ponies shouts in unison as they take off after their fleeing foe. Rainbow Dash and Twilight give chase via their wings while Pinkamena and Applejack uses their Rocket Boots to take flight.

Rarity suddenly gets an idea as she says:

“Gather around me, everyone!. I’m going to use The Ice Mirror to take us back to the surface!”, Heeding her words, everyone else who were still present moves near the unicorn as she raises the mirror up high which causes them all to disappear in a beam of light mixed with ice.





-TERRARIA, THE CRIMSON BIOME-

Brainiac was honestly fleeing for their life as the entity forces its way towards the surface. Behind it, Brainiac could hear the four ponies who managed to badly injure the entity as the ponies call out in unison:

”Get back here, coward!”

[CRASH]

Finally, Brainiac punctures the surface and erupts out of the fleshy landscape. The Brain rockets high into the air as it then shouts:

”PERFORATORS!, COME TO ME!.”
> Chapter 57 - Boss Fight: Cthorator.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone present on the flesh covered battlefield looks towards the skies as a large brain entity calls out to its ally. The Perforator’s Hivemind notices this and turns towards the entity seeking its aid.

”Lord Brainiac?!, how did they-”

“All eyes on me, monster!”, Starlight exclaims as she lands a successful blow with her blade: Starfury, raining down pink stars in the process which causes the entity to cry out in pain. The unicorn is not alone as both Celebes and Zecora joins in and attacks their foe. The dryad would scorch the hivemind via her Fiery Greatsword while the zebra would repeatedly impale the hivemind with her spear: Dune Hopper.

After sustaining various wounds due to a lack of concentration, The Perforators roars out in anger:

”Enough!, we shall continue this dance of ours very shortly!”, Suddenly, a bright red light emits itself from the entity which causes Zecora, Celebes, and Starlight to shield their eyes from the sudden surge of light. Claiming the opportunity, The Perforator’s Hivemind rushes towards the direction of Brainiac while its foes remains temporarily blinded.

Brainiac was currently filled with anger and hatred, especially towards the four mares who had damaged the entity’s form. Fortunately for The Brain, the spawn of Cthulhu enacts an unusual plan as it then notices its ally, The Perforator’s Hivemind, drawing near.

”Lord Brainiac, how did they find you?!”

”That is not of any concern right now. Come hivemind, let us become one!”

Upon hearing those words, the hivemind lets out a chuckle before exclaiming:

”Yes!, the time has come for the ultimate mind and the perfect body to join together. Let us achieve, perfection!” 

As this is going on, Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkamena, and Applejack finally erupts out of the same large hole that was created by The Brain. The ponies all look up to the sky only to bare witness to an unexpected event. However, they weren’t alone as everyone else present gazes upon the bizarre yet incredibly foreboding event taking place: Brainiac and The Perforator’s Hivemind starts to fuse together.

[SHIM]

[WHIRL]

Rarity, Ritsu, Ceeman, Helena, Sai, and Vinny all suddenly appear in a beam of light mixed with ice thanks to the Ice Mirror. They were about to question their current predicament until the group joins everyone else present as they gaze upon the union taking place high above.

Nearby and positioned within a small crater, Terralestia coughs up blood as she slowly starts to regain consciousness and says:

“Wha... What’s going-”, The terrarian’s words stops dead in their tracks and her eyes widen in horror as she too bares witness to the event taking place high above.

The forms of Brainiac and the Perforator’s Hivemind starts to meld together in a large blob of flesh. In addition, the three large flesh worm entities starts to float towards the union as if they were being sucked in by a black hole. The flesh worms joins the giant mass as it continues to pulsate and shift chaotically. This uncomfortable event causes some who bare witness to say:

“That is absolutely disgusting!”

“What’s going on?!”

“No way... They look like they’re, combining?!”

“Everyone be ready!, things are about to get crazy!”



The writhing mass of chaotic flesh now starts to take on a new shape. Six large tentacles starts to stretch outwards but most notably is the fact that each tentacle resembles the largest member of the flesh worm entities. The main portion of this new being was comprised mostly of Brainiac, however, The Brain underwent a change that was similar to what The Eye Of Cthulhu had undergone. A mouth full of teeth was now present but what lies inside is what seemed to be a heart with a singular eye that now gazed upon it foes, below the newly formed entity. Positioned at the bottom portion of the creature, specifically where one would consider to be the brain stem, was comprised entirely of The Perforator’s Hivemind.

”Gaze upon our greatness, lowest filth. We are the culmination of the greatest mind and the strongest body, we are perfection, we are... Cthorator!”



Every living being present looked up towards this new abomination with various expressions: Fear, anger, disgust, even curiosity.

Twilight and her fellow ponies comes together as The Mane Six once again becomes whole along with Starlight Glimmer and Zecora. In addition, all of their friends they’ve made ever since they came to this world stood alongside them. The terrarians, goblin, slime Princess, kitsune, dryad, and lihzhard all stands at the ready to go to war alongside the ponies, and zebra, they’ve all come to love and befriend. Soon, even Terralestia joins in as she recovers from her loss against The Perforator’s Hivemind via drinking a Health Potion. The lavender alicorn narrows her features in determination and with her Canterlot Voice in full effect, she exclaims words that are similar to what a certain Princess Of The Sun once spoke against Razeem, The Moon Lord:

”NO!, YOU DON’T SCARE US YOU MONSTER!. I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT’S GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND, YOU SEE US AS NOTHING BUT DIRT, DON’T YOU?!. OUR LIVES MEAN NOTHING AT ALL TO YOU I SUPPOSE?!. WELL LET ME TELL YOU, CHTORATOR, I CARE NOT FOR WHO OR WHAT YOU ARE!. WE WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO HURT ANY LIVING THING IN THIS WORLD ANY LONGER. A WORLD THAT I’VE COME TO CALL HOME ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE HERE!”



All of the alicorn’s allies who were present hears her exclamation as they then start to let out loud war cries and sound the metaphorical drums of war. Only one word needed to be spoken, the same word that came to everyone’s mind as the entire force shouts in unison:

”CHARGE!”

”Come you sacks of meat!, come to your slaughterhouse!”, Cthorator roars out as the entire legion before the entity rushes forward to engage in aerial combat. The abomination lets loose all of its tentacles as the appendages opens their maws hungrily.

A series of strikes plays out as everyone starts to attack the large entity, at least those who managed to avoid the tentacles and weren’t eaten alive like many others:

Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity alights their horns and blasts the monstrosity at full power. Using her Starfury, Starlight rains down the stars from above all while still unleashing her magic from the unicorn’s horn. Rarity summons her allies via their respective staves and continues to fire her magic based ranged weapon: The Bee Gun. In addition, much like her fellow unicorn ally, she unleashes powerful beams of magic out of her horn. Twilight unleashed her fury via dual wielding her staves: Sapphire Staff and Storm Spray, while screaming out as she unleashes her full magical reserves out of her horn. Terralestia joins the three mares in their assault and also duel wields the same staves as Twilight while also firing sharpened feathers from her wings, similar to what the harpies performed against Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy orders her summoned allies to go forth and attack their foe in full force, Princess Pinkie staying behind to protect her friend and summoner. The shy pegasus also fires away at the entity with her bow: The Bees Knees.

Applejack and Pinkamena bump hooves as they then rush forward with their Rocket Boots all the while zooming towards their large foe via their Flurry Boots. Drawing their blades, which consisted of Applejack’s: Blade Of Grass, and Pinkamena’s: Bee Keeper, the two speedsters avoids the large tentacles and the opened maws at their end that tried to eat the two mares in the process. After performing the evasion, the two ponies starts to cut away at Chthorator and pieces of its flesh starts to fall off in the process. All the while, Celebes also cuts away at the entity and setting it ablaze thanks to her Fiery Greatsword.

Rainbow Dash, Zecora, Ceeman The Arms Dealer, Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer, Vinny The Demolitionist, and Gex The Witchdoctor all fires away at the entity in unison, using various attacks. Rainbow unleashes all the ammunition that was left of her Star Cannon all while Ceeman blasts away at their foe with a Minishark. Gex speaks in his native tongue and unleashes a large surge of ice projectiles from the lihzhard’s staff. Zecora repeatedly throws her magically enhanced spear, Dune Hopper, as the weapon multiplies itself into three identifiable clones, pierces the entity, and then returns back to its owner. Gorglock throws various Spiked Bombs, which was a result of combining a Spiked Ball with a Bomb, which results in various explosions. Incidentally, Vinny also joins in on this explosive event as he tosses sticks of lighted dynamite.

Helena The Nurse makes her way around the battlefield as she heals anyone who became injured as a result of Cthorator’s retaliation. The injured, or at least those who managed to survive the monstrosity’s attacks, would go back down to ground level and seek aid from The Nurse before returning back to the war that was taking place high above.

Sai Sahan and Tanner The Guide were giving out orders to their ground based forces which ranged from Mages unleashing their magic to Rangers firing upon the floating entity, being doubly sure not to hit their allies in the process who were still fighting high up in the air.

The battle rages on and the large force continues to fight with all their heart and soul. Suddenly, Cthorator starts to glow with a red aura, its tentacles moving about chaotically, and roars out in exclamation:

”You underestimate the power of our body and mind!, you are now subjects to our will!”, A very familiar scenario takes place as everyone present is surrounded by a red aura. Sai Sahan and Rarity, despite being in two different locations on the battlefield both on the ground and in the skies, instantly recognizes this form of retaliation and shouts:

“Oh no!, everyone!, it’s going to use Brainiac’s psychic powers!” - Sai Sahan.

“Prepare yourselves!, darlings!. This is the same move that brute used against me and Sai!” - Rarity.

Sadly, their warning does nothing to stop what happens next. Those on the ground are all raised high into the air and those who were already airborne are currently struggling in place. Then, everyone is forced down to the earth which causes them to crash violently into the fleshy landscape below. All beings present lets out various painful exclamations as they are then raised up again and slammed into the ground once more. This repeats for five more times before the red aura around everyone dissipates and, most disturbingly, they are all dropped down to the ground and either ends up unconscious or badly injured to the point that they can’t go on any longer.

What was once a large force of adventurers and various forms of life who rose up against the abomination, was now scattered amongst the landscape. Among them, Twilight grits her teeth in pain as the alicorn looks around and takes in her surroundings. She could see some of her friends, those from Equus and Terraria alike, lying unconscious on the ground while those who were a bit more durable such as Applejack and Pinkamena, grits their teeth in pain as they struggle to get back onto their hooves. The two mares holds onto each other as they limp towards their alicorn friend.

Ritsu and Gex were still conscious but badly wounded as they painfully try to get back onto their feet while also seeing familiar faces currently unconscious such as Rainbow Dash and Rarity.

Celebes throws some of the rubble off of her as she and Zecora gets back up albeit with some wounds present. Fortunately, the dryad had the foresight to save a certain individual on the battlefield: Helena The Nurse.

Nearby, a large pink slime erupts out of some rubble as Princess Pinkie then releases Fluttershy from her gelatinous form. The Slime Princess returns to her normal form seconds after. Shockingly, the shy pegasus wasn’t just unconscious... She wasn’t breathing either. This causes Princess Pinkie to question:

”Goddess Fluttershy?”

“...”

”P-please... No... Wake up, fluttershy.”

“...”

Princess Pinkie puts a pink tendril onto her pegasus friend and suddenly gasps as she then says:

”No... No!, her life is slowly diminishing!, I was too late!.”, The pink slime then hops onto the pegasus before she continues with what could best be described as a prayer: ”Slime gods, please, I beg you to save her life. Please, Fluttershy loves slimes like us and she has never wronged us. The Slime Staff has saved her before, the very same staff that embodies your will. Please, I beseech you great ones... I’ll pay whatever price you deem fit if need be... Just, save my friend. Save Fluttershy!”

[THUMMM]

[THUMMM]

[THUMMM]

An unknown sound suddenly emits from Fluttershy’s unconscious form, it could best be described as a heartbeat mixed with a powerful vibration. Then, The Slime Staff materializes itself and floats before Princess Pinkie. The staff was covered  in a red and purple aura as two voices suddenly speaks from the object:

”We hath heard thy prayer, my child. The one known as Fluttershy is more than deserving of our blessing. We have been observing this pegasus since the day she was granted: The Slime Staff.”

”We shall happily preserve her life, in exchange, we would like for Fluttershy to become the bearer of our essence: The Core Of The Slime Gods.”



The red and purple aura suddenly leaves the staff and begins to meld together as an orb like object forms in the process. This orb lowers itself and phases right into the pegasus’s body, specifically, over Fluttershy’s heart. The two voices chuckles in unison as they say:

”As Princess Pinkie would often call thou...”, Suddenly, the shy pegasus starts to levitate and her body is surrounded by a red and purple aura. All of her wounds are healed in the process and her eyes are shot wide open as ‘Fluttershy’, says:

”Rise as our Avatar, Goddess Fluttershy!”
> Chapter 58 - The Avatar Of The Slime Gods.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Pinkie was absolutely in awe of the event that was playing out before her. There floating just before the slime is a yellow pegasus who is now surrounded by a red and purple aura. The pegasus lifts their right front hoof high into the air which causes two large entities to materialize into being. These new entities are both slimes like Princess Pinkie but much larger and of two different colorations. One was as crimson as the biome around them while the other takes on a dark purple coloration, similar to a certain other infection. This causes the slime Princess to say:

”Father... Your vision has come true. Fluttershy has become the Avatar of the Gods!”





The Avatar and the two large entities looks up towards their flesh behemoth foe as the three beings exclaims in unison:

”Hear us, abomination!. Thou hath wronged this kind soul and have committed a grave sin against the bearer of our core!. By the decree of Ebonian and Crimulan: Thou shall haveth, Divine Retribution!”

Upon speaking their declaration, the three entities rushes forward in three blurs while also causing the local landscape to crumble in the process. Cthorator growls in anger and then roars out:

”Come on then!, not even the Gods can stop-”

[WHAM]

[ZOOM]

[CRASH]

In one swift motion, both of the large slime entities rams into the abomination which causes the monstrosity to crash into the earth below. However, Cthorator’s punishment wasn’t finished yet as something grabs onto one of its tentacles. The eyes of the entity, the ones positioned inside of the brain’s mouth and the Perforator’s Hivemind down below, turns their gaze towards the one responsible as it is revealed to be: Fluttershy. The pegasus starts to easily lift the entity and despite the size difference, she begins to slam Cthorator into the landscape as she rises the flesh behemoth over her shoulders, rises onto her hind legs, and slams it back down. She repeats this process five more times, poetic justice for what the abomination had done to the pegasus and her allies, before she then flies high into the air and drags the large behemoth along with her.

Now high up in the air, Fluttershy starts to spin around in place, Cthorator being swung around in the process as the entity roars out in anger. She then releases the abomination and causes the monstrosity to be sent hurling away. However, things are still going down hill for Cthorator as the two slime entities starts to knock the monster around like a pinball, sending the flesh behemoth spiraling around until Fluttershy finally strikes it with her left front hoof and sends the colossal being hurling down towards the earth like a meteor.

[CRASH]

As this event is taking place, those who watched this spectacle stared on in awe. Certain individuals in particular manages to recover from their shocked state and says:

“N-no way... That’s, Fluttershy?!” - Twilight.

Pinkamena simply watches with a smirk.

Starlight imitates a goldfish as she opens and closes her mouth with wide eyes.

“Well ah’ be darned, Princess Pinkie was right about that there Slime Staff.” - Applejack.

“Holy shit... I ain’t drinking anymore after this.” - Vinny the Demolitionist.

“Vinny, you and I both know... That’s bullshit.” - Ceeman The Arms Dealer.

Vinny replies with a middle finger.

“She has got to be the strongest summoner I’ve ever seen. Heh, it’s always the quiet ones I suppose.” - Terralestia.

“In all my years, I’ve never heard of someone being able to summon The Slime Gods. Let alone receive their aide in battle.” - Celebes.

“It would seem that all along I was right, Now we shall watch her inner flame shine bright.” - Zecora.

“Those large slimes... Are they, monsters?” - Helena The Nurse

Suddenly, a certain pink slime hops onto The Nurse’s shoulders and says:

”Those aren’t monsters, Helena.”

“W-what are they?”

”Gods.”

As they continue to monologue and converse, nearby, a certain Rainbow maned pegasus finally comes to as her eyes widen upon seeing her childhood friend performing such unbelievable feats high above. Cthorator recovered from being tossed to the ground like a ragdoll and rocketed back into the sky to confront the yellow pegasus and the two slime entities.

“Holy buck... Fluttershy, what the hay happened to ya?”

“I’m just as shocked as you, Rainbow.”, Rarity interjects as she too manages to regain her consciousness which causes Rainbow to reply:

“It’s just, I’ve never seen Flutters be this... This... Awesome. We grew up together and I’d never imagine she could ever do, well, that!”

“This world seems to be changing us all, darling. I mean, just look around us. We’re currently standing in a place filled  entirely of flesh and fighting a monstrous brute that would scare anypony back home just by looking at it and yet, we’re all facing it head on. We’re going to get stronger and change a bit in this world, darling. Now, It’s Fluttershy’s turn to show us her new found strength.”

The battle continues on high above as a badly wounded Cthorator roars out:

”Enough!, we’ve had it with you all!.”, The entity then flies higher as it looks down upon Fluttershy and the two slime entities. A red aura starts to gather around Cthorator before it then starts to form into a ball of red energy which floats just before the mouth portion of the brain section on the entity. ”We’re going to blast all of you away!, even your bones will be reduced to dust!”, Upon shouting those words, the ball of energy that floated before Cthorator suddenly turns into a large red beam which was fired directly at Fluttershy who was currently floating in the middle of the two large slime entities.

The flesh behemoth laughs and then exclaims:

”Now what will you do?!”

As this is happening, everyone below watches on in horror as the energy blast starts to draw near the pegasus and her two large slime comrades. The ponies, Zebra, and all of their fellow allies cries out and shouts for their friend’s safety, begging the yellow pegasus to move.

Suddenly, both of the slime entities starts to glow as a red aura surrounds the crimson colored slime while a purple aura surrounds the matching colored slime entity. Fluttershy sticks out both of her forehooves, each towards both of her slime allies, which causes the energy to gather around both of her appendages. In her right hoof, she held red energy while in the pegasus’s left hoof, purple energy was held and gathered. Fluttershy then slams her forelimbs together and shoots them forward upon which a large energy beam of a mixed red and purple coloration is unleashed and heads towards Cthorator’s own attack.

[SKSHSHSHSH]

The two energy beams collide into one another which causes a shockwave upon impact. A beam struggle takes place high in the air as the light emitting from the conflict starts to color the land in a series of red, purple, and even magenta as the colors of the two beams mixed during the struggle. Cthorator grunts and struggles as it tries to push against the opposing beam, however, Fluttershy simply looks on and keeps her hooves extended outwards but unlike her foe, the pegasus remains calm as ever. Then, she grits her teeth and roars out as a sudden surge of power causes her own energy beam to enlarge in the process. This overpowers the flesh behemoth’s own energy beam as the monstrosity roars out:

”No!, this can’t be!”, The abomination can only look on in horror as the pegasus’s beam draws closer and continues to overpower its own attack. “Nooooooo!, stooooooop!”, In some sort of effort, Cthorator actually has the nerve to demand that its opponent stops their attack. The energy beam draws near which already causes pieces of Cthorator’s very being to start burning away and sizzle out of existence.

As Fluttershy’s beam approaches more and more, the flesh entitie’s form burns away until finally... It becomes completely consumed by the blast. Slowly but surely, Cthorator is slowly reduced to nothing as the being cries out:

”We are perfeeeeeeeeeect!”, Painful roars are let out by the entity as they slowly start to die down in the process while Cthorator is being reduced to nothing. The battle is finally concluded as the pegasus’s beam continues upwards until it too finally dissipates.

Down below, everyone just stares on in disbelief as Fluttershy and her large slime allies floats high above them all. Then, realization truly dawns on everyone else present as they all starts to cheer in unison:

”SHE DID IIIIT!”, Various cheers and compliments are thrown at the pegasus as she and her slime allies continues to float high above.

Suddenly, the two slime entities disappears and what happens next startles everyone in attendance: Fluttershy goes unconscious and her form starts to fall towards the earth below. Fortunately, the pegasus would never collide with the earth as she was saved by a certain group of ponies, and zebra, who all flies into her via their Rocket Boots and wings. The group catches her and brings her into a group hug with tears and happiness present on their faces. All the while, a content smile was present on the unconscious pegasus’s face.

“Fluttershy, you were amazing... We’re soo proud of you.” - Twilight.

“You sure showed that brute what happens when it messes with a proper lady, darling.” - Rarity.

“If it wasn’t for the fact that she’s unconscious, I’d be spinning her around in celebration.” - Starlight.

“Ah’m so proud of ya’, sugarcube.” - Applejack.

“Awesome, just, awesome. Looks like you’ve been holding out on me, Flutters.” - Rainbow Dash.

“She is truly a strong mare, despite often being timid and shy, Fluttershy has shown her strength from within, one that has allowed her to win.” - Zecora.

“She was superly, duperly, rifficly, awesome!. Ooh!, it reminded me of that time when Gohan killed Cell!. Cthorator even shouted: ‘We love cornbread!’... Or was it: ‘We are perfect?”, Pinkie Pie question’s as the party pony had returned to her normal self some time ago. The pink pony’s words also causes everyone to look at her in confusion, Twilight in particular question’s internally:

-Who’s Gohan and Cell?- 

There was however one more thing that was about to happen next. As soon as the group escorted the unconscious pegasus back to their allies, specifically Helena The Nurse, the other adventurers and even their friends nearby shouts in unison:

”HERE COMES THE LOOT!” (See author’s note.)

As was expected, various items begins to materialize themselves as a result of the boss’s death. These various forms of equipment and materials starts to duplicate and then flies towards everyone present as they claim their rightful rewards. Princess Pinkie in particular chuckles to herself as she turns to Fluttershy, who still remained unconscious, and says:

“I shall hold onto your loot for you, Goddess Fluttershy. Wait... By the Slime Gods!”, The Slime Princess’s exclamation instantly catches the attention of the other ponies as Rainbow Dash is the first to question:

“What’s wrong?!, is Fluttershy ok?!”

“Yes but her cutie mark... It’s, changed.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes were widened in shock, as was the other ponies and zebra, as they all witness a slight change to their friend’s mark. More specifically, a new addition was made as a certain core became a part of Fluttershy’s marked destiny.







-DISCORD’S POCKET DIMENSION/INVENTORY-

The lord of chaos was currently enjoying his nap as he was holding a bodypillow which had a likeness to... Fluttershy.

“Ooooh~, Fluttershy, we shouldn’t... Not here at least. Ohoho, you naughty little mare-”

Suddenly, he jolts up into the air but unfortunately knocks his head against what should’ve been his ceiling, only for it to be a flight of stairs. The draconequus lets out a painful exclamation as he starts to rub his injured head. Incidentally, there was a planet where his ‘bump’ should’ve been.

“Blasted!, and I was having such a nice dream too- wait... I feel something. I can’t quite put a talon onto it but I feel like something marvelous has just happened and I just missed out on it.”

Discord ponders on this for a moment with his eagle’s talon placed onto his chin. He then shrugs it off and says:

“Meh, It’ll come to me later. Now then, I think it’s time I join Lulu and the others on their upcoming operation. They’ve had more than enough time to turn that ore into something more, useful.”

With a snap of his lion’s paw, the draconequus disappears within a sudden a cloud of powdered chocolate mix.
> Chapter 59 - Cthorator Aftermath.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



A few hours have passed after the battle with Cthorator. Sai Sahan, in addition to Tanner The Guide, saw fit to establish an encampment during that time in order to effectively tend to wounded adventurers and to start the beginning of their next operation. They wanted to achieve what they came here to do: To harvest and create equipment from The Crimson Biome in addition to using the materials they were given upon the death of the abomination: Cthorator. And, of course, to claim the next blade that the ponies need: The Bloodbutcher.

Within a tent that was noticeably white in coloration along with a red cross present on each side of the makeshift shelter, the unconscious form of Fluttershy was laid upon a bed. All the while, the shy pegasus’s closest friends, both from Equus and Terraria, were gathered around her paying their respects and hoping for her swift recovery. This consisted of Ritsu, Princess Pinkie, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight. Helena The Nurse is also present as she is tending to those who were wounded from the battle.

A few more moments goes by as Fluttershy’s eyes were slowly starting to open and she lets out a soft moan before saying:

“Wha... What happened?... Everything went black after-”

“Fluttershy!”, Her friends and loved ones shouts in unison as they recovered from their shocked state and were relieved to see her finally coming to. This causes the yellow pegasus to get up completely and then sits on her flank while positioned on the bed. She then says:

“Oh my, you’re all ok. Thank goodness... Who was it that saved us?, oh dear... Is that monster, um, still out there?”, This causes everyone present, aside from a certain slime, to take on confused expressions. Rainbow Dash in particular blinks her eyes twice and question’s:

“Wait, Flutters... Don’t you remember anything you did?”

“Well, no... Um, did I do something?. Oh!, wait as second, did The Slime Staff activate itself to protect me again?.”

“F-Fluttershy, this was waaaay different than any other time the staff activated itself to protect you.”, Ritsu interjects. “What you did is perhaps the second most incredible and absolutely craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah Fluttershy!, that was absolutely amazing!. You were like: ‘I am the Avatar.’ and that big ol’ meanie was like: ‘Grrrr, I’m the crazy tentacle monster!”, Pinkie Pie exclaims as she then hops in place happily.

Suddenly, Princess Pinkie hops onto the bed and joins in as she says:

”Everyone, I would like to take the initiative and explain these recent events. However... You might become mad at me, Goddess Fluttershy.”, The Slime Princess’s words momentarily stuns everyone present which causes the aforementioned pegasus to question:

“What do you mean?. You and The Slime Staff saved me again, it saved everyone. How could I ever be mad at you?.”

”You don’t know about how this recent change has truly effected you. I’m soo sorry, I just didn’t want you to die.”

“W-what do you mean by, change?”, Fluttershy question’s.

“Die?!”, Everyone else shouts in unison.

”Yes, well, first thing’s first: I would like for you to look at your cutie mark, Goddess Fluttershy.”, Adhering to the slime’s request, Fluttershy turns her head and goes to inspect her cutie mark which causes her eyes to shoot wide open and exclaims:

“Oh my gosh!, wh... What is that?!”

”That, is the Core Of The Slime Gods. The gods themselves heard my prayer and saved you, they saved all of us in fact. Crimulan and Ebonian empowered your body thus turning you into their Avatar, the bearer of their core. One could even say: You are the core now, Fluttershy.” 

Everyone simply stares on in shock upon hearing this revelation. However, Rainbow Dash then smiles brightly and question’s:

“Why would Fluttershy get mad a that?. Hay, that sounds awesome!. She’s got the core of literal slime gods watching over her now.”

“I have to agree with Rainbow Dash. In fact, as a Princess Of Equestria, I would like to officially thank you on our behalf.”, Twilight says as she then kneels before the slime Princess before she continues: “You and your fellow slimes, especially your slime gods, have saved one of my dearest friends. I... I don’t know how any of us could ever handle losing her like that.”

“Darn tootin!, you and yer’ slime gods are fine in ma’ book. Ah’ witnessed first hoof the length’s y’all would go to save Fluttershy and ah’ appreciate every one of ya.”, Applejack interjects.

”Thank you everyone, I truly am grateful for your kind words. However, there’s something I must confess before we go any further.”, The Slime Princesses words causes everyone to listen attentively which prompts her to continue: ”To respond to Ritsu’s earlier comment, this is indeed much different in comparison to any other time the staff was activated.”, Princess Pinkie then pauses momentarily as she sighs sadly and says: “You were on the border of life and death, Fluttershy. Had I not called upon the gods to save you... You’d be dead.”

These words causes everyone to gasp in shock before Pinkie Pie exclaims with a raised front hoof:

“Objection!”, The pink pony was also wearing what seemed to be a suit and tie before she then tears it off, much to everyone’s confusion, and continues: “I thought the staff activates itself in order to save Fluttershy’s life?, Isn’t that what happened here?.”

”It wasn’t exactly the staff, not this time. This was purely done by The Slime Gods themselves, the staff is an extension of their will but It does not contain all of their power.” 

“I still don’t get it.”, Pinkie Pie replies as she sits on her flank and raises her front hooves in confusion.

“I do.”, Twilight interjects which causes everyone present to turn their gaze towards the alicorn. “The staff simply wasn’t strong enough to save her this time, that’s what the slime Princess means by it not having all of their power. There’d be no point in summoning a slime army since they’d get beaten just as easily as we all were. Therefore, since the staff acts as the will of The Slime Gods, they heard Princess Pinkie’s prayer through the staff and acted accordingly.”, Twilight’s assessment causes various eyes to widen in realization from those among them.

”That is correct, Princess Twilight.”, The slime Princess replies before she hops onto Fluttershy, the pegasus still staring on in shock, and continues: ”Fluttershy, the gods preserved your life and as a result: You became the bearer of their core.”

“Oh Princess Pinkie, I... I don’t know how to express how thankful I-”

”There’s one more thing, Fluttershy... What I am about to reveal is why I fear you’ll be mad at me. I just want you to know that I only did it to save you from death, I just wanted to save my friend.”, Princess Pinkie interjects which causes the shy pegasus, in addition to those around her, to take on a confused expression.

“What?”, Fluttershy question’s.

”As the bearer of the core, well... You actually are the core, your life is now connected to The Slime Gods. You’re immortal, Fluttershy. You will never age from this point forward and your life shall last until the end of all that exists, if any. You can still be killed by physical means but you will never die to old age or any illnesses. I’m soo sorry... My actions has turned you into an immortal without even asking if you’d be ok with it. I just... Didn’t want to watch someone like you, die.”

Silence and absolute shock, that was all that remained after everyone hears yet another revelation from the Slime Princess. Fluttershy in particular was absolutely dumbfounded and the only words she could manage to muster in her current state was a simple and shaky:

“Oh... Oh, m-my.”

Unbeknownst to everyone present, a certain lavender alicorn takes on a saddened expression and says internally:

-I know what you’re feeling right now... Fluttershy.-





-EQUUS, OUTSKIRTS OF PONYVILLE-

A large army comprised entirely of those in The Coalition, a name that the rulers of each species representative agreed upon for the alliance, now stands on the outskirts of the infected town of Ponyville. Like the armies of before, this one was comprised of all those who joined Equestria in the fight against The Corruption which would surly threaten the entire world if left unchecked. Ponies, minotaurs, changelings, zebras, dragons, griffons, hippogriffs, and yaks all made up this unique force. However, unlike their army of the past that was defeated by the infection, this one has two things that will no doubt tip the scales in its favor:

The first: Thanks to the dedication of the entire alliance, in addition to Discord’s instructions, they were able to forge weapons and armor made from the ore they harvested in The Everfree Forest.



Blades, war hammers, battle axes, bows, and armor customized for every species in attendance were worn and wielded proudly.

The second: In addition to these newly crafted weapons and armor, the alicorn Princesses have also brought along a very particular weapon: The Flim-Flam Purification Tower. Incidentally, it was currently being pulled by minotaurs while positioned upon a large reinforced cart. Of course, the two brothers were present as well however there was a certain royal couple who accompanied them: Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, both of whom were also accompanied by a small battalion of crystal ponies with Tempest Shadow and even Spike present amongst them.



After their loss in Ponyville some time ago, The Corruption grew even beyond its former size even consuming Cloudsdale in the event. Everyone experienced nothing but pain and loss as a result, loved ones snatched from them and their homes forever lost in the process. However, they were now equipped to fight back against the monstrous infection.

Standing before this large force were some of the leaders and representatives from other nations in addition to The Princess Of The Night: Luna. The dark alicorn turns to the army as she then looks towards her fellow leaders. They nod to her in understanding which prompts her to take a deep breath as she then exclaims in her Canterlot Voice:

”HEAR US!, THY BRAVE WARRIORS AND SOLDIERS!”, Luna’s exclamation instantly gains the attention of the large force standing before her. Many among the species who could fly did so and floated just above the ground forces as they all listen attentively to the alicorn’s words.

“The time hath cometh to strike back against this putrid infection!, to strike back against that which has taken soo much from those of us who call these lands our home!. However, we hath not forgotten about thy fellow neighboring nations who hath sent us aid and their support in this time of war. For this, thou hath our eternal gratitude. That being said, when we look at this army, doth thou know what we see?”, Luna inquires and then pauses for a moment before she continues:

“We see not separate species, we see not enemies or foes but brothers and sisters in arms!. We see all of thou who are prepared to defend not just Equestria, but all of the world against The Corruption!. If we don’t stop this plague here and now then it will spread across the world!, its infectious roots draining the life from all lands it dares to touch!. That is why we knoweth without any doubt that we will destroy it all!, we shall purify all that was taken from us before this infection can take even more!.”

These words causes various cheers and roars to let loose before Luna and various members of the leader/nation representatives raises their hooves, arms, and other appendages up into the air in order to regain a moment of silence. The army’s exclamations slowly dies down as a result which prompts Luna to continue once more:

“Now we ask thou: Art ye ready to destroy our shared foe?!”

[STOMP]

The army reacts with a unified stomp that echoes throughout the landscape.

“Art thou ready to wield thy weapons and perish any who meets thy kiss?!”

[STOMP]

“What will you do to the monsters who lurks within this unholy biome?!, those who want nothing but to tear us apart!”

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

What happens next is something quite unexpected, and yet, still normal for those who live upon the world of Equus. Everyone present starts to sing with Luna taking the lead:

Luna:

What can you expect,
From these abominations?,
Their whole disgusting biome is but a curse.
From sin they are bred,
They’re only good when dead,
They’re vermin, they’re demons and worse.

They’re savages!, savages!, - The Army

Monsters of corruption!, - Luna.

Savages!, savages!, - The Army

Drive them from our world!, - Luna

Luna:

What they want from you and me?!,
That is our destruction!,
We must sound the drums of war!.

Everyone:

They’re savages!, savages!,
Dirty heartless devils!,
Now we sound the drums of war!,

Cadence:

This is what we feared,
This infection is very dangerous,
The only thing it wants is suffering and pain.

Shining Armor:

Beneath their monstrous hides there’s emptiness inside.

Flim, Flam, Tempest, and Spike:

I wonder if they even bleed?

They’re savages!, savages!, - Everyone.

Monsters of corruption, - Shining Armor.

Savages!, savages!, - Everyone.

Killers at the core, - Shining Armor.

Shining Armor:

They’re merciless to us,
They want death and destruction,

Cadence:

We must sound the drums of war!

Everyone:

They’re savages!, savages!,
First we deal with Ponyville!,
Savages!, savages!,
Purify The Corruption,
Savages!, savages!
Then we sound the drums, of,
waaaaaaar!
> Chapter 60 - The Coalition's Vengeance.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, THE CORRUPTION BIOME, PONYVILLE-



[STOMP]

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

A seemingly endless series of stomping echoes throughout the corrupted landscape as the large army makes its way towards Ponyville. There were even familiar faces amongst this mighty force and non surprisingly, this consisted of those who lived here. Finally, after marching for what seemed to be an hour or two, the large force now stands before Ponyville. So close in fact that they could practically kiss the metaphorical edge of the infected town.

Sure enough, the monsters of The Corruption became alerted to the army’s presence and started to make their way towards the large force with haste. Worm like entities burrowed into the land, purple slimes hopped towards their prey and flying parasites flew forth to engage the armies aerial based forces. However, what the monsters of the infection failed to realize is that something was very different this time. No one, not a single living being present in the allied force were afraid of these entities. Unlike in the past when most would run away or freeze in utter fear, now, they stared on towards their shared foes. Determination, anger, rage,  this is what filled the hearts of those within this army as they roar out against their oncoming foes and prepares for battle.

Princess Luna marched at the front of this army along with her fellow species representatives. This consisted of Dragonlord Ember along with with the assistance of the red dragon, Garble. Domihaus represented the minotaurs and General Seaspray for the hippogriffs. Prince Ruthorford for the yaks and Prince Zaku along with his finest warrior amongst the zebra, Zellan. Thorax, Pharynx, and Chrysalis for the changelings in addition to Gilda who was sent forth on behalf of Grandpa Gruff for the griffons. Much like the alicorn Princess, they all continued towards their encroaching foes.

With a smirk, Luna points her left front hoof towards the monsters and exclaims:

“Forward dearest comrades!, let’s show these monstrosities our combined wrath!”

Suddenly, the earth begins to shake violently but not due to the actions of the monsters from the infection. Not entirely, at least. It was mostly due to the ground forces of the unified army charging forward while letting out war cries and bracing their weapons for battle.

[CLINK]

[SHLINK]

[BOOM]

[SPLAT]

[FWOOM]

The sounds of crashing blades, exploding spells, arrows being loosed, dragons breathing fire, changelings buzzing about, yaks slamming into their foes head on, and many other scenarios plays out, some with familiar faces:

Both Vinyl scratch and Octavia lunges forward with their forged weapons, blades that were just as purple as the infection around them, and slices through various worm entities in addition to performing various combos together. In one instance, a flying parasite tried to swoop down at the two mares however Vinyl grabs onto Octavia’s front right hoof, spins in place, and then releases her fellow “Dance partner” as Octavia is hurled towards the monster and effortlessly  cuts through the parasite before landing onto the earth and continues their assault in unison.



Bulk Biceps was truly a monstrosity in his own right and despite what many might believe, those muscles weren’t just for show. Using his war hammer forged by the ore, the stallion pegasus would send various slimes born from The Corruption flying into the air and even splatting them on the spot as he yells his signature:

”Yeah!”



Derpy Hooves flew through the air and duel wielded two blades in either of her forehooves. In one swift motion, she’d spin around and cleave multiple Eater Of Souls in the process in a whirlwind of blades. Her biggest threat was when a Corruptor appears before the pegasus, however, she wouldn’t face the entity alone as a familiar team of performers backs her up: Every member of The Wonderbolts.



Big Mac and Sugar Belle fought alongside one another, along with other members of the army. The red stallion wielded a battle axe forged from the purple ore while Sugar Belle wielded a bow that was forged from the same material. The mare would drop aerial foes by the dozen as she unleashes her arrows upon the Eater Of Souls. The apple family member would swing his battle axe and split various worm entities like a hot knife through butter.

Luna felt as if she truly belonged here, in battle, alongside her dear ponies and new found allies. The battlefield was her true calling whereas ruling a kingdom was more geared towards her sister’s expertise, she now believed. It was Ironic, given her past when she became Nightmare Moon. Floating both a battle axe forged from the ore and a personal scythe she herself had made long ago, which noticeably resembled a crescent moon that played as the “Business end” of the weapon, the dark alicorn gracefully cut through her foes both on land and in the air. One of the Corruptors tried to devour the Princess Of The Moon only for her to turn into a shadow which causes the entity to literally go right through her. She’d then send both of her weapons after her foe and dices the large parasite in the process. Just for good measure, the alicorn unleashes a beam of energy to even further rid her foe as it reduces the diced remains to dust.

Ember, Garble, and a few other dragons who accompanied them continues to burn both the smaller and larger flying parasites. Those who did manage to draw near the dragons were simply killed via their armored claws which was a personal request that Ember had made for the dragons when their armor were being customized.

“Burn!, you damned abominations!”, Ember roars out as she watches a parasite become consumed by dragon flame and starts to fall out of the skies.

Domihaus and his fellow minotaurs showed their might as they all wielded war hammers in one hand while punching and tossing their foes with the other. In one instant, a very large worm entity erupts out of the ground and attempts to ram into the King of the minotaurs.



Domihaus simply smiles, braces himself, and then catches the worm like entity which does manage to send him skiing back in the process, creating small fractures within the earth as a result of his hooves being dragged across the landscape. However, he’d then shout:

“Now Rutherford!”

“Yak give big monster pain!”, The yak Prince exclaims as he causes the ground to shake while he charges towards the large worm like a freight train.

[WHAM]

[SPLAT]

The yak prince hits the large worm entity with such force that it causes the monster to explode into pieces of gore.

“Hah!, Domihaus is impressed, yak Prince!”

“Yak thanks you, Domihaus. Maybe later yak challenges you to contest!”

The two titans of physical might nods to each other as they then return to the battle taking place throughout Ponyville.

Prince Zaku and his mighty zebra mare ally, Zellan, are throwing spears that were customarily made from the ore as many of their kind prefers to use spears in combat. One of the corrupted slimes tries to rush into the zebra prince, however, he simply smirks as his mare ally intercepts the slime and bucks it away before she then hops into the air, punctures the slime, and shoves a potion into the gelatinous creature’s body. Incidentally, this potion was crafted from the purification powder which causes the slime to literally melt away in the process as the concoction takes effect.

Chrysalis, Pharynx, Thorax, and the swarm of changelings that accompanied them blasted away their foes in a beam of green energy and were even wielding various weapons forged from the purple ore. Due to Thorax wielding the changeling hivemind, he was able to order and even see through the eyes of their fellow changelings around the battlefield. Chrysalis and Pharynx both wanted him to stay behind in The Crystal Empire due to this very reason. However, The Changeling King absolutely refused to stay behind especially since he still felt that he needed to be there for what happened in the previous battle in Ponyville.

“You are such an annoying grub, Thorax. I still say that you should go back to The Empire. You are the current wielder of The Changeling Hivemind, you need to be safe!.”

“And I told you, Chrysalis, that I need to be here!. Not only for my allies but for my subjects who died here in the last battle. Besides, only a cowardly ruler would hide behind their subjects.”

“I see my lessons have been engraved into that chitin of yours, brother. Well spoken!”

“You were right there with me when we tried to convince your brother to stay behind, Pharynx.”

“Yes, and a part of me does want that still. However, I do respect my brother wanting to be here for his subjects. At least he didn’t fly off and leave us behind like a certain-”

“This is not the time for that, you two!. Come on!, let’s destroy these monsters!. For The Hive!”

Gilda and General Seaspray soared through the skies and continued to slice apart various parasites with their bladed wings, said blades being forged by the purple ore. While customizing armor for both the griffins and hippogriffs, they requested for their wings to become an offensive weapon while also being guarded. Incidentally, there were even pegasi who requested these customizations.

Many scenarios and events are playing out all around Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, Tempest, and Spike who currently sat upon the broken unicorn mare’s back. They continued to escort what was arguably their greatest weapon: The Flim-Flam Purification Tower, which in turn was being pulled by four minotaurs. As an extra precaution, Shining Armor also projected a barrier around their weapon. The Flim Flam brothers starts to smile as they then shout in unison:

“There your Highnesses!, the center of Ponyville is just ahead!”

“Excellent!. Once we get there, me and Shining will channel our love into the Crystal Heart which will then activate this machine and purify the infection. All of Ponyville will be returned to normal!”, Cadence declares happily. "Everyone's doing amazingly well against the monsters outside and this armor we're all wearing is amazing!. Discord said something about an armor set bonus?. It increases our damage output and even makes us faster, my magic feels as if it's being amplified."

"No kidding, I feel like I could keep this barrier up for a whole year. I feel amazing!", Shining Armor replies.

“While this armor is impressive, there’s also another matter at hoof. That floating orb above the Town Hall.”, Tempest comments.

“Yeah, Dr Whooves suspects that it is some sort of container. It stores stolen life force and gathers sin from the sinful actions of others.”, Shining Armor replies.

“That’s been bothering me.”, Spike says which causes everyone else to turn their gaze towards the young dragon. “It’s just, our world isn’t exactly drowned in sin. Sure, we have some bad types here and there, but our world isn’t exactly the best supply of that stuff. It shouldn’t be enough to make this infection spread across the entire planet and thanks to our new armor and weapons, I doubt that these monsters will have many chances to steal everyone’s life force.”

Everyone present ponders on the dragon’s words and sure enough, he makes a good point. The Corruption spreads by feeding on sin which in turn are absorbed by the floating orbs. In addition, the life force extracted from unfortunate souls via the flying parasites can also contribute to the infection’s growth. And yet, Equus isn’t exactly filled to the brim with sin, in comparison to other worlds. Spike also makes a very good point on the fact that their newly found strength will no doubt reduce the opportunity for life force to be harvested.

Tempest is the first to speak up and says:

“I see what you’re getting at... And that is exactly why I suspected that somepony among us is a traitor. I mentioned it back in the throne room. After we’re done here and if we find another orb inside of Twilight’s castle... Then I am officially convinced.”

As this is going on, the battle still rages on outside of their barrier. Luna was even seen passing by as she continues to wage war against their foes.

“I must admit, I agree. It bothers me to know that one of our own would help this horrible infection to spread out even further.”, Cadence says as she takes on a saddened expression. Shining armor puts a hoof onto his lover and replies:

“Don’t worry, Cadence. Once we purify Ponyville we can start looking into it.”

“Thanks Shiny, I just don’t want Flurry Heart to have to grow up in a world consumed by... All of this.”

“That won’t happen. Just like Luna said before, we’re going to destroy this infection!”

“Alright everypony!, we’re in position!.”, The Flim Flam brothers exclaims as it did indeed turn out that the cart was positioned just before Town Hall.

Tempest look up towards the giant flying orb which was still positioned over the structure before them. She forms a smirk onto her muzzle and turns to everyone else saying:

“Alright then, let’s destroy that orb and purify this bucking corruption.”





-EQUUS, CANTERLOT CASTLE, THRONE ROOM-

The ruined throne room of the royal sisters was becoming more and more unpleasant by every passing day. It was indeed recognizable once before, but now, even one of the former alicorn rulers wouldn’t be able to recognize their own throne room. To add even more detest to this infected place, the skeletal remains of various lifeforms littered the room as they were likely victims of having their life force sapped away.

The Hivemind floated before the large orb which was still positioned in the same spot that used to be the royal thrones. The entity was also bothered by something. Specifically, It could feel a great change has taken place back in Terraria. The lord of the infection couldn’t quite figure it out but it almost felt as if something that was a parallel to its own existence was recently snuffed out. Then, a sudden clopping of hooves echoes throughout the chamber which causes The Hivemind to turn around and say:

”Have you planted the seeds within The Empire, Blueblood?”

“Why of course, my lord. Everything is ready to go and thanks to my aunt’s stupidity, I was able to plant those Corrupt Seeds. I must ask: Why don’t you just send that large worm, The Eater Of Worlds, to deal with everypony?”

”If we unleash the great eater it will not extract their life force, the great one will simply kill them all. The Eater Of Worlds is The Corruption’s guardian, however, it cannot harvest life force like those of the parasites. We must admit, your world isn’t particularly filled with too much sin. In fact, beings like you are rare in this reality, those who fully embrace the beauty of sin. It fuels us, empowers us, however... The only reason we were able to spread this far was mostly due to the sin left behind by The Moon Lord. Of course, your actions have also given my glorious infection sustenance and you will be richly rewarded.”

“So long as you continue to empower me, I will bring you more sin than anypony else could ever provide.”

”Actually, you are no longer one of our few sources of sin. We have two more allies to aid us in our pursuits. While you’ve been away, we’ve been making... Progress.”

“What?, who?”

“Oh golly, I heard all about you from our lord, Mister Blueblood.”, A mysterious voice replies. Disturbingly, this voice sounded exactly like that of a young filly. Seconds after those words were spoken, a pink pegasus filly reveals herself from behind the large floating orb. The pegasus then lands in front of The Hivemind and says mischievously with a dark look:

“Hi there!, I’m Cozy Glow. Want to be... frieeeeends?”



Blueblood raises an eyebrow and says:

“This... This is a mere filly. My ally... Is a pegasus filly?. Couldn’t we have done better than... This?”, Blueblood question’s with a hint of confusion.

“Hey!, I might be small but I’ve been busy!. While you were off planting some seeds, oh that’s soo difficult, I’ve pointed our lord towards somepony who can help us.”

“Who?, your little dolls?. That doesn’t count, filly.”

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

“Actually, she’s talking about me.”, A new voice calls which was much deeper than even Blueblood’s. The mysterious being continues to stomp its way into the throne room which causes the unicorn to turn towards a large figure.

[STOMP]

[STOMP]

Stepping out of the shadows and into the haunting light of the throne room, a large red and black male centaur nears the group as he says:

“My job is done as well. Their little war in Ponyville has left them completely oblivious to what happened in Tartarus, they don’t even know that I’m missing. I thank you for releasing me, Hivemind.”, Blueblood’s eyes were momentarily shot wide open until he then smirks and says:

“Now that’s much better. Welcome aboard, Tirek.”



“That’s Lord Tirek, pony.”
> Chapter 61 - Be Prepared.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, how did you two get invited to this party?. Then again, Tirek I can understand but a small filly like you?. How could you possibly help us?”, Blueblood question’s as he was still dumbfounded by how this filly pegasus could ever contribute.

”Cozy Glow is the reason we were able to learn all we needed about the centaur. His sin flows from him even as we speak... It is, delicious. The pegasus has informed us about the events that transpired in the past which resulted in Tirek's imprisonment. We refuse to let such a vital source of sin to be locked up, so, we intervened.”

“With all due respect, my lord, even if that is the case how can she help us?”

“I’m standing right here!”, Cozy Glow interjects angrily.

”As we said before, all sources of sin in your world must be preserved. The filly standing before you possesses even more sin than you two combined. She might not be an adequate fighter in comparison to either of you, however, one must still appreciate the beauty of deception. It’s among the greatest sources of sin.”

Blueblood continues to stare unbelievably towards the filly before he then shrugs his shoulders and says:

“So long as she stays out of my way, I suppose she can be useful... Somehow.”

“Now, now, pony. Do not let appearances deceive you. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my defeat at the hooves of that blasted Twilight Sparkle and her friends it’s that even if something doesn’t look dangerous, it can ironically be the most threatening of all.”, Tirek interjects.

“Fair enough.”, Blueblood replies before he then puts a hoof to his chin in thought and asks: “Say, how did you regain that enormous size of yours?. I believe the last time you’ve achieved this was when you took the magic from my sow aunts and that whore, Cadence. You even took that peasant's, Twilight’s magic in the process.”

Tirek simply laughs in response before he recovers and says:

“The Hivemind allowed me to feast on some of the magic from the world they come from, Terraria. One drink was all it took to make me even stronger than I was long ago during my fight with Twilight. The magic from that world is remarkable!, I desire to go there and feast on it!”

”We're glad you feel that way because we will soon give you payment for your contribution.” The Hivemind interjects.

“Oh?, are you saying that there are other sources of magic that came from Terraria?”, Tirek Question’s.

”As it so happens, those fools have created armor and weapons from Demonite Ore. Thanks to Blueblood's information, Discord used his magic to duplicate the weapons and armor crafted from the material."

"Discord?, ah I see. So he really did become their puppet in the end... Pathetic. Anyway, what does that have to do with my payment?"

"Demonite Ore is a material that grows from The Corruption. This biome hails from my world and most importantly, the ore is absolutely filled with magic from Terraria. I promised you a feast, Tirek... You shall have it.”

Tirek’s mouth was practically drooling at this point upon hearing those words. If a small sample of terrarian magic was enough to grow his power this much, how much more would the centaur grow if he could consume the magic from the weapons and armor that were forged from the Demonite Ore. The centaur grins devilishly as he then says:

“I will give you all the sin you could ever want for this!. That delicious magic... I must have it!”

Cozy Glow raises her right front hoof and says:

“Golly mister Hivemind, I don’t mean to sound like I doubt you. However, I have to ask: How will you fulfill your side of our bargain when it comes to me and Blueblood?. You’ve delivered on Tirek’s request but what about us?. Blueblood wants to become some God-King and I want to show everypony the true meaning of friendship.”

“You dare question our lord’s might despite witnessing it first-”

”That is not necessary, Blueblood. Unlike my brother The Perforators, I am reasonable when it comes to those who willfully provides me with sin.”

“The Preforators?”, Tirek, Cozy, and Blueblood question’s in unison.

”We were both brought into being by our creator: Dr Draedon. Where we can control The Corruption, our brother has influence over another type of infection: The Crimson. The Eater Of Worlds sensed our abilities and allowed us to join the glorious corruption. You could say, we are kindred spirits.”, The Hivemind replies as the entity starts to float towards a shattered wall of the throne room which allowed everyone present to look out towards the infected outskirts of Canterlot. At least, what was Canterlot.

”Long ago, The Corruption was reduced to a microscopic biome due to the actions of The Dryads. Fortunately, they failed to destroy it completely. The Great One discovered the small biome and hid itself within, waiting for the opportunity to infect another world due to The Crimson already claiming Terraria in The Corruption’s absence. When we were brought into the fold, we began to create various monsters for the infection. Here’s a fun fact: We created The Eater Of Souls in addition to The Corruptors. The ability to suck away the life force of others and to shoot spit that spreads The Corruption was thanks to our design. The large worm entities you see burrowing around our glorious landscape were created from The Eater Of Worlds. They all act as our guardians while we harvest sin and life force in order to spread The Corruption.”

“Hmm, I am curious about how this entity came to be, Hivemind.”, Tirek comments. “How was The Eater Of Worlds conceited in the first place?. You make it sound as if The Corruption and that giant worm existed long before you did.”

”To answer your question simply: It’s because they did exist long before me and The Perforators were created. My knowledge is sadly limited when it comes to the origins of The Corruption, much to my dismay. However, I know all about the origin of The Great Eater. That entity is a spawn of Cthulhu, one of four pieces you could say. We must ask, do you remember the being who entered this world: The Moon Lord, Razeem?”

Cozy Glow and Blueblood’s eyes are shot wide open in a combination of familiarity and concern before they say:

“I was here in Canterlot when that... thing, appeared out of my aunt’s moon via the portal.” -  Blueblood.

“Oh golly, that thing was soo big!. I could see it even from Equestria’s border.” - Cozy Glow.

Tirek simply shrugs his shoulder and comments:

“I was sort of in Tartarus during that event. I can’t wait to see their reactions when they finally realize my absence.”

”That was another being who was born from Cthulhu, the strongest of all the incarnations.”

Cozy Glow, Blueblood, and Tirek were admittedly dumbfounded by this revelation. The Eater Of Worlds alone is a powerful being to them as is, and yet, there is another who dwarfs it in both size and power. The pegasus filly recovers from her shocked state and says:

“Not that the history lesson wasn’t appreciated but can we get back to my earlier question?. Blueblood and I want our parts of the bargain to be fulfilled. You did it for Tirek by allowing him to feed on everypony’s magic from Terraria but what about us?”

“Speak for yourself, filly. Lord Hivemind has already empowered me greatly and my magic grows alongside the sins we absorb. In fact, my body works similar to the floating orbs. I absorb sin just as they do.”, Blueblood replies.

“What?!, what about me?!, where’s my power?!”

”Come to us, Cozy Glow.”, The Hivemind declares in response. Cozy Glow didn’t want to admit it but the filly did become nervous as she slowly starts to draw near The Hivemind, heeding its request. The entity then lays a tendril onto her head before a purple aura starts to gather around the pegasus. After a brief moment, the aura dissipates which causes the filly to blink twice before asking:

“Oh golly... Wh-what did you do?”

”We’ve given you a gift. You told us that you wish to teach all upon this world the true meaning of friendship, did you not?. We happen to be a fan of your... Vision.”

“You bet!, the truest meaning of friendship is: Domination!, friends are simply meant to be your pawns for you to rule over!”, The Hivemind simply chuckles to itself upon hearing her words and replies:

”Domination you shall have, Cozy Glow. We have empowered you to control the minds of any living being who looks into your eyes. Also, your strength grows for every being you put under your spell. You will have the power of a thousand armies while also bending them to your will. Oh, by the way, don’t get any funny ideas... It doesn’t work against me and the beings of The Corruption.”

Cozy Glow replies with a sad pout and lets out a soft:

“Awww... You’re very smart, mister Hivemind.”

“I’m not foolish to let any of you become powerful enough to turn on me. I gave each and every one of you your power, I can take it away. If you even entertain the thought, you die.”

Cozy’s ears dropped upon hearing those words and Blueblood begins to sweat nervously. Tirek suddenly growls angrily as he then says:

“Of course you want to be on top... how does this even work anyway?. Who’s to say that you won’t just kill us off on a whim?. Sure, you’re helping us in return for providing you with sin. But, if you remain the strongest of us and can take our power away... You’ll just eliminate us eventually!”

“Your fears are logical, we won’t deny that. However, If I wasn’t interested in an alliance with you all then I would have just killed you off from the start. I could’ve butchered you in that cell within Tartarus and yet I chose to free you. I can not afford to betray any of you since you are my main sources of sin in this world. However, I also can’t have you plotting against me as Cozy Glow here literally admitted to doing so it’s only logical that I possess the means to end such treachery. Therefore, it is within our best interest to become allies to which I ask: Are you prepared?”

“For what?”, The trio asks in unison.

The world of Equus has a funny way of effecting many individuals as The Hivemind starts to sing:

Let’s not doubt each other’s cooperation,
In all of our mind’s backside,
Are you listening, Cozy?, 
PAY ATTENTION!,
My words are a matter of pride,
It’s clear from your suspicious expressions,
Trust is not all upstairs,
But we’re all traitors by nature,
Don’t pretend to be caught unaware,

So prepare for a chance of a lifetime,
Be prepared to ally against Equus,
A united new era is tip toeing nearer,

Cozy Glow, Tirek, Blueblood:

And when do we feature?

The Hivemind:

Just listen to teacher,
I know it sounds sordid,
But you’ve been rewarded,
Together we can destroy our foes,
Our influence will spread everywhere,
Be prepaaaaaared!

Cozy Glow:

Oh golly we’re prepared,
We’re definitely prepared...
For what?

The Hivemind

For the rise of our alliance!

Cozy Glow:

Wait, so you’re not going to kill us?

The Hivemind:

No fool because we’re allies, that includes you two.

Cozy Glow:

Good idea!, who needs them?!,
Me and Hivemind,
Me and Hivemind,
La la la la la,

Tirek and Blueblood:

Idiot!, they meant us three!

Cozy Glow:

Wait but they said-

The Hivemind:

We all shall be a team,
Stick with me,
And you’ll have whatever you demaaaaand!

Cozy Glow:

Yaaaaay!, I love this team!

Tirek and Blueblood:

Count us in!, count us in!

Cozy Glow, Tirek, Blueblood:

It’s so great that we’ll aide The Corruption,
And achieve our goals from a long time ago, 

The Hivemind:

Of course, quid pro quo, you’re expected,
To take certain duties on board,
The future is littered with prizes,
And though I'm the main Addressee,
The point that I must emphasize is:
YOU WON’T GET SHIT WITHOUT ME!

So be prepared for the alliance of the century,
Be prepared to conquer Equus,
Meticulous planning, (Have our sin! - Cozy Glow, Tirek, Blueblood. )
Tenacity spanning, (Lots of sin!  - Cozy Glow, Tirek, Blueblood.)
Decades of denial, (The Corruption we give!  - Cozy Glow, Tirek, Blueblood.)
Is simple why our, (All our sins!  - Cozy Glow, Tirek, Blueblood.)
Union is undisputed,
Respected, saluted,
And seen for wonders we are!
Yes my teeth and ambitions are bared,
Be prepaaaaaared! 

Yes our teeth and ambitions are bared!, - Cozy Glow, Tirek, Blueblood.

Be prepaaaaaared! - Everyone.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!





After their recent song ends and the officially formed alliance's unified laughter starts to die down, Cozy Glow recovers before everyone else present and question’s:

“If I may ask, do you have another name we can call you by Hivemind?. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate your current name but it is kind of awkward to say.”

“Says the pony named: Cozy Glow. There's nothing cozy about you.”, Tirek sassily interjects.

Cozy growls in response. 

Blueblood just rolls his eyes.

”To show that we are indeed serious about our alliance, we shall allow you three to call us by our true name. In addition, we shall reveal to you one of our two hidden forms.”

“What?, this isn’t your true self?”, Tirek question’s.

“Two forms?”, Blueblood inquires.

In response, The Hivemind’s body starts to mutate and shift as the top portion of its very being opens up. In addition, The Hivemind’s mass is almost doubled in size and pincer like appendages become more apparent.



”This is our first transformation.”

“Oooh, that’s scary. What about the second one?”, Cozy Glow question’s.

”We agreed to show you all only this form. My last transformation is only meant for when we are backed into a corner, if ever.”

“Aw phooey... Fine, fine. So, what’s your real name?.”

”You may call us: Ocram.”
> Chapter 62 - "A Horrible Chill Goes Down Your Spine."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, THE CORRUPTION BIOME, PONYVILLE-



Tempest and Spike, the drake currently sat upon the unicorn’s back wielding a bow customized just for him, are looking up towards the large floating orb with determination. The broken unicorn turns to princess Cadence and says:

“We’re going up there to deal with that orb, you need to activate that machine your highness.”

The Flim-Flam brothers and Shining Armor nods understandably.

“Indeed Tempest, both of you please be safe and may Harmony watch over both of you.”, Cadence replies.

With a simple nod in response from both Spike and Tempest, the dragon ponders on something and question’s:

“So, how do we get up there?.”, Tempest simply chuckles to herself as she then replies:

“Hang on tight, kiddo. I guess there’s one good thing that came from my broken horn...”, The purple unicorn attaches her blade to her armor and then lowers herself to the ground as if she were ready to pounce onto prey. “Unlike most unicorns... My physical attribute is almost right there with an earth pony’s.”

“Hey!, I’m not a kid- AWWWW!”

Spike screams out in surprise as Tempest leaps off of the ground and starts to scale up the corrupted building, Town Hall. The unicorn was gracefully climbing the structure with incredible finesse and accuracy. Not a single one of her movements was uncalculated and despite how horrified Spike had become, for fear of them both falling as Tempest was drawing near the top of Town Hall, the unicorn was practically crawling up the structure with little to no effort.

“Alright kid!, get ready to shoot that thing!. As for me...”, Tempest smirks as she then detaches her blade and wields it within her muzzle. “I’m gonna slice this thing clean in half.”, The duo are now mere moments before colliding with the large orb as Tempest finally reaches the very top of the structure.

Suddenly, the broken unicorn narrows her eyes but more in suspicion as she looks up towards the orb. As this is going on, nearby battles continues to play out in the skies and on the earth below. Tempest starts to ponder on something as she then glances back towards the young dragon and says:

“Do me a favor... I want you to shoot that orb. It’s way too exposed and why aren’t there more monsters trying to defend it?. In fact, the creatures seem more interested in fighting everypony else rather than protecting this thing.”

“Heh, you didn’t even need to ask me that. Here’s goes nothing!.”, Spike replies as he then hops off of Tempest’s back, draws his bow and aims an arrow towards the floating object positioned just above them.

[FWOOM]

The world practically slows down for the two allies as they watch on with hopeful expressions, although, Tempest in particular also has a sense of doubt as she mutters:

“Please don’t do what I think-”

[SKSHSHSHSH]

“Luna bucking damnit.”

“No way!, it has a barrier?!”, Spike exclaims in shock.

“I knew this wasn’t going to be that simple. I don’t even need to swing my blade at this thing to know what’s going to happen, we need more firepo-”

[POOF]

“Ohoho, more firepower you say?. Well, I can certainly provide that along with some... Chaos!”

“Discord!, I’m glad you’re here!”, Spike replies happily.

“Took you long enough... Where the buck have you been?. You’ve missed out on most of the fighting.” , Tempest question’s.

“You’re a very edgy mare... Are you by chance related to Lulu?. Also, I’ll have you know that I was speaking to an old associate of mine. Now then...”

[SNAP]

With a snap of his eagle’s talon, Discord summons five mysterious bipedal entities as they then take their positions and surrounds the giant orb. Incidentally, the draconequus is wearing camouflage military garments.



“What the buck are those?!”, Tempest and Spike exclaims.

Discord simply smirks and replies with a confident:

“Chaos Elementals.”, The lord of chaos then clears his throat as he then shouts: “Beings who works for a handsome draconequus!, materialize your weapons!”, Heeding to his orders, the Chaos Elementals conjures mysterious weapons. Well, mysterious to Spike and tempest, that is.

Tempest and Spike’s eyes were widened upon seeing this unfamiliar weaponry which causes them both to say:

“I don’t remember anypony crafting that from the ore.” - Spike.

“What is that?, I’m feeling incredible magic radiating from it.” - Tempest.

“Oh right, this wasn’t created from the Demonite Ore. This weapon is more... Personal, for me. My very own: Rod Of Discord!”



“Rrrready?!”, Discord question’s as he rolls his tongue before the draconequus then points his lion’s paw forward and shouts: “Fire!”

In an odd display, four pink beams shoots out of the rods wielded by the entities which then makes contact with the large orb's barrier.

[SKSHSHSHS]

[CRASH]

[BOOM]

The barrier barely lasted for more than a few seconds as it gives into the series of powerful blasts. Then, a large explosion occurs as the beams makes impact with their main target: The orb. The object fared no differently then its former barrier as the sound of a cracking jewel echoes throughout the infected Ponyville.

Spike and Tempest were about to celebrate, however, at the very moment that the orb was shattered they both couldn’t help but to feel... Concerned.

“T-Tempest... Did you just feel what I did?”, Spike question’s with a sense of uneasiness.

“Yeah, I hate it but it feels like... A horrible chill goes down your spine.”

Coincidentally, a certain machine activates itself mere moments after the orb is destroyed: The Flim-Flam Purification Tower.





Moments before Discord destroys the orb:

Tempest and Spike have already left some time ago in order to scale up the structure and reach the floating orb. 

Shining armor’s barrier still remained strong as the unicorn stallion continues to keep it projected over themselves and, most importantly, their powerful weapon of purity. The Flim-Flam brothers stands at the ready to activate the machine all while Princess Cadence and Shining armor, along with their small battalion of crystal pony guards, starts to fuel The Crystal Heart with their love which was positioned at the very top portion of the weapon. The artifact starts to spin rapidly and glows with what could best be described as a holy light. In addition, positioned within and at the center of this contraption was the artifact that Celebes had bestowed upon them: Floret Of Purity, a magical pink flower that remarkably never wilts by yet unknown means. It was very strange to everyone how a flower could be called an artifact but considering what its creator was capable of doing, they didn’t doubt its power.



“Sixty two percent, your highnesses!”, The Flim Flam brothers shouts in unison.

“Almost there, keep at it everypo-”

Suddenly, Cadence’s words were cut off as the ground starts to shake violently and the worst case scenario literally erupts out of the ground in front of them. A large worm entity now stares down the barrier hungrily as it towers above them: A World Feeder. It rears back and prepares to lunge its opened maw towards the barrier.

“Damnit!, it’s one of those new worms!”, Shining Armor exclaims as he braces for what’s about to happen next and shouts: “Everypony brace yourselves!, it’s about to-”

[BOOM]

[BOOM]

[BOOM]

The World Feeder starts to ram itself against the barrier in an effort to crack it open, to reach the delicacies that resided within their protective shield. Shining Armor grits his teeth in pain and grunts as a result from the entity’s relentless assaults.

“Hang in there, Shiny!”, Cadence exclaims as she tries to tend to her struggling husband.

“D-don’t w-worry ab-about me... I can do t-this all... D-day.”

“Eighty nine percent!”, The Flim Flam brothers declares.

[BOOM]

[BOOM]

[BOOM]

“AURGH!, No!, I won’t let you beat me... Monster!”, Shining Armor shouts in anger and defiance. “No matter what... I will not allow you to pass this barrier, you shall not pass!”, As if in response, the large worm continues to thrash against the barrier. “You can not pass!”, The entity is still relentless in its assault.

At this point, everyone starts to sweat nervously along with gritted teeth. Flim and Flam looks at each other in concern before they then turn towards the machine and calls out in unison:

“Ninety four percent!”

Shining Armor lets out another grunt as a result of his struggle and says through gritted teeth:

“You... Won’t... Pass.”

“Shiny!, I’m going to-”

“No Cadence!, one of us needs to keep channeling the- NGH, l-love into the... Crystal Heart. If you stop- NGH, we’re finished!”

The world slows down for Shining Armor as he looks towards his allies within the barrier. He could see the Flim Flam brothers hugging each other as they watch the machine tentatively, they even call out:

“Ninety six percent!”

The stallion prince could then see his prideful royal guard, all of whom he himself had trained  from what was practically the ground up, as they grit their teeth and try to channel as much of their love into the Crystal Heart with haste. But, most of all, he saw the love of his life and the mother of his child who watched him with concern and fear on the alicorn’s face.

One thing popped into the stallion Prince’s mind, something that pushed him forward with rejuvenated vigor that he somehow scrapped up from deep within: The inner vision of Flurry Heart. The thought of this infection reaching his daughter was enough to make him grit his teeth in rage as a blue aura surrounds his horn and spreads throughout his body upon which he shouts:

”YOUUUUU!... SHALL NOT!... PAAAAAAAAAAAAAASS!”

[VROOM]

[CRASH]

The entity lets out a painful roar as the barrier suddenly triples in size which manages to throw back the large worm and sends it flying into the nearby structures of Ponyville. Incidently, it was the Carousel Boutique.

“One hundred percent!, now firing!”, The Flim Flam brothers exclaims in unison as they hit a large red button which causes the weapon to let loose a powerful pulse of light mixed with what seemed to be pink peddles, likely originating from The Floret Of Purity.





Present time:

“Yeah, um, I’m not staying here to find out what would happen if that hits me soooo... Tata!”, Discord exclaims as he snaps his lion’s paw and disappears, The Chaos Elementals doing the same as a result.

In a beautiful display, the large pulse simply destroys and purifies The Corruption as it expands outwards from the the center of Ponyville and reaching out towards Sweet Apple Acres, the edge of The Everfree Forest, and Twilight’s Castle. All the monsters of the infection who failed to retreat simply dissipates from the wave of cleansing light and pink rose pedals.

Everyone present simply watches in disbelief as they witness this wave of purity returning what was once taken from them, doing away the invasive infection that had consumed this town of friendship and love. Finally, the purifying force dissipates and fades away as the light disappears and the rose pedals fades from existence. The machine worked beautifully and the army has won. Ponyville, in addition to Sweet Apple Acres and Twilight’s Castle, are now purified.

For the first time ever since The Corruption had claimed these lands, Celestia's sun was finally able to kiss Ponyville. Shocked silence was present as the army couldn’t believe it, simply put, they’ve won.

[POOF]

“Simply marvelous!, ah, this day has been quite chaotic and I just love-”

”YEEEEEEES!, WE DID IIIIIT!”

Discord’s words were cut off as everyone in the army celebrates in various ways. Changelings, dragons, griffons, pegasi, and hippogriffs all celebrated in the sky while those who were incapable of flight did so on the now purified grounds of Ponyville. 

Various of the species representatives celebrates with one another such as Domihaus and Prince Rutherford bumping appendages and Gilda nodding contently to General Seaspray.

Thorax and Pharynx tended to their fellow changelings while Chrysalis simply observed from afar. No one could see it but a smile did momentarily form onto the former changeling Queen’s face. At least, she assumed no one saw this but little did she know, a certain pink alicorn took notice as they say internally:

-I both saw and felt that, Chrysalis. You can’t hide it from me... You still love them.-

Cadence forms a smile onto her muzzle upon witnessing this before she then returns to tending to her husband. Flim and Flam were nearby dancing with each other as they hop around The Flim-Flam Purification Tower merrily.

Prince Zaku and Zellan started to sing in rhyme along with their fellow zebra brethren who joined in as they all sang together in victory.

Dragon Lord Ember and Garble simply watches on proudly as their fellow dragons starts to brag about how many monsters they killed and burned.

Some of the ponies who used to live here such as Bulk Biceps, Derpy Hooves, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia all celebrates merrily. Despite Ponyville’s current condition, they were still happy to have reclaimed their home.

Princess Luna smiles proudly and closes her eyes in content as she thinks internally:

-We’ve won, dear sister. The first of many more victories to come.-

Two ponies started to walk away from Ponyville and were on route to a certain apple orchard, which was now purified: Big Mac and Sugar Belle.

Still positioned at the top of Town Hall, Spike and Tempest had just finished their own celebration which consisted of Spike fist bumping Tempest’s right front hoof. Discord floated down towards his friend and the broken unicorn as he then says:

“Looks like I get to keep my promise to Fluttershy, I certainly-”

“You.”, Discord’s words were cut off as Tempest refers to him angrily. “If you were this strong all along then why didn’t you do that from the beginning?, Chaos Elementals?, that unknown weapon of yours?. Why didn’t you send a whole damn army of those things against The Corruption from the start?!”, The broken unicorn was now becoming infuriated with the Lord Of Chaos. Truth be told, the purple unicorn wasn’t mad at the fact that she and everyone else had to fight against The Corruption’s monsters, not at all. In fact, she loved being on the battlefield. What enraged the former commander of The Storm King’s army was the fact that he could’ve finished this from the start. A battle didn’t have to take place to begin with.

Spike tries to save his draconequus friend by interjecting:

“Hey... Ease up on him, Tempest. Discord did say that he was meeting with an old associate so maybe-”

“That doesn’t change a bucking thing, Spike. Who knows how many lives were lost in this battle that we don’t know about yet. Don’t get me wrong, you are the reason we even managed to destroy that orb and you get full marks for that. But, I ask you again, Discord: Why didn’t you use that power from the start?”

Discord simply stared at the purple unicorn but not in anger or him being condescending. The draconequus simply stares at her blankly before he then sighs deeply and finally replies:

“I wanted to act sooner but I do have my reasons. On my lion’s paw, I wasn’t sure if The Corruption would get worse because of me... there are terrible sins that I have committed back when I was still in Terraria. On my eagle’s talon, I promised dear Fluttershy that I would help you all against it. Yes, I could’ve done that from the start and maybe that would’ve saved lives... But I wanted all of you to know that you’re strong enough to fight this. Even without the aide of someone powerful like me. Also, I owe my associate a favor.”

“Wait, so you wanted us to defeat The Corruption on our own just so we can feel accomplished about it?”

“Yes Spike, despite my usual attitude I do want to look out for you all. What would you prefer?, always relying on my strength to save the day or relying on your own?. You can make the argument that my intervention would save every living being here but to that I ask you: What if I’m gone?. Here’s a scenario: let’s say everypony depended on me to destroy The Corruption but then I fall in battle. What will you do next?”

Spike simply goes silent as he couldn’t help but to appreciate his friend’s intentions. It’s risky to be sure, but, the end result has its rewards. Tempest stares onto the draconequus with a neutral expression as she plays out Discord’s words within her head. Finally, she sighs and replies:

“I suppose that’s fair. Besides, you did step in when we needed it most.”

“Good to know that you two can see things my way. Would anyone like some chocolate milk?”, Discord inquires as he then snaps his eagle’s talon and conjures three glasses of the aforementioned dairy product. Incidentally, glasses of chocolate milk also formed in front of everyone else down below on ground level. Spike was about to drink his beverage, all while Tempest just places it onto the floor, until the dragon gets a sudden thought and asks:

“You mentioned that you were with an associate and you did them a favor?, who are they?”

“She and I go way back. In fact, she comes from Terraria just like me but she was here for much longer than I was.”

“What?!”, Tempest and Spike exclaims in unison. “Who?!”

Discord strokes his beard in thought before he smiles mischievously and replies with a single raised eagle claw:

“Ah, ah, ah, can’t reveal that to you just yet. You’re a good friend Spike and I suppose you’re ok in my book, Tempest. But, she would be very mad at me... Trust me when I say that she’s someone who can put up one heck of a fight despite her kind nature. Now, I should probably let you two go back down there in order to celebrate your victory with everypony else. Allow me!”, With a snap of his eagle’s talon, Discord sends Spike and Tempest down to ground level as they disappear in front of him and reappears right next to Princess Cadence.

The draconequus then looks on towards The Everfree Forest as he notices a spectral being who was invisible to everyone, except of course, Discord.

“I believe this makes us even now... Harmony: Empress Of Light.”

Suddenly, a gust of wind blows against Discord as it carries the words in an angelic tone:

”Thank you for helping them on my behalf, Disidian.”







-EQUUS, TWILIGHT’S CASTLE-

“Hello?!, Twilight?!, is anypony here?!... You haven’t been responding to my letters so I started to worry!, It’s Sunset Shimmer!. Also, don’t take this the wrong way but... this place is a dump!”


> Chapter 63 - "Screams Echo Around You..."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, TWILIGHT’S CASTLE-

Sunset Shimmer was absolutely shocked by the poor condition of her friend’s beloved castle as she continues to make her way towards the throne room.

“How could Twilight allow this?. This place is an absolute wreck, she’s always on top of stuff like this... Or is it Spike who handles the cleaning?. For Celestia’s sake, even her books in the library were thrown all over the place. She’d lose it just from that alone. Now, I believe the throne room is riiiiight... Here!”, Having found her destination, the orange unicorn lifts her right forehoof and starts to press against the door. It only occurred to her seconds after that... She could’ve just used her magic to get the door open.

“Oh!, right... Unicorn horn. I’ve been in that world for soo long I forgot-”, As she was opening the door via her telekinesis, Sunset’s words were cut off the very moment she saw a large purple orb floating above The Cutie Map. Said map was noticeably inactive.

“What in the world have you been doing, Twilight?. What is this orb and why-”

“Well, well... Looks like I might’ve found our traitor. Now whatever could you be doing here?, admiring your latest addition to Twilight’s castle?.”, A new voice interjects which sends chills down Sunset Shimmer’s spine. The orange unicorn slowly turns her head around and her eyes widen as she gazes upon a purple unicorn wearing armor of the same coloration with a blade held within their muzzle. Most notably, this  unicorn has a broken horn which was currently both sparking and leaking out magical energy.

“I... I... This isn’t what it-”

“This Isn’t what it looks like?, you know something... It’s funny. I heard that exact same phrase back in the day... Before they then turned on me in an effort to escape. Spoiler warning: They. Never. Did. So I’ll ask you this: Why are you here?”

Sunset was simply shocked and filled with fear as she could hardly form the words to reply to this unknown mare’s inquiry. The unicorn before her was just soo intimidating and her voice was filled with soo much authority, it could even rival Princess Luna’s. Miraculously, Sunset swallows a lump in her throat and finally replies with:

“I’m... I’m not from this world... I mean, I am... but... m-my name is: Sunset Shimmer.”

“Sunset Shimmer?, wait, you’re the one they told me about... You took Twilight’s crown.”

The orange unicorn was now sweating a river as she says internally:

-Are you kidding me?!, this mare is going to zap me for something I’ve already redeem--

“That sounds impressive... I’ve got to give you props for that. Personally, I shattered her crown... Which I do regret.”, Tempest comments as the magic in her broken horn dies down and she attaches her blade onto her armor. The broken unicorn then takes on a neutral expression.

Sunset simply stares at her with a dumbfounded expression and her mouth hung agape before she shakes her head and says:

“Ok, F.Y.I, her crown was also her Element Of Harmony. And, wait... What’s going on here?. I thought you were going to attack me?”

“Truth be told, I was... That is until you told me your name. My apologies for the rough treatment but we’ve been through a lot, Sunset Shimmer. You chose a heck of a time to return to Equus. The Princess asked me to-”

“Tempest!”

Yet another voice calls out but still very familiar to Sunset as a certain dark alicorn turns the corner, along with a pegasus guardspony, and enters the throne room.

“Hath thou found anythi-”, Princess Luna’s words were cut off as she takes notice of not just the large floating orb but the orange unicorn in the room. “Sunset Shimmer?, thou hath returned...”

Sunset raises her left front hoof awkwardly and waves back with a sheepish smile. Tempest simply looks on as she seems to catch onto Luna’s current predicament: How will the dark alicorn tell her sister’s former student about her... Fate. The pegasus guardspony continues to observe like a statue.

Luna swallows a lump of her own as she then breaths deeply and exhales before saying:

“We hath much to tell ye, Sunset Shimmer. But, before we go any further we must inform thou about our dear sister’s fate.”

“Princess Celestia?, let me guess... She ran out of cake and became depressed?.”, Sunset then chuckles before she continues: “She’s always extreme about-”

“Sunset.”, Luna interjects with authority. “Thou hath no idea how terrible the world hath become as of late. We art currently fighting against an otherworldly infection and our sister... Lies dead. Celly was struck down by a foul demon called: Razeem, The Moon Lord. She’s gone, Sunset Shimmer... We art truly sorry.”

Sunset’s eyes were shot wide open upon hearing those words however denial was starting to pour into her mind as she says:

“H-hey now P-princess L-Luna... That’s n-not funny... You’re pranking m-me... I...”, Tears starts to form in both of her eyes as denial turns into sorrow. She suddenly stomps her right front hoof and shouts: “No!, she can’t be gone!. She’s The Princess Of The Sun!, no one can defeat her let alone kill her!. I... No!... I never got to make things right with her!, I came here to do that!... I wanted her to know that... I forgive her... I wanted her to... Forgive me... for my stupid actions.”, Sunset’s tears were flowing down her cheeks as she drops onto the crystalline floor of Twilight’s castle and sobs uncontrollably. Tempest could only take on a saddened expression while Luna was filled with pity and says internally:

-Our sister hath never hated you, Sunset Shimmer. She still loved thou more than ye could ever know.-

A few moments have passed and Sunset was now rendered unconscious as she literally cried herself to sleep. Luna had taken the initiative to float the unicorn onto her back all while Tempest turns her head back towards the large floating orb and says:

“I don’t mean to ruin this, but, we have an orb to destroy. I want to test a theory... If you’d allow me, Princess.”

“What doth thou have in mind?”

“Now that The Corruption is purified, I want to see what would happen to an orb outside of the infection. When Spike attacked the orb above Town Hall, a powerful barrier was in place. It took a very powerful being to destroy it which, at the time, was Discord.”

“Discord?... that doth explains as to why he was present outside with everyone else. Very well Tempest, we wish to observe this as well.”

Tempest nods in response as she then turns towards the orb and draws her blade, detaching it from her armor.

-Here goes nothing.-

The unicorn says internally as she starts to run towards the object, hops high into the air, and swings her Demonite forged blade against the large orb.

[SHLINK]

[SKASH]

Like a hot knife through butter, the purple unicorn’s blade slices  right through the orb as the sound of a shattering jewel echoes throughout the room.

“Huzzah!, Tempest Shadow!. Thy theory is tru-”

Suddenly, both Luna and Tempest were stopped dead in their tracks as screams echoed around them, even the guardspony was startled by the event. What was most disturbing was the fact that these screams came from souls who were freed from the orb. These anomalies literally starts to fly around the room before they shoot up into the ceiling and phases right through it.

The alicorn, unicorn, and guardspony were simply shocked beyond belief. They just witnessed the souls of the dead, likely those who were harvested by the parasites, who were imprisoned and likely tormented. Fortunately and hopefully, these souls could find true peace as they are now free to do so.

“This is absolutely disgusting... It’s bad enough that they extract the souls from the living and shoves them into these orbs. But, to know that they remain prisoners as well?, despicable.” Tempest says in disgust.

“Thou speaketh the truth, Tempest Shadow. We hope that those souls can now find true peace. Now, thou hath shown us that thy suspicions were right.”, Tempest perks her ears up as she listens tentatively and comes to attention. “Tempest Shadow, we hath a secret mission for thou.”

“Anything Princess, just say the word.”

“Thanks to that orb, thou hath proven thy suspicions of a traitor being within our midst to be true. They were strategically placed within well known landmarks. Case in point being Twilight’s castle, Ponyville, and thanks to Dr Whooves’s drone footage... our throne room. Which is why we hath already come up with a plan and it involves you. We’d like for you to play...”, Luna chuckles to herself before she continues: “The role of a villain.”

“What?... What are you asking me to do?”

“The traitor is no doubt scheming amongst us as we speak. We would like for thou to appeal to them, make yourself seem like an ally. A double agent, thou could say.”

“So if I understand this correctly, you want me to act as if I’m part of The Coalition but actually scheming behind the scenes in hopes of drawing out the true traitor?”

“Yes, Tempest Shadow. If the enemy wants to play games of deception, The Princess Of The Night shall happily oblige. We ask for thou to be our precious piece in this particular game of chess.”

Tempest ponders on this for a moment before she then chuckles to herself and says:

“Did I ever mention that you’re the best Princess of them all?, no offence to Twilight and the others. Princess Luna, you’ve got yourself a piece on the board.”

“Excellent, our precious chess piece. However, we shalt not let you go alone for there are those who shall aid ye. We have procured appropriate allies.”

“Hmm?, who?”

Suddenly, green flames erupts and consumes the pegasus guardspony. The flames dissipates and it is revealed to be the former changeling ruler: Queen Chrysalis.

“For one... You have, me.”, Chrysalis replies with a smirk.

Suddenly, four more beings enters the room which catches Tempest completely by surprise. She does however recognize them upon closer inspection as she question’s:

“G-Grubber?!, Stygian?... Capper?, and Trixie?”

“That’s the Grrrreat and Powerful Trixie, to you.”

“Tempest!, I’m so glad you’re ok!. Me and Capper escaped Canterlot thanks to Captain Celaeno. She let us catch a ride with her on their new ship.”, Grubber says happily as he runs up to his old friend and hugs her front right leg.

“Good to see you made it out, Grubber. I thought I lost you in that event.” Tempest replies as she lifts her left front hoof and rubs the hedgehog’s head.

“It’s been a crazy series of events but if we can save the day by doing this... It’s a good thing this cat’s got nine lives.”, Capper comments as he takes off his top hat and bows. “Plus, I never got to repay the ponies properly so I’m here to help.”

“Star swirl and the other Pillars will no doubt become angry with me should they discover this plan of ours. Regardless, I shall do what I can to assist.”, Stygian says as he nods contently.

“What is this?, I’m still kind of confused about what’s going on but If I didn’t know any better... Everyone here happens to be former villains. At least... going off of their profiles that Princess Cadence showed me when I joined the guard.”, Tempest says with a small hint of shock.

“Profiles?!, we have profiles?!”, Capper, Trixie, and Grubber shouts in unison.

Capper is the first to recover from the exclamation as he says:

“Hey so... Uh, how about you destroy that there profile on me when this is all over, ok?”

Trixie imitates a goldfish as she opens and closes her mouth.

Chrysalis simply rolls her eyes while Stygian replies:

“I expected that to be the case. Princess Luna is one of Star Swirl’s students so I’d imagine they’d take such precautions.”

"Just so you know, I'm a much different hedgehog than what I was before."

Luna chuckles to herself before she says:

“Thy deduction skills is commendable, Tempest. Yes, we hath gathered those who hath indeed wronged Equestria, and even beyond, with their actions. We ourselves are admittedly amongst them. Sure, Nightmare Moon may have been a separate entity but it was we who allowed her to take root within our soul. These are your allies, your fellow board pieces. If we are to truly sell our charade then it must consist of those who have grave sins of their own.”

To say that Tempest was shocked is an understatement as she looks to everyone else present with a matching expression. She then chuckles to herself and smiles with a hint of mischief as the broken unicorn comments:

“Well then, let’s get this party starte-”

“I want in.”, Sunset Shimmer interjects as she finally manages to regain consciousness while still positioned on Luna’s back. “Mind letting me off, Princess?. Still getting used to using my magic as a pony.”, Luna nods understandably as she ignites her horn and floats the former student of Celestia off of her back and onto the crystalline floor. “Thanks Princess Luna. As I was saying, I want in on this operation.”

“You sure you’re up to this?, stealing Twilight’s crown probably doesn’t amount to much.”, Tempest question’s.

“Maybe, but I’m sure Princess Luna knows about what happened back in my world... What I did to Twilight when she and Spike crossed over... to everyone. Trust me when I say that I have grave sins of my own.”

“Very well, Sunset Shimmer. If thou hath no other objectives in thy world, ye shall join our operation. Also, it might be best that we take the mirror back with us to The Empire.”

“No worries, I can write a letter to the girls and they’ll cover for me. Things are actually pretty chill there as of late.”

“Very well. We shall update you on what hath transpired in thy absence. Is everyone else here content with this decision?”, Luna question’s which causes the following reactions:

Tempest nods in acceptance in addition to Grubber who gives a thumbs up.

Chrysalis simply shrugs her shoulder and says:

“So long as you don’t buck it up, pony. I’m not going to drag you out of anything if we get caught.”

Stygian nods as well.

Capper winks and says:

“The more the merrier.”

“The Great And Powerful Trrrixie, approves.”

“Thank you everyone. I promise, I won’t let us down... And, it’s the least I could do for Princess Celestia.”, Sunset says happily.

Luna smiles contently upon hearing their reactions and Sunset’s determination. The dark alicorn spreads her wings and proclaims:

“Then it is settled, all present shall become our double agents. Go forth, former foes of Equestria, and bring true honor to us all. We shall do our part in trying to keep our dear niece, Shining Armor, and the other leaders of The Coalition off of thy backs. Be warned, should they or anypony else discover thy makeshift plot, we will have to act the part and punish you. Of course, we won’t truly do that but we must keep our appearances until the traitor, or even traitors, reveal thyselves. We hath much to do... Legion Of Doom.”


> Chapter 64 - Among Us.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, CANTERLOT CASTLE, THRONE ROOM-

”Ah, it would seem that they’ve destroyed two of our orbs. Unfortunate... But of little consequence.”

“Are you just going to make me stand around here, Ocram?. You’ve sent our two pony allies to The Crystal Empire to enact our plans while I’m stuck here. When do I get to devour their terrarian magic?”, Tirek question’s with sleight impatience.

”You think we’ve forgotten about you?, don’t be soo short sighted, Tirek. An interesting turn of events has occurred and you will be our sword while Blueblood and Cozy Glow shall be our deceivers in the shadows. It is simply not your turn to act yet, however, we do have ways of satisfying your hunger. Follow us.”

Heeding Ocram’s request, Tirek follows the floating entity over to the same destroyed wall as before which allows the two allies to observe the outskirts of Canterlot. Then, the entire landscape shakes violently as a large entity suddenly erupts out of the infected grounds. The entity is revealed to be an absolutely gargantuan worm like abomination. Tirek’s eyes were shot wide open in both awe and, as much as he hated to admit it, fear.

“Looks like you all weren’t exaggerating about how big this thing is. So, this is The Eater Of Worlds... Impressive.”

”The Great Eater has agreed to allow you to feed on a substantial portion of its magic. Step forward, Tirek.”, Ocram then chuckles before the entity continues: “Don’t worry, it won’t bite. Well, you and us at least.”

Tirek was admittedly cautious as he slowly drew near the large monstrosity. The Great Eater lowers itself so that its maw was positioned just before the shattered wall to which Tirek and Ocram were currently positioned. Then, a purple sphere of energy starts to form in between Tirek and the large entity.

”Take it, Tirek. That right there is pure magic from Terraria, courtesy of The Great One.”, Ocram comments.

The centaur’s mouth was practically drooling as he draw near to what he saw as an orb of delicacy. Tirek opens his mouth and starts to devour the sphere upon which his size starts to grow exponentially. He was now three times larger than he was when he fought Twilight Sparkle some time ago and he enjoyed every living second of it. Incidentally, his new size caused the centaurs head to erupt through the throne room’s ceiling.

“Yes!, yeeeeeees!, this is exactly what I wanted!. It is truly glorious!.”, Tirek exclaims as the newly enlarged entity hops down from the Canterlot Castle and lands right next to The Eater Of Worlds, shaking the landscape in the process. Despite his new size, the centaur was still dwarfed by the large worm but it could definitely be argued that he was now the second largest being in Equestria. Tirek turns around and looks towards Ocram, his head now tall enough to look right into the shattered throne room, as he says:

“Simply call me when the time comes and I will happily go forth to crush them all!. Their magic shall soon be devoured as well!”

”That we intend to do, Tirek. You and The Great Eater should go and become more acquainted, you two will crush that pathetic empire when the time comes. We dare say... You are now also an ‘Eater Of Worlds’ in your own way. The magics of a thousand worlds shall be consumed, by you.”





-EQUUS, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-



A portion of the army from Ponyville are now marching proudly throughout The Empire as the crowd erupts into cheers and some among them are even tossing roses towards their brave defenders. Young members from each of the species present were running up to various individuals amongst the army and shouting praises of their own. Most notably, there were six individuals who observed the passing force as they say:

“There’s my brother, Garble!”

“Yak is soo proud of yak’s brethren, Yona just sad that she couldn’t help yaks fight monsters.”

“We’re kind of too young to do that. For now, anyway.”

“Oh, well, um, I hope this can end soon so we don’t have to fight at all.”

“Oh yeah, things are going very well... Just because they won one battle doesn’t mean that gross infection is destroyed.”

“This is soo exciting!, I mean, not the whole monsters and stuff but being able to meet everyone!, I love it!”

“Oh golly, they look pretty happy and satisfied. Did they just come back from a war or something?”, A new voice question’s which causes the six entities from before to turn towards the source of the voice. “Oh, where are my manners. My name’s Cozy Glow, wanna be friends?”

“Do I?!, of course!, my name is: Silverstream”

“Yak’s name is: Yona. Yak happy to meet you, tiny pony.”

“Yo!, my name’s Sandbar!”

“Name’s Gallus, happy to meet you, bla bla bla.”

“Oh, um, I’m Ocellus.”

“Name’s Smolder, the future Dragon Lord!”





-THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE CASTLE, DINING ROOM-

Princess Luna now stands before the other representatives, all of which are gathered around a large oval shaped table, as she had gathered them up after they returned from their recent victory in Ponyville. The leaders had reached the castle some time before their army as said force was still marching proudly outside the castle walls. Alongside her was a very particular broken horn unicorn mare: Tempest Shadow.

“We thank you all for coming, dear allies. Please, let us sit so we may begin our meeting.”

[SKRRRRT]

The doors to the dining room opens up as a white unicorn with a golden yellow mane walks into the room and takes his seat right next to Shining Armor, who in turn was sat next to his wife: Princess Cadence.

“My apologies for being late, everyone. I recently saved a filly by the name of Cozy Glow and had to see to her safe return.”, Blue Blood says proudly as he adjusts himself comfortably into his seat.

“Very well, Blue Blood. Now, we hath called you all here to inform thou of some grave concerns. We would like to call forth: Tempest Shadow.”

[CLOP]

[CLOP]

[CLOP]

“Thank you, Princess. Now then, thanks to recent events we are now certain that there lies a traitor among us. The giant floating orbs that were destroyed during our recent victory were strategically placed within famed landmasses. There’s absolutely no way that an infection from another world could know this from the very start. Someone is working with the infection; worse case scenario... There’s more than just one.”

These words causes everyone present to let out a series of reactions which range from surprise to anger:

“What?!, Domihaus doesn’t understand why anyone would want this to happen!” - King Domihaus.

“Yak agree with minotaur King, why traitor want to betray yak and allies for infection?” - Prince Rutherford.

“That is absolutely despicable!, what could they gain from that monstrous corruption?!” - General Seaspray.

“I can order some of my changelings to sneak around The Empire to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.” - King Thorax.

“I agree with the changeling King, let us deploy spies to expose those who are secretly our foes.” - Prince Zaku.

“When we find them, I say we burn them!” - Dragon Lord Ember.

[COUGH]

“You’re speaking my language now, Dragon Lord. These traitors shall pay dearly for this.” - Grandpa Gruff.

Blueblood was honestly shocked by this but hid those feelings well behind a mask of concern as he exclaims:

“I agree too!. Dear auntie, we must reprimand these traitorous fools at once!”

“Cadence and I agree as well. We remember speaking of this before but now that we’ve got proof, we must search amongst our ranks to expose those who plot against us.”, Shining Armor replies as he and Cadence takes on a serious expression.

Luna takes charge once more which prompts Tempest to whisper into her ear:

”If you’ll excuse me, Princess. We’ve got bait to set and a plan is in action.”, Luna nods in response to which Cadence notices and question’s:

“What was that about, auntie?”

“Worry not, dearest niece. Tempest was just informing us that the army outside has started to disperse as they join their loved ones in celebration. Now then, let us continue to converse dear allies!.”

Tempest starts to make her way out of the dining room however she passes by a certain white unicorn who glances towards the passing broken unicorn mare. No one else in the room realized it but Blueblood could sense something radiating off of Tempest. Something that even he was surprised to feel and wondered why he didn’t feel it coming from her before: Sin. The mare was literally reeking of it as he stealthily watches her open the doors to the room and takes her leave as they shut behind her.





Almost an hour passes by and Blueblood was still thinking about the broken mare as he suddenly gets off of his seat and declares:

“I would like to take my leave and start checking on those throughout The Empire. I shall also keep an eye out for any questionable individuals during my excursions. Have a good day, everyone.”, The other leaders nods in response to which prompts the white unicorn to walk to the exit, open the doors, and takes his leave while also closing the door behind him.

Thanks to his gifts from Ocram, Blueblood was able to literally follow the trail of Tempest’s sin as he looks around and makes sure that no one else was present. The trail took him down various hallways and even through the main entrance as he exits the castle and starts to walk down the flight of stairs. Once he was on ground level, the trail practically beckoned him to walk towards the city of The Crystal Empire.

The streets were still filled with celebrations as various members of the army were still celebrating their recent victory in Ponyville. Blueblood simply ignores it all and continues to follow the trail of sin as he says internally:

-Disgusting peasants.-

Now, after walking down the crystalline streets of The Empire for a few more minutes, the trail suddenly turns into a dark alley to which Blueblood looks around one more time before entering. As he continues to make his way through the dark alley, the white unicorn started to pick up faint voices which causes him to watch his footing as he stealthily draws near the voices.

“Our time to take over is soon at hand, that foolish Princess Luna seriously thinks that I’ve sworn allegiance to her. Heh, as if... Long live The Storm King.”, Tempest declares.

“You tell em’ Tempest, those Princesses will pay for what they did to him.”, Grubber replies as he eats a piece of cake.

“I’ll say. Also, y’all better keep your side of the bargain and give me my pony slaves to sell in Kludge Town. I messed up when I tried to sell Rarity and the others but I learned from my past mistakes. This time, these ponies won’t escape me again.”, Capper comments.

“Speaking of which, are you able to aide me in poisoning King Thorax, cat?. I assume you procured the poison you mentioned before?”

“Of course I did my changeling friend. You’ll get your place as the Queen Of The Changelings once more by the end of the week.”, Capper replies which causes Chrysalis to grin devilishly.

“Thanks to a spell I learned from Starlight, you and I can drain the magic from all the unicorns of the Empire, Sunset Shimmer.”

“Very good, Trixie. I can’t wait to overpower and destroy Twilight’s precious brother. Oh!, maybe I could drag her niece back to my world and raise her up to be a true Princess like me... and not the friendly kind.”

“And I shall continue to drive The Pillars apart so that I may take their powers for myself. The Pony Of Shadows shall rise again!, the darkness shall not be stopped!”, Stygian exclaims.

As the group continues to converse of their scheming, Blueblood’s mouth was practically drooling from the amount of sin that was radiating from the group as he hid around the corner. Were it anyone else, they’d without a doubt report this gathering of beings who were clearly up to no good. But, he absolutely needed to get involved as he reveals himself and says:

“Perhaps I can help you all.”

These words causes everyone present to stop instantly and turn towards the source of the new voice: Blueblood. Everyone simply stares at him before Chrysalis exclaims:

“Capture him!, he’ll expose us all!”

“Now, now, there’s no need for that.”, Blueblood replies which causes everyone else present to look at him suspiciously.

“How do we know that we can trust you?, you could easily just turn us in.”, Sunset Shimmer question’s.

“Simple... Because I too have associates who are working against The Empire and it would be in our best interest to unite together as one. The sins I’m sensing from you all practically empowers me as we speak to which I ask: Would you all like to join The Corruption?, I have connections with the one who's in charge.”

Everyone plays his words into their minds to which Tempest is the first to recover and says in response:

“You’re saying that you can get us in contact with that infection’s leader?, I didn’t even know it had one.”

“Indeed, Lord Ocram would be ecstatic to see such amazing sources of sin.”

Tempest looks back to her allies as they all look at each other, then back to her, and nods their heads in unison to which the broken unicorn says:

“Well then, Prince Blueblood I believe it is?”

“For now... But soon everyone shall refer to me as the God-King. Since you had no way of knowing I’ll allow that to slide.”

“Very well, God-King Blueblood. Take us to this: Lord Ocram.”

Blueblood nods in response as he grins mischievously and conjures a portal which, upon Tempest and her allies inspection, leads to The Corruption Biome. Tempest allows him to enter first as she then says internally:

-Hook, line, and sinker. Got you, motherbucker.-

As the group disappears into the portal which closes and dissipates behind them, a shadowy figure moves forward as a certain dark alicorn manifests herself and comments:

“Thou disappoints us, Blueblood. Celly loved thou as if ye were thy own child and thou dares to deceive the world she loved. When the time comes and we can end this charade... we shall personally collect thy head. Traitor.”
> Chapter 65 - Harmony's Fear.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, CORRUPTION BIOME, CANTERLOT CASTLE, -

Blueblood is currently leading his new found allies towards the Canterlot Castle's throne room which was positioned just at the end of the hallway they were currently traversing. 

Tempest and her fellow allies follows their quarry with a mask of cooperation but were inertly shocked by the condition of Equestria's capitol. The infection had truly claimed this place for every nook and cranny had become warped and molded beyond the point of recognition. In addition, it didn't help that there were skeletal remains of various species but given that this was Equestria... most belonged to deceased ponies. The broken unicorn even recognized the guards pony who screamed for mercy within Dr Whooves's drone footage. Said pony was now nothing more than a mummified corpse and the only reason Tempest could identify them was due to their body still remaining where they fell and the armor they wore was still recognizable.

"We're almost there everyone. Please, don't mind the castle's current condition for it shall be returned to its former glory once I have truly ascended to God-King. Ah, here we are.", Blueblood says as the white unicorn turns around and extends his right front hoof, beckoning them to enter. "Please, after you our dear guests. You'll find Lord Ocram positioned just before the large orb inside. Although, you probably already knew that given the footage from Dr Whooves. I must return to The Empire so I bid you adieu.", The would be God-King then conjures another portal and steps inside as he disappears behind the closing vortex.

The time has now come to face The Corruption's hivemind as Tempest turns back to her allies and questions:

"Here we go everyone. Remember, we're going to see some pretty messed up things while we play this game so make sure that you have the stomach for it. If you doubt yourself, get out now."

Everyone simply narrows their eyes in determination and nods contently in response to which prompts the purple unicorn to say:

"Alright then, let's go meet our new boss and let me do all the talking unless that thing specifically asks for you."





"Everything is going to plan, those fools in The Empire can enjoy their little victory all they want-"

Suddenly, Ocram's words were cut off as a series of clopping hooves and footsteps from the two bipedal members of the group echoed throughout the room. The entity turns towards the source and is greeted with Tempest and her party who were now drawing near the entity's current position. The broken mare nods to her allies and lowers herself in a kneeling gesture. Those who accompanied her followed suit although Chrysalis in particular was metaphorically dying inside. Having to bow to anyone was practically torture for the former changeling ruler.

"I take it you must be Lord Ocram? Blueblood has brought us here in our hope to appeal to you and serve The Corruption.", Tempest says as she and her allies remain lowered to the throne room's floor. "Please, allow us to give you our sins in return for power. Help us achieve our goals and-"

"We've been expecting you all. Blueblood has informed us that he managed to procure more sources of sin. But, we must be sure that you are not deceiving us.", Suddenly, seven tendrils extend from the entity upon which they then place themselves onto each and every member of the group present. 

"No offence Mr. Bossman but, uh, this is kind of... uncomfortable.", Capper comments as his eyes are currently focused on the tendril that sat upon his head.

"Silence you fool, if our new master needs to ensure our loyalty then Trrrixie says we let them." 

"Indeed, we swear our loyalty to you great one.", Sunset Shimmer replies.

Grubber, Stygian, and Chrysalis simply closes their eyes constantly as they too have tendrils placed upon their heads.

A purple aura surrounds Ocram which then spreads towards each of the entity's limbs. The aura then surrounds those who were touched by these tendrils as they start to grunt in discomfort but not with a single shred of pain.

The dice have been cast and now they await Ocram's assessment as they allow the entity to continue its work.





-EQUUS, THE EVERFREE FOREST, CAVE OF THE TREE OF HARMONY-

“I must say Harmony: you look just as dashing as ever. It does beg the question though: why the form of a pony?”

“You expected me to be in my… other form?”

“Why of course! I mean, don’t you just miss the good old days you told me about? When you could do whatever you-“

“No!”, Harmony interjects in exclamation as she takes on an angered expression. “I will not allow the sins of my past to repeat itself especially since-”, Suddenly, the ethereal pony-like entity’s eyes were widened and her expression changed to what could best be described as a hint of fear mixed with remorse. “My actions caused It to come to our world.”

“Ok, seriously… enough with all the hints and secrets. Besides, I doubt that whatever you attracted to Terraria is as bad as what I did when Cthulhu came knocking on its door.”

“Disidian, Cthulhu is nothing compared to what I had brought upon the world. Because of my arrogance, that monster came to Terraria in search of me. I was able to push it back and seal it away but not only did it take a lot out of me, the rest of Terraria became ravaged and desolate. I had to make a deal with the dryads in order to return everything back to normal.”

“A deal?”

“Yes, it was a simple deal and I intend to keep it. In exchange for their help… I'd leave Terraria forever. But, just before I did, I left another piece of myself to watch over The Hallow.  That piece of me aided the dryads in the restoration process before I lost contact with her. I don’t even know what became of my biome back in Terraria. At least… I can watch it grow here on Equus and I’m so proud of the life that has flourished from it.”

“Ah yes, I often forget that Equestria is technically one giant Hallow Biome. Sunshine, rainbows, ponies, you even brought those fairies with you. Now, that’s all nice and dandy but can we get back to my earlier question? What was this big threat that you brought to terraria? There’s clearly a story to be told so hurry up and... enlighten me.”, Discord says with a smirk.

“Did… did you seriously just make a pun? This isn’t funny, Disidian.”

“Oh alright! You know I’m starting to see where Lulu gets her lack of humor from. At least Celly still has some fun here and there.”

“Ah yes, I’m so proud of those two. Luna had a rough time with that whole Nightmare Moon incident but i’m happy that it was resolved.”

“You know you could just, oh I don’t know… visit them?”

“It’s not that simple, Disidian. Besides, what am I supposed to tell them? That they were both conceived by the Cosmolight duo? That Solaris and Faust were items that I gave forms of flesh? That their grandmother was once a... tyrant.”

“Well... You’d only have to tell Lulu. Need I remind you of Celly’s recent fate? S-sorry... that came out wrong.”

Harmony’s expression suddenly became one of sorrow as she recalls the death of the sun princess. 

“You need to get more involved, Harmony. I did you this favor only because you allowed me to stay here when I was banished from Terraria. I don’t involve myself because of my nature but you? These are literally your creations! Luna is your literal grandchild! What has you so afraid that you’d just sit here and let-”

“It’s because I don’t want The Devourer Of Gods to come here!”, Harmony exclaims as she emits a bright light as a result of her rage. “I brought that monster to Terraria and I’m so scared of getting involved, of using my powers, that I'll attract that damned thing to this world! Are you happy now?! Is that the truth you wanted?! It pains me to have to watch the beings of my beautiful creation experience the pain of this corruption. It hurt me more than you could ever know when Celestia died! She and Luna are my grandchildren for goodness sake!”

“Devourer Of Gods? What in the world did you contend with? You’re telling me that this thing is far worse than even Cthulhu?”

“Cthulhu might’ve been strong, at least based on what you told me about him, but that entity is nothing compared to the eater of gods. I hid myself not only to protect this world from that monster’s gaze but to protect Celestia, Luna, and the other alicorns as well. Alicorns are considered to be deities, gods/goddesses, the very thing that monster hunts down to devour. What do you think will happen to them all? To you? To me?”

“Wait wait wait wait! You mean to say that you’ve been hiding from a monster who can literally eat gods?! What about all those times I abused my powers here on Equus?! I could’ve drawn that thing here! Why didn’t you tell me this before?!”

“I covered up your mess and let's be honest, you’d ignore me despite my warnings. Let’s not forget how arrogant you became back when you ruled over these lands, which you still owe me compensation for, that you even forgot the kindness I did for you. I allowed you to stay in this world that I created and you stabbed me in the back. My granddaughters turning you into stone, not to mention the element bearers, doesn’t even begin to amend how much you hurt me when you did that, Disidian! So go ahead, call me a terrible mother to my creations and children, a horrible goddess to my beloved Equus, but if there’s one thing I refuse to be called it’s someone who doesn’t love them! You only recently learned about love! I felt it for eons even before Equus was even conceived by me!”

The Lord Of Chaos was absolutely dumbfounded and utterly shocked by this revelation. His actions from over a thousand years ago would have attracted this monstrosity to the world of Equus. However, another realization dawns on him as he says:

“The ponies that were sent to Terraria… Twilight is among them, she might attract-”

“Do not worry for Terraria is safe from that monster’s wrath. The dryad’s have ensured that The Devourer Of Gods remains forever banished from Terraria and can never enter it unless someone gives it access. Fortunately, none but the dryad’s can unleash that horror but given their kind nature we shou-”

“Actually about that… I uh, ehehe.”, Discord laughs nervously as he starts to scratch the back of his head.

“Disidian, what happened to the dryads? What did you do when you told me about the battle with Cthulhu? When you aided that monster. You were vague about what happened to them and I only didn't press the issue because I realized how that story troubles you.”

“I didn’t kill them if that’s what you’re getting at-”

“No! But I’m getting the impression that you are part of the reason that something terrible has happened to them! Come to think of it, I sensed one of the noble dryads who came here to help my beloved creations drive back Razeem. But, that’s the key word: One.”

If Discord wasn’t nervous enough before, he definitely was now as he fidgets in place and sweats up a river before replying:

“D-during the fight with Cthulhu… the other dryads sacrificed themselves to stop him but not enough to completely destroy him. All but one dryad were killed as a result of their sacrifice. That dryad you sensed? Her name is: Celebes, she was the one who I asked to banish me from Terraria. She is also the last of her kind.”

“...”

“You’re mad… I know.”

“...”

“Harmony? Please say something?”

“...”

“I know I messed up when I helped Cthulhu but-”

“Get out of my sight before I literally risk letting The Devourer Of Gods find me as I eject you from this reality.”

“I’m so sorry Harmony, I had no-”

“LEAVE!”

[SNAP]

[POOF]

Heeding her request, Discord snaps his lion’s paw and vanishes in a smoke of powdered chocolate milk. Harmony sighs deeply as she says:

“I can only hope that the dryad lives a long and prosperous life for upon her deathbed… The Devourer Of Gods shall arise. I hope that you and the element bearers will become strong enough to defeat the divine devourer one day... Twilight Sparkle.
> Chapter 66 - Series Of Events.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

Three Days ago:

Three days have passed ever since the defeat of Cthorator, a fused abomination of Brainiac and The Perforator’s Hivemind along with its worm-like entities. A few events have transpired during this time:

Before everyone left The Crimson Biome, Starlight, Celebes, and Rarity all returned to the large chamber that Brainiac held the other ponies prisoner in via the unicorn’s Ice Mirror. Celebes immediately declares that they should destroy the three large hearts that were placed on the walls to prevent the possible revival of Brainiac. If that were true or not didn’t matter to the trio, It was the possibility that mattered most. Starlight and Rarity both wielded their newly acquired weapons from Cthorator’s defeat while also alighting their horns for an attack. Celebes conjured her Fiery Greatsword as the trio then struck the three hearts and destroyed them. However, what they didn’t expect was that at the very moment of the trio of heart’s destruction… a meteorite has landed. Most notably, It was headed in the direction of Home Town.

After returning to Home Town via Rarity’s Ice Mirror, the ponies and Zecora were given Crimson Armor thanks to Sai Sahan. The Terrarian and Terralestia joined them temporarily to give them a proper send off. Zecora had already said her goodbyes to them all before returning back to The Jungle with Gex. The other members of Home Town, aside from Tanner The Guide who was currently missing, went into their homes to rejuvenate themselves from the recent battle. Celebes had agreed to move into Home Town with them all and was currently in her room within The Library

“We really appreciate this, Sai.”, Twilight says as she and the other ponies send their newly acquired armor into their inventory.

“You are very welcome, Twilight. You and your friends will always be welcomed to The Order Of The Guide.”

“You should consider joining up. I’m sure Tanner The Guide would love to have you all… I’m surprised he never told you about it before this adventure.”, Terralestia says.

“You know something… I might just ask him about that when we see him.”, Rainbow Dash says as she puts a hoof to her chin in thought.

“After what we all saw you ponies do in The Crimson, especially you Fluttershy, we would be ecstatic to have you all.”

Suddenly, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie take on a saddened expression. Pinkie Pie’s mane deflates in the process. Starlight, Rarity, and Fluttershy look at them with sorrowful expressions.

“It’s about what that monster did to you all, isn’t It?”, Sai asks sadly.

“That no good varmint forced us to go to worlds filled with nothing but suffering and pain. Ah’... Ah’ need some time to recover from that.”, Applejack replies.

“I agree with Applejack… I think we all could use it.”, Twilight says with a saddened expression.

“I don’t think I want to bake another cupcake again for a long while.”

“Why Pinky? What happened in your world? If you don’t mind me asking.”, Rainbow questions.

As if fate was playing a cruel game with the party pony, the very same pony who was killed before Pinkie’s eyes was the same one who just had to inquire about… that.

“Oh… um… It’s nothing, Rainbow. Just a bad recipe is all.”, Pinkie Pie lies as her heart was currently being shattered from within.

“I’m so sorry for what that monster did… that was practically torture for you all. Please, take this time to relax.”, Terralestia says sadly.

Sai Sahan sighs sadly before saying:

“It’s time for Celestia and I to take our leave now, dear friends. May our paths cross again and we sincerely hope you join the guild.”, The terrarian and Terralestia nod once more before turning around and leaving Home Town as they start their journey back to The Order Of The Guide.

Little did everyone know, their recent victory in The Crimson was observed and dark forces were currently moving against them. Slowly, but surely.





-TERRARIA, UNKNOWN LABORATORY-

“Looks like your experiment in The Crimson Biome was destroyed, Draedon. Not to mention that nymph you created in The Snow Biome.”

“Ah, Master Yharim. Heh, The Perforators and Melony The Nymph were both merely my earlier experiments. Come to think of it, I wonder whatever became of Ocram? Bah, whether or not they succeeded is of little concern to me. Besides, we’ve got more important experiments currently being worked on.”

“Oh golly Mister Draedon, that’s so mean of you to say.”, Yharim then chuckles before he continues: “I actually came here to talk about your upcoming projects. Give me a full report.”

“Of course.”, Draedon replies as he starts to press a series of keys at the computer he currently sat before. “Two of The Mech Bosses are fully operational while Skeletron Prime is currently eighty seven percent completed. Project: Plague Bringer’ is also nearly completed although Skeletron Prime will likely reach completion before that. And, of course, let’s not forget the clones we’re making of Yharon.”

“Excellent… and, speaking of clones… what about our other project?”

Draedon simply chuckles to himself before saying:

“The ‘Witch Project’ is also coming along nicely. Calamitas will be quite surprised when that one takes the stage. While we’re talking about updates, how’s everything going with… The Devourer Of Gods?”

“He is an annoying one to please… The Empress Of Light really did a number on him and the seal of the dryads kept him out of Terraria. Fortunately, the armor we suited him with will aid him In the future… and will make it more obedient.”

“What are you planning to do with that thing anyway?”

“Well, there are five targets I must eliminate in the future but they all happen to be deities.”

“Who are they?”

“Harmony or otherwise known as The Empress Of light is of course, one. The next is Daybreaker, The Profaned Goddess. The goddess of malice and the kitsune tyrant, Cosmos... although she also likes to call herself the female counterpart to Disidian’s chaos and his ex lover. The other two are more… recent additions.”, Yharim then walks over to a nearby chair and takes a seat before he continues: “Both are among those ponies… Twilight Sparkle, The alicorn goddess of friendship and the newly arisen Core Of The Slime Gods: Fluttershy. The last one is: Disidian.”

“You miscounted, Yharim. That’s six targets, not five.” 

“In the literal sense, yes. However, Fluttershy is a two for one special. Disidian holds her very dear to his heart and I intend to exploit that.”

“Sometimes your aspirations frightens me... but, It’s also what inspired me to become what I am now.”

Yharim chuckles in response before then standing up and saying:

“That’ll be all for now, Draedon. I’ll let you get back to it.”, Yharim then leaves the laboratory as he heads outside to board Yharon, his fateful dragon.

Draedon continues to work until he suddenly starts to ponder on something and says internally:

-I wonder how you’re doing nowadays… my little Mechanic-

“Doctor Draedon.”, A new voice says which instantly catches the doctor’s attention.

“Ah, Isabella. You just missed master Yharim. What is it my little Steampunker?”

“My latest creation is nearing its completion: The Cyborg J42-0N. It’s such a shame that Katherine had to betray us before our combined creation was complete thanks to me.”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, TWILIGHT'S ROOM IN THE LIBRARY-

Present Time:

It was now nightfall and Twilight was sitting at her desk getting ready to write her next entry to Princess Celestia. The lavender alicorn had so much to write about ranging from meeting Celestia's Terrarian counterpart all the way to Fluttershy's climactic showdown with Cthorator. Twilight alighted her horn, lifts her pen in her lavender colored aura, and was just about to start writing until a sudden series of knocking kisses her door.

"Come in!", Twilight exclaims in response.

The door starts to open as it is revealed to be Tanner The Guide who was responsible for the knocks. The terrarian enters the room and closes the door behind him.

"Sorry about that, Twilight. I was just checking if we were still on for tomorrow?"

"It's ok, Tanner. Yes, we are definitely still good to go. I still can't believe it... we can actually harvest a Meteorite and turn it into equipment?"

"This is Terraria, Twi. You can practically work with almost anything."

Twilight giggles in response before saying:

"That's true. I often forget that I shouldn't question things here in Terraria. Especially after the whole falling stars discussion we had.", Twilight's left eye twitches while recalling that discussion.

Tanner laughs lightly before replying:

"We fellow seekers of knowledge need to remember that we can't always make sense of everything.", The Guide then lets out a yawn before saying: "Alrighty then, I look forward to tomorrow, Twilight. Sleep well."

"You too Tanner, sweet dreams."

The terrarian waves at Twilight one last time before he opens the door and exits her room, closing it behind him.

Twilight sighs contently before she turns back to the table and starts to work on her third entry of: 

'Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Terrarian Letters For Celestia.' 





Tanner starts to walk down the hallway of The Library as he then descends the flight of stairs and makes his way towards the exit of the building. His eyes starts to glow red as he says:

"I truly look forward to the day we all get to visit The Underworld, my little ponies. Now, I think it's time I go pay Steven a visit."
> Chapter 67 - Objectives And Feelings.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON ENTRANCE-

It was nearing midnight and after recently speaking with Twilight Sparkle, Tanner The Guide teleported to The Dungeon’s entrance via his Magic Mirror at the bottom of a large set of stairs. The Guide starts to climb the large flight of steps and upon reaching the top, his eyes are met with a very familiar face: Steven, The Clothier. Tanner chuckles to himself before saying:

“It’s certainly been a while… Skeletron, or shall I call you: Grogar?”

Skeletron chuckles to himself as he is currently in control of The Clothier’s body.

“Either one is fine by me, Tanner. Tell me, how has Lord Legion been as of late?”

“The Great Wall has been patiently awaiting the arrival of the ponies. Soon, The Underworld shall rise up and claim the surface world. However, Lord Legion has yet another grand aspiration and they need the ponies for it.”

“Oh? What would that be?”

“Our lord wishes to cross over into the world those ponies came from, you know the ones.”

“Bah! Do I know them? Steven won’t shut up about that white pony, Rarity. How I long to tear her apart right in front of good old Steven.”

“I could arrange you that chance, old friend.”

“That won’t be necessary and we aren’t, friends. You see, thanks to Rarity’s foolish notion of trying to save that pathetic clothier, she will bring them all here to face me. When that time comes, I shall be free.”

“I want to cash in on that favor you owe us, Grogar.”

“Took you long enough although I must admit that I was hoping Lord Legion would forget about that.”

“Heh, you’re bold to assume that. Anyway, do me one simple favor and your debt to us is settled.”

“No strings attached? No surprise conditions?”

“Come now, Skelly, would we ever lie to you?”

The Skeletron possessed clothier raises an eyebrow before saying:

“We’re demons, Tanner... lying is among our arsenal.”

“Ok, fine… then how about we do this the right way? A demon pact. You know the one, if either of us goes back on our word… they’re fucked.”

“... I’m listening.”

“When the ponies come here to face you, I need you to spare three of them but Twilight Sparkle must be among them. If you even manage to kill any of them, that is. Lord Legion needs them to access their underworld. Tartarus, I believe it was called.”

“Tch, you ask for far too much. I shall slaughter all who stands in my way and you shall-”

“Don’t forget that It was The Great Wall who brought you back and gave you your powers. It was Lord Legion’s power that made you who you are, what you currently are. If you even think of defying our lord’s will, you’re done.”

The possessed clothier growls in response before saying:

“Fine! Damnit, Fine! Twilight shall be spared but I get to choose the ones who lives and dies.”

“That’s fine by me. I’ll even sweeten the deal and let you kill Rarity, she’s not necessary so long as you keep two of the other ponies alive with Twilight.”

“What of the zebra? She came with them from that other world too.”

“I care not for that zebra, she’s irrelevant. The ponies are clearly far more important to their world than she is. Do with the zebra as you please.”

“Very well, Tanner. We have an accord so bring up the pact.”

The Guide nods in response before bringing his right hand forward upon which a red rune in the shape of a circle with a pentagram in its center was now present.

“I, Tanner The Guide, hereby accepts these conditions of the pact.”

The possessed clothier nods before raising his left hand and setting it upon The Guide’s right hand, covering the rune in the process.

“I, Skeletron and the former giant: Grogar, hereby accepts these conditions of the pact.”

A red aura engulfs both of their hands as the light coming off of the transaction kisses the walls of The Dungeon.

Little did they both know, deep within the possessed clothier’s body, very faint words could be heard from within.

“Tanner! You traitor! You will pay for this!”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

It was now early in the morning as Twilight, Tanner, Gorglock, Starlight, and Rarity were beginning to prepare for today’s objective. They are currently gathered before the eastern gate of Home Town as Twilight turns to them and questions:

“Is everyone ready? I can’t wait to study that meteorite!”

“You betcha! But, I must ask: Where are your other friends?” Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer questions.

Twilight and her fellow ponies who were present takes on a saddened expression before the lavender alicorn replies:

“Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy are in their homes right now. Rainbow Dash is staying to help Fluttershy with her recent… condition. I can only imagine what Applejack and Pinkie had to go through in their, well… realities. Mines was just awful but the fact that I was able to somewhat recover before them makes me feel as if… I had it easy.”

“I’m so sorry for that, darling.” Rarity says as she walks up to her friend and puts a hoof onto Twilight’s back to comfort her.

“When it comes to an incarnation of Cthulhu, pain and suffering always follows. Words can’t express how sorry I am.” Tanner says.

In an effort to change the current atmosphere, Starlight beams a smile and says:

“Let’s not let that keep us down, we’re all here, alive, and in one piece. Sure, we went through some crazy things in The Crimson but let’s look on the bright side: We harvested materials from that Crimtane Ore and Celebes is currently working on creating The Blood Butcher for us. We even got new pickaxes and axes. That’s now three of the four starting blades we need and thanks to Rarity, we now know that the Muramasa is inside of that dungeon. Celebes even said so herself that she’d be more than happy to give us her Fiery Greatsword and Applejack has The Blade Of grass. We’re making great progress despite everything we’ve endured here.”

“About that, darling. What’s the difference between The Blood Butcher and any other blade forged from Crimtane Ore? They certainly look the same to me when I saw the other adventurers wielding them.” Rarity inquires.

“I can answer that.” Tanner interjects. “Celebes needs to bless the blade with her powers so that it will eventually mold into another blade which will get you all one step closer to re-forging the Terra Blade.”

Twilight recovers from her sadness and rejoins the conversation.

“Ah yes, that would be the Night’s Edge, correct?” Twilight questions.

“Weeeell... not exactly. You see, the day I showed you all that diagram to create the blade I made a slight mistake. Since our world has The Crimson, it’s impossible to forge that blade. However, we can forge its counterpart which will still allow us to eventually create the Terra Blade.” Tanner replies.

“A counterpart?” Gorglock questions.

“Yes, it’s called: Bloody Edge.”



“Alright!” Starlight exclaims. “So it looks like we’re all good to go. Now then, what do you all say we start heading to that meteorite? Let’s put all of that business from The Crimson behind us and start moving forward.”

“That’s the spirit!” Gorglock exclaims. “Always keep pushing forward, dear friends. Take it from someone who sometimes fails in his experiments, you just have to pick yourself up and try it again.”

“Indeed, darlings. Starlight is right, we still have our objective and we’re so close to getting back home.” Rarity says as she takes on a determined expression. 

“That’s right, we’re so close now so what are we waiting for?! Let’s get going, we’ve got a meteorite to harvest… while also allowing me to study it in the process.”

Tanner lets out a chuckle before saying:

“There’s the Twilight I know! Come on everyone, let’s get going.”

Everyone nods in response as the group exits the eastern gate of Home Town and starts to make their way towards the crashed meteorite. 

Meanwhile, within Fluttershy’s home, the shy pegasus and her rainbow maned childhood friend are currently sat upon the yellow pegasus’s bed. In addition, Princess Pinkie is also present as she herself is sat upon Fluttershy’s head.

“Everything’s going to be ok, Flutters. I mean, sure, your life is… different now. But, don’t think of it badly. Hay, just look at Princesses Luna and Celestia. They’ve been going at it for over a thousand years and it doesn’t seem like it bothers them that much. Even Princess Cadence seems to cope with it well.”

“Oh, well, it’s not that I think it’s bad. Not exactly, but… I also don’t think too well of it either. I don’t know, Rainbow… I don’t know how to feel at all.”

“I’m sorry, Goddess Fluttershy. I brought this upon you…”

“Oh no! Don’t be sorry, Princess Pinkie. You have nothing to apologize for and I’m so grateful for what you and The Slime Gods did. The powers you gave me saved my friends, I could never be mad at you. It’s just…” Fluttershy sighs sadly before she continues: “I just don’t know how I truly feel about this. It’s so confusing, I don’t like it but I don’t exactly hate it either. On one hoof, I’m afraid of having to watch all of my friends and loved ones grow old before me. On the other hoof, I’m thankful for this condition since it helped me save everypony. What should I do?” Fluttershy inquires which causes Rainbow Dash to ponder on this for a moment.

Suddenly, Princess Pinkie hops off of the yellow pegasus and lends next to her on the bed before saying:

“If I may say, Fluttershy. You’re actually wrong about one thing.”

Both pegasus mare’s ears perks up as they reply in unison:

“What?”

“While it is true that you’ll have to watch others grow old and pass on before you… you won’t be alone, Fluttershy. Twilight Sparkle is also immortal and you mentioned those other princesses from your world. They will all be there for you, The Slime Gods will be there for you, I will be there for you. Oh!, even that Discord entity you mentioned before will be there too! Your heart always goes crazy when-”

“Princess Pinkie, no!” Fluttershy exclaims as her face goes completely red. “Not in front of Rainbow.”

“Too late for that, Flutters.” Rainbow Dash replies with a smirk. “So you’ve got a thing for Discord, huh? That’s kind of weird to me but it's not like I'm going to hate you for it.”

“R-really?”

“Well yeah! I mean, who am I to deny my childhood friend’s first crush? If you like Discord then… why the hay not? I’m sure the others will accept it too. We’re your friends, Fluttershy. Besides, at least yours is more… natural.”

Princess Pinkie and Fluttershy looks at each other momentarily before returning their gaze towards the rainbow pegasus and questions in unison:

“Huh?”

Rainbow’s eyes were shot wide open as she tried to cover her mouth with her left front hoof and sweated nervously.

“Oh, what? I didn’t say anything.” Rainbow lies.

“Rainbow, do you have a special somepony?”

“Oh! I think she does!” Princes Pinkie exclaims as she puts a pink tendril onto the rainbow pegasus, without anyone even noticing.

“Hey! Don’t go reading my feelings or whatever it is you do!”

Fluttershy giggles to herself before saying:

“Rainbow, you just accepted my feelings for Discord so why wouldn’t I do the same for you?”

“Well… like I said earlier, it’s not natural. At least Discord is a… dude.”

Suddenly, it instantly clicks within the shy pegasus’s mind as her eyes shoot wide open and she replies:

“Oh my, is your special somepony… a mare?”

“...” Rainbow remains quiet for a moment before she sighs and hesitantly says:

“Y… yeah.”

“Well, who is it? Is it somepony we know?” Fluttershy questions.

“It’s gonna sound weird.”

“Come on, Rainbow. How about this, I won’t tell anypony else if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

“O… OK, you promise?”

“I Pinkie Promise, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Meanwhile in Candy Cane Corner, Pinkie Pie’s mane twitches as she lays down on her bed.

“Ok Flutters, It’s... Applejack.”
> Chapter 68 - “A Star Has Fallen From The Heavens.”
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

It’s now later into the morning; Twilight, Tanner, Gorglock, Rarity, and Starlight are currently making their way to the crashed meteorite via the large trail of smoke they can see reaching up into the sky in the distance. The sounds of dirt being stepped upon acts as an ambience while they traverse a dirt paved path which cuts through a forest.

Along the way, Tanner mentions something that really surprises everyone which causes Twilight to say:

“Wait, there’ve been other meteors that have crashed onto Terraria before?”

“Why of course, that’s how I know so much about it and how to harvest it.” Tanner replies with a wink. However, Gorglock in particular suddenly starts to get nervous as he interjects:

“Be glad that this one is a meteor and not something like… that.”

Gorglock’s words cause everyone present to turn to him with questionable gazes.

“What do you mean, darling?” Rarity questions.

“Are you saying that there are different types of meteors?” Starlight inquires.

Gorglock scratches the back of his neck before he then sighs and says:

“Space is vast and mysterious, as i’m sure you all know. You could even call it a sort of empty void and sure, it has its marvels. However, sometimes that void shows us things that we simply don’t want to accept due to the potential dangers it could pose.” 

Everyone present was starting to get seriously curious as the ponies perked up their ears and Tanner literally conjured a chair from his inventory to sit on.

Finally, the goblin braces himself for a small yet terrifying tale as he says:

“Please get comfortable, everyone. I shall tell you about… The Astral Infection.”







“Four years ago in the far southern continent, and I mean very far to the south, I was on a scouting mission for The Goblin Army. I know how that sounds but if it makes you feel any better, The Goblin Chief forced me to do it. I never wanted to do anything to the lives of the innocent. Anyway, there was a large town there called: Terraville. 

I was sent to infiltrate it and report any possible weaknesses to the chief so that the army could breach the town effortlessly. I walked through the town and to my utter surprise, the people there were so nice. They didn’t judge me for being a goblin, in fact, I fascinated them for being an incredibly intelligent goblin compared to many others.

That night, a festival was being held within the town and I of course partaken in the festivities. I had built connections there and even became quite fond of its people that I was going to lie to the chief and tell him that powerful adventurers live there. 

I decided to leave before it got too dark out… little did I know, I actually saved myself by doing that. I saw something that seemed as if a star has fallen from the heavens, so close to the town that they could kiss each other. What happened next… would frighten me for the rest of my life. 

This thing was another type of infection, similar to The Crimson and the legendary Corruption. At the very moment of impact, gigantic monoliths of dark stone begin to rise from the ground. The trees rot away, replaced with pillar-like growths serving as further breeding grounds for this… thing. Organic creatures… those poor townsfolk, are swiftly transformed beyond recognition as the infection enters them and multiplies through their bodies, twisting them into self-mockeries that live and die to protect and spread the infection. The pillars exhale a thick violet haze that blankets the mutated land and permeates the system of any living being that wanders near, warping vision and stinging exposed flesh.

I saw this happen with my very own eyes from a safe distance as I then ran for my life. That poor town didn’t deserve that…

I reported it to my chief and for the first time in his idiotic existence, he made the right call. We all moved to these lands and remained here for the next four years. Then, the attack on Home Town happened… now here we are.”





Everyone’s eyes were shot wide open, even The Guide was no different as he says internally:

-How have I never heard of this thing before?-

As if she were reading Tanner’s mind, Twilight regains her composure from her shocked state and says:

“How come no one else has heard of this event? Did you report it to anyone else?”

“Forget about reporting it, how hasn’t it spread out further from that town if it’s an infection like The Crimson?” Starlight inquires.

“Just how many of these awful infections are there?! It’s bad enough with The Corruption back home and The Crimson on this world, but now there’s another one?!” Rarity exclaims in disbelief.

Gorglock nods sadly before saying:

“None of you heard of this infection because I made sure to never tell anyone. I have no earthly idea if there are survivors from that town but perhaps they are just as wise as I am to keep a closed lid on it. As for why it hasn’t spread far enough to be discovered… to put it simply: I have no idea.”

Everyone was absolutely shocked by this revelation, to know that there is yet another infection present in their world. Even more unsettling is the fact that it could very well be even more dangerous than The Crimson.

“Please don’t get any ideas, friends. We are not prepared to face the horrors of that infection and who knows how much it’s changed from these last four years. I’m not at all familiar with the monsters that arose there but they surely must’ve grown stronger over the years. We are simply not ready to deal with it.” Gorglock says concerningly.

“I agree with Gorglock.” Twilight comments. “We need to be very careful and choose our enemies carefully for now. Skeletron is already a powerful threat we need to deal with soon and the last thing we need is to face yet another infection that might be even stronger then The Crimson.”

“No Twilight… not if, it is stronger than The Crimson.” Gorglock interjects factually. 

Everyone nods in understanding before Twilight sighs lightly and says:

“We’ll deal with that in the future, thank you for trusting us with this information, Gorglock.”

“Of course. Just like the people of Terraville, I’m very fond of you all… you’re my friends… I don’t want to see anything bad happening to any of you.”

“Awwww, that’s so sweet of you, darling.” Rarity says as she walks over to the goblin and kisses him on the left cheek. “You are a true gentlecolt. Sure, you may be a goblin but I know some ponies back home who could learn a thing or two from you… like him.” Rarity emphasizes in disgust as he recalls a certain white unicorn with a golden mane. It was ironic, given the current situation back on Equus.

Starlight nods contently before saying:

“That’s enough storytelling for now. Come on everyone, we’ve got a meteor to harvest.”
> Chapter 69 - The Bandit.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

“We’re almost there, everyone.” Tanner says as the group continues to draw near the meteorite. 

“So I’m curious, Tanner… are there going to be any sort of monsters there?” Rarity questions nervously which also causes Starlight and Twilight’s ears to perk up.

“Well, I personally have never met any monsters from the meteorite. But, we should keep our guard up nonetheless.” Tanner replies.

“This is Terraria so odds are… there will be.” Gorglock comments.

“Yeah, I hate to say it but I doubt it’ll be that easy.” Starlight says.

“I still can’t believe what you told me about that Astral Infection, Gorglock. It simply sounds awful.” Twilight says sorrowfully.

“I know… let’s be grateful that this meteorite is-”

The goblin’s words were cut off and everyone stared towards a scorched portion of the forest. Flames had consumed the greenery of this once lush forestation and all that was left was their charred remains. There, sitting not too far ahead was what they came to find: The Meteorite.




“I can’t believe it... the meteor changed this place into its own biome?” Twilight questions.

“I’m afraid so, Twilight. This happens every time a meteor lands within an area. Not to worry though, at least there’s-”

[RUMMMM]

Suddenly, the earth around them starts to shake as they struggle to keep their balance. Twilight takes flight in an effort to avoid the quaking landscape. Then, the small earthquake suddenly stops which causes Rarity to question:

“Is everyone alright? Tanner, what was that?”

“I don’t know… that’s the first time that ever happened.”

“That can’t be good…” Starlight comments.

On cue and as if fate were listening to the unicorn’s words a large number of flying entities erupts out of the local landscape. These new entities seemed to be comprised of the same material that makes the meteorite. In addition, they were covered in flames which leaves a trail of fire behind as they move about.



“What are those things?!” Gorglock shouts.

“Get ready for combat!” Twilight exclaims as she and her fellow ponies materializes their newly acquired staves from the battle with Cthorator: Blood Bath. In addition, they also alight their horns and prepare for the oncoming conflict.

Gorglock and Tanner readied themselves via The Guide materializing a bow created from the Crimtane Ore called: Tendon Bow.



The Goblin Tinkerer on the other hand brought out a very particular device. Nearly a complete hexagon in shape but with four appendages protruding outwards.



“Everyone! I have a device that shall aid us but I need you to buy me some time!” Gorglock shouts.

“I’ll defend him, you ponies go on and kick their… rocks?”

“...” Gorglock simply stares at The Guide blankly all while the ponies meet their foes head on.

“That sucked…”

“Shut up…”

Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight run towards their foes as they nod to each other and raise their staves high into the air via their levitation magic.

“Have some blood!” The three mares shouts in unison upon which a large red cloud is formed just above the local area. In mere moments, what starts to pour down was something that would normally bother or at least make most people, and ponies, uncomfortable: Raindrops made entirely of blood.

Upon contact, the blood would cause noticeable damage to their meteor-like foes even destroying a few others. Starlight then conjures her newly acquired blade: Vein Burster, and floats it within her aura alongside her staff. The unicorn hops into the air and slices at her foes upon which two blood spheres are called forth as a result. These spheres fly right into a small gathering of their meteor-like foes and upon contact, the blood spheres blow up and scatters blood onto the surrounding entities which damages them too in the process.

 -I was a little disturbed by these weapons we forged from The Crimson. But, if it helps us kick monster hide then so be it- Starlight says internally as she continues to go to war against the meteor born entities.

Twilight currently possesses both her Storm Spray and Blood Bath staves as she floats them within her lavender aura. She fires a beam of energy from her horn while also firing off a spray of water from Storm Spray which appropriately defeats her foes upon contact likely due to its water based nature. 

Rarity became very clever with her use of The Ice Mirror as anytime a meteor entity would draw near her, she’d simply teleport away to a spot she previously stood and blasted the entity with her horn. She then summons a Snow Flinx to aide her via its appropriate staff. She points a forehoof towards her foes and shouts:

“Go my darling, freeze these brutes solid!”

Heeding to the white unicorn’s request, the Snow Flinx walks forward and takes a deep breath before a beam of ice leaves its maw and freezes the meteor entities on contact as they drop to the ground and shatter on impact.

Tanner finished off any encroaching meteor entity that managed to slip pass the ponies and went after The Guide and Goblin Tinkerer. With excellent precision, he shot his foes out of the skies with his bow while also saying:

“How close are you to activating that device of yours, Gorglock?!”

“Almost there, keep those things at bay for just a few minutes longer. This is what I get for not completing it before bringing it out into the field!”

Unbeknownst to everyone present, there was another individual who watched the conflict take place from the shadows. 

The battle continues to rage on as the ponies, terrarian, and goblin continues to struggle against their meteor born foes. Twilight in particular was beginning to take notice of something as she says:

“There’s no end to these things! No matter how many of them we destroy, they just keep coming!”

“Yeah! I noticed that!” Starlight exclaims in response as she continues to fight against the entities with her new blade and blasts a meteor entity with ehr horn as it tries to swoop down on her.

“We need to do something quick, darlings! My poor Snow Flinx can only freeze so much and the bees from my Bee Gun can’t fight these things effectively. My magic is also starting to run low, I’m on my last two Mana Potions!” Rarity exclaims.

“Gorglock is here to save the day!” The goblin shouts as he runs towards the ponies, with Tanner just behind him, and then shouts: “Everyone to me! I’m going to project a barrier around us!”

Heeding to his request, the ponies joined up with the goblin and the terrarian. Gorglock places the device onto the ground and presses a button that was present in the middle of the device.

“If my calculations are correct, this barrier will cover the entire meteor site and it will eject all those who are not our allies!”

“How did you create such a thing!?” Twilight questions in utter disbelief.

“I’m a genius, Twilight. I invent and tinker things as a goblin scientist! Behold!”

The barrier starts to project itself and activates without any issues… except, it’s not as big as the goblin had hoped. The barrier was meant to cover the entire area, however, it now only covered the group as they were all currently protected by a blue bubble shield.

“This is amazing, darling!” Rarity exclaims in awe.

“No… this is wrong…” Gorglock comments which causes the white unicorn mare to look at him with confusion.

“Wait, I thought you said that this thing would cover the entire area?” Twilight questions.

“It’s supposed to! I made the appropriate adjustments myself!” Gogglock exclaims in shock.

“Now we have a new problem…” Tanner says as during their conversation, all the meteor monsters were ramming themselves against the barrier which reminded Twilight a lot about what the changelings did once before.

The sounds of sizzling and bumping echoes throughout the barrier as a large hoard of the meteorite monstrosities continues to slam themselves against the bubble.

“How long can this thing hold up?” Starlight questions.

“It lasts for five minutes and it can sustain blunt damage for that whole duration. Unfortunately… it’s already been three minutes…” Gorglock replies.

 Everyone grits their teeth in anticipation as they practically count down the last few minutes they still have in their heads all while the entities continue to slam against the barrier.

Suddenly, a strange weapon flies through the hoard and manages to destroy a fair number of them. Twilight thought she was seeing things for a moment, but, the weapon looked like some sort of… boomerang?

“They’ll keep on coming so long as the meteor is present! We need some of us to start harvesting it while the others fight these things off!” A new voice exclaims as the boomerang like weapon returns to its owner who was currently wearing a Sand Cloak. The voice was noticeably female but most interestingly, it sounded familiar to Twilight. The entity lifts their hood and what’s revealed causes both Twilight and Rarity’s jaws to drop in the process.

Starlight, Tanner, and Gorglock were confused by this as The Guide questions in exclamation:

“Thanks for the help but… who are you?!”

“I’m a rogue, The Bandit: Tempest Shadow!”
> Chapter 70 - When A Pie Is Sad.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight’s eyes were wide open as she gazes upon the new individual who, presumably, is here to aid them. Everyone else observes the scenario from within the barrier as Gorglock calls out:

“Thirty seconds left of the barrier!”

Tempest jumps into the air and throws her boomerang like weapon to which everyone present heard her call: Kylie.



The boomerang flies right through the meteor born entities and shreds them apart. This gives those within the barrier an opportunity to leave its protective shell as they too join the battle.

“Rarity! Gorglock! Start harvesting that meteorite while we deal with these things. Starlight! You go with them to provide cover should any of these damned things get by us!” Tanner exclaims to which the aforementioned beings nods understandably and makes their way towards the meteor.
Twilight and Tanner make their way towards Tempest to which Twilight says:

“Thank you for helping us, Tempest. How did you know about their weaknesses?”

“I’ll reveal that later. For now, get your weapons ready. Actually, I want you to summon that blood rain again.”

Heeding to her request, Twilight materializes her Blood Bath and calls forth another red cloud although this one was considerably smaller than the last. Blood starts to rain down upon their foes as a result while Tanner and Tempest start to pick off any that draws near.

“Why is it smaller?” Twilight inquires.

“The cloud you summoned earlier was the result of you and your friends combining your weapon’s effects together.” Tempest replies while in combat. The terrarian hops over a meteor monstrosity before throwing a sort of dagger like weapon which destroys the fiery foe upon impact. She then spins around in a flurry of blades and sends out twelve more daggers which fires off in multiple directions.



“Wow… she’s just as good in close quarters as our own Tempest.” Twilight compliments.

“Oogle at her skills later, incoming!” Tanner exclaims as he fires his bow and sends a barrage of arrows towards the meteor-like entities. Suddenly, the entities start to come together as they start to merge and meld into a giant form.

“Dammit! They’re combining!” Tanner roars out as a much larger version of the meteor monsters now floats just above them all.



“Well, thing’s got more interesting…” Tempest comments as she conjures a set of daggers in each of her hands and throws them at the entity. At first, they didn’t seem to affect the large creature at all as Twilight comments:

“I don’t think puncture attacks will be enough to defeat that thing.”

Tempest simply winks to Twilight in response as she lifts her right hand and extends three fingers as she gestures a three, two, one countdown.

[BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]

A series of explosions goes off which causes the entity to break apart all while Twilight’s blood rain dissolves the various rubble amongst the landscape.

The lavender alicorn looks towards Tempest questionably to which The Bandit says:

“Explosive daggers, beautiful for dealing with monsters like these.”

Meanwhile, Starlight was fighting off a few of the meteorite entities as Gorglock and Rarity went to harvesting the meteorite with their pickaxes forged from The Crimson.

“Come on!” Starlight roars out as she duel wields Starfury and Vein Burster via floating them in her telekinetic grips via her alighted horn. Two effects would transpire as she wielded her blades and swung at her foes: Pink stars would rain down thanks to Starfury while exploding balls of flesh would materialize themselves and be launched towards the meteor born foes; igniting on impact. As the metaphorical cherry on top, the unicorn would blast away some of her foes via a blast from her horn.

Supporting Starlight was Rarity’s Snow Flinx who continued to freeze its foes solid as the unicorn would then shatter their frozen foes in response. In addition, those who were frozen in the air would fall down to the earth, shattering on impact.

Positioned behind Starlight were the two beings she was currently protecting: Gorglock and Rarity. The two were mining as fast as they could to harvest the meteorite, per Tempest Shadows’s instructions.

The battle continues to wage on as the near endless hoard of meteor monstrosities closes in on the ponies, goblin, and terrarians.





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, CANDY CANE CORNER-

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were currently sitting together on one of the tables in the establishment. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy sat on one side while Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat on the other. They continue to converse amongst themselves as they discuss some recent events.

“Wait a second, you mean we were zombies in your reality?” Rainbow Dash inquires.

“That’s right, Rainbow. It was horrible… ah’ even saw Princess Celestia as one of those undead ponies... It just wasn’t right.” Applejack replies before she then takes on a happier expression. “Well... At least one good thing came out of it.”

“What?” Fluttershy inquires.

“Apple Bloom was very happy there. Ah’ mean, not happy about the whole undead apocalypse thing but with her special somepony.”

“Ooooh, who was it?” Pinkie Pie questions.

“Princess Luna.” Applejack responds.

“What?!” The rest of the ponies exclaim in unison.

“Y’all heard me right. Apple Bloom was around mah’ current age in that world and somewhere along the line, she and the Princess found love in each other. Spike was there too and let me tell ya’, he was huge! That there dragon must’ve been big enough to crush Twilight’s castle back home.”

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie simply stares on with shocked expressions. However, Rainbow Dash starts to get rather curious as she inquires nervously:

“So, uh… A.J… what did you think about that?”

“Ah’bout what?”

“You know… the whole ‘Mare; Mare’ thing your sister and Princess Luna had going on. Is it something you… wouldn’t like?” Rainbow Dash inquires as she admittedly had another reason as to inquire about that.

“That’s ah’ rather strange question, Rainbow.” Applejack replies before she puts a hoof to her chin in thought for a few moments before replying: “Well, ah’ personally wouldn’t exactly think wrong about anypony doing that. If two mares want to become each other’s special somepony then ah’ reckon, good fer’ them.”

-Woah, wait… she’d be ok with that? M-maybe I could-- Rainbow Dash says internally before her words are cut off by what Applejack interjects next:

“But ah’ don’t know if ah’d give it a go. Honestly... I haven’t really given this kind of stuff some thought but I guess I’d go with the normal way. Mare and a stallion.”

Rainbow Dash felt as if her entire world came crashing down in her heart as she truly takes in the farm mare’s words. Incidentally, Fluttershy seemed to catch onto Rainbow’s true reason for asking her question as she herself says internally:

-Oh Rainbow… don’t give up-

“Why do you ask, Rainbow?” Pinkie inquires.

“Oh, uh, no reason… really. Just curious is all.”

“Well, what about you R.D?” Applejack questions.

“Huh?”

“What happened in yer’ reality?”

Rainbow suddenly takes on a horrified expression as she recalls the events from that world.

Taking notice of this, Applejack tries to help the cyan pegasus by saying:

“Ah’m sorry, R.D. If it’s too much to talk about we can-”

“No, no… it’s fine A.J.” The cyan pegasus replies as she takes a deep breath and says: “In the world I went to… that version of me was a bucking jerk. She… she killed pegasi who failed the flight test and threw them into some kind of twisted machine.”

A sudden bursts of gasps erupts from the other ponies as they say in response:

“What the hay?!” Applejack exclaims.

“But why?! Oh, that’s just not right.” Fluttershy says sadly.

“B-but, can’t they just get better and retake it again? Why kill them at all? That’s just being a big old meanie!” Pinkie Pie exclaims.

“It’s so stupid! She killed those pegasi to extract the rainbow liquid we use to create rainbows: Spectra. She killed so many innocent ponies but the worst part of it is… that world’s version of me killed… Scootaloo.”

“Oh my garsh, Rainbow… ah’m so sorry.” Applejack says sorrowfully as she grabs the pegasus with her forehooves and brings her into a hug.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, whose mane became deflated, looked on with saddened expressions. Then, the worst thing that Pinkie Pie could ever hear transpires as a certain cyan pegasus questions:

“What about you, Pinkie? Was your world as bad as mine was? I haven’t seen you bake anything ever since we got back-”

“No…” Pinkie Pie replies with a small pinch of anger.

“What did you-”

“I said no!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as she slams her left forehoof onto the table which shocks everyone else present. The party pony seemed to instantly regret her action as she stuttered: “I-I’m so s-sorry, R-Rainbow… I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s ok, Pinkie. If you don’t want to talk about it we can just-”

Suddenly, the party pony jumps out of her seat and starts to stampede her way upstairs, leaving behind a confused trio of ponies.

“Did I say something wrong?!” Rainbow Dash questions in exclamation.

“Ah’m sure she knows that you meant her no harm, R.D. Give er’ some time…” Applejack says in an attempt to cheer up the now worried cyan pegasus.





Pinkie Pie runs into her room and slams the door behind her as she then hops onto her bed. The party pony covers her face with her forehooves while saying:

“It wasn’t you... It wasn’t you... It wasn’t you... It wasn’t you…” Pinkie repeats over and over.

“Pinkie Pie... You poor little thing,” A new male voice interjects which catches the party pony’s attention as she darts onto her flank and looks around the room.

“W-who’s there?” Pinkie Pie questions.

“I’m a friend, Pinkie Pie. I know a thing or two about depression. Luckily for you, I’m here to make it aaaaall better.” Suddenly, a portal opens up just in front of Pinkie Pie’s bed which causes her eyes to widen in response. A large bipedal entity steps out of the portal and now looks down upon her. “Hello there, my little party pony. I’ve been observing you and your friends for quite some time now.”

“Y-you didn’t answer my question... W-who are you?”

Pinkie Pie was now starting to feel incredibly nervous. Her ‘Pinkie Senses’ were practically screaming for her to run away, especially after this being revealed their name.

“Oh golly, please accept my apologies. Call me: Yharim.”
> Chapter 71 - Pinkamena.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, CANDY CANE CORNER-

To say that the party pony was utterly afraid would be an understatement as she stared on towards what was easily the most dangerous foe she has ever stood before. No other opponent in history has ever driven as much fear as Yharim was currently seeping into her heart.

“What’s wrong, Pinkie? I thought you liked meeting new ponies? Well, I’m not a pony of course but you get what I mean.” Yharim says casually.

“Y-you stay away from me, I don’t like how… evil you feel.”

“Evil? Well that’s not very nice at all, little one. Come now, don’t be afraid of me. Oh! How about you ask me if I want a party? Here’s a hint: My favorite cake is: Rainbow maned pegasus who got killed by her own friend and stuffed into a pastry. I hope that isn’t too hard for you to manage for me.”

Pinkie was starting to shake uncontrollably as he spoke to her. Yharim’s words were just so haunting and horrifying that they chilled the element of laughter to her core. Then, what happened next was a surprise to Yharim, but a minor one.

The party mare’s mane deflates and her body darkens as the changed mare says angrily:

“Get the buck away from us!”

“Ah! There you are my little serial killer. It’s such a pleasure to meet you; I know all about your adventures, my little fourth wall breaker and interdimensional traveler.” Yharim comments as he bows respectfully.

“Cut the crap! What do you want with me?!”

“Ok, fine.” Yharim clears his throat before saying: “It is my intention to yank you out of that other pony, your sister, so that I may bend you to my will and force you to do what I say. Without your consent. Does that clear it up?”

“Wait… h-how do you know about that?!”

“You are so much more than you could ever realize, Pinkamena. It’s such a shame that you lower yourself to some party addicted moron who belongs in an insane asylum. Your sister is holding you back.”

“Shut up! Do not mock her in front of me!” Pinkamena exclaims as she materializes and duel wields two shortswords called: Blood Rupture. She then lunges forward with her blades and attempts to strike at Yharim… who just stands there.

“Die! Leave us alone and just die!” Pinkamena exclaims as she draws close and slashes at Yharim. Unfortunately, the entity catches her blades in between his fingers and holds her in place with an invisible force. What he does next was entirely unexpected: He sings.

“Oh Pinkamena,
So strong yet so naive,
I know your fears and your worries,
I know you miss it, the power inside,
So join me and you’ll be: Unstoppable.”

“No!” Pinkamena exclaims in response. “I won’t do that to my sister!”

Yharim simply continues to sing:

“Long long time ago,
You were born in your sister’s head,
Wanting more, to become more, 
To truly be her sister and friend.

But then she turned away and left you behind,
Leaving you in the depths of her mind,
But now I’m here to make it right.

And it’s time for you to rise.”

Pinkamena grits her teeth in anger as she is still held in place by an invisible force. 

-How the buck does he know all this?!- 

She says internally all while Yharim continues to sing:

“This is all so round a bout in a complicated way,
So just take my hand and your own life you shall claim,
We’ve got lots to do, make your choice soon, I’ll leave that up to you,
If you choose to take my hand, we’ll conquer these lands.

Pinkie Pie, 
Told you what to do and what to say,
She threw you away,

Pinkie Pie, 
Made you feel lonely and insane,
Did I mention that she threw you away?

But not anymore!

You can be in control!

You have the stage she can’t turn the page now,

COME AND JOIN MEEEE!”

Pinkamena roars out in response and says:

“Stop singing to me you psychotic bastard! How do you know all about me and my sister’s connection?! I never revealed that to anyone, especially here in Terraria!”

“What? Don't like the song? Isn't that what you ponies burst out into every now and then? I'm literally lowering myself to your kinds culture just to do this. Also, you underestimate what I’m capable of. I know all about your little GrimDark universe, in fact, I understand that you two witnessed another version of that reality thanks to Brainiac. I know all about what happened between you and your sister. I must say, what I’ve gathered from your mind is quite impressive. You’ve entered many realities in your own right but I must ask you: What would happen if I yank you right out of your poor, little, sister?”

Pinkamena’s expression drops to one of absolute worry as she exclaims:

“If you even think of touching her, I’ll-”

[WHAM]

“ARGH!” Pinkamena cries out in pain as Yharim kicks the dark pink mare and sends her aloft. Her Crimson Armor sadly did absolutely nothing to shield her from the pain.

“Be silent, whelp. You turning ponies into a bunch of cupcakes is nothing compared to what I’ll do to your sister… and you. Your power is commendable but it is a mere spec compared to my own. So, here’s the deal: You are going to join me and in return, your sister can continue to live her happy little life. Truth be told, I have plans for you all and I don’t want to see any of you dead… yet. However, if you don’t do what I say then your sister’s existence will be null and void. With a snap of my fingers I can tear her away from you, forever. Listen to your so-called: ‘Pinkie Senses’ you know this to be true.”

For possibly the first time in her existence, Pinkamena was truly afraid for the sake of her sister. A saddened expression takes form onto her features as she closes her eyes in frustration and says:

“Fine! Celestia dammit all, fine! What the buck do you want me to do?”

“Hold still.” Yharim replies in a dark tone as he places a hand onto Pinkamena’s head and what happens next was absolutely mind boggling: He tears her away from Pinkie Pie which results in two mares being born in the process. On the floor was the now unconscious Pinkie Pie, the party loving pony, while in Yharim’s grasp was the struggling form of Pinkamena.

“There, you should be grateful that I just don’t stomp her head in right here and now. You should also be happy for the fact that you are now a living and breathing being. As I promised, you are now Pinkamena! No longer are you the alternate form to your sister here. You are now your own entity, your welcome in advance by the way.” Yharim says as he tosses the dark pink mare onto the floor, right next to Pinkie Pie.

Pinkamena manages to get back onto her hooves and looks down upon her sister’s form which laid innocently on the room’s floor. A tear nearly escapes her eye as she grunts in anger and says:

“So what the buck happens now? What do I have to do? Lord bucking asshole.”

“I’ll let that one slide for now, smart ass. To give it to you simply, I intend to help your sister and her friends to defeat The Moon Lord.”

“Why? What the buck could you gain from that?”

“That’s none of your concern for now. Soon, I will reveal my plan to the whole world so don’t feel left out.” Suddenly, Yharim extends a hand forward which causes a portal to open up as a result. He then turns around and says: “Come puppet, we’ve got some work to do.”

“I’m not your puppet you-”

“My oh my… your sister’s head looks like it’s asking for my feet to crush it into a fine paste. Maybe I should-”

“No! Dammit no! Fine… I won’t…”

“What are you, Pinkamena? Tell me right now before I make good on my threat.”

“I… I’m y-your puppet.”

“That’s a good little puppet, I’ll give you a doggy treat later. Get your flank into that portal… now.”

“Let me at least say goodbye to her. Give me that at the least, it’s all I’ll ever ask for.”

Yharim leans back in disgust and says:

“Eugh, sentimental crap… gag me. Fine, fine, you have one minute but a second later and your sister’s dead.”

Pinkamena wanted nothing more but to butcher this being, to make him suffer for this. However, there was only one thing she could think about: Her sister’s safety. The dark pink mare walks over to Pinkie Pie and lifts her up, placing the unconscious pony onto the bed.

“Looks like I have to go for now, sis. I’m sorry but I won’t be there to look after you.”

“Forty seconds.” Yharim interjects which causes Pinkamena to gaze back at him angrily before returning to Pinkie Pie.

“I really hate that bucking ass, sis. Anyway, looks like this is where we part for now… look after yourself you crazy mare. When you wake up, I want you to forget about what you saw in that other world. You never did any of that so you have no reason to-”

“Twenty seconds.”

“I bucking know!” Pinkamena replies in exclamation. “I’m handling something far more important than you!”

“Well that sounds like a you problem, not mine. Oh, by the way… ten seconds.”

Pinkamena growls in response as she grunts in frustration and starts to make her way towards the portal. She stops before Yharim and, surprisingly, starts to sing in response:

“One day we’ll have ascended beyond your control,
While you’re blinded by your intentions,
My sis will manage to demolish whatever you make,
But you’re failing to comprehend,

Once your back’s turned I will easily butcher you whole,
While you’re blinded by your intentions,
I have gotten to the point where I just can’t wait,
To see you meet your end,

My dear sister you’re stronger than you know,
Know this Yharim, she’ll stand in your way,
Yes, this is what I will wait for,
And one day you shall feel both of our rage,

This is my message to my sister:
This is a fight you can not win,
But in due time you will grow much stronger,
Our victory will be ours to claim,

I will proceed in order to protect you,
I will move forward and join his side,
And if I should die before you can stop him,
You will have heard my final dying roar!” 





After her song ends, Yharim simply laughs mockingly before saying:

"Cute song but your servitude is inevitable. Come now, puppet, let us be off." He then gestures for the dark pink mare to follow. 

The portal closes all around them as Pinkamena suddenly finds herself within some sort of laboratory. Interestingly enough, Yharim was no where to be seen but a new female entity now stood before the dark pink mare as they say:

"So, Yharim went and got himself a pony. I don't know If I should gag myself or simply laugh my ass off."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Tell me who you are so I can tell you to buck off." Pinkamena responds. "On second thought, buck off."

"Oooh, you've got fire in you... I admire that. Anyway, name's Calamitas, I'm a witch, no I don't care why you're here, follow me to your quarters, and shut up. Nice to meet you and I hope you die early."

Pinkamena's left eye twitches momentarily as she says internally:

-I already hate this place... and this witch.-

> Chapter 72 - Welcome To The Team.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

The sounds of exhausted panting are let loose by a group of individuals who had just managed to defeat their recent foes. Specifically, meteor-like enemies.

“That was something else… how is it possible for life to be born from a meteorite?” Twilight questions.”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Twilight.” Gorglock responds.

“I know I might be The Guide, but my knowledge is only limited to Terraria, not beyond.” Tanner says as he sends his bow back to his inventory.

Starlight, Rarity, and Tempest rejoins the group to which all present turns their gaze towards the new terrarian. Twilight takes on a happy expression as she says:

“Thank you for helping us, Tempest. How did you know that we had to harvest and destroy every last bit of the meteorite in order to stop those monsters?”

Tempest dematerialized her various daggers and her boomerang-like weapon as she closes her eyes and responds:

“I accompanied many adventurers from The Order Of The Guide. There was an incident that included another meteor which was the first time we dealt with these things. A very good friend of mine had a theory of how these monsters were born before he disappeared some time ago. I’ve been looking for him ever since...”

“Oh I’m so sorry, darling. Who’s your friend?” Rarity inquires.

“Magius Swirl Magnus, The Wizard.”

Rarity’s eyes were widened and her mouth opens and closes momentarily before she recovers and exclaims:

“What?! You know Magius?!”

“Yes, he practically raised me from when I was a brat. I call him a good friend but really… he’s the closest thing I have to a father.”

These words shocked everyone present as the implications became all too obvious. Starlight blinks twice before she says:

“Wait a second… you don’t mean to say that your real father-”

“Is dead. He and my mother both.” Tempest interjects. “A powerful storm killed my parents some time ago, rendering me an orphan. Magius raised me as his own until I became old enough to fend for myself. He was a little disappointed since I was never interested in magic and preferred a more… physical approach. Still, he cared for me all the same. I got word that he was missing and came to these parts to search for him. I don’t even-”

“Then consider your search over, darling. I’m happy to say that Magius is alive and well. I mean… kind of…” Rarity interjects as she smiles nervously.

Tempest simply stares at the pony in shock before she finally comprehends the white unicorn’s words before saying:

“You saw my fa- I mean, Magius?! Where is he?!”

“Come with us, Tempest dearie. You and I have a lot to talk about back in Home Town. And I must- OH MY WORD!”

Rarity’s exclamation catches everyone, aside from Tempest, off guard to which Twilight says:

“What’s wrong, Rarity?! Are you hurt or something?”

“Not me exactly but her! Tempest dear, what happened to your left arm?!”

Due to where Tempest was currently positioned, only Rarity could see within the terrarian’s Sand Cloak. Catching onto what caught the pony’s attention, Tempest pulls away her cloak which was hiding her left arm, via using her right arm, and what everyone sees shocks them: It was missing.

“By Celestia!” Starlight, Rarity, and Twilight exclaims in unison. 

Gorglock and Tanner simply winces as they instinctively grab their own left appendages.

“Shocking, right?” Tempest inquires with a smirk.

“What do you mean by shocking?! Your arm’s missing! Are you ok? Do you need aid? Maybe The Nurse can-”

Twilight’s series of questions were cut off as the terrarian lifts her hand and says:

“That’s not necessary… I choose to remain like this.”

“But why?!” Starlight, Rarity, and Twilight exclaims in unison.

Tempest closes her eyes and sighs lightly before she says:

“To punish myself… for redemption…”

“P-punish yourself?” Starlight inquires. “What do you mean by that?”

“I thought you’d all figure it out by now. When I introduced myself during the battle, do you remember what my other alias was?”

Suddenly, her words clicks in each and every one of their minds and their eyes widen as a result.

“You said that you were… The Bandit.” Twilight responds as she basically spoke everyone’s minds with those words.

“That’s right, I’m The Bandit. Look, I prefer to cut the crap from the start so I’ll give it to you truthfully. Pretty ironic, all things considered.”

“Before we go any further, I’d like for us to speak somewhere more appropriate.” Rarity says as she then conjures her Ice Mirror. “Gather around me. We’re going to Candy Cane Corner and you can tell us all about it. We can also discuss Magius’s whereabouts.”

Some among them really wanted to pry Tempest for further information. After all, being called: The Bandit, isn’t exactly a friendly name considering what it’s often associated with. They instead choose to push that aside for now as they all gather around Rarity which prompts her to use the Ice Mirror.

Before they disappear, Twilight turns to Tanner and says:

“I can’t wait to create weapons and armor from the meteorite. I’m surprised you never encountered these monsters before from the other meteors you’ve harvested.”

“What can I say? Things are different this time.” Tanner replies.

Mere moments before they disappear via the Ice Mirror, Tempest overhears Tanner’s words and glances back towards him while saying internally:

-Something’s different about him… he doesn’t even truly recognize me. I’m still part of the guild, his guild. You’d figure that he’d recognize one of his own. Also, what does he mean by ‘Never encountered these monsters before’? He was with us when we harvested other meteorites. He didn’t even bother to tell them how to defeat the monsters, I had to do it. They’re lucky that I came here to investigate that meteor.- 

Finally, they all disappear in a beam of light mixed with ice.

-I’ve got my eye on you, Tanner.-





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, CANDY CANE CORNER-

Rainbow Dash was currently making her way upstairs all while Fluttershy, Applejack, and various other members of Home Town remained downstairs.

A worried expression was present on the rainbow pegasus’s face as she says internally:

-Ok Rainbow, just go in there and apologize to Pinkie Pie. I know A.J said that I did nothing wrong but still. Applejack… I want to tell you how I feel so badly. I know you said that you prefer the normal way of things, mare and stallion, but… maybe we could…- 

Rainbow then sighs in a mix of frustration and sorrow as she says:

“I’m so lame, I can’t even tell my special somepony my feelings. But, how do I even tell her? I need to talk to Fluttershy later. Maybe she can help me.”

Finally, the cyan pegasus reaches her destination as she lifts a forehoof and starts to knock on Pinkie Pie’s bedroom door.

[KNOCK]

[KNOCK]

[KNOCK]

“Hey Pinks, it’s Rainbow Dash. Look… I’m sorry if I said something that-”

Suddenly, with lightning speed the doors to the room opens up and a pink blur practically drags the pegasus into the room. Rainbow Dash was currently sitting on her flank, on the bedroom’s floor, as Pinkie Pie looked towards her with a saddened expression.

“H-hello Rainbow…”

“Hey Pinkie, look… I’m so sorry if I did anything wrong to you. I shouldn’t have asked you about, well, you know…”

Pinkie Pie was honestly surprised by this as she blinks twice and replies in a worried tone:

“No Rainbow, it’s not you at all. It’s… me…” 

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to hate me if I tell you what I saw in my world. You’ll… never be my friend again...” Pinkie Pie responds as she lowers her gaze towards the bedroom floor.

The cyan pegasus tilts her head in confusion before saying:

“Pinkie, look at me…”

The party pony still stares to the floor with a saddened expression and on the verge of tears.

“Pinkie pie, look at me right now.” Rainbow Dash says authoritatively.

 The pink mare finally starts to raise her gaze albeit with a sniff as she rubs her eyes with her left forehoof.

“Pinkie, you can tell me what you saw there. I won’t get mad at you and I especially won’t stop being your friend. You do realize that those were alternate realities, right? Whatever happened there is that world’s problem, not ours. Sounds harsh but that’s the way it is. Please Pinkie… we hate seeing you like this so just tell me.”

The party pony’s tears started to flow down her cheeks to which Rainbow Dash gets up and walks over to her friend. The pegasus drapes a wing over Pinkie Pie in an attempt to comfort her.

Finally, Pinkie Pie wipes away her tears and takes a deep breath before saying:

“Ok Rainbow… it all started when I invited you to eat a cupcake…”





-TERRARIA, UNKNOWN LABORATORY-

 Pinkamena was currently following her escort as they showed her around this unknown facility which, for the time being, acted as their current hideout. She had seen many things here that shocked even her. So many different science experiments were being worked on by many individuals which ranged from all sorts of things such as weapons to even living entities. She could’ve sworn that she saw some kind of large insect, something about it being a plaguebringer?

She and her escort, who incidentally was a certain witch, were now drawing near a large metallic door. The witch turns around and says:

“Behind this door is Draedon’s three most anticipated creations. We’ll be using them very soon for our plans.”

“Yippee…” Pinkamena says with false happiness. “I’m soo thrilled.”

“Heh, you can be a smart ass all you want. But what lies behind this door is even more than your precious sister and her friends could ever hope to handle.” Calamitas says as she smirks mockingly towards the dark pink pony.

“Don’t speak of my sister, you’re not even worthy enough to say her name.”

“Tch, coming from little miss ‘I turn ponies into cupcakes’, that’s just rich.”

“Yeah? Well at least I’m not Yharim’s bitch.” Pinkamena retorts which causes Calamitas to start sparkling with red electricity.

“Are you calling me Yharim’s slave, pony?” Calamitas growls.

“I don’t know, do you see any other witch around here? Also, I said bitch, not slave but I guess we could go with that too. Calamitas, the bitch slave... got a nice ring to it.”

“Unless you want me to go pay your sister a little visit… don’t fuck with me. Yeah that’s right, I know about that too. I have powers that are similar to Yharim’s and your mind is an open book.”

Pinkamena growls angrily to the point that a vein was starting to form on her head.

“I’m getting sick and tired of you people using her against me!”

“Oh please, little pony. Yharim and I alone could kill you in a heartbeat with or without your sister. The only reason why you’re not dead yet is because he wills it.”

The dark pink mare simply starts laughing hysterically to which Calamitas narrows her eyes and asks:

“What’s so funny? Realizing how hopeless this situation is for you?”

“N-no! Hahahaha! It’s just… you truly are his bitch! I bet you love doing every little thing he tells you to do, huh? That’s the difference between you and me, I’m forced to be here for my sister’s sake. You, on the other hoof, are his willing servant. I don’t see what’s keeping you here! Plain and simple, I will never yield to him like you are, little miss Yharim’s plaything!” Pinkamena exclaims.

The witch was literally seconds away from just killing this pony who blatantly mocked her as Calamitas gathers a large ball of energy within her hands and aims it towards Pinkamena.

“That’s it… you’re dead…” Calamitas says with absolute hatred in her voice.

“Unless you want to join her, Calamitas… you’ll stop right where you are,” A new voice interjects which causes both Pinkamena and Calamitas to turn towards a new individual.



This entity was completely mechanical while he was also accompanied by a female terrarian and a male entity who seemed to resemble: A cyborg, a male terrarian of flesh and technology.



“Dr Draedon…” Calamitas says as she then turns towards his associates. “Isabella The Steampunker and her latest creation: The Cyborg J42-0N. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

“Cut the crap, Calamitas.” Isabella says as she then turns her gaze towards the pony who stood before them. “You must be Pinkamena, Master Yharim has informed us about you. J42-0n, say hello.”

The cyborg entity’s left eye starts to glow with a blue light as he says:

“Mission parameters acknowledged.
Commencing interaction protocols…
Greetings, I am J42-0n The Cyborg.
Mission complete.
Commencing standby mode until further orders.”

“Charmed.” Calamitas responds sarcastically.

Pinkamena simply nods in response but says internally:

-This is a bucking madhouse. Now there’s a blasted cyborg here? Not to mention this Draedon guy is also a freaking cyborg but with even less flesh, if at all. What’s next, giant machines of destruction?!-

“Actually, yes. You clearly haven’t seen what’s behind these doors.” Calamitas interjects as she read Pinkamena’s mind.

“Stay out of my head, witch.” Pinkamena says angrily.

Calamitas responds with a middle finger.

“You’re acting like children. Move aside, both of you. I wish to check on my beloved trio.”

Heeding to his request, Calamitas and Pinkamena step aside although they still stare daggers towards each other. Draedon then lifts a hand top which the doors releases a beeping sound and starts to depart as a result.

The group now enters a very large room and the ceiling seems to be able to open up to the outside world. However, what catches Pinkamena’s attention is something that caused her to internally:

-I just had to bucking jinx it...-

Dr Draedon steps forward as he observes various scientists and many other individuals going to work on three mechanical entities.

“Beautiful… my beautiful Mechanical Trio: The Destroyer, The Twins, and of course my latest addition, Skeletron Prime.”


> Chapter 73 - Skeletron's Vessel.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, CANDY CANE CORNER-

Having told Rainbow Dash of her experience in that alternate reality, Pinkie Pie now waits for her cyan friend’s reaction. Unbeknownst to the two mares, they’ve been talking for so long that it was starting to become late into the afternoon.

“That’s… that’s a lot to take in, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash says with wide eyes.

“I know… it’s why I never wanted to talk about it at all. I’m so sorry, Rainbow.” Pinkie Pie then gets onto her hooves and says: “I know what you’re going to say so I’ll just leave.”

“Wait, what? What do you mean?”

“You don’t have to say it, you don ‘t want to be my friend anymore.”

“Pinkie, what the buck are you talking about? Sure, that was a crazy story and all but I’m still your friend.”

The cyan pegasus’s words causes the pink pony to sit back down onto her flank and her eyes widen as she replies:

“W-what? You’re still going to be my friend?”

“We just talked about this, Pinkie. I told you that no matter what you revealed to me from that other world I’d always remain your friend. That wasn’t you, Pinkie Pie. Like I said, that’s that world’s problem, not ours. I’ve got nothing to hate you for, like, at all.”

Tears were on the verge of pouring down the party pony’s cheeks as she couldn’t truly accept what was being said. Pinkie was sure that the pegasus would want to cut all ties to her. However, before she could respond any further, the pink pony felt as if something was missing. She couldn’t quite put a hoof on it but it felt as if something was torn away from her, a piece of herself and yet unique in its own right. Rainbow Dash takes notice of this and questions:

“Hey, you ok? Something’s clearly bothering you and I don’t think it’s that whole cupcake fiasco in that-”

“My sister! That big old meanie took her! He stole my sister from me, Dashie!”

“Wait, what? But your sisters never came here with us?”

“No no no, not Maud, Marble, or Limestone, my other sister. She always takes over when I get really sad or when I need help facing a big old meanie!”

“Wait wait wait wait, you mean to tell me that whenever your mane drops and your fur gets darker, that’s your sister?! I always thought it was just your thing when you get sad or angry.”

“No Dash, she’s her own pony. It’s a little complicated to explain right now. She’s just been sleeping inside of me since we found a world that we could live peacefully in.”

“Ok, Pinkie… you’re not making any sense here. What do you mean by you two finding a peaceful world? Haven’t you always been from Ponyville?”

“Yes… but not your Ponyville. Dashie… there’s so much that I have to tell you and the others but can you Pinkie Promise to keep this a secret for now?”

“I mean, sure, I can do that for you. But I think everypony else should hear this too. Look, I’ll keep my muzzle shut about it but I want you to promise me that you’ll eventually tell the others.”

“Weeeeell? You know what to do, Dashie.”

“Oook, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Thank you so much, Dashie.” Pinkie Pie says as she then drags Rainbow Dash into a hug. “I’m so sorry…”

“Hey, what did I just tell you? None of that was your fault so stop it, quit beating yourself up about it. You’re still my favorite party pony and that hasn’t changed one bit.”

“Oh, thank you so- WAIT!”

Rainbow Dash winces from her sudden exclamation as she rubs her ears and says:

“Can you warn me before you scream my ears off?”

“It’s that big meanie who took my sister! I almost forgot about him!”

“Slow down and relax, Pinkie. Do you know his name?”

“Y-yes… he’s so scary, Dashie. When he showed up I could feel just how bad he was. I could see his evil literally pour out of him. It was so scary…” Pinkie Pie says as she literally shakes just from the memory of that entity.

“Pinkie, what was this jerk’s name?” Rainbow inquires as she drapes a wing over her friend in an effort to comfort the pink pony.

“His name is… Yharim.”

Rainbow Dash's eyes were widened in horror at the very mention of that name, the same one that Terralestia and Sai Sahan had warn them about. 





In the downstairs portion of Candy Cane Corner, Twilight, Starlight, Gorglock, Tanner, and Tempest had just returned from the meteor via Rarity’s Ice Mirror. In addition, everyone in Home Town, aside from Ceeman The Arms Dealer and Celebes The Dryad, were currently enjoying their dinner as it was starting to become nightfall. Lucan The Merchant was currently acting as the main cook as he and Pinkie Pie came to an agreement. Simply put, he’d take over for her whenever they leave Home Town for their adventures or when she wasn’t feeling too well.

Many tables were filled with various individuals who were enjoying their meal in peace. One table in particular held all of the remaining ponies in addition to their recent visitor: Tempest Shadow.

Twilight took the initiative to tell them all about what happened with the meteor.

“Ah’ be darned, that sounds awful. How in the hay could a bunch of meteor monsters be born in the first place?” Applejack questions in disbelief.

“Your guess is as good as ours. Not even Tanner knew anything about them and he’s seen his fair share of meteorites before.” Twilight responds. Upon hearing this, Tempest says to herself internally:

-That still doesn’t sit right with me, he should’ve known about those creatures.- 

The terrarian then glances towards The Guide who was on a nearby table enjoying his meal with The Demolitionist and The Nurse.

“Tempest?”

“...”

“Terraria to Tempest?”

“...”

“Darling!”

Finally, Tempest was brought back to the living world as she finally comprehends the words that were calling out to her. She turns her head towards a group of ponies, who she was literally sitting with, as she somehow forgot they even existed as she was lost in her thoughts.

“Oh, um, sorry about that.” Tempest replies with a chuckle. “Just got lost in my thoughts there.”

“No kidding, we’ve been trying to get your attention for almost a whole minute.” Starlight replies.

“You ok there, partner?” Applejack inquires.

“I’m fine, thanks. Just thinking a lot is all.” Tempest clears her throat before she continues: “So, Rarity, what can you tell me about Magius’s whereabouts?”

“Well you see, darling. It all started when I was captured by that foul brute: Skeletron.”





-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON-

Steven The Clothier was preparing for the night as he took a moment to meditate in order to speak to his other self.

“Soon, Skeletron, very soon they will come to stop you.”

“They need to hurry it up, I’m starting to get bored here.”

“So eager to meet your end, huh? And don’t think that I don’t know about your little plot with Tanner, that traitorous bastard!”

“Tanner is the least of your concerns, Steven. As much as I hate to admit it, there are beings from The Underworld who dwarf even my powers. I’m a flea in comparison to Lord Legion’s strength.”

“I heard everything you and Tanner talked about. However, I’m curious about that… you know that I can hear everything even when you take over, right? It’s the exact same thing when I’m in charge, you can still hear and see everything through me.”

“Oh no no, that was another guy. His name is: Shit Sherlock, first name’s: No.”

“I don’t have time for your snark remarks, Skeletron. Why did you willfully allow me to hear all of that stuff with Tanner?”

Skeletron chuckles to himself for a moment before saying:

“Insurance.”

“What?”

“You are my insurance policy. Think of it this way, if by some miracle I do fall in battle then the binding to The Dungeon will be destroyed and you will be free to leave with those ponies. I’ll be honest with you, I hate Lord Legion. I hate anyone who possesses more power than myself so if your pony friends can truly stop me… I want them to kill The Wall Of Flesh. I want you to expose Tanner so they can chase him down to The Underworld and face both of those overconfident fools.”

“You’re one to talk, bone head.”

“Heh, true… but it’s only ok when I do it.”

“Wow… you’re truly full of yourself, you know that?”

“Please, there’s nothing wrong with recognizing one’s own greatness. By the way, Steven… Do you even remember who it was that binds us here?”

“Of course I do, It was that mage from seven years ago.”

“Yes, but do you remember his name?”

“I… I don’t… what’s happening to me? I feel like I should remember their name but I just… can’t.”

Skeletron starts to laugh uncontrollably as a result which causes The Clothier to exclaim:

“What the hell did you do to me?!”

“That’s the beauty of all this, I didn’t do that to you. You’re forgetting about your dear old friend but it’s so much more than that. Thanks to you, I now have confirmation of something that I’ve suspected for a while.”

“What?! Tell me what you know! What was this mage’s name?!”

“Nope, not going to tell you that. Sorry, but not sorry. As for what I know… the longer you and I remain sealed together, the more your memories slowly start to disappear. I suspect that in due time, you’d even forget about Rarity.”

“No! I could never forget about her or any of those ponies who’ve sworn to help me!”

“And yet, you forgot about… him.”

“Damn you, Skeletron! Who is that?!”

“Maybe I can help?” A new voice interjects as a portal starts to open up as a result. A large bipedal entity donned in unknown armor now stood before The Clothier, and by extension, Skeletron. In addition, this being was accompanied by… a pony?

“Who… who are you two? How can you both be here?! The Dungeon Guardian should’ve-”

“The guardian is dead. It was rather rude to me and my pony friend here so I had to remove it. Don’t worry, you can just ask your skele friend in there to make another one.” The new entity interjects.

“Steven… this being… his power is even greater than my own! Not just that… it’s even greater than Lord Legion’s!” Skeletron roars out from within as the skeleton entity assesses their new visitor.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here. Wouldn’t you agree, Steven?” The entity questions.

“Who are you?” The Clothier inquires.

“My name is: Yharim. The pony next to me is my latest puppet: Pinkamena. I’m also an associate of an old friend of yours. Tell me, do you remember: Lunaris?”

“Lunaris? Who’s that? Wait… is that who I forgot?”

“Steven! Get away from this being, now!” Skeletron roars out in what The Clothier couldn’t believe to be… fear.

“What are you talking about, Skeletron?”

“For the first time in your useless life, listen to me! Get away from him!”

“I’m going to cut to the chase, Steven.” Yharim says as he takes a few steps closer.

As this is going on, Skeletron is literally shouting from within Steven’s mind:

“Get away from him! Run Steven! His power is too great! Ruuuuuun! He plans to do something to us! Run! Listen to me you stupid old fool and ruuuun!”

The Clothier, for the first time ever since he became bonded to Skeletron, actually agreed with his foe. This Yharim entity was sending a cold chill down his spine. Steven did indeed try to run, however, an invisible force stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Here’s the thing, I need to speed things up a bit.” Yharim comments as he draws closer to Steven. “Things aren’t progressing as fast as I’d like so I need you to hurry up and face those ponies, capisce?”

“What are you planning?! Wh-what are you doing to me?!”

“Not exactly you, Steven. I’m more interested in skelly boy you’ve got stored within you.” Yharim then turns to Pinkamena and says: “Oh Mena, come here a second.”

“What is it?” Pinkamena inquires annoyingly.

“I’ve just gotten a great idea and it’s the perfect opportunity for you to prove to me your loyalty.”

Pinkamena could only shudder at the thought. She had learned one thing about him in her forced servitude. Whenever Yharim comes up with a so-called ‘Great idea’, it never ends well for those involved, aside from himself. She swallows a lump in her throat and replies:

“W-what do I have to do?”

“To secure your sister’s safety, I want you to be the new vessel for Skeletron. You'll also be attacking Home Town with your new undead army from this dungeon.”

Anger filled the park pink pony as she exclaims:

"How the buck does that protect my sister?! She'll be caught up in all of that!"

"Oh stop whining like a baby. You and Skeletron will share the same powers. While both of you are attacking that town, I guess you'd better make sure that your sister isn't killed in the process, eh?"

The dark pink pony simply growls in response as she then says:

"Why are you doing this to me?! Why not just try to mind-control me already?!

"My little pony, It's because I don't need to control your mind. Threatening your sister both brings me pleasure and assures your allegiance. Oh and if you get any funny ideas while you and Skelly attack Home Town, your sister is dead." Yharim then conjures what seemed to be a ball of pink energy and floats it within his palms, presenting it to Pinkamena.

"What is that? It feels so... familiar." Pinkamena inquires.

"Your sister's life force." Yharim then chuckles as he sees the pony's eyes widen in realization. "I did more than simply separate the two of you. A little trick that I've learned from The Underworld, when those who tried to destroy me and Yharon tossed us into that fiery abyss."

Yharim then extends a hand towards Steven, who was still trying to struggle against Yharim's invisible force, as he places a hand onto The Clothier and says:

"You should be happy, Steven. I'm giving you what you always wanted. As for you, Skeletron... you're mine now."
> Chapter 74 - "Get Everyone."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON-

“Wait, please don’t!” Steven The Clothier pleads. “You don’t know what-”

“You underestimate what I’m capable of, old man. Besides, who do you think it was that showed Lunaris how to perform the seal that binds you and Skelly together? Not to mention The Dungeon.” Yharim says as he then places his left hand onto Pinkamena, who stood at his side, while placing his right hand onto Steven who was still struggling against the invisible force that held him in place. Yharim chuckles before he exclaims:

“Change now!”

Yharim’s hands begin to glow with a gray aura which causes Steven to scream out. Incidentally, The Clothier wasn’t alone as deep within his psyche, Skeletron roars out in tandem with his soon to be former prison. Slowly but surely, an unknown energy starts to travel out of The Clothier and creeps towards Pinkamena who says internally:

-I’m going to hate everything about this-

Pinkamena screams out in what was best described as a mix of pain and discomfort.

“Nooooo!” Skeletron roars out mere moments before he is literally injected into Pinkamena. Most notably was the fact that the rune that was once present on Steven was now on full display upon Pinkamena’s chest region. The dark pink pony drops to the floor and says:

“D-damn you, Yharim…”

“You’re welcome.” Yharim responds.

Within Pinkamena’s psyche was a raging demon as Skeletron roars out:

-How dare you do this to me! This stupid pony can not hold me forever! I will kill you, Yharim!-

-Hey! Keep your mouth shut, Skelly boy. I don’t like this anymore than you do.- Pinkamena responds internally.

As this goes on, Steven falls to the floor unconscious while Yharim stands over The Clothier and says:

“Your usefulness as Skeletron’s vessel has ended, my dear clothier. However, I shall allow you to live for the time being. You still have a role to play in my game, after all.” Yharim then picks up the old man as he turns back towards Pinkamena and says: “Get your useless flank ready for the attack on Home Town, after we toss this old man into the cells below.”

“I despise you…” Pinkamena growls.

“I know and I love every minute of it.”

“How does this even work?! You didn’t exactly give me a manual!”

“Do I have to do everything around here? You are in control of Skeletron but once you release him, he is free to wreak havoc. I need you to do just that in Home Town.”

“W-wait… you’re saying that you want me to go into the middle of town and unleash him?! I thought you said that you wanted me to control an army of the undead?! Don’t I need him for that?!”

“You will. Even after the two of you separate, you will still have his power. The power of a necromancer. You will work with Skeletron to raze that town to the ground and force the ponies to combat him. After all, that’s what they planned to do eventually so I’m just speeding things up. In addition, this will be perfect for what I have in mind for The Plaguebringer Goliath.”

“You expect me to just watch him tear Home Town apart? And help him to do it?”

“I expect you to obey me, Pinkamena. Yes, you will assist in its destruction or we both know what I will do to your sister.”

Pinkamena growls angrily before she closes her eyes in frustration and says:

“F-fine… I’ll do it…”

“There’s a good puppet. Come, let’s go see those prisoners down below.”

Yharim starts to walk off in the direction of the cells that held The Dungeon’s prisoners all while Pinkamena stares daggers at him from behind and says internally:

-I am going to butcher you for this… you’ve wronged me in a way that not even your death can atone for-

“You know I heard that, right? The only reason I allow you to sass me like that is because I find it to be mildly amusing.” Yharim says in response as the two make their way towards The Dungeon’s depths.





Deep in the bowels of The Dungeon its prisoners are currently awaiting for Rarity’s promise of a rescue. One prisoner in particular could feel something quite familiar as she says:

“Ooh! ooh! I feel that party pony’s energy nearby! I think?... She’s coming to see me!”

“What are you going on about, Candymena?” Ross Bosman The Tavernkeeper inquires.

“She’s coming to save us all! Rarity kept her promise!”

“Don’t get your hopes up, Candy. Not to doubt Rarity or anything but we can’t-”

“No… something’s different about The Dungeon…” Magius The Wizard interjects as he cuts off The Angler’s words.

“What do you mean?” Katelyn The Mechanic questions.

“I can sense a great change within this place, the horrible magical energies that practically radiated from its very walls seems to have died down. No… it seems to have been… contained.”

“I don’t really understand, darling.” Livian The Stylist comments.

“The Dungeon Guardian creeps within the very walls of this place, keeping a watchful eye out for any intruders. I could always sense that abomination but now… I simply can’t. It’s almost as if the guardian is-”

Suddenly, The Wizard’s words were cut off as the doors to the hallway of cells opens up and what is revealed instantly shocks everyone present. A large bipedal entity, accompanied by a dark pink pony, holding an unconscious Steven The Clothier.

“Time to wake up, old man…” Yharim says as he brutally tosses Steven onto the floor which causes him to awake with a painful grunt.

“Hey! You leave Steven alone you meanie!” Candy The Party Girl exclaims.

“Who are you?!” The Mechanic inquires as she could see everything happening from her cell. Yharim simply glances towards her and chuckles as he says:

“Well, well, didn’t expect to find you here… Katelyn. Draedon sends his regards.”

In that very moment, The Mechanic’s blood starts to boil as she screams out:

“H-how did you?... do not say that monster’s name in front of me! He murdered my father!”

“Ah yes, your old man... Daedalus. I’m so happy for your loss.”

As this is going on, Pinkamena instantly walks straight towards the cell that interests her most as she sensed something very familiar. A cell that held a very particular inmate: Candymena. The pony now stood before The Party Girl’s cell and says:

“It’s… you… me and my sis could sense you.”

“Oh my gosh! You’re a part of Pinkie Pie, aren’t you?! Oh! You guys are just like me and my-”

Pinkamena raises a hoof in an effort to silence The Party Girl as she says in a whispered tone:

“I can’t tell you enough how happy I am to meet you because I want to try something. You may very well be my key to saving my sister.”

Pinkamena then glances over to Yharim who seemed to be having a conversation with The Mechanic. She then returns to The Party Girl and says:

”You see, me and my sis went through some things in the past but during those adventures an entity called the Light Goddess gave us a gift.”

“A gift?” Candymena responds.

“Technically it’s a gift with many uses but one among them is the ability to speak in a sort of mind-link with any other universe’s version of ourselves. Best part about it? Only we can access this link, not even Discord could breach it. Not too long ago, a giant brain messed with my sister and sent her to another reality, mentally that is. However, the pinkie of that world could sense us because of this gift. She couldn’t see us but she knew we were there.”

Pinkamena glances over to Yharim yet again who was currently talking down to Steven, likely mocking the poor old man.

“Listen to me, Candy. Can you help me save my sister? If you do this I will forever be in your debt.”

The Party Girl instantly beamed a bright smile as she salutes in response and says:

“You can count on me, Pinkamena. Also, no need for debts, this is what friends do.”

“Wait… how did you know my- oh right… you’re a version of us. We all do this kind of thing. Anyway, let’s give this a go and if I’m right then not even Yharim can see or hear our conversation with his annoying powers.”

“I’m ready when you are, other me.” Candy says as she awaits patiently for this mind-link.

Then, the whole world around them swirls and morphs. What happens next absolutely amazes The Party Girl who hops happily in excitement. The world stops for a moment as the two beings were now in some sort of establishment but what caught Candy’s eye was the fact that there were ponies on nearby tables enjoying their meals.

“Awwww, so many cute ponies! But, wait… where are we?”

“In this place, I can change it to whatever setting I please. Where we currently are is Sugarcube Corner, me and my sister’s home back on Equus.”

“Oooooh, I like it a lot!”

“Not to sound rude, Candy... but we have work to do. I’m gonna get straight to it, when we return to the real world I’m going to give you a Golden Key. I need you to escape and to deliver a message for me.”

“How did you get a Golden Key? Only Steven has one of- oooooh, you plucked it off of him, didn’t you?”

“Kind of, Yharim was walking in front of me with Steven hung over his shoulder like some sort of trophy. Here’s the best part, Steven was pretending to be asleep as he lifted his head gently, as to not alarm Yharim, and winked at me. He then materialized a Golden Key into his mouth and spat it towards me. Note to self: Drown my right forehoof in sanitizer. It instantly clicked in my head and I knew exactly what he wanted me to do.”

“Ooh, sneaky. What is it he wanted you to do?”

Pinkamena smirks for a moment before she says:

“He wanted me to meet you. Steven knew that you could help and he was absolutely right, you most assuredly can. Now, I want you to deliver this message for me…” Pinkamena takes a deep breath before saying:

“Beware the undead for they shall be attacking in two days. Get as much help as you can possibly muster. Go find Terralestia and Sai Sahan, go collect Zecora and Gex from The Jungle. Hay, get Fluttershy to summon a slime army or even summon those Slime Gods of hers. You’ll also have the aid of everyone who’s trapped in The Dungeon once you free them. To put it simply: Get everyone.”

“I’m all over it! But… what about you?”

Pinkamena takes on a saddened expression for a moment before she replies:

“I’m going to be an adversary in this fight. However, I want you to know that I’m not doing it willingly…”

“That big old meanie is forcing you to do this, isn’t he?”

“Heh, I keep forgetting that you’re one of us. Yes, he has my sister’s life force and in order to protect her… I must do as he asks.”

Candymena looked as if she wanted to cry a river of tears as she says:

“I’m so sorry… that big old meanie needs a good buttkicking!”

“Tch, ain’t that an understatement. If you ask me it goes beyond a simple asskicking. He needs to die, plain and simple.”

“Hey, Pinkamena?”

“Yeah?”

“I know this might sound weird but… I’d really like to become you and your sister’s friend. If you’re anything like my own sister then you’re probably not too good with all the mushy stuff but I’d still like that a lot.” Candy says as she then laughs nervously.

-Of course she has a version of me inside of her.- Pinkamena says internally.

Another voice suddenly responds within the dark pink pony’s mind and much to Pinkamena’s surprise, this female entity’s voice was a slightly deeper version of The Party Girl’s

-You bet she does… nice to meet you, other me. Let’s have some fun together, someday.-

> Chapter 75 - Freedom.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON-

“Oh! One more thing before we return.” Candy The Party Girl says.

“Yeah?” Pinkamena responds.

“How does this even work? I mean, are we just staring at each other in the real world?”

“Well… kind of, but time flows differently there compared to this realm or mind-link. It’s complicated. The good thing is that I can still hear my surroundings outside of the mind-link and-”

“Pinkamena, stop staring at her. We’re leaving and you’ve got an undead army to lead to Home Town in two days.” Yharim interjects as he speaks to her outside of the mind-link.

“Let’s cut this short because I need to go. You know what to do, right?”

“You can count on me, Pinkamena. I’ll escape with that key and I’ll warn everyone in Home Town.”

Pinkamena simply nods in response before the world around themes starts to shift and morph once more. In mere moments, what was once Sugarcube Corner within the mind link was now The Dungeon cells as the two beings had returned to the real world.

“Didn’t you hear me?”

“Yes, Yharim… I thought she attacked me before so I was lost in-”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t care. Come, I’ll open a portal for you to go deeper into The Dungeon. Collect all the undead you can find down there and start marching to Home Town.”

The dark pink pony nodded in response and was about to follow but not before she slipped Candymena a certain Golden Key. The two beings enter the portal and disappear as it closes around them.

The prisoners who were left behind, with Steven thrown into the very same cell that once held Rarity, are now left in shock and horror by what had just transpired. Katelyn The Mechanic was seething with rage as Yharim clearly had knowledge of the being who murdered her father.

“Don’t worry everyone, we’re going to be free and then we-”

“Stop that, Candy! Just… stop holding onto false hope!” The Mechanic roars out in response.

“Hey, come on. Don’t be like that to her.” Livian The Stylist says in response.

“Everyone, please try to remain calm.” Steven The Clothier says. “Everything will be alright for-”

“I especially don’t want to hear it from you, Skeletron!”

“I’m no longer his vessel.”

“Exactly! You’re- wait… what did you just say?” The Mechanic questions in disbelief.

“That strange man… I feel like I know him somehow. Anyway, he managed to tear Skeletron out of me and forced him into that pony’s body.”

Everyone’s jaws, aside from Candy who was still saddened by The Mechanic’s words, dropped upon hearing this revelation.

“How could someone just casually do that?” Ross Bossman The Tavernkeeper questions.

“This is most unsettling. The energy I felt from that man was similar to the Brimstone Crags from The Underworld. He clearly fiddles in dark magic that could destroy the entire world.” Magius The Wizard assesses.

“Not that the lesson wasn’t appreciated but we kind of have another issue at hand.” Jeremy The Angler comments. “Now that Steven is locked up with us, who’s going to feed us now? Rarity doesn’t have enough power to save us just yet and I’m willing to bet that we’d all starve before-”

“Actually… I have a Golden Key…” Candy interjects.

The entire room falls into silence before everyone, aside from Steven and Candy, shouts in unison:

“WHAT?!”

“That’s what Candy was going to say… before you berated her, Katelyn.” Steven says as he narrows his eyes towards The Mechanic who in turn was starting to be filled with regret. “Candy dear, can you reach the cell door’s lock with the key?”

“Sure can, Steven! Just give me one secoooond… and… there we go!” The cell door opens up as The Party Girl leaps out of her containment with pure joy and does a little dance as she says: “It feels so good to be out of that cell! Ok everyone, allow me to… leave you all here.” Candy says in a dark tone.

“W-wait… what?” Steven questions in shock.

Everyone simply freezes in horror as a silence takes over the room. Candy then starts to laugh and says:

“I’m just kidding, sillies! My sister just wanted to bust your balls.”

“Oh goodness gracious, Candy. Don’t scare this old man like that.” Steven says as The Party girl opens his cell door. She then goes to free everyone else but an awkward silence overcomes her when she opens Katelyn’s cell door.

“C-Candy… I’m sorry that I was-” The Mechanic’s words were cut off as a dark pink blur slams her against the wall of her cell and drags her against it. Candy’s hair became deflated and her skin darkens. What now stood before The Mechanic could best be described as a terrarian version of Pinkamena, the dark pony they had just seen mere moments ago.

“Do that to my sister again and I’ll kill you. The only reason why I don’t tear you apart and turn you into a potion is simply because she’s literally begging me to spare you from within. Understood?”

Absolute fear began to pour into The Mechanic as she barely managed to nod in response and says:

“U… under… stood.”

“Good girl.” Candymena responds as she releases The Mechanic and starts to change back to her normal self.

“Oh! Katelyn! You’re ok! My sister didn’t hurt you too badly, did she?” Candy inquires.

“N-no, uh, I… I fell.”

“Huh? But I could see everything-”

“I fell, Candy. And I’m so sorry for yelling at you.”

“Awwww, come here you!” Candy says as she pulls The Mechanic into a hug and says: “My sister is just overprotective is all, I forgive you. Although… just try not to make her mad. The last time she got angry she created a Life Regeneration Potion and forbade me to ever use it. She never told me the ingredients but I did notice that the mage who bullied me went missing. Hmmm, I wonder what happened to him? Maybe he went on vacation?” The Party Girl then pulls away as she hops out of the cell happily.

Katelyn simply stared on with widened eyes as she exits the cell, turns to everyone else, and says:

“What just… happened?”

“It’s just Candy.” Everyone replies in unison. Steven then chuckles to himself before saying:

“Come on, let’s get to the surface.”

“Allow me, everyone.” Magius says as his body is surrounded by magical energies. “It feels so good to use magic again! I feel twenty years younger!” They all then disappear within a beam of light as The Wizard wisps them away to freedom.





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, CANDY CANE CORNER-

Having revealed to Tempest the current whereabouts and condition of The Wizard, The Bandit was simply extremely grateful for this revelation as she says:

“Thank you so much for this, Rarity. I’m so glad that he’s ok, that foolish old man.”

“Of course, darling. I’m personally glad to finally meet you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Magius would always talk about you when I was imprisoned there. Although, there is something I wish to ask you.”

As they continued to converse, everyone else present on the table which consisted of the other ponies were chatting amongst themselves.

“What did you want to ask me?” Tempest inquires.

“Well, you mentioned back at the meteor that you didn’t mind telling us as to why you’re called The Bandit. The thing is, Magius would always become saddened by that when he spoke of you and would end the conversation right then and there. If it’s not too much to ask dear, could you reveal that to us?”

This inquiry instantly catches the attention of the other ponies as they stop their own conversations and perks their ears to the skies. Tempest takes a moment to gather herself as she takes in a deep breath, exhales, and says:

“Alright then, it all started some time ago when-”

“Everypony, I need to tell you something!” A voice calls out as two more individuals enter the establishment from the upstairs portion of Candy Cane Corner.

“Pinkie Pie, Rainbow? What’s wrong?” Twilight inquires.

“It’s my sister! She’s been taken by that big old meanie!”

“Calm down, Pinkie. Wait… none of your sisters came with-”

“It’s complicated, egghead.” Rainbow Dash interjects as she then narrows her features and says: “It’s him, Twilight… he took Pinkie’s sister.”

“Who’s he?” Starlight inquires.

Pinkie Pie shakes in fear for a moments before she manages to recover and says:

“Yharim… the big old meanie that you told us about.”

Twilight and her fellow ponies eyes widened in horror as they recall what Terralestia had revealed to them all.

Suddenly, a beam of light cuts off any further conversation as everyone within the establishment is shocked by this phenomenon. In mere moments, seven individuals appear as the beam of light dissipates. Everyone just stares at the seven entities in shock and awe, however, there were two individuals who instantly locked onto each other as they shout in unison:

“Oh my gosh! It’s you!”

Two pink blurs run into each other as Pinkie Pie and Candy The Party Girl collide into a heartful embrace.

“I finally got to meet you, Pinkie Pie!”

“We have so much to catch up on, Candy!”

Everyone who knew and loved the two entities were shocked upon seeing this as they say internally:

-Oh no... another Pinkie Pie-
-Oh no... another Candy-
> Chapter 76 - The Brimstone Crags.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, CANDY CANE CORNER-

Pinkie Pie and Candy The Party Girl were literally bouncing and hopping off of the walls of the establishment as they continued to enjoy their meeting with each other. As this goes on, two individuals meet each other’s eyes all while everyone else stares unbelievably towards the two pink being’s antics.

“M-Magius… I-I’m so-”

“Tempest, my little girl… I missed you so much.” The Wizard interjects as he teleports right into The Bandit and brings her into an embrace, much to her shock as she says:

“Wh- why? You should hate me… after all i’ve done-”

“I never hated you, my dear. I was sad… sad that you were lost to me forever.” The Wizard then breaks the embrace with a smile as he says: “But, I see now that you’ve changed… both physically and mentally, it would seem.” The Wizard says as he takes notice of Tempest’s missing limb.

“I… I have so much to tell you, fa- I mean, Magius.”

“What was that? I may be old but I could’ve sworn that ‘Father’ was on the tip of that tongue of yours.”

“Y-you’re hearing things…”

As this is going on, in the background, Rarity has a reunion with her former inmates in addition to her dear friend: Steven. The other ponies were gathered around them as the white unicorn mare says:

“Everypony, these are my friends from The Dungeon. Everyone, these are my friends from Equus. I always looked forward to introducing you all to each other.”

Pinkie and Candy zooms by in a pink blur which causes rarity to chuckle.

“I knew those two would kick it off well… although I will say that their meeting each other is... foreboding.” Rarity says as she suddenly feels a nervous sensation go down her spine.

The beings of Home Town and the former prisoners of The Dungeon start to introduce themselves to each other as various interactions take place.

Ritsu The Zoologist and Jeremy The Angler butted heads as they were arguing about the well being of the fish he’s caught and will continue to capture. The argument seemed to be about whether or not fish are sentient. Fluttershy tries to break them apart with the assistance of Princess Pinkie.

Katelyn The Mechanic and Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer instantly became kindred spirits as they discussed various experiments and machinations. However, If one were to look closely, they’d see that the goblin would form a blush whenever The Mechanic wasn’t looking.

Twilight, Starlight, and The Wizard also became kindred spirits as they were of course discussing, to the surprise of no one, magic. A large number of papers and a quill materializes as a certain lavender colored alicorn was hyperventilating. Fortunately, Starlight was there to help her recover from her hyperventilation.

Tanner The Guide, Steven The Clothier, Lucan The Merchant, and Ross Bosman The Tavernkeeper chatted amongst themselves. However, Tanner in particular was inertly shocked by Steven’s presence as he says internally:

-How did you escape? What happened to Grogar? If he’s here, then who in The Underworld is hosting Grogar? This is frustrating! I need to adjust my plans a bit.-

Vinny The Demolitionist, Helena The Nurse, and Livian The Stylist were currently sitting together on a table as the two members of Home Town greets her with open arms.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack watches on as the cyan pegasus slyly glances towards the orange cow mare with a blush.

-Come on Rainbow, just tell her how you feel. Suck it up and just-- Rainbow Dash says internally but was cut off as Candy The Party Girl shouts:

“Wait! Everyone wait! I have something urgent to tell you all!”

The other former prisoners of The Dungeon suddenly gasp in shock as they come to realize what Candy was about to say. Everyone had become so caught up in this reunion and meeting that they became momentarily oblivious to two things: The mention of Yharim and Pinkamena’s warning to Candy.

“What’s wrong, Candy?” Pinkie Pie inquires.

“A large undead army is going to attack this town in two days! Well, one day now!”

“WHAT?!” Everyone except Candy and the other former prisoners of The Dungeon exclaims in unison.

“What do you mean, darling?” Rarity questions.

“It’s true, dear Rarity…” Steven responds. “It happened after you left and not too long ago but an unknown being came to The Dungeon along with a dark pink pony-”

“That’s my sister!” Pinkie Pie interjects in exclamation.

“Wait, whenever you turn dark and your mane deflates, that’s your sister?! I thought it was just a you thing?!” Twilight questions as she, Starlight, Applejack, and Rarity are absolutely shocked by this revelation.

“Trust me, egghead… I had a similar reaction. We can talk about that later.” Rainbow Dash comments.

“We must get back to the matter at hand.” Magius The Wizard injects. “An undead army will come here to destroy this town led by that same dark pink pony. In addition, the being who managed to destroy The Dungeon Guardian and, most disturbingly, managed to tear out Skeletron from Steven is the same one who turned that pony into its new vessel.”

Pinkie Pie was nearly on the verge of tears upon hearing this revelation as she says:

“No… no… Mena would never do something like that.”

“Don’t worry, Pinkie.” Candy The Party Girls responds. “Your sister loves you and she’s doing this for you.”

“R-really?”

“Yuup! You see, that big old meanie Yharim has-”

“YHARIM?!” Most of the beings who were present exclaims in unison.

“That bastard is nothing but a traitor! Celestia and Sai will hear about this!” Tanner The Guide exclaims.

“Ok, seriously, what is up with that guy? Is he responsible for every little thing that goes wrong in this world?” Rainbow Dash inquires.

“You’d be right to assume that,” A new voice chimed in as everyone turned to two individuals: Celebes The Dryad and Ceeman The Arms Dealer. The newly arrived former prisoners were all stunned and shocked, aside from Ross Bosman, as they were dumbfounded by the fact that a living dryad now stood before them.

“My word, you are absolutely beautiful.” Livian The Stylist compliments.

“I thank you for the compliment, lady Livian, but we must speak of urgent matters.”

“Eeek! She knows my name!” Livian exclaims happily which causes Jeremy The Angler to facepalm as a result.

“Everyone, we must barricade the town and prepare for this assault upon our home. I would also like to take this time to reveal to you all that I have completed The Blood Butcherer.” The Dryad then conjures the blade which manifests itself in a spiral of blood. Celebes then walks towards a certain party pony and says: “I would like for you to be its wielder, Pinkie Pie.” The Dryad gives the pink pony the aforementioned blade as she then turns to Tanner The Guide and says: “I want you to go back to your guildhall and call forth any who may want to aid us, we’ll need it for the upcoming battle.”

Tanner nods in response as he then makes his way towards the exit. As he passes by Tempest and Magius, The Bandit glances towards him with suspicion as she still felt something was off about him.

“Hey, Celebes. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but… I’ve been wanting to ask you about why you seem to be weaker than when we fought Razeem? When we were in The Crimson, I highly expected you to be able to clobber that giant brain dude and the other guy in ten seconds flat.”

“It’s simple: I am weakened. The Terra Blade empowers its wielder just as I empowered you all when we faced off against The Moon Lord by using its abilities. Sadly, when it shattered so too did my connection to it. You’ll come to learn that here in Terraria, certain items and weaponry can magically empower their owners. Much like that Crimson Armor you’re wearing. The Terra Blade functions similarly to any other item. Remove the item and equipment from their owner and you weaken them considerably.”

Pinkie Pie suddenly raises her forehoof which causes Celebes to chuckle to herself momentarily and say:

“I appreciate the gesture but there’s no need. What is it you wish to inquire about?”

“Well, it’s just, I’d like to tell everyone here that my sister is not a monster. Please, she’s not doing this just to be a meanie and Candy told me that Yharim is forcing her to attack us.”

“Be that as it is, how is he holding her under his servitude?”

“I can answer that!” Candy The Party Girl exclaims happily. “He has Pinkie Pie’s life force and will kill her if Pinkamena turns on him.”

Understandably, the rest of the ponies became furious as a result.

“How dare he! That foul brute deserves a special place in Tartarus for this!” Rarity roars out in disgust.

“That no good varmint is nothin’ but pure evil. Ah’ don’t think any villain back home could compare to this rotten apple!” Applejack says through gritted teeth.

Fluttershy was currently hugging the party pony as Starlight and Twilight ponders on this with a hoof raised to their chins. Twilight then lowers her hoof and asks:

“Is there a way we can save her? Can we get Pinkie’s life force back?”

“How did he even get her life force to begin with?” Starlight questions.

“It was when he tore them apart and made them two separate entities.” Candy responds. “He somehow took Pinkie’s life force as a result.”

“No… it couldn’t be…” Magius The Wizard injects.

“You might just have the same suspicions as I, Wizard.” Celebes The Dryad responds.

Everyone simply waits patiently for their revelation to which Celebes nods to The Wizard as he says:

“I suspected this from back in The Dungeon but this Yharim character clearly meddles in ancient and forbidden magic.”

“Why am I not surprised…” Rainbow Dash comments as Applejack bumps her to keep quiet.

Celebes takes the initiative and takes over from where The Wizard left off as she says:

“The magic he is referring to was made from the same race that gave birth to a powerful witch I faced some time ago.”

“Calamitas…” Twilight says as she was starting to piece things together.

“That’s right, the same witch that Celestia and I revealed to you. In her story about Lunaris.”

In that very moment, Steven The Clothier’s mind practically snapped in an instant as he shouts:

“That was his name! The mage who helped me seal Skeletron away, my best friend! My memories were slowly starting to disappear but now that I’m free… what you said rekindled those memories.”

“Wait a second, Steven. You mean the same mage who fought Skeletron is the one who sealed him inside of you? That day when he attacked the settlement seven years ago?” Ross Bosman inquires.

“Yes, Ross… that’s the very same one. It happened after I told you to run away.” Steven responds.

Celebes nods in response as she then continues:

“The magic that Yharim possesses comes from the Brimstone Crags.”



“Allow me to tell you all about how those crags were created. It involves one of Yharim's associates and by extension, he himself. After I fought Calamitas all those years ago, I did some digging of my own and what I found... shocked even me.” Celebes then takes a deep breath and exhales before she continues her grand tale:

“Smoking slag, crackling flames, and charred stone are all that remain of the underworld’s once-grand civilization. Centuries ago, primitive societies found their way to these scorching caverns and discovered power in the form of an eternal red flame. They grew to worship the flame and its otherworldly might - and over the course of generations, founded a mighty empire of magic as they learned to harness the red flame for themselves.

Their hierarchy of privilege and magical prowess fostered great conflict. Those in power hoarded power, restricting the lower classes’ knowledge and suppressing research that threatened them. One clan revolted against the restrictive and greedy ways of the capitol - but like many others in the empire’s history, they were exiled. The capitol waited for them to return for revenge, when those in power would crush them as an example. However, that day would never come. For those exiled had come upon a curious revelation. Centuries spent living in the presence of the eternal flame had led these mages to develop a natural connection to the brand of magic which utilized brimstone, rather than a forced link, such as the rituals carried out by the capitol. Forced to stop relying on the eternal flame, they began to develop their own style of magic, drawing from darker forces. As they built upon their own strength and training, this clan soon grew to be as powerful as those who controlled the eternal flame. Yet, they had long decided against revenge, realizing that such an act would lower them to the level of those in hell. Decades passed, and generations passed down the gift of brimstone magic, from parent to child. In time, it would be this clan to sire the Witch, Calamitas.

The empire of hell grew weak over the course of those long years, splintered by infighting and draconian rule. It was the beginning of a once-grand nation’s collapse - but its final death was at the hands of a conflict long past. An older Calamitas descended to the lands her ancestors called home and initiated a ruthless massacre, butchering the poor and weak on the outskirts first and then working in. Every death was another hateful soul twisted to her cause - every corpse, another revenant at her command - every life taken, another worshipper deprived from the eternal flame at the empire’s heart. These souls were twisted into abominations which to this day, haunt the slag. When no others remained, she corroded the essence of the flame with corrupt magic and flayed its spirit to the bone. Without joy, Calamitas fulfilled her orders and unknowingly avenged an ancient grudge long since lost to history. All that remained of that once-grand civilization was smoking slag, crackling flames, and charred stone or in other words: The Brimstone Crag.

In conclusion, it doesn’t surprise me that Yharim knows such magic… he’s working with Calamitas, after all. Then again, perhaps she fails to truly realize that he’s just using her and not the other way around. We can retrieve Pinkie Pie’s life force but in order to do that, we must learn the means to counter the spell. Until then… Pinkamena will truly be forced into his servitude less Pinkie Pie’s life becomes forfeit.”





-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON DEPTHS-

Both Skeletron and Pinkamena were absolutely surprised by this hidden portion of The Dungeon, Yharim currently in the lead as he shows them the way. The skeletal entity within the dark pink pony says from within her psyche:

-How have I never seen this portion of The Dungeon? So many undead down here that even I never knew about.-

-You expect me to have the answers? I’m still new to just The Dungeon, let alone this part of it.- Pinkamena responds internally.

“It’s because I created this place.” Yharim responds as he manages to hear their internal conversation.

-Worm! I ruled over these catacombs even before The Dungeon’s creation. And yet, even I never-

“Who do you think created the catacombs that you supposedly ruled over, Skelly boy? The same catacombs that The Dungeon was built over.” Yharim responds nonchalantly. “This… is where I stored the bodies of those I killed during my reign as: The Jungle Tyrant."


> Chapter 77 - Tzana.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-

It was now nightfall in The Empire as Tempest Shadow was currently within a bar and sat alone on a table. She took another sip of her wine that was positioned in front of her. The broken unicorn’s mind was absolutely shaken to the core as she says to herself in a hushed tone:

“I can’t bucking believe it… we managed to trick The Hivemind. Heh, it’s a good thing that Princess Luna had the foresight to hide certain events from Ocram with that fancy spell of hers. Then again, no surprise considering that she’s the Princess Of The Night. Now then, everyone else is playing the part and all we need to do now is to play along. That reminds me, Princess Luna called someone else to meet me here but I-” Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock as she saw an earth pony mare enter the bar.

The pony had a tan body with a brown mane and green eyes as they were donned in the armor forged from the Demonite Ore, likely a gift from Princess Luna as to allow this pony to combat against the infection. Incidentally, the mare seemed to have another piece of clothing strapped to her as it was properly folded and stored onto the pony’s right side. Her cutie mark is a black and white rose of winds although it was only noticeable on her right flank. As for her left flank, the burn marks that were present are so bad that the cutie mark that should’ve been there was gone. In addition, her hind legs were covered from the armor but one could only imagine the burn marks that must’ve been present on the left hindlimb.

Tempest was so shocked by the appearance of this pony that she wanted to run and hide within one of the private stalls that were available but for more wealthy customers. With a hushed tone she mutters:

“Tzana?... Journey Joy... No, this can’t be.” The broken unicorn then lowers herself and hides beneath her table in order to remain hidden from Tzana’s sight.

“Excuse me, barkeep. I was looking for somepony that I was supposed to meet here on behalf of The Princess?”

“Who’s the pony?” The barkeep replies.

“Heh, would you believe me if I told you that even I don’t know? Princess Luna just informed me that I’d know who they were when I see them.”

“Well, we’ve been getting some strange customers thanks to The Coalition but I did see a rather peculiar mare. She should still be here, I think. Keep an eye out too, apparently we’ve got some traitors in our midst. The princesses and the other leaders are taking this very seriously so report to them directly if you’ve seen anything. Head on in and I’ll come take your order if you’re up for a drink.”

“Oh trust me usually I’d just love to drink. For now though, I’m good but thank you for the offer and yes, princess Luna had informed me about that. Um, what was your name?”

“Ah! My apologies. My name is: Ross Bosman, the barkeeper. That last part was something ponies around here have been calling me so I stuck with it.”

Tzana simply nods in response as she makes her way towards a particular table that practically called out to her. As fate would have it, this is where Tempest was once seated.

The broken unicorn stealthily hid behind the other tables and moved in tandem with Tzana who was currently starting to draw near her targeted table. Ross took notice of this and was about to voice what Tempest knew had to be along the lines of: What the buck are you doing? With a raised hoof to her muzzle, she gestures for him to remain silent and act as if he saw nothing. Not wanting to get involved with whatever was going on he simply turns away and goes to clean some glasses. With a hushed tone he says:

“Nope, I can see where this is going. Nothing worse than two hardcore mares duking it out in my bar, judging by them scars they both have.”

Tzana finally sat down on her table but noticed that the exact spot she sat on was warm as if someone else had just been there mere moments ago. Fate was truly playing with her as she sat in the exact same spot as Tempest did.

Tempest was now drawing near the exit, Ross still acting oblivious to it, as she was mere moments from successfully sneaking away from Tzana. Unfortunately, a certain trio of crusaders entered the establishment as they took notice of the broken unicorn.

“Tempest!” The cutie mark crusaders shouts in unison as the world goes into slow motion for the broken unicorn. A drop of sweat impacts the earth below Tempest as she slowly turns her gaze towards the very being she just spent the last few minutes trying to avoid: Tzana.

Both of their eyes met and in that very moment, thousands upon thousands of questions and reactions went through their minds. The world stops to slow down for the two as the two mares says in unison:

“Tem...pest?”
“Oh buck…”

They simply stare at each other for a few more moments, much to The Crusaders confusion, as Tempest turns her head towards the exit and runs for it.

“You get the buck back here!” Tzana roars out as she gets off her table with lightning speed and takes off after the broken unicorn, leaving behind a heavily confused Cutie Mark crusaders.







“Get your flank back here, Tempest!” Tzana roars out as she fully displays her earth pony might and physical attributes. The two mares embark on a chase throughout The Empire as Tempest performs various feats of parkour in an attempt to escape the earth pony who wasn’t very far behind her. In fact, should Tempest miscalculate even once during this chase, Tzana will catch her within the earth pony’s grasp.

“Stop following me, please!” Tempest roars back as she hops over warriors obstacles throughout the empire. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to affect her pursuer at all as they match Tempest’s finesse.

“Are you bucking kidding me?! I thought you were dead!” Tzana roars out in response. “I can’t believe that you are the one Princess Luna told me to meet up with! Tempest!”

As this is going on, the bystanders who witnessed this are jumping out of their way while also letting out various exclamations such as:

“Watch where you’re going!”

“What’s up with those two?!”

“Where are the guardsponies when you need them?!”

“Stop running from me, Fizzlepop Berrytwist!” Tzana roars out as she relentlessly keeps up with Tempest.

-Celestia damn it all, I’ve got to change things up or I’m never going to lose her- Tempest says internally as she suddenly hops onto a nearby building and starts to scale it.

“You underestimate me, Tempest! I thought you knew me better than that?!” Tzana shouts as she too climbs up the structure and to Tempest’s horror, she was faster.

“Heh, good to see you’re still in top shape, Tzana!”

“You assumed otherwise? You’ve just earned yourself an ass kicking!”

“You were going to do that regardless!”

“Bucking right I am! What part of ‘I thought you died’, did you not understand?! But that’s not the only reason I’m going to buck your ass sideways!”

The two mares were now on the roof as they successfully reached the building’s summit during their conversation. Tempest seemed to be trapped as she looked around in order to find any way for her to escape.

“You’re not going anywhere, Fizzlepop... Tempest… Commander of The Storm King’s army!”

Tempest’s eyes widened in a mix of shock and horror as she was not expecting for Tzana to know about that.

“Journey Joy… please, wait.”

“Oh don’t you dare try to use my real name with me! Do you have any idea how much pain I went through only to find out that you’re still alive?! I thought I killed you?! The guilt ate at me every single day!”

“If you would just let me explain.”

[STOMP]

The entire roof began to shake as Tzana reared up and stomped onto it with her forehooves. The earth pony continues to draw closer as the broken unicorn becomes increasingly nervous with every step they take.

“You know what’s even worse? I looked into the whole Storm King’s invasion fiasco and reports told me that a purple unicorn with a broken horn led them. I thought: ‘There’s no way, she died because of what I did! I killed the one pony who was more important to me than even she knew.’ I didn’t want to believe it, I refused to believe it. If you truly were alive then you’d come back to tell me but you didn’t!” Tzana now stood before the broken unicorn and if one were to take a moment to comprehend her size, Tzana’s height could even match Big Mac. Despite this height however, she had a build that was somewhere in between Twilight and Tempest. The earth pony looks down upon Tempest with her sleight height advantage and says:

“And now here you are… alive and kicking but even worse, you abandoned me to go join up with that monkey.”

“Please, I know I messed up but-”

[WHAM]

“AURGH!” Tempest cries out in pain as Tzana strikes her across the face with her left front hoof, sending the broken unicorn falling to the surface of the roof and skiing across a small ways before coming to a stop.

Tempest’s world was literally spinning in circles as she tried to regain her composure. Spitting out blood, the unicorn lifts her head to face Tzana with her right eye blackened and a bleeding nose.

“I’m… sorry…”

“Not as sorry as you made me when you abandoned me, made me think that I murdered you in that explosion. I thought I accidentally killed you during that mission… you were marked as MIA by The Mercenaries Guild… but now it all makes sense. You abandoned me during that mission, didn’t you?.”

Upon hearing Tzana’a inquiry, Tempest’s face was filled with regret to go along with her physical pain. She sighs in utter defeat as she says:

“I always wanted to take you with me, when I joined the guild to prove myself to The Storm King. After some time, I finally got a message from him which informed me that I was indeed worthy. Coincidentally, we were on that mission at the time. I wasn’t there for the mission’s briefing but what I did know was that you were meant to destroy something with explosives. It was the perfect cover for me to disappear.”

“You just assumed that I wouldn’t go with you? Did our time together mean nothing to you at all that you’d make such a stupid assumption?”

“I realize that now… I was wrong to do what I did… and I was a hypocrite. I went on and on about being abandoned by my friends because of my broken horn. Yet, I was the one who abandoned somepony who was truly my friend. I was so blinded by my desire to restore my horn… that I tossed you aside. I know that you probably won’t forgive me, I certainly wouldn’t blame you. But… trust me when I say that I am a different mare now. I would never toss you aside like that again. If you would just give me a chance to show you… I can.”

The earth pony simply looked at the downed unicorn with an expression that easily translated to her being at war with herself. On one hoof, she was still burning with rage. On the other, she felt slightly relieved to hear those words. Unfortunately, that was still being overshadowed by her anger.

“We wish for thou not to harm our agent any further, Tzana,” A new yet familiar voice comments as a shadowy entity starts to appear from the dark corners of the roof.

“Princess Luna.” Tzana says respectfully as she bows in respect towards the dark alicorn.

“Thou may rise, Journey Joy. We hath been waiting for ye both at the bar but we caught word of thy commotion. Tempest Shadow is the contact that I sent you to meet with. However, we would like to apologize for our trickery. We feared that hath thou known of thy contact’s identity… thou wouldst decline our proposal.”

“Well… I certainly don’t think too highly of her…” Tzana says as she glances angrily towards the broken unicorn who in turn managed to get back onto her hooves during their conversation.

“We art sure that the past between thy duo is one of pain, loss, and betrayal. However, we respectfully ask you to push them aside for the time being. Now then, we hath a mission for you, Tzana.”

“Speak your will, Princess, and it shall be done.”

“You will be our last defence against any potential schemers within our midst. We hath informed ye about Tempest and the other agents we hath chosen to infiltrate our enemy’s ranks. However, you will be an additional member that not even the others know about, only Tempest Shadow knows of you joining our little game with The Corruption.”

“The others are currently spread throughout The Empire and are aiding Blueblood with his own plans. Keep appearances up and all that.” Tempest Comments.

“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” Tzana responds coldly. The earth pony then sighs before saying: “For the sake of the mission, I’ll put that aside for now. But make no mistake, Tempest… you and I will have a proper talk.”

“Yes… you deserve that at the very least.”

“And you deserve another hoof across your face.”

“If thy argumentative couple art-”

“We aren’t a couple!” Tzana shouts in embarrassment as she cuts off Luna’s words.

The dark alicorn chuckles in response before she continues:

“We hath another mission to reveal to thee, Tzana. As the modern saying would go, let us give it to you simply: The Coalition shall attack Canterlot in full force within the next few days. It will be a dangerous task and we hath no doubt that many lives will be lost. Our chances of winning, even though we hath no doubt, is also questionable. Doth ye hath any questions or objections?”

“No, princess Luna.” Tempest responds.

Tzana suddenly takes on a confident expression as she says:

“Certainty of death, small chance of success… what are we waiting for?”
> Chapter 78 - New Arrivals.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN- 

Two days have passed and The time for war has finally arrived. Everyone in town are positioned on the top portions of the settlement’s protective stone walls. Tanner The Guide was still missing due to Celebes’s request to seek aid from his guild. The ponies had sent Rainbow Dash to collect Zecora and Gex in order to assist them in the coming battle, both of whom stood at the ready as well.

Fluttershy had summoned forth a legion of slimes, all of which consisted of different colorations. They were currently positioned outside of the wall; just below where Fluttershy and a few members of Home Town stood as they looked onward towards the direction of The Dungeon.

Twilight saw fit to give words of encouragement as the sun continues to lower itself over the horizon. The lavender alicorn turns to everyone present and says:

“The time has come, everyone. We’ve come so far ever since we ponies came to this world and we owe most of that to all of you. You who we’ve come to call our dear friends and as The Princess Of Friendship, you have no idea how happy this makes me. You who stood by our side through it all from The Goblin Invasion all the way to our battle in The Crimson. Now, here you all are ready to fight alongside us against the undead monstrosities. I truly can’t find the words to express how grateful we are to you all… thank you so much. Thank you for standing by us through it all when you really had no obligation to. Together, we can defeat them! We will achieve victory and by the end of this night, we’ll all watch the coming sunrise together! To victory!”

Everyone else present lets out a war cry in response as they brace and ready themselves for battle. Even the slimes who were positioned outside started to cheer as some among them started to chant:

“Return to slime!”

“Return to slime!”

“Return to slime!”

“For the glory of The Slime Gods!”

“For the Goddess Fluttershy! For The Core!”

Twilight nods happily as she and everyone else present simply waits and observes as they anticipate the arrival of the undead.





Pinkamena could see the town coming closer as she and her undead army walked along the dirt paved road that led straight to the town. There was no need to be stealthy given the fact that the loud moaning and haunting roars of the undead who followed her would alarm anyone of their coming. She could only hope that Candy had delivered her message.

“Pinkie Pie… you’re going to have to be strong tonight. I’ll do what I can to protect you but Yharim is always watching. He might not be here but I can just… sense him. Speaking of sensing things, hey, Skelly boy.”

-What do you want you insufferable pony?- Skeletron replies from within.

 “What the buck made my fur quiver when we were down there? I can’t help but feel as if those catacombs were-”

-Haunted?- Skeletron interjects. -It’s because they were. The souls of the dead who were massacred by Yharim were practically crying out for his death when we went down there. It’s funny, I could always sense a powerful force being gathered within the catacombs, even before Steven built The Dungeon over it. Despite being the ruler of the undead… even I could never control what lies down there so I never attempted to try it. However, I could always hear their whispers.-

“I heard it too. They practically repeated the same thing over and over: ‘We shall see Yharim dead... we demand retribution... we are Polterghast.’ I assume we’ll be crossing that bridge later on in the future. For now… we have a town to attack.”

-I look forward to seeing them all die.-

“Watch it, Skelly… my sister is among them.”

-You say that like I care, everyone dies and that town burns to the ground. End of discussion.-

Pinkamena was definitely furious by the words of her inner companion. However, she suddenly gets an idea as she says:

“How about I make you a deal?”

-What could you possibly give me that would even convince me to entertain the thought of making a deal with you?-

“Revenge... retribution against the one who wronged us both. I want Yharim dead and I know that you feel the same way. Your hatred of him is no different from my own.”

-My hatred is born from that worm thinking he can manipulate me! Yours is a result of him threatening your sister, our reasons are not the same.-

“But our hatred for him is. You and I absolutely despise that so-called Jungle Tyrant. Allow me to help you in my own way and I will see to it that you get to watch him die. What you do after that is completely up to you.”

Skeletron remained silent for a moment before the entity finally responded.

-Let’s say I accept this deal of yours, what difference will that make? I will destroy that town no matter what you tell me. I will massacre all who stands in my way.-

“Yes, that may very well happen. However, that’s also part of my plan. You need to keep up the appearance so yes, you will fight them. They in turn will fight you and, If I’m being honest, there’s a fifty-fifty chance that either of you will be killed although I’m placing my bet on them. So my plan is this: I will keep a piece of you hidden deep within the mind-link, you saw for yourself that not even Yharim could puncture it when I spoke to Candy. You will be safe there regardless of what happens in the real world. In the meantime, the piece of you that I shall unleash upon them will not truly be you, if that makes sense. Think of it as a cannon fodder version of yourself although it is still just as powerful and will act just like you. It will die in your stead and you shall live on within the mind link. Slowly but surely, you will regain your strength until I personally call upon you.”

-Hmmm… so if I understand your proposal correctly, I can still rampage across that town while also remaining within your psyche? And should this piece of me fall in battle, I will live on within you until I become strong enough to manifest myself? And most of all… I get to watch Yharim die?-

“I’ll sweeten the deal, you get to help me put him down one day. I’ll see to it that you get a good few hits in when we all face him one day. Once that’s done and I get my sister’s life force back… you can go back to being the homicidal giant skeleton you’ve always been. Should that time come, I’ll be there to turn your bones into dust.”

Skeletron ponders on this proposal as the entity remains silent for a few moments. As this goes on, Pinkamena could see Home Town across the way. She could see all of its denizens up on the walls ready for combat while a large legion of slimes which stood between them.

Finally, Skeletron chuckles before saying:

-Very well then… I accept your proposal.-

Pinkamena simply nods in response to Skeletron’s answer while she also takes on a smirk and says:

“Looks like Candy delivered my message, very good. Those walls shall buy them-”

“It would seem that they somehow managed to anticipate your arrival, Pinkamena,” Another voice says as a portal manifests itself just beside the pony followed by a familiar entity.

“Oh great… why are you here, Calamitas?” Pinkamena questions.

“To even the playing field for our army.”

“W-wait, what the buck are you-”

Suddenly, Pinkamena’s words were cut off as red electricity gathers around Calamitas’s right hand as she takes aim and says:

“That wall is pretty unfair for our undead friends, the ones that can’t fly that is. Let’s provide a nice sized hole for them, shall we?”

“You bucking witch! Don’t you da-”

[SKROOM]

[BOOM]

Calamitas releases a powerful bolt of lightning which travels along the landscape; decimates both a large portion of the slime army and the earth itself. It then finally makes contact with its main target: The wall.

“Give them the order, pony. My job here is done.”

“I hate you…”

“I know... and I fucking love it.” Calamitas replies condescendingly as she then vanishes and leaves behind words that echoes: “You’d better get started, Yharim’s getting bored and your sister’s lifeforce just looks so tempting to be fed to Yharon.”

Pinkamena growls angrily as a grey aura surrounds the dark pink pony. She then raises her left front hoof and shouts:

“Go! Feast upon them all!” Heeding her request, the undead legion starts to run towards both the large hole in the wall and what was left of the slime army. Pinkamena had to keep her appearance on the outside but on the inside, she was tormented. She could think of only one thing as she watched this horde of undead run towards the town.

-Pinkie Pie… be strong for me…-





Moments before Calamitas attacks the wall.

“There they are, by Celestia… there’s so many of them.” Twilight comments.

“Is that you sister, Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy inquires as she has Princess Pinkie sat upon her head.

“Yes… that’s her… poor Mena. I can feel how much she doesn’t want to go through with this.” Pinkie Pie responds with a saddened expression.

“Don’t worry, Pinkie. We’ll face her together if it comes down to it.” Candy The Party Girl says as she puts a hand onto the pink pony.

“Stow your fears, everyone. It’s now or never.” Celebes says as she conjures her Fiery Greatsword.

“This wall shall aid in our fight not to mention Fluttershy’s army of slime.” Zecora says as she and Gex ready their newly acquired spears from the fight with Cthorator.

“Remember Dash, aim for the head and shoot.” Ceeman The Arms Dealer says as he takes aim with his musket. “You did amazing in The Crimson, make me proud here and no stupid stunts this time.

“No worries, I’ve got this.” Rainbow Dash responds as she takes aim with her newly acquired ranged weapon: Eviscerator. “And I definately won’t do anything stupid this time.”

Applejack chuckles in response as she says:

“Especially since this time ah’m going to be right here next to ya’s. Ya stubborn mare.”

Rainbow Dash smiles in response as she says internally:

-I’d like for you to be by my side always- 

“Heh, this is not how I expected things to turn out, dear Rarity.”

“Indeed, darling. However, at least this way we can face your old curse together.”

“You know what? I like the sound of that.” Steven responds as he, Rarity, and some of the former prisoners of The Dungeon around them readies their weapons and spells.

“We’ve got this! Sure there’s a lot of those things but we faced the monsters of The Crimson. A bunch of undead are-” Suddenly, Starlight’s words were cut off as she takes notice of red electricity being gathered around a new individual. “Wait, who’s that with-”

“Calamitas!” Celebes roars out as she then turns to everyone else on the wall and exclaims: “Get out of the way! She’s going to-”

[SKROOM]

[BOOM]

Everyone on the wall was thrown off by the explosion as various individuals fell into town. Some did manage to avoid the blast by taking off into the skies but one in particular had the worst of luck: Starlight Glimmer. She was among those who were thrown off of the wall but unlike the others, she was now outside of town where the remnants of the slime army stood.

“GAH!” Starlight cries out in pain as the world around her becomes hazy. She slowly manages to get back onto her hooves, albeit wobbly, but what she hears next absolutely sends chills down her spine.

“Go! Feast upon them all!”

In mere seconds, Starlight could see a horde of undead running towards her. The remaining slimes ran forth to meet their foes head on but due to Calamitas’s attack, they lacked the sufficient numbers to match the oncoming army of the undead. Many of the zombies managed to get pass the slimes and ran towards Starlight with insatiable hunger.

The unicorn’s world went into slow motion as she was frozen in place by fear. An entire army of undead was making their way towards the unicorn bearing their rotten teeth and decomposing limbs. Due to her current state, Starlight simply couldn’t think straight to save herself. One would think that she could just teleport away or even start firing off powerful blasts from her horn. This simply would not come to pass and she did the only thing she could think of. She closed her eyes and with tears threatening to come loose she pleads:

“P-please… somepony… help m-me…”

The undead were drawing near the unicorn and in mere moments, they would’ve torn her apart and feasted upon the poor mare’s body. However, she felt a strange sensation… no, she’s being… carried? Through the air?

“You look like you could use a dark winged angel, beautiful,” A male voice compliments which causes the unicorn to open her eyes and her tears were being blown away from the wind caused by the flying of this newcomer, a pegasus.

“Wh… who are you? You’re… a pony?” Starlight questions in disbelief as she finally comes to comprehend what just happened. She was saved and by an unexpected savior no less.

“Tanner The Guide sent us to help you all and the others should be here momentarily. By the way, name’s Shadow Thunder.”



Starlight was momentarily stunned by this pegasus stallion. She Undoubtedly had many questions going through her mind but the unicorn simply pushed them aside as she closes her eyes. The unicorn hugs her savior with her forehooves and says:

“Thank you so much... you saved my life.”

“Shadow Thunder,” Another voice calls out which causes the dark pegasus to turn towards a humanoid bird-like entity with Starlight still hugging him.

“Ah, Tori! You made it!” The pegasus exclaims which causes Starlight to turn her head towards a creature she had never seen before.

This flying being was indeed a humanoid bird-like entity whos feathers were a dark navy blue which matched the night skies. The bird like entity wore a ninja outfit however just beneath it, one could indeed see the Crimson Armor that was beneath the outfit’s surface.

“Take her back to the others, I’ll start working on lowering their numbers here.” Tori comments.

“How are you going to do that?” Shadow Thunder questions.

Tori then conjures a bunch of explosives and holds them within their grasp as they say:

“I have my methods.” The bird humanoid then drops the explosives which results in multiple explosions.

Down on ground level, the undead were starting to pour into Home Town as those who were recovering from being blown off the wall via Calamitas’s attack, ready themselves for combat. Suddenly, a familiar voice calls out to them all and says:

“I’m back, everyone! And I brought the toughest adventurers that I know! Sorry that I couldn’t bring an army but these people are just as good!”

“Tanner!” Twilight exclaims happily. However, her gaze then focused on the individuals that stood beside him. “Celestia! Sai! You’re both here!”

“Once we heard that you guys were in trouble, we came running!” Terralestia responds.

“Come friends, let us meet this undead army head on!” Sai Sahan exclaims as other individuals behind him started to run forth.

One was a female terrarian who, from what Twilight could tell, seemed to be a Tank/Melee focused fighter much like Applejack and Pinkie Pie. She also has pink hair along with bluish/purple eyes. What stunned Twilight and her friends was the fact that this terrarian was riding on the back of what she thought to be a white saddle arabian. The female entity and her steed runs forth and pauses next to the ponies as she says:

“Wow, you really are ponies like Shadow Thunder. My name is: Linn, this beautiful white horse is: Ves. Nice to meet you and let’s kick some undead ass together.” The terrarian then readies her lance as her mount prepares to charge forward with all its might.

Suddenly, Shadow Thunder lands in front of the group along with a recovered Starlight Glimmer as he gently puts her down onto the ground.

“Thank you for saving me again.” Starlight says gratefully as she brings the dark pegasus into another hug.

“Wow Shadow, already got a mare in your arms within the first few moments you meet her, eh? You sly pony.” Linn teases which causes both Starlight and Shadow to turn red.

Another series of explosions goes off in the distance as Vinny The Demolitionist says:

“Someone’s making explosions aside from me?!”

“That’s Tori, another friend of ours.” Shadow Thunder responds.

“Ok, I have a lot of questions but we’ve got a problem!” Twilight exclaims as everyone prepares to go to war with the undead army that continued to flow into town and ran towards the group.
> Chapter 79 - Battle With The Undead Pt: 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-



Everyone was currently spread throughout Home Town as they combat against the undead horde. Many different scenarios played out all while Pinkamena observed from high above, ordering her undead forces with tactical precision. Most interestingly; before the fighting truly began, Candy The Party Girl brought forth a large set of speakers as she played a song. It was enough to make even Vinyl Scratch back on Equus, jealous.

Many different scenarios plays out during this battle:

Twilight, Terralestia, and Sai Sahan stood back to back and were cutting down some of the zombies that completely surrounded them. They could see them everywhere, all around them, trying to devour them whole. Twilight would blast them away with her horn as she conjured forth a cloud of blood via the Blood bath staff which rained down upon the undead, damaging and killing them in the process. Terralestia followed her lead as she too blasts away the undead with her magical aptitude and her Sapphire Staff. Sai Sahan swung his blade that he obtained from the defeat of Cthorator: Vein Burster, killing the undead that tried to rush him. As a result from his strikes, the blade would send forth Blood Balls which would explode upon impact, further killing the undead as a result. Despite their efforts, there were simply too many undead surrounding them which led to Twilight casting a teleportation spell and wisps them away to safety.

Starlight, Rarity, and Applejack were currently running from the undead hoard as they unleashed their attacks along the way. In addition, some of the terrarians of Home Town could be seen in the background contending with the army of the dead.

“There’s so many of these things! How could The Dungeon hold this many undead?!” Rarity exclaims as she fires off a beam of energy behind her.

“Yer’ guess is as good as mine, Rares!” Applejack exclaims as she cuts a path for them with The Blade Of Grass.

“Didn’t you see any of these things while you were imprisoned?” Starlight inquires as she blasts away more of the undead behind them.

“Ah really don’t think that’s important fer’ now. Come on y’all, we’re almost to The Library! These undead varmints are everywhere!” Applejack exclaims as the trio continues on to their destination.

In the skies of Home Town, Shadow Thunder, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy would swoop down to contend with the undead as they unleash their various attacks. Fluttershy and Rainbow would fire off their ranged weapons: Eviscerator, all while Shadow Thunder would earn his name as he manipulated the darkness and formed tentacle-like appendages all around the undead which would tear them apart as a result. This of course made his fellow pegasi look at him in confusion to which he says:

“It’s kind of my thing, I’ll explain it later!”

Linn and her mighty steed, Ves, were currently plowing right through their foes like a freight train with the terrarian’s lance thrusted forward, tearing apart any who dares to get in their path. Thanks to her horse’s armor, the terrarian had no fear of the undead harming her steed in any way, provided she strikes at any who tried to hold onto the horse with her lance.

Tori was a ninja who truly showed that even one who specializes in stealth can be an army of one. With great subterfuge and a large arsenal of weaponry, Tori would disappear before the undead eyes of the undead as he then reappears, spins around, and sends a whirlwind of daggers flying in every direction along with some explosives before they perform a gesture with their wing-like appendage and disappears in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind an explosion and flesh piercing blades.

Pinkie Pie and Candy were held up in Candy Cane Corner as the party pony dual wielded her dagger like weapons: Bloody Rupture, all while The Party Girl wielded her very own Shotgun.

“We have to get to my sister, Candy!” Pinkie exclaims as she cuts down more of the undead with her dual weaponry.

[BANG]

[BANG]

The sounds of a shotgun goes off as Candy blasts the undead to pieces with her weapon.

“I agree! Also, I hope Ceeman doesn’t mind me taking this shotgun from him!”

“Where the fuck is my shotgun?!” Ceeman The Arms Dealer exclaims from outside as he and his fellow terrarians continue to fight back the undead.

“Come on, let’s go upstairs! We can get onto the roof and use our Rocket Boots from there!” The pink pony exclaims as she and Candy enacts her plan.

Using Skeletron’s skeletal arm, Pinkamena was currently hovering high above Home Town. She could see everything and everyone through the eyes of the undead, no doubt one of Skeletron’s abilities she had access to thanks to being his vessel.

“They’re not doing too bad, however…”

-They’re not doing too good either.- Skeletron comments from within.

“This is only the first wave… these aren’t even the more advanced forms of undead from The Dungeon.”

-Let’s not forget the fact that we didn’t even summon: The Blood Moon, yet. Not to mention when I finally come out to have some fun.-

“Mena!” Pinkie Pie roars out as she and Candy were flying towards the dark pink mare with their Rocket Boots. Pinkamena takes notice of this and says:

“Well, well, looks like you’re finally ready to face me, sis.”

“Mena, please… stop all of this. Don’t worry about me and just stop listening to Yharim.”

“I’m not listening to him, not intentionally. He has your life in the palm of his hands, Pinkie. What am I supposed to do, huh? Let him kill you?”

“If that means it will stop me from being a-”

“Burden?!” Pinkamena roars out in anger: “You seriously think that you’re just a burden to me?!”

“Of course I am! Look at what you’re forced to do because of me! If I wasn’t so weak then none of this would be happening!”

“Pinkie, I swear, I love you but you can be really stupid sometimes! I did this because I love you, not because you are a burden to me. Simple as that!”

“That’s exactly what I mean! Because of my weakness, Yharim is forcing you to do this!”

Suddenly, a portal opens up next to Pinkamena as the aforementioned entity exits the portal, holding a pink energy within his palm.

“Oh Mena, you’re starting to bore me. Get to the next scene, now!” Yharim demands as he holds Pinkie Pie’s life force in his grasp and threatens to crush it within his palms.

Pinkamena grits her teeth in anger and materializes a very particular weapon, one that makes Pinkie Pie and Candy’s eyes open wide with realization. A blade with blue energy was now wielded by the dark pink mare to which Pinkie Pie says:

“Is that… the Muramasa?”

“It is, sis… and you’re going to fight me.”

“Ah yes, drama!” Yharim roars out in pleasure. “Oh I can feel it! I laugh, I cry, I believe! Go forth you two and may the clashing of blades echo throughout the land. Yes! The groaning of the undead below us, the warcry of your friends fighting for their lives, the struggle of two sisters! Destruction and death! This is what I live for!” Yharim starts to laugh maniacally as said laughter echoes throughout the skies above.

Down below, various individuals take notice of his presence: Terralestia, Sai, Twilight, and Celebes, The Dryad.

“No… it can’t be… it’s him!” Terralestia roars out in rage.

“Yharim, the traitorous bastard!” Sai exclaims in hatred.

“The schemer himself seems to have appeared before us.” Celebes comments.

“That’s Yharim?!” Twilight inquires. “That’s the guy who enjoys making people suffer and is the one who corrupted your brother?”

“That’s him alright… we could never forget that traitor’s appearance.” Terralestia responds as she stares daggers towards the embodiment of her hatred. They weren’t alone however as Linn pulls up next to them on her horse and takes notice of Yharim.

“No… it’s him! That’s the bastard who destroyed my home!”

High above, Pinkie Pie was having the absolute worst moment of her life as she hesitated to accept Pinkamena’s challenge. Candy The Party Girl grits her teeth in anger as she exclaims:

“You are a messed up meanie, you know that?! Forcing two sisters to fight is just wrong!”

“Um, hellooo… have you even met, me? Of course it’s wrong, that’s why I love it!” Yharim shouts in response as he looks towards Pinkamena and lifts his hand which holds Pinkie Pie’s life force. “What are you waiting for? Get your ass in there and fight your own sister. Oh how it sucks to be you right now...”

Pinkamena was currently seething with rage but due to Yharim’s current possession, the dark pink mare grits her teeth and braces her blade for combat. Pinkie Pie in turn conjures forth her newly acquired blade: The Blood Butcherer, as she says:

“Please... I beg you, Yharim. Take me instead of my sister! I’ll take her place if you just-”

“Shut up, Pinkie!” Pinkamena roars out in response. “Shut your mouth before you make things worse… and fight me!”

Pinkamena rushes forth as she prepares to strike her sister with The Muramasa. Pinkie Pie was now on the verge of tears but grits her teeth as she in turn rushes forth and readies herself to collide with her sister’s blade with The Blood Butcherer.

[CLANK]

The clash of their blades echoes as a result as the two sisters engage in combat. Yharim takes a deep breath as he watches on with utter happiness and says:

"Ah, I love being me."
> Chapter 80 - Battle With The Undead Pt:2.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

[CLANK]

[SHLINK]

The sounds of crossing blades continued to roar out high above as Yharim was currently enjoying every moment of the two ponies combating against each other. He could tell that Pinkamena was holding back but didn’t mind too much as he was simply enjoying the scene before him.

“Now that’s just a beautiful sight. All that’s missing from this is-”

“Yharim!” Candy The Party Girl exclaims as she rushes forward and attempts to shoot Yharim with her shotgun. The Jungle Tyrant simply chuckles as Candy draws near and pumps her weapon.

“Stop!” Yharim exclaims as Candy aims the weapon towards his stomach region.

“Do you surrender, big old meanie?” Candy inquires.

“Not there,” Yharim responds as he grabs the barrel of her shotgun and brings it to his head, his face hidden behind his helmet. “Now you can fire.” This action confuses Candy before she grits her teeth and shouts:

“Fine!”

[BANG]

The shotgun goes off point blank but what happens next causes The Party Girl’s eyes to widen: Absolutely nothing happened.

“Was that it?” Yharim questions. “That was the best you could come up with, Pillar Of Laughter? A shotgun to the face is child’s play.” Yharim then sighs sadly before saying in a lowered tone: “At this rate… no one will give me what I want…”

“And what exactly do you want?” Candy inquires.

As this goes on, Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie continue to clash with their blades as they fly around with their Rocket Boots. In addition, those down below continue to wage war against the undead forces.

“What I want is… a cure... a very particular cure.” Yharim answers.

“What? A cure? Also, what's going on with you? Your attitude is all over the place.” Candy inquires.

Before their conversation could go on any further, Twilight, Terralestia, and Celebes The Dryad enter the fray as they shout in unison:

“Yharim!” Following this exclamation, three different attacks head straight towards Yharim who simply watches and to the surprise of everyone, he stretches his arms out as if he were ready to hug these offensive attacks. Like a friend greeting another.

[BOOM]

Their combined attacks make an impact which results in a large explosion; completely consuming Yharim’s form. Despite this successful assault, they all knew better as they took on defensive statures. The cloud of smoke dissipates from their attack and what Celebes sees causes her to say:

“Why am I not surprised…”

“Hey, so… do you by chance have a more powerful attack? Didn’t really feel that one at all.” Yharim comments as he starts to dust off his armor.

“Why are you doing all of this?!” Twilight inquires.

“It’s because he’s a monster, Twilight!” Terralestia responds.

“I must agree with her, Princess. This being is simply too evil.” Celebes comments.

“A necessary evil…” Yharim comments before he teleports forward and reappears behind terralestia before saying: “Your brother sends his regards.”

[WHAM]

In one swift motion, Yharim sends Terralestia flying into the earth below however a certain terrarian riding a white steed catches her in time.

“Celestia? You ok? Talk to me now.” Linn asks to which no response was made from the terrarian. “Damnit, she’s completely unconscious. With all these undead running around I can’t just-”

“I’ll take her to safety, Linn. You go on ahead and join the fight high above. I know you have a score to settle with him, just like Celestia does.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Linn says as she hops off of Ves and places a hand onto her beloved steed. “You’re going to help these two for now, ok?”

[HORSE NEIGH]

“Ves will help you get Celestia to safety.”

“Thank you, Linn.” Sai says gratefully.

“You think you’re going up there alone, Linn?” Another voice says which catches the attention of the terrarian.

“Shadow Thunder, Tori, you two up for this?” Linn questions.

“I’m definitely in!” Shadow Thunder exclaims.

Tori simply nods in response.

“I’m coming too.” Yet another voice injects itself into the conversation as the group turns towards Starlight Glimmer. “Twilight is up there and she needs me. Everypony else is with the terrarians fighting off the undead.”

“Are you actually here for Shadow, Miss…?” Linn inquires teasingly which causes the two ponies to turn red as a result, as they shout in unison:

“It’s not like that!”

“Yet.” Linn responds.

Suddenly, the sound of a crow goes off as Tori takes off and flies towards their opponent high above.

“All of you go with Tori, I’ll take Celestia away from here until she recovers. Don’t worry, Linn, I shall keep Ves safe in the meantime.”

“Hah! My Ves will be the one keeping you two safe, Sai.” Linn responds as she fires up her Rocket Boots and takes to the skies. Sai carefully places Terralestia onto the back of Ves as he himself mounts the white horse.

“Good luck you two and be very careful, Yharim is not one to be underestimated.” Sai says as he then taps Ves twice which causes the horse to take off with lightning speed.

“By the way… my name’s Starlight Glimmer. Sorry that I didn’t properly introduce myself sooner.”

“It’s fine, beautiful. With all these undead running around, introductions would have to wait.” Shadow Thunder replies which causes the unicorn to blush momentarily.

“I appreciate that… but… there’s nothing beautiful about me. Especially with my past...” Starlight says as she looks up towards the skies and takes off with her Rocket Boots. “Let’s go!”

“Oh, you are so wrong about that… Starlight Glimmer.” Shadow Thunder compliments as he takes off after the unicorn.





With one arm, Yharim was currently blocking all of Celebes’s attacks with her Fiery Greatsword as he says:

“Is this all you can offer me, Dryad? You seem to be much weaker than before. It’s a shame that the Terra Blade was shattered some time ago.”

“What is it that you want?” Twilight inquires from behind Celebes as she prepares to fire a beam of magical energy from her horn. “Why are you doing all of this? I refuse to believe that someone could be this evil just for the sake of being so. What happened to you?”

As this is going on, Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena are still at odds with each other as they hop from building to building while engaging in a struggle of blades. Candy The Party Girl was following close behind but was at war with herself. The terrarian wanted to help Pinkie Pie but the party mare told her that she wanted to handle her sister alone.

“This is so wrong, they shouldn’t be fighting…”

“Sister… let me out.”

“C-Candymena? Are you sure?”

“Yes, It’s time for me to take the stage.”

“B-but, Pinkie Pie said that-”

“Pinkie Pie doesn’t realize what her sister is doing. Take a good look at Pinkamena and tell me what you see?” Candy heeds her sister’s request and takes a moment to observe the two ponies who were currently locked in a sword battle. Then, it hits The Party Girl like an atom bomb as she says:

“Mena is holding back… no, it’s more than that. She has something planned but I don’t have any idea what that is.”

“I do.”

“Really? How do you know, sis?”

“It’s what I’d do if I were in her situation. Pinkamena wants her sister to take that blade from her, The Muramasa. It’s the key to defeating the creature that lurks within her body.”





After contending with Celebes for a few moments, Yharim swiftly rushes forward and collides into The Dryad, sending her flying backwards. Twilight dodges the coming dryad but Yharim seized the opportunity to grab the pony in one swift motion with his right hand. The lavender mare struggles within his grasp as she says:

“P-please… Why are you d-doing all of t-this? What is it t-that you… want? I’m sure we can talk things out… I can help you!”

Yharim just stares at her for a moment although she couldn’t see his expression behind his helmet. Then, she could hear him sigh heavily as he finally says:

“I just want to end it all… to cure my dep-”

“Yharim!” A new voice interjects from below which causes Yharim to look down only to see a pink haired female terrarian coming at him with rapid speed, aiming a lance towards him. “You destroyed everything I ever loved! I’ll kill you!”

Yharim tosses Twilight aside as he prepares to catch Linn’s attack. However, he did not expect Tori to appear from the shadows behind him as the humanoid bird slashes at the back of his neck. Yharim’s armor protects him of course but this strike does temporarily throw him off all while Linn prepares to thrust her lance at him in the process.

“Heeyah!” Linn roars out as she thrusts her lance right into Yharim’s stomach region. His armor prevents her lance from puncturing his flesh but the force of her attack does push him back a few inches.

In the background, a very confused Twilight ponders on Yharim’s words as she says to herself internally:

-What did he mean by a cure? He was going to say something before the others saved me. I couldn’t make it out, but…-

As Twilight is lost in her thoughts, Yharim grasps Linn’s lance and is about to retaliate but a sudden blast of magical energy collides with him and manages to push him back. Following this blast was a dark pegasus who flew into him and kicked Yharim right on his head.

Twilight was trying her best to figure things out until she comes to a sudden realization as she comments in a lowered tone:

“He said ‘dep’ before Linn intervened… he wants a cure for something that starts with dep? But, what in the name of Celestia could he be-” Then, It hits Twilight like a freight train as she gasps in shock before she continues: “Wait… it can’t be, is he suffering from… depression? Yharim… What happened to you? What made you become like this?” Twilight couldn’t believe what she was feeling at the moment but she also couldn’t deny it. The lavender alicorn momentarily took on a sympathetic expression as she repeats her question once more:

“What made you become like this, Yharim?...”
> Chapter 81 - Shadow Thunder's Revelation.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Twilight was absolutely stunned by her internal realization despite everything that was currently going on. Starlight Glimmer, Linn, Shadow Thunder, Tori, and a recovered Celebes The Dryad continue the fight against Yharim. The lavender alicorn shakes her head in an effort to regain her sense of reality as she flies forward and shouts:

“Yharim! Please, I’d rather talk! The fighting doesn’t need to continue!”

“Are you insane, Twilight?!” Linn exclaims. “This guy is beyond just talking to!”

“Twilight, Yharim is the one who released The Moon Lord. It was he who ordered Calamitas to weaken the seal that binds Razeem. He is the reason that monster went to your world in the first place. Princess Celestia is dead because of Yharim, Razeem was just the executioner. Words alone will never reach this tyrant.” Celebes comments.

“The Moon Lord?!” Linn and Shadow Thunder exclaim in unison while Tori’s eyes widen in shock.

“You freed that monster?!” Linn questions in disbelief. “As if destroying my home wasn’t bad enough, now I come to learn that you released the ultimate spawn of Cthulhu?! You absolutely deserve to die!”

As this is going on, Starlight flies over to Twilight and says:

“What are you planning, Twilight?”

“I think I can get through to him. Maybe I can help him where no one else had ever tried before.”

“Twilight… he’s very different compared to any other opponent you’ve ever faced back home. He’s even worse than I was back in the day… Are you sure that you could get through to him? For Celestia’s sake, he has Pinkie Pie’s life force. How can you possibly reach someone who resorts to doing something like that?”

“I… I don’t know, Starlight. It’s just that I feel like he needs help, he told me that he wants to cure his depression.”

“Ok, wait… are you saying that he did all of those bad things because he’s depressed? Can’t he just, I don’t know, talk to somepony?”

“I know it sounds ridiculous, Starlight, but I’ve seen and heard about ponies who became depressed back home and what they do in an effort to escape that depression. I truly do want to help Yharim, but… all the things that he’s done. This is perhaps the most conflicting battle I’ve ever been in. I want to make Yharim pay for what he did but I also can’t help but feel sympathetic for him. I don’t even know what makes him feel so depressed and yet I still want to help him.”

“Oh Twilight… you have such a good heart, you know that?” Starlight then sighs before she continues: “Look, I’ll support whatever it is you want to do but please hear me out on this. To put it simply: Not everyone can be saved, Twilight. Maybe Yharim does have a valid reason for doing all of this but he is still responsible for a lot of the pain and suffering that’s been happening as of late. Even if you were to make him see the light, I’m afraid of what others will demand in compensation.”

“I know…” Twilight responds sadly.

“I’m going to rejoin the fighting. It’s strange though, why is he just taking all of our attacks? He was retaliating before but now he’s just… floating there.”

As Starlight had observed, everyone continues to attack Yharim from multiple directions. Suddenly, Yharim lifts his right hand and prepares to snap his fingers.

“I think I’ve played with you all long enough. It’s time to get things rolling…” Yharim finally snaps his fingers which causes Pinkamena to appear before him in an instant, much to her confusion.





Moments before Yharim snaps his fingers:

Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena continue to zoom around on the rooftops of multiple buildings throughout Home Town. They’d clash blades when they hop into the air before they land onto another building. They finally came to a momentary stand still on top of Candy Cane Corner as they clashed blades once more, albeit with Pinkie Pie struggling in the process.

“Mena! We can put an end to this, together!”

“He has your life force! How exactly are we going to put an end to it, if it results in your death?!” Pinkamena roars out as she kicks Pinkie Pie away, causing her to ski across the roof of Candy Cane Corner.

“That’s enough,” Another voice says which causes Pinkamena to turn her head to its source.

“Candy… stay out of this.” Pinkamena says.

“How can I? This is just wrong!”

“Have you not been listening to anything I’ve said? Like I told my sister, I have no choice!” Pinkamena exclaims as she rushes forward and prepares to strike at The Party Girl. However, a sudden change takes place during that time as Candy’s hair drops down to her neck and her skin darkens in tandem.

“Then I guess it’s time we danced, Mena.” Candymena says as she grabs the dark pink pony by her face, lifts her up, and slams the dark pink pony into the roof.

“Please don’t hurt her!” Pinkie Pie pleads.

“I’m not hurting her too much…” Candymena says as she blocks a forehoof from Pinkamena which was targeted at the dark pink terrarian’s face. “I’m buying you some time to figure things out on your own.” The two dark pink beings continue to duke it out on the rooftop, leaving Pinkie Pie to ponder on those words.

-This would be so much easier if I could just toss her this blade. Sadly, Yharim is watching me… he’ll kill her if I-- Pinkamena says internally, but her inner thoughts are cut off as she suddenly vanishes away. However, just before she vanishes, the dark pink pony smirks as she drops the Muramasa. Pinkie Pie looks towards the sword with a questioning gaze as Candymena says:

“Well, well, looks like that jerk offered Mena the perfect cover. This changes things…”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie pie questions.

“She was hoping that you’d manage to take the blade from her forcefully. However, her teleporting away like that was the perfect cover to ‘drop’ the blade accidentally.”

“So she couldn’t just give it to me because that big old meanie was watching her?”

“Yes, he would’ve killed you if she gave in willingly. Fortunately, you should be spared thanks to her charade and we now have the means to stop the undead. The Muramasa is so much more than just some blade… it can control the undead and even destroy spirits. Let’s just say that during me and my sister’s imprisonment, Steven would often talk about this weapon.”





Pinkamena reappears before Yharim in addition to a few other individuals, much to her own confusion.

“What’s going on? Why did you-”

“Don’t question me and get Skeletron out here.” Yharim responds annoyingly.

“Yharim! Wait!” Twilight calls out as she finally joins the conflict. “Please, I’m begging you to reconsider everything! I want to help you!”

“Oh not this again…” Yharim says as he then chuckles in response. “Why do you even want to offer me your help anyway? Oh let me guess, you want to show me sunshine and rainbows?”

“I want to show you the magic of-”

“Yeah, yeah, friendship and rainbows and ponies and- bleurgh. Gag me! This isn’t The Hallow, Twilight.”

“Wait,” Shadow Thunder says in response. “How do you know about The Hallow?”

“Oh come now, almost everyone in Terraria knows about it. Ah, I can sense that you are a pony who was born there. Before it disappeared, that is.”

“The Hallow? We’ve heard of it before but we never tried to explore it.” Starlight comments all while Linn, Tori, Celebes, and Shadow Thunder watches Yharim cautiously.

Pinkamena listens contently as she perks up her ears.

“I won’t ask you again!” Shadow Thunder roars out. “How do you know about The Hallow? It’s home to all the ponies of Terraria!”

“WHAT?!” Starlight and Twilight exclaims in unison.

“Ponies are actually native to this world?!” Twilight questions.

“That certainly explains why you’re here, Shadow. At first, I was thinking that you somehow got sucked here with us.” Starlight comments.

“Yharim…” Shadow Thunder says angrily. “I’m starting to get the impression that you know what happened to my family and friends, you know what happened to The Hallow… tell me!”

“Poor little pony, you’re about as otherworldly as these two when you think about it. You really want to know what happened to that disgusting biome?”

“Do not mock The Hallow in front of me!” Shadow roars out as darkness starts to gather around him.

“Oh how ironic your very existence is, pony. You can control the darkness despite being born from a biome of light. Then again, that doesn’t surprise me at all… Pony Of Shadows.”

“Do not call me that!”

“Why not? It’s accurate, isn’t it? You're a pony who can control shadows...”

“The Pony Of Shadows?!” Starlight inquires. “You’re this world’s version of that thing?”

“No, The Pony Of Shadows was a tyrant who often opposed The Hallow before The Empress Of Light banished him into limbo. Because of my powers… many thought that I would be the next tyrant but I have nothing to do with that monster!”

"Hah! Now that's just a lie," Yharim responds as he points towards Shadow Thunder. “You and I have something in common, pony. Why don’t you tell them who that entity really is?” Yharim inquires mockingly.

This catches everyone’s attention to which Shadow Thunder grits his teeth in anger towards Yharim.

“You and I are nothing alike! I’m not a monster like you!” Shadow Thunder exclaims.

“I’d disagree… we both had a brother who betrayed us. That’s right, I know all about that. Your mind is an open book and I can certainly relate to that chapter of your life.”

Suddenly, Twilight catches onto what Yharim was hinting towards as she says:

“Shadow Thunder, are you… The Pony Of Shadow’s brother?”

The lavender mare’s inquiry causes Shadow Thunder to take on an expression of shame. In a saddened tone, Shadow Thunder answers:

“Yes… he was my brother. His true name is: Stygian. As I said before, he tried to take over The Hallow and The Empress Of Light was forced to banish him. She didn’t do it alone, however… I helped her… I banished my own brother.” 

"It's still complicated but I think I understand now," Twilight comments as she and Starlight felt sorry for the dark pegasus. "Your world's version of Stygian was in fact The Pony Of Shadows, your brother. When this Empress Of light entity banished him into limbo, he then found a way into our world. From there, he took over our world's version of your brother, our Stygian."

"But then, what happened to him after we sent him back into limbo?" Starlight inquires.

"The same thing that happened to The Hallow," Yharim responds which catches everyone's attention, especially Shadow Thunder's. "Your brother did indeed return to this realm but let's just say that he and The Hallow met an unfortunate fate."

"What are you talking about?!" Shadow Thunder exclaims.

"You asked me earlier about what happened to The Hallow. So, let's answer your question with another question."

"What?!"

"Have you ever tried asking Legion, The Wall Of Flesh? Let's just say that the forces of light and dark are currently within their grasp. Want to see your brother and The Hallow again? Go talk to them."
> Chapter 82 - Boss Battle: Skeletron Pt: 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

“The Wall Of Flesh?!”celebes questions in disbelief. “This must’ve happened while I was on the moon... what did they do to The Hallow?!”

“The Wall Of Flesh? What’s that?” Twilight questions

“I’m disappointed that you seem ignorant of the whole affair, dryad,” Yharim comments as he then turns to pinkamena and says: “Enough chit chat. Now go forth, Pinkamena.” He then starts to slowly fade out of existence to which everyone else present shouts in unison:

“WAIT!”

“What did Legion do to The Hallow?!” Celebes The Dryad inquires.

“Get back here you coward!” Linn exclaims.

“What about my friends and family?!” Shadow Thunder shouts.

“I’m sure you all have tons of questions but they shall be answered in time. Besides, why should I spoil all the fun? It was nice… chatting with you all, especially you, Twilight. Also, don’t forget that I still have your sister’s life force, Pinkamena. I expect you to return to the hideout after this is all over.” Yharim says before he disappears completely; leaving behind Pinkamena in the process. The dark pink pony then sighs as she says:

“Looks like It’s time… no hard feelings, everyone.”



A grey aura starts to consume Pinkamena as she raises her head and roars out to the night sky. Everyone present stares in horror as two skeletal arms starts to form behind the dark pink pony followed by the main abomination that struck fear into them all. A large skull with a red aura inside of its empty eye sockets followed soon after with razor sharp teeth, snarling hungrily towards its prey. A rumbling echoes out from the monstrosity followed by a momentary chuckle before the new entity says:

“It’s time to dance and this skeleton’s got a bone to rip from all of you.”



Everyone floating before Skeletron and Pinkamena were still momentarily stunned as Twilight comments:

“T-that’s… Skeletron? It’s such a… nightmare.”

“Grogar… lord of the undead and the scourge of the north,” Celebes says as she prepares to attack with her Fiery Greatsword. “You should’ve stayed dead, Grogar!”

“Ah, little dryad. I thought your kind was supposed to be extinct…” Skeletron/Grogar responds.

“Says the former giant who was also the last of his kind. Before becoming this abomination, that is.”

“I’ve had enough with idle talks and I’ve waited long enough! Let the carnage commence!” Skeletron roars out as he sends forth both of his skeletal appendages.

“Get out of the way!” Starlight exclaims upon which her fellow allies heeds her warning and takes action. Tori vanishes via a cloud of smoke as they then reappear behind Pinkamena and prepares to strike.

[SHLINK]

The sound of clashing blades echoes as Tori’s kunai-like weapon is blocked by Pinkamena’s Bloody Rupture, her own dagger-like weapon.

“A rogue ninja? Great… Now I have to watch my back while I-” Suddenly, the dark pink pony’s words were cut off by a flapping of wings as she turned towards a dark pegasus who was about to attack her head on before vanishing into a shroud of shadows.

“What the buck?” The dark pink mare says in confusion as Shadow Thunder reappears above her head all while Tori vanishes once more. The dark pegasus had a ball of black energy held within his left front hoof and prepared to slam it down upon pinkamena’s form. That is until another limb of Skeletron blocks it, much to Shadow Thunder’s confusion. The pegasus flaps his wing and gains a short distance away from pinkamena as he says:

“Wait, I thought there were only two arms?”

“Not exactly,” Pinkamena responds as she conjures forth three more skeletal arms, which results in four skeletal limbs surrounding her although they are smaller than the larger arms that were currently contending with Twilight, Celebes, and Linn. All the while, Skeletron’s skull was floating towards the moon as the entity’s eye socket glows with red energy.

“Skelly has so much more power at his disposal which can be called upon by a willing host. Ironic as that is...” Pinkamena replies as she sends forth two of her own skeletal appendages to attack Shadow Thunder, keeping the other two nearby in preparation for a certain humanoid-bird ninja as she says internally:

-Come on out, birdie. I won’t let you sneak up on me again.-

Observing her from the darkness and with incredible subterfuge, Tori takes notice of this action as they say internally:

“Very wise… she’s keeping those limbs at the ready to counter my next attack. In that case…” Tori then conjures a set of explosives and says: “Let’s test how effective your defense is.” The bird-like entity then reveals them self as they toss the bombs towards Pinkamena, resulting in an explosion. Tori waits to observe if the explosives left their mark but was surprised to see a barrier of bones which materialized itself in order to protect the dark pink mare. The barrier of bones then shoots forth with the intention of ramming into Tori, to which the humanoid bird barely manages to avoid thanks to their smaller size.

Meanwhile, Shadow Thunder continues to avoid Pinkamena’s skeletal appendages attacks as she controls them to her whim and makes them chase the dark pegasus.

Twilight, Starlight, Celebes, and Linn try their best to avoid the two large skeletal arms of Skeletron as the appendages swings at them violently and even attempts to punch them as they close themselves into a fist and rushes forth with frightening force.

Down below, everyone else in Home Town continues to fight off the nearly endless horde of undead. The ponies, terrarians, zebra, lihzhard, and even a handful of slimes, courtesy of Fluttershy, managed to create a form of barricade around themselves by using the remains of destroyed structures. The struggle in Home Town against the undead, both in the skies and on the earth below, continues to rage on until a horrifying scenario takes place.

“Rise my Blood Moon!” The skull of Skeletron exclaims as the night sky is covered in a blanket of crimson red. In addition, the moon itself also took on this coloration and if one were to look closely, they could’ve sworn they could see the facial features of a skull. In an instant, all of the zombies starts to mutate before everyone’s very eyes as blood starts to come gushing out of them, turning them into another form of undead: Blood Zombie.

Steven takes notice of this and comments: “Oh no, it’s just like seven years ago… The Blood Moon!”

“Yeah… I remember it like it was yesterday, damn thing tore apart my tavern.” Ross Bosman says as he continues to fire away at the undead with his Musket from behind the safety of the makeshift barrier.

“Oh my goodness… I hope Twilight and the others are safe up there.” Rarity says worryingly.

“Don’t worry about her, she and the others are too awesome to fail. They can handle that big skeleton dude but we need to get rid of these undead for them!” Rainbow Dash exclaims as she fires her Minishark, killing some of the flying undead entities in the process.

“I need to get up there to help my sister!” Pinkie Pie shouts as she looks towards her sister who was floating high above with noticeably two skeletal arms, floating by her side.

“We can help her by defeating the undead and by keeping you safe. Remember, you have to be ready to use the Muramasa!” Candymena responds as she fires a shotgun and takes out a number of undead from just beyond the barricade. Incidentally, Ceeman The Arms Dealer sees this and says:

“How the fuck did you get my shotgun?!”

In the background, Fluttershy converses with Princess Pinkie as she says:

“Oh my, Princess Pinkie… should I call upon The Slime Gods to help Twilight and the others?”

“They will be fine, Goddess Fluttershy. I agree with what Rainbow Dash said, we need to-” Suddenly, the slime Princess’s words were cut off by what happens next as everyone within the barricade looks up towards the sky in absolute bafflement.

All of the undead starts to float into the air and are being sucked towards Skeletron. The flesh of the undead starts to disappear; leaving behind only their bones as a result. Twilight, Starlight, Tori, Linn, Shadow Thunder, and Celebes all retreated to a safe distance as they come together into a group.

Pinkamena looks up at Skeletron’s skull as she questions internally: -What the hell are you planning, Skelly?-

The skeletal remains of the undead starts to fuse with Skeletron in addition to the entity’s two large skeletal arms. Everyone, aside from Pinkamena, gasps in shock as they finally take notice of what Skeletron was doing. The bones of all the undead start to morph into multiple large skeletal limbs in addition to three other skulls which were noticeably smaller than the original. A red orb starts to form into the eye socket of all four skulls which seemed to act as their ‘Eye’.



Fluttershy watches in horror as her eyes widen and her mouth drops agape. Princess Pinkie then laughs nervously as she says:

“On second thought, Fluttershy… go ahead and call them…”
> Quick Update! Prelude To Chapter 83
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello ladies and gents! Some of you might be worried and/or wondering about the lack of chapters these last few days. As you all know, I often pride myself on giving you daily chapters and sometimes I even release more than one. I am making this quick update to inform you that all is going well and that I haven’t given up on writing, if any of you came to fear that. 

To put it shortly, I just had some personal things pop up that needed my attention. I have however resolved those things and I’m proud to say that I’ve returned! 

This chapter might be removed once I officially released Chapter 38, which will be later today, but I’d like to take this time to give you all a little treat. I appreciate each and every one of you who have stuck with me since the beginning of this story, even going so far as to trust me with your OC characters. Therefore, I’d like to give everyone a little taste of something I’ve been working on behind the scenes. Allow me to introduce, without any spoilers of course:



I’ve decided to turn Hardmode into this story’s sequel, which is of course to be expected, rather than putting everything into just this story or as I like to call this: Book One. Terraria Hardmode shall be Book Two.
> Chapter 83 - Boss Battle: Skeletron Pt: 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Skeletron and his army of limbs currently hovers high above Home Town, the skeletal entity’s fiery red eyes looking down upon its denizens. Skeletron chuckles momentarily before saying:

“You’re all going to have a bad time!” The entity’s largest skull is suddenly surrounded by a red aura which causes every one of its skeletal limbs to rush forward. The many limbs of Skeletron descends upon Home Town and its denizens all while other limbs contend with Twilight, Starlight, Celebes, Linn, Tori, and Shadow Thunder which results in various scenarios throughout the entire town.

Pinkie Pie and Candymena are met with a very different opponent in comparison to everyone else. Where the others have to face the various skeletal limbs of Skeletron, the two party lovers were confronted by Skeletron’s current vessel: Pinkamena. Despite the loss of her recent blade, The Muramasa, Pinkamena was currently duel wielding two dagger like weapons to which catches Pinkie Pie by surprise as she says:

“Those are my Bloody Ruptures! They were from my inventory, how did you-”

“We’re still connected when it comes to our inventory, sis. Whatever you and I have stored there can be accessed by both of us, regardless of our current condition,” Pinkamena then turns to Candymena and says: “Leave me and my sister to our own conflict. You seem to understand my current plight and I know that you’d do the same if it was your sister who’s life was on the line. Go on and help the others throughout Home Town, they’ll need your help to fight off Skelly’s many arms. Also, tell Fluttershy to hurry up and get those Slime Gods out.”

Candymena simply nodded in response as no more words were needed. The two completely understood each other and Pinkamena’s statement was indeed true. Were it Candy whose life force was being held within Yharim’s grasp, Candymena would do absolutely anything to save her sister. In a sudden dark pink blur, Candymena vanishes from their view; leaving behind the two pony siblings to contend with each other.

Pinkie Pie conjures forth The Muramasa and wields it within her forehooves as the two mares start to walk on their hind limbs. It might’ve looked awkward to anyone else, seeing two ponies moving bipedally but when it comes to Pinkie Pie and by extension Candymena, this was actually natural for them.

“Here I come, Mena!” Pinkie Pie roars out as she rushes forward and attempts to slice away at her sister. However, the party pony hesitates as she still didn’t want to hurt the dark pink pony to which Pinkamena says:

“Two things, sis: First off…” Pinkamena jumps into the air and kicks Pinkie Pie away with her left hind leg, the force of her kick sending the party pony skiing backwards but not enough to knock her onto the ground as Pinkie Pie’s hind legs digs into the earth. “Don’t ever announce to your opponent that you’re coming at them. Secondly…” The dark pink mare then lunges forward with her dual daggers but makes sure to aim directly for Pinkie Pie’s Muramasa. Pinkie Pie recovers from her sister's kick in time as she raises The Muramasa and blocks Pinkamena’s strike. “Don’t ever hesitate to fight an opponent who used to be your friend or in this case... your sister. Yharim might not be here but I know he’s watching so let’s put on a good show. Forgive me for everything, sister...” Pinkamena finishes as the two ponies continue their clashing of blades. However, If one were to look closely they couldn’t help but feel as if this was more of a training session for Pinkamena as she was helping her sister in her own way.





Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Zecora, and all of their allies were currently contending with Skeletron’s skeletal limbs. Gex The Witchdoctor managed to push back one of the skeletal appendages as he aims his staff and casts a spell in his native tongue by exclaiming:

“FUS RO DAH!” A powerful force is unleashed as a result to which catches the eye of Magius The Wizard as he says:

“My word! I simply must pick your brain about your kind’s spells in the future.”

In addition, a pink blur appears before them as Candy The Party Girl, who noticeably returned to normal, points a finger to Gex excitingly and exclaims:

“Ooh! I love that shout! I especially love to use it to send giants off of a cliff which is kind of funny since Skeletron used to be a giant. Their toes are pretty smelly too which makes it weird when you have to eat one in order to see its effects during alchemy. Oh! I got my alchemy up to level one hundred, by the way!”

“...” Everyone present, even Skeletron’s limbs, were momentarily frozen in place as a result. 





Incidentally, even Skeletron himself stopped fighting Twilight and the others high in the sky momentarily as he seemed to ‘Overhear’, Candy’s words from his skeletal limb and says: 

“What the fuck?...”





Back on the ground with Candy and her allies...

“What?...” Everyone questions in unison. After a few moments, the skeletal appendages of Skeletron simply shrugs as they return to attacking everyone else present.

“Now’s not the time for that, everyone!” Tempest The Bandit exclaims as she dodges multiple of Skeletron’s appendages and vanishes via a sudden cloud of smoke. She’d then reappear nearby and send forth explosive shuriken's which make contact with the skeletal limbs. “You can talk all about it after we deal with that large skeleton and these limbs!”

Ritsu was nearby in her werefox form, accompanied by Applejack, as they battled with another skeletal appendage. Usinger her amazing physical prowess, Ritsu grabbed Applejack and jumped high into the air as the duo avoided a strike from the skeletal limb. Ritsu then throws Applejack towards the appendage as the cowmare then conjures forth her Blade Of Grass and strikes at the limb, causing it to rupture into a large bundle of bones all of which drops to the ground as a result. Everyone else present was about to commend their achievement but were cut off as the bones started to glow with a grey aura. The broken pieces of the arm start to float into the air and come together as they slowly reform the skeletal appendage.

“Gosh darn it all! It can regenerate itself?!” Applejack exclaims with a hint of frustration.

“Yes, Skeletron and his appendages have incredible regenerative capabilities,” Steven The Clothier comments. “Skeletron is a demonic spirit so we can’t just destroy him physically like we would with most other opponents. We need something that can-” Suddenly, Steven’s words were cut off as Pinkie Pie is sent flying into them all. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash manages to intercept the pin mare and catches her before she could collide with the earth.

“You ok, Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash inquires.

“I-I’m fine, Rainbow… my sis is just too strong for me.” Pinkie Pie replies upon which yet another pink mare arrives, albeit with a darker pink coloration.

“Like that wizard dude said, you can’t defeat Skeletron or any of his limbs by physical means. However, Pinkie Pie has the key.” Pinkamena says as she then lunges forth and prepares to clash blades with her sister once more. Suddenly, a familiar occurrence happens as the world around them starts to warp and shift. In mere moments, Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie were now located on a hill of lush green grass which happened to overlook a certain town: Ponyville.

“W-wait, Mena… is this what I think it is?” Pinkie Pie questions.

“It sure is,” Pinkamena responds as she looks on towards Ponyville. “We’re in the mind-link and I gave us a familiar background so that we can chat peacefully.”

“Ooooh, It’s been a while since we’ve been here together. I think we were in that SCP Universe the last time we used this. Hehe, I guess coming to Terraria wasn’t the first time we were thrown into another world.”

“You and I are gonna have to reveal our adventures to everyone else after this whole thing with Skeletron is over with. But for now, I have so much that I need to tell you, sis, and we don’t have much time left.”

“Wait, doesn’t time change while we’re here?”

“It does but not out there in the real world. Right now, you and I are seconds away from clashing our blades together in combat. Once that happens, we’ll be ejected back into the real world so I’d say we currently have about five minutes left, give or take. This is all very confusing to me even though we’ve done this multiple times before. I even brought Candy here once,” Pinkamena then takes a deep breath before she sighs and takes on a content smile. “Let’s get down to it. When we return to the real world, I want you to kick me as hard as you can at the very moment our blades collide. Yharim is watching my every move so if it looks like I let you win then he’ll kill you right then and there. He’s got a sick sense of entertainment…” The dark pink mare momentarily becomes angered before she continues. “Once you do that, I’ll take the fall and make it seem as if you truly have defeated me. Kick me with all your might and don’t you dare hold back, make it hurt so much that I can’t even walk for the next three days. Finally, you must use The Muramasa to destroy Skeletron and his limbs. That blade can destroy and imprison spiritual beings so I wasn't kidding when I said that you posses the key for Skeletron's defeat.”

Pinkie Pie simply sat there with mixed feelings in her heart along with a saddened expression as she replies:

“I-I’m so sorry, Mena... because of my weakness you-”

“What did I tell you before?” Pinkamena interjects and cuts off the party mare’s words. “You are not responsible for any of this, sis. I’d go to Tartarus and back for you; If bending to the will of some depressed jerk will keep you safe then so be it. I will never blame you for any of this so stop doing that to yourself. If anything, I was the one who failed to protect you when that bastard showed up so this is all my fault. Heh, I guess we-” Suddenly, in a pink blur, Pinkamena’s words were cut off by her sister’s next action. The party pony’s forelimbs were wrapped around Pinkamena’s neck as Pinkie Pie brought her into a hug and says:

“I love you so much, Mena. I promise that I’ll do as you say when we get back. I’m so sorry…”

“I love you too, sis. We don’t have much time left but let me just say this before we’re forced back,” Pinkamena lifts her left front hoof and wraps it around Pinkie Pie. “Everything I do, I do it for you. I want you to always be happy no matter the cost. I was content with our life before that stupid Moon Lord showed up. I was happy to remain deep within your psyche, within the mind-link, while you live your life out there in the real world. I was so happy to watch you meet Twilight and the others in Ponyville, when you defeated Nightmare Moon, became a bearer of an Element, and so much more. You’ve made me so proud, sis.”

Pinkie Pie couldn’t hold it back any longer and with those words from Pinkamena, the party pony’s tears started to flow like a river. She was about to say something but was stopped as Pinkamena puts a hoof to her muzzle and, shockingly, starts to sing a lullaby:

“Oh stop your crying It'll be alright,
Just take my hoof, hold it tight,
I will protect you from all around you,
I will be here so don’t you cry.”

The two mares start to slowly dissipate as they are returning to the real world. However, before and during their disappearance, pinkamena continues her lullaby:

“When destiny calls you,
You must must be strong,
I may not be with you,
But you’ve got to hold on,
You’ll see in time, I know,
That you’re stronger than you know.”

The lower portion of their bodies have already dissipated all while their shoulder region and upwards were still in the process of disappearing.

“You’ll be in my heart,
No matter what Yharim says,
All I do is for you,
Always…”

The two mares finally disappear as Pinkamena’s words fade from existence. 

“Always....”





[SHLINK-CLANK]

Pinkie Pie's Muramasa and Pinkamena's two dagger like weaponry, Blood Rupture, clashes into each other as the two mares engage in a sword struggle. Pinkie Pie grunts as she puts more effort into the struggle and pushes Pinkamena back momentarily. Following this action, the party pony hops into the air and kicks Pinkamena with her hind legs in full force which sends the dark pink pony flying backwards, collides into the earth, and skis across the earth as a result leaving behind a cloud of dust.

"F-forgive me... Mena." Pinkie Pie says with a hushed tone as she looks on to her unconscious sister with guilt, regret, and pity. The party pony then turns towards her allies in the background who were still engaged in battle with Skeletron's skeletal limbs. With The Muramasa in her grasp, she grits her teeth and shouts: "Time to kick you out of this party, you bunch of meanies!"

Unbeknownst to Pinkie Pie, an inner conversation was taking place within Pinkamena.

-I'm surprised you didn't reveal to her that I was within that mind-link of yours too-

-It's a precaution, Skelly. We can't afford to let Yharim catch onto me and your agreement. He'd kill her in a heartbeat-

-I don't care about your sister but you make a valid point I suppose. Regardless, I lost about ninety-nine percent of my powers thanks to your plan. That other me fighting them now is but a puppet or a clone of my true self. However, it took most of my powers with it so I won't be at full strength for a few days. I hope you know what you're doing... for both of our sakes- 

> Chapter 84 - Boss Fight: Skeletron Pt: 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Quickly rushing into action, Pinkie Pie zooms off into a pink blur which fires directly into a skeletal limb that was contending with Katelyn The Mechanic and various other terrarians of Home Town.

“Yah!” Pinkie Pie roars out as she spins around in the air with so much speed that she becomes reminiscent of a blue-pink whirlwind, the blue coloration likely a result of The Muramasa. Like a powerful axe cutting through a tree, Pinkie Pie cuts apart the skeletal limbs of Skeletron. Most interestingly though was the fact that the limbs were unable to regenerate themselves as a blue aura consumed them via The Muramasa’s strike.

“Awesome, Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash exclaims.

“Of course!” Steven The Clothier shouts. “So that's why Lunaris and I saw Skeletron protecting that blade all those years ago. That’s our ticket to victory!” 

“Yeehaw! In that case, let’s get to destroyin’ these here limbs!” Applejack exclaims.

Everyone present continues to fight against the skeletal limbs all while Pinkie Pie finishes them off with The Muramasa. During this time, Fluttershy and Princess Pinkie were currently conversing with each other as the slime Princess says:

“Now that Pinkie Pie has the key to destroying our foe, we must go up there with the others and help them defeat the main portion of Skeletron’s body. It’s time, Goddess Fluttershy, let us summon The Slime Gods!”

Fluttershy nods in response to the pink slime’s request as she closes her eyes in concentration. The Core Of The Slime Gods insigma that was present on her flank/cutie mark started to glow with a red and purple aura upon which said aura started to spread out throughout her entire body. Mere moments afterwards, two dome-shaped large entities start to form alongside the yellow pegasus both of which consisted of the same coloration as the aura that currently surrounded Fluttershy: Red and purple. 

This event immediately catches the attention of the former prisoners of The Dungeon, in addition to Tempest The Bandit, all of whom watch on with widened eyes and shocked expressions.

“Holy shit! Giant slimes?!” Jeremy The Angler exclaims.

“By Terra… those are The Slime Gods. I’ve read about them before but to see them for myself is simply extraordinary.” Magius The Wizard comments.

Livian The Stylist, Katelyn The Mechanic, Tempest The Bandit, and Ross Bosman simply watches in awe all while Candy The Party Girl hops in place, clapping her hands in a celebratory fashion.

Steven The Clothier was equally shocked as he turns to Rarity, who was currently positioned besides him, and says:

“That’s amazing, has your friend always been able to do that?”

“It’s more of a recent addition, darling.” Rarity responds.

“She’s totally awesome! She used this when we were back in The Crimson and kicked that Cthorator jerk’s hide!” Rainbow Dash exclaims. A pink blur suddenly appears next to Rainbow Dash as Pinkie Pie starts to pluck pieces of bone out of her mane and says:

“She’s totally super duperly amazing! Also, it’s going to take forever to get these bones out of my mane, hehe.”

“Now that we have them at our side, go forth yellow butterfly and show our foe the might of the gods of slimes.” Zecora says as she and Gex draw near the group after defeating another limb of Skeletron upon which Pinkie Pie zooms by and destroys the limb permanently with her Muramasa. 

Fluttershy starts to float into the air with the two Slime Gods at her side as she exclaims with a red and purple aura in her eyes; said aura also surrounding her form:

“Return to slime!”





Twilight, Shadow Thunder, Starlight, Celebes, Tori, and Linn continue to combat against the large skull in addition to its three smaller clones along with the two largest skeletal arms of all that were present. 

Tori was currently in combat with two of the smaller skulls of Skeletron. Both of the skull’s crimson eyes start to radiate with a red aura and after a brief moment, both of their mouths open up upon which a beam of red energy shoots towards the humanoid bird. Both of the beams make contact however what happens next shocks both of the entities as the being they blasted was revealed to be a clone. The real Tori reappears behind both of the skulls as the humanoid bird brings out two pistols and duel wields them, taking aim at each of the skulls. 

[BANG-BANG]

Both of the ranged weaponry fires off in tandem as they blast a hole in the back of the two skull entities which results in them roaring out in a fit of rage. The hole then starts to reform itself but not before Tori throws a set of explosives into each of them which results in the two skulls exploding from the inside out, shattering them into pieces. Sadly, this was a momentary victory for Tori as the pieces of the shattered skulls started to reform themselves, much to the humanoid bird’s annoyance.

Linn was currently battling with one of the largest arms of Skeletron, in one on one combat. In an impressive display of strength, the female terrarian was almost amazonian-like as she was currently pushing against a clenched fist of the large skeletal arm. 

“Hah! Is that all you got?!” Linn then grits her teeth as she grabs onto the fist and roars out as she starts to spin in place. As a result, the skeletal arm was currently being forced into a spinning whirlwind with Linn serving as the metaphorical center of the twister. “Let me put you into a grave!” Linn roars out as she finally releases the skeletal appendage and sends it hurling down into the earth below which results into a small crater. The skeletal appendage shatters on impact but before Linn could celebrate, the shattered remains of the appendage starts to reform themselves to which she roars out in irritation:

“For fucks sake! Just stay down!”

Shadow Thunder and Starlight Glimmer were currently contending with the other largest skeletal arm of Skeletron as the duo performs combos and various attacks in tandem. Using his powers, Shadow vanishes into the darkness, taking Starlight with him, as the two dodges a clenched fist that was rocketing towards them. They both reappear behind the skeletal arm as Starlight fires off a powerful beam of magic which makes contact and explodes on impact. This results in pieces of the large arm being blown off upon which the skeletal limb tries to retaliate by turning around and rocketing towards the duo once more. However, a sudden bunch of tentacle-like appendages which was comprised of darkness and shadows wraps around the arm; halting it in place.

“Blast this thing with all you’ve got, Starlight!” Shadow Thunder exclaims.

“I’m on it!” Starlight responds with her horn currently alighted and conjuring forth her weapon: Starfury. She starts to barrage the bounded skeletal appendage with magical energy blasts and pink falling stars which explodes on impact, thanks to her blade. This results in the skeletal appendage slowly starting to fall apart from the onslaught all while Shadow Thunder makes sure to keep the appendage bound and held in place. After a few moments of Starlight’s relentless assault, the appendage completely falls apart as shattered bones start to fall in the process. The two ponies bump hooves as Shadow Thunder says:

“Nice work, beautiful.”

“You weren’t so bad yourself, Sha-” Starlight’s words were cut off as she and her pegasus ally observes the skeletal appendage slowly starting to reform itself as the shattered bones join together.

“Well… buck…” The two ponies comment in unison with a deadpan expression.

Twilight and Celebes were unleashing all of their power against what was easily the main and strongest appendage of Skeletron: The largest skull. It wasn’t alone however as one of the smaller skulls was accompanying it while the other two skulls were still fighting against Tori. 

“Fools, no matter how hard you hit me, no matter how many times I ‘fall’, I’m always good for a laugh as I regenerate myself.” Skeletron antagonizes as the large skull then rushes forth with its maw agape, ready to eat both twilight and Celebes whole. Twilight grabs Celebes with her left forehoof as she then fires up her horn and teleports them both away, dodging Skeletron’s approach as a result. They then reappear behind him and are about to counterattack. However, Skeletron chuckles to himself and says while facing away from them:

“Your pathetic allies have already done that trick to my other limbs, I won’t fall for it.” After saying those words, the smaller skull that was accompanying Skeletron manifests itself right next to Twilight and Celebes as the two turn in shock towards the entity whose mouth was now starting to open up.

-Dammit! We can't dodge that in time!- Celebes says internally as she then turns to Twilight and attempts to shield her from the attack. Suddenly, a familiar figure zooms past the skull entity which results in a slice wound being left behind onto the skull. The skull’s attack is interrupted as the assailant responsible starts to come into view accompanied by a series of giggling.

“Hey there, Twilight! Your aunty Pinkie Pie is here to help!” Pinkie Pie exclaims happily as she wields The Muramasa. “Oh! And turn around, I brought some help.” Heeding to Pinkie Pie’s request, Twilight and Celebes turn around only to see many figures behind them which consisted of ponies, terrarians, a goblin, a lihzhard, and a zebra.

A large red and purple aura also joins the fray which was accompanied by two large entities. This causes Twilight to smirk as she recognizes a certain yellow pegasus who now stood alongside the two large dome shaped beings. 

Fluttershy points a hoof towards Skeletron and exclaims with a powerful tone:

“Prepare to feel our combined wrath, Lord Of The Undead!”
> Chapter 85 - Sai Sahan's Vow.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

“Come on then!” Skeletron roars out in defiance. “Come gods or mortals, you will all be reduced to dust!” The skeletal entity rushes forward with its large skull and two skeletal appendages; ready to combat its many foes.

Fluttershy and her two large slime companions also rush forth as they and Skeletron collide head on. Crimulan, the large crimson colored slime entity, pushed against Skeletron’s right arm while Ebonian, the large dark purple slime entity, pushed against Skeletron’s right appendage. As for the yellow pegasus herself, she was currently engaged in physical combat with the large skull of Skeletron, the main portion of the entity’s very being. The large skull then tries to bite down on her but the pegasus retaliates by catching Skeletron’s maw, holding the entity’s jaw apart in the process, before she then lifts up the upper jaw with so much force that she manages to snap the skull’s jaw in the process.

As this is going on, everyone else present is currently contending with the rest of Skeletron’s smaller appendages. However, things would be different this time for they now possessed the means to permanently destroy the appendages and prevent them from regenerating: Pinkie Pie’s Muramasa. The party pony became absolutely crucial to their success as for every one of Skeletron’s limbs that was destroyed in battle, the ones responsible would call out to the pink pony to finish them off upon which she would perform the action in a pink blur.

The battle continues to rage on as Fluttershy and her two summoned slime allies keep the main portions of Skeletron at bay. Skeletron and his trio of opponents were evenly matched as for every attack Fluttershy and her allies would dish out, Skeletron would retaliate with equal ferocity, and vice versa.

Pinkie Pie was currently assisting Twilight and Celebes with all three of Skeletron’s smaller skull clones. Celebes manages to cut one of the skulls clean in half upon which she’d shout:

“Now, Pinkie Pie!”

[ZOOM-SHLINK]

In a pink blur, Pinkie Pie heeds The Dryad’s request and slices the remnants of the skull entity’s remains. A blue aura consumes the remains thus preventing any hope of the skull entity to reform itself leaving behind only two more skulls in the process.

“One down, two to go.” Twilight comments as she, Celebes, and Pinkie Pie prepares to attack the two remaining skull entities. However, the trio failed to realize that the skull duo floating before them had come up with a plan. Approaching Twilight, Celebes, and Pinkie Pie from behind with rapid speed was one of Skeletron’s smaller arm appendages. Tanner The Guide, who is floating nearby and was supporting some of the other terrarians fight off other limbs, spotted the small arm approaching twilight and her two allies as he roars out:

“Watch out!” Sadly, his warning was too late as the arm successfully strikes the trio from behind but most disturbingly, it wasn’t entirely aiming for all three of them. Its main target was Pinkie Pie who lets out a painful:

“AURGH!” To make matters even worse, this sudden attack causes the pink pony to accidentally drop The Muramasa which flies off into the distance from the force of the impact. As a result, everyone’s best means of destroying Skeletron and his appendages permanently was also sent flying away with that blade.

Pinkie Pie was rendered unconscious as a result of the impact and was now falling down to the earth below. Twilight and Celebes, both of whom manage to recover from the strike, look on in horror. They wanted to save the pink pony but the two skulls and the appendage that had struck them from behind was preventing them from doing so as the skeletal limbs blocked their path. Suddenly, another blur zooms towards Pinkie Pie and catches the party pony thus preventing her from crashing into Home Town.

They then reappear on the roof of Candy Cane Corner as the being who was responsible for saving Pinkie Pie puts the pink pony down carefully and says:

“It’s a good thing Celestia and I got back in time, I must also commend the speed of these Hermes Boots.” Sai Sahan comments as he caresses Pinkie Pie’s pink mane. The party pony slowly starts to come to as she opens her eyes and takes notice of the terrarian who stood beside her.

“Wha… what happened? S-Sai? Is Celestia… ok?” Pinkie Pie questions tiredly.

“She is fine, Pinkie Pie. It took a couple of healing potions and some rest but she pulled through. Her pride is a little shattered since this is the second time she was rendered unconscious from a boss fight. Aside from that though, she’s good. In fact, she should be helping your friends up there in-” Suddenly, Sai’s words were cut off as he could feel someone was watching them. The terrarian turns around and notices another pony, one of a dark pink coloration along with a resemblance to Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie Pie’s sister, I presume?” Sai questions.

“Pinka...mena,” Pinkie Pie says groggily as she was unfortunately about to fall unconscious again. “I’m so happy… to know… that you’re… ok.” With those final words, the party pony falls back into the embrace of sleep but this time with a happier expression and a content smile.

“Thank you... for saving her,” Pinkamena responds as during everyone’s battle with Skeletron, the dark pink pony regained her consciousness. “Unfortunately, without The Muramasa, none of you have a chance to permanently destroy Skelly for good.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Sai says as he chuckles momentarily before he continues: “Hope isn’t lost yet, Pinkamena. Both for all of us and you.” Pinkamena’s ears perks up from those words as she says:

“What are you insinuating?”

“Thanks to your sister, we know that you’re being forced to do all of this in order to save her. Yharim is a cruel and traitorous monstrosity. I guess what I’m trying to say is: Celestia and I know your current predicament all too well, especially Celestia. I take it that Yharim has revealed to you about what he’s done to Lunaris?”

“Yeah, he told me about it. Not to mention the fact that I heard everything Twilight told my sister from inside her psyche, when we were still linked together.”

“That sounds about right,” Sai says as he takes on an expression of sadness mixed with empathy. “Like you and Pinkie Pie, Celestia’s brother means the absolute world to her. She would die if it meant that he could be free from Yharim’s grasp. I would do the same for both of them as well. You probably don’t need me to tell you this but I shall make you this vow and if Celestia were here with us, she’d do the same,” Sai Sahan then puts a clenched fist over his heart as he then says: “I, Sai Sahan, hereby vow to watch over your sister in your absence. I’m sure that you’ll be forced to commit heinous acts in servitude to Yharim; in order to protect your sister. Know this, we shall never call you a monster no matter what happens next. A monster would commit foul deeds for pure enjoyment and selfish reasons. You, on the other hand… or hoof, does it in order to save the one you love. That alone earns my eternal respect.”

Upon hearing those words, Pinkamena closes her eyes and nods contently before saying:

“Thank you,” She then turns her gaze back to the battle taking place high above and says: “There’s still the issue of them not having The Muramasa any more to finish off Skelly.”

“As I said before, all hope isn’t lost,” Sai says as he then smirks before he continues: “Keep watching for this will all be over, very soon.”





High in the skies above Home Town, everyone continues to struggle against Skeletron and his remaining appendages. Unfortunately, due to the loss of The Muramasa, they were slowly starting to feel the fatigue from their efforts as no matter what they’d do, Skeletron and his limbs would just keep reforming over and over again. The largest skull of Skeletron was currently floating high above them all while his two largest skeletal arms fought against Fluttershy and The Slime Gods.

“I already told you, worms. This struggle of yours is pointless and no matter how hard you hit me, no matter-”

“Yeah! Yeah! We get it!” Rainbow Dash interjects and cuts off Skeletron’s words. “You’re always good for a laugh and bla bla bla.” The cyan pegasus says annoyingly as she fires her minishark at a few more of Skeletron’s appendages upon which said limbs would simply reform from her efforts.

Skeletron simply chuckles in response before saying:

“Oh you are just a treat.”

Unbeknownst to the large skull, Twilight was charging up her horn during their conversation as she then finally unleashes a powerful energy blast.

[BOOM]

The lavender mare’s attack successfully makes its mark as she literally blasts half of Skeletron’s face off in the process. However, the skull simply laughs and starts to reform itself while saying:

“Pointless, it’s all pointless. Without that wretched blade, none of you can ever hope to-”

[SHLINK]

Suddenly, Skeletron’s words were cut off as a familiar sword pierced his large skull; directly between his eyes. This sudden action even causes all of his limbs to freeze in place as a result. Everyone is shocked by this and turns to a female terrarian with wings who is revealed to be the one responsible for the assault.

“Sorry for being late, everyone,” Terralestia says with a smirk. “What’s wrong, Skeletron? Loss for words are we? I’m here to finish you off from where my brother started. Everyone! Attack him in full force while the blade is embedded into him!”

Heeding to her request, everyone else present starts to unleash their fury upon the large skull. Magical blasts, explosions, ranged weaponry, every form of attack that was available to everyone present was now being unleashed relentlessly against the large skull. Skeletron’s largest skull slowly but surely starts to deteriorate and thanks to The Muramasa being stabbed into his form, it prevents the entity from regenerating. However, despite what was going to happen in mere moments, Skeletron simply embraces the end for he knew one thing that everyone else present didn’t: This wasn’t the true Skeletron but something that was incredibly reminiscent to the original. A perfect clone, one could say.

-This is fine- Skeletron says internally as the skeletal entity is reduced to nothing; a result of everyone’s combined attacks. -I live on thanks to that pony. Revel in this shallow victory for now you worms for I shall return someday. As for you, Yharim… I hope Pinkamena does indeed give me the chance to get my hands on you-

As Skeletron continues burn and sizzle out of existence due to everyone else’s attacks, the skeletal entity smirks with its bareboned jaws and says one last thing internally:

-As for you, Steven; my insurance policy… I hope you expose that foolish imbecile… Tanner The Guide. Consider this my middle finger to you, Tanner-

Finally, the skeletal menace was finally obliterated as the largest skull of Skeletron is reduced to dust. In addition, all of Skeletron’s limbs also starts to fade away as The Muramasa that was once embedded into the skull starts to fall down to the earth below before being caught by Celebes, The Dryad.

Everyone simply stares on in shock for they couldn’t believe it, they’ve all won. In unison, they all take on a confident smile as they shout together:

“WE DID IT! HERE COMES THE LOOT!”





Down below and on the roof of Candy Cane Corner, Sai Sahan and Pinkamena observes the end result of the battle with Skeletron all while Pinkie Pie still remains unconscious. The dark pink pony was about to say something before a portal opens up behind her and, most disturbingly, mechanical-like limbs snatches her up which causes Sai to shout:

“Mena!” Sai also extends his left hand out in an effort to somehow help the pony who was now caught by this mysterious mechanical arm. In response, Pinkamena simply moves her head from left to right as she says:

“No, it’s ok. Yharim is likely making sure that I return to the hideout. I guess he doesn’t trust me enough to return on my own,” The mechanical arm then starts to drag itself, and by extension Pinkamena, back into the portal as the dark pink pony shouts: “Protect my sister, Sai Sahan! All of you please protect her from this point on!”

Unfortunately, due to the speed of which the mechanical limb was retreating back into the portal with, Sai Sahan wasn’t able to respond in time as the pink mare and the limb disappears behind a closed portal; said portal sizzling out of existence as a result. The terrarian takes on a saddened expression as he then picks up the unconscious Pinkie Pie and practically cradles her within his arms as he says:

“I swore an oath to you and I intend to keep it, Pinkamena,” He then takes off into the sky via his Rocket Boots as he then says: “Perhaps it’s time I take on a student of my own. I shall teach you true mastery of the blade, Pinkie Pie.”





-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON ENTRANCE-

"Heh, it's a good thing that no one's here to guard this place any longer," A mysterious male terrarian says as he starts to make his way into The Dungeon. "No loot or any form of valuables are safe from the greatest thief in all of Terraria. I who have stolen countless artifacts, the great: Loganic!"
> Chapter 86 - Ancient Shadows.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Everyone was currently celebrating their recent victory over the skeletal monstrosity while also admiring their loot. In addition, The Blood Moon event that Skeletron had conjured forward also disappeared alongside the skeletal entity upon the moment of his defeat.

“Wow! This spell book is simply amazing!” Twilight exclaims happily. “Upon activating the spell, It fires a powerful flaming skull at my opponent.”

“This arm from Skeletron seems to act as a more effective version of a grappling hook, impressive.” Terralestia comments.

Rarity and Fluttershy were quite surprised when they activated their newly acquired staves: Staff Of Necrosteocytes. Upon activation, two small skeletal entities were summoned forth via both of their staves to which they say:

“Oh my, it might be a skeleton but it’s still really cute.” Fluttershy comments as she pets the small skeleton’s head with her left forehoof.

“Y-yes, darling… t-they’re quite, um, lovely…” Rarity says hesitantly with a small dash of nervousness mixed in.

Zecora in particular was especially fond of their newly acquired throwable weapon: Bone Glove. Upon testing its capabilities, she sent forth multiple crossed bone projectiles that bounced off of various surfaces with a clattering bone sound.

“This weapon is perfect for a rogue, it’s a good thing I’ve chosen such a role.” The zebra comments as everyone continues to observe their new items. Although, some among them expressed disappointment such as Rainbow Dash who says:

“Not to sound ungrateful or anything but none of this stuff helps me.”

“Perhaps not the loot we got from Skeletron, however…” Celebes The Dryad says as she then conjures forth some bones. “These bones that we’ve all collected from some of the undead who attacked us is one of two components that we can use to craft some armor for a ranged fighter like you, Rainbow Dash.”

“Really?!” Rainbow replies excitingly. “In that case, I’ve got tons of those bones in my inventory. What kind of armor are we talking about?”

“The best armor for a ranger like yourself within our current power level: Necro Armor. And before you say it, no, it’s not armor meant for a necromancer. It’s just what we decided to call it. Basically, the armor gives you a chance to not consume ammo and should you wear a full set of it, you leave behind afterimages of yourself.”

Upon hearing those words, Rainbow Dash’s mouth slowly but surely starts to form a huge smile which stretches across her features.

“That is totally awesome!”

As this is going on, in the background, everyone starts to interact and converse amongst themselves. Some even takes the time to properly introduce themselves, specifically when It came to the new arrivals who aided the beings of Home Town in the form of: Linn, Tori, and Shadow Thunder.

Twilight was especially curious about the bird-like entity as she approaches Tori, who was currently checking their items and weapons, and extends her right front hoof towards them.

“Hi there! Thank you so much for helping us out. My name’s: Twilight Sparkle, assuming of course that Tanner The Guide didn’t tell you my name yet.”

Tori simply looks at her for a moment before they do something that absolutely throws the lavender alicorn completely off: Tori does respond but in… her voice?

“Hello…” Tori responds simply. It was an awkward moment for Twilight as not only did she just hear her own voice respond to her but her hoof was still extended towards Tori who in turn didn’t return the gesture. Whether Tori did that just to be rude to her or for other reasons that was exclusive to them, Twilight simply couldn’t tell although she definitely hopes that it’s not the first option. The lavender mare retract her forelimb embarrassingly as she says:

“Oooook then… um, I hope that I didn’t offend you but I really want you to know how grateful I am for your help, and the others too. I definitely have to speak to that pegasus about a few things.”

Tori simply nods in response before the humanoid bird disappears into a shroud of shadows. This of course causes Twilight to pout as she then says:

“Awww… but I wanted to know more about them…”

“Don’t take it personal, Twilight,” Linn comments as she draws near the alicorn with a clopping of whooves as she was mounted on top of her mighty steed: Ves. “Tori often keeps to themselves but they definitely pull through when you need them in battle.”

“That’s another thing, I noticed that you and the others referred to Tori as ‘They’ or ‘Them’; I can see that Tori is some sort of bipedal bird-like entity but what’s their gender?”

“Sadly, your guess is as good as mine,” Linn responds. “When Tanner gathered the three of us from the guild, we never actually adventured or did quests with Tori before. Me and Shadow cooperated from time to time but Tori was always alone. Then again… Tori is a ninja-rogue so I kind of expected that. In fact, this recent battle with Skeletron is perhaps the first and only time I’ve ever seen Tori work in a group. Granted, even during the battle, they seemed to fight alone more often than any of us and only fought alongside us during that final phase with Skeletron’s largest skull.”

“I, um, didn’t offend Tori... did I?” Twilight questions.

“Nah, you’d know if you did. Like I said before, don’t take Tori’s response personally, it’s just how they are. Maybe in time you ponies might just be able to appeal to them,” Linn then smirks as she then says teasingly: “Kinda like how Shadow Thunder and that pony friend of yours seem to be kicking things off. Then again, I always thought that he was the last of his kind so it probably feels good to him to have other ponies like him around. Especially you, I’ve never even heard of a pony of your type before.”

“Oh, well, I’m an alicorn. An ascended alicorn, to be specific,” Twilight could see Linn’s confused expression by those words but little did Linn know, she just opened the metaphorical pandora’s box. Twilight raises a hoof and prepares to give Linn… a lecture. “Well you see, it all started from…”

As Twilight gives Linn a very extended and descriptive history lesson, another scenario takes place nearby as Shadow Thunder, Starlight Glimmer, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy were chatting amongst themselves.

“I still can’t believe that ponies are native to Terraria,” Starlight comments. “I thought for sure that me and my friends were the only ponies here. In fact, I assumed that we ponies never existed here before we showed up.”

“I thought I was the last of my kind,” Shadow Thunder responds. “When The Hallow disappeared some time ago, all of the ponies were taken with it including The Empress Of Light.”

“The Empress Of Light?” Rainbow Dash questions.

“She was the ruler of The Hallow, some even say that she was the one who created it with her incredible prowess. What we do know for sure is that she brought to life every pony in existence although your lavender colored friend is a type of pony I’ve never seen before.” Shadow Thunder comments.

“Ya mean, Twilight? Why she’s an alicorn. Ah thought fer’ sure that y’all would know about her type of pony.” Applejack says.

“To be fair, she was born a unicorn before she became an alicorn.” Rainbow Dash comments.

“Oh, um, going by your reaction, do alicorns not exist here in Terraria?” Fluttershy inquires.

“That’s exactly what’s throwing me off about your friend when I first saw her. Alicorn, as you called it, simply doesn’t exist here in Terraria. It was always just three types of ponies: Pegasi, Earth Pony, and Unicorn. Although, unicorns are a bit different here but all the same too,” Shadow Thunder then turns towards Starlight and questions: “Can you, by chance... transform?”

“Well, not unless I ascend into an alicorn like Twilight. I don’t think unicorns can transform into anything else.” Starlight responds with a hoof to her chin.

“Now hold up fer’ just one second,” Applejack interjects. “Why does it sound like you’re referring to another type of transformation?”

Shadow Thunder suddenly takes on a saddened expression as he says:

“It’s because I am,” Shadow then ponders on the right words to use before he says: “As I said before, The Empress Of Light breathed life into every pony that has ever lived. She wanted them to be the perfect embodiment of The Hallow; our hearts filled with love and of course, light. However, she also made sure to add some darkness to our very being although how she performed that is beyond me. That transformation I mentioned? It’s what happens when a pony gives into their own darkness, things like jealousy or even sorrow.”

“Ya mean like, yer’ own version of Nightmare Moon?” Applejack questions.

“Or even Nightmare Rarity.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack exclaims.

“What?! I’m just saying!” Rainbow responds.

“Nightmare Moon and Nightmare Rarity? Wait, explain to me how exactly they became those entities.” Shadow Thunder asks.

“Well, Princess Luna transformed due to her jealousy and feeling as if no one cared about her,” Applejack responds. “As fer’ Rarity… it was partly because of us. She thought that we abandoned her and gave into those nightmare creatures. Apparently, they were also the same ones who corrupted Princess Luna.”

“The creatures of nightmare… no… it can’t be…” Shadow Thunder mutters.

“What’s wrong?” Starlight inquires.

“Those creatures that you mentioned, does their appearance resemble animals but are made up of a misty-darkness?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy exclaims in unison.

“I feared as much, they’re the same ones who turned my brother into The Pony Of Shadows. Those creatures are the spawns of an ancient evil that even the empress herself has contended with in the distant past, according to what she told me. She called them: The Shadows Of Abaddon.
> Chapter 87 - Underground Kingdom.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

The ponies of Equus were certainly shocked by this recent revelation as they momentarily stare at Shadow Thunder in disbelief. Applejack was the first to recover from this shock as she says:

“This is completely unbelievable… why is it that whenever we learn somethin’ new in this world, it also reveals somethin’ about our world. Hay, we’ve learned that Discord was born from these parts and now we’ve come to learn that the creatures that corrupted Luna and Rarity are also from this world. What in tarnation is goin’ on?”

“I must say: I agree with you,” Starlight comments. “Twilight touched up on this subject before when we were traveling to The Crimson Biome. From our perspective, both worlds shouldn’t have ever met before but Twilight suspects that there is indeed some connection.”

“It’s certainly perplexing,” Shadow Thunder says. “If The Empress were here, I’d be willing to bet that she would have some answers. She’s a very ancient entity after all and was around even before she created us ponies.”

“I’m a little confused about something,” Fluttershy comments. “You mentioned before that she created ponies to be composed mostly of light along with some darkness as well. However, shouldn’t she have added both elements in equal quantity? Having too much of one is never a good thing.”

“Wow, Fluttershy… you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about that kind of stuff.” Rainbow Dash comments.

“Oh, it’s mostly due to me and Discord sometimes talking about these types of subjects during our tea sessions. We discuss how chaos and order are both necessary in order to maintain balance, despite ponies often preferring order over chaos. Light and dark are no different which is why I was confused,” Fluttershy then looks towards Shadow Thunder and says: “I’m sorry if this sounds rude but, um, why does it sound like this, Empress Of Light, failed to comprehend this? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Shadow Thunder momentarily paused at the pegasus’s question before he then puts a hoof to his chin in thought and replies:

“To tell you the truth, she always gave me that impression as well. I don’t actually know about her past, aside from only what she herself told me, but whenever I asked her about her own history she’d often look... regretful. Seeing this, I’d often just stop the conversation right then and there.”

“What was her name?” Starlight questions.

“Ah, forgive me. I was going to reveal that until I got caught up in everything else,” Shadow Thunder then takes on a happier expression as he clears his throat and says:
“The mother to all ponies, the esteemed creator of The Hallow, the Empress Of light: Harmony.”

Upon hearing that name, the mouths of every pony from Equus who was currently in attendance dropped instantly along with their eyes shooting wide open.

Nearby and chatting amongst themselves, Rarity and Steven were laughing about their recent discussion before the two fashionistas recovered from their laughter. Suddenly, like a switch was just activated, Steven looks away and takes on a serious expression to which the white unicorn takes notice of as she says:

“Steven? Are you ok, darling?”

“...” Steven seemed to be oblivious to the unicorn’s words as he continued to look off towards a different direction.

“Hellooo? Steven?”

Finally, the unicorn’s words finally reaches the former host of Skeletron as he takes his gaze away from something else that caught his attention and returns his attention back towards Rarity before saying:

“Oh, f-forgive me… Rarity.”

“It is most uncouth to simply ignore a proper lady, you know,” Rarity says with a pout. “What were you looking at, darling?”

Steven suddenly took on a hushed tone as he looked around him in multiple directions. All around them, various individuals were chatting amongst themselves from Twilight and Linn continuing their own session to Shadow Thunder and the other ponies of Equus, carrying on their own conversation. The Clothier then turns back to Rarity, leans in, and whispers:

“Rarity, I wanted to bring this up after we dealt with Skeletron and the undead army.”

“What is it, darling? And why are you whispering?”

“It’s because what I have to say could potentially doom all of Terraria. Rarity, please, what I’m about to tell you must remain between us for now. We’ll get the others involved later but we must be smart about this.”

The white unicorn was certainly taken back by Steven’s unusual request. She simply stares at him with a raised brow all while he in turn looks at her with a pleading expression. Finally, the pony fashionista gives in as she replies:

“Ok, darling. I’ll hear you out but I don’t like the idea of keeping something from my friends, you know.”

“I know, dear Rarity. Especially after everything you told me about that whole nightmare fiasco. Trust me when I say that I’d never ask this of you if it weren’t important. To be honest, I hate having to hide something from everyone else as well but like I said before, we must handle this carefully.”

“You’re actually starting to scare me, darling. What is it that has you so distraught?”

Steven momentarily looks around one last time before he returns his gaze to the unicorn and says with his hushed tone still intact:

“It’s about Tanner The Guide…”

“What about him, darling? Wait, was he what you were looking at when you were gazing off before?”

“Yes… he’s a traitor, Rarity.”





-TERRARIA, UNKNOWN LOCATION-

Pinkamena, Yharim, and Calamitas were currently walking down a rather large mine shaft adorned with torches, of an unknown location. At least, unknown to Pinkamena, that is. From what the dark pink mare could see, this place was very different in comparison to the laboratory that she was at before. No, this place had a different aura to it all together and yet, it also felt somewhat familiar. The earth that was around her that made up the mine shaft looked eerily similar to a certain underground biome. Then, it hits her like a freight train as she says:

“Are we headed towards an Underground Jungle Biome?”

“We are,” Yharim responds. “I think it’s time that I introduced you to my domain. You’ve only seen Draedon’s laboratory so far along with some of our various hideouts. You never actually got to see the main attraction, so to speak.”

“You’re going to play a vital role in an upcoming assault of ours,” Calamitas comments as she was currently walking behind the dark pink pony. “Also, we feel it’s time for you to get involved in our plan.”

“What exactly is this plan of yours? And why reveal it to me now? You‘ve both been keeping me out of the loop ever since you ‘Recruited’ me.”

“That shall be revealed very soon. We have a war council to attend.” Yharim responds.

Pinkamena narrows her eyes in a mixture of curiosity and of course, anger, as she says internally:

-War council? And what the buck did he mean by main attrac-- Her inner thoughts were cut off as she could see a bright light down the corridor of the mine shaft to which she quickly surmised to be the exit/entrance to the Underground Jungle Biome. She and her two escorts walked into the light which admittedly caused the pony to shield her eyes.

Then, she saw it: An entire kingdom that practically made up and filled the entire underground landscape. Much like the underground biome she had been to before in the fight with Queen Beezma, while she was still bonded with Pinkie Pie, this one also possessed an artificial sun of its own. In addition, she could see a large Temple in the distance which seemed to be the main portion of this underground kingdom. Many structures were formed just in front of the Temple, a city composed of stone and bricks that matched those that made up the Temple’s structure, as a clear pathway could be observed cutting right through the city and straight towards the large flight of stairs that was etched against the aforementioned Temple.

Pinkamena was definitely shocked to see what was essentially an entire nation deep below the earth but what caught her eye was the large entity that was currently flying towards them. A large red dragon. She had heard of Yharim mentioning this entity before but she never actually seen or even met this creature as of yet.

The dragon now starts to land before them and with a powerful flap of its wings which results in a powerful force of wind, the dragon lands on the jungle earth before them. This action also causes the very earth around them to shake momentarily before a rumble could be heard emanating from the dragon. Then, following this rumble, a voice escapes from the dragon as it says:

“Welcome back, my master. Everything is ready and the council awaits your arrival. Also, the leader of The Lunar Cultists is keeping the processions at bay, per your request.”

“Excellent, Yharon,” Yharim responds as he then turns back towards Pinkamena and says: “Get on his back, we’ve got some things to discuss, puppet.”
> Chapter 88 - Calamity.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM-

Pinkamena was currently flying over the underground kingdom upon the back of the large dragon: Yharon. Yharim was currently at the helm as Calamitas sat behind the dark pink pony, much to her own discomfort. If there was one thing Pinkamena hated most, aside from Yharim, it’s that she did not like having someone she did not trust, or even like, sitting behind her. Like an assassin who could take you out at any moment as they stare at you while your back is turned.

The dark pink pony took a glance down below to see the state of this underground kingdom. What she saw made her feel as if King Sombra was Yharim’s long lost disciple. The pony wasn’t faint of heart by any means and she definitely seen terrible things in her existence. However, she had to admit that Yharim’s rule truly lived up to his name and why he was called: The Jungle Tyrant.

In the city below, she could see every known sentient species of Terraria who were shackled in chains. She’d have to thank Twilight for giving Pinkie Pie a lesson on this world’s creatures, she mentally noted. Terrarians, goblins, lihzhards, werebeasts who were in their humanoid forms, and even a large wyvern was being forced to pull around various objects and supplies. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that these were clearly slaves of this underground nation. Of course, keeping all of these slaves in check were male and female entities who were wearing mysterious armor of a golden coloration but not to be confused with actual golden armor which easily pales in comparison to these unknown garments. Pinkamena easily surmised that these were Yharim’s soldiers and much to her own discomfort, they numbered in the legions.

-What the buck? How has no one found any of this?- 

“It’s called: Hiding.” Yharim responds sarcastically all while Calamitas comments:

“Dumbass pony.” This causes Pinkamena to turn around angrily and antagonizes the witch as she replies:

“You should be down there with the rest of them, Yharim’s plaything.”

Calamitas grits her teeth in anger as red electricity surrounds the witch momentarily. The witch’s eyes are then consumed by a red aura as she says:

“What did I tell you before about calling me-”

“Silence! Both of you,” Yharon interjects in exclamation. “If you continue to bicker in my master’s presence and on my back, I will drop you both into my own fire which burns even mightier than the fires of The Underworld itself. You’ve been warned.” The dragon’s words echoed and if Pinkamena didn’t know any better, for a moment, the air was getting warmer all around her.

“Yharon, I appreciate you scolding the children on my behalf but could you cool down a bit? I wouldn’t want you to scorch our kingdom.” Yharim says but unlike with Pinkamena, or anyone else the tyrant saw as a mere plaything, his tone with Yharon was very different. In fact, it was a tone that was similar to what Twilight would often take with Spike: The love of a sibling or a parental figure. However, the dark pink pony could also see something else was present there. Yharim did indeed care for his dragon and yet, the pony couldn’t help but feel as if there was some distance between them as well.

“Yes, my master.” Yharon responds to Yharim’s request as the heat that was starting to rise in the local atmosphere began to simmer down, both metaphorically and literally. The group continues on in silence as the large dragon nears their destination: The Temple.





Yharon lands before the entrance point of the large Temple which was noticeably big enough for even the dragon to not only fit through, but to also literally walk with them to their next destination.

A series of loud stomping echoes throughout the inner portion of the Temple as Pinkamena, Yharim, Calamitas, and Yharon, the source of the loud stomping, makes their way to the Council Chambers. As they traversed, many of Yharim’s soldiers and servants take a moment to bow to their ruler before returning to their tasks. 

“Pretty big place.” Pinkamena comments as she takes in her surroundings.

“I had my men redesign this Temple so that Yharon could be at my side from even within these walls. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, every doorway and hallway are perfectly designed to not only to bring in large equipment…” Yharim then turns towards Yharon. “But to let my dear brother in as well.”

“I am grateful for the accommodations, my master.” Yharon responds.

-Tch, yeah… some brother you are. You apparently allow him to call you his mast--

[WHAM]

Pinkamena’s inner thoughts were cut off as she was sent flying towards a nearby wall from a swift and powerful force. Upon impact, she coughs up some blood, slides down the wall, and was ready to retaliate. Due to Yharim’s possession of her sister’s life force, the dark pink mare’s hatred of him nearly caused her to rush towards him with no other care in the world. However, she was shocked to see that the attack didn’t come from Yharim, but Yharon who was currently growling towards the pink mare with pure rage in the dragon’s eyes as the entity says:

“Speak your words carefully, pony. I am not like any other dragon and I am capable of things that not even you or any of those ponies who came from your world could ever imagine. My fire could burn your world till it was naught but glass,” However, what happens next absolutely stuns the pink pony. An orange-red aura surrounds her body which actually… heals her? “But, I respect those who would stand for their siblings. I shall overlook this only once but I advise you to watch what you say in my presence.” Yharon finishes as the dragon then lifts the pony onto her hooves, much to her confusion.

Pinkamena was understandably still enraged. But, she was also confused as she looks towards Yharon and says:

“Weren’t you trying to kill me?”

“Yes and no, pony. You insulted my master so I acted accordingly. However, as I said before, I have respect for those who value their family which is why I healed you but that shall be my only act of kindness. Come, my master and Calamitas seemed to have gone on ahead during our little conversation.” The dragon replies as the entity beckons her to follow with their left wing.

Pinkamena follows suit but doesn't know how to feel about this dragon. Yharon’s ways was something that she didn’t actually encounter before. It was reminiscent to that of a warrior who actually honors their foe based on a certain action. Case in point, from what she could understand based on his words, the dragon honored her for everything she was doing for Pinkie Pie. One thing was for certain, Pinkamena would continue to experience some bizarre scenarios as she continues to follow Yharon down the large hallway.

The two now stood before a duo of large double doors upon which Yharon lifts his left forelimb and pushes the doors open. He and Pinkamena started to enter upon which the dark pink pony took notice of multiple individuals who sat, or even stood, around a large oval shaped table. She could see Yharim who was positioned at the epicenter of the table with Calamitas sat to his right side. To his left, however, she recognized a very familiar mechanical entity: Dr Draedon. In addition, Yharon himself was now positioned behind Yharim’s seat as the dragon’s large frame practically made up his master’s ‘Background’.

"Pinkamena,” Yharim says as he takes notice of her current position. “Come sit by Calamitas, you two seem to like each other.”

“Fuck no.”
“Buck no.”

Calamitas and Pinkamena says in unison which causes Yharim and many of the individuals present to momentarily laugh in response as the Jungle Tyrant then says:

“Fine, fine, stand there for all I care,” Yharim then puts his two arms onto the table and clasps his hands together, just below his chin, and says: “Now then, everyone. Let me introduce you to our newest member: Pinkamena.”

Everyone else in attendance simply stares at her silently to which she sarcastically says with a dismissive forehoof:

“Gee, clap all at bucking once why don’t you...”

“Ha! I think I like this one,” One of the individuals says before they then stand up. Pinkamena turns towards the individual but what she sees on their armor was a very familiar symbol. A symbol from a foe that her sister and the other element bearers defeated back on Equus.



“Greetings and salutations bla bla bla. I am: The Storm King! Boom baby!” The entity says as it's revealed to be a male terrarian. He also humps the air upon saying: ‘Boom baby’.

Pinkamena’s left eye twitches momentarily and before she could respond, another individual stands up and says:

“The Storm King’s idiocy aside, I am: Siranul, leader of The Lunar Cultists.” 

“You’re just hating on my Storm King swagger!” The Storm King retorts.

Suddenly, in what was once an empty chair, a series of shadows starts to conjure into being. This happens for a brief moment before an entity reveals itself but it seemed rather familiar to the dark pink pony. Then, she recalled meeting another being just like it in Home Town: A certain humanoid-bird.

“I am: Samuyueru, destroyer of Torinago.” The bird-like entity says as they remain seated.

Following this, another shadow like figure stands up but was shrouded in a dark purple cloak. What stood out most however was the fact that Pinkamena could see six distinctive glowing eyes which were hidden within the cloak’s darkness.



“Me and my fellow sentinels are The Devourer’s greatest spheres of influence. I am: Signus, Envoy of The Devourer.” 

There were other individuals as well but saw fit to keep their identity to themselves. However, in a sudden display of what Pinkamena could see to be small fireworks, a new entity suddenly appears into the room. This entity’s antics, and even their look, was all too familiar to the pink mare as she says:

“Oh, great… It’s another-”

“Sorry I’m late,” The entity’s voice interjected, which was notably female. “You have no idea how annoying it is to- Oh?” The voice says as they take notice of Pinkamena. “A pony? I haven’t seen one of you ever since I lost my Dizzy Wizzy.”

“Get over it, Cosmos,” The Storm King comments. “He didn’t even like you, you crazed-”

“Yes he did!” Cosmos roars out. “He and I are meant to be together! Only I can love Discord and he in turn can only love me!”

Pinkamena couldn’t help but to chuckle as she says internally:

-This crazy bitch is going to hate, Fluttershy-

Before anything else could happen, Yharim slams his hand onto the table and exclaims:

“Enough! We’ve got important business to discuss,” Yharim then stands up and starts to slowly make his way around the table, with his arms behind his back, as he continues: 

“My allies, the time is drawing near for the expansion of my rule. All of your dreams shall be realized once I have what I want. For years my name has been forgotten amongst the populace, which is of course, all part of the plan. 

Back in the day, my name would strike fear into the hearts of all life across Terraria and those who dared to challenge me, well, ask The Sulphurous Sea what happened. But, now I am forgotten by the masses and only remembered by a few, credit for that goes to me and Calamitas’s combined efforts. My plan is slowly falling into place and soon we will have a whole new world to turn into our own. 

Thanks to The Devourer Of Gods, I know all about Harmony’s precious little world that she thought was hidden from The Devourer's sight: Equus. We’ve been planning accordingly ever since. Calamitas weakened The Moon Lord’s seal to which he was finally set free seven years later. Razeem then punctured the veil and was drawn towards that world as according to The Devourer, that piece of Harmony failed to truly mask her whereabouts. A foolish mistake on her part. Therefore, any being who exits Terraria’s reality will no doubt be drawn to that world,” Yharim finally reaches where Pinkamena was currently standing as he then places a hand onto her head, much to the pony’s annoyance, and says: 

“Thanks to these ponies, I also know that Disidian, or Discord, was drawn to that world because he could sense Harmony’s presence which proves this beyond a doubt. These ponies are the key to all of it,” He then removes his hand from Pinkamena's head as he spreads his arms apart and exclaims: “Thanks to them, Terraria and Equus shall become one world, very soon. When that happens we will march forth and bring with us: Calamity!”
> Chapter 89 - A Battle On Two Fronts.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-

A large army was currently making its way through The Empire as a large crowd parted, giving way to the passing forces. Many individuals of multiple species in the crowd were running up to those among the large force as they gave their farewells and best wishes.

High on the balcony of The Crystal Castle and overlooking the entirety of The Empire was Princess Luna. The dark alicorn nods contently before she then turns around and enters the room of which the balcony was etched to. Firing up her horn, she closed the large double doors to the balcony and casts a very particular spell as she says:

“Reveal thy selves, dearest agents of doom. We hath casted a silencing spell as to ensure none shall hear our conversation,” Heeding to her request, multiple individuals start to manifest themselves, to which the Princess Of The Night says: “Chrysalis, Sunset Shimmer, Capper, Stygian, and Trixie. We thank you all for coming. The plan is in motion and soon we shall punish Blueblood for thy wretched betrayal. Hath we ensured that there are no more of his allies present within The Empire?”

“We are sure, Princess Luna,” Sunset Shimmer responds. “We were quite surprised to learn that Tirek was also recruited into Ocram’s fold along with Blueblood, of course. Aside from them, there are currently no others who have sworn allegiance to that monster.”

“Heh, unless you count us playing the part that is.” Chrysalis comments.

“This was most bothersome news indeed. We hath sensed a great disturbance within the pits of Tartarus ever since Tirek’s escape. Something is amiss in that abyss. No matter, we shall investigate that in the future. For now, we must corner and capture Blueblood while also preventing any hope of escape for that wretch. We hath come up with a plan which involves both Capper and Chrysalis.”

“Oh?” Capper inquires all while the former ruler of the changelings waits for Luna’s revelation.

“Blueblood wishes to hold a party in celebration of our victory over The Corruption, when we purged the infection from both Ponyville and Twilight’s castle. Of course, we don’t need to tell you all that something is clearly amiss. Therefore, we shall take advantage of the festivities,” Luna then conjures into being a very particular ring, one that makes Trixie, Sunset Shimmer, and Stygian wince upon seeing the object. “As thou know, this is a magic inhibitor ring. Our so called ‘Nephew’ will no doubt be seeking entertainment in his private quarters either before or during the celebrations. This is where both Chrysalis and Capper will come into play,” Luna turns her gaze and focuses on Chrysalis as she says: “We would like for thou to disguise thyself in the form of the most alluring mare you can conjure,” The Princess Of The Night then turns to Capper and continues: “As for thee, thou shall play the part of a waiter during the celebration. Our prey is noticeably predictable and as such when he undoubtedly tries to take Chrysalis’s disguised form to bed, he will demand refreshments for the occasion. Thy waiter shall provide said refreshments in addition to slipping Chrysalis this ring.”

“You can count on me, your highness.” Capper says as he takes a bow. Chrysalis chuckles momentarily before saying:

“Well this is certainly a surprise, Luna. To think that Celestia’s sister could be so… mischievous. First you turn us into double agents and now you’re plotting against that pathetic excuse of a stallion. I can see who’s clearly the sword between you and Celestia. While she protects her ponies in the light, you destroy your foes in the darkness. I find that to be admirable.”

“Trrrixie is confused on whether or not that was a compliment or an insult.”

“Consider it as both.” Chrysalis replies with a small chuckle.

“If I may ask, what has become of Tempest Shadow and the hedgehog, Grubber?” Stygian inquires.

“Tempest, Grubber, and another ally who we hath personally recruited are going with the army to attack Canterlot. This is a battle on two fronts. While the army invades The Corruption, we shall purge The Empire of Blueblood’s influence. Once we hath the traitor in our grasp we shall enact an ancient form of punishment, one that our dear sister forbade some time ago.”

“Luna…” Stygian comments as he catches onto her meaning. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

“Yes,” Luna replies with no hesitation. “The populace deserves to see the one who hath wronged not just them but all of the world, be put to justice. We shall invoke: Public Execution.”





Within The Empire, seven individuals were currently sitting within a restaurant as they chatted amongst themselves. Specifically, this group was made out of a single changeling, hippogriff, griffon, yak, dragon, along with two ponies.

“That sounds amazing!” Silverstream exclaims. “You’re just a filly and yet you’ve traveled even way more than I ever did.”

“That’s right,” Cozy Glow responds. “I traveled all over the place before I came to Equestria.”

“What about your parents?” Sandbar questions. This caught Cozy Glow by surprise momentarily before she sighs deeply and says:

“I… I don’t know. I woke up one morning and they were just gone. I was all alone for so long that I had no choice but to go off on my own.”

“WHAT?!” Everyone else exclaims in unison.

“Woah, that kind of sounds like what a young dragon often has to do.” Smolder comments.

“Yak so sorry for pony being left alone, yak hope that pony’s parents come back one day.” Yona says with a sad expression.

“That sounds really, um, scary,” Ocellus says as she shakes in fear. “I don’t think I ever could be alone like that.”

“Eh, some griffons are left alone at a young age too.” Gallus comments nonchalantly.

Silverstream gasps in shock before she comments on what Smolder and Gallus said.

“How can you two say that so casually?!”

“Probably because it’s just how things are for us?” Gallus responds with a dismissive wave of his left eagle’s talon.

“Gotta agree with Gallus on this one. We dragons are pretty tough from a young age and can take care of ourselves just fine. Unlike other races, we don’t entirely need our parents to babysit us every second of every day.”

“Oh golly,” Cozy Glow comments. “You guys are even braver than I am.”

“Hah! Thanks but you’re not so bad yourself, Cozy. You’ve got my respect and trust me when I say that it’s hard to earn the respect of a dragon.” Smolder says as she bumps her chest proudly.

“I guess you’re pretty cool, for a pony.” Gallus compliments.

“Well! Now that you have friends like us, you’ll never be alone again! Isn’t that exciting?!” Silverstream exclaims happily as she raises her forelimbs into the air in celebration.

“That’s true,” Cozy Glow says in response. “I do have friends now. Oh! Would you all like to go to the party?”

“You mean the one they’re hosting at the castle for the army’s victory in Ponyville?” Sandbar inquires.

“Wasn’t there also something about purifying some Princess’s castle?” Gallus questions. “Grandpa Gruff wouldn’t stop talking about it.”

“Yeah, that’s the one,” Cozy Glow responds. “I was thinking, since we’re friends and all, that we could go there together. It’d be the perfect way to celebrate not only the army’s victory but our new friendship.”

“I’m in!” Silverstream shouts excitingly.

“Yona join party with friends, Yona likes you guys a lot.”

“I’m in too. Parties are the best way to just kick back and relax.” Sandbar comments with a carefree tone.

“That’s not exactly true,” Gallus responds. “Parties are anything but relaxing. However, I guess I could tag along for that dumb party. Maybe you guys being there might actually make it fun.”

“I’ll come too. That is, um, if you all don’t mind?” Ocellus inquires shyly.

“Of course you’re going to be there, Ocellus. And if you’re all going, then so am I.” Smolder says confidently.

“Thank you, everyone,” Cozy Glow says as she starts to float off of her seat and into the air. “You’re the bestest friends somepony like me could ever have.”

Upon hearing the filly’s words, Silverstream’s excitement gets the better of her as she too leaves her seat and flies right into Cozy Glow, bringing the pegasus into a tight hug as the hippogriff says:

“Bestest. Friends. Ever!”

Due to being smothered in the hippogriff’s chest region, no one could see Cozy’s face as she responds with a purple energy in her pupils:

“Best. Friends. Forever.”





-EQUUS, OUTSKIRTS OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-

The army that was marching through The Empire was now on its outskirts as everyone makes their way towards the capital of Equestria with determined expressions. Leading this army was Shining Armor himself in addition to only two representatives of the other nations and species: Prince Ruthorford and Domihaus. It was recommended by Princess Luna that only these three leaders would be needed for the assault on Canterlot while the others remained behind to keep The Empire safe in their absence. Of course, Luna had other reasons for doing this as per her plan with her double agents.

Many familiar faces comprised this large force but two among them were currently chatting amongst themselves. Incidentally, there was a sleeping hedgehog on one of their backs.

“So what’s the deal with Ponyville?” Tzana inquires. “Based on what you’ve told me, we have forces there to protect it?”

“That’s right,” Tempest replies all while Grubber is fast asleep on her back. “Spike and Dragonlord Ember are keeping things together not to mention they have Discord stationed there as well.” The broken unicorn then glances towards Tzana as she takes notice of her current apparel. “I see you’re wearing your favorite garments in combination with the armor we forged. The apparel of Equestria’s Royal Treasure Hunters, huh? Didn’t they get disbanded two centuries ago? Should I be worried about how you came by them?”

“Would finders keepers be enough to satisfy you? I found these in an ancient temple from a corpse that unfortunately got impaled on one of its traps.”

“That’s… pretty dark.”

“What can I say? They weren’t going to use it and I’d be damned if someone with less friendly intentions got their hooves on this especially with all the enchantments these garments have. Besides, I think it brings me good luck. Well, that and the fact that I feel much better by just having it on.”

“You think that those garments, of which you found in a trap that killed their previous owner, will bring you good luck? I can’t entirely say that I agree.”

“Nor can I say that stealing the magic from The Princesses is the right way to get your horn back.” Tzana retorts which causes Tempest to wince in response. “I’m sorry… I guess I’m still mad at you for everything you did, deep inside.”

“Not that I blame you, Tzana. Regardless, I will simply have to prove to you that I truly have changed. It’s been nice, you know… being able to catch up with you ever since the Princess brought you in.”

“You mean besides the ass kicking I gave you?” Tzana questions with a smirk before she then momentarily closes her eyes in content and says: “If it’s of any constellation, I guess you are a slightly better mare than before. Although, I suppose another ass kicking from yours truly could speed up that process.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tempest says as she chuckles before she continues: “I guess I’ll take that for now. At least you think I’ve changed slightly which is a good start for me.”

The two mares simply nod to each other as they and the army all around them drew near the biome of the coming battle: The Corruption.
> Chapter 90 - Ancient Objective.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, CRYSTAL EMPIRE CASTLE-

Luna has just raised her celestial object as the black blanket of night covers the frozen north. Many individuals of The Empire were currently making their way towards the castle in attendance of Blueblood’s decision to hold a party for The Coalition’s victory. Unlike the parties of the past, this one wasn’t exclusive to the high class nobles and such. After all, with everything that was going on, a societal seperation of classes became moot and would certainly not sit right with those who were suffering in this war with The Corruption.

The party felt reminiscent of The Grand Galloping Gala as Princesses Cadence and Luna, in addition to several representatives and leaders of the other nations, were standing at the entrance point of the castle and ready to greet everyone who wanted to attend the processions. Then, the gates to the castle were parted as a flow of attendees started to pour into the castle courtyard and towards the aforementioned leaders.

After some time, all who were attending the celebration now found themselves within the large throne room. The Princesses, Shining Armor, and most of the other leaders were currently positioned before the royal throne, all of whom were dressed to impress. 	In addition, all of Luna’s ‘Double Agents’, with the exception of Tempest Shadow, Grubber, and her newest recruit: Tzana, were in attendance as they played their own various roles such as Capper, who posed as a waiter, while Trixie, Sunset Shimmer, and Stygian posed as ordinary guests.

Tables were set with refreshments and food which catered to both carnivores and herbivores alike. Waiters walked around the room with trays of refreshments which ranged from wine, for the party’s more mature audience, and various types of juices, for the younger attendees.

“Excuse me, sir and madam, can I interest you both in some fine wine? Aged straight to perfection from the castle’s basement.” Capper says as he was currently dressed in attire that was fit for one of the many waiters and waitresses in attendance.

“Why thank you, my good sir,” A unicorn stallion responds as they float two beverages off of Capper’s tray, one for himself and the unicorn mare that stood beside him. “Say, you seem familiar... my feline friend.” The unicorn stallion inquires with a hoof to his chin.

“Don’t you know, Fancy Pants?” The mare inquires. “This is Capper, the one that Rarity often spoke highly about.”

“Ah, yes! Thank you Fleur De Lis. I knew you seemed familiar, yes, Rarity spoke nothing but praises about you.”

“Why I’ll be, my dear friend never told me that she was speaking so highly of me to some esteemed nobles such as yourselves,” Capper then bows to the two ponies as he says: “I am truly humbled.”

Fancy Pants chuckles momentarily before saying:

“There’s no need for that. To be quite honest with you, Fleur and I were never fans of the horrible attitude that some of our fellow nobles would often take upon themselves.”

“Indeed,” Fleur says as she takes a sip of her wine before she continues: “As our mutual friend would say: ‘It is most uncouth.’ And I agree with her completely. I pray that she and the other element bearers are safe, wherever they were thrown off to.”

“Oh don’t you worry about Rarity,” Capper responds as he then chuckles before he continues: “That unicorn is one tough cookie and the same goes for her friends. I'd be willing to bet eight of my nine lives that she and the others are absolutely fine.” However, before their conversation could continue, they suddenly heard the sounds of tapping glass as the trio turned towards its source along with those who were in attendance all around them.

“Attention, everyone!” Blueblood exclaims as he is revealed to be the origins of the tapping sounds of a wine glass. The loud shatter amongst the crowd slowly starts to die down as everyone in attendance focuses their gaze upon the white unicorn, their host. 

“Thank you all for attending tonight’s celebration. I would like to take this time to check upon the well being of each and every one of you in addition to extending my utmost condolences to those who lost their loved ones during this war with The Corruption,” These words results in the crowd giving their applauds in the form of stomping hooves, rapidly vibrating wings, and the clapping of “Hands” for those such as dragons and minotaurs. 

During this time, Luna and her agents coincidentally says internally and in unison:

-You're so full of it- 

Blueblood raises his right front hoof which results in the applauds slowly starting to die down before he continues once more:

“My beloved aunt was among those who we lost on that day, when that giant monstrosity arrived into our world via a portal which was connected to my aunt Luna’s moon. Since then and as an aftermath of those events, the terrifying infection took hold of Canterlot in addition to various landscapes and nearby towns such as Ponyville and Princess Twilight’s castle.” Blueblood paused for a moment which allowed the crowd to reflect on those events.

“He’s such a bucking liar.” Trixie says in a hushed tone as she leans towards Sunset Shimmer.

“Just hang in there, Trixie,” Sunset then takes on a momentary expression of anger before she continues: “My blood is boiling ever since I found out that he betrayed Celestia’s love for him. When I was her student, she’d always talk about how she tried to turn him into a proper stallion by giving him what he was denied.”

“What?” Trixie inquires.

“The love of a mother. She hoped and prayed that he would come to value such things over status and wealth. Sadly, as you can see… that will never come to pass. He has practically stomped all over her,” Sunset stares daggers towards the unicorn who continued to speak during their conversation. “And that, makes me angry.”

“...that’ll be all for now, everyone. Please, enjoy yourselves!” Blueblood finishes as the crowd starts to cheer as a result.

The party continues to go on as a certain group of young individuals are currently sitting around a large table.

“So let me get this straight,” Gallus comments. “You three help ponies to find their cutie marks for free?”

“Well, duh!” Scootaloo replies. “Of course our crusading is for free, why would you even ask that?”

“Eh, I’d rather charge for said services.” Gallus replies nonchalantly.

“We don’t want to make ah’ livin’ off of It,” Apple Bloom comments. “We just want to help our fellow ponies to find their cutie marks. That’s rewarding enough as is.”

“Indeed,” Sweetie Belle says. “Besides, not everything has to be about bits you know. Generosity can come a long way.”

“Probably for you ponies, but that kind of thinking doesn’t fly in Griffonia. What you call generosity we would call: A sucker.” Gallus responds which causes the three mares to narrow their features at him.

The other individuals, who were also sitting on the table, are currently conversing about other things.

“Oh golly,” Cozy Glow comments in response to Yona’s words. “So Prince Ruthorford refused the help of that pony? What was her name again… oh, right, Pinkie Pie?”

“Yuup!” Yona replies. “Yaks are strong by nature. Yaks don’t need help from anyone else but yak Prince was too proud to realize that yaks would suffer without pink pony’s aid. Pink pony help anyway which opens yak Prince’s eyes. Now, pink pony is official friendship ambassador to yak’s kingdom.”

“More like a friendship conqueror,” Cozy Glow replies in a hushed tone that was too low for anyone else to hear.

“Yak no hear pony, what pony say?” Yona inquires.

“Oh! Sorry, I thought that I had to sneeze there for a second. Oopsie dasie.” Cozy Glow replies with shrugged shoulders as everyone continues to chat amongst themselves.

Suddenly, the double doors to the throne are parted which catches the attention of some of the attendees in addition to The Princesses, leaders, and representatives. Blueblood didn’t think too much of it that is until his eyes became locked onto who entered the throne room.

A clopping of hooves could be heard as a beautiful pegasus mare makes her way through the crowd. Her beauty was so surreal that even stallions who attended the party with their wives would momentarily be drawn to this mare’s beauty; that is until said wives would hit them with a hoof and narrow their features. 

The pegasus’s body was completely white all while her tail and mane took on a pink coloration. In addition, her eyes were of a magenta coloration as she walked along with a grace that could rival Princess Celestia and a beauty that was on par with princess Cadence. 

Some among the crowd couldn’t help but to feel as if this individual seemed familiar. They could’ve sworn that this pegasus mare almost resembles: Celestia. Little did anyone know, this was actually appropriate as Luna says internally:

-Aside from Discord and The Pillars, none art alive today who knoweth of my sister’s appearance before she was forced to use the elements against us, over a thousand years ago. None knoweth of this but it was the use of all six elements that turned our dear sister’s tail and mane into the rainbow they knoweth of today. All that’s missing is a horn. You imitate our sister’s ancient appearance well, Chrysalis. Just as we discussed.-





-EQUUS, CORRUPTION BIOME, CANTERLOT THRONE ROOM-

The being who was formerly known as The Hivemind, now referred to as Ocram by its allies and a few foes, was currently alone in what was left of the throne room. As always, the entity would spend most of its time floating before a very particular object: The last remaining orb of The Corruption.

“We shall soon enact our ancient goal and Lord Legion shall emerge into this world,” Ocram says as the entity chuckles momentarily before it continues: “At least, that’s the alias most refer to The Wall Of Flesh but we know better. ‘Legion’, is but a mere cover for our lord’s ancient name,” Ocram then floats towards the large hole in the throne room’s wall, which was created by Lord Tirek not too long ago, as the entity was looking towards a very particular direction before saying: 

“Freeing Tirek wasn’t our only intention when we entered, Tartarus. All is prepared for your arrival... Nyarlathotep.”
> Chapter 91 - Origins Of Ocram Pt: 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, THE CORRUPTION BIOME, THRONE ROOM-

Upon pondering on these recent events and ensuring that their plans were coming together, Ocram/Hivemind also began to think back to its own past as the entity says:

“We will never forget the day that you came to us and gave us dominion over The Corruption. Not long after our creator brought us into being.” Ocram says as the entity starts to recall past events.





Terraria, four years before The Moon Lord invaded Equus:

Footsteps echoed throughout an underground laboratory as a familiar figure walks down the hallway accompanied by another who noticeably was wearing a set of robes along with what seemed to be a plague doctor’s mask. The two beings were now standing before a large metal door which was also parts of a machination. In addition, two guards were stationed on either side of the door to which they both say in unison:

“Master Yharim, welcome to Dr Draedon’s laboratory.”

Yharim lifts his right hand in response as he then says:

“Open it.”

The two guards nod in response as they then place their hands onto two separate scanners which had the outline of a hand placed upon them. This outline was red at first but upon making contact with the guard’s appendage, a visible line starts to scan each guard’s hand on both devices. Suddenly, both mechanisms beeps in unison as the outline turns from red to green which results in the door opening up by contracting itself into the ceiling. Yharim and his companion then starts to enter the room as he focuses his attention onto a mechanical entity and says:

“Draedon, I see that your two latest projects are progressing well.”

“Yes, Yharim,” Draedon responds. “In addition to Melony, The Nymph, these two are a stepping stone for me to perfect our biological engineering technology which in turn will help us with our ‘Cloning’ projects. In fact, you’re just in time to see their completion.” Draedon then notices Yharim’s companion as the mechanical entity says: “Looks like you’re filling your role as a puppet well, Lunaris. That’s a good boy, remember to always know your place as a mere plaything.”

Yharim takes a moment to look over the information in regards to the two entities, both of whom were currently held within two large glass cylinders. One cylinder was filled with purple liquid while the other was filled with liquid of red coloration.

“Interesting, so you managed to incorporate both The Crimson and The Corruption’s prowess into these two individuals?” Yharim inquires.

“Yes, The Perforators have influence over The Crimson while The Hivemind possesses the same capabilities over The Corruption.”

Unbeknownst to Yharim and Draedon, one of the two entities was listening to their current conversation as The Hivemind comments internally:

-We hear them… voices… they’re outside... where we must be-

Upon saying those words, the entity starts to glow with a purple aura upon which the large glass cylinder that surrounds it starts to crack as purple liquid then starts to escape its former confinement. Finally, the glass cylinder shatters as the purple liquid floods the floors of the room of which the former cylinder was positioned in. This of course catches the entity’s onlookers as Draedon says:

“Ah, you’re awake. Welcome to the world, Hivemind.”

“Hive… mind?” The entity inquires.

“That is indeed your name, my creation. I am Dr Draedon, he who has given you life and your purpose.”

“What is our purpose?” The Hivemind inquires.

“It’s simple, really,” Yharim replies. “To serve me by molding The Corruption with your powers and to fulfill my goals. You have quite the role to play in all this, Hivemind.”

“So we are but an end result to your experiment…” The Hivemind says as the entity focuses on Dr Draedon. The being then turns its gaze towards Yharim and continues: ”… and a pawn to your plan?”

“Don’t think of it that way, my creation,” Dr Draedon comments. “Think of it as your parents who knows what you need even better than you do. Just do as we say and all shall be well.”

As Yharim and Draedon turn to each other to converse; completely disregarding The Hivemind’s existence momentarily, the entity was not very fond of its current predicament as it says in a lowered tone:

“These two… they care nothing for us…” A purple aura starts to consume The Hivemind as the entity continues: “Is that our purpose? Are we to be just an experiment? A pawn in someone else’s game?” Then, In a much louder tone drenched with anger, The Hivemind exclaims in absolute fury: “This will not be our destiny!”

“Stop this, now!” Dr Draedon exclaims all while The Hivemind’s aura causes the entire laboratory to quake.

“We were not born into this existence, we were created. And our creators have used and betrayed us. No! We will not submit to you!” The Hivemind exclaims as the entity then hurls itself into the ceiling and literally burrows its way out of the laboratory with its powerful aura and physical force.

“Guards!” Dr Draedon exclaims. “Capture that-”

“No, Draedon. Let The Hivemind go,” Yharim comments as he places his right hand onto Draedon’s left shoulder. “This is all going according to plan.”

“What are you talking about?” Draedon inquires.

“You remember my objective, correct? We have a plan in motion and The Hivemind plays a great role in it.”

“Damnit, Yharim… do you have any idea how much resources I just wasted? Resources that literally just escaped from my lab?”

“I know you feel frustrated right now, Draedon. But, the unification process of this world and Equus is now set in motion. As you know, me and Calamitas have been peering into the future and have been planning certain scenarios. From the moment I controlled Lunaris to having Calamitas weaken The Moon Lord’s imprisonment, and even having you create The Hivemind. It’s all part of the plan.”

“You are frustrating to work with, you know that?” Dr Draedon comments as the mechanical entity then sighs and says: “I’ll bite, what will become of The Hivemind now?”

“Now,” Yharim responds as he and his companion start to leave. “They now embark on a journey which will lead them to: The Wall Of Flesh. As for the other one, The Perforators, I recommend you make that one more obedient.”





The Hivemind was now flying far away from the laboratory, which was noticeably positioned deep below The Crimson Biome, as it flew with due haste; exited the biome of the living flesh and through the night skies of Terraria.

After the entity felt as if it were at a safe distance, The Hivemind then set itself down onto one of the many floating islands as it then gazed upon the land below which was covered in the blanket of night.

“We have much to do,” The Hivemind comments. “But where to start is the matter at hand.”

“You can join us,” A mysterious voice says which catches The Hivemind by surprise as the aforementioned entity starts to look around and questions:

“Who’s there?! If you work for those two fools who dared to use us, we shall-”

“No, we are not familiar with the one who created you. But, we do know a little about the one who has wronged you,” The voice interjects. “Let’s just say that he was once tossed into the infernal fires of The Underworld but managed to escape with the help of his dragon. Regardless, we have been watching you grow ever since they decided to integrate my essence and influence into both you and that other creation’s design.”

“Are you insinuating that our power derives from you?”

“Indeed, Hivemind. Your influence over The Corruption is in fact an influence over the biome that we ourselves, created. It was reduced to nearly nothing thanks to the dryads but we were able to save it in time and it now resides in a pocket dimension. All we need now is an opportunity to infect another world. Because of this, The Crimson was able to take hold in The Corruption’s absence. It’s funny, we created both of these biomes and yet they in turn compete with each other for resources in order to spread.”

“Who are you? You try to persuade us to join you and yet we know nothing about you!”

“Instead of telling you, we’d rather show you.” The voice says upon which a wormhole/portal starts to conjure itself with a spark of energy as if reality itself were being torn open. The Hivemind was cautious at first, however, it then felt something that was all too familiar as the entity says:

“This feeling… could this be?”

“Yes, our friend. Welcome to The Corruption, your new home. We will be sending two associates of ours who will be working very close to you. Much like yourself, we also invited them to join my cause as well.”

Suddenly, from within the portal a loud series of rumbling could be heard as the head of a large entity starts to leave the aforementioned phenomenon, but not entirely.

“Say hello to your ally: The Eater Of Worlds.” The voice says to which The Hivemind floats forward and places a tendril onto the large worm. Then, in that very moment, The Hivemind felt something that could only be best described as familiarity and kinship. Kindred spirits, one could also say.

“Beautiful,” The Hivemind comments. “The Corruption is but beauty incarnate, the embodiment of all sins given form. Just like us...”

“And we would like for you to be its master. The Eater Of Worlds obeys and defends The Corruption. You, however, shall be our appointed mastermind of this biome, your home. Your domain.”

“We would like to know your name.” The Hivemind asks. “You have given us domain over this biome of beauty so we would like to know the name of the one who has given us such a gift.”

“We have much to do, friend. We shall give you our name but we feel that you must be given one that’s appropriate to your current status. ‘The Hivemind’ is but a name that those fools gave you. It is not worthy of your greatness. However, perhaps you could use it to hide your true self, like we do.”

Suddenly, The Hivemind’s body was surrounded by an aura that was not familiar to the entity as The Hivemind questions:

“What are you doing to us?”

“We are giving you more power. Your current form is but a base of what you will now be capable of. You shall rise as The Corruption’s ultimate being. Rise up: Ocram!”

The Hivemind’s body started to shift itself as the entity transitioned into its second form. However, it continued to mold and shift in a chaotic fashion as what was once The Hivemind was now becoming an entirely different monstrosity however it did retain some familiarity to its previous forms.



“You are now: Ocram. Tell us, how does it feel to have the power of The Corruption surging through you?”

“We are mighty... we are sin incarnate… we are The Corruption... we are Ocram.”

Suddenly, a red portal appears as a bipedal figure exits the anomaly. Ocram was momentarily cautious of this new arrival but that was before the voice says:

“Fear not, Ocram. Tanner The Guide is yet another associate of ours. A demon from The Underworld and someone you will be working with once the opportunity arrives.”

“Hello there,” Tanner greets. “Looks like Lord Legion is bringing someone else into the fold as well.”

“Lord Legion?” Ocram inquires.

“That is but our cover alias,” The voice replies. “The Wall Of Flesh is another name we go by. However, Ocram, we find you worthy of knowing our true name.”

Tanner The Guide then kneels as he proclaims in exclamation:

“The current guardian of The Underworld, the creator of The Crimson and The Corruption. The conqueror of the forces of light and dark: Nyarlathotep.”
> Chapter 92 - Origins Of Ocram Pt: 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some time before The Moon Lord escapes its confines and breaches Equus:

-THE CORRUPTION, POCKET DIMENSION-

Having reverted back to their base form and three years after escaping Dr Draedon’s lab, The Hivemind was now within the confines of a pocket dimension that housed what was left of The Corruption. The entity spent those three years honing and perfecting its powers all while The Hivemind waited patiently for an opportunity. Little did the entity know, The Corruption’s moment would soon come as a certain event was about to take place.

“Soon, my glorious corruption shall flourish and all shall bear witness to its beauty. We have been preparing for our opportunity. Terraria is rich in pathways and connections to other worlds, we need only wait for-”

Suddenly, a red portal sizzles into being and opens up before The Hivemind; cutting off the entity’s words.

“What does lord Legion have to report, Tanner?” The Hivemind inquires as it takes notice of The Guide who exited the portal.

“My lord wishes for you and The Corruption to be ready. Razeem, The Moon Lord, has escaped and The Great Wall has taken notice of a particular event.”

“What event?”

“Razeem… he’s entering another world. Go forth, Ocram, and be our lord’s eyes and ears. Prepare everything for Nyarlathotep’s arrival for he wishes to drag that world into Terraria. I know not of how our lord will achieve this but I do not doubt their power.”





-TERRARIA, THE MOON-

A series of powerful blasts and various attacks echoes throughout the entire surface of the moon as an eldritch entity prepares itself to cross over into another world.

“I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED HERE!” The Moon Lord roars out as the entity then starts to retreat into the large portal that was positioned behind the eldritch monstrosity.

“You will not escape!” Celebes The Dryad roars out as she prepares to finish off her foe with The Terra Blade. However, unbeknownst to them both, another portal was opened nearby in seclusion as The Hivemind patiently awaits for an opportunity.

“Yes… that portal is exactly what we need,” The entity says as it stalks the nearby battlefield, like a predator ready to pounce onto its prey. “The Corruption has waited for long enough.”

The Dryad was currently dodging The Moon Lord’s various attacks as the entity then fires off its signature lazer from the eye that was positioned on its forehead. Celebes erects a barrier with her Terra Blade as the blast consumes the spherical defence with The Dryad held within. The blast finally dissipates but The Dryad is both angered and annoyed to see that the eldritch horror had used the opportunity to retreat into the portal.

“No! I have to end you! Be it in this world or any other, you will fall to my blade!” Celebes exclaims as she rushes into the anomaly with no hesitation.

“Now!” The Hivemind roars out as the entity leaves its hiding spot and also makes its way towards the portal with frightening speed. “The Corruption shall have what is overdue!” The entity exclaims as it enters the portal and makes its way to a world of magic, equines, and many other incredible forms of life: Equus.

End of flashback.





-EQUUS, CANTERLOT CASTLE THRONE ROOM-

After reminiscing about its past, The Hivemind lets out a small chuckle before saying:

“Now then, we think it’s time to enact our plans with The Empire. Tirek and The Great Eater can contend with that pathetic army that’s entering The Corruption’s borders.” The Hivemind then conjures forth a portal and enters the anomaly as it closes behind the mastermind of The Corruption.





Shining Armor, Tempest Shadow, Tzana, Prince Ruthorford, and King Domihaus were currently leading their forces towards Canterlot as the army cuts down various monsters of The Corruption. Magical energy blasts could be heard echoing across the infected lands along with the clashing of blades and the roars of monstrosities that were born from the infection.

Tzana and Tempest were currently fighting as a duo while they contend with a World Feeder. The two mares would dodge the worm entity’s strikes in unison as they then mounted the creature by hopping onto its head. Using her newly acquired blade, that of which was crafted from the ore, Tzana thrusted the weapon down and punctured the creature’s flesh as the entity lets out a defiant roar. Then, Tempest Shadow hopped high into the air and slammed down onto the blade with her left hind leg, pushing it further into the worm entity’s head. The creature lets out one last roar before it collides into the earth and skis a short distance before coming to a stop as it now lies dead with the two mares still standing on its corpse.

“Aww yeah! Worm boy got rekt!” Grubber exclaims from nearby as he was currently firing off some arrows from his very own bow that was crafted from The Demonite Ore.

“Something’s not right here,” Tzana comments. “Why does this feel so… easy?”

“Yeah,” Tempest responds. “Compared to our other battles with The Corruption, this fight is going a little too well. But then-”

Suddenly, a series of loud stomping echoes throughout the landscape which instantly catches the attention of the entire army. The monsters of The Corruption were now heading towards the new large entity which was drawing near the army of The Coalition.

Shining Armor’s eyes were widened in both realization and horror as he immediately recognizes the approaching being and says:

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, Lord Tirek! But. what does he have to gain from The Corruption?”

“Yak ready to pummel stupid centaur!” Prince Ruthorford exclaims.

“Domihaus agrees with yak Prince, let us defeat this-”

“Do not underestimate him,” Shining Armor interjects as he cuts off King Domihaus’s words. “That form is the same one he took on when he stole my wife’s and the other Princesses’s powers,” The unicorn Prince then narrows his features before he continues: “No… this feels even stronger than that time…”

“Welcome to The Corruption, everyone,” Lord Tirek comments all while the monstrosities of The Corruption starts to follow behind the large centaur. “I’m so glad that you’re all here because now, I get to feed!” Tirek then looks towards the monsters of The Corruption and says: “All of you hang back, they’re mine!” Upon saying those words and with the force of a coming tsunami, Tirek rushes forth with all his speed and might as his girth echoes a loud series of stomping.

Everyone within the army stands at the ready as Tzana and Tempest look towards each other, gives a nod, and starts to run towards the large form that was drawing near them.

“You remember the plan, right?” Tempest inquires.

“You’d better know what you’re doing, Tempest,” Tzana responds. “Only Grubber and I knows about you being a double agent, as far as this army is concerned. Once you go through with this, the whole army will be on your neck… as will mine.”

“Gotta keep appearances up, Tzana,” Tempest responds. “Once we get word from Princess Luna that Blueblood has been captured, we can drop this charade. Then, me and the others can take all the backlash we’ll no doubt be receiving.”

Behind the two mares, the entire army joins them in their pursuit with Shining Armor, King Domihaus, and Prince Ruthorford leading them into battle.





-THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE CASTLE, THRONE ROOM-

The party continues to go on as everyone in attendance continues to mingle. Princess Luna was the only one left who remained near the royal throne as Princess Cadence and the other leaders/representatives had joined the procession.

“We know thou all too well, Blueblood,” Luna comments in a hushed tone as she was currently observing the aforementioned unicorn drawing near a certain disguised changeling. “Thou can not ignore her beauty; thy lust is pathetically predictable.”

“Excuse me, my good mare,” Blueblood comments to which he catches the attention of the newly arrived pegasus mare. Little did he know, this was the former ruler of the changelings in disguise. “Could I interest you in joining me for some entertainment?”

“Well, that depends on what you have in mind~” The mare replies with half lidded eyes.

“My my, you’re a mare who doesn’t beat around the bush,” Blueblood says happily as his excitement was starting to implode from within. “Come with me, I have my private quarters in the western wing of the castle. I beg your pardon though for I haven’t gotten your name yet.”

“Oh don’t worry, I’ll have you screaming it in mere moments~” The mare then draws closer and leans into Blueblood’s left ear; giving it a quick nip as she whispers: “Name’s Crysella, handsome,” Crysella then pulls away before saying: “Ah! Why don’t we take some refreshments with us? Let’s just say that I’m... thirsty, in more ways than one~”

Blueblood chuckles in absolute desire as he replies:

“I am truly the luckiest stallion in this party.”

“I just have an eye for for quality,” Crysella says as she claps her hooves together and exclaims: “You there, waiter!”

“Yes, ma’am?” Capper responds.

“Give us that entire tray you have in your possession. We’ll be needing it for our private endeavors.” Crysella says with a wink. Capper then smirks as he leans into Blueblood and says with a hushed tone:

“Way to go, lover boy. By the way, does Lord Ocram have any plans for us?”

“After the celebrations are over we can discuss that further. Our time is drawing near but for now, let’s just enjoy ourselves.” Blueblood responds as he looks back towards Crysella and says: "Like I'm about to enjoy this mare."

“Are you two whispering about little old me?” Crysella inquires.

“Why yes, ma’am. I was just telling my friend here that you are quite the catch, if I may say so myself,” Capper comments as he then hands Blueblood the tray which contains a large bottle of wine along with four glasses. “Please, enjoy yourselves.”

“We intend to.” Blueblood replies as he and Crysella start to leave the throne room. However, unbeknownst to the white unicorn, he failed to see a very particular ring that Crysella had hidden beneath her left wing as Capper had stealthily passed it along to her during the exchange.

Still positioned near the throne, Princess Luna smirks as she says internally:

-Enjoy that mare’s presence whilst thy can, Blueblood. She shall become thy undoing-
> Chapter 93 - The Motivation Of A Queen.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, CRYSTAL EMPIRE, BLUEBLOOD’S CHAMBERS-

With the closing of the chamber’s door, Blueblood and Crysella start to make their way towards the bed.

“Why don’t you lay yourself down, hot stuff. I hope you don’t mind but I prefer to be on top.” Crysella comments with half lidded eyes.

“Not at all,” Blueblood replies as he hurriedly stampedes onto the bed and lays onto his back. “In fact, I personally like this arrangement~”

In an absolutely alluring display of seductive movements, Crysella teases the obviously excited unicorn as she slowly approaches the bed. She moved with so much grace and her beauty emanated so much arousal from Blueblood that stallions of today and those of the past would envy the unicorn for his current ‘Luck’.

Slowly and keeping up her display of seduction, Crysella places each of her forelimbs onto the bed first before she then flaps her wings and slowly lowers herself onto the stallion. All the while, a certain part of Blueblood truly represented how much he was enjoying this display to which Crysella licks her lips and says:

“Looks like the other you is ready to go as well, fantastic.”

“If you tease me any longer, I may have to rethink our current position and dominate you, my good mare.”

Crysella simply chuckles in response before she says:

“Don’t threaten me with a good time~” Upon saying those words, Crysella then started to lower herself slowly as she prepares to kiss the stallion, who in turn had his eyes closed with pursed lips, as she says: “Let me show you why I’m called...” Suddenly, Blueblood cries out in a mixture of pain and discomfort as Crysella slipped onto the unicorn’s horn a certain inhibitor ring that she kept hidden beneath her tongue. “The mother of lies!”

Green flames consumed Crysella; followed by a series of laughter. What was once a beautiful pegasus mare, that was in fact based on Celestia’s ancient appearance, was now a black and green entity with holes present on their wings and various appendages. All with a large horn and slitted pupils within their eyes.

“Worthless pony,” Chrysalis comments as she bares her fangs and hisses towards the unicorn. “You are nothing but a fool. Tirek and you, both. The Corruption only seeks our world’s destruction and yet you want to become, what was it, a God-King? Imbecile! What is a God-King to a dead planet?! Who would you rule over when everyone else is dead?!”

“Y-you… bitch… O-Ocram shall hear of this…” Blueblood says as the stallion was struggling in both pain and discomfort.

“Hah! Do you not comprehend the position you’re in?” Chrysalis questions. “You won’t be here long enough to tell that monstrosity anything,” Suddenly, shadows start to form in the corner of the room which causes Chrysalis to smirk and say: “Ah! And here she comes now.”

“W-who?” Blueblood inquires as he’s still struggling against the magic inhibitor.

“Thy executioner,” A familiar voice comments as the shadows start to take on the form of a dark equine followed shortly by the Princess Of The Night: Luna. “Thou hath conspired with dark forces, Blueblood,” The look that was now present on the dark alicorn’s face was one that made Chrysalis smile devilishly: Murderous intent.

“Thou hath doomed us all by working with that foul infection. Every life that was lost in this war is on thy hooves!” Luna exclaims as she was now starting to leak her Canterlot Voice into what she had to say next: “But your greatest sin, to us, was stomping on the love of our dear sister, Celestia!” In one swift motion, Luna rushes towards Blueblood and strikes the stallion across his face with so much force that both he and the bed he was positioned upon were sent hurling into the nearby wall. The traitorous stallion coughs up a trail of blood from the force of the impact and is rendered unconscious as he flops down onto the floor. Incidentally, the shattered remains of the bed falls on top of his unconscious form.

Having teleported away in time, Chrysalis reappears near the bedchamber’s entrance and says:

“Thanks for the warning…”

“We trusted thy perception and foresight,” Luna replies as she turns her head towards the former ruler of the changelings. “We knew thou wouldst teleport to safety unharmed, of this, we harbor little doubt,” Luna then returns her gaze back towards the unconscious stallion and says: “We shall send this traitor to the castle’s dungeon. However, before we announce this... thing’s, execution, let us gather all the information we can out of Blueblood. And yes, we art referring to torture.” Luna then fires up her horn upon which a dark blue magical aura consumes Blueblood’s unconscious form. In mere seconds the white stallion vanishes without a trace as Luna wisps him away.

Chrysalis simply chuckles before saying:

“Fitting that he has the word ‘Blood’, in his name. If you need help, the torture that I have in mind is perfect for the occasion. Shall we expose him to the others?”

“Verily,” Luna replies with a smirk. “We promised a public execution and we intend to keep it. Once we extract the information from that traitor, we shall proceed. Now then, Chrysalis, art thou sure that The Hivemind hath no more allies within The Empire?”

“Yes, no other ally to The Corruption is among us. Now that Blueblood is down for the count, we have only Lord Tirek left to aid The Corruption. Fortunately, thanks to his current size, Ocram has ordered him to stay in The Corruption. Our army is likely going to be contending with that centaur, assuming of course they aren’t already doing that as we speak.”

“Then we art prepared and soon our ruse shall be forfeit,” Luna then smirks before she continues: “We art surprised, Chrysalis. Thou hath been a valuable ally in this battle ever since you’ve joined our fold. We would like to inquire thy intent for joining us?”

Chrysalis raises a brow to this question as she in turn says:

“What are you insinuating?”

“In essence, thou hath no obligation to help us fight this war and yet here thy former ruler of the changelings stand. Why help us? We hath always been curious to know thy reasoning.”

Chrysalis simply stares at the dark alicorn momentarily before the former ruler of the changelings makes her way towards the nearby window of the bedchamber. She takes a breath and finally replies:

“To ensure that my children’s future is secured,” The changeling then turns around and continues: “Let me say this: I actually don’t care about any of you. I do not regret my past actions against you, your sister, or even Cadence. Everything that I do, everything that I did, Is all for my children. I want nothing more than to see them flourish in this world; without having to suffer from starvation due to a lack of love for them to feed on. The attack on Canterlot, Cadence’s wedding, even when we captured most of you before Starlight Glimmer and her friends intervened, it was all for the sake of my children. You can call me a monster all you want but I could care less so long as the changelings continue to flourish. I am nothing like the changeling Queens of the past and if you think what I did was tyrannical, those Queens would’ve slaughtered you ponies after they drained you. Tell me, Luna, have you ever seen me kill anypony after I’ve drained them? And those pods that I place you all in? It actually preserves a prisoner's life, not kill them.”

The dark alicorn couldn’t answer the former changeling ruler’s question as she was still shocked and taking in everything that Chrysalis had just revealed to her. Luna then closes her eyes as she says:

“Nay, in the time we hath fought against ye, thou hath never claimed a life. As far as we can tell and know of, that is. However, couldn’t thy changeling ruler hath just approached us ponies and work out a compromise? Thorax is living proof that-”

“Do you honestly think I didn’t consider doing that?” Chrysalis inquires. “I did go down that route long ago and do you want to know what your kind told me and my kin?”

“Reveal thy truth to us.” Luna asks.

“‘We could care less about you and your kind, abominations.’ That is what you ponies told us all those years ago and some of you still have that mindset even today. But, it wasn’t just ponies. Before we came to Equestria, we were also rejected by the other races for the exact same reason: You all saw us as monsters. Our need to feed on love is seen as an immediate danger to you all. We changelings aren't the only races who needs to feed off of certain emotions in order to live, by the way. Therefore, as the Queen of the changelings, I decided to take matters into my own hooves and if no one would help us then I would take what I need for my children’s survival by force. That decision is what allowed my hive to survive to this day or at least before this whole madness with The Corruption showed up.”

Luna was now contemplating everything that was spoken. In truth, the dark alicorn was absolutely surprised and even somewhat ashamed by Chrysalis’s story. She could tell without a shadow of a doubt that the former changeling ruler’s words were absolute truth. No ounce of forgery was present in this tale and with sympathy currently growing in her heart, Luna says:

“We know that the past can not be erased, nor can we make it up to thy kind for these past transgressions. All we can do, Chrysalis, is to say… we art sorry. We’re sorry for what hath transpired between both of our races in history. All we can say is that thanks to The Coalition, we hath the opportunity to right those wrongs. We art all fighting side by side against the foul infection from another world. In a sense, we art kind of glad for the arrival of this infection for one good thing hath come of it: We art now united as one. If there is one thing that we’ve learned in our past it’s that when the world or even our loved ones and kin are threatened, a unification is always the result,” Luna then walks forward and stands before Chrysalis.

“We know now that thou hath done all of your past actions for a purpose, one that we hath come to respect. Despite everything thou hath done to us, we can forgive ye for those actions. We only saw thou as a monster who wished to enslave ponykind but now, thanks to thy revelation, we’d like to extend a hoof of true friendship-”

“I’ll have to stop you right there, Luna,” Chrysalis interjects. “While I appreciate your words and the gesture, I will not give into… friendship,” Chrysalis momentarily gags herself before she continues: “However, you can call us an ally. Whether or not you take this offer is up to you.”

Luna simply sighs in response as she had admittedly expected that reaction. She then chuckles momentarily before saying:

“We suppose that shall be enough for now. Come, Chrysalis, we hath a prisoner that needs our attention.”
> Chapter 94 - Retaliation.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, THE CORRUPTION BIOME, CANTERLOT OUTSKIRTS-

Tirek was currently having the time of his life as the large centaur continues to combat against the forces of The Coalition all while the monsters of The Corruption have disappeared by Tirek’s request. With every individual that he faced, Tirek would consume the magical energy from the armor and weapons that they wore and wielded; feasting upon the otherworldly magic that lay within. While this didn’t take away the armor’s defence and the effectiveness of the weapons, the loss of Terraria’s magic did take away the “Set Bonus” that the armor offered in addition to the enhancements from the weapons.

“Delicious!” Tirek roars out as the centaur has just devoured a handful of individuals from the army before he tosses them away. “You fools fail to realize that your army is nothing but a buffet to me! You’ve lost this fight before it even began!”

Tzana and Tempest were currently dodging Tirek’s various strikes but unlike the other members of the army, it would seem as if the two mares were holding back. Even when they did attack the centaur, he in turn would simply act oblivious to them and focus all of his attention on the other members of the army. This was done in a way so that no one else present could take notice of what was truly happening.

Nearby, Shining Armor turns towards a duo of yaks who were pulling a large cart with a very particular item that was currently being covered by a large fabric. Smirking, the Prince of The Empire turns to his fellow leaders, Prince Ruthorford and King Domihaus, as he says:

“We’ve prepared for our battle with Tirek but he is not a fool. Once he sees what we have in this cart, he’ll no doubt summon the monsters of The Corruption once again to attack us. We can take advantage of him ordering them to stay back. I’ll sneak around while you two keep his attention focused on you all.”

“Domihaus likes this plan!”

“Yak Prince buy pony time to use secret weapon,” Prince Ruthorford comments as he then turns towards the two yaks who were pulling the cart. “Yak say you two listen to pony. Yaks help pony Prince to move secret weapon. For Yakyakistan!”

“For Yakyakistan!” The two yaks reply as Domihaus and Ruthorford head off to contend with Lord Tirek.

Firing up his horn, Shining Armor lifts the fabric slightly with his magical aura as he takes on a determined expression and says:

“Thank you for retrieving this, Discord. Grogar’s Bell is the perfect weapon to use against Tirek.”





-EQUUS, FLUTTERSHY’S COTTAGE-

“You’re probably thinking: ‘Good call on giving The Coalition, Grogar’s Bell,” Discord says to you, The Audience, as he was currently lounging on a large blue couch that was positioned within the cottage’s living room. “Well, to be completely honest my reason for doing that wasn’t only to help everyone but to put it bluntly: Fuck Tirek. Yes, I used profanity but it’s ok thanks to this story’s ‘Profanity Tag’. Anyway, he stole my magic so let’s see how he likes it. Now shoo, shoo, go on to the next scene.”

“Uh, Discord,” A new voice comments.

“Yes, Pomp Neigh?”

“Stick to the script and don’t get lazy. More exposition on that would be nice instead of just: ‘I grabbed the bell.’ Seriously, the script is right in front of you!”

“Fine, fine. To put it simply: When Lulu and the others discovered Tirek’s escape from Tartarus, she asked me if I knew of any weapon or item that could help them. Especially since the element bearers, not to mention the beautiful Fluttershy, aren’t here anymore. Then I thought: 
‘Me, why not give them Grogar’s Bell?’
‘Why that’s an excellent idea, me. We even know where Gusty The Great sealed away said bell.’
So, after me and myself conversed, I went to the bell’s hiding place; removed that laughable barrier and retrieved it before giving the bell to Lulu and the others. Does that make you happy, Pomp?”

“Wait, you shortened the script?!” Pomp Neigh exclaims with a twitching left eye. “We were supposed to show the audience every little detail about you actually going there.”

“Oh come now, Pomp, It’s really as simple as that. I retrieved Grogar’s Bell and gave it to The Coalition. The Audience doesn’t really need to know about how I literally just snapped my lion’s paw and went there in an instant. I’m Discord! If it were anyone else then yes, you’d have to tell The Audience about their adventure and what they had to go through just to grab that bell. Besides, I made a promise to Fluttershy that I’d help everyone while she was gone. You should know, you wrote the story.”

Pomp Neigh stares at the draconequus for a moment before The Author shrugs his shoulders and says:

“Fair enough. Now, I’d better get going due to the fourth wall’s weakened state.” Pomp Neigh says as The Author then exits the story. 

Discord then looks towards you, The Audience, and exclaims:

“On to the next scene! And don’t worry, I’ll pretend like you all don’t exist in this reality, my dear readers. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an amazing scene coming up soon. Tata!” The draconequus then snaps his eagle’s talon and vanishes without a trace.



 

-EQUUS, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, CASTLE DUNGEON-

In the dark depths comprising holding cells and crystalline hallways, both Princess Luna and Chrysalis were currently positioned within what was easily the most secluded cell among the many that dotted these depths. There was of course another who was present within the cell, bound and still rendered unconscious: Blueblood.

The unicorn stallion was currently chained up against the wall in a bipedal position as his head was limped down onto his chest region. Upon his horn was the presence of the magic inhibitor ring.

Princess Luna was momentarily in a state of frustration as she comments:

“This foul traitor must’ve informed the enemy of our ability to enter the dream realm. The Hivemind has placed powerful forces of magical energy that rejects our attempts to enter Blueblood’s mind. We can not extract the information from within.”

“So what you’re saying is…” Chrysalis comments as she then takes on a mischievous smile. “We can torture this fool of a pony?” 

“Verily,” Luna replies as she walks up to the unconscious stallion and strikes him across the face with her left forehoof. This action causes the stallion to regain consciousness as he grits his teeth in pain and says:

“You dare to strike the God-”

[WHAM]

“AURGH!”

Luna strikes the stallion once again as he lets out a painful exclamation, along with spitting out some blood, before she mockingly replies:

“Yes, we dare to strike you. Doth our hoof fall from our body by doing so?”

“Hah! Arrogant, even though he’s chained up like this,” Chrysalis comments before she to strikes the stallion but unlike Luna who struck his face, the former changeling ruler turned sideways and kicked Blueblood with her right hind leg which results in him letting loose yet another painful exclamation. “Your screams of pain are quite lovely. Feel free to scream as loud as you want, Luna’s silencing spell will see to it that no one will hear you.”

“I will have you both torn apart by The Corruption’s monsters!” Blueblood roars out in defiance. “My allies shall come to assist me. You think that I’m the only one who’s infiltrated The Coalition?” Blueblood then turns his gaze towards Chrysalis and says: “You will be torn apart by the others, you wretched traitor!”

“That is just rich coming from you,” Chrysalis says with a condescending smirk. “You, a traitor who’s putting everyone else on Equus in danger by working with The Corruption, are calling me a traitor? Hah!” The changeling then strikes Blueblood across his face before she continues: “Here’s a little fun fact for you: I was never loyal to The Corruption. Also, I wouldn’t count on the others coming to save you.”

“My allies are all up stairs in the throne room. Once they take notice of my disappearance they’ll-” Blueblood’s words were cut off by both Luna and Chrysalis laughing uncontrollably to which he says: “What are you two bitches laughing about?!”

Luna is the first to recover as she then replies:

“Doth thou think that The Hivemind, or Ocram, is the only one who’s installed agents within the enemies’ ranks? To deceive us from within?”

In that very moment, Blueblood’s eyes were widened with realization as he then takes on a furious expression and says:

“Y-you knew all along?! You acted ignorant to my treachery from the very beginning?!”

“Thou hath forgotten that we are much more perceptive then thy traitor gives us credit for. It was all too clear to us that a traitor was within our midst thanks to one of our agents who pieced together your so-called plan.” Luna responds.

“They realized that those purple orbs within The Corruption were strategically placed,” Chrysalis comments. “But that would be impossible for an infection from another world to have known from the start. The answer is obvious: It was you who told The Hivemind about Equestria’s three most distinct locations.”

“Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. Ponyville, home to the element bearers and arguably one of our largest sources of food thanks to Sweet Apple Acres. And finally, Princess Twilight’s Castle, home to Equestria’s future ruler.”

“She is not fit to rule!” Blueblood exclaims in absolute anger and hatred. “That peasant is nothing but-”

[WHAM]

“Thou shalt not mock Twilight Sparkle within our presence, worm!” Luna exclaims in a tone that matched Blueblood’s very own. “She is far more fit to rule than thou could ever hope to be! She is the successor that we and our dear sister hath chosen! Why doth thou think Celly was conditioning Twilight Sparkle all along? Thou art nothing compared to her!” Luna then unleashes a series of blows as she strikes Blueblood with her forehooves. The stallion’s face, stomach and chest region were the main target of her brutal assault. “Celly loved ye like thy own child and yet this is what thou hath rewarded her with?! Betraying us all just because she never chose ye to rule?!” Luna doesn’t relent as Blueblood’s white fur was starting to be covered in his own blood of which was escaping his mouth and nose. The stallion would’ve fell unconscious once more were it not for the fact that Luna was using her magic to keep him awake as a blue aura was currently surrounding his head.

Chrysalis simply watches with a satisfied expression all while Luna continues to beat the stallion. Finally, with Blueblood’s very own blood dripping from her forehooves, Luna pulls away from her assault and says:

“Before we end thy life, thou shalt tell us all ye know about The Corruption’s intentions and any possible allies we know not of. We will ask you only once before we resort to other methods.”

Blueblood spits out not only a glob of blood but also a few of his teeth as he chuckles to himself and says:

“B… buck you… b-bitch.” Luna was about to continue her assault once more before Chrysalis interjects and says:

“Luna, I want to ask you something.”

“We hope it is important enough for thou to interrupt our intimate time with this creature.” Luna responds.

“Oh, it is, and I very much enjoy the show. However, how about we remove his horn?” Chrysalis says as she then draws near the stallion. “After I’ve drained his love from his pathetic body.” Opening her maw, Chrysalis starts to perform the action as a stream of pink energy starts to leave Blueblood’s form; causing the stallion to squirm in discomfort.

As this goes on, Luna approaches the bound unicorn and places a forehoof onto the base of his horn as she says:

“Let’s see how powerful thy so-called: God-King, is without thy horn,” In a display of anger, Luna grits her teeth and literally breaks off Blueblood’s white horn; causing the stallion to cry out even more, as she then places it onto the ground and stomps on it. “We knoweth of a certain unicorn mare who doth indeed deserves a horn far more than you do.”

Chrysalis finally finishes her action as she licks her lips and says:

“Ah, the love you have for yourself is truly exquisite. You also being a pony adds even more flavor to it. No offense, Luna.”

“None taken although we art surprised that ye managed to get any love at all from this fiend.”

“Love comes in many forms. Even one such as he loves something which in this case, is himself. Oh my, it seems he’s finally fallen unconscious.” Chrysalis comments as the aforementioned stallion was indeed now unconscious once again. Most notably, the blue aura that once surrounded his head was now gone.

“We gave thy traitor a chance to tell us all thy know but thy wretched stallion hath refused. We won’t get any more out of this traitor so we hath decided to let them fall unconscious from our combined assaults,” Luna then turns around before she continues: “Come, Chrysalis, we shall inform the populace of this traitor’s presence and sentence him to public execution. We can’t stand to live in this world knowing that we share it with that thing.”

Chrysalis gives Luna an approving nod before they then leave the cell together. However, unbeknownst to them, someone was watching the entire affair as the being closes the portal, of which they used to observe the scenario, as they comment:

“We knew that the allies Blueblood brought into our fold consisted of traitors among them. It’s fortunate that we have have two allies that not even the Princess knows about. Soon, it will be time for you both to strike: Tzana and Cozy Glow.” 
> Chapter 95 - Tzana's Objective.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-EQUUS, CORRUPTION BIOME, CANTERLOT OUTSKIRTS-

Shining Armor, in addition to the two yaks who were currently accompanying him, were currently stealthily making their way around the battlefield. At a safe distance, the Prince of The Empire momentarily observes the battle before he turns back to his yak allies, both of whom were still pulling the cart with Grogar’s Bell, and says:

“His attention is focused on everyone else, let’s move out while we still have the chance.” The trio then starts to move as the noise that emanates from the cart’s wheels follows behind them.

Meanwhile, Tirek continues to devour the otherworldly magic from the army’s equipment as he steadily grows in both power and stature. His large hulking form easily allowed him to oversee the battlefield before the centaur.

Tzana, Tempest, and Grubber were currently attacking the centaur but in a fashion that seemed to be exclusive to not only them but the centaur as well. Specifically, their attacks were lacking in a sense but not enough to draw anyone else’s attention.

Shining Armor and his yak allies were now positioned behind the centaur as they remained hidden behind a dirt mound.

“This spot is perfect,” The unicorn prince comments before he then turns towards the two yaks. “Thank you very much for helping me move this bell. Once I give the order, we’ll go forth and end Tirek’s capabilities,” The unicorn Prince then holds a forehoof into the air as he says: “Steady…”

Using both of his arms, Tirek shielded his face from a series of ranged attacks in the form of dragons breathing fire to unicorns blasting him with their magical aptitude.

“Steady…” Shining Armor comments with his forehoof still held in the air; waiting for the opportune moment.

Some of the changelings within the army actually tried to disguise themselves by transforming into the monsters of The Corruption. Their hope was that Tirek would mistake them for an ally which in turn would allow them to stealthily strike the large centaur. Unfortunately, despite the cleverness of the attempt, Tirek simply laughs at them as he attacks their new forms says:

“You think I’ve forgotten about you changelings? A commendable effort but the monsters of this place were ordered to not interfere in our battle. Changeling or not, any monstrosity from The Corruption-”

“Lord Tirek!” Shining Armor exclaims from behind the large centaur along with his two yak allies. “This ends now!”

Turning around, Tirek was about to mock the unicorn only for the centaur’s eyes to widen in horror as he took notice of Grogar’s Bell.

“N-no! It can’t be!” Tirek exclaims in disbelief.

“Say goodbye to your magic and return to the depths of tartarus!” Shining Armor exclaims. However, the unicorn failed to realize that despite Tirek’s fear of the bell, the centaur formed a smirk on his face. “Now! Activate the bell!”

“...” Nothing happens in response which causes Shining Armor to turn around only to find a shocking sight. The two yaks that accompanied him were now rendered unconscious as two mares stood on top of the cart along with a certain hedgehog.

“T-Tempest? Tzana? Grubber… what are you doing?!”

“Isn’t it obvious, Prince?” Tempest inquires mockingly. “This is what we call: Betrayal.”

“You fools really thought that I was your ally? Pretty stupid of you to trust someone you’ve just met.” Tzana comments as she looks down towards the unicorn Prince condescendingly.

Shining Armor was now filled with dread as their only chance of stopping Lord Tirek was now taken away from the two mares who were a part of The Coalition’s army. Nearby, Prince Ruthorford and King Domihaus takes notice of this as they say:

“You two are traitors! Yak make sure you two pay!”

“Domihaus knew that deep down the former Storm King’s commander was never one of us!”

The two leaders, in addition to the rest of the army, were about to go forth and come to Shining Armor’s aid before Tzana lift’s a hoof over Grogar’s Bell and shouts:

“Take one more step and you can kiss this bell, goodbye!”

“Domihaus calls you a fool if you think we need a bell to-”

“Without that bell, none of you can ever hope to defeat me,” Tirek interjects as he stomps towards his allies. “Tzana, Tempest, and even the hedgehog here has informed us about Discord retrieving the bell. Why do you think Lord Ocram chose me to face you? Why do you think I haven’t ordered the creatures of The Corruption to attack you in full force? Didn’t you think that this was too easy? We wanted you to bring the bell for our battle. And now, not only do I get to feed on your magic from Terraria but with Grogar’s Bell in our possession, none of you will have the means to stop us!”

“There’s just one more thing we need to take care of,” Tzana says as she turns an eye towards Tempest. What happens next shocks everyone as the earth pony mare kicks Tempest right off of the cart and causes the broken unicorn to collide with the earth below, now rendered unconscious. “Dealing with these traitors within our midst.”

Grubber was absolutely dumbfounded as he turns to Tzana and questions:

“W-what are you doing? We’re loyal to-”

“No, you’re not,” Tzana replies as she then hits the hedgehog with her forehoof, sending the small mammal flying through the air and landing right next to Tempest as he too was rendered unconscious. “You two have been scheming against Lord Ocram’s plans. We’ve known this all along but allowed you to play your silly little game,” Tzana then turns towards the rest of the army and declares: “Listen well, all of you! Lord Ocram would like for you to return to The Empire and prepare yourselves for our coming! My lord wants you to put up your best barriers and call forth every last one of your allies! The Corruption wants you to give yourselves false hope before we come to destroy it! To tear that hope away from you all!”

Recovering from his shocked state and the recent betrayal, Shining Armor grits his teeth in anger and exclaims:

“Why should we listen to you?! We’ll die before we ever turn tail and run!” In agreement with the unicorn Prince’s words, everyone else within the army in addition to King Domihaus and Prince Ruthorford lets loose various war cries.

Tirek simply chuckles in response before he raises his left hand and prepares to snap his fingers as he says:

“Perhaps you all need incentive to leave? We could easily butcher you all right here and now. However, Ocram has plans for you. Behold the terror that you all face!”

[SNAP]



Tirek snaps his fingers and upon performing the action, the very landscape around them starts to shift and quake. Nearby dirt mounds and even parts of a nearby mountain were starting to crumble upon which a large entity starts to emerge.

“It’s that monstrosity, it’s coming. I wondered where it’s been all this time.” Shining Armor comments.

“Wait, does pony Prince mean that this is big creature?” Prince Ruthorford inquires.

“Domihaus remembers... the giant creature from the drone footage.” King Domihaus responds.

In mere moments and at a safe distance behind both Lord Tirek and Tzana, the corrupted earth erupted as the head of a large worm entity erects itself high into the air before it then arch’s itself and lowers its gaze towards the army before letting out a frightening roar.

[SKREEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAA]



Everyone in the army was now frozen in fear as they truly took in the massive size of this monstrosity, The Eater Of Worlds. Dr Whooves’s drone footage did not truly portray the massive size of the entity. This creature was easily the second largest entity to ever exist on Equus, second only to The Moon Lord. Then again, considering the fact that Razeem was no longer here, the large worm-like entity was now the largest being on the entire world of Equus. Tirek’s newfound size was indeed impressive but still dwarfed by the majesty that was the world eater.

“Tell me, Prince,” Tzana comments which catches Shining Armor’s attention. “Are you sure you want to throw your lives away here and now? If this creature kills you all, who’s going to protect that sweet, widdle, baby of yours when we come for The Empire? What’s her name? Ah! Yes, Flurry Heart.”

Shining Armor, King Domihaus, and Prince Ruthorford, in addition to the remaining forces of their army were now struck with fear and the simple need or desire to protect all that they love. Then, in a kneeling gesture, Shining Armor lowers himself to the ground and says:

“W-we’ll leave… we’ll return to The Empire…”

“That’s a good little pony,” Tzana replies as she turns her gaze towards the unconscious Tempest Shadow and Grubber. “Take them with you, we have no need for traitors within our midst.”

Heeding to her request, Shining Armor cautiously starts to walk towards Tempest and Grubber. The Prince now stood above them as he mutters:

“How could you do this to us, Tempest… we truly thought that you-”

“Clock’s ticking, pony,” Tirek interjects. “I can only keep my large worm friend here away from you all for a few moments. They really want to eat you and this army right now so I suggest you get a move on.”

Prince Ruthorford and King Domihaus also made their way towards Shining Armor as the yak Prince offered to carry the broken unicorn all while Domihaus grabs Grubber. The trio of leaders, along with their unconscious captives, simply walks away with loss, shame, and pain etched onto their faces to which Tzana comments:

“Don’t look so down, everyone. Be glad that Lord Ocram wants you all alive for the time being. See you soon!” The mare calls out with a wave of her forehoof as the army starts to take their leave of The Corruption.

Tzana, Tirek, and The Eater Of Worlds were now the only ones left as they watched the army fall back to The Empire in utter defeat. The large worm lets out a growl before it burrows back into the corrupted earth, disappearing as a result. The centaur chuckles at the army’s misery before he turns to Tzana and says:

“Looks like Ocram chose well when it comes to those who are still loyal to our cause. You and our hidden ally within The Empire will be our ticket to achieving our first objective.”

“Indeed, although I had no idea that we have another infiltrator within The Empire. Who is it?”

“Let’s just say that they’re on the smaller side and keep it at that.”

-Of course he won’t just say it out loud- Tzana states internally before she replies externally:

“Where will you go from here?”

“Now that we have the bell, I’ll hold it in safe keeping until we attack The Empire. Discord, along with The Princesses and some of the other leaders, are the biggest powerhouses within The Coalition. Once we remove them then we can go on to our second objective: That blasted Crystal Heart. Blueblood has planted the seeds that Lord Ocram needs to infiltrate The Empire,” The large centaur then starts to stomp off towards Canterlot as he raises his hand in the air in a waving gesture. “Now that you’re exposed to The Coalition, you’d best find a place to hide until our attack on The Empire. I’ll see you then.”

Tzana observes the centaur momentarily as she then pulls out a scroll and unravels it. Upon doing so, she was consumed by a series of shadows which causes the mare to literally be pulled into the scroll. After Tzana disappears without a trace, the scroll was burned by a black flame as any evidence of it was destroyed in the process.





-EQUUS, UNKNOWN LOCATION-

Tzana reappears within a darkened room where the only light source came from the table and in the form of a lit candle that was placed upon the furniture. She walks forth and pulls back a chair that was paired with the table. The mare sits herself onto the aforementioned chair as she then taps the table in matter that was almost musical in nature.

“We art glad to see that thou art unharmed, Tzana,” A very familiar voice says.

“Princess Luna, things are going according to our plan. Tempest and Grubber have been exposed to The Coalition and by my actions, I have proven to Tirek, and by extension Ocram, that I am loyal to The Corruption,” Tzana then chuckles before she continues: “So they think, anyway.”

“Hath thou learnst of any other information?”

“As you already know, The Corruption plans to attack The Empire. I hated having to betray everyone and give them Grogar’s Bell but I had to do what Ocram told me. Tempest and Grubber took the fall which secured my place within Ocram’s ranks. Give her my apologies for she’ll be in pain after that kick I gave her.”

“She and thy hedgehog will be treated as a villain now that they hath been captured as a prisoner of The Coalition. We will try our best to ensure that they are sentenced to the dungeons and not meet the same fate as Blueblood.”

“Ah, so that piece of shit is getting the axe, huh? Good. I couldn’t stand that stallion.”

Luna chuckles momentarily before she replies:

“Indeed. We art happy to be rid of him from this world,” Luna then takes notice of Tzana starting to ponder on something to which the dark alicorn questions:

“Art thou ok, Tzana?”

“Oh, sorry about that, Princess. I was just thinking back to when you first arrived in my home and recruited me for all of this.”





-FLASHBACK-

Some time before Tzana and Tempest meet each other in the bar:

POV: Tzana:

I just couldn’t believe it… I got quite the surprise when I entered my home only to find a very familiar dark alicorn mare sitting on my kitchen table; almost as if she owned the place: The Princess Of The Night. She who I respect most of any Princess alive today.

“Welcome home, Tzana. We knoweth of thy true name, Journey Joy, but we’ve decided to value thy privacy out of consideration.”

Can I help you? It’s not everyday that a Princess visits you so forgive me if I seem a bit surprised.

“We shall keep this brief. A great darkness hath threatened the world and thou art a promising agent that we wish to employ. We knoweth of thy prayers to us when we were still imprisoned on the moon. We ask of ye to forgive our intrusion for we hath breached thy privacy by means of the dream realm.”

The dream realm?

“Tis complicated to explain to thou in earnest but know that we hath learned more about ye through thy own dreams and the dreams of another.”

Someone else’s dreams? Who the hell would ever dream about me? Ok, wait, what in the depths of Tartarus is going on here exactly?

“As we hath said, we’ve learned of thyself through your memories and that of somepony you’ve known in the past although we must first ask something of you.”

Good grief, I’ve known The Lunar Princess to be quite capable when it came to the minds of ponies but to have it confirmed by her, is just surreal.

“We thank thee for thy compliment.”

Shoot, thinking out loud again. So, what was it that you wish to ask of me?

“Wouldst thou honor us by becoming an agent in our employ? We must resort to such measures in order to combat this foe.”

I saw that giant creature that came from your moon, is that the foe you’re referring to?

“Nay, what we face is something that was left behind, an aftermath of those events. We face a new type of foe. An infection from another world led by a monstrosity called: The Hivemind. Or as our agents now designate: Ocram.”

Well shit… I’ve dealt with ancient tombs--actually ran into Daring-Do once--and rogue mercenaries but an alien infection from another world? That’s a new one even for me. I’m curious though... Now, I’m not saying that I decline your request but what If I were to hypothetically do just that? Aren’t you afraid of revealing to me such vital information?

“Thou hath learned of our prowess with the mind. We would never force somepony to agree with this so shouldst thou decline, we in turn shall erase thy memories of this meeting.”

“Doth thou need some time to think to thyself? This will not be an easy task and it most certainly won’t be safe. We art not even sure of the chances of our success but we must take such measures against this enemy.”

“Hath thou come to a decision?”

Certainty of death, small chance of success… what are we waiting for?

“Huzzah! We knew that thou art a promising pony.”

Shit, coming from you, that sentence is an absolute honor. So, how do we go about this?

“Thou shall pack up thy essentials and join us as we return to The Empire. Then, we wish for thee to meet with our contact and your fellow agent within a bar of our choosing. We shall go further from there.”

Sounds good. Let me pack up my stuff and I’ll join you.





Some time after Tzana and Tempest’s reunion, after their meeting in the bar and confrontation on the rooftop:

-CANTERLOT CASTLE-

So, this is where the big guy himself will see if I can join The Corruption? By the way, Tempest, this place looks like shit.

“What did you expect? Sunshine and rainbows? Canterlot is now part of The Corruption Biome.”

“Here we are, Tzana. Remember, If anything goes wrong you have that scroll to escape from The Hivemind.”

I’ve got this. I’ll see you later in The Empire; we’ve got a lot to talk about just like I promised on that rooftop.

“My face still hurts from that… thanks, by the way.”

My hoof says: You’re very welcome.





-CANTERLOT CASTLE THRONE ROOM-

“Why are you joining The Corruption? What could you possibly hope to gain? Give us a reason not to kill you right here and now.”

You want sin, right? Take a whiff and tell me what you find.

“We must admit, your sins are delicious and Tempest has indeed delivered when she informed us of your existence.”

I’ve been a mercenary for many years now and fighting for filthy lucre has been good enough for me, pays for the booze. Toss me a bit of coins and I will risk life and limb. Dangle your spare change in front of my nose and I’ll come running. I’ve been a pawn on the chessboards all over the world for mere bits. Killing for them, almost dying for them! But really... it ain’t about the damn bits. I go because I enjoy it! I fight for money cuz fighting for fun is just too horrible to admit. Die for some gold, kill for some silver... sign me up! I am a scum of the earth and this is a perfect place for me. I also have a gift for you.

“A gift?”

Yes. Aside from my sins, of course. You see, Tempest Shadow is a traitor to The Corruption. I saw her with my own eyes consorting with Princess Luna who wishes to use her as a double agent.

“This information pleases us. We have also learned from another ally that some of those who Blueblood brought into our fold are also agents of The Princess. We shall deal with them later. For now, we want you to return to The Empire and report to us all of their plans.”

Yes, Lord Ocram.

“Blueblood.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Take her back to The Empire with you.”

“Very well. Come with me, newbie.”

-END OF FLASHBACK-




“I can’t believe how much has happened ever since you brought me into the fold.” Tzana comments after she recalls those past events.

“And thou hath proved to be an invaluable ally, dearest Journey Joy. Now then, doth thou hath anything else to reveal?” Luna inquires.

“Yes, Princess, and what you feared has come to pass. I was so close to getting Tirek to spill the beans. It’s a good thing that Tempest, Grubber, you, and I did this because there is indeed a hidden ally to The Corruption.”

“Then we must continue to play our parts until this hidden foe among us reveals thyself. Be safe until then, Tzana. We hath much left to do.”
> Chapter 96 - Prelude To Coming Events.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Three days have passed ever since the defeat of Skeletron. At least, to them, Skeletron was gone forever but they could never know about the skeletal menace’s true fate with Pinkamena, the current host of the aforementioned entity. 

During the span of those three days, the ponies and their new allies had upgraded their equipment thanks to Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer. In addition, various equipment were forged by the guidance of Celebes The Dryad, Sai Sahan, Terralestia, and Tanner The Guide.

Thanks to the meteorite Twilight, Rarity, Starlight, Gorglock, Tanner, and Tempest The Bandit had harvested, they were able to forge multiple weapons and armor in the form of: Phaseblades of different colorations, multiple Space Guns and Meteorite Armor. The armor would aid its wearer with their magical aptitude in addition to lowering the cost of their spells, especially when it came to the Space Gun. A blade of energy was also forged and given to individuals who were more melee focused or somewhat dabbled in close quarters combat. Pinkie Pie and Candy The Party confused everyone as they continued to talk about what they called: A lightsaber. 



Fluttershy had a tearful goodbye with her dear friend and close protector: Princess Pinkie. The slime Princess was called away by her father due to a very particular event: Her ascension to The Slime Queen. However, Fluttershy wasn’t alone for she was now accompanied by miniature versions of The Slime Gods themselves; both of whom were also capable of flight.



In addition, The Slime Gods had also granted the yellow pegasus multiple boons in an effort to protect and preserve the life of their beloved core; currently in the form of a kind hearted shy pegasus.



Although most of The Slime God’s gifts were meant for their core, one among them was a very particular item that was bestowed upon the yellow pegasus’s friends and loved ones as well: Mana Polarizer.



With the assistance of Celebes The Dryad and by using the bones that were gathered from the battle with the undead, Rainbow Dash was now donned in Necro Armor which in turn greatly boosted her ranged combat potential. The cyan pegasus was especially fond of garments armor set bonus which caused her to leave afterimages, a valuable trait to have in their coming battles to be sure.



Zecora and Gex had taken their leave; returning to The Jungle Biome to work on various potions. However, Gex was also very worried because he could sense a disturbance in The Jungle. Specifically, the lihzhard felt as if the very forces of nature were starting to get riled up there but not enough to warrant any worry... yet. Most notably however was the fact that Celebes also seemed to feel that same disturbance.







It was early in the morning and Twilight was prepared to head out to Candy Cane Corner as she had awoken from bed mere moments ago. On a nearby table, she forgot to put away her latest entry of: Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Terrarian Letters For Celestia.

“Phew, I was up most of the night writing this latest entry,” Twilight comments as she fires up her horn and floats the sheets of paper into a nearby closet before she then closes the storage. “A lot of events has happened after my last entry so I kind of got carried away,” Suddenly, the lavender mare’s stomach demanded her to obtain sustenance as she chuckles to herself and says: “Ok, hold on, I’ll get us something to eat. Everyone is waiting for me at Candy Cane Corner so I’d better hurry up.” In an instant, the alicorn’s horn became engulfed by lavender energy as she disappeared in that very moment thanks to a teleportation spell.

Candy Cane Corner was now even livelier than ever thanks to the latest additions of Home Town although Pinkie Pie was very fortunate to have a new partner in the kitchen: Candy, The Party Girl. Then again, the party pony was always able to handle busy work days but at least this time, she’d have the aide of Candy. 

Sai Sahan, Terralestia, Tori, Shadow Thunder, and Linn had decided to stay in Home Town for the time being. However, Sai offered the ponies of Equus, and Zecora before she had left, a very interesting proposition as he, Terralestia, Linn, and Shadow Thunder were currently sitting with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Starlight on a table. Tori simply requested spicy food before the humanoid-bird took their meal and ate alone on the rooftop of the establishment. 

“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaims in excitement. “You mean we could really join the guild?! With you guys?!”

“That’s right,” Sai Sahan replies. “Like we told you sometime ago after our battle in The Crimson, we’d be honored to have you all join The Order Of The Guide.”

“Oh hell yes,” Linn comments as she takes a bite of her bacon before she continues: “With the skills you’ve all got, you’ll rise up the ranks in almost no time at all. I mean, hell, you've got bosses under your metaphorical belt now. You guys beat a freaking flesh abomination from The Crimson, last I heard, and now Skeletron.”

“Actually, partner,” Applejack interjects. “We also defeated a large Queen Bee while Rainbow Dash and the others fought The Desert Scourge. Not to mention that large flying eye that was also in The Crimson.”

“The Eye Of Cthulhu,” Terralestia comments. “I still can’t believe that not one, but two of Cthulhu's incarnations were based there. The eye and the brain...”

As their conversation continues, Starlight and Shadow Thunder were currently caught up in their own conversation as the two ponies sat across from each other and were laughing together.

“You’ve got to be pulling my horn!” Starlight exclaims as she tries to recover from her laughter.

“Nope, I’m dead serious,” Shadow Thunder responds as he too was struggling to conversate between laughs. “My brother and I put a whoopie cushion on The Empress Of Light’s throne during one of her gathering sessions. It was downright hilarious. Let me tell ya, have you ever seen somepony who’s yellow, turn bright red? That was The Empress once the whoopie cushion went off,” Shadow Thunder then laughs nervously before saying: “Well… she got us back, big time…” 

“Well don’t leave me hanging, tell me what she did.” Starlight asks with anticipation.

“She …..d us ..to ma...” Shadow Thunder replies in a hushed tone. Starlight could only hear a few letters before she chuckles and says in a teasing tone:

“Come oooon, I didn’t quite catch that.”

“S-she…” Shadow Thunder then sighs in defeat as he finally gives in and says: “She turned us into mares and left us like that for a whole month...”

“...” Starlight was simply stunned for a moment before her muzzle slowly started to form a smile as it then turned into full, hysterical, laughter:

“Bwahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahaha! Y-you and your brother were turned into, mares?! Ahahahahahaha!”  

“You have no idea how awkward it was for us…”

“Ahahaha! Oh, I bet the stallions were all over you two. Oh my gosh, that’s just rich. My stomach hurts from laughing.” Starlight comments as she tries to regain her composure with her forehooves positioned onto her stomach region.

“We were being hit on by stallions during that whole month! It was the most pride shattering thing a stallion could possibly go through.”

Having recovered completely from her laughter, Starlight wipes the tears that were forming in her eyes with a forehoof and replies:

“Let that be a lesson, my good stallion. An angered mare is never to be trifled with especially after you just pranked her. And she’s a goddess which makes it even worse for you.”

“Oh trust me, after that whole month of being a mare, neither of us ever tried to prank anyone, ever again,” Shadow Thunder then sighs sadly before he continues: “I truly miss my brother. We had so many fond moments together before he…” The dark pegasus hesitates and silences his words.

Starlight, having taken notice of the change in Shadow Thunder, surprised the pegasus by what she does next. Firing up her horn, the unicorn vanishes and reappears right next to the pegasus as she then brings him into a hug by wrapping her forehooves around his neck. This causes the dark pegasus to blush as Starlight says in a comforting tone:

“I’m so sorry… no one should ever have to-”

[MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS GOES OFF]

“Can you feel the love tonight~ Take it away, Candy.” Pinkie Pie interjects as she sings the beginning portion of her song.

“The piece the evening brings~ Take it from there, you guys.” Candy The Party Girl comments as she turns towards Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Sai Sahan, Linn, and Terralestia, all of whom were currently smirking towards the two ponies as they then continue the song in unison:

“The world for once in perfect harmony with all it’s living things~” They all start to burst out into laughter as Starlight and Shadow Thunder were absolutely red in their features before they shout in unison:

“S-shut up!”

Little did any of them know, Rainbow Dash glanced towards Applejack as a momentary blush adorned her cheeks before she tried to hide herself in hopes that no one else would take notice. 





-EQUUS, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, THE ROYAL COUPLE’S BEDCHAMBERS-

“I feel a disturbance…”

“Cadence? Honey, are you ok?”

“I feel it, Shiny… my love senses are tingling… I can’t quite put a hoof on it but I feel as if somepony we know has found a love interest… wait, scratch that, it’s multiple ponies that we know...”

“It’s not Twily, is it?!”

“Calm down, Shiny. No, no… It’s somepony else…”





-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM, INNER TEMPLE-

Pinkamena was currently making her way towards the armory as Yharim had ordered the dark pink pony to claim weapons and armor for her ‘Servitude’. 

“So Yharim wants to wait until both of our worlds become one before he reveals himself once again, along with all of those freaks within his council. I need to find a way to sabotage his efforts without drawing his attention; not to mention the fact that he still has my sister's life force. I seriously can’t stand this place. Although… that dragon, Yharon, he’s peaked my interest. I should probably-” Suddenly, the dark pony’s words were cut off and her ears perk up by hearing a commotion within the armory. She lowers herself to the floor and stealthily approaches her destination as she peeks into the room and takes notice of someone else. It wouldn’t have really bothered the mare were it not for the fact that this individual was clearly stealing from the armory. She was momentarily confused before the pony then blinks twice, raises up to her complete stature, and enters the room as she nonchalantly says:

“Sup. Stealing from Yharim, huh? Personally, I prefer the 'Killing him', approach.”

The being’s ears had flickered upon hearing her words but what she saw was something that seemed familiar, in a sense. From what she could tell, this being was similar to Ritsu, some sort of werebeast hybrid composed of a snow leopard and a wolf who was also donned in the armor of Yharim's forces, likely to blend into the tyrant's ranks. With their back turned and stopping all that they were doing, the being replies with a male voice:

“Trust me, that monster created a long line of people who wants to see him dead. You gonna report me to that tyrant?” The being inquires.

Pinkamena simply chuckles before she replies:

“I could give two shits about, Yharim. I despise that bastard more than anyone else I have ever faced before in my life. I’m just here to grab what he told me to retrieve, you can take whatever in the name of Tartarus you want. If you get caught by someone else, that’s on you.”

“Well damn… that works for me.” The being responds as Pinkamena walks into the armory and retrieves the gear that Yharim had ordered her to retrieve.

An awkward silence was present as the two entities continued to go about their business. One was there to steal from Yharim while the other was ordered to retrieve their equipment in order to serve The Jungle Tyrant. Then, the thief breaks the silence as they say:

“So… you’re a pony. I thought you were all gone when The Hallow disappeared.”

“Yharim told me about that. Apparently, ponies are native to this world but vanished along with that biome.”

“Wait, you say that like you’re-”

“From another world? It’s because I am. The Moon Lord dragged us all here and we’ve been trying to get back ever since. Although, with Yharim's plan, I suspect that everyone will get home sooner than later, but not in the way they might think.”

“The Moon Lord? Yharim's plan? Son of a bitch, that sure is something. So, what planet are you from?”

“No no, when I said: 'From another world', I don’t exactly mean another planet in this reality. I’m from a whole other reality along with my sister, her friends, and that zebra.”

“Wow… even by Terraria’s standards, a pony from another reality is something else entirely. Wait, a zebra?"

"Zecora, a sentient zebra who often speaks in rhyme. Pretty damn good at crafting potions too."

"Perhaps she and I could swap some knowledge with each other, should we ever cross paths," The thief then grunts in frustration as he says: "Dammit all…”

“What?”

“This stupid safe is made of some sturdy stuff so I can't break it open. I also can’t-

“Combination is four, five, six, six, four, two. That safe you’re trying to break into has some sort of crystal that summons a mount. Something about a shadow dragon.”

“Sweet, thanks for that.”  

A few more moments goes by as both Pinkamena and this snow leopard-wolf like entity were finishing up their business. 

“So, what’s your name?” The werebeast inquires.

“You should reveal yours first before you go and ask for someone else’s.”

“Fair enough, my name’s Snow.”

“Pinkamena, the eventual butcher of Yharim and the wrecker of his shit.”





-TERRARIA-

On a cliff that was overlooking Home Town, a male terrarian was observing the settlement from afar as he comments:

“I’ve got lots of surprises in store for you all. Especially you, dryad. You’re going to be very surprised to see me again, I’m sure. The ancients have awakened and I shall bring forth the old era,” The terrarian then looks off towards the direction of The Desert Biome. “Anubis, you and Athena are fools. Stay in hiding all you want but Loganic is The God Of Greed. My plan is in motion and what I’ve done in The Dungeon shall attract my prize, the real treasure. I will add you to my hoard… Core Of The Slime Gods.”
> Valentine's Day Special: The Terrarian God Of Love.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

Pomp-Neigh, The Terrarian God Of Love, was currently on the hunt for a pair of potential lovers. His goal was to bring two individuals together on this day of love and companionship, regardless of who they might be. With his bow at the ready and his golden wings extended to their full lengths, Pomp-Neigh made his way towards his first destination: Home Town. He has heard of some rather interesting rumors not to mention the fact that his love senses were tingling. Incidentally, in another reality, a pink alicorn sneezed and suddenly felt the urge to sue someone for copyright infringement. 





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

“It’s over, Yharim!” Twilight exclaims as the lavender alicorn fires up her horn and prepares to blast away at her foe. “I’ll give you one last chance to submit to the power of friendship! It’s the best cure to your depression!”

“There are so many things wrong with that sentence! Also, you can stuff your sentimental bullshit!” Yharim roars out in response as he in turn braces himself for the alicorn’s attack.

In the background, Shadow Thunder was currently in combat against a mind controlled Starlight Glimmer.

“Starlight! You have to fight it!” The dark pegasus roars out.

“Fight it? I’d rather fight you!” Starlight antagonizes as she attempts to blast the dark pegasus who in turn manages to avoid the attack.

Both Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie were currently contending with a large red dragon; Yharim’s brotherly figure and loyal friend: Yharon.

“You two will burn for trying to destroy my master!” The dragon exclaims.

“Your ‘Master’ threatened my sister and used her against me!” Pinkamena responds.

“Please, Mr. Dragon! You and Mena look like you could become good friends!” Pinkie Pie pleads. 

As these scenarios play out, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Steven The Clothier observes the conflict as they comment:

“We’ve got’ah do somethin’!” Applejack exclaims.

“But, what?!” Rainbow Dash responds. “Yharim’s too powerful, he has Starlight under his control, and that big dragon over there isn’t a slouch either.”

“Have any of you seen Fluttershy, darlings?” Rarity inquires.

“I think I saw her entering some type of portal.” Steven answers.

“What?! Darling, why didn’t you say anything?!”

Steven shrugs before replying:

“She seemed happy with that serpentine entity that exited the portal. He gave her a bouquet of flowers; they kissed, then he picked her up in his arms and took her with him.”

“Wait a second, Discord was here?!” Rainbow Dash exclaims all while Applejack and Rarity’s eyes were widened with their mouths hung agape. 

“Ah! So that was Discord. Fluttershy asked me to give her some advice in order to celebrate Hearts And Hooves Day which apparently is your world’s equivalent to our own Valentines Day.” Steven responds.

“WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity exclaims in unison.

“B-but… we’re fighting, Yharim! How could she just leave us here to go and celebrate-” Suddenly, Rainbow Dash’s words were cut off as an arrow with a heart shaped tip makes contact with her flank. The arrow didn’t puncture or even wound her like a traditional arrow would, no, this arrow covered the pegasus in a pink energy upon contact as a heart starts to form in her eyes. She then looks to Applejack and says with a seductive tone: “Hey there, A.J. What say you and I have an apple bucking season of our own~?”

“R-Rainbow?” Applejack inquires with reddened features. “What in tarnation are ya-” Suddenly, the same pink energy that was currently surrounding Rainbow Dash was now a part of the cowmare. Her eyes began to harbor heart shapes as she then says: “On second thought, pucker up, sugar~” 

Both Rarity and Steven simply stare in shock as the two mares make out before their very eyes. Before either of them could speak their minds on the matter, Steven was now struck with that same pink energy before something absolutely unexpected happens. The former terrarian was now starting to transform into a male alicorn, one of which absolutely stuns Rarity with his looks alone. 

“Oh my dear Rarity, will you be my valentine on this day?” The alicorn inquired with a red rose in his muzzle and a voice that sent pleasure down the white unicorn mare’s spine.

“Yes! Absolutely yes!” Rarity exclaims in response to which a certain God Of Love reveals himself and says: 

“Wait, but, I didn’t even shoot you with an arrow yet.”

“Who cares, darling?! This isn’t even canon to the story and I’ve got a hunk of an alicorn stallion, who looks like they came straight out of my romance novels, standing before me,” Rarity then turns back to Steven, the alicorn, and shouts: “Come to mommy!”





Yharon calls forth a spiral of flames to which Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie barely manages to avoid. The scorching heat was becoming nearly unbearable for the two mares although Pinkie Pie in particular was forced to zoom off in a pink blur as one of Yharon’s fireballs nearly caught the party mare. She then reappears and says:

“You’re gonna have to be faster then- Whaaaat?!” Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened in shock as she now witnesses Pinkamena actually kissing what looked like a red dragon-pony. “What’s going on here?!”

“That’s my doing,” Pomp-Neigh responds as The God Of Love appears in a cloud of pink; heart shaped energies exploding as a result. “I shot Yharon and your sister with my Love Arrows. I turned that dragon into a dragon-pony, kind of like what I did to Steven over there who’s now an alicorn… who’s still making out with your unicorn friend,” Pomp-Neigh then looks off to another pair of ponies. “Speaking of unicorns, Starlight Glimmer and Shadow Thunder could use a little push from yours truly.” The God Of Love finishes with a mischievous smile before disappearing once again; leaving behind an absolutely shocked Pinkie Pie who continues to stare at her sister’s current ‘Action.’

“Stay still so I can blast you!” Starlight exclaims as she teleports after a fleeing dark pegasus and fires off a beam of energy.

“Starlight! Please, snap out of Yharim’s control!” Shadow Thunder exclaims in an attempt to pry the unicorn from Yharim’s mental grasp as the dark pegasus turns his head towards the unicorn mare who was still pursuing him. Starlight then smirks before she says:

“By the way, you might want to look ahead of you!”

[WHAM]

Due to Shadow Thunder looking back towards the unicorn, the pegasus didn’t see the wall of Candy Cane Corner that was before him as he collided into its surface and slipped down the candy cane wall, fully tuckered out. 

Like a predator that was drawing near its prey and with her horn alighted, Starlight drew near Shadow Thunder with a condescending expression all while the pegasus tries to regain his composure.

“Any last words, pony?”

“Please, Starlight… you don’t want to do this… you don’t want to fight me. Yharim is forcing you to-” Suddenly, a pink aura surrounds the unicorn which catches the pegasus by surprise and cuts off his words. Starlight then takes on a suggestive gaze with hearts in her eyes and says:

“Fight you? No, I wanna #&%$ you~”

“N-nani?”





Twilight was currently engaged in what felt like an eternal struggle with Yharim as the two beings were evenly matched. 

“Surrender, Yharim. It’s not too late to turn yourself in! Let me help you to see the light!” Twilight exclaims.

“My ‘Light’ was tossed into the fires of The Underworld, long ago,” Yharim responds as he then raises his left arm into the air and shouts: “Yharon! Burn this town to the ground!”

Nothing happens as a result to which Yharim exclaims once more:.

“Yharon! Burn everything!” 

Suddenly, Twilight takes notice of Yharon’s current situation as her eyes widen and the alicorn’s mouth goes agape. Yharim takes notice of her expression as he follows her gaze while saying:

“What are you staring at- Yharon?! What the hell are you doing with that pony?! Wait, you’re a dragon-pony hybrid now?! Do what I say and stop kissing her!”

“What in the name of Celestia is going on-” Twilight’s words were cut off as a pink aura now surrounds the alicorn. She wasn’t alone, however, as the exact same aura had consumed Yharim. The two former opponents gazes upon each other as they sing in unison:

Suddenlyyyyyy,
Life has a new meaning to meeeee,
There’s beauty up above,
Some things we never take notice of,
You wake up and suddenly,
You’re in looooove. 

“Oh, Twilight. You are the cure to my depression.”

“Yharim, you are the stallion of my dreams.”





Pinkie Pie was still absolutely shocked beyond any possible hope of regaining her composure. What was once a battlefield of enemies was now essentially lover’s town. Her sister was still locking lips with the ponified Yharon, Starlight and Shadow Thunder were noticeably gone, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were staring dreamingly into each other’s eyes all while Rarity and Steven seemed to be dancing nearby. Not to mention the fact that Fluttershy was currently with Discord.

“Love is in the air,” Pomp-neigh says as he suddenly appears right next to the party pony. “So, Pinkie Pie, who do you want to spend this day with?”

Suddenly, another pink blur appears as Candy The Party Girl exclaims:

“I’m here, everyone! Candy’s here to-” The Party Girl’s words were cut off as she takes notice of the current ‘Events.’ “Whoa… I apparently missed a lot…”

Pinkie Pie then smirks as she turns to Pomp-Neigh with a hopeful expression to which The God Of Love says:

“I’ve got you covered.”
> Chapter 97 - Multitasking.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM, INNER TEMPLE-

Having finished gathering some effects from the armory, Pinkamena and Snow were about to take their leave. However, another individual entered the armory; donned in armor that was indicative to Yharim’s forces and noticeably an old terrarian male, upon which Pinkamena says:

“Welp, you’re bucked.”

“Snow, we have to get going. I think I found something that can- Wait, why is there a pink pony here?”

“Leinfors,” Snow replies to the ‘Guard’. “She’s sort of forced to be here so don’t worry about her turning us in.”

“Of course you two know each other,” Pinkamena comments as she finally straps on her gear. However, she takes notice of what Leinfors has within his possession as she comments: “You have one of Dr Draedon’s logs…”

“Yes,” Leinfors responds as he then turns to Snow before he continues: “Snow, I think there’s something in here that can help us-”

“I assume you know about the alarm?” Pinkamena interjects.

“A-alarm?” Leinfors inquired in a cold sweat. Snow stares at Leinfors with an expression that could best be described as: ‘You idiot.’

Pinkamena closes her eyes and says:

“Dr Draedon has amazing technical expertise. I saw first hoof what that cyborg is capable of. To give you the short version: You triggered the silent alarm the moment you removed that log which should be going off right abooout…”

On cue, a loud alarm system goes off to which Snow looks towards his ally and says:

“Oh come on! You should’ve expected something like this to happen!”

“A mere oversight on my part…”

“Oversight?! This is Yharim’s kingdom! Setting off an alarm here is the last thing you could ever want to do! You might not be a rogue like me but come on, that’s just common sense!” 

Leinfors chuckles sheepishly before he shrugs his shoulders and exclaims:

“We need to move, now!” Leinfors then turns towards Pinkamena and says: “Are you coming with us?”

“No,” Pinkamena replies simply as the pony exits the armory. She then glances back from within the armory’s entrance/exit and comments: “You’d better start moving, Yharim just had a war council some time ago and who knows which one of those buckers might still be around.” Pinkamena then starts to make her way down the hallway as she says internally:

-I wouldn’t be here if I could just up and leave like you two can-

Both Snow and Leinfors peeks out of the armory as they start to head off in the opposite direction of Pinkamena. As they made their way, Snow took one last glance towards the dark pink pony with a look of sympathy before he and his compatriot continued.

Pinkamena continued to walk away and down the halls of the temple in silence. That is until a voice echoes within her mind, one that only she was familiar with:

-Mena, I don’t have enough time but can you hear me?-

-Light Goddess? Where the buck have you been?-

-I’ve always been in your mind but there is a power in this world that’s been keeping me at bay. I can’t explain it but the forces of darkness and light are heavily suppressed, almost as if they’ve been captured. You must find whatever is responsible for this and once you deal with it, I can return to your psyche. I mean, I am still in your psyche but my words are silenced thanks to this powerful force-

-That explains a lot, actually. And I happen to know what might be affecting you, the same entity that Yharim is counting on to fulfill his desire: The Wall Of Flesh-

-Wait, Yharim? Wall Of Flesh? Also, why do I sense another presence in our psyche- Oh my goodness! There’s a large skull in here! With arms! What were you doing while I was suppressed, Mena?! Who are you?!-

-Skeletron. Now be silent, worm. You’re annoying me with your constant babbling-

-How dare you! No, you stay over there, don’t come near me until we get this settled!-

Pinkamena snorts in a mix of irritation and laughter as she states internally:

-A lot’s happened since we last spoke, Light Goddess-





“Where are they?!”

“They were last seen heading towards the armory!”

“Find them you fools! When Master Yharim hears of this, we’re all dead!”

Various guards were making their way towards the armory as they ran past various rooms and corridors of the temple. One hallway in particular caught  the attention of a single guard which caused him to separate from the group. In his peripheral vision, he could’ve sworn that he saw some sort of shining object as he heads down the hallway. All the while, the rest of his squadron moves on without him.

With his weapon drawn, the lone guard starts to slowly and cautiously walk down the hallway as he then exclaims:

“By the order of Master Yharim, come out!”

No response was made and after staring down the hallway for a few moments; while also walking down the aforementioned hallway, the guard sighs in frustration as he comments:

“I’m losing my fucking-”

[WOLF-LEOPARD GROWL]

Confusingly and scaringly, the combined growls of a wolf and a leopard instantly sends chills down the guard’s spine and most disturbingly, it was coming from above him. The guard slowly starts to raise his head towards the ceiling only for him to witness the last thing he would ever see: The open maw of a snow furred entity.

Snow aims his fangs directly for the guard’s neck region to prevent any hope of an exclamation. The werebeast bites down upon the single member of Yharim’s forces; killing him instantly.

“Poor lad, he should’ve just kept on running with the others.” Leifors comments.

“He probably would’ve if someone didn’t let him take notice of that shining object you’ve got there.” Snow responds.

“Oh come now, this log from Draedon will help us to cure your parents. It possesses vital information on the Astral Infection and before you ask, yes, I downloaded all of it. Although, I should’ve expected there to be a damned alarm.”

“I am never doing a heist like this with someone who isn’t very good at stealth, ever again…” Snow replies with a hint of annoyance before the leopard-wolf turns away and says: “Come on, we need to get out of here. As long as you follow my lead and not draw attention to us then things should be smooth sailing from here,” The two allies make their way to the end of the hallway, the same direction that the guard had come from, as Snow peaks his head out and looks in both directions before he turns back to Leifors and conjures forth a particular potion from his inventory.

“Drink this, it’s an invisibility potion.”

“Thanks,” Leifors replies as he consumes the magical beverage before saying: “So, what’s the plan?”

“I want you to leave this place,”

“Without you? What the hell are you-”

“Let me finish. I want to get the layout of this place and see if there are multiple exits and secret entrances. It’s an ancient temple, after all. It’s sort of their thing. No offence but you’re holding me back,” This causes Leinfors to grunt in annoyance before Snow continues: “Call me crazy but I get the feeling that I’ll need to sneak back in here one day.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Call it a hunch. Ever since I met that pink pony, I can’t shake this feeling that I’ll be running into them again, or others like them. Most notably, It’s what she told me that troubles me a lot. Once you get out of here and return to Nexus, I want you and the others to prepare for absolutely anything.”

“Snow, talk to me, what the hell did that pony tell you that’s got you so worried?”

“That bastard, Yharim, he’s up to something big. You and I both know from experience that whatever he plans… it can only lead to calamity.”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, CANDY CANE CORNER-

“Ok, everyone!” Twilight exclaims as the alicorn was positioned on top of a table to which she catches the attention of everyone in Home Town. “It’s time for us to tackle multiple tasks. We’ve got lots to do and many different objectives that we simply must complete. Therefore, I’ve decided to split us up into various teams,” Twilight then fires up her horn and projects multiple individuals assigned to various tasks. “Myself, Tori, Celebes, and Linn will be returning to The Crimson; in order to forge the next blade we need to re-forge The Terra Blade. Applejack, please step forward.”

Heeding to her friend’s request, the cowmare leaves her seat and makes her way towards Twilight. Catching on to what the lavender mare was referring to, the orange earth pony conjured forth her Blade Of Grass and happily lends it to the alicorn as she comments:

“That there was a mighty fine blade. Good luck out there, everyone.”

“Thank you, Applejack,” Twilight responds as the cowmare makes her way back to her seat. “We now have all that we need to create the Bloody Edge!”

[APPLAUD]

Twilight lifts a forehoof upon which the applause and cheers starts to die down before she continues:

“Onto the next objective: Rainbow Dash and Applejack, you two will be assisting Celestia, Sai Sahan, and Tanner The Guide with a mission involving their guild.”

“Awww yeah! Awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaims excitingly.

“By the way, Twi,” Applejack comments. “What is that there mission yer’ talking about?”

“Oh! Well, I would like for Celestia to come forth and join me for this part.” Twilight replies to which the aforementioned female terrarian nods happily, leaves her seat, and now stands besides Twilight as she says:

“Thank you, Twilight. Now then, the mission we received was from someone that we at the guild has formed great relations with. The King Of The Sea: Amidias. Our mission is simple and comes in two parts:

First: We must help The King to enter the Sunken Sea by entering an ancient Pyramid. We don’t know what we might find inside the Pyramid so we must remain vigilant.

Second: We must find and destroy a terrible creature or more specifically, two of them.”

“What are they?” Rainbow Dash inquires.

“A Giant Clam and an ancient crab that’s worshipped as a god: Crabulon.”

Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack simply stare on with blank expressions before the two mares start to laugh in unison. Rainbow Dash is the first to recover as she comments:

“Are you serious?! A large clam and a crab?! That’s so lame! We’ve fought monsters that are way more dangerous than that.”

“Ah’ got’ah agree with, Rainbow. Hay, even Melony The Nymph sounds like a far more dangerous rotten apple compared to some crab and a clam. Also, who in their right mind would worship a crab?” Applejack says as she recovers from her laughter.

“Well, um, crabs can be pretty dangerous…” Fluttershy chims in.

“Don’t underestimate those two just from their appearances alone,” Terralestia says as she focuses her gaze upon both Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “You should all know by now that appearances can be all too deceiving. You once fought a giant Queen Bee, did you not? That sounds ridiculous but I’m willing to bet that she gave you one hell of a time. As for you, Rainbow, you were with us when we fought The Desert Scourge which by all right was just some large worm. My point is: Just because something sounds ridiculous here in Terraria, it does not mean that one should automatically assume that the threat isn’t all too real.”

Everyone else present simply nods in agreement as both Applejack and Rainbow Dash sighs in defeat as they reply in unicorn:

“We understand.”

Terralestia then turns her gaze to Twilight and gives her a nod to which the lavinder alicorn says:

“Thank you for that, Celestia. Now then, the final group will be comprised of Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Shadow Thunder, Starlight Glimmer; along with some of those who used to be prisoners.”

Rarity’s eyes were widened in recognition as she gets up from her seat and says:

“Darling, surely you’re not referring to… The Dungeon?”

“I am, Rarity. We must explore those depths and make use of what we can find there.”
> Chapter 98 - The Bandit's Gambit.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Everyone was preparing to take their leave as various individuals started to break up into their appointed groups all while wearing determined expressions. Everyone present had a job to do and all to prepare them for the coming challenges.

Rarity and Steven The Clothier were currently gathering their effects in preparation for The Dungeon. However, during this time a certain individual calls out and walks towards them which instantly raises the hairs on both of their bodies: Tanner The Guide.

“Yo! Rarity, Steven, you got a sec?”

The two fashionistas tried their best to hide their discomfort before they then turned towards Tanner and waved at him with fake smiles.

“Hello there, da- I mean, Tanner. What brings you here?” Rarity questions with a small hint of nervousness. Matching her expression and tone, Steven also comments:

“Hello there, Tanner. Pleasant day we’re having, am I right?”

Tanner raises a brow before he tilts his head and questions:

“You guys ok? You seem to be bothered by something. Do you want me to call The Nurse?”

If Steven and Rarity weren’t sweating nervously already, they certainly were now. Standing before them was the being that only they themselves knew was a traitor among them. By Steven’s request, the duo has yet to inform the others due to the fact that they needed to play their cards carefully and slowly but surely inform the others. They shuddered to think about what would happen if they made one wrong move especially since The Clothier was all too aware of Tanner’s allegiance to Legion, The Wall Of Flesh. Whether or not Tanner was aware of Steven overhearing his conversation with Skeletron some time ago was currently unknown to the fashionista. Steven regains his composure as one thing manages to snap him back to reality: He needs to play the part, he needs to protect his new found friends. Especially, Rarity.

The unicorn mare was about to say something before The Clothier interjects and says:

“We’re fine, Tanner. I was just telling Rarity about how grateful I am to you all. Well, that and I’m still recovering from my time as that monster’s host. Believe it or not, Rarity here is practically a psychiatrist.”

Catching on to his ploy, Rarity takes on a happier expression and replies:

“Ohoho, stop it. You’re too kind, darling.”

“Heh, that sounds about right and no thanks are needed, Steven. We’re all in this together!” Tanner exclaims enthusiastically which honestly caused both Steven and Rarity to bite their own tongues. Sucking up his inner turmoil, Steven raises his left arm in celebration as he tries to match Tanner’s enthusiasm and says:

“Y-yeah, all together! A-as one!”

“Of course, darling. I mean, trust is all too important in our little community. I’m just so glad that you helped us to get this far, Tanner.”

“No problem at all, Rarity,” Tanner responds as he then gives them both a thumbs up gesture before saying: “Welp, I’ve got to get going. I don’t want the others to leave me behind. I was just coming over to check up on all of you before I left.” The Guide then waves at them one last time before turning around. However, due to his face being turned away, the two fashionista’s failed to see the red aura that was momentarily flashing in Tanner’s eyes.

Coincidentally, Tanner himself failed to realize that two individuals took notice of his eye’s ‘Light show’: Tori and Tempest The Bandit.

Tempest was leaning against a tree as her eyes narrowed and focused on The Guide, who was passing by at a safe distance; completely oblivious to her presence. 

-I knew something was off about you, Tanner. I felt it ever since-

“Tempest? Are you alright?” Magius The Wizard comments as he had unintentionally interrupted Tempest’s inner thoughts.

“What? Oh… sorry about that. I just had a lot on my mind.”

“Well, if you want to talk then I’m always here for you.”

“I know, pap- I mean, Magius.”

“Hah! I heard that!”

“Oh be quiet, old timer. Anyway, are you ready to go to The Dungeon?”

“Indeed. I honestly wasn’t expecting to go back there for quite some time but if it’s to help these people--and ponies--who saved us, then so be it.”

“Hello there, darlings,” Rarity interjects, to which both Tempest and Magius turn their gaze towards two approaching fashionistas. “Are you ready to go? Starlight, Shadow Thunder, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy are waiting for us on the other side of town.”

“Yeah, the old man and I are set,” Tempest replies before she looks off towards Tanner, who was currently conversing with Applejack and Rainbow Dash in the distance, as The Bandit then turns her gaze back towards the two fashionistas and says: “Thank you both.”

This of course catches both Rarity and Steven by complete surprise as The Clothier blinks twice and questions:

“For what?”

Tempest simply chuckles before a certain humanoid bird-like entity reveals themselves to which the two fashionistas, even The Wizard, says in unison:

“Tori?”

“You saw it too, didn’t you?” Tempest inquires to which Tori nods in response before The Bandit continues: “Heh, it’s a good thing I hired you to spy on Tanner for me. Great ninja of Torinago.”

“Spy on him?!” Rarity, Steven, and Magius exclaim in unison. Thanks to their distance, the group didn’t have to worry about any possible bystanders overhearing their current conversation.

Suddenly, Tori responds to them all but in a way that completely throws them off. The humanoid-bird imitates Tempest’s voice and comments:

“She asked me to keep an eye on Tanner, ever since they returned from The Meteor.”

Rarity, Steven, and Magius’s jaw drops from Tori’s actions before Rarity manages to recover and question:

“I’ve been curious, darling… what exactly is your gender? Also, why are you so... what's the word, silent, all the time?”

“Don’t bother,” Tempest The Bandit interjects. “Due to respecting their kind’s ways, I can’t reveal to you much about Tori. You must understand, secrecy is very important to them but just take comfort in the fact that my fellow rogue here is an ally to us. I ask that you all respect their wishes to remain seclusive. That includes trying to ask for Tori’s gender, Rarity.”

“Oh, dear me, I’m sorry If I ever intrude, Tori.” Rarity comments with a worried expression to which Tempest comments:

“Nah, don’t worry about it. If you were truly Tori’s enemy, you’d be dead.”

Rarity simply laughs nervously in response before saying:

“T-that’s, um, comforting... darling.”

“So, I assume we’re all on the same page about Tanner?” Steven interjects to which Tori and Tempest nod in agreement.

Rarity took a moment to look at the other groups in the distance only for her eyes to widen in shock as she could see yet another Tori who was currently with Twilight and the others, who in turn were about to head off to The Crimson. She then looks back to the Tori in front of her, back to the Tori with Twilight, then back to the one that was before her very eyes as she says in absolute bafflement:

“H-how are you here… and there?”

“Pretty cool, huh?” Tempest inquired with a chuckle. “It’s part of our plan.”

“Plan?” Rarity questions.

“The Tori who’s with us right now is going with your two friends over there, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Without them even knowing, of course. And yes, no one but us can see this Tori.”

“Ok, wait a second... what exactly is your plan and what's going on here?”

Tempest looks to Tori with a questioning gaze to which the bird-like entity nods in response. The Bandit then takes a breath before saying:

“Let’s just say that the team Twilight chose to assist Tanner wasn’t an accident, so to speak. You see, Tori here ‘Incentivised’ your lavender friend to choose Applejack and Rainbow Dash to go with Celestia, Sai Sahan and of course, the traitor himself.”

“Wait a second,” Magius interjects with a hand to his chin. “I understand now. You see, Twilight has informed me during our magic lessons and lectures that your friend, Applejack, is the Element Of Honesty. She can detect lies and any attempts of deception so long as she herself remains vigilant.”

“But then, what about Rainbow Dash?” Rarity inquires.

“She is absolutely loyal so it’ll be nice to have someone like her with them. However, she’s also the fastest flyer in Home Town. Should Tanner try anything and if they manage to expose him while they’re away-”

Rarity suddenly gasps in realization upon hearing Tempest’s words as she interjects and says:

“Oh my word, Rainbow could warn everyone about Tanner’s foul intentions. She could fly to almost anywhere in no time at all with her speed, especially with a Sonic-Rainboom! That’s genius, darlings.”

“Exactly,” Tempest responds. “Since they won’t have an Ice Mirror like you do, this is the next best thing to get them some help in time. Plus, like I said earlier, Tori here will follow them and keep to the shadows.”

“So if I understand this correctly,” Steven The Clothier comments. “There are two Tori’s at the moment but no one else aside from us present knows about this second Tori. In essence, one will be monitoring Tanner and his group while the other will assist Twilight and her group within The Crimson? How is Tori even able to do that?”

“That’s exactly it,” Tempest replies with a wink. “Like I said, never underestimate one who hails from Torinago. And don’t bother trying to ask about it, I’m sworn to secrecy and should I betray my promise, I die.”

“What?!” Magius exclaims in both disbelief and worry all while Rarity and Steven observe with wide eyes.

“Pipe down, old timer. It’s something that none of you will understand completely; even if I was allowed to tell you.”

“Um, Tempest, dearie. Could I possibly ask you something?” Rarity questions.

“Shoot.” Tempest responds.

“Well, do you remember when we asked you about why you call yourself: The Bandit? Not to mention the story behind your missing arm. Could we talk about that sometime? My apologies if I sound rude, I’ve just been very curious about it.”

“I’d also like to know,” Magius The Wizard comments. “I stopped bringing it up ever since we escaped The Dungeon, not to mention that whole madness with Skeletron. However, you and I will speak about this, Tempest.”

The Bandit simply sighs in response. Not in irritation or even frustration, but in defeat as she then replies:

“Fine, but it’ll have to wait until after we’re done in The Dungeon.”





-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM-

“Well… this is awkward,” Snow comments as the leopard/wolf entity was currently surrounded by a small platoon of Yharim’s forces. Snow lowers himself to the floor and into a quadruped position as his claws scrape themselves against the temple floor. “So, who’s first?”

“Ooh! I call dibs!” A new voice responds which causes all of Yharim’s forces to turn back towards a terrarian. However, Snow knew instantly that this wasn’t just an ordinary terrarian, it was a werebeast. In addition, the individual towered over anyone else in the hallway; practically standing close to eight feet tall in full stature.

“Sir, we found one of the intruders. Dr Draedon’s drone spotted this one trying to tamper with some of the temple’s entrances.” A guard comments.

“Eugh! It’s one of those rogues… I hate rogues! You remind me of someone else. But, uh… what the fuck are you supposed to be? You look like a leopard and a wolf puked all over you.” The large entity comments with a pointed finger.

“The last thing you’ll ever see if you don’t get out of my way.” Snow antagonizes with a growl.”

“Do you have any idea who I am, pussycat? I am a force to be reckoned with! A werebeast whose might triumphs over all others!” Suddenly, the ‘Terrarian’s’ body starts to shift and morph as white fur starts to grow from his pale white skin. His pupils remained the same but his eyes were now a light blue coloration from their original white. A large hulking form now stands before Snow as the entity roars out:

“I am: The Storm King!”

…………..

“Never heard of ya, monkey boy.” Snow responds which causes The Storm King’s left eye to twitch before the werebeast snarls in anger and roars in fury; causing the entire hallway to shake in the process as even the guards were forced to cover their ears from The Storm King’s exclamation.

“I identify as a Yeti-Werebeast, I’ll have you know! You want to go, pussycat? Well I hope you’re ready to die! Let’s dooooo this!”
> Chapter 99 - Snow's Loss.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM, TEMPLE-



A loud series of stomping echoes throughout the halls of the temple as a large yeti-like entity chases after a certain leopard/wolf hybrid

“Run run run as fast as you can, once I catch you, you’re a dead cat!” The Storm King exclaims as he then charges a surge of blue electricity in his right hand before he takes aim and fires off a powerful bolt of lightning.

[SKTOOOM]

Unfortunately, due to Snow’s incredible agility; likely a result of his feline-like figure, Snow leaps from wall to wall as he continues to antagonize The Storm King and says:

“You’re nothing but a big old idiot. Yharim wasted his time recruiting someone like you, he’d be better off trying to recruit The Slime King!”

“Ooooh, that hurt my feelings,” The large yeti replies sarcastically as he then brings his hands together, all while continuing to give chase, and unleashes a focused electrical blast.

[SKTOOOM]

Once again his attack misses its mark as the feline-like entity simply continues to leap from wall to wall, even running on all fours upon the ceiling as if Snow was still on the floor.

“Hold still so I can zap you!” The Storm King exclaims.

“Oh yeah, real motivating...” Snow replies as the werebeast hybrid then conjures forth a weapon from Yharim’s armory: Mythril Knives.



As he leaps to the opposite wall of the one he was currently positioned on, all while continuing to move forward with incredible speeds, Snow spins in the air and throws back a large number of the knives.

Seeing this, The Storm King raises his right arm and blocks the coming barrage of blades; all of which impales his arm and manages to draw blood. However, this doesn’t seem to faze The Storm king much and incidentally, the blue blood that was leaking from his wound caused the floor to freeze upon contact.

“Hah! You call that a-” Suddenly, The Storm King’s words were cut off and his eyes widened as he took notice of what Snow was now aiming at him.

“It’s called a diversion,” Snow comments with a smirk as he then pumps his shotgun-like weapon. “Say hello to my Onyx Blaster, motherfucker!”

[BANGSHOOM]



Upon firing the weapon, a large black energy projectile is let loose and just moments before it makes impact with The Storm King, the large entity braces himself as he mutters:

“Clever dick…”

[BOOM]

This results in a large explosion which also brings down a portion of the ceiling. The rubble falls onto The Storm King to which Snow stops momentarily and gives him the finger before the leopard/wolf humanoid continues to escape.

The rest of Yharim’s forces finally manage to catch up as they take notice of The Storm King who is currently beneath the rubble. They were about to help the downed werebeast before his eyes shot wide open and in a fit of rage, The Storm King roared out and threw the rubble off of him; some of which actually landed on Yharim’s guards instead.

“I want that cat’s skin!” The large werebeast exclaims.

“Actually, sir, I think it’s part wolf too- bleurgh!” The guard’s words were cut off and they let loose a painful exclamation as The Storm King grabs them by their neck, choking them in the process.

“Does It look like I’m watching fucking Animal Planet right now? I don’t care if he’s half elephant! Go after him!” The Storm King shouts as he throws the guard away and beckons the others to chase after Snow. Suddenly, he could hear what seemed to be the sounds of crunching as he turned towards a certain dark pink pony who was holding a bag of popcorn: Pinkamena.

“A-are you seriously eating popcorn?!” The Storm King inquires with a hint of irritation.

“What?” Pinkamena questions and shrugs her forehooves in response. “It was a nice little show and I found this in the food hall.”

……….

“Does that have extra butter?”

“I’m not sharing this!” Pinkamena exclaims angrily as she conjures forth a weapon she retrieved from Yharim’s armory: Vampire Knives.







Snow continues to make his way towards the exit  and avoids multiple guards as this time, he was in stealth. This is thanks to a rogue’s innate ability to enter a sort of state that basically gives them invisibility but only while not engaged in any form of combat.

“That was a close one but luckily for me, that guy was all muscle and no brains. Storm King… I know that I’ve never heard of it before, and yet, why does he sound so familiar? I guess I’ll-”

[POOF]

Suddenly, a horrific chill went down Snow’s spine as he knew exactly who it was that now stood behind him. A serpentine-fox like female entity smirks from behind him; with a clawed hand to her chin as she says:

“Well, well, if it isn’t a werebeast. Now why would someone like you be snooping around here only to be caught by yours truly? Hmmm?” The female entity then chuckles before she disappears once more and reappears in front of Snow; looking him dead in the eyes. “No need to answer that, I already know.”

“C-Cosmos… The Kitsune Tyrant…”

“Awww, you remember me. I’m almost tempted to let you walk right out of here.”

“Of course I ‘Remember’ you, anyone who calls themselves a true werebeast knows about you! You enslaved our kind to your whim!” Snow replies as he then growls in defiance.

“It’s cute that you think you can do anything to stop me. You’re not powerful like Yharim or Calamitas and you’re certainly not my Dizzy Wizzy. You’re just a weak mortal who’s trying to save mommy and daddy from the big, bad, Astral Infection. Oh yes, I know all about that thanks to rummaging in that little brain of yours.”

Snow was now filled with absolute rage as he pushed aside his fear and actually lunged towards Cosmos with his claws; ready to tear her apart.

“Do not speak of my parents!” 

“Already boooored.”

In a display of rage and anger, Snow drives his claws into The kitsune Tyrant and after a relentless assault of attacks, he manages to tear her into pieces. However, there was one thing that stood out most: A complete lack of blood. Despite being torn apart, no ounce of blood or even any type of organic tissue remained, just pieces of Cosmos’s form which was currently floating around Snow. The leopard/wolf entity did not relent as he then conjured forth another type of weapon that he stole from the armory: Razorblade Typhoon.



“Die you insufferable tyrant!” Snow exclaims as he activates the spell book and sends forth multiple razorwheel attacks which were composed of water mixed with blue energy.



These razorwheels further dice what was once Cosmos’s body; all while Snow roars out in defiance with the intention of seeing her dead before his very eyes. Finally, the leopard/wolf hybrid started to run low on magicka as he fell down onto a knee and struggled to catch his breath.

“Ooh, poor widdle kitty can’t destroy me,” Cosmos comments as her voice echoes throughout the chamber that their battle was currently taking place in. Then, in one swift motion and completely undoing all of the ‘Damage’, Snow had caused, Cosmos reappears in absolute pristine condition; good as new. “Ohohoho, that was a cute little display there. Want to try it again?”

“I despise you…” Snow spat out in disgust.

“Oh, I know, and I enjoy every second of it.” Then, the female entity decides to aggravate him further as she sings in a mocking fashion:

“Go ahead, hit me again, I see you’re able,
But you’re just a weak mortal, so unstable,
I can see that you’re really really trying,
But this is so hilarious; I feel like I’m dying.

You’re not gonna win,
We’ll be here together,
Fighting in this temple chamber forever,
Every time you hit me, I’ll come back newer,
And I’ll just keep laughing at the sad mortal that you are.

I’m entirely made-”

“Hey, she-bitch!” A new voice interjects and cuts off Cosmos’s words. In recognition, Snow’s eyes were widened in a mix of fear and concern as he shouts:

“Leinfors?! I told you to leave!”

“Not without you, my friend,” Leinfors responds as he suddenly drinks a very particular potion, one that allows him to switch places with another individual. The two allies perform the action as Snow is now positioned at the temple’s exit/entrance while Leinfors appears where the leopard/wolf humanoid once stood: In front of Cosmos. Looking down, Snow notices a very particular item that was now positioned below him: Dr Draedon’s Log. The werebeast hybrid then picks up the item as Leinfors shouts:

“Run, Snow! Take the log and go! You must escape!”

“Leinfors, I can’t just-”

“Gooooo!”

“Yes yes, run away little kitty. Run away while I kill your friend here.” Cosmos comments with a dark tone and devilish smile.

“Run away! You must live on, Snow! Forget about this old man, I’ve lived my life! You still have to save your parents-”

“Oh shut up,” Cosmos interjects as she backhands Leinfors and sends the elderly man hurling towards the nearby wall. She then turns back towards Snow, who in turn was now conflicted as he wanted to save his dear friend, as the kitsune tyrant says: “Run away, little one. Run away and never return.”

“Please, Snow… leave me behind… you have to escape and return to- graugh!” Leinfors cries out in pain as Cosmos snaps her talons and makes him appear within her grasp, holding him up against his neck with her right arm. She then looks at Snow, who was still looking on with tears threatening to leave his eyes, as she then chuckles and says:

“The following action isn’t suited for idiotic leopard/wolf werebeast hybrids who should’ve been running away by now. Viewer discretion is advised.”

[CRACK]

With a sickening crack, Cosmos snaps Leinfors’s neck which in turn causes his struggling form to go limp as a result.

“Oops, I think I broke him. Anyway, back to- Oh? He’s gone now…” Cosmos comments as Snow had indeed disappeared during those final moments.

Unbeknownst to them all, someone else had witnessed the entire scenario play out as the being remained hidden around the corner of a hallway. A dark pink pony. The pony then starts to take her leave, and with a saddened expression as she mutters:

“That is what I fear… I don’t want to see that happen to you, sis.” Pinkamena shudders at the thought and when she witnessed Cosmos snapping Leinfors’s neck, at that very moment, she didn’t see either Leinfors or even Cosmos for that matter. No, what the dark pink pony saw instead was Yharim who held Pinkie Pie within his grasp; who snaps Pinkie Pie’s neck and causes her form to go limp.

“I will free you from him… if it’s the last thing I do...”





With pain in his heart and letting out various growls, Snow rapidly sprints through Yharim’s underground kingdom while also remaining in stealth in the process. Everything that happened mere moments ago was now playing over and over within his mind. He especially hears the words of Cosmos and Leinfors.

-Run away, little one. Run away and never return-

-Snow! You must live on!-

[LEOPARD/WOLF GROWLS]

-Please, Snow… leave me behind-

-Oops, I think I broke him-

“I will come for you one day, Cosmos!” Snow roars out as the werebeast hybrid finally reaches the exit to Yharim’s underground realm. He turns around one last time and comments:

“I will cure my parents of The Astral Infection. Then, once I achieve that, I will find a way to kill you, Kitsune Tyrant.”

As the werebeast takes his leave, someone else had witnessed his escape as the tyrant king himself manifests where Snow once stood. Yharim chuckles to himself as he says:

“The pieces of the board are slowly moving into place. The beauty of it all? I can just have others remove some of my targets for me,” Yharim then looks back to his temple and says: “Sorry, Cosmos, but I’ll need to remove you and the others one day. There can only be one ruler, one god, in all the world,” Yharim then starts to walk towards his kingdom before he continues: “And that god, will. Be. Me. Everything shall be re-made to my vision. A world of peace and absolute order shall be molded by my hands.”





-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON ENTRANCE-

At the bottom of a large flight of stairs which leads to The Dungeon’s entrance, a large group of ponies, terrarians, and a goblin suddenly appears within a beam of light mixed with ice via a very familiar item: The Ice Mirror.

“This place looks just as dreadful as ever, even with that brute no longer here to haunt it.” Rarity comments. Steven then looks to his friend and places a hand onto her back as he says:

“While I do have a lot of horrible and painful memories of this place, I am thankful for the one good thing it did give to me.”

“What is it, darling?”

“I was able to meet you, Rarity.”

“Ohoho, darling, you’re going to make me drown in tears. But, you’re right, that is indeed one good thing that we can take from this place.”

……....

“So, this is The Dungeon,” Shadow Thunder comments with a hoof to his chin. “I’ve heard rumors about it but to see it for myself…”

“You scared? Well, don’t worry,” Starlight Glimmer replies with a smirk. “If anything shows up, I’ll keep you safe.”

“Ohoho, is that a challenge, Starlight?” Shadow Thunder responds.

“You’ve got one on me, so I need to get even with you. I never got to pay you back for saving me from the undead.”

“There’s no need to pay me back, beautiful.”

“Oh stop,” Starlight replies with reddened cheeks. She then takes on a saddened expression and says: “There’s nothing beautiful about me… not with all that I’ve done...”

Shadow Thunder could tell that something was clearly disheartening the unicorn mare. In fact, he realized it ever since they first met as she said those exact same words during the battle with the undead. He simply chooses to respect her reluctance but does wish that she’d one day tell him about what’s bothering her.

……….

“You gonna be ok, Candy?” Pinkie Pie inquires with a worried tone.

“I’ll be ok, Pinkie Pie. It’s just… bad memories.”

“Well, this time things will be different! Because now, you have friends with you and I won’t let anything inside of that dungeon hurt anyone. Sai Sahan has been teaching me how to fight with a blade so now I’m all like ‘Whapow!’ ‘Kaplow!’ ‘Swish!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as she pretends to attack various foes with her forehooves, pretending as if she were wielding a blade.

……….

Fluttershy was momentarily afraid before her two companions, the miniature versions of The Slime Gods, both places a tendril onto the shy pegasus and says:

“We shall be with you, our beloved avatar.” Crimulan Comments.

“Wherever you go, we shall follow. Our beloved core and dear friend.” Ebonian assures with a soothing tone. Their words causes the shy pegasus to blush as she then takes on a determined expression.

……….

“My word, you were truly held prisoner within this place? It’s so ghastly.” Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer comments.

“Yeah, I’ll have to tell you that story sometime but It happened after I escaped from… him…” Katelyn The Mechanic responds which causes Gorglock to look at her with a sympathetic expression. Then, with reddened cheeks, the goblin scratches the back of his head and says:

“If it’s anything to you, I’ll always be here to help.”

“That’s sweet of you, Gorglock.”

……….

“Hello down there!” A new voice calls out from the top of the stairs which catches the attention of the entire group from Home Town. “Are you perhaps adventurers here to explore this place?! Would you be willing to help me?! I had a friend go missing in these parts and I suspect they might be here!”

“Oh goodness, darling!” Rarity exclaims from the bottom of the steps. “Who are you?! And yes, we’ll be more than happy to assist!”

“My name’s Loganic, thank you very much for the help!”
> Chapter 100 - The Capital Of Terraria.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, OUTSKIRTS OF THE CRIMSON BIOME-

In a spiral of flames that shoots down from the sky, Twilight, Tori, Celebes, Linn and her trusty mount, Ves, suddenly appear on the edge of the biome of flesh. 

“We have arrived,” Celebes comments as she wields her Fiery Greatsword. “I’m glad that I incorporated the effects of The Ice Mirror into my blade. I owe you a lot, Rarity.”

Tori’s usual attire was now noticeably red; as if the bird-like humanoid had done so in order to match this biome of putrid flesh. The raptor takes in their surroundings and surveys the area as they imitate Celebes’s voice and comments:

“It’s been an age ever since one of my kind has traversed here. The biome of flesh, gluttony in its purest form which ever seeks to consume the land.” 

Ves claps a forehoof against the earth before the horse then nudges their master with a series of neighs and a slight nudge with their head. 

“Easy there, girl. I know you’re just looking out for me but I won’t let my guard down.” Linn comments as she presses her head against the horse’s face in a comforting gesture.

Twilight was impressed by this for the fact that despite horses being considered as a non-sentient species here in Terraria, Linn was able to communicate with Ves as if the horse was capable of speech.

“That’s really impressive. I assume you’ve trained Ves to make certain gestures in order to communicate more effectively with you?” Twilight inquires.

“In a manner of speaking. Ves and I have been together ever since I was a little girl. I was there the very day that Ves’s mother, who happened to be my own mother’s mount, gave birth to Ves. Also, just because horses are considered to be non-sentient species, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be incredibly smart entities. I’d trust Ves to watch my back even more than any of my fellow terrarians.”

“From how highly you speak of horses, you make it sound like your family worked very closely with them.”

Linn gives a soft chuckle before the terrarian replies:

“I’ll give you a small bit of history but my home town used to provide a lot of the horses that were used by many adventurers, and the royal army. My family bred strong and fast horses, like my beautiful Ves here. Throw some armor on top of these beauties and you’ve got yourself a hulking juggernaut fighting at your side, not to mention having a great option to make a hasty escape.”

“Wait a second, royal army? Hold on! Is there a kingdom of sort that we haven’t visited yet?! I’ve heard Celestia mention something about a capital before, the same place where The Order Of The Guide is apparently positioned.”

“Tanner didn’t tell you? Shame on him. The Capital is indeed home to the guild that Tori, Shadow Thunder and myself belongs to, along with other guilds. Fun fact: Did you know that there’s even a guild for magic? The Mages Guild.”

“What?!” Twilight exclaims with excitement. “A guild that focuses on magic?! I need to see it someday! Why has no one told us anything about this until now?!”

Linn could only shrug in response before she says:

“Maybe after we’re done here, you and your friends can come with us to The Capital. I’ll even introduce you to the headmaster of The Mages Guild. A couple of your friends seem very eager to join The Order Of The Guide so it would be a very great opportunity if you all came to visit. Plus, you’re all practically celebrities there.”

“Celebrities? But, we didn’t do anything that would cause us to be that famous. Also, it’s not like we were sent letters or anything that specifically asked for us in Home Town. I always figured that we were just completely unnoticed.”

“Lemme ask you something, Twilight. When you first met the adventurer’s who traveled with you to The Crimson, how did they act?”

Twilight places a forehoof to her chin as she momentarily ponders on the recollection. The alicorn then lowers her hoof before replying:

“Well, they did seem to be somewhat familiar with us but I just assumed that it was due to Tanner telling them about us.”

“That’s partially true. However, we also heard about you from a certain individual who The Princess has great relations to,” Linn comments as she gazes towards The Dryad, who in turn was checking their equipment along with Tori, as the pink haired terrarian then looks back to Twilight and continues: “Celebes has amazing ties with the royal family. Rumors say that The Dryad saved one of The Princess’s ancestors and has been a friend of the family ever since.”

Twilight’s eyes were simply widened in shock and awe before she then shakes her head, in an effort to recover her composure, and exclaims:

“Oh my gosh! I have to meet The Princess! I must establish friendly ties between both of our worlds as a Princess Of-”

“Hahaha! Calm down, Twilight,” Linn interjects as she recovers from her laughter and says: “There will be more than enough time for that. Like I said, we can all visit the capital one day and I promise to introduce you to her.”

“About that,” Twilight comments with a thoughtful expression. “What's the capital and The Princess’s name? It’s kind of awkward that you just refer to it as: The Capital.”

Linn lets out a small chuckle before she responds:

“My apologies. I’m often always away on quests, not to mention staying with you all in Home Town as of late, that I often refer to it as such,” Linn then clears her throat as she declares in a prideful fashion: “Camelot, the capital of Terraria. Ruled by Princess Cadenza Mi Amore; the current descendant of King Arthur Mi Amore and the wielder of Excalibur.”

An awkward silence takes place as Twilight’s facial features drop into absolute disbelief and shock.

“...”

“Twilight?” Linn inquires.

“...”

“You ok? Your face is frozen-”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!” Twilight exclaims with a small hint of her Canterlot Voice.

Having overheard the conversation, not to mention Twilight’s exclamation, Celebes draws near and chuckles to herself as she says:

“Forgive me, Twilight. Aside from Tanner, I guess I should’ve told you more about our world,” Celebes then looks up towards the sunlit sky, due to them not being in The Crimson but on its border, as she comments: “During the fight with Cthuhlu, King Arthur was among those brave souls who fought alongside me. As Linn mentioned before, the rumors are actually true. I saved King Arthur’s life on that very same day and he became insistent on wanting to honor me. I remember the exact words he told me that day…”   







“Celebes, my dear dryad, from this day forward and until the end of my line, if ever, I, king Arthur, hereby declare that you shall forever be welcomed with open arms in my kingdom and I shall also bestow upon you the status of nobility. Also, I would forever be honored if you would accept my hand of friendship.”







A vibrant smile was present on Celebes’s face as she recalls King Arthur’s words. She then sighs contently and says:

“After we defeated Cthulhu, not to mention when I banished Disidian, I created a piece of myself before I went to the moon and left it behind to spend a lot of time with King Arthur and his family. Having lost my own family during the battle and being the last of my kind, they welcomed me with open arms as if I were their very own. It was a great anodyne for my broken heart. I watched as my dear friend grew old while his children carried on his legacy. I watched them in turn have their own children as the cycle continued for all these years. Sadly, the piece of myself that I left here was forced to return to me when Calamitas fought me on the moon. And now, here we are with his latest descendant: Princess Cadence. I believe one of your fellow Princesses has her exact same name if I’m not mistaken?”

Twilight was still in an absolute shocked state as she strugglingly replies:

“This is… I can’t… everything about this is just so weird, and amazing! Meeting this world’s version of Celestia was already mind blowing in of itself but now there’s a version of Cadence here too?! This is even crazier than when I traveled to Sunset Shimmer’s world.”

“Sunset Shimmer?” Linn inquires.

“She’s a unicorn and like myself, she was also Princess Celestia’s former pupil. That is until certain… events, happened.” Twilight comments with a sheepish smile.

“I still can’t imagine seeing Celestia as a pony,” Linn comments as she then bursts out into a fit of laughter.

“Oh, she wasn’t just a pony. Well, an ordinary pony, that is. Princess Celestia was an alicorn like me and she ruled Equestria for over a thousand years. She’s also the ruler of the day and, what many consider her to be, The Goddess Of The Sun. Although she herself never liked being called that.”

“Goddess Of The Sun? you mean like, Daybreaker?” Linn inquires with a hint of caution.

“Linn! We do not speak of her!” Celebes exclaims in response. Even Tori’s eyes were widened in horrific recognition as the humanoid bird looked to Linn with a disapproving expression before they looked back to their equipment.

“Daybreaker?! No! Nothing like that monster! Princess Celestia was a kind hearted pony and loved her subjects with all her being! She’d never become something that would spit on her very image! Just like Nightmare Moon did to Princess Luna!” Twilight exclaims as the lavender alicorn had taken offence to Linn’s words.

Linn seemed to have realized her mistake, albeit an accident, as the pink haired terrarian sighs and scratches the back of her neck in a nervous gesture.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. Hearing that title just makes me think of, well, our world’s Sun Goddess.”

“No, no, it’s fine, Linn,” Twilight replied. “You had no way of knowing since me and my friends don’t often talk about our world. I guess we were just so caught up in trying to return there that we didn’t often speak to you all about it.”

“Well then, now you piqued my curiosity,” Linn responds as the terrarian conjures forth four chairs from her inventory. “We’ve still got a lot of time left for a small history lesson on your world. Seriously though, Tanner is a piss poor guide for not providing you all with our world’s history.”

No one was able to realize it but upon saying those words, Tori’s features took on a serious expression as little did they know, the humanoid bird wasn’t at all surprised by Tanner’s actions as the raptor says internally:

-You purposely didn’t give them information about our world, traitor-
> Chapter 101 - Ancient History.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, DESERT BIOME-

A beam of light suddenly appears as Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Sai Sahan, Terralestia, Tanner The Guide and even Jeremy The Angler now stands before The Desert Biome. Incidentally, it was completely different from the desert that Sai, Rainbow Dash, and Terralestia had fought The Desert Scourge in. The cowmare in particular was definitely surprised to see that The Guide had possessed a Magic Mirror as she turns towards him and says:

“Hey, ah', Tanner?”

“Yes, Applejack?”

“When did ya’ get that there mirror of yer’s? Ah thought Rarity’s Ice Mirror was the only one of its kind. Yer’s looks like an ordinary mirror but possesses the same powers.”

As this is going on, Rainbow Dash, Sai Sahan, and Celestia were currently chatting amongst themselves.

The Guide was noticeably taken aback by the cowmare’s words before he looks towards the mirror in his possession and says:

“After what happened with Rarity, I never wanted to see any of you get thrown into such a situation ever again. Therefore, I sent some adventurers to acquire this artifact. It has prowess that’s similar to The Ice Mirror but it also has another power: The ability to see into other worlds.”

Applejack was noticeably thrown off by Tanner’s words. On one hoof, she felt something strange about his tale. In fact, thanks to her element, she could’ve sworn that what he just said was a fabricated lie. On the other hoof, her love for her family overcame that suspicion as she exclaims:

“What?! Ya mean that ah’ could see mah’ family?!”

“Perhaps, wanna give it a try? Since you came from that world it should work for you.”

“Of course ya’ silly goose, fire that thing up!”

Heeding to her request, Tanner allows her to look into the mirror as he then comments:

“Think of them in your mind, Applejack. Pour your greatest desire into the mirror and it shall show it to you from your world.”

Applejack closes her eyes as she focuses on one thing in particular: Her family. She could see a large red stallion, an elderly green mare, and a certain crusader who was also her beloved younger sibling. Tanner takes notice of what was now forming onto the mirror as he says:

“Open your eyes, Applejack. I must say, you have a beautiful family.”

“Wait, how do ya’-” Applejack’s words were cut off as she opened her eyes and saw them within the mirror: Her family. “Oh mah’ gawrsh… ah’ can see them… it’s like watchin’ ah’ movie but it’s really them. They’re ok…” Tears were now starting to form in her eyes as she continued to watch Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom go about their business in what she could tell to be The Crystal Empire.

“Can ah’ talk to them?”

“I’m sorry, Applejack. They can not interact with us nor can we do the same in turn. We can only observe them.”

The cowmare then wipes away her tears with a forehoof as she turns back to Tanner and says:

“Thank you fer’ this, ah’ needed to know if they were doin’ alright. Especially with The Corruption threatening everypony back home. Ah’ might not be able to hear their voices again but this is enough to give me peace.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Tanner replies as he then sends The Magic Mirror back to his inventory. “Let’s go rejoin the others, King Amidias and his guards have set up an encampment near The Pyramid. They’ll be waiting for us there but since I’ve never been to their current location before, I can’t use the mirror. We’re gonna have to walk.” The Guide then gives her a thumbs up before he turns to join the rest of their group.

Momentarily lost in thought, Applejack was incredibly grateful for what Tanner has done, however, she also couldn’t help but think back to that feeling she had. As the bearer of The Element Of Honesty, she still couldn’t shake Tanner’s lie as she says internally:

-Tanner, why did ya’ lie to me just now? Ah’ honestly couldn’t tell if ya’ lied about the mirror or if you lied about how ya’ got the mirror. Ah’ just don’t know-

The cowmare then sighs before she makes her way towards the rest of the group. Unbeknownst to her and within the orange earth pony’s own shadow was the facial features of a bird like entity.

-Listen to your instincts, pony. It shall lead you to the truth-





-TERRARIA, THE JUNGLE BIOME-

Both Gex and Zecora were currently within her home as they discussed various topics around her cauldron; adding various ingredients for the apparent potion she’s currently working on with his assistance. Due to the two friends becoming close, Zecora felt comfortable enough to speak normally instead of in rhyme as she says:

“Your culture is quite a marvel, especially when it comes to your spells.”

“Indeed,” Gex responds as the lihzhard added a handful of waterleaf into the mixture. “Our spells are activated by using our native tongue. We project our voices into a thu’um, a shout. These shouts are the very spells that you’ve seen me use multiple times before.”

“Ah, yes. I believe that you used one which causes a powerful force to be let loose by your lips which causes your foes to be pushed back by its power.”

“Unrelenting Force, I can not say the words less I accidently call forth the spell but that is its name in my people’s tongue.”

Zecora nods in response before she then takes on a sad expression and comments:

“Gex… I know that this might be a personal thing to ask, but,” The zebra became noticeably hesitant before she then breathed in and continues: “Back in The Underground Jungle Biome, you were hesitant to be there when we first arrived. I can’t quite put a hoof on it but I could tell that it was more than just The Temple that caused you to rear back in fear. Where are the rest of your kind? I know that you told us about them being unkind and brutal but what about your family? Are there no others like yourself?”

The Witchdoctor was momentarily stunned by her words and while it did make him uncomfortable, the lihzhard trusted the zebra with his life as he sighs sadly and responds:

“Let’s take a seat, Zecora. My tale is one of great loss and misery,” Heeding to his request, the zebra nods in response as the two friends make their way towards the table and take a seat across from each other.



“In truth, I did not originate from The Jungle that we are currently positioned in. I came from another one entirely but it has been reduced to not but ash and has faded to the depths of history. You see, we lihzhards live for a very long time. In fact, my father was over four thousand years old while my mother was five thousand.”

“Oh my word,” Zecora comments in disbelief before she puts a hoof to her chin and questions: “How old would that make you?”

“It has been over two thousand years since my birth. I was born in a time when the Gods still roamed freely upon this world, when the dryads were still many, The Hallow still existed, and not even The Corruption or The Crimson were brought into being yet. My kind calls it: The Time Of The Ancients.”

“Wait a second, The Crimson and The Corruption didn’t exist in the time of your birth?”

“No, they did not. I assume that Tanner The Guide has informed you all of their origins?”

“No, The Guide never informed us of such things. He told us of how the infections work but not of their origins.”

“That brings great surprise to me. It is the duty of The Guide to teach the history of this world to those who seek to defend Terraria. I must scold him the next time I see him,” The lihzhard comments before he then chuckles and says: “Nyarlathotep didn’t arrive to our world yet for that monstrosity is where both of the infections originates from. The entity’s body became The Crimson while its dark will became The Corruption. The biome of sin was the first to lay claim to the world but that was before the dryads defeated The Corruption and reduced it to near nothingness but were unable to completely destroy it. However, in its absence, The Crimson took hold which was an even more terrifying infection. Despite that and thanks to the efforts of the dryads who kept The Crimson at bay, all the beings of the world continued to live in relative peace.

Then, over five hundred years later and after my birth, Nyarlathotep appeared but I sadly have no knowledge of how that monster was defeated which in turn resulted in the birth of the infections, as I mentioned before.

After that, peace was once again restored to the land for another four hundred years before another terror came to Terraria, the same story that you know about: The Coming Of Cthulhu. My mother suspected that the eldritch terror was attracted to our world because of Nyarlathotep.”

Zecora's mouth was currently hung agape as she takes in this awe inspiring piece of history. She then manages to recover as she says:

“By the ancients of Zebrica, Gex, that’s a lot to take in. So, what became of your home? You mentioned that it was reduced to ashes. What was responsible for it?”

Gex momentarily shuddered in fear before he sighs in an effort to recover his composure and answers:

“This happened four hundred years before today. Fire was let loose upon my home and killed my parents by an ancient creature; a legend even among my kind: A Jungle Dragon.”
> Chapter 102 - Greed.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON-



Everyone was currently making their way down the dark depths of The Dungeon with some among them having mixed feelings, especially when it came to the former prisoners.

“I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: I am not fond of returning here. Even with Skeletron’s disappearance, this place still feels like it’s being haunted.” Magius The Wizard comments.

“Seems like my kind of place, oddly enough. Darkness and death? That’s a rogue’s background right there.” Tempest The Bandit comments which causes some of those present to look at her with a deadpan expression. She then chuckles before saying: “Sorry, dark humor is an old habit of mine.” She then looks towards Loganic, who in turn was taking the lead alongside Steven and Rarity, as she comments: “Yo, what’s your friend’s name and race?”

Loganic pauses for a moment, which also causes the entire group to stop, as he turns around and answers:

“His name is: Deerg, a terrarian like you and me.”

“Oh dear, darling,” Rarity responds with a small gasp. “Well, I for one must commend you for going this far for a friend. It reminds me of when my friends did everything within their power to free me. Poor Fluttershy here had to face some uncouth Nymph, in The Snow Biome.”

“S-she was v-very, um, mean…” Fluttershy comments with a small stutter as she recalls the actions of Melony, The Nymph.

As this is going on, Tempest narrows her features towards Loganic as she says internally:

-I don’t like this guy, he’s giving me- Suddenly, her words were cut off as the world around her starts to morph and twist. Everyone else around her actually fades away as a result, leaving behind only The Bandit and the being of her suspicion: Loganic.

Loganic chuckles lightly before he comments:

“I knew that you rogue types are always a perceptive bunch. To be honest, I had planned this from the very start; the very moment I laid eyes on you: Tempest Shadow, former underling of The Storm King and lover to your precious, Tzana.”

The Bandit’s eyes were widened in horrific disbelief as she responds:

“H-how did you… how do you know all of this? Wait, what did you do to the others?!”

“Oh don’t worry, everyone else is fine… in the real world,” Loganic takes notice of Tempest’s shocked expression; which prompts him to continue: “I can see that you’re mind is simply at a loss. I’m not a big fan of exposition so I’ll just say: T.L.D.R: I warped reality itself and brought you into my own little dimension.”

“B-but, the others are out there! They’ll take notice-”

“You silly little mortal. My powers are beyond your comprehension but let’s just say that everything seems normal, out there. Now, I can’t have you exposing me on our little trip to the depths of this place so I’ll be dampening your senses just a teensy bit-”

“No!” The Bandit roars out in protest as she conjures forth… nothing. “What? Why can’t I access my inventory?”

“Oh dear, having performance issues there, little Tempy? That’s what Tzana used to call you, is it not?”

“Do not say her name! You aren’t worthy enough to speak about her at all!”

“Worthy? Please, saying the name of you mortals makes me want to puke. It’s even more damaging to me than it is for you-”

“Raaaurgh!” Tempest roars out as she runs at Loganic with full force and closes the distance between them in mere moments. In a series of amazing acrobatics, she performs various strikes by kicking and punching away at Loganic in a fashion that would put many martial artists to shame. As Tempest unleashes her barrage of attacks, Loganic simply stands there and comments:

“Is this what you mortals call: Attacking? Sorry, but for me, it looks like you’re doing the Macarena.” Loganic then starts to dance, all while The Bandit continues to attack him, as he sings:

“Dale a tu cuerpo alegría Macarena,
Que tu cuerpo es pa’ darle alegría why cosa buena,
Dale a tu cuerpo alegría, Macarena,
Hey Macarena.”

“Do you think this is a game?!” Tempest roars out as she has just finished attacking Loganic during his dance and hops away from him, to which he responds:

“A game? Hah! Hardly, if this were a game I’d be having fun. Like kidnapping the Core Of The Slime Gods, now that sounds like a good time.”

Tempest gasps in realization as she cautiously says:

“Wait… no… Fluttershy? Your target is Fluttershy?!”

“Ding ding ding. You see, unlike you mortals who go after mere items and trinkets, to which I already have an unfathomable number of, I prefer going after other types of treasure: Other gods and deities.”

“Y-you’re insane…”

“No, that’s Disidian’s thing; along with chaos,” Loganic then strikes a pose, moonwalks, then stops in place as he says: “I’m The God Of Greed. Perhaps you still need some convincing?” Greed then starts to emit a powerful aura as the energy around him starts to take on a new shape. Slowly but surely, a serpentine like entity was starting to emerge from the energy which caused Tempest to be absolutely stunned with fear as the being now towers over her.



Greed lets out a loud series of chuckling before the serpentine creature comments:

“You see these gems and multi colored portions on my body? Each and every one of them represents a god/goddess that I have captured. And looky here, I have a spot just for The Slime Gods.”

“You’re a monster! Capturing gods?! Do you not fear how that might affect the world?! The very balance of reality itself could be at stake!”

“Who needs balance when I can have it all!” The serpent roars out as he suddenly shifts in his attitude, as if someone had just hit a switch. “Anyway, I’ll be erasing this little chat of ours from your memories now. It’s been thirty seconds in the real world so let’s not delay, ok?”

“Listen to me! The others will expose you and even if you do manage to take Fluttershy-”

“When, I take her. Correction. You’d better check yourself before I wreck yourself.” Greed interjects with a condescending expression.

“I! Don’t! Give! A! Shit! The others will stop you!”

“You know, the only reason that I don’t kill you right here and now is due to the fact that I find you to be mildly amusing. You have no Idea how boring things can get for one such as myself. Now then, let’s return to the real world, shall we?”

In a sudden display of power and blinding light, the world around Tempest starts to shift and mold once more. Then, everything went black for The Bandit.





Tempest’s body suddenly falls limp but is fortunately caught by Shadow Thunder who summons a shadow in the form of a hand.

“Tempest! Are you ok?!” Magius The Wizard roars out as he teleports next to the now unconscious terrarian who was gently laid down by Shadow Thunder’s dark appendage.

Everyone starts to gather around The Bandit, as Starlight fires up her horn and says:

“I’m performing a status spell. Back in our world, it allows us to check on somepony’s vitals,” The unicorn mare then narrows her features in concentration as everyone else arounds her waits patiently for her verdict, especially Magius. Then, after a few moments, Starlight sighs with relief and comments: “She’ll be ok, I don’t see anything wrong with her physically and her mind seems to be intact.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Magius replies in utter relief. “But why would she just randomly fall unconscious?”

“It couldn’t be…” Loganic comments as he catches the attention of everyone else present.

“What’s wrong, darling?” Rarity inquires. Loganic then turns towards Steven and questions:

“You told me that you were a prisoner of this place, correct?”

“In a manner of speaking. I could go into detail but what does that have to do with anything?” Steven questions.

“Well, there’s a reason that I requested your aid. I think I know what your friend is suffering from. You see, this place was built over an ancient catacomb and the restless spirits still haunts it to this very day.” Loganic answers.

“Yes,” Steven replies. “I built The Dungeon over it but I’m still confused about what you’re trying to get at. What does the restless spirits of this place have to do with this?”

“Polterghast… an unstoppable force of countless spirits. Tempest’s mind was the strongest of us all so it makes sense for them to remove her from the equation. They want to possess a host in order to allow them to escape from this place.”

“How do you know all of this?” Starlight questions.

“My friend, Deerg, he is a great scholar and has countless records within his study. He came to this place in order to explore the legend of Polterghast, as much as I tried to dissuade him.”

“Um, if they want to possess us and Tempest’s mind was the strongest, what about us? Aren’t we in danger of being, well, possessed?” Fluttershy inquires in a cautious tone.

“No need to worry,” Loganic replies as the terrarian conjures forth multiple headbands for everyone present, aside from The Bandit who still laid unconscious. “Deerg created these to shield anyone from the effects of the supernatural. Please, take one and pass it around.”

Heeding to his request, everyone starts to take a headband and wears them, aside from two certain party lovers: Pinkie Pie and Candy, both of whom were behind the group from a short distance.

“Hey, um, Candy?” Pinkie Pie questions in a hushed tone. “I don’t like this. My mane is twitching and my body is shaking from holding this headband.”

“I feel it too, Pinkie Pie. Something’s not right here.”

“Excuse me, darlings,” Rarity interjects which catches the attention of the two party lovers. “Would you two be a dear and carry Tempest to the surface? I don’t want to keep her down here with us while she’s unconscious. Please stay with her until she awakes.”

Both Pinkie Pie and Candy looks to each other with a bothered expression before they turn back to Rarity, salutes to her request, and says in unison:

“You can count on us.” They then carefully pick up The Bandit as Magius The Wizard says:

“I’ll go with you. I can use my magic to teleport us back to the surface,” The Wizard then turns to everyone else present. “Be careful in those dark depths, friends. Dangerous traps and many types of undead still lurk down there.”

Everyone nods in response as The Wizard stands next to the two party lovers, and The Bandit, as he then casts a spell which wisps them away to The Dungeon’s entrance. Loganic then clears his throat and questions:

“Is everyone ready to go?” They all nod in response to which Loganic gives them a thumbs up and takes the lead. What everyone present failed to realize however was the multicolored aura that flashed within his eyes.





-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM-

Some time after the recent events of Snow’s battle with The Storm King and run in with Cosmos, Pinkamena was now sat upon the top portion of The Temple as she was pondering on various thoughts. Naturally, many of them were about her sister’s well being. Suddenly, she could hear a powerful force of flapping wings followed by a large entity landing behind her. The dark pink pony turns her head as her gaze falls upon a large red dragon.

“May I join you?” Yharon inquires which honestly catches the pony completely by surprise.

“Isn’t this technically your kingdom too? Pretty sure you don’t need my permission to sit next to me.”

The dragon chuckles in response before saying:

“Be that as it is, would you believe that I am a dragon of culture?”

“If by ‘Culture’ you mean burning down towns and following Yharim’s every request, without question.”

In truth, the dark pink pony was expecting the dragon to retaliate against her like he did some time ago. Before he healed her afterwards, that is. Shockingly, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing etched onto the dragon’s face: Regret. Confliction. She then sighs and shrugs her shoulders.

“Might as well join me.”

“I thank you,” Yharon responds as he takes a few steps closer and lays his draconic form right next to the dark pink mare. “I… I don’t take pleasure in doing any of that.”

“Then why do it at all? You realize that you make your own choices, right?”

“Yes, I understand that,” The dragon then sighs before he continues: “But, I love my brother more than anything else. I’d go forth and win his war, if he were to but ask me. I’d fight the entire world just to defend him. And If I should die in doing so… he would have heard my final dying roar,” Yharon then lowers his gaze towards Pinkamena, who in turn was looking up to him with a neutral expression, and says: “You remind me of myself. I respect anyone who’d go to great lengths in order to protect their family, their loved ones. I can see that your sister means the absolute world to you… that, is what Yharim is to me. He is my only family that I have left in this world and without him, I’d be lost. Alone. Despite all that he has done and all that he has wronged, what he has become, I still… I still see the brother that I once knew deep inside.”

Pinkamena took in his words as she continued to stare at him in thought. Then, she sighs lightly as the dark pink pony looks forward and replies:

“Despite that, your brother has wronged me in a way that can never be forgiven. I will kill him if such an opportunity presents itself. You said so yourself, my sister means the world to me and I’d do anything for her. Yharim will pay,” Pinkamena then takes another breath before she finishes: “However, when it comes to you... I understand where you’re coming from. You have my sympathies.”

A low rumble escapes from the dragon as Yharon then follows her gaze. The two beings sit in silence as they look out towards Yharim’s Kingdom, the underground artificial sun in full force. Despite fate making them enemies, deep down, Pinkamena and Yharon had one thing in common: Their undying loyalty to their sibling. This in turn brought forth something else between them: Understanding.

Suddenly, a portal opens up behind them both which causes Pinkamena to scowl at the entity who emerged from the anomaly as Yharim says:

"Pinkamena, get your flank ready and be prepared to leave in ten minutes. You get to visit Camelot today."
> Chapter 103 - The Pyramid.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE DESERT BIOME, PYRAMID OUTSKIRTS-

Drawing ever closer to an ancient Pyramid within The Desert Biome, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Terralestia, Sai Sahan, Jeremy The Angler and Tanner The Guide could now see what appeared to be various tents set up at a safe distance away from the pyramid. The group could see various merfolk with appearances similar to that of a sea-horse; who seemed to be floating in the air as their tails imitated swimming movement, allowing the entities to move as if they were underwater. Some among them were wearing very particular armor and wielded various weapons.

As the group continues to walk forward, Rainbow Dash comments:

“Woah… what are these guys? They look like, fish people. Also, how are they not drying themselves up in this place? Pretty sure a fish in the middle of a desert isn't going to be awesome.”

“Pureblooded merfolk, actually, and it's likely thanks to their magic that their bodies doesn't shrivel up here,” Terralestia responds factually. “These are merfolk from King Amidias’s new kingdom. To be honest, I can’t help but feel sorry for the poor guy.”

“What happened to em’?” Applejack inquires which causes Sai Sahan to turn towards the cowmare and say:

“Let me answer your question, with another question,” The terrarian then turns his gaze towards Rainbow Dash and questions: “Do you remember the desert where we fought The Desert Scourge?”

“Of course I do, that was my first boss after all.” The cyan pegasus states proudly.

“As you know, that desert used to be an ocean,” Sai Sahan then took on a sympathetic expression before he continues: “That very same ocean was King Amidias’s previous domain.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were both in awe at this revelation as the two mares respond in unison:

“Whoa…”

“Unfortunately, not even I know about how the sea disappeared or what caused it to become a barren desert.” Tanner The Guide comments with a sheepish smile.

“Uh, no offence or anything, Tanner… but you’ve been a pretty terrible guide.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack exclaims in response as terralestia leans into Sai Sahan and whispers:

“Ooooh, gonna need The Nurse for that one.” 

Jeremy The Angler released a small snicker as he says:

“Gotta say, maybe your pegasus friend should’ve been The Element Of Honesty because, damn, that was brutal honesty.”

No one could ever take notice but a certain humanoid bird entity, who still remained within Applejack’s shadow, couldn’t help but to laugh internally at the pegasus’s words.

“You cut me deep, Rainbow… you cut me deep.” Tanner comments with a pout which in turn causes the pegasus to smile sheepishly.





The group was now starting to enter the encampment as various of the seafolk took a moment to whisper about their new visitors. Specifically, the two ponies that were amongst the group.

“By the coral of the seas, it’s them.”

“Those are the ponies that King Amidias spoke of.”

“The ones who fought The Moon Lord?!”

“I hear that the orange one fought Queen Beezma.”

“That pegasus was among those who fought The Desert Scourge.”

“Not to mention everything that happened in The Crimson.”

“My friend, The Traveling Merchant, told me that those ponies were there when Skeletron invaded some town to the north.”

Every last one of their onlookers continued to comment about the ponies' various accomplishments. Applejack was reddened with embarrassment but, of course, a certain cyan pegasus was soaking in all the praise as she says:

“Yup, I know, we’re pretty awesome.”

“Me and my people have heard all about you, ponies from another world.” A new voice comments which causes the group to turn their gaze towards a merfolk who was donned in obvious royal attire.



“Celebes The Dryad has informed me of your exploits as of late. She stopped by some time ago before she went to assist you all within The Crimson Biome. My deepest condolences. Me and my people know first fin of the monstrosities that are born there.”

“Your majesty.” Terralestia comments as she bows before The Sea King along with Sai Sahan, Jeremy The Angler, and Tanner The Guide. Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack were about to bow as well before The Sea King raises a hand and says: 

“I appreciate the gesture, land lovers, but please, rise. Despite being king, I see you all as my equals.”

“Gawrsh yer’ majesty, ah’m humbled by yer’ words. Mah’ name’s Applejack.” Applejack comments as she holds her hat against her chest region.

“Sup! Rainbow Dash’s my name, being awesome is my game. By the way, you guys look awesome! You remind me of the hippogriffs from Seaquestria.”

“I assume that to be a nation and species from your world? They sound lovely to my ears and we thank you for the compliment, child of harmony.” Amidias responds which instantly catches the attention of the two ponies whose ears perks up upon those words.

“Child of Harmony? Ya’ll know about The Empress who ruled over The Hallow?” Applejack inquires.

“Of course,” Amidias responds happily. “Harmony was an ally to me and my people. When I heard about The Hallow’s disappearance and by extension her own, my heart felt like a dried ocean.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would ya? Asking for a friend.” Rainbow Dash comments in reference to a certain shadow pegasus.

“I’m sorry but we have no knowledge of what caused their disappearance. If I had to put a number on it, I’d say Harmony and her biome disappeared roughly about ten years ago.” The Sea King answers.

“That sounds about right,” Terralestia comments. “Shadow Thunder told me that he was away at the time but The Hallow did indeed disappear ten years ago.”

The Sea King then claps his hands together before saying: 

“That’s enough history for now, my friends. Please, let us now speak of our objective: The Pyramid.” Amidias then beckons them to follow as the royal merfolk swishes his tail back and forth, moving ahead of them as they follow close behind.

As this is going on, Jeremy The Angler was incredibly nervous with a cold sweat. Tanner sees this as he leans in and questions:

“You alright there?”

“Of course I’m not alright,” Jeremy responds with a nervous tone. “Do you not see what’s all around us?”

“Uh, aside from us there’s sand, tents, a pyramid, and sea folk?”

“Don’t be a smart ass. Think for just one second, I’m The Angler, they’re a bunch of sea people. Now ask me again if I’m ‘Alright’, of course I’m not. I’m on the verge of shitting myself.”

Taking in his words, Tanner looks around and notices that some of the merfolk were indeed looking at Jeremy with a mixture of suspicious and questioning expressions. The Guide then chuckles to himself and says:

“As The Guide, I’d like to advise that you, my friend, are fucked.”

“Rainbow Dash was right, you are a shitty guide.”





King Amidias was currently leading the group through his established encampment as he began to monologue about the pyramid that stood before them.

“This pyramid was discovered by some explorers that I sent out to investigate this site. If our theories are correct then this place serves as an entrance to: The Sunken Sea,” 



“All of life was born from the seas. It was from them that sprung the vast multitude of creatures today, though their beginnings were rather humble. Slimes formed out of gelatinous organic matter, and tiny worms from the earth and muck. Not to mention the actions of The Slime Gods. Fish soon followed, and many fled to the deep unexplored caverns in the lands. Many coasts of the world were riddled with extensive cave systems, going miles deep. These unending tunnels and air pockets gave rise to a marvelous ecosystem. The critters fed, lived, and died in these caverns of darkness lit only by phosphorus bacteria, and radiant crystals. As time passed, and they became more and more adapted to those sheltered caves, there was less and less reason for them to venture outside, and so, centuries passed with no effect on these living remnants of history. They lost their eyes, their complexion, and so, were shaped by their environment. After tectonic shifts in the planet's crust, these subterranean paradises of marine life were isolated deep underground, where the inhabitants would wait, forever blind in the sunken seas.”

As Amidias continues, Rainbow Dash leans into Applejack and says in a whispered tone:

“Good grief, this guy sounds like Twilight.”

“Come on, Rainbow. Ya’ can’t just say stuff like that.”

“King Amidias,” Terralestia comments. “Is there perhaps a reason as to why you want to hunt down The Giant Clam and Crabulon? Pardon me if this sounds rude but I’d like to get more information on this.”

The Sea King suddenly pauses which in turn stops the group from moving forward. He then takes on a saddened expression and says:

“My daughter, Princess Skystar, is suffering from an ancient curse. The only way to lift this curse is with the pearl of a Giant Clam. One must grind it into a fine powder and consume it. The clam is a magical creature but it unfortunately has formed a symbiotic relation with Crabulon. In addition, a cult of rogue merfolk has also risen from worshipping this entity.”

“There's a whole cult dedicated to this thing? It’s a crab!” Rainbow Dash exclaims which causes Applejack to jab her left stomach region. 

“Remember what I told you in Candy Cane Corner, Rainbow,” Terralestia says with a side glance before she returns her gaze to The Sea King. “So essentially, you wish to extract this pearl from The Giant Clam. I’d like to also give my condolences to you for your daughter, King Amidias. What of the cult?”

“Should we encounter any cultists, which I’m fairly certain we will, you and your allies have my permission to execute them.” Amidias responds.

“Sweet Celestia, execution? What kind of crimes are we talkin’ about here?” Applejack questions. Incidentally, when the cowmare mentioned Celestia, Terralestia thought that the pony was referring to her for a moment before realizing that wasn’t the case.

“This leads into why we must defeat Crabulon. Not only will the creature stop us from extracting the Giant Clam’s pearl but the cultists have sacrificed many innocent lives to this creature. Our mission is to save my daughter and bring about justice! We shall punish The Brotherhood Of The Crab!”

Rainbow Dash suddenly bursts out into a fit of laughter as she falls down onto the sand and says:

“The Brotherhood Of The Crab?! That’s the dumbest name I’ve ever heard! Bwahahahaha!” The pegasus mare continues to laugh which in turn earns her some deadpan stares from her friends and allies.



 

-TERRARIA, THE PYRAMID-

Positioning some of his guards outside of the pyramid, King Amidias leads the group into the ancient structure. Grains of sand leaked from the ceiling all while the ponies and terrarians took in the sight. Rainbow Dash in particular was starry eyed as she constantly made comparisons with her favorite book series: Daring-Do.

The group continued onward and soon enough, they began to witness very particular statues. Most notably, these entities seemed to be reminiscent of a sort of bipedal Basenji, a species of dog. Rainbow Dash was the one to point this out to which Applejack inquires:

“How’d ya’ know about that, Rainbow?”

“Eh, you learn a thing or two when you hang out with Fluttershy for so long.” Rainbow Dash responds.

..........

“How old could this place be? Actually, come to think of it... how did you find this place, your majesty?” Tanner The Guide questions.

“That’s just it, this pyramid simply just appeared out of nowhere. I can not explain how and why but one thing is for certain, this place seems to date back to The Time Of The Ancients,” King Amidias answers as he takes in the carvings on the walls and the various statues that were positioned just adjacent from each other in the hallways of the pyramid. “Some of my soldiers reported seeing various members of The Brotherhood entering this ancient pyramid. That is why I was certain that this place is some sort of entrance or pathway to The Sunken Sea.”

“Everyone! You’d better come see this!” Sai Sahan exclaims which causes the rest of the group to run over to him. What now stood before the group were various drawings of individuals that were etched onto the wall. Rainbow Dash then takes notice of what looked like a pony with rainbow colored wings, that resembled the wings of a fairy in appearance.

“Look at that one, it looks like… a pony? It’s not a pegasus but that pony clearly has wings.” The cyan pegasus says.

"Wait ah' second," Applejack replies with a forehoof to her chin. "That pony fits the description of what Shadow Thunder told us, after the battle with Skeletron. Is that... Harmony?" 

“Athena, Harmony, Anubis, Greed, The Equinox Worms... there are so many names here that correlates with their appropriate image. Every drawing of an entity has their name positioned next to them.” King Amidias comments which catches everyone by surprise. “There is no mistaking it, this pyramid does indeed come from The Time Of The Ancients.”

As the rest of the group continues to converse, something on the ceiling catches Rainbow Dash’s attention as the pegasus flies up towards it. A large image was now present before her as she took notice of some of the entities from the other drawing that the rest of the group were still observing. In this image, they were all attacking something in unison. An enormous worm-like entity that was similar to The Equinox Worms and Greed. Then, the pegasus’s eyes were widened when she saw… him, riding on the back of a large red dragon. In addition, It was all too clear that he was ordering the large worm-like entity to do his bidding, based on what was depicted in the image.

In a tone of absolute disbelief, the cyan pegasus comments:

“Oh buck… it can’t be… Yharim? What's with the dragon? And who the buck is this Devourer Of Gods?”
> Chapter 104 - Familiar Encounters.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE PYRAMID-

Everyone’s gaze was now fixated on the image that Rainbow Dash had just informed them about. Shock and awe was prevalent on each and every one of their faces as both Terralestia and Sai Sahan gritted their teeth in anger.

“How could Yharim have been there so long ago? Just, what the hell is he?” Terralestia inquires.

“By my ancestors, what does this all mean? And that dragon… It’s the same one that we flew on, seven years ago.” Sai Sahan comments.

……….

“What do you make of this, Tanner?” King Amidias inquires which momentarily stuns The Guide before he replies:

“I honestly don’t know… this is all just too bizarre.”

“That can’t be, you’re The Guide. I would assume that you of all people would possess knowledge of this unknown phenomenon.”

Overhearing this, Applejack glances towards The Guide from behind, with a raised eyebrow, as she states internally:

-Another lie? Tanner, what the hay is goin’ on with ya’?-

Of course, Applejack’s guardian, who still lurks within her shadow, momentarily smirks as Tori says internally

-I was right to gamble on you, Element Of Honesty. Feel it within your mind and allow your inner voice to soar-





Some time passes by as the group continues to make their way deeper into the pyramid. They took in the nearly countless images that were etched onto the walls of this ancient place, practically a vault of long lost knowledge. So much in fact that Rainbow Dash jokes about Twilight fuming from her mouth were the lavender alicorn present.

Everyone then turns a corner only to find themselves within a large chamber. King Amidias ordered his guards to set up a perimeter as he and everyone else present took in the absolute marvels that were present before their very eyes. Like the rest of the pyramid, historical images were etched onto the walls along with various statues that gave the illusion that the group weren’t the only ones present. Little did they know, this was accurate in a sense.

“Whoa… these statues look even more awesome than the ones we saw in the hallways.” Rainbow Dash comments as she then attempts to touch the statue with a forehoof. However, mere seconds before her hoof makes contact, the statue does something that causes everyone to shift their stances into one of caution: It moves.

“Everyone! On guard!” King Amidias exclaims as the statues, which bore a humanoid dog resemblance and donned in various pieces of gold, all started to move in tandem with the statue that Rainbow Dash had touched.

“Dang ‘namit, Rainbow. Why the heck do ya’ got to go and touch everythin’?” Applejack inquires in frustration as she conjures forth her energy based weapon: Orange Phaseblade.

“Hey! How was I supposed to know that this would-”

“Who dares to enter my sanctuary?!” A powerful voice interjects which practically causes the entire chamber, possibly even the whole pyramid, to quake in response. “Are you a bunch of foolish raiders?! Bandits?! Come to take treasures from my domain?! You will suffer my wrath and I will spank you sideways! So declares: Anubis!”

“No!” Applejack exclaims in response. “We ain’t here to take anythin’ from ya’! Ah’ swear it!”

“I was just curious!” Rainbow Dash roars out. “I wasn’t trying to take anything! I just touched the statu-” Rainbow Dash’s words were cut off by what happens next as all of the statues begin to be consumed by green flames.

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s eyes were widened in a combination of horror and recognition as they took notice of bipedal entities who were disguised as the statues.

“R-Rainbow… are mah’ eyes deceiving me?” Applejack inquires in disbelief.

“No way… changelings?! But, they look different to the ones back home!” Rainbow Dash responds as they were now surrounded by a small legion of these humanoid changelings.

All the while, Amidias’s men run towards their king in an effort to protect him. Sai Sahan, Terralestia, Jeremy The Angler, and Tanner The Guide all stand at the ready and in anticipation of a possible confrontation.

One of the humanoid changelings, who incidentally was the very same one that Rainbow Dash had touched when they were a statue, steps forward and says:

“Lord Anubis has spoken, intruders. Speak your intentions or I, Echo Silhouette, King Of The Changelings, shall enforce our lord’s will upon you all!”



 




-TERRARIA, THE CRIMSON BIOME-

Twilight, Celebes, Linn, Tori, and the horse, Ves, were currently engaged in combat with the monsters of The Crimson. Much like what had happened in the past, the creatures of the flesh continue to run at the group in a hoard.

Linn spins her lance above her head as she then thrusts it forth, sending forward a small shockwave that pushes aside some of the bipedal entities of the flesh. In response, Ves stampedes over to their master as the horse notices a flying flesh entity attempting to swoop down on Linn from her blind spot. Ves then jumps high into the air, turns around, and bucks the flying flesh entity with so much force that it causes the monstrosity to burst into a rainfall of blood and gore.

Twilight was currently flying around her allies as she fires up her horn and unleashes a relentless assault of magical energy. In addition, the lavender mare also utilizes both of her weapons: Space Gun and Book Of Skulls. Thanks to her meteor armor, the lavender mare could afford to fire a never ending barrage of ranged magical blasts from her Space Gun, killing off a handsome number of flesh monstrosities. Flaming skulls were also unleashed via her spell book which in turn engulfs some of the flesh monsters in fire; moments before the skulls would explode soon after.

Celebes was slicing through her foes with her Fiery Greatsword, like a hot knife through butter. One of the flesh entities that resembles a spider tries to entrap her with what appears to be webs only in this case, the ‘Webs’ were in fact made completely out of veins. Despite the disgusting actions of the spider-like entity of flesh, The Dryad raises her blade up into the air and calls down multiple spirals of flame. Like a tornado going through a barn, the twisters of hellfire effortlessly scorches and pathed the way through a large number of enemies.

Tori spins around and unleashes a whirlwind of daggers, all of which impales the flesh of the monstrosities that surrounded them. The humanoid bird then hops into the air and performs a hand gesture which causes the blades to explode as a result. Tori then flies higher into the crimson skies and conjures forth a very familiar ranged weapon: The Minishark. A relentless barrage of ammunition is let loose as Tori unloads every last bit of ammunition they had within the shark-like weapon.





Some time goes by as the group continues to fight their way through The Crimson Biome. Although their weapons aided them greatly, the group was starting to give into fatigue as the flesh monstrosities were showing no signs of relenting. Hoard after hoard, the flesh abominations just kept coming at them all. It even got to a point that Linn was starting to fear for her beloved mount, Ves, which caused the pink haired terrarian to wisp the horse away to safety via an item that resembled an apple.

“Celebes!” twilight calls out. “There’s too many of them! What do we do?!”

“I’m going to activate my last resort and teleport us to a safe location,” Celebes responds as she raises her fiery greatsword above her head and gathers a powerful red aura around her blade. This aura then turns into what looked like a small sun that floated at the edge of the blade. “Twilight! Linn! Tori! Gather around me!”

Heeding to The Dryad’s request, the aforementioned individuals hurriedly headed towards Celebes and soon found themselves standing around her, in a circle formation, all while the monsters of the flesh continued to run towards them. Twilight was about to erect a barrier but was stopped by Tori who gestures for her to not perform the action.

“Supernova!” Celebes roars out as she thrusts the blade into the earth which in turn causes the small sun that was positioned at the edge to explode upon impact, killing and consuming all of the creatures present in a powerful explosion of flames; leaving behind charred remains and a localized scorched landscape.





-TERRARIA, UNKNOWN LABORATORY-

In a sudden spiral of flames, Twilight, Celebes, Tori, and Linn reappear within a strange laboratory. Celebes lets out a small sigh as she says:

“Is everyone alright?”

Tori nods in response as the humanoid bird copies Celebes’s voice and says:

“I am alright. Good call on combining those two spells.”

Linn gives a thumbs as she comments:

“Thank goodness that I sent Ves away before things got hairy. I’d be depressed if anything happened to my beautiful girl.”

Twilight lets out a small cough before she replies:

“I’m ok,” The pony then looks around. “But, where are we?”

“Do you remember when I mentioned Dr Draedon’s lab, Twilight? The one that was positioned beneath The Crimson?”

“Oh, yes. It was when we fought The Perforators. You mentioned something about it being their birth place?”

Celebes nods in response as she looks around one last time and notices a nearby mechanical door. The Dryad looks at the door with an expression of recognition as she says:

“This is where Dr Draedon created that monstrosity; along with another creature: The Hivemind.”
> Chapter 105 - Dr Draedon's Log.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

Some time after escaping from Yharim’s underground kingdom, Snow continues to make his way towards an unknown location. At least, unknown to anyone else but him. The leopard/wolf entity soon reaches an inconspicuous cave upon which he enters the cave’s mouth and dives into its darkness.

Small droplets of water lands onto the cave floor from the ceiling all while Snow’s footsteps echoes throughout the cave. The flashing memories of these recent events haunted the werebeasts mind as he drew ever deeper into the abyss. From the moment he and Leinfors infiltrated Yharim’s troop’s ranks, reaching the armory, meeting Pinkamena, fighting The Storm King, and perhaps the worst memory of all: Cosmos killing his friend, Leinfors

He finally reaches a large chamber with what appeared to be a sort of platform, positioned in the chamber’s epicenter. Stepping onto the platform, the werebeast then bends a knee and lowers himself before placing his left hand onto the platform. This causes a vibrant blue aura to consume the platform which then consumes the werebeast hybrid. A fantastic showing of lights and magical energies illuminates the chamber before both Snow and the platform disappears; sizzling out of existence.





The same magical aura that consumed Snow’s form, in addition to the platform, was now reforming itself within an entirely separate cave network. The platform was the first to form into being before Snow himself momentarily follows suit; still positioned on top of the platform. Looking around, a smirk forms onto the werebeast hybrid’s face as he recognizes the symbols that were etched onto the chamber’s various surfaces.

“It’s good to be back,” Snow comments as the leopard/wolf humanoid starts to make his way towards the cave’s exit. With a saddened expression, he continues: “I’m so sorry, Leinfors. I owe you everything. If what we discussed is correct and with Draedon’s Log... and thanks to you, I can now cure my parents of The Astral Infection.”

Suddenly, Snow could see what seemed to be sunlight at the mouth of the cave which lifts his saddened features. Stepping into the light, Snow exits the cave and sighs in content as he notices a town that was positioned underground with an artificial sun beaming down.

“Seeing this place never gets old. I’m back, NEXUS.”





The hybrid werebeast scaled down a small cliff that the cave was positioned upon. Once he reached ground level, Snow immediately doubled his efforts and hastily reached the town.

As he drew near, various children were playing on the town’s outskirts by throwing a ball around. One of the children puts a little too much force into their throw as the ball flies over another child, who tried to catch it but was sadly unable to. The ball no doubt would have flown a fair distance away were it not for the fact that Snow lept high into the air and intercepted it. The werebeast catches the ball, lands back onto the earth, and says:

“Woah there, youngster. That’s a nice arm you’ve got but your accuracy and self control must be adjusted.”

“Snow!” The children exclaim in unison as they run up to the werebeast. They then begin to barrage him with questions and various comments while others start to play with his tail.

“Did you fight any monsters?!”

“Did you just get back from a mission?”

“Hey, don’t hog his tail!”

“It’s super fluffy!”

As Snow continued to interact with the children, two other individuals were starting to draw near; both being male terrarians. Taking notice of this, Snow calls out:

“Scott! Robin!”

“Snow! We sensed that the transport in the cave was activated.” Robin responds.

“Wait, where’s Leinfors?” Scott inquires but the saddened look that Snow gave him spoke volumes. Snow then lifts his right arm and says:

“Children, I have to get going,” The leopard/wolf entity then returns the ball to the very same child who overthrew it. “Keep working on your aim and self control, little one.”

“Sure will! Thanks again for catching it for us.” The child responds as they and the rest of the children runs off to return to their activities.

Both Scott and Robin were now positioned next to the werebeast hybrid as Snow comments:

“We must speak in private at once. I fear that dark times are ahead. But, before that… I want to see what’s truly on this log,” Snow then looks towards Robin and questions: “How are my parents doing?”

“The infection is still present, of course, but their minds remain stable. They’re lucky, Snow… not many can keep their sanity from the effects of The Astral Infection. Aside from them receiving some odd looks from some of the warriors, they’re doing fine.” Robin responds.

“Come on, let’s go to your place, Snow. Oh, and… Crystal is pissed… you have my sympathies.” Scott comments with a small snicker all while Robin does the same.

Snow was momentarily stopped dead in his tracks, along with reddened features, before he recovers and growls towards his two friends before saying:

“Sympathies my ass! You two will be laughing while she tears me a new one!”

“You got that right!” Robin replies as he and Scott start to laugh in tandem.





The trio were now walking through the underground settlement as various forms of activities were playing out all around them. Merchant stalls were selling produce, townsfolk were going about their own business all while guards were doing their rounds and patrolling the town; Snow and his two friends taking the time to nod to the guards who were also the town’s warriors.

They soon reached what was arguably one of the largest homes throughout the settlement as Snow gulps in horror, much to the entertainment of his two friends. Before he could even touch the door, the door opens up as Snow’s gaze now rests on a female entity. She was a species of werebeast much like him, composed mostly of a leopard with wolf-like features mixed in, especially when it came to their tails. Basically, she was the female counterpart to Snow.

“H-hey, Cry-”

“Don’t you ‘Hey Crystal’ me, Snow! Do you have any idea how worried I was when you just up and left for your little suicide mission?!” Crystal roars out. “You literally snuck into- mmmph!” Her words suddenly became muffled as Snow hurriedly covers her mouth with his right hand and says:

“Look, babe, can we discuss this inside? I don’t want to talk about it in public.”

As this is going on, both Scott and Robin were laughing so hard that they were forced to grab their stomach regions.

“You two aren’t spared either,” Crystal comments as she leans her head to the left side of Snow’s body, giving the two men the same glare that she gave Snow. “Inside the house, now.” The female werebeast hybrid then turns around as Snow glances back towards his two friends; with a smirk that spoke volumes of mockery.





Some time passes by and everyone was currently sitting around a table that was positioned within the home's living room. Snow had informed everyone of the events that transpired within Yharim’s kingdom, much to Crystal’s dismay and anger. They also took a moment to mourn the loss of their friend: Leinfors.

“Son of a bitch,” Scott comments in disbelief and anger. “You’re telling me that Yharim even managed to get the Kitsune Tyrant to join his side? She’s going to pay for what she did to the old man.”

“Yeah, I don’t know how that tyrant managed to get Cosmos to join him but she is indeed among his allies. Also, there was a pony.” Snow replies.

“A pony? But, I thought they were all gone when The Hallow disappeared?” Robin inquires.

“That’s just it. Apparently, she and a handful of other ponies-along with a zebra-came from a whole other world, another reality. I don’t know why she was there but I could just sense that she was forced to stay behind.”

“Hey, um, Snow?” Crystal questions with a reddened face.

“What’s going on with you, Crysi? Your face is as red as the day you and I became a couple.” Snow comments.

“Well… was she, um, cute? I’ve always heard of ponies but I’ve never seen one in person.” Crystal says which causes everyone else present to stare at her momentarily before bursting out into a series of laughter. Snow recovers from his laughter as he finally replies:

“It’s difficult to explain, crysi. On one hand, I suppose she was cute being a pony and all but on the other, well, she was a bit… dark?”

“Dark?” Scott questions as he then chuckles to himself. “It’s hard for me to ever imagine a pony being ‘Dark’. Always thought of them being all sunshine and rainbows.”

“If you met this one, you’d change that outlook all together. Nothing was ‘Sunshine and rainbows’ about her at all. As for you, Crysi, I’m sorry but she’d probably never be open to hugging anyone,” Snow then sighs before he takes on a serious expression. “That’s enough of that for now. I want to see what’s on this log.”

Upon saying those words, the aforementioned object is suddenly brought into being as Snow brings it out of his inventory. The werebeast then places the log onto the table as everyone observes the strange mechanical object.

“Please, don’t let Leinfors’s sacrifice be in vain… please let this work,” Snow comments as he presses a large blue button that was prominent on the device. The object starts to glow with a light blue aura before a holographic depiction of the device’s creator shoots up and hovers above the object.







This is Dr Draedon. As a note to myself, I am recording my findings via these logs as to have an appropriate precaution to fall back upon and to review my notes.

Commencing audio recording of log…

Audio recording, ready.

Log designation: The Devourer Of Gods.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when Yharim showed that thing to me. From what he revealed, the former guardian put up a lot of resistance at first but over time, Yharim managed to make it more obedient, more loyal. The means of this is thanks to the armor that the Devourer Of Gods has currently donned upon its form. In the Time Of The Ancients, it was once a powerful deity that was the protector of all life and capable of performing incredible feats of magic. Yharim informed me that the entity is even capable of removing curses and healing any type of infection. In addition, it was the third sibling of The Equinox Worms: Daybringer and Nightcrawler. On a side note, it’s funny just how many beings in our world are capable of controlling night and day, but I digress.

If Daybringer and Nightcrawler were the harbingers of day and night-an obvious assessment given their names-then The Devourer Of Gods would be the light from the sky between full night and sunrise or between sunset and full night. Appropriate, given the entity’s former name:

Twilight Sparkle.







The hologram then fades from existence as the log comes to an end. Snow, Crystal, Scott, and Robin were simply left in shock and awe. However, Snow stands up from his seat with a determined expression as he declares:

"It's settled then. I will find a way to free The Devourer Of Gods- no, calling it that would be an insult. I will find a way to free you and ask you to cure my parents... Twilight Sparkle."
> Chapter 106 - Old Habits Die Hard.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

The sun continued to beam down upon the world of Terraria as Pinkamena was currently making her way towards a large city in the distance. She then recalls and ponders on Yharim’s words as she says:

“What the buck did he mean by ‘Calamitas is already there and waiting for me.’?” Suddenly, the pony could hear the clopping of whooves and the wheels of a wagon coming up behind her. The sounds suddenly stops, to which the dark pink pony turns her head around and notices two male terrarians who were positioned at the helm of the wagon, which was being pulled by a duo of horses.

“Excuse us, pony. But, are you in fact, well… the real deal?” One of the individuals inquires.

“Want me to take a shit on your wagon to prove how real I am?” Pinkamena responds with irritation as she recognizes this duo.

“Oh, she’s rather rude. Wouldn’t you say, dear brother of mine?”

“Why yes, dear brother of mine. Perhaps she’d show us more respect if she knew who we were?”

“I already know you, idiots. The Flim-Flam brothers. Now beat it, I’m busy right now.” Pinkamena responds as she continues to make her way down the dirt road and onto her main objective: Camelot. The dark pink mare could hear the two brothers dismount from their wagon as they then started to draw near.

“Well then, I think we can just skip the charades. Eh, dear brother of mine?” Flim questions with a sinister smile.

“Why yes, dear brother of mine. I think she’d sell for a handsome amount.” Flam replies as the two brothers conjure forth a series of melee weapons, specifically: Silver Shortswords.

As this is going on, Pinkamena simply stops her movement and flickers her ears about as she continues to face towards Camelot. The dark pink pony was very tempted to kill the two terrarians, who were now drawing ever closer from behind. In fact, she was mere seconds away from conjuring forth her Vampire Knives and butchering the duo right then and there; leaving their mangled remains on the dirt road for someone else to find.

-Of bucking course… I offer to let them go and it turns out they planned to capture me from the very start, just for being a pony. To sell me off like some object, judging by that idiot’s words-

Suddenly, a sinister smile forms onto the dark pink pony’s face as she says internally:

-You dumbasses want a pony? Oh, I’ll give you two a pony. Yharim already treats me like an object and if you two dumbasses think I’ll let you do the same to me, you’re dead wrong. However, I’ll take a page from Yharim and use you two to get me into that city-

The brothers were now mere moments from being able to grab the pony as she mutters one final thing:

“Yes, once your usefulness has expired… I’ll show you two what happened to the Flim-Flam brothers in my universe. In the GrimDark.”

“You’re coming with us, pony.” Flim comments as he points the blade towards Pinkamena, who in turn was still looking away from the duo with a devilish smile.

“She’d undoubtedly sell for so much money, dear brother of mine. We’d probably even get fifty platinum pieces for her. Ponies are incredibly rare nowadays.” Flam responds while imitating his brother’s actions and aiming his own blade towards Pinkamena.

Finally, the dark pink mare turns around and puts on an act so believable that even Princess Celestia herself would be drawn into the absolute cuteness that was radiating from Pinkamena.

“P-please, don’t hurt me. I was o-only being mean to scare you two away. P-please, I’m d-defenceless…” Pinkamena comments with false tears strolling down her face.

“Too bad, pony. You’re nothing but our retirement funds now.” Flam comments.

“Now then, be a good little pink pony and get your flank into the wagon,” Flim orders as he brings the edge of the blade to Pinkamena’s neck. “Move it!”

“Y-yes… please, don’t hurt me.” Pinkamena ‘pleads’.

“Do as we say and the worse that could happen to you is that you end up with a master who’ll turn you into glue. Oops, well, I never said that we’d do anything to ya. Aside from selling your sorry ass, that is,” Flam states as the two brothers forcefully guide the dark pink mare towards the back of the wagon. Flim opens the door for his brother and their ‘prisoner’ which in turn causes Flam to say:

“Get in.”

“O-ok, but p-please, won’t you just let me-”

“I said get in! What are ya, a pony or a donkey? Idiot,” Flam interjects in a mocking tone as he cuts off Pinkamena’s words. He then turns towards his brother and continues: “I’ll keep our little friend here quiet while you drive us to the warehouse. Thanks to our ‘totally legit’ business history, no one should question us.” Flam says as he forces Pinkamena into the cart and follows her inside.

“Sounds good to me dear brother of mine,” Flim replies enthusiastically as he closes the door to the cart behind them and heads back to the helm, yelling out: “Yah!” This causes the two horses to neigh in response as they continue to pull the cart towards Camelot.





-TERRARIA, CAMELOT- 

After speaking with the guards who were stationed at the gates to the city, Flim was currently beaming a bright smile and waved to bypassers as he guided his wagon through the active capital of Camelot. Children were playing on the stone paved streets while merchants were exclaiming their goods to potential customers.

Various groups and individuals were going about their own business as they wore weapons and armor proudly. This was to be expected as Flim was now passing by various guilds and organizations. Among them was one that was all too familiar: The Order Of The Guide.

Some time passes by as Flim guides the wagon down towards the docks. Thanks to Camelot’s current location, a river system was located just behind the city which in turn gave them access to the sea. This was perfect for trade purposes in addition to various forms of sea travel, for any and all reasons.

The wagon was now drawing near a large warehouse all while Flim greeted local fishermen and momentarily socialized with familiar clients. One in particular even thanked Flim, in a hushed tone, for their recent transaction which involved the accumulation of slaves. Despite Camelot being a city of peace and light, it also possessed its fair share of darkness which lurked within the bowels of the capital and hidden among the populace.

Finally reaching his destination, Flim dismounts the helm of the wagon and runs over to a duo of large metallic doors which in turn acts as the entrance to the large warehouse. He parts the doors wide open and looks around one last time in order to check if the coast was clear. He then practically hops over to the wagon’s helm and beckons the two horses to pull the wagon inside, all while singing a small tune:

“We’re going to be rich,
That pony was a bitch,
But now my brother has her by the neck,
And soon she’ll be the key to our retirement.”

Entering the warehouse, Flim once again dismounts the wagon and goes to close the two large metallic doors, locking them as a result. He then enthusiastically hops over to the back of the wagon and open the door while saying:

“Weeeee’re here! Are you ready… t-to… be,” Flim’s eyes were widened in horror as Pinkamena glares at him from within the wagon. However, it wasn’t just her infuriated expression that shocked him. No, it was the blood covered insides of the wagon along with dismembered remains of what was once his own brother, Flam.

“Wh… how… w-when d-did you-”

“Awww, is poor little Flim worried about what happened to his brother? Well, how about we ask him?” Pinkamena interjects as she cuts off Flim’s words, whose face was still etched entirely of shock and fear. What scares Flim even further and almost causes him to puke in response was what Pinkamena now had in her left hoof: Flam’s dismembered head.

“Hey Flam, tell your brother how you feel right now.” Pinkamena inquires as she then deepens her voice and pretends to be Flam, replying to herself by moving his mouth in the process.

“Don’t you worry about little old me, dear brother of mine. See? I’m doing just fine. I was just having a nice little chat with Pinkamena, but I got… ‘a-head’ of myself.”

“Badum-tish.” Pinkamena comments as she then throws Flam’s head at Flim; hitting the brother in the process as the dismembered head then falls to the ground. Flim was absolutely stunned in fear and with tears starting to roll down his face. One would think that the remaining brother should be running away or even calling for help. However, seeing his brother’s dismembered head; in addition to the gory scene that was inside of the wagon, was enough to shut down any form of competent thought. The terrarian simply faints in response to which Pinkamena smirks and says:

“You and I are going to have a lot of fun, Flim. Now then, I believe that your warehouse could use: A cellar.”





“Wha… where am I?” Flim inquires groggily as he slowly starts to come to. “I had a terrible-” Suddenly, his eyes widened when he saw… her.

“Oh! You’re finally awake. You know, I was going to install a cellar for this place but it looks like you two already had one. Good foresight on your part,” Pinkamena responds as she then picks up a knife that was positioned on the table that she was currently sat upon. “And all too convenient for me.”

Flim took a moment to truly take in his surroundings and just as the dark pink pony had mentioned, he was indeed within the warehouse’s cellar. In addition, he was currently restrained against a metallic table which was currently lifted against the wall. This scene was all too familiar to Pinkamena as she comments in a dark tone:

“You know, this isn’t the first time that I’ve seen this very same scenario play out. Having one of my victims restrained against their will, watching them quake in fear and even questioning if this is even real. Let me just say: It’s real, it’s all too real. Isn’t that right, Flam?” Pinkamena inquires as she turns her gaze towards the dismembered head of the terrarian.

“P-please! Let me go! I won’t tell anyone!” Flim pleads with tears going down his face.

“By the Light Goddess, you have no idea how nostalgic this entire situation is. If I had a bit, or in this world’s case, copper, for every time I heard that line, I’d be the richest pony in the multiverse.” Pinkamena then gets off of her seat with her knife still in hand.

As she continued to draw near, Flim was now shaking uncontrollably and even urinated on himself as his gray long pants were suddenly becoming wet in his crotch area. Pinkamena simply chuckles in response before she says:

“I must congratulate you though, because you get to be my first terrarian! No, not the first one to kill, but for something else,” The dark pink pony now stands before Flim as she comments: “Tell me, how do you feel about… cupcakes?”

The terrarian’s eyes were widened even further upon hearing those words, and understanding her meaning, as he then started to scream for dear life. Of course, no one would ever hear him scream at all… the pony made sure of that.
> Chapter 107 - Unveiling.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON-

The group was currently making their way through a large chamber that was chaotically formatted in a way that would make even Discord feel right at home. The sounds of grunting and various exclamations echoes throughout the depths of The Dungeon as everyone was currently fighting undead monstrosities and avoiding death inducing traps.

“This place is simply just horrid!” Rarity roars out as the unicorn teleports away in an effort to avoid a flame wheel that somehow managed to travel on any surface. “Now I understand what you meant by us being safe within those cells, Steven.”

“Those cells are indeed the safest place to be in this horrible dungeon!” Steven shouts as The Clothier avoids a dark-blue magical projectile from a skeletal mage. He was about to retaliate, but Shadow Thunder appears from within the skeletal mage’s shadow and cuts down their foe with a blade composed entirely of darkness. Shadow Thunder then slips back into a ball of shadows as he traverses within the walls of The Dungeon; on route to a certain unicorn mare: Starlight Glimmer.

“Steven, you used to be a sort of master of this place,” Katelyn The Mechanic comments as she and Gorglock, The Goblin Tinkerer, were currently trying to traverse over a spike pit via their grappling hooks. “Why the hell did you create so many of these traps?!”

“This was Skeletron’s doing, not mine!” Steven responds as he was currently engaged in combat with skeletal undead.

……….

Both Fluttershy and her miniature slime god companions were currently contending with flying skulls that could literally phase through any surface of The Dungeon. Crimulan stood by Fluttershy’s side in order to protect her while Ebonian went forth to combat any and all of their encroaching enemies. In addition, Fluttershy conjured forth her new ranged weapon: Overloaded Blaster, and unleashed an ever consuming wave of slime ooze which acidically burnt away any foe that the substance made contact with. Suddenly, a skeletal mage teleports behind Fluttershy and is about to fire off a blue blast of energy before Crimulan leaps forth and actually consumes them whole, letting out a small burp afterwards.

……….

“Rah!” Starlight roars out as she blasts away a skeletal entity who tried to slice at her with a rusted iron broadsword. Suddenly, a trio of skeletal mages teleports all around the unicorn mare and fires off a series of dark-blue magical projectiles. In response, Starlight enacts a barrier which effectively protects her from the attacks. She was about to fire off her newly acquired spell book: The Book Of Skulls, but much like what happened with Steven, Shadow Thunder suddenly appears out of the darkness and conjures forth a series of dark tendrils which effortlessly tears apart the skeletal mages.

“I guess that’s two for me now, beautiful.” Shadow Thunder comments with a wink.

“Stop calling me beautiful…” Starlight mutters with a small hint of annoyance. Suddenly, she takes notice of a skull that possessed the ability to phase through any surface, which was currently about to attack Shadow Thunder from behind. Starlight fires up her horn and teleports behind Shadow Thunder, intercepting the skull entity. She then fires off a flaming skull in response from her spell book which collides with the other skull and explodes on impact. Noticing this, the dark pegasus smirks as he comments:

“I guess that’s a save for you, beauti-”

“Just, please… stop that,” Starlight interjects which catches Shadow Thunder by surprise. “You’re a nice stallion and I owe you for saving my life, but, just stop calling me that,” She then takes a deep breath before she continues: “Come on, we’ve still got some undead to deal with and the others could use our help.” The unicorn mare then teleports away; leaving behind the dark pegasus who comments: “Starlight… I know why you keep pushing me away.”




FLASHBACK:

-CANDY CANE CORNER-

“Hey, uh, Twilight?”

“Yes, Shadow Thunder?”

“Do you have a moment before we all head our separate ways?”

“Sure! What’s on your mind? Oh! Did you want to know more about the ponies from our world?”

Shadow Thunder lets out a small chuckle before saying:

“In a manner of speaking. You see, it’s about Starlight,” Shadow’s words causes Twilight to tilt her head sideways in confusion which prompts him to continue: “Is there something that’s bothering her? Every time we talk, I can see that she’s very happy and enjoys all of my stories about The Hallow but whenever I ask her about her past, she suddenly, how can I put this... changes?”

As if catching onto his meaning, Twilight’s ears flops downwards as she responds in a sorrowful tone:

“She hasn’t truly forgiven herself for what she’s done in the past. She thinks that she’s undeserving of any form of happiness. I mean, sure, she’ll make new friends and what not. But, anything beyond that just makes her push them away; especially when ponies ask her about her past.”

“I didn’t insult her in any way, did I? Like I said before, I sometimes ask her about her past but once I see that change in her mood, I try to derail the subject. I’m not trying to pry her for it, not at all, it’s just that I enjoy talking to her that I want to know more about her.”

“Don’t worry, Shadow. I doubt very highly that Starlight was insulted by you in any way. In fact, you’re probably the first stallion she’s ever been close to. Sure, there’s Sunburst, but they’re more like siblings.”

“Wait, what?”

“Didn’t you notice something about us?” Twilight inquires which causes Shadow to wait for her to continue. “Most of her friends are all mares. And the only males that she is friends with happen to be other species like Thorax, Discord, and even my son, Spike.”

“You have a son?!” Shadow Thunder exclaims in shock which causes Twilight’s face to go red.

“Oh, no! Well, not an actual son that I gave birth to! I was the one who hatched and raised him,” Twilight says proudly before she then takes on a saddened expression and says: “My only regret is that I didn’t tell him that, enough. It took some monster from another world for us to reveal our true feelings. Granted, we’ve always sort of known, but to hear the words themselves was all the better,” Twilight then laughs sheepishly before she continues: “I’m just rambling now. The point is, I suspect that Starlight rejects stallions who try to get close to her simply because she doesn’t want it to turn into something more. It’s complicated...”

Shadow Thunder was now even more confused while also slightly understanding the unicorn mare’s intentions.

“So, If I understand you correctly, she’s basically punishing herself? But, that’s not right, nopony should cut themselves off like that.”

“I know,” Twilight comments with a saddened expression. “I don’t entirely understand it myself, and she’s my own student! What kind of teacher am I to have failed her like that?” Twilight inquires rhetorically as the two ponies sit momentarily in silence.

Suddenly, Twilight gets an epiphany as her expression lifts itself while she says:

“I’ve got it!” Shadow Thunder looks at her quizzically which prompts her to continue: “Shadow Thunder, I’d like to make a request of you.”

“Hmm? A request?”

“Yuup! I would like for you to bring Starlight out of her shell.”

Shadow Thunder’s face goes absolutely red in response as he waves his forehooves around frantically and says:

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, w-what are you getting at?”

“Oh come on, me and my friends see how much you two enjoy talking to each other.” Twilight responds as she wiggles her brows.

“B-but, I-I m-mean...” Shadow Thunder studders before the pegasus then sighs in an effort to recover his composure. He then lets out a chuckle before saying: “You’re right, I enjoy her company more than I’d like to admit out loud,” He suddenly falls under a trance as he goes on to say: “That beautiful light-purple mane of hers…”

“Shadow Thunder.” Twilight comments.

“...those eyes…” Shadow Thunder compliments as he seems to be unintentionally ignoring the lavender mare’s words.

“Hello?” Twilight inquires while she waves her left front hoof in front of him.

“...she’s easily the most beautiful mare I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Shadow Thunder!” Twilight exclaims as she finally manages to break him out of his trance, to which he says:

“Wait, who? What?” Twilight simply giggles in response before she says:

“You were daydreaming about Starlight just now.”

“Ehehe, um... my bad?” the dark pegasus replies as he laughs nervously.

END OF FLASHBACK




After recalling those past events, Shadow Thunder shakes his head from left to right before saying:

“Come on, Shadow. You can think about that stuff later on.” The dark pony then disappears within his own darkness and goes to reunite with the others.

As this was going on, Loganic made it seem as if he disappeared during the fighting but was in fact watching these events play out from his pocket dimension, which happened to be the same one that he dragged The Bandit into. A mystical orb shaped object was floating in front of him as he watched everyone continue their struggle within The Dungeon.

“I think it’s time to end this little game of ours,” Loganic comments as he snaps his fingers which causes the orb he was watching the events play out on to focus on a certain individual: Fluttershy. “In mere moments, you and The Slime Gods will be mine.”





“There’s too many of them!” Katelyn The Mechanic roars out as everyone was currently gathered together back to back; fighting off the various undead forces that closed in upon them.

“Something seems off,” Steven comments as he fires a pistol that was given to him by The Arms Dealer. “These undead are reforming themselves way too quickly.”

“What do you mean, darling?” Rarity inquires as she fires off various spells and even conjures forth a small skeletal ally to assist the group via its appropriate staff: Staff Of Necrosteocytes.

“I can’t explain it, dear Rarity,” Steven responds. “But something seems to be aggravating them even more than-”

“Here I come to save the day, mortals!” A familiar voice interjects as it echoes throughout the depths of The Dungeon.

“Wait a second… is that, Loganic?” Gorglock inquires.

“It certainly sounds like him,” Katelyn responds.

Both Shadow Thunder and Starlight Glimmer were at first happy to hear Loganic’s voice, however, that soon turned into a mixture of concern and foreboding.

“You feeling what I’m feeling?” Starlight inquires as she turns towards the dark pegasus.

“Yeah… I don’t like this one bit.” Shadow Thunder responds.

In a powerful display, all of the undead in the large chamber suddenly starts to erupt as their bones falls to the floors of The Dungeon. However, Steven’s eyes were widened in horrific realization when he sees what happens next: All of the blue candles that were present throughout The Dungeon were now put out by a mysterious force, to which he comments:

“No… you son of a bitch!”

“My word, Steven!” Rarity exclaims in shock. “Such foul language-”

“I see you’ve figured it out, old man,” Loganic’s echoing voice responds as the ‘terrarian’ himself starts to come into being and floats above them all. “Didn’t you find it strange that there was suddenly a bunch of blue candles littering The Dungeon?”

“I was a fool, I thought that they were always here when we first entered The Dungeon.” Steven comments with a hint of frustration.

“Wait a second,” Starlight comments. “You mean all of those blue candles affected the undead?!”

“Ding ding ding, my little pony,” Loganic responds happily as the ‘terrarian’ lowers himself to the floor and now stands before them. He then conjures forth a small number of the candles and floats them before him.



“These are candles that were created from the undead scourge itself: Polterghast. And yes, it reeeeeally pisses the undead off.”
> Chapter 108 - Call Of The Slime Gods.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON-

Shock and awe was currently present upon the faces of everyone present all while Loganic continues to look at them with a condescending smirk. 

“You foul brute! You deceived us!” Rarity roars out as she stares daggers towards Loganic.

Steven then comes to yet another realization as he comments:

“Let me guess, your so-called ‘friend’ doesn’t even exist?!”

“I’ve got to give you credit for my start, old man. You’re a perceptive one and you’re right, I don’t have any friends amongst you mortals. I suppose I should have also taken you out of the picture like I did to Tempest.”

“That was your doing?!” Starlight exclaims.

“Well, duh! Rogue types like her were always an intelligent bunch. I would’ve been exposed by her if I were to let her be, not like it would’ve mattered.” Loganic responds.

“Enough with your games!” Shadow Thunder shouts. “Tell us who you really are, demon!”

“Demon? Well, I can see how you’d perceive me as such.” Loganic then starts to laugh as a multicolored aura starts to consume his very being. Much like what had happened with Tempest, Loganic’s form started to elongate within the aura and soon enough, the aura dissipates which results in a large serpentine-like entity whose body was long enough to curl around the entire chamber. Various gems were adorned upon the entity and were it not for the fact that this being was currently their opponent, Rarity would have been drawn to their beauty. 

Towering over the group like a snake ready to lunge itself at its prey, the entity chuckles once more before saying:

“I am: Greed, a god from the Time Of The Ancients. And by that right, your asses belong to me.”

Everyone present takes on a combative stance which causes Greed to laugh in response as his serpentine head was thrown back in a fit of laughter.

“What are you lot doing? Do you really think you can fight a god? I am beyond your strength, mortals.” Greed antagonizes.

“Why are you doing this?!” Fluttershy inquires in exclamation which catches Greed’s attention. “Why do you have to be this way? Shouldn’t gods want to protect mortals like us? To protect the-”

“And here we go again,” Greed interjects with disgust. “I can’t physically throw up in my mouth, but good grief, that line always makes me want to puke,” In one swift motion and a thrust from his serpentine form, Greed’s face was now mere inches away from the shy pegasus. “You silly little mortals and your stupid habit of applying your own perception upon beings who are beyond your understanding. Here’s a hint: Not all gods are what you’d call ‘nice’. I’m the embodiment of greed! I take whatever I want! I drink your milkshakes and I don’t give a fuck!”

Suddenly, both of Fluttershy’s miniature slime god companions were now starting to enlarge themselves all while a powerful red and purple aura surrounds the aforementioned entities.

“You will not harm our beloved core, Greed!” Crimulan roars out.

“Go back to your little hole, worm!” Ebonian exclaims as the two Slime Gods prepare for battle.  

“And there you are, my little Slime Gods. Now then, since we all got to know each other, you’re both coming with me,” Greed then turns his gaze towards Fluttershy. “That includes you too, of course.”

“Goddess Fluttershy,” Crimulan comments. “You and your allies must retreat, this is not a fight that any of you are prepared for.”

“B-but, I can’t just-”

“You are not leaving us behind, beloved core,” Ebonian says in a soothing voice as the entity puts a tendril onto the shy pegasus’s head, patting her in a loving gesture. “We do this because we want to. We want you to live on, think of us as parents who wish to see their child continue to live. You are our core and possess our authority, and our might. Please continue to lead the slimes to further glory in our absence.”



“Eugh! Gag me, sentimental bullshit.” Greed comments as he places the tip of his tail near his mouth, in a gagging gesture.

“No!” Fluttershy roars out towards The Slime Gods with tears starting to form in her eyes. “I will not leave you two behind! Please, don’t make me do this! I c-can’t… let… you…” The shy mare’s words were slowly starting to die down as a light purple aura surrounds the yellow pegasus’s form. She then falls unconscious but is caught by that same aura, which gently places her onto The Dungeon’s floor.

Aside from The Slime Gods and Greed, everyone turns towards the source of the magical aura: Starlight Glimmer. 

“The Slime Gods are right, everyone,” Starlight comments with a determined expression. “We need to escape while we still can.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Katelyn The Mechanic exclaims in response. “You mean we came all the way down here just to be run off by something that claims to be a god?!”

“No, Starlight is right,” Shadow Thunder responds. “We can’t fight this thing and trust me when I say that it’s not joking about being a god.”

“How could you possibly know that?!” Katelyn roars out in response. As this goes on, both The Slime Gods and Greed are moments away from combating each other.

“I know because of all the time I spent with Harmony! The Empress Of Light!” Shadow Thunder exclaims in response. “I could always sense her power that she keeps locked up inside,” The dark pegasus then turns his gaze towards Greed. “And what I’m sensing from him, nearly rivals her strength.”

Everyone was simply shocked by this revelation as Katelyn’s eyes were widened in horrific realization. Steven in particular then sighs in defeat as he comments:

“He’s right, everyone. This isn’t like our battle with Skeletron, we actually had a chance at defeating him,” Steven then turns his gaze towards the battle that was now seconds away from commencing. “The Slime Gods understands the situation. They are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to allow us to escape... we do not stand a chance against him.”

……….

“Let’s get dangerous!” Greed roars out as the entity lunges forth in order to bite down upon Crimulan. The slime entity manages to dodge in time only for Ebonian to follow up with a counterattack by body slamming into Greed’s head which manages to push him back, but only slightly.

“You know, for something made of a gelatinous form, it’s amazing how you two can do physical attacks at all. Then again, we’re all gods here,” Greed comments as the entity prepares to bat away Ebonian with his tail. “Let me show you real physical might! Batter up!”

[WHOOM]

[CRASH]

“Graugh!” Ebonian cries out as the slime entity is batted away by the powerful force of Greed’s tail, sending the slime god hurling into a nearby wall of the large chamber. In retaliation, Crimulan leaps forth with all the slime god’s might as the red slime entity lands yet another body slam against the serpentine entity’s head. However, Greed simply laughs as he says:

“Predictable,” The God Of Greed then prepares to slam his head against the slime entity in retaliation before he comments: “Show me something new, slime god!”

[WHAM]

Crimulan lets out a deafening roar as the slime entity is sent hurling backwards from Greed’s attack.

“Come on, is this the best that The Slime Gods can do? Body slamming yourselves against me? Seriously?” Suddenly, a large gathering of powerful energy starts to form inside of Greed’s mouth. However, a powerful purple blast connects with the serpent’s head which causes it to rapidly fly sideways forcefully, which also causes the energy Greed was gathering to dissipate. 

Ebonian is revealed to be the source of the blast as the slime entity recovers from Greed’s earlier attack and saves Crimulan by its intervention. Now, both slime entities stand side by side as Greed recovers from Ebonian’s attack.

“Good to see that you two are changing things up a bit. It’ll make capturing you all the more satisfying! Oh, and when I’m done with you,” Greed comments as he turns his gaze towards the unconscious Fluttershy. “I’m going to enjoy gobbling up your precious core over there.” The serpent then licks its lips in anticipation.

“Please, you all must take Fluttershy and go!” Crimulan roars out as both the red slime entity and Ebonian starts to gather a powerful red and purple aura around them. Then, in tandem with each other, they unleash a combined energy blast of red and purple coloration. 

Greed braces himself for the blast as the serpentine entity rears up in response and says:

“This is meaningless! No matter what you do, I will capture your core!” 

[SHWOOM]

The combined blast of crimulan and Ebonian finally makes contact with Greed as they manage to slowly force the serpent backwards. However, he simply laughs as he takes the full force of their blast; to which he mocks:

“Go on! Give it your all because once you tire yourselves, you’re mine!”

“Leave us! Take Fluttershy and be gone from this place! We will keep Greed at bay for as long as we can!” Ebonian exclaims as the slime entity’s words are aimed towards the group, all of whom were frozen in shock as they were entranced by this battle of gods. Steven is the first to snap out of it as he shouts:

“Rarity! Get that mirror of yours out and take us back to the entrance!” The unicorn then snaps out of her shocked state as she nods her head in response and conjures forth The Ice Mirror. 

“Right then, darlings. Let us be off!” She then turns towards The Slime Gods and says: “Both of you are absolutely beautiful creatures, darlings. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Fluttershy.” Activating the mirror, Rarity wisps them all away in a beam of light mixed with ice; leaving behind only The Slime Gods, who in turn are relentlessly unleashing their blast against Greed.

“You think they can escape me?! Once I’ve captured you, Slime Gods, I will hunt down your core to the ends of Terraria!”

“No! You will not!” The Slime Gods roar out in unison. “Now that the others are safely away from us, we shall make good on our promise and keep you here!” Suddenly, the blast that was unleashed from The Slime Gods dissipates which in turn stops Greed from being pushed backwards.

“Are you two done yet? Did you let it all out of your systems?” Greed inquires in a mocking fashion as the serpent then prepares to lunge itself forward. “In that case, it’s time to claim what’s rightfully mine!” Greed then starts to slither towards the slime duo as he bears his teeth in anticipation.

The world slows down for the slime entities, all while Greed continues to slither towards them, as they surround themselves in a powerful red and purple aura. Then, the two slime entities starts to hover in the air as the say in unison:

“We know that you are more powerful than us, God Of Greed. However, we will keep you here until our core and her friends become strong enough to destroy you!”

Greed was now mere moments away from biting into the slime duo. However, he was suddenly repelled by the aura that was emanating from The Slime Gods, which caused him to form an inquisitive expression.

“What is happening?! What are you two doing?!” Greed demanded.

“We Slime Gods shall use all of our kind’s power to keep you trapped here! This dungeon shall be a fitting place to cage you!”

“Cage me?! You clearly jest, Slime God-” Suddenly, Greed’s words were cut off and his eyes were widened in realization as he says internally: 

-Wait, how is this possible?! Whatever they’re doing, it’s getting stronger by the second!-

Then, Greed finally realizes what was happening as he sees a multicolored stream of energy being channeled into The Slime Gods, phasing down through the roof of the large chamber their battle was taking place in. He then recalls what the slime deities had said mere moments before performing their current action.



We Slime Gods shall use all of our kind’s power to keep you trapped here!



“No… you’re channeling power from slimes?!” Greed roars out in disbelief.

“Yes, God Of Greed. We are calling forth the power of our children, from across the entire world!”





-THE ENTIRE WORLD OF TERRARIA-

Every single landscape and kingdom bared witness to the near endless numbers of energy that were traveling through the skies. Slimes from across the planet were channeling their aura towards the two beings who were, by all rights, their parents. Their creators: Crimulan and Ebonian. 

……….

Unknown Jungle Biome:

“Queen 626!” A hornet exclaims as the entity flies into a large honeycombed chamber.

“Report, my child.” 626 responds as the large Queen Bee turns her gaze away from tending to her young.

“Great mother, there is a mysterious phenomenon taking place outside of the hive. A rainbow colored stream of energy is traveling towards the north.”

Queen 626 ponders on this for a moment before saying:

“I shall step outside at once to see this for myself. Make sure that all of my children are safe within the hive and have my warriors ready for anything.”

“Yes, my Queen.” The hornet responds as they lower themselves towards the honeycomb flooring.

Queen 626 was now mere moments away from exiting her hive all while many of her warriors and children followed her from behind. Upon exiting the honeycomb structure, their eyes immediately were drawn towards the phenomenon as Queen 626 says:

“I remember this power, it’s from that yellow pony.”  

……….

NEXUS:

“Snow! You’ve got to come topside and see this! Crystal, Scott, and Robin are already up there!” A guard exclaims from outside Snow’s house as he catches the attention of the leopard/wolf hybrid.

“This had better be good. I’m in the middle of trying to see if I can get more out of Dr Draedon’s log.” Snow replies as he gets up from his seat and follows the guard, closing the door to the house behind him with his tail. 

From what Snow could tell, many of the people of NEXUS were making their way towards the surface as they were all wanting to see the grand phenomenon that was taking place. A large cave played as the entrance to their underground sanctuary as Snow followed his fellow denizens of NEXUS to the outside world.

Finally reaching the surface, Snow spots his two friends and lover standing side by side as they stare off into the sunny skies. The werebeast hybrid was about to question them, that is until he too saw the beautiful display of rainbow like energy that was dancing through the skies.

……….

Surface level, Above Yharim’s Kingdom: 

Sat upon the back of his faithful dragon, Yharon, Yharim watches the phenomenon take place as The Jungle Tyrant immediately recognizes this event.

“It’s been a long time since The Slime Gods enacted this action.” Yharim comments.

“What shall we do, my master?” Yharon inquires.

“Let’s just watch the light show, Yharon. It’s a nice distraction from the calamity that shall soon ensue at the capital. Speaking of which, Pinkamena should be on her way to meet up with Calamitas.” 

……….

Camelot:

“Look at that!”

“What’s going on?!”

“Look mommy, it’s a rainbow!”

“Whoa, I’m sensing a lot of magical energy coming from that!”

“Someone get Princess Cadence, she’s going to want to see this!”

Among the many bystanders who witnessed the event, a certain dark pink pony was looking up towards the sky as she says:

“I recognize this power, it’s what Fluttershy used in The Crimson.”

……….

The Desert Biome, outside of The Pyramid:

King Amidias’s people were currently entranced by the grand event that was taking place high above the scorching desert. Due to The King, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Sai Sahan, Terralestia, Tanner The Guide and Jeremy The Angler still being inside of The Pyramid, they would sadly miss this event but Amidias’s people would have quite the story to tell when they eventually exit the ancient structure.

……….

 The Jungle Biome, Zecora’s Home:

Zecora and Gex were currently looking out of the window of the zebra’s home with shocked expressions as the duo then turned towards each other.

“It would seem that our friends have called upon the aid of The Slime Gods.” Gex comments.

“This is most worrisome to me, perhaps we should go to Home Town and check on their well being.”

……….

Home Town:

Everyone who was left in Home Town was gazing up towards the sky in wonder. However, this soon turned into concern once they realized where the energy was headed: The Dungeon.

“You think everyone’s going to be okay?” Ritsu The Zoologist inquires.

“I’m worried about them. But, I also know that they can handle themselves.” Helena The Nurse responds.

“Judging by that aura, I’d say that The Slime Gods are involved.” Ceeman The Arms Dealer comments.

……….

The Dungeon Entrance: 

Pinkie Pie, Candy The Party Girl and Magius The Wizard, all while Tempest still remained unconscious, were currently in absolute disbelief as they watch this mysterious surge of multicolored energy literally phase itself into the floor of The Dungeon.

“Ooooh, Rainbow Dash’s sonic-rainboom is nowhere near as incredible as this!” Pinkie Pie comments enthusiastically.

“I kind of want to eat a bag of skittles now…” Candy comments with drool starting to form on the edge of her mouth.

“I’m worried for our friends down below. Perhaps I should teleport-” Suddenly, Magius’s words were cut off as a beam of light mixed with ice forms in front of them as everyone from within The Dungeon appears moments after.

Before Magius could say anything, Rarity is quick to interject as she says:

“Grab Tempest and let’s get out of here, darlings!”





“You will not hold me forever! Do you hear me?!” greed roars out in defiance.

“By the call of The Slime Gods, we call to you all, our children who have grown before our eyes, our beloved creations who's spread far and wide, hear the call of Crimulan and Ebonian, we cast this binding spell upon thee, now be shackled to The Dungeon, God Of Greed!”

“Nooooooo! I will escape from this place one day and when I do, forget about adding you all to my hoard, I’ll rip your core to pieces!”

Greed’s words were simply ignored by the slime deities as they enacted their powerful spell and practically enlightened the entire depths of The Dungeon in a bright series of multicolored lighting. In a sort of pulse, a powerful rainbow colored barrier starts to erect itself completely around The Dungeon, starting from the large chamber that the duo were currently positioned in, along with Greed.

If one were to observe this phenomenon, The Dungeon was now covered in a large rainbow colored dome, almost as if a rainbow colored slime has eaten The Dungeon and sealed it away within its gelatinous form.
> Chapter 109 - Anubis.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

A beam of light mixed with ice suddenly manifests itself into being; within the epicenter of Home Town. Both Ritsu The Zoologist and Ceeman The Arms Dealer were instantly drawn towards the beam as they instantly recognized it as the effects of Rarity’s Ice Mirror. 

In mere moments, everyone who had fled from The Dungeon were brought into being as Ritsu exclaims:

“Everyone! You’re ok!” The Zoologist then runs over to the group. “What happened out there? We saw all of those crazy streams of energy in the sky.”

“By Celestia! It was absolutely dreadful, darling,” Rarity responded all while everyone else from The Dungeon were trying to recollect themselves. “So much has happened but to start with-”

“Everyone! You’d better come take a look at this!” Ross Bossman, The Tavernkeeper, exclaims from atop the large stone walls of Home Town; specifically pointing towards the direction of The Dungeon.

Both Fluttershy and Tempest The Bandit were still unconscious, to which Magius The Wizard says:

“I’ll take these two to Helena’s nursery. I fear that dark times are upon us all in the future, my friends.” The Wizard then surrounds himself, and the two unconscious beings at his feet, as he wisps them away in a blue flashing light.

Everyone who was left behind were now heading to the top of the stone wall and soon stood besides Ross Bossman who comments:

“What the hell happened to The Dungeon? It looks like a large rainbow colored slime ate the place. That dome is so big, we can even see it from here!”

“Greed,” Steven The Clothier responds. “That bastard posed as someone and tricked us all.”

“That foul brute was trying to capture poor Fluttershy! As far as I’m concerned, he got what he deserved!” Rarity then takes on a saddened expression. “I just hope that The Slime Gods will be ok… poor darlings.”

As this is going on, Starlight looks towards Shadow Thunder with a worried expression as she says:

“Hey, um, Shadow?” This causes the stallion’s ears to perk up as he then turns his gaze towards her and replies:

“Yes, beau- sorry… I mean, Starlight?” The pegasus inquires sheepishly.

“It’s fine, you don’t need to apologize,” Starlight assures as she then takes on a sorrowful expression before she continues: “I’m so sorry for how I talked to you back there. Calling a mare ‘beautiful’ shouldn’t exactly cause her to respond that way. Can you forgive me?”

Shadow Thunder was momentarily taken aback by this before the dark pegasus then starts to laugh, to which Starlight questions with a small chuckle:

“Hey, what’s so funny?” Shadow Thunder tries to recollect himself as he responds:

“Y-you thought that I was mad at you?”

“Well… kind of?”

“Hahaha! Starlight, there’s no need to sweat yourself over that,” The dark pegasus then fully recovers from his laughter before he continues: “There’s nothing to forgive. Look, I understand that you’re troubled by something. I suspected it ever since we met during the fight with Skeletron...” 

-Not to mention Twilight telling me about you punishing yourself- Shadow Thunder says internally before he returns to saying externally:

“... but I understand completely. If you ever want to talk or when you feel ready to do so, I’ll be here for you.”

Starlight was honestly shocked by the stallion’s forgiveness as she then takes on a happier expression and says:

“Thank you, Shadow Thunder. If there’s ever anything you need my help with, just let me know.”

“Actually…” Shadow Thunder responds but hesitates to go any further as he fidgets in place nervously. Taking notice of this, Starlight immediately points a forehoof at him and shouts:

“Aha! So there is something you need my help with.” 

“W-what? What do you mean?”

“Oh don't you try to deny it,” Starlight responds as she then giggles to herself before bumping the stallion’s shoulder region with her forehoof, setting it down afterwards. “I’ll have you know that I can be a very stubborn mare and now that I know that you need my help, I’m not backing down. So, out with it.”

“W-well, u-um, on second thought-”

“Nooooope, I’m not buying it.” The unicorn mare says with a smirk and a raised brow.

“M-maybe we should go join the others on the-”

“Oh come on, Shadow Thunder,” Starlight interjects all while Shadow Thunder looked as if he wanted to burst. “What is it that you want to-”

“I want to ask you out to dinner!” Shadow Thunder bursts out as the stallion then quickly covers his muzzle with a forehoof.

Starlight’s features were frozen in place upon hearing those words as she then sighs and takes on a saddened expression.

“Look, Shadow Thunder… you’re a really nice stallion and I’m willing to bet that any mare would be lucky to have you. But, I can’t be one of them.”

“Starlight...” Shadow Thunder comments as he then lifts a forehoof and says: “look, we can just-”

“I said no! Please, just don’t ask me that again!”

“No, wait, Starlight! You didn’t let me fin-”

[POOF]

Firing up her horn and In a sudden flash of light purple energy, Starlight teleports away; leaving behind a dark pegasus who says in a saddened tone:

“I was going to say that we can just be friends...” The stallion then falls onto his flank in utter defeat. However, he suddenly feels a breeze brush itself against his back.

“Hey there, Shadow!” Pinkie Pie exclaims which causes the stallion to bolt back onto his whooves. “Don’t you worry about Glim Glam, she doesn’t hate you or anything,” The party pony then pulls him closer as she pokes his chest with a forehoof. “Now you listen to your aunty Pinkie Pie-”

“Pretty sure I’m five years older than you…”

“Don’t interrupt your aunty Pinkie Pie, Slim Shady.”

-Slim Shady?- Shadow Thunder inquires internally with a confused expression.

“That’s your nickname now, silly!”

-Did she just read my mind?!-

“Eh, kind of,” Pinkie Pie comments nonchalantly with shrugged shoulders. “Anyway! You need to go after Glim Glam and talk to her so that I can throw you both an apology party! Oh! I think Candy is ready to prepare today’s meals so, bye!” The pink pony then zooms off in a pink blur; leaving behind a very confused stallion who exclaims:

“What just happened?!”

“Oh, it’s just Pinkie Pie, darling. Despite being very confusing, It’s honestly part of her charm,” Rarity injects which causes Shadow Thunder to turn towards the unicorn mare, who in turn was wearing a tremendous smirk on her face. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, darling.”

“H-how long were you standing there? How did I not notice you?”

“Oh, well, after Starlight teleported away, I noticed you feeling down in the gutter. Not to mention Pinkie Pie’s antics.”

“Ah, right…” Shadow Thunder replies as he then sighs sadly, to which Rarity comments:

“Listen, darling, Pinkie Pie is right. You need to go after Starlight and try to explain yourself to her. She’s not a bad mare and I must say that she can look absolutely divine with her natural beauty. However, I do wish that she’d stop trying to find ways to ‘redeem’ herself. She’s already forgiven for everything she’s done and the only pony left who needs to forgive her, is herself.”

“That’s just it though, I don’t care about what she did in the past. She’s obviously a much better pony compared to whatever she was back then. As they say: The past is the past, let it stay there and remain buried.”

“And I for one completely agree, darling. That, right there, is exactly why I want you to go after her,” Rarity pats the stallion on his left shoulder with a forehoof before she then starts to walk away. The white unicorn then glances back and comments: “I have a good feeling about you, Shadow Thunder. Do not disappoint me, darling. It would be most unwise, and uncouth.”

Shadow Thunder continues to watch the unicorn mare walk away from him as he then looks forward, takes on a determined expression, and says:

“Alright then, Starlight,” Suddenly, a series of shadows starts to flicker around the stallion. “You’re not the only one who’s stubborn.” The dark pegasus then spreads his wings to their full lengths and takes off into the skies, trailing behind a stream of darkness during his flight.

 



-TERRARIA, THE PYRAMID-

In what was now revealed to be Anubis’s throne room, a large golden table was now positioned in the middle of the room along with golden chairs for each and every being in attendance. Various humanoid changelings were now serving refreshments in addition to food items; placing them onto the aforementioned furniture before flying off with the buzzing of their wings.

“This is… awkward,” Terralestia comments as she observes the absolutely dumbfounding scenario before her. She then leans into Sai Sahan, who was positioned on the chair next to her, and says: “Sai, is this real life?” 

Sai lets out a small chuckle before he then takes a sip of his drink, which happened to be a mug of beer, and responds:

“This is Terraria, we’re bound to see many interesting things in our lives. Having a feast with an ancient god doesn’t even surprise me anymore. Besides, it was all a misunderstanding and we're fortunate that Anubis is actually a well intentioned entity.” The terrarian then shrugs his shoulder to which Terralestia takes a moment to ponder on his words before she says:

“Eh, I guess you’re right.”

King Amidias, Tanner The Guide and Jeremy The Angler, were currently positioned on the opposite side of the table as the trio conversed amongst themselves in addition to Amidias’s soldiers.

Positioned at the head of the large table, which was also placed before a golden throne with statues of canine-like heads etched onto the arm rest, was the ancient deity himself: Anubis.



The deity was currently sat upon his throne as he started to laugh in response to his latest conversation with two certain ponies: Rainbow Dash and Applejack. In addition, the humanoid changeling by the name of: Echo Silhouette, was currently standing besides Anubis and his throne.

“Get outta here, a sonic-rainboom? That’s not a real thing,” Anubis comments as he then ponders on it for a moment. He then turns his gaze towards Applejack and questions: “Is that a real thing?”

As this goes on, Rainbow Dash simply stares at the ancient god with a shocked expression and her mouth hangs agape.

“I’m having a hard time believing it myself.” Echo comments as the changeling-like entity chuckles to himself.

“Ah’ assure ya’, partner. The sonic-rainboom is very real. Hay, it’s what got me and mah’ friends together in the first place!” Applejack exclaims proudly as she then chugs down her mug of apple cider. She then slams the mug onto the table and shouts: “Darn tootin! That’s some good cider right there!”

“You don’t believe in my sonic-rainboom?!” Rainbow Dash exclaims in disbelief as she finally recovers from her shock. She then flaps her wings and jumps out of her seat, floating in the air as she prepares to dart forth while saying “I’ll show ya!”

“No no no no!” Anubis exclaims as he gestures for her to stop. “I don’t need you ‘sonic-rainbooming’ up in my pyramid, ok?” This causes the pegasus to cease her actions as she then lowers herself back onto her chair. Anubis then sighs in relief as he takes a moment to chuckle before saying: “Ah, this reminds me of the good old times I’d have with Harmony, Daybringer, Nightcrawler, and...” Suddenly, Anubis hesitates to mention another name.

Seeing this, Rainbow Dash decides to change things up a bit as she comments:

“We saw their names and pictures on some of the walls throughout this place before we met you. What exactly happened?” Rainbow Dash questions which causes Anubis to take on a saddened expression. Applejack was quick to act as she nervously says:

“Ah’m, uh, sorry if that’s a touchy subject, Lord Anubis.”

“No no no,” Anubis responds with a dismissive gesture. “As the children of Harmony, I think it’s only right that I tell you.”

“That’s another thing, children of Harmony? I mean, I know that we’re pretty awesome being element bearers. But, from how you make it sound, is our Harmony an actual being like this world’s Harmony?” Rainbow Dash questions.

“Yeah, ah’m confused about that mah’self. Shadow Thunder often tells us-”

“Wait, Shadow Thunder?” Anubis interjects. “Is he by chance a dark pegasus and his cutie mark is a dark cloud with lighting?”

“That’s correct! Whoa, you know him?” Rainbow inquires with a hint of disbelief.

“Of course I know him, Harmony would always have him by her side whenever she came to visit,” Anubis responds as he then puts a hand to his chin in thought. “I believe that was ten years ago, not too long before she and The Hallow just up and disappeared. Anyway, back to the main topic at hand. I refer to you as the children of Harmony due to the fact that, well, that’s exactly what you are.”

“Ah’m still mighty confused. Ah’ mean, we’re from a whole other world. How could this world’s Harmony have created us? And what does that make the Harmony back in our world?”

Upon hearing this, everyone else's attention was shot towards Anubis as they silenced their own conversations and listened to him contently.

Anubis was momentarily surprised by the ponies' ignorance as the ancient god ponders and tries to choose his words wisely. After a brief moment, he lowers his hand and finally responds:

“Those images that you saw throughout my pyramid’s hallways, did you by chance see one that depicted myself and the others facing off against Yharim? Who in turn was controlling The Devourer Of Gods… my dear old friend and the third sibling to Daybringer and Nightcrawler.”

Both ponies suddenly takes on a sympathetic expression as Applejack takes off her hat and holds it against her chest before she comments:

“Ah’m mighty sorry fer’ hearin’ that, sir. That no good rotten apple has done some things to us recently too.”

“Daybringer and Nightcrawler,” Rainbow Dash comments as she then ponders on those names for a moment. “Judging by their names, can they by chance control day and night?”

“That is correct.” Anubis responds with a nod.

“That’s just like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” Applejack comments in awe as she then questions: “So, who was this third sibling to those two? They were also yer’ friend, right?”

Anubis hesitates for a moment before he then sighs sadly and says:

“The Devourer Of Gods is not its true name. That is a mockery that Yharim himself has conjured. Their true name is: Twilight Sparkle.”

The faces of everyone who knew, or was familiar with, the lavender alicorn were suddenly morphed into a combination of shock and pure bafflement. Then, they all shout in unison:

"Twilight?!"
> Chapter 110 - Echo Silhouette.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, DESERT BIOME, ANUBIS’S PYRAMID-

The entirety of Anubis’s throne room was completely filled with shock as everyone from Home Town simply stared towards the ancient deity with matching expressions.

“T-Twilight?” Rainbow Dash inquires in a sorrowful tone. “Yharim turned this world’s version of my best friend into… a god eating, m-monster?” She then takes on an expression of absolute fury as she exclaims: “What the buck is Yharim’s problem?! Who the buck does he think he is to just buck around with other lives like this?! He’s even messed with Pinkie Pie!” She then slams a forehoof onto the golden table and declares: “I say we go out there right now and hunt that bucker down!”

“Rainbow Dash,” Applejack comments which catches the cyan pegasus’s attention; who also starts to take heavy breaths. “We need to remain focused, R.D. That no good Yharim has undoubtedly caused all manner of wrong in this world. However, let’s not rush to our own deaths. Ya’ know all about what that rotten apple is capable of and we sure ain’t ready to tackle it. We’ll cross that bridge one day, Rainbow… we just ain’t ready.”

“I understand your anger all too well,” Echo Silhouette comments as everyone turns towards the humanoid changeling with curiosity. “My condolences to you all for having to suffer at that monster’s hands.”

“You see?! Even this world’s changelings aren’t spared from that guy!” Rainbow Dash exclaims.

“If you don’t mind,” Terralestia injects. “May I ask you what that traitor has done to you?”

The features of the humanoid changeling instantly morphs into one that matches Rainbow Dash’s own: Fury; along with a pinch of disgust. However, it wasn’t just Echo who reacted to terralestia’s question as every changeling in the room instantly halted their actions and looked towards Echo.

Echo takes a breath and clenches his fists before saying:

“He tried to recruit my mother, the Queen Of The Changelings, and by extension... us, into his gathering of evil doers and heartless monsters,” This causes a series of gasps from certain individuals before he continues: “Oh, he tried to put on one hell of an act. Trying to make it look as if he was some innocent scholar who wanted to do ‘research’. My mother wasn’t fooled and saw right through his lies! But… what he did next, would hurt us in more ways than even he could ever realize.” Tears were threatening to leave Echo’s light blue eyes to which Sai Sahan comments:

“We… understand if this is a painful conversation. Perhaps we shou-”

“No. It’s fine, terrarian,” Echo assures before he then takes a breath and continues: “Yharim… he killed my mother, destroyed our hive, and nearly vanquished our hive mind, just because she rejected his ‘offer’. The only reason the hive mind was spared is due to my mother passing it onto me, before Yharim could deliver a finishing blow. Thus making me the current ruler of the changelings. Those of us who remain, that is.”

“Good lord… and here I thought Skeletron was a nasty son of a bitch.” Jeremy The Angler comments.

Echo takes a moment to recollect himself before saying:

“What’s worse is that even after all of that, he still wasn’t done with causing us further pain.”

“What?!” Everyone exclaims in unison.

“Killin’ yer’ mother and family wasn’t already ‘good’ enough fer’ him?! Ya’ got ta be bucking kidd’n me!” Applejack roars out as she internally sympathises with the humanoid changeling.

“Insolent monstrosity!” King Amidias exclaims as he then stands from his seat, conjures a trident, and slams it down onto the floor. “That devil knows no bounds to his treachery and tyranny!” The Sea King then focuses his gaze towards Echo and says: “I would like to extend my utmost condolences to you and your people. Me and my beloved subjects have suffered a similar fate.”

As this is going on, Rainbow Dash leans into Anubis and says:

“Ok, seriously, does this world try its very best to make everything Yharim’s fault?”

“You have nooo idea…”

……….

“I thank you for that, King Amidias,” Echo responds with a bowing gesture before he continues: “Yharim’s greatest sin was when he cursed us... to forever be unable to gather love.”

“No way,” Applejack comments in utter disbelief. “B-but, without being able to harvest love, y-ya’ll would-”

“We would’ve died and the changeling race would’ve gone extinct. Although, my mother did have a backup plan… but I have no idea what became of it.”

“What was this plan of hers?” Rainbow Dash inquires.

“My knowledge is limited due to my mother playing it safe. From what I do know, however, is that she hid away a young Queen; in order to ensure our kind’s future. You must understand, these events happened during the Time Of The Ancients, over two thousand years ago.” Echo responds.

“T-two thousand?!” Applejack exclaims. “How in the hay are ya’ll still so young like that?!”

“That’s where I come in,” Anubis responds. “Echo here, along with those who were left of his hive, happened to be trekking through my desert. The very same desert you’re all in now, of course. I’ll give you the ‘too long; hurry up’ version of it: I made them immortal in exchange for their servitude. And before any of you even say it, no, I did not force them. I’m a proper god and fairly laid back, not a dick.”

“Lord Anubis is correct,” Echo comments in a proud tone. “I admit that I was hesitant at first but I couldn’t bear to see my fellow changelings die off due to starvation. So, I took Anubis’s offer and never regretted it to this very day.”

“Whoah oh, dude, you’re awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaims as Anubis extends a fist towards the pegasus; beckoning her to perform a fist/hoof bump to which she obliges happily.

……….

Some time goes by as both Anubis and King Amidias nods to each other before they then stand from their seats.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Anubis. It shall prepare us for the coming battle in The Sunken Sea.” The Sea King comments as he then bows in a gratuitous gesture.

“Think nothing of it. Consider this my apology for jumping to conclusions,” The ancient deity then places his hands onto his waist as he throws his head high into the air and lets out a loud laugh before saying: “Good thing we managed to clear that up before things got heated. I would have smacked you lot around and ordered my changelings to serve what was left of you to the creatures of the desert.”

Upon hearing those words, everyone present, aside from King Amidias and the changelings, suddenly went pale in the face as an awkward silence followed afterwards. Then, both The Sea King and Anubis starts to snicker as the ancient god says:

“You should’ve seen your faces! Hah!”

“I always like to use that one,” Amidias comments. “I sometimes tell travelers that I’ll feed them to a pack of sharks. They obviously become afraid before I say: ‘Just kidding’.”

“Hah! I like that one! Maybe I should conjure a pack of Sand Sharks and do the same?” Anubis responds as he ponders on that suggestion.

Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack were currently wearing nervous smiles as the cyan pegasus comments in a hushed tone:

“These guys have a pretty messed up sense of humor.”

“Says the mare who scares ponies with thunder clouds.”

“Well, I… touche.”

“If I may ask, lord Anubis,” Sai Sahan comments to which Anubis recovers from his laughter and turns his gaze towards the terrarian. “What became of the Crab Cultists that were seen coming here?”

The ancient deity then takes on a mischievous smile as he replies:

“Let’s answer your question, with another question,” Anubis then conjures forth seven separate coffins as everyone present could hear the muffled screams of various individuals from within. “How long do you think it takes for someone who’s buried alive to reach the mummification phase?”

Everyone’s eyes were simply shot wide open as they instantly realized that the screams were coming from trapped members of the cult. Anubis then snaps his fingers which causes the coffins to disappear in a whirlwind of sand before he says:

“I may be a fair god, even a kind one. But, if you come into my pyramid and try to do some sus stuff… you’ve earned yourself a coffin.”

“Sus?” Jeremy The Angler inquired all while the rest of the group were now stunned in a cold sweat.

“It’s an ancient god phrase, don’t think too much of it,” Anubis responds as the entity then claps his hands together and says: “Now, you’ve wasted your time here long enough. I shall open a portal for you to access The Sunken Seas. In addition, I shall send Echo here with you all; to aid you on your quest.”

“By your will, Lord Anubis.” Echo Silhouette responds.

Upon saying those words, Anubis’s eyes and body start to glow with a powerful blue aura as a large number of sand suddenly starts to spin around; fashioning a portal in mere moments with blue energy filling the anomaly’s center.

“This will take you to your destination and I shall keep it open until your return.”

“Ok, no, I am not going into that. I mean, how do you even know it’s safe?!” Jeremy The Angler inquires.

“That’s a perfectly good portal! I should know, I made it!” Anubis roars out in response.

Heeding to his request, everyone starts to enter the anomaly with King Amidias and his soldiers stepping in first. Terralestia steps in next as Jeremy The Angler remains hesitant all while Echo, Sai Sahan, and the two ponies are positioned behind him.

“H-hey, I h-have an idea,” The Angler says hesitantly with strands of sweat starting to form. “H-how about I just-” Suddenly, his words are cut off as Anubis’s large frame towers above him. The ancient god then picks up The Angler with his right hand and says:

“Would you rather I use you as bait to capture Sand Sharks?”

“On second thought, your portal LOOKS LOVELY!” Jeremy roars out as Anubis casually tosses him into the portal, all while everyone who still remained were laughing in response.

Rainbow Dash was just about to hop into the anomaly before she then glances towards Anubis and comments:

“We need to totally hang out again. You’re pretty scary when you have to be but you’re still awesome in my book.”

“Hah! You remind me a lot of Athena. But sure, I don’t mind rolling out the table again to chat with you all. Maybe you can show me that sonic-rainboom of yours.” Anubis responds with a thumbs up.

“I’ll hold you to that!” The cyan pegasus exclaims proudly as she flies into the portal, followed shortly by Echo and Applejack. However, little did the farm mare know, Anubis stares into her shadow as he winks towards a certain humanoid bird who still remained hidden throughout the entire affair as the ancient god comments in a hushed tone: “Been a long time since I saw one of your species, kenku. My condolences for what happened to Torinago.”

Suddenly, after everyone disappears into the portal, Anubis’s features turn into absolute anger as he turns his gaze to another individual. Someone who remained rather silent throughout their entire time being in the throne room: Tanner The Guide.

“Don’t think that I don’t see you, demon. Tell me, what’s Nyarlathotep up to these days? Or Legion? Or should I refer to him as: The Wall Of Flesh?”
> Chapter 111 - Linn's Revelation.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, DESERT BIOME, ANUBIS’S PYRAMID-

A type of staredown was currently taking place in Anubis’s throne room all while the changelings were ready to tear away at The Guide, should Lord Anubis will them to do so.

“I had a feeling you knew all about my true form,” Tanner comments as he was honestly starting to get completely nervous. Despite being a demon, even he knew that this was a battle that simply wasn’t in his favor. “Why didn’t you do something about it when everyone else was here?”

“Now where’s the fun in that, boy?” Anubis responds in a condescending tone. “I could easily slap you around right here, right now,” Suddenly and completely unexpectedly, Anubis seems to relax his body and simply chuckles to himself before saying: “But it’s not my place to do so,” The ancient god then steps aside and beckons for Tanner to enter the portal. “Go on, head inside and do whatever it is that you have planned for them. But, let me say this: You can underestimate those terrarians with them, maybe even King Amidias and his fellow merfolk. However, you shouldn’t underestimate the children of Harmony.”

Tanner’s eyes suddenly glows red all while a fiery aura surrounds him as he responds:

“You do realize that by letting me go, you’re just ensuring my lord’s plans? You’ve been sitting in your little tomb for far too long that it’s clouding your judgement, God Of The Dead and Overseer Of The Desert Biome.”

“And you’ve got quite the mouth for a little welp. A demonic mouse who thinks he can stand up to a divine mountain. However, I assure you, my judgement is all too clear. The beauty of it all is that when this is all said and done, you’ll be dead, and I’ll be laughing.”

Anubis then covers Tanner in a powerful blue aura which in turn completely overpowers and dissipates the fiery red aura that once surrounded The Guide.

“You dare do this to me?! I am one of the most powerful demons in-”

“Bla bla bla, just shut up already,” Anubis interjects as he raises Tanner into the air with an invisible force. “I’m going to throw you into the portal now, but before I do and the next time you see Legion, tell them: Anubis sends his regards, motherfucker.” The ancient god then smirks as he flies Tanner into the portal all while the humanoid changelings give off a mocking salute to The Guide.

Anubis stares at the portal for a few moments as his angered expression turns into neutrality before he then chuckles and says:

“Looks like your ‘Ark Plan’ worked out well, Harmony. Those ponies might come from another world but I can sense your influence within them. I hope to see you again, old friend.”





-TERRARIA, DR DRAEDON’S ABANDONED CRIMSON BIOME LABORATORY-

Twilight’s group continues to traverse the underground laboratory as the lavender alicorn lets out a sneeze, to which Linn comments:

“You ok, Twilight?”

“Y-yeah, that came out of nowhere,” Twilight responds as she then puts a forehoof to her chin in thought. “Although, I feel like I missed a vital source of information.” The pink haired terrarian lets out a small laugh before she says:

“Is that like your pink friend’s ‘senses’, only you sense knowledge or something? You little bookworm.” Linn says in a teasing tone.

“Yeah yeah, I get that enough from Rainbow Dash,” The lavender mare responds as she then bumps her chest proudly and says: “Being a seeker of knowledge isn’t a bad thing, so long as you don’t go about it like…” The pony suddenly becomes hesitant as she recalls a certain foe from her past. Specifically, a large brain entity.

As this goes on, Both Tori and Celebes The Dryad continue onward; leaving behind the two conversationalists.

“You ok?” Linn asks as she takes notice of the pony’s trance.

“Y-yeah… well, actually, not entirely. I was reminded of Brainiac… I love gathering knowledge but what Brainiac did and what they were trying to attempt is just… evil.”

“Then it’s a good thing that you’re nothing like that creature. I heard all about that from Celestia and Sai; I’m sorry for what that thing did to you guys.”

“It was a horrible experience for me and my friends. And to be completely honest, I don’t think we’ll ever forget that.”

“The pain will never go away, Twilight… nor will the memory. No matter how hard you try. Trust me, I know from personal experience,” Linn then stops as she turns towards the alicorn and places her left hand onto Twilight’s chest region; specifically, over the pony’s heart. “The best thing you can do is to hold it tight and swear to never allow anyone else to feel that pain.”

Twilight places a forehoof over Linn’s hand and closes her eyes as she says:

“Thank you, Linn,” The terrarian then nods in response as she moves her hand away from Twilight’s chest, to which the pony says: “Um, if you don’t mind me asking…”

“Yes?” Linn responds as Twilight was momentarily nervous and hesitates to go any further. “W-well, you seem to speak from personal experience about loss and I make it a habit of mine to want to know and help my friends. Especially as The Princess Of Friendship. I guess what I’m saying is: What happened to you?”

Linn was momentarily taken aback by Twilight’s question. The terrarian wasn’t mad, not at all, but she was slightly hurt from the memory of past events. Finally, Linn takes a moments to let out a long sigh and says:

“You remember me telling you about my home? Where we used to breed horses for the royal army?” Twilight nods in response which prompts Linn to continue: “To put it bluntly… it was burned to the ground by a large dragon. My parents… my sister… my friends, they were all killed in the blaze.”

“Wait a second,” Twilight comments as she recalls what Linn said during the battle with Skeletron. “You mentioned that Yharim destroyed your home. However, when Celestia told me the story about her brother, she also mentioned that Yharim has a dragon who is always at his side. W-was that-”

“Yes,” Linn interjects. “That dragon was the very same one who did it; under Yharim’s command who rode on its back while the dragon burned everything I loved to the ground.” The pink haired terrarian then clenches her fist, all while Twilight takes on a saddened expression, as she says: “I’ve made it my goal to slay that dragon and to make sure that Yharim’s corpse lies beside it. I even gave up my status as a member of the royal family’s side-”

“What?!” Twilight exclaims in utter shock. “You used to be royalty?!”

“Y-yes, my family are the descendants of another branch of the royal family. When my parents and my sister died, along with everyone else in my hometown, I was the sole survivor. Following that horrible event, the main branch of the royal family took me in and raised me ever since,” Linn then starts to smile before she continues: “Cadence and I became close during that time and we became more than cousins, we were sisters. I lost my family that day, but being with the main branch of the family helped me to pick up the shattered pieces of my heart.”

Suddenly, Linn is cut off by Twilight’s next action as the alicorn runs into the terrarian and with a flap of her wings, the pony rears up and hugs Linn while saying:

“I’m so sorry for what happened to you… I-I wouldn’t be able to handle such a loss.” The terrarian returns the gesture as she hugs the alicorn in turn and says:

“Thank you, Twilight.”

After a brief moment, the two separates from the hug as Twilight comments:

“We should probably catch up to Tori and Celebes. We still need to find a Crimson Altar to forge that blade, not to mention find any information we can in this lab.”

“You’re right. But, Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for that. I appreciate you comforting me after hearing my story.” Twilight happily nods in response as the two continue to walk down the hallway, in the direction that Celebes and Tori had treaded upon.

……….

Both Twilight and Linn were currently walking down the hallways of Dragon’s Laboratory as their steps echoed throughout the corridor. Suddenly, a gust of wind starts to form in front of them as Tori appears moments after. Imitating Celebes’s voice, the humanoid bird comments:

“We found something that urgently requires our combined attention. Follow me.” Heeding to Tori’s request, the pink haired terrarian and the lavender alicorn follows suit. Tori soon leads them through a doorway and into a lab that was currently inhabited by dust and various insects that scurried about. Incidentally, there were also corpses of flesh monstrosities as it became apparent that both Tori and Celebes seemed to have gotten into a conflict while Twilight and Linn were left behind.

“By Celestia, when did that happen?” Twilight inquires.

“No need to worry about that, Tori took care of it with swift precision,” Celebes responds as she was currently working on one of the computers nearby. “Come here, I have something urgent to show you two and it’s not pretty.” Cautiously, both Twilight and Linn draw near Celebes as they fix their gaze onto the computer screen.

Twilight’s eyes were widened in horrific realization as she reads the name of the file and shouts:

“C-Cyborg Brainiac?!”





-TERRARIA, CAMELOT-

Various guards were currently running with all due haste towards the direction of the docks. Incidentally, there was a large trail of smoke that reached high into the skies as some amongst the masses comments:

“Is that a fire?”

“It’s coming from the docks.”

“I heard rumors that it’s coming from The Flim-Flam Brothers’s warehouse.”

As this is going on, a dark pink pony was currently exiting a cupcake store to which the owner shouts:

“Thank you very much, Miss Pinkamena. These cupcakes are sure to sell! They’re absolutely delicious. Seriously, what’s the secret? It's got to be a pony thing, there sadly aren't many of you left nowadays. Also, be careful out there, who knows what kind of sick individuals would try to do something to you.”

Pinkamena simply raises a hoof in response as she says:

“Appreciate the tip. Also, I can’t reveal my secret and as a fellow baker, I’m sure you can understand that we all have our secret recipes. I will however say this: It’s to absolutely die for.” 

The shop owner simply chuckles in response as he says:

“I understand completely, ma’am. Oh, and, just between you and me…” The shop owner then leans into the pony and says in a whispered tone: “That fire that’s taking place at the docks? I hope that it affects The Flim-Flam Brothers in a negative way. Hate those bastards…”

“Oh, I’m sure you won’t be seeing them around anymore. Enjoy the cupcakes!” Pinkamena exclaims happily with a raised hoof as she turns around and takes on a mischievous smile. Incidentally, the shop owner took a bite out of one of the cupcakes in question before he returns to his shop while commenting:

“Mmmm, delicious.”

-I’m sure they are, shop keep- Pinkamena says internally as she continues to walk away.

-I’m sure they are-
> Chapter 112 - "Simply, Beautiful..."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, CAMELOT-

Pinkamena was currently making her way towards the castle all while she caused many heads to turn. She didn’t want to admit it, but perhaps walking out in the open as the only pony anyone has ever seen since The Hallow’s disappearance… wasn’t such a good idea.

“Look mommy, a pony!”

“Woah, I thought they were extinct.”

“Wait a second, doesn’t The Order Of The Guide have a pony among its members?”

“Oh yeah, I think it was some sort of dark pegasus.”

Pinkamena did not hide her irritation as she continues to listen on and says internally:

-Walk through the capital without a disguise, I said, It’ll be fine, I said-  

After continually hearing the words of her onlookers, in addition to seeing children actually tempted to jump onto her back, the dark pink pony finally grits her teeth as she yells out:

“Screw everything about this!” Pinkamena then conjures forth an invisibility potion from her inventory and immediately chugs down the magical beverage. She disappears before everyone’s eyes; leaving behind a puzzled crowd who lets out sad commentary along with a few children who were upset about not being able to ‘pet/ride the pony’.

Now stealthily making her way throughout the capital and her invisibility position still active, Pinkamena lept from rooftop to rooftop as she continued to make her way towards the castle. One had to appreciate just how truly large and grand the capital was. In fact, Pinkamena even compared it to being slightly smaller than Manehattan. 

Finally, Pinkamena was now positioned outside of the castle gates as five guards were stationed at the entrance. A fairly large carriage was currently being inspected by the guards which in turn causes the dark pink pony to say:

“Bingo. And unlike the last time I rode on a cart, this shall be smooth sailing.”

“Ok, you’re clear to go. Please excuse us for any interruptions.” One of the guards says as the man who was currently at the carriages helm replies:

“Think nothing of it, my good sir. I thank you for your service,” The helmsman then turns forward and shouts: “Yah!”

Within the carriage, a duo of a male and female terrarian nobles were currently enjoying a cup of tea, with an accompanying saucer. That is, until a sudden force of weight lands onto the carriage’s roof to which the male noble comments:

“Oh dear, what in heaven’s name was that?”

“It’s probably just a bird, Fancy.” The female noble responds as the two shrug their shoulders. Unbeknownst to the couple and the helmsman, they now had a third unknown member tagging along: An invisible pony.

The carriage stops before the entrance to the castle as the helmsman dismounts the vehicle and opens the door to the carriage while saying:

“Sir Fancy Pants, Miss De Fleur, we have arrived,” The helmsman then gives a respectful bow before saying: “Please, enjoy your time here and I shall await for your call.” 

“My thanks good sir, here,” Fancy Pants responds as he then tosses a gold coin towards the helmsman, who in turn catches it gracefully before saying:

“You are too kind.”

In addition, Pinkamena hops off of the carriage as she quickly moves away and runs towards the nearby wall of the castle. She then makes her way towards the back of the large structure and soon finds herself within a secluded area.

“Ok, I’m in. Now, time for me to climb this-”

“Actually, I’ll open a portal for you to enter the Pri- oops, I mean, my private chambers.” A new but familiar voice interjects which instantly causes Pinkamena to grunt in annoyance and say:

“Oh great… it’s you, slave witch.” However, Pinkamena was momentarily thrown off by what she saw exiting the red portal. Instead of the dark skinned witch, she saw a beautiful pink haired terrarian in royal attire.



“You should bow down before me, useless pony. I am, after all, a Princess.”

“Try slut,” Pinkamena mocks in response. “Also, it's typical that you have to take an actual beautiful person’s body; just to hide that ugly face of yours.”

Calamitas, currently disguised as Princess Cadence, was about to retort before she then takes a deep breath and says:

“I don’t have time for your shit right now. Get your ass into that portal so we can begin the preparations.”

“Yeah, one problem. Neither you or Yharim told me what exactly we have to do here. He just told me to come and meet up with you in the castle, that’s it.”

“I’m about to get to that part, idiot,” Calamitas responds which causes the dark pink pony to growl in response. “As you know, we’ve been shaping certain events so that the unification process can commence. Disguised as Princess Cadence, I’ve been working with a contact who serves The Underworld and our job, or shall I say, your job, is to plant these demonic runes throughout the capital. While you do that, I’ll continue to pose as Princess Cadence.”

“Demonic runes? And who’s this contact that you’ve been working with?” Pinkamena inquires which causes Calamitas to chuckle before she replies:

“Tanner The Guide,” The Fake Princess then starts to enter the portal as she comments: “Very soon, Camelot is going to become hell on earth. Literally. Nyarlathotep shall arise and when that happens... with that creature’s power, Equus and Terraria shall become one.” The witch then beckons for Mena to follow with a gesture of her right hand.

With an annoyed expression, the dark pink pony was starting to head towards the anomaly as she comments:

"There's got to be a way to stall their plans. I've just got to keep my eyes open, and wait for that opportunity to come." 

..........

After entering Calamitas's portal, Pinkamena now found herself within a large bedchamber which had an obvious theme that took after The Princess. In short, everything was pink. From the bedding to the carpeting; even the restroom that was positioned to the far right side of the bedchamber's entrance/exit was of the same coloration.

"Is this a bedchamber or do you secretly have a thing for me, Calamitas? Because if you do, my answer is: Buuuuck no." Pinkamena mocks as she finishes with a condescending smirk. The fake Princess's left eye twitches as she then rears back in disgust and says:

"Very cute, useless pony. Seriously, what does Yharim even want with something as pathetic as you?"

"Says the sla-" Suddenly, the dark pony's words were cut off as a bolt of red lightning is let loose by 'The Princess'. In response, Pinkamena dodges by hopping off of the bedchamber's floor and lands on the nearby wall. She then conjures her Vampire Knives as she launches off of the wall and exclaims: "You know what?! I'm glad we're doing this because I've been wanting to kill you ever since I met you!"

"Come and get it, bitch!" Calamitas roars out. "And after I kill you, your sister is next! Oh yes, I'm going to finish her nice and slow!"

Both the witch and the pony were mere moments from tearing each other apart. During this time, Calamitas was beckoning Pinkamena to come to her all while the dark pink pony's eyes were narrowed in determination. However, before the two could make impact, a powerful lavender colored aura stops them in place as a new voice injects itself:

"As entertaining as it would be to watch you tear each other apart," The lavender aura then sends the two combatants to either side of the chamber. "That will be enough for now."

Both Calamitas and Pinkamena recovers their composure as a new, yet still familiar entity, conjures itself into being via a series of shadows mixed with purple energy. A cloaked monstrosity with a set of six purple eyes now floats before Calamitas and Pinkamena as the entity's voice echoes out:

"You both have a job to do, so get to it. Signus, Envoy Of The Devourer... has spoken."





-TERRARIA-

A single pony sat on a large hill which was positioned in the middle of a large meadow. Blades of grass flickered in the wind along with the light purple strands of the pony’s mane. A soft sigh escapes from the pony’s muzzle as they were currently looking down towards the ground in defeat.

“Way to go, Starlight. You just had to yell at him,” Starlight comments in a sorrowful tone as she then lifts her head high and gazes towards the sunny skies of Terraria. “I’m so sorry, Shadow… but this is for both of our own good.”

Suddenly, the mare’s ears flickered as she could barely hear a distant call, but not enough to make sense of any of it. The calls were getting closer and closer until finally:

“Starlight!” 

The unicorn mare instantly recognizes this voice as she turns towards its source and sees a dark pegasus, who was rapidly making his way towards her with every flap of the pegasus’s wings. The dark pegasus finally lands before her as he says:

“Starlight, thank The Empress that I caught up with you.”

“Shadow Thunder? H-how did you even find me?” Starlight questions in a tone of shock mixed with disbelief.

“Weeeeell, I can kind of track the shadows of those I have attached myself to before. In fact, I could track down each and every one of your friends since I’ve been in their shadows once before. And, of course, that includes yours.”

Starlight was deeply impressed by the pegasus’s abilities, she couldn’t deny that. However, she suddenly takes on a saddened expression as she comments:

“Why did you come after me?” This of course causes the dark stallion to tilt his head in a minorly confused manner as he responds:

“Why wouldn’t I come after you? I’m worried about you, Starlight,” The dark pegasus then starts to approach as he soon finds himself positioned next to the unicorn mare, who in turn was still sitting on her flank; upon the large hill. “Listen, I’m sorry if asking you out to dinner like that was sudden. But, you didn’t let me finish. I was going to say that we could just be friends.”

“Look, Shadow Thunder… I’m not angry with you. Not at all, and I’m sorry for taking off like that,” The unicorn mare then chuckles to herself before she continues: “This might sound pretty cliché, but, it’s not you… it’s me.”

The dark pegasus then lowers himself onto his flank as the two ponies sit atop the hill, both of their manes flickering in the cool breeze of the wind. This prompts Starlight to continue all while Shadow Thunder awaits her coming words:

“I’m grateful for you checking up on me, I truly am. But, like I said once before, I’m not a mare that you should be interested in.”

“But, why?” Shadow Thunder inquires. Truth be told, he already knows of the true reason, thanks to speaking with Twilight, but opted to feign ignorance so as not to escalate anything further. “Talk to me, Starlight. What makes you think that I shouldn’t be interested in you?”

The unicorn mare suddenly becomes hesitant as she starts to become shaky and barely manages to say:

“B… b-because I’m a…”

“If you’re about to say: Beautiful, then I definitely agree with-”

“Stop calling me that!” Starlight roars out as she bolts onto her hooves, all while Shadow Thunder remains seated. “There is nothing beautiful about me! You only call me that because you don’t know about what I’ve done!”

The dark pegasus simply remains calm; with a plan in mind, as he too rises onto his hooves in one fluid motion. All the while, the unicorn mare simply looks at him with an expression that was a mixture of anger and regret. Shadow Thunder then adjusts his wings before replying:

“First off: I call you beautiful because you are beautiful, Starlight,” This causes the mare to narrow her eyes before he continues: “Secondly: My ears are wide open. I promised you that I’ll always be here to listen. So, go ahead, tell me your story.”

Starlight simply sighs in irritation as she responds:

“Why bother? I already know the outcome.”

“You assume the outcome,” Shadow Thunder corrects. “You don’t actually know how I’ll react and I might be bold for saying this, but I think I’m entitled to-let’s call it-a chance; considering recent events.”

Starlight simply stares at the stallion for a moment before she then grunts in frustration and comments:

“You’re a pretty stubborn stallion, you know that?”

“When I have to be, my good mare,” The dark pegasus then gets a sudden idea as he conjures forth a table along with two chairs from his inventory. He effectively places the furniture before them as he comments: “May I interest you in a seat?”

With a raised brow, Starlight replies:

“Do you just have furniture sitting in your inventory?” Shadow Thunder simply laughs in response before saying:

“What can I say? You never know when you might need it. And to be fair, this is my only furniture I keep stored there. I mean, we’re using them now, right? I’d call that excellent foresight on my part.” The stallion states proudly as he takes a seat on one side of the table; all while Starlight rolls her eyes and lets out another annoyed grunt before saying:

“Let’s just get this over with.”

“Excellent!” Shadow Thunder exclaims happilly as the stallion waits patiently for the unicorn mare, who in turn was making her way towards the other seat on the opposite side of the table. Before she could take her seat, however, a shadowy appendage pulls the chair out for her as Shadow Thunder comments: “Allow me.”

“How gentlecolt of you.” Starlight responds monotonously as she takes her seat. The shadowy appendage then gently pushes her towards the table, all while she herself shuffles in place to get comfortable.

The moment of truth finally arrives as Starlight takes a moment to come up with the right words; in preparation for her tale. All the while, Shadow Thunder simply waits patiently. However, a sudden rush of wind blows by and graces Starlight’s mane, causing it to flutter in the wind in a beautiful display which instantly catches the stallion’s attention as he says internally:

-Simply, beautiful...-
> Chapter 113 - That Mare In The mirror.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA-

Two ponies were currently sitting upon their own chairs on opposite sides of a table. In addition, both they and the furniture were placed in a beautiful meadow with blades of grass flickering in the wind.

Having finished her tale of her past mistakes, Starlight was now on the verge of tears as she looked down upon her side of the table with both shame and regret filling the unicorn mare’s heart. She then raises her gaze and meets the eyes of Shadow Thunder, who sits adjacent to her with a look of sympathy. The unicorn’s tears starts to flow like a river as she says:

“That, Shadow Thunder… is the story of the monster that’s sitting in front of you. The mare that you foolishly call ‘beautiful’. Now you see that there’s nothing beautiful about me.”

The dark pegasus was simply stunned by this; wearing an expression to match it. However, unbeknownst to Starlight, Shadow Thunder wasn’t at all shocked by her story. Not entirely. No, it was the fact that he couldn’t believe that she thought so lowly of herself even after she told him about her role in saving Equestria from Queen Chrysalis, teleporting ponies to safety during The Storm King’s invasion, facing off against The Moon Lord in order to banish him, and every deed she and her friends from Equus had performed, during their time in Terraria. 

With a content smile and his features morphing into pleasantness, shadow thunder simply chuckles as he then says:

“Is that it?” This of course shocks the unicorn mare, with tears still flowing down her cheeks, as she stares at him for a moment before saying:

“W-what?”

“Is that it?” The dark pegasus repeats. “Is that story supposed to convince me that you’re a so-called monster? Because, from where I’m sitting, I see a beautiful mare who’s torturing herself for something that she’s already been forgiven for. I mean, your friends do nothing but speak highly of you; not to mention all of your heroic exploits,” The pegasus then raises a forehoof to his chin as he comments: “Hmmm, doesn’t sound like a monster to me.”

Starlight was now absolutely stunned and stared at the pegasus with disbelief. However, she then grits her teeth as she exclaims:

“Are you an absolute fool?! After everything I just told you, after the way I stole cutie marks and even altered time itself, thus endangering all of Equestria, hay, all of reality, you still think that I’m not a monster?!”

“Nope. In fact, now I’m certain that you’re a great pony. Oh, and beautiful too.”

Grunting in frustration, and with her tears still flowing, the unicorn mare gets off of her seat and stars to draw near pegasus while saying in an angered tone:

“I created alternate timelines, possibly even other universes, because of my stupidity. All of which got worse and worse; every single time I made a change to Twilight and her friend’s past!”

“Still don’t see a monster.” Shadow Thunder responds with shrugged shoulders. Starlight was now standing before the pegasus with an angered expression, but her tears still ever flowing, as she roars out:

“I practically mind controlled ponies in a small town, out in the middle of nowhere, and stole their destinies from them! I lied to them! All under a fake facade of ‘equality’. I simply hated cutie marks and wanted to erase them from existence!”

“Again, I see no monster he-”

“Rah!” Starlight roars out and cuts off the dark pegasus’s words as she literally tackles him off of his seat which results in the two ponies rolling down the hill. Grains of grass and even a few flower pedals were being tossed up into the air as the two continued to roll down to the hill’s base until finally, both ponies let out a “Oomph!” as they land on top of each other, both of their eyes closed as a result. Shadow Thunder was currently on his back all while Starlight was on top of the stallion, their bodies in full contact with each other.

Starlight regains her composure as she rises up to her hooves and now stands over the dark pegasus, rubbing her head with a forehoof soon after. In tandem, Shadow Thunder simply looks up towards the mare as he says:

“You still look amazing, even from down here. Also, if you wanted a hug, all you had to do was ask me.”

“I wasn’t trying to hug you! I was trying to forcefully engrave into that skull of yours that I am-”

“Beautiful.”

“Stop that!”

“Stop what?” Shadow inquires as he feigns ignorance.

“Stop saying it!”

“What did I say?”

“I’m beautiful!”

“Yep! And I couldn’t agree more, Starlight.”

The unicorn mare was momentarily thrown off by this and upon realizing what she said, she exclaims with reddenned features:

“N-no! You made me walk into that!”

“I made you tell the truth,” The stallion replies as he then disappears into his own shadow, phasing through the earth that was below Starlight. He then re-emerges right next to the unicorn mare as the darkness practically spits him out, causing him to float in place before he lowers himself to ground level. 

“Why won’t you just accept it, Shadow?” Starlight inquires with a saddened tone as she then lowers herself onto her flank and takes her gaze away from the dark pegasus, now focusing it towards the ground. However, one thing still remained prevalent as small droplets of liquid started to fall onto the blades of grass that were positioned below the unicorn’s lowered head: Starlight’s tears.

“Because the evidence is so clear that even you don’t seem to realize it,” Shadow Thunder responds as he then approaches Starlight. Using his left forehoof, he places it under her chin and raises her head, gently guiding it towards him as he comments: “The proof is right there, streaming down your cheeks.”

This causes the unicorn mare’s eyes to open wide in shock as she questions:

“W-what?”

“Your tears, Starlight. You shed them because you are genuinely sorry for what you’ve done in your past. Not to insult you or anything, but you allow your brain to do the talking instead of your heart,” Shadow Thunder states factually. “You convinced yourself that you are a monster, even going so far as to allow that to blind you from the truth.” The pegasus removes his hoof, the unicorn still keeping her head held high, as Shadow Thunder then conjures forth a normal mirror from his inventory.

Passing the mirror along to the unicorn, the pegasus then gestures for her to look into it. Heeding to his request, Starlight performs the action and sees herself. The mirror reflected something that, surprisingly, even she was ignorant to which caused her to take on an expression of realization. There, staring back at Starlight, was a mare whose cheeks were currently damped all while new tears started to retrace the wet lines of fur.

“You see that beautiful mare covered in tears, Starlight? She’s hurting right now. Not because of what you did in your past but what you refuse to do now,” Upon hearing those words, a small smile was starting to form onto the unicorn’s muzzle as Shadow Thunder continues: “She wants you to move on, to bury the past forever and go forge a life for yourself. Not one that’s filled with regret and self loathing, but happiness and hope.” The smile that was forming onto Starlight’s muzzle was now prominent all while new feelings entered her heart: Hope, forgiveness, and if she didn’t know any better, love.  

“So tell me, Starlight Glimmer, what will you do now? Will you listen to the truth that I’ve been speaking? Will you become the mare that you see in that mirror or will you continue to harm yourself as you are now?” Shadow Thunder inquires as he awaits for her response.

Starlight’s tears were beginning to cease as she used her left forehoof to wipe the tears away. She then hugs the mirror, as if trying to embrace the mare within, and says:

“I… I want to become… her.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Shadow Thunder comments as he places a forehoof onto the unicorn’s shoulders. “Now, instead of wanting to be her. Just. Be. Her. You are one in the same, after all.”

With wobbly legs and on the verge of a new wave of tears, Starlight finally gets back on to her hooves and surprises Shadow Thunder by what she does next. She rears up and hugs him dearly as she cries into his chest region, letting out sobs during the process. However, unlike the previous tears that were shed out of pain and regret, these were brought into being by pure joy and the relief of finally being able to let go of her past.

The dark pegasus chuckles lightly as he happily returns the gesture by wrapping his wings around her along with his forehooves. Still buried into his chest, Starlight manages to let out a heartful: 

“T-thank you.”

“It’s no problem at all, beautiful.”

……….

Unbeknownst to both Starlight and Shadow Thunder, a group of onlookers were spying on them from afar as Pinkie Pie was currently wielding a pair of binoculars.

“Ooh! Ooh! They’re hugging, I think Shadow Thunder managed to make Glim Glam all happy again!” The party pony exclaims happily.

“Yaaaay!” Candy The Party Girl shouts in agreement. “Oh! Let’s go prepare a surprise party for them!”

“You’re speaking my lingo, Candy!” Pinkie Pie responds as the two party lovers zoom off in a blur; leaving behind yet another pair of onlookers: Rarity and Steven The Clothier.

“I knew that my faith in Shadow Thunder was going to be well rewarded. Thank you, darling.”

“Rarity, I suggest we start fashioning clothing fit for a date. I get the feeling that Starlight might have second thoughts about Shadow’s dinner proposal.”





-EQUUS, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, ROYAL COUPLE’S BEDCHAMBERS-

“Hmmm, there’s that feeling again,” Princess Cadence comments. “My senses have been going crazy lately, but I can’t triangulate where these feelings are coming from. Not exactly,” The alicorn then turns her gaze towards Shining Armor, who in turn was overlooking multiple sheets of papers. “Shiny? Are you ok?”

Catching his attention, the unicorn prince then turns away from the papers and looks towards his dearly beloved. All the while, Flurry Heart remains asleep in her cradle.

“I’m fine, Cady. I’m just thinking about the events that happened almost a week ago,” Shining Armor responds as he then turns back to the sheets of papers. “I can’t believe that Tempest betrayed us… I thought that she truly changed. And then, there’s the madness with Blueblood. These forms actually pertain to that traitor.” 

“Wait a second, what’s on those forms?” Cadence inquires.

“Wait, Princess Luna didn’t tell you?”

“I wasn’t there when she announced Blueblood’s betrayal. I was helping your parents collect some of Twilight’s belongings from her castle. They’re really torn up about her disappearance.”

“As am I,” Shining Armor responds with a saddened tone. “Ever since she and the others disappeared that day, I never stopped thinking about her well being.” Cadence was now positioned besides the unicorn as she places a forehoof onto his shoulder and says:

“Spike feels the same way too. He’s growing more mature with every passing day. Did you know that he and Dragon Lord Ember were getting rather close?” Cadence then giggles as Shining Armor reponds:

“Woah oh, really? Huh, then again, those two have been overseeing Ponyville together ever since it got purified. Even Discord helps them from time to time,” The unicorn prince then sighs sadly and says: “I miss my baby sister so much, Cady.”

“We’ll see her again, I know we will. She and the others are fine in that other world, Terraria. I just know it, Shiny,” Cadence reassures as she then looks over the forms. What she sees instantly catches her attention and with a shocked gasp, she comments: “E-execution? A-aunt Luna is going to-”

“Yes, it's going to take place in three days. She wants me to personally overlook... the execution of Blueblood.”
> Chapter 114 - A Shy Mare's Guilt.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, UNKNOWN CAVERN-

A blue portal with grains of sand acting as its outer ring was currently positioned within a cavern. In addition, there was a large pool of water in its epicenter with a depth that was reminiscent of a dark abyss.

Standing before the portal was the very same group from Anubis’s throne room. In addition, Tanner The Guide was currently rubbing the back of his head as he comments:

“He didn’t have to throw me in there…”

“Join the club…” Jeremy The Angler responds.

“Where da’ hay are we?” Applejack inquires which causes Echo Silhouette to respond:

“See that pool in the middle of the room? It serves as the entrance to The Sunken Sea. I personally have the means to breath underwater, but did the rest of you-”

“I can handle that,” King Amidias interjects as The Sea King then starts to perform a spell by clasping his hands together all while a green/blue aura surrounds his body. He then shoots out both of his arms which causes a pulse of energy, along with droplets of water, to engulf the entire cavern. Everyone present, aside from Echo, King Admidias and his guardsmen, were now surrounded by this aura as it then seeps into their bodies.

With a confused expression, Terralestia comments:

“I… I feel different? It’s hard to explain, but, what exactly did you do, your majesty?”

“I have given you all my blessing. It will allow you to breath underwater and you’ll be able to traverse The Sunken Sea without issue. In addition, I have taken into account the darkness of those depths so your eyes have also been, let’s just say, adjusted.”

“Mighty kind of ya, yer’ majesty!” Applejack exclaims thankfully as she then comes to a realization. “Oh, one moment everybody. Lemme just take mah’ hat off and send it to mah’ inventory.” Performing the action, the cowmare takes off her apparel as she then sends it away by placing it into a small vortex that was currently formed before her. The anomaly dissipates as she then swings her mane from left to right. However, unbeknownst to the cowmare, Rainbow Dash’s cheeks were reddened as she watched
the cowmare’s mane sway to and fro. The cyan pegasus became absolutely entranced as she says internally:

-Awesome~- 

Echo Silhouette, taking notice of the love energy that was currently emanating from the pegasus, walks over to the pegasus as he then leans into her and says with a hushed tone:

“Hmmm, judging by your love energy and your heat signature, you wish to mate with that mare.”

Upon hearing those words, Rainbow Dash instantly snaps out of her trance as the redness that was once etched onto her cheeks was now covering her entire face as she replies with a small growl:

“Keep your voice down and stop doing that thing you changelings do. Besides, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Right… you do realize that you just admitted it, and then tried to deny it, right?”

Rainbow Dash started to fidget nervously as the pegasus knew that she couldn’t hide this from a changeling. Despite being a humanoid version of the ones she was all too familiar with, Echo’s kind still worked fundamentally the same. The cyan pegasus then sighs and replies:

“Ok, fine… you were right. Look, just do me a favor and don’t say anything to her, ok? I want to do this right, not just spring it on her out of nowhere.” Echo simply nods in understanding before he says:

“I can do that. However, take it from someone who literally lives off of love and has been alive for over two thousand years as an immortal... you’re going about it the wrong way.”

“Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“I’ll just say that you shouldn’t wait before it gets too late, and leave it at that.” The humanoid changeling comments as he then walks away and goes to join everyone else at the pool; leaving behind a conflicted pegasus who sighs softly, lowers her head to the floor of the cavern, and says:

“I’m so lame… I don’t even have the guts to tell her straight to her face.”





Some time passes by as the group prepares for their spelunking. Various individuals of Amidias’s guards were checking their equipment all while Terralestia, Sai Sahan, Echo, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Tanner The Guide and Jeremy The Angler did the same.

The King Of The Sea suddenly stands proudly before the group as he declares:

“Attention, my dear friends and allies!” This causes everyone to turn and focus their gaze upon Amidias. “We are so close to our objective and The Sunken Sea awaits us! However, I surely don’t need to tell you about the dangers that we are inevitably destined to face. Creatures that even I have no knowledge of could be lurking within these waters. Despite that, I am confident that so long as we remain united as one and watch each other’s backs, we will prevail over any sunken foe that stands in our way!”

“Raaaawwr!”

“For The Sea King!”

“For the glory of Atlantis!”

“Princess Skystar shall be saved!”

Amidias’s men roars out while the rest of the group takes on determined expressions and gives celebretal exclamations of their own.

“Let’s move out!” King Amidias declares as he and a duo of his men are the first to leap into the waters of the entrance to The Sunken Sea. More and more of his men followed suit as even Terralestia and Sai Sahan were among them. Tanner The Guide turns towards The Angler, in addition to the two ponies and Echo, as he says:

“No time for hold ups! Here we go!” The ‘terrarian’ then dives enthusiastically into the pool, followed closely by Echo. All that remained in the cavern was two ponies, one of whom was about to hop in next, before they were stopped by the cyan wing of the other.

“Wait, A.J.” Rainbow Dash comments with her left wing places onto the cowmare’s back. “There’s, uh, s-something I have to tell you.”

“What is it, Rainbow?” Applejack inquires with a raised brow.

Rainbow Dash oh so desperately wanted to take Echo’s advice; to just come out and say the words that represented the feelings she had deep inside. Alas, this sadly would never come to pass as the pegasus hesitates and says:

“I just, uh, wanted to say that… I’ve got your back!”

Applejack chuckles in response and replies:

“Ah know you do, sugarcube. That’s why ah’ know that mah’ back will never be taken by some no good critter. Now come on, let’s go catch up with the others.” The cowmare nods contently before she then runs full speed towards the pool, hops high into the air, and shouts: “Yeehaw!”

A loud splash emanates from the cowmare’s actions as Rainbow Dash says one final thing before she in turn hops into the aquatic abyss and joins the rest of the group:

“Smooth, Dash… real smooth.”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Within Helena The Nurse’s nursery were two individuals. One, a yellow and conscious pegasus while the other was a certain bandit terrarian, who still remained unconscious. They were both currently positioned on two separate beds as the yellow pegasus looks at her left forehoof and comments:

“W-why do I feel so… broken? I seem to be ok, physically… b-but inside my soul, I feel like pieces of myself are gone,” Fluttershy then covers her face with her forehooves and with tears forming in her eyes, she continues: “I-I’m so sorry, I’ve failed you… Crimulan… Ebonian…”

“You didn’t fail them,” A new and familiar voice injected which causes the shy pegasus to shoot her gaze towards a certain werefox, who was currently standing by the entrance to the nursery. “Based on what the others told me, The Slime Gods wanted to do it. You are not to blame for what happened at The Dungeon.”

“Ritsu,” Fluttershy responds as she then wipes her tears before she continues: “A-are you here to check on me?” The werefox nods happily in response. “Thank you, I really appreciate it,” Fluttershy then takes on a saddened expression. “But you’re wrong… I did fail them-”

“Fluttershy, stop it,” Ritsu interjects sternly as she starts to approach the bed of which the pegasus was laid upon. “I’ll repeat myself a hundred times if I have to, just to get you to understand this: It. Wasn’t. Your. Fault.”

“It was though! If I wasn’t so weak, then they would never have to do that!”

“Fluttershy, you’re thinking all about this the wrong way.”

“Am I?!” The pegasus roars out as a red and purple aura momentarily flashes and consumes her body before it then dissipates. “No! It’s the truth, Ritsu. They never would’ve had to sacrifice themselves if I had just been able to-”

“What could you have done Fluttershy, huh?” Ritsu responds with a stern tone as she was now positioned alongside Fluttershy, just to the side of the bed. “Please, enlighten me with this master plan of yours, that you feel makes you responsible for what happened. Besides, we don’t even know If they’re dead. They are keeping Greed sealed up within The Dungeon, no one said anything about them dying. There’s a difference, Fluttershy.”

“B-but, I could’ve-”

“Fluttershy,” Ritsu interjects. “You love animals just as much as I do, right?”

“Wait, what does that-”

“Answer the question. I’m sorry for cutting you off, but I need to be rough with you.”

The shy pegasus’s ears noticeably flattened against their head in response before she says:

“Yes, of course I do. But, um, what does that have to do with this?”

Ritsu then grabs the shy mare’s hoof as she comments:

“What happened in The Dungeon is comparable to any animal, a mother, who does everything within her power in order to ensure that her young will survive. No, that doesn't include the creatures who eat their own young when in the face of danger. What The Slime Gods did for you is the exact same thing, not the eating their own children part, but the first one,” Fluttershy’s features starts to lift upon hearing those words, which prompts Ritsu to continue: “It’s not about being strong enough. In fact, there will always be a bigger dog out there, metaphorically speaking. We will encounter powerful foes on our journey and we will have to resort to drastic measures in order to ensure that our friends and loved ones will survive. Sometimes, that’s just the way life is,” Ritsu then lifts herself up and joins Fluttershy on the bed as she caresses the pegasus’s mane with her right hand and continues:

“I would’ve done the same thing for you,” This causes Fluttershy’s gaze to shoot towards Ritsu with widened eyes and an expression of realization. “So would Twilight. And Rarity. And Applejack,” Ritsu then smirks as she notices the shy pegasus was starting to truly comprehend her words. “Now, do you see where I’m going with this?”

Fluttershy was momentarily stunned as she truly thought about the werefox’s words. Slowly coming to the realization, the pegasus thought back to how she and her friends practically threw themselves at Razeem, The Moon Lord, in an effort to protect their homeworld; along with everyone they loved.

“I… I,” The pegasus says as she stutters her words, but the expression of realization is starting to take over as she then recalls the actions of Princess Pinkie. In an effort to save Fluttershy’s life, The Slime Princess begged the slime deities to save her friend, thus turning the shy mare into an immortal in the process. This in turn also allowed Fluttershy to do everything in her power to save her friends and allies.

With a satisfied smirk and a raised brow, Ritsu chuckles before she comments:

“You’re starting to get the jist of it now, eh?”

“Th… They did it to… save me.”

“Finally!” Ritsu exclaims as she boops Fluttershy’s nose with her right index finger; causing the pony to scrunch in response. “Duh! You silly mare. They wanted to protect you and your friends because they love you. For what greater sacrifice is there than to do it for the ones you love? Just like I’m sure that you would do the same for any of us. Now let me ask you, Fluttershy. Would you want for us to feel like it’s our fault that you sacrificed yourself to save us by your own will?”

The pegasus’s features instantly morphed into worry as she replies:

“No, of course not. I would want you all to live your lives and go on… just like… Crimulan and Ebonian did for me, for all of us,” Fluttershy’s realization finally dawns on her as the pegasus’s widened eyes start to shrink before she continues: “Oh, oh my gosh, you were right, Ritsu. I was looking at this the wrong way. I thought that they, well, did what they did because of me, but now I realize that they did it for me.”

“There’s a good pony. Now, tell me with your own words and prove to me with your own actions, what you’re going to do next.”

The shy pegasus’s face then shifts into determination as she gently pulls away from Ritsu and comments:

“First thing’s first, I’m getting out of this bed,” True to her words, fluttershy lifts herself up and stands on top of the bed on all four hooves before she then hops off and lands onto the nurseries’ floor, which results in the sounds of clopping hooves. She then turns towards Ritsu, who in turn was still positioned by the bed, and states: “I’m going to get stronger so that I can one day go back there and free them. I’ll improve on my strength as both a summoner and a ranged fighter.”

“That’s what I like to hear. And I know just where we can go to improve your abilities. Once everyone returns from their objectives, we should all go there.”

Perking up both of her ears and with a slightly confused face, the yellow pegasus inquires:

“Oh, um, where are we going?”

“To Camelot, the capital of Terraria.”
> Chapter 115 - The Sunken Sea Pt:1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM-

Within a large throne room that was arguably the epicenter of The Temple, Yharim was currently sat upon his throne within a pondering posture, all while Yharon’s large frame towers behind him as the dragon kept his wings spread in all their glory. One couldn’t help but to compliment Yharim’s foresight to make many of the chambers throughout The Temple large enough to accommodate Yharon’s size.

The throne room possessed a sort of ancient beauty, a monument, even, which stood against the age of time. Ancient tapestries, some of which depicted events of the very distant past, were currently adorned upon the various walls of the large chamber. In addition, goblets of fire were burning strongly as they were etched onto the walls and various of Yharim’s guardsmen were currently standing at their posts.

Suddenly, a whirlwind of shadows mixed with lavender colored energy starts to form itself before The Jungle Tyrant, which in turn causes him to say:

“Ah, I see you’ve returned. Report to me, Signus.”

The swirling darkness continues to dance about chaotically before the aforementioned entity finally comes into being. A cloaked individual with six purple eyes hidden within the hood’s veil was now floating before the tyrant, as Signus responds:

“We… I have prevented the witch, and that pony, from engaging in conflict.” Yharim simply facepalms and lets out an irritated sigh as he responds:

“My thanks, Signus. Not only do I have to deal with a loose cannon, Calamitas… that pony is also one of the many keys I need for my true goal, but it doesn’t help me when those two are constantly at each other’s throats.”

“If I may, Yharim, what is the significance of that pony?” Signus inquires which causes Yharim to lower his hand, thus ending his ‘facepalming’. “Ponies, despite being the children of Harmony, are really not all that special. Why then, are you investing in this one?”

Incidentally, Yharon lets out a rumble as the dragon knew what Yharim was going to refer to and comments:

“Those events sure bring back a lot. The gods themselves would often clash with each other just to assert themselves, turning Terraria into their own battlefield.”

Finally, after simply sitting on his throne in thought for a few moments, Yharim clasps his hands together and looks up towards the ceiling as he comments:

“There is much that this world has forgotten in its ancient past. Secrets that go back even before my own birth. Among these many secrets are The Ancients. You remember them, right? The same ones we faced over two thousand years ago?”

“Yes, The Devourer Of Gods nearly consumed all deities in existence. However, the combined efforts of Athena, Harmony, The Equinox Duo, Anubis, Greed--who formed a temporary alliance with them--and the entire race of the dryads, were able to cast out The Devourer. Fortunately, we know how to bring Twi-” Suddenly, Signus pauses for a moment as the entity shakes its head before it continues: “We… know how to bring The Devourer back.”

Taking notice of that momentary action, Yharim states internally: -So, you’re still in there somewhere. I’ll have to correct that, later-

“Why do they matter and what does the pony have to do with them?” Signus inquires which pulls Yharim out from his internal monologue before he responds:

“I won’t reveal everything to you just yet, Signus. That can come later. However, I’m also confident that the truth will reveal itself in the coming days,” Yharim answers as he then raises a finger, in an effort to emphasize a point, and says: “There is another ancient, one that was once believed to have been banished from this world. Funny, isn’t it? Being banished has ways of undoing itself in this world it seems. However, as you know, I’ve been molding certain events to bring forth my vision,” Yharim then extends his right arm as he conjures forth a tapestry that depicted a very particular scenario: The night when The Moon Lord invaded Equus. “It was all not only for the unification of Equus and Terraria, but to also bring those two here. Pinkamena… Pinkie Pie… their ‘antics’ are thanks to their connection to: Oblivion, bringer of The Void.”

The Jungle Tyrant then lifts himself off of his throne and declares:

“There can only be one god, one supreme power, one great evil…” Yharim then lowers his head. “One hero,” He then raises his gaze once more. “And that shall be, me.”





-TERRARIA, CAMELOT-

Some time after the momentary conflict with Calamitas, which in turn was halted by Signus; in addition to leaving Princess Cadence’s bedchambers, Pinkamena was currently performing her task as she once again was stealthily making her way throughout the capital. Stopping on one of the many rooftops, Pinkamena then pulls out a map with various ‘X’s marking the spots of certain locations.

“This is madness, they’re setting everything up for a bucking demon invasion,” Pinkamena comments. “According to this map, I have to place these runes in specific locations. Now, the first one is…” The dark pink pony then narrows her eyes as she closely observes the map. She locates the first spot that was the closest: The Order Of The Guide. “Alright then. That bucking asshole’s guild is going to be first on the list, it seems. Tanner… if I find out that you did anything to my sister, I’ll butcher you whole. Yharim’s threats be damned.” Upon saying those words, Pinkemena spits in disgust as she then continues to make her way towards the aforementioned guild.

Finally reaching the rooftop of The Order Of The Guide, Pinkamena extends a forehoof towards a secluded spot on the rooftop. However, before making contact, something from deep within her psyche speaks to her.

-Pin… ka… mena-

As expected, this causes the dark pink pony to jump in place as she scowls in response and shouts:

“Who’s there?! Who are you?!”

-Do not fret, Pinkamena… for I am you, and you are I-

“What are you talking about?”

-Allow me to put it this way: As you are the strength to Pinkie Pie, I am the Mena... to you-

“W-what the buck… what exactly do you mean by that?!”

-Think about it, Mena. When Pinkie Pie gives into her sadness or desperately needs to defend herself, she becomes you. Before you two got separated, that is-

“W… wait, you mean that...”

-Yes, Mena. I am what results when you go even further into your dark abyss. I am you and your sister’s final stage, one could say. She may no longer be with us but we three are always connected. Our psyche is vast and can house the consciousness of other entities. Why, you even have Valencia and that Skeletron fellow in here. All that being said, you and I are a bit more… intertwined. There is so much that I must reveal to you-

The dark pink pony suddenly falls to the ground in discomfort and grabs her head with her forehooves as a serious headache suddenly pulsates itself, nearly racking her entire body in the process. Sharpened teeth were now starting to elongate, similar to what Nightmare Moon had possessed within her own maw. Her eyes became blackened with red pupils hidden within, as Pinkamena’s voice became deepened.

“We are the bringers of GrimDark, The Void. The Ancients have awakened, the prophecy is nearly complete, and we… are Oblivion,” Oblivion then extends their left forehoof forwards and comments: “These runes from Nyarlathotep, and the demons of The Underworld, shall aid The Void’s return.”

‘Pinkamena’ then performs the deed as they place the demonic rune while also adding... something else.

“These are capable of twisting and bending reality itself. When the worlds become one, ancient curses and seals shall become undone. The forces of light and dark shall be unleashed during the coming conflicts and that… will be our time to rise.”





-TERRARIA, DR DRAEDON’S CRIMSON BIOME LABORATORY-

“Twilight, try to calm yourself,” Linn comments with her right hand extended towards the angered alicorn. “I know this upsets you, but-”

“No!” Twilight roars out in response. “I refuse to allow that thing to return! Cyborg or not!” The lavender mare’s horn was now beginning to emit a powerful lavender aura as she says: “Move away from that computer panel, I’m sending this entire place to The Underworld!”

“Twilight, wait,” Another voice injects itself but what catches the alicorn mare completely by surprise was the fact that it was her very own voice, being mimicked by none other than Tori. “Do not be so hasty and give into your rage. Trust me, I understand the temptation of giving into anger; especially when it’s aimed towards a certain individual,” This causes the lavender alicorn’s ears to twitch as Tori continues: “However, let us gather and salvage any and all information from this place. Besides, you skipped one important thing.”

This noticeably caused the alicorn’s angered expression to turn into confusion as she inquires:

“What do you mean by that? I skipped something?” Tori nods in response as the kenku then imitates Linn’s voice and says:

“The file said that Dr Draedon wasn’t able to complete Cyborg Brainiac due to The Hivemind destroying this lab when it escaped.”

A mixture of shock and sudden realization became etched onto the lavender alicorn’s face as she widens her eyes and open and closes her mouth repeatedly before she then lets out a simple:

“O-oh…” Both Celebes The Dryad and Linn nod in agreement as Twilight laughs sheepishly before saying: “S-still, I do firmly believe that we should destroy this place… even though my curiosity begs me to do the opposite.”

“Actually, Twilight,” Celebes responds. “We’re still going to destroy the lab, but only after we get everything that we need from this place. Tori was just trying to stop you from doing that now.They’ve already set charges throughout the entire laboratory and once we’re done here, we can blow this place sky high and go find an alter.”

Blinking twice in response, and finally grasping the situation, Twilight was now slightly dumbfounded as she comments:

“Ooooh, I get it…”





-TERRARIA, THE SUNKEN SEA-



Aside from King Amidias, his guardsmen and even Echo Silhouette, the group were absolutely shocked by what they were seeing before them. An entire aquatic ecosystem was present before them with multiple bioluminescent forms of life, be it flora and fauna, swimming to and fro. These luminous entities came in multiple colorations. Some were pink, others orange, but one color seemed to have dominated most: Blue.





Thanks to The Sea King’s blessing, Rainbow Dash, Terralestia, Applejack, Sai Sahan, Jeremy The Angler and Tanner The Guide were effortlessly able to swim and navigate themselves through the underground waters, despite the lack of fins to do so. In addition, they were not only able to breath underwater but their vision became well acclimated to the sunken seas’ darkness which allowed them to see a fair distance ahead, but not entirely.

“Whoa… this place looks awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaims as she takes in the various creatures, a few mysterious forms of coral, and the overall surroundings all around her.

“Ah’ be darned, this place is simply beautiful. Pretty dark, but beautiful.” Applejack compliments.

“Like you~” Rainbow Dash says in a lowered tone.

“What was that, R.D?” The cowmare inquired as she was only able to faintly pick up the pegasus’s words. Momentarily panicking, Rainbow Dash was quick to come up with a lie as she responds nervously:

“L-like your orchard! This place is as beautiful as your family’s orchard!”

“Ah, shucks, thanks R.D.” Applejack responds with a content smile.

……….

“I can’t believe how incredible this is,” Terralestia comments as she slowly turns towards Sai Sahan. “What do you think, Sa- What are you… doing?” Terralestia comments as she notices the nervous expression that was plastered onto Sai’s face as the male terrarian was also inches away from grabbing onto her in fear. One couldn’t help but to laugh at the sight of what was once a hardened warrior, was now a jittering mess.

“I, um… hate being in the sea,” Sai responds in a fearful tone. “I didn’t want to admit it before, for the sake of the mission and to not let you all down, but I have a small case of… Thalassophobia. I put on a brave face when we were back in the cavern.”

These words momentarily shocks Terralestia as she then giggles to herself and replies:

“I thought you said that you got over it? You can be so silly sometimes. You can face down the creatures of The Crimson, a horde of undead, and even that bastard, Yharim, with unbroken bravery but the sea is what gets you?”

“C-come on, Celly… don’t be like that.” Sai responds as he looks to and fro nervously, even nearly letting out a loud screech when a bioluminescent fish grazed him. Terralestia smirks as she comments:

“Well, feel free to grab onto me whenever you want, Sai.” This causes the male terrain’s features to go red as he says:

“I-I think I can manage. I can’t believe how pitiful I must look right now…”

The entire group continues to navigate The Sunken Sea as they diligently try to locate any signs of The Crab Brotherhood’s activities. Unbeknownst to them all, they were currently being watched by a large number of serpentine entities, bioluminescent creeps of the deep.


> Chapter 116 - The Sunken Sea Pt:2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE SUNKEN SEA-

As the group continued to swim about the depths of The Sunken Sea, one of Amidias’s men, who was currently positioned at the far back of the group along with two others, felt something disturbing as the merfolk looked over his shoulder.

Noticing this, one of his nearby allies questions:

“Coralis, you alright?”

“P-perhaps… but I can’t shake this feeling that we’re being watched. I could’ve sworn I heard movement a small distance behind us.” Coralis responds.

“Try to keep on your fins. This place hasn’t been explored in years and the only ones who seem to have been here before are the enemy, the cultists.” The guard responds.

Coralis is quick to regain his composure as he then nods his head in response before saying:

“You’re right, It was likely some of the wildlife here. I’m surprised by how passive some of them appear to be.”

“According to the changeling, most of them are only provoked when you attack them.” The guard responds as he turns his gaze forwards once more; away from Coralis. “Let me know if you get that feeling again, alright?”

No response comes from Coralis which prompts the guard to question:

“Coralis?” The guard then turns back, only to see that Coralis is now gone. However, the guard’s eyes widened in horror as he noticed a trail of blood that was left behind where Coralis once was. Managing to recover from his fear, he shouts:

“Everyone! There’s somethi- bleurgh!”



Everyone who was currently swimming in front of the former guard instantly turns around as their gazes are met with a horrifying sight. The guard’s words were silenced as it is revealed that a serpentine entity has bitten him clean in half; feasting on his lower half. The serpent simply glares at the group as it lets out a haunting roar.



Following this action, other identical entities were now emerging from the nearby darkness as they let out the exact same roar as the first, just outside of the group’s vision.

“Everyone! Prepare for battle!” King Amidias roars out which causes every terrarian, pony, and merfolk to take on combat stances. He then conjures forth his trident and says: “Step into the light! Foul creeps of the deep!” Upon saying those words, Amidias’s trident then starts to glow with a powerful blue aura which incidentally matches the bioluminescent color of the creatures themselves.

Everyone’s eyes widened in a mix of fear and horror as they could now truly see what was stalking them: Large serpentine entities which were practically seven to nine feet long in length. The group forms a large circle formation as they turn back to back; aiming their weapons towards their shared foes. They start to combat the serpents while also being sure to not break their formation as various fight scenarios play out.

……….

“What the buck are those things?!” Rainbow Dash roars out as she takes aim with her Minishark.

“Ah’ don’t know! But they picked the wrong group to mess with!” Applejack exclaims in response as she prepares to swing away at the group’s rapidly moving foes with her Orange Phaseblade.

The serpentine monstrosities continue to dart in rapid succession all around the group, waiting to pick off any who were foolish enough to move away. One of the creatures tries its luck and darts towards Applejack.

“Wrong move, ya dang varmint!” The cowmare roars out as she rushes forth a short distance and meets the open maw of the creature head on. Gritting her teeth, she swings the Phaseblade in an upwards motion with all her might as the energy based weapon cuts the entity’s lower jaw clean in half and leaves behind a vibrant burn mark, which also stuns the monstrosity as it lets out a painful screech.

“I’ll finish it off!” Rainbow exclaims as she unloads her Minishark into the serpent all while the creature’s red blood continues to fog its general area due to its wounds.

……….

“Take a Harpoon to the face, motherfuckers!” Jeremy The Angler exclaims as various spear-like projectiles are let loose from the weapon.

“Thank goodness you had multiple of these Harpoons!” Tanner The Guide shouts as he, Terralestia, and Sai Sahan were also wielding the same weapon, courtesy of The Angler, as they fire away at the darting serpents.

……….

King Amidias was currently letting loose bolts of lightning from his trident all while his faithful guardsmen were both defending him and assisting the rest of the group with their combat scenarios.

“I’ve always dreaded the day that I would see this species of Sea Serpent,” King Amidias comments. “They are incredibly intelligent! Take notice of how they keep their distance and wait for an opportunity to strike us!” The King then glances towards his trident and says internally:

-I could easily finish them off were I to possess the trident’s full power. But she has the other half- 

……….

Wielding a very particular bow that was reminiscent of the black form of a changeling, Echo Silhouette was currently firing off very unique arrows as they explode upon impact into what one could easily mistaken to be fireworks.

Taking notice of this and positioned next to the humanoid changeling, in addition to Applejack, Rainbow Dash inquires:

“What kind of arrows are those?”

“Jester’s Arrows, forged from fallen stars themselves.” Echo responds as he fires off another arrow which results in another light show that damages their foes.

……….

The battle continues to wage on and during this time, Amidias has sadly lost two more of his men. However, the group in turn were able to kill off five of the serpents. Despite those victories, a large number of the serpents still remained as they continued to dart around their intended prey, letting loose screeching roars in the process.

Echo Silhouette suddenly gets an epitome as the humanoid changeling roars out:

“Everyone! I have a plan but you must continue on when I tell you to do so!” This causes everyone else present to listen attentively, all while they continue to brace themselves for the attacks of any confident serpents. “I’m going to transform into something that can buy you all enough time to escape and continue onwards!”

“No!” Applejack roars out. “We can’t just leave you here!”

“You misunderstand, Applejack,” Echo replies with a smirk and a determined expression. “This isn’t some ‘sacrifice myself and die to let you all escape’ scenario,” Suddenly, a familiar green flame starts to surround the changeling which in turn doesn’t seem to be affected by the waters all around them. “No offence, but I can’t have any of you get in my way.”

The cowmare can only noid in response as she and the other members of the group start to move behind Echo. They then swim backwards in order to give the humanoid changeling some room. The green flames that surrounded Echo now start to enlarge themselves as the vibrant green light from those flames causes all of the serpents to stop before him. Slowly but surely, a large entity was slowly starting to come into being as a series of black tentacles thrashed about which were attached to an arrow shaped head; followed by large orange eyes with black slit pupils.

King Amidias instantly recognizes the creature that the humanoid changeling has become as he comments:

“One of the apex predators of the deep, which happens to prey on sea serpents. A creature that inspired many tales by land lovers: The Kraken.”



Now assuming his new form and with a deepened voice that nearly shakes the local area, Echo exclaims:

“Go! I shall tear them apart and ensure your safe passage!” The Kraken-like entity exclaims as the monstrosity sends forth its tentacles and manages to entangle various members of the serpent pack. Echo then brings them to his hidden maw and starts to devour the captured serpents one by one.

As this goes on, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s eyes were widened in shock as the pegasus comments:

“Ok, I’m pretty sure that our changelings can only transform into creatures that they’ve stolen love from before.”

“Yeah, and Echo’s never been to the sea before, at least from what he told me,” Applejack responds. “So when in the hay did he meet a-”

“From what Lord Anubis has informed me,” Terralestia interjects. “Echo’s species just needs to imagine the creature or form they want and it becomes a reality. No prior contact with the creature is necessary. You remember them disguising themselves as statues, right?”

The two ponies, in addition to various other members of the group, continue to watch on in shock as Echo continues to thrash his tentacles about which either sends a serpent hurling into the floors of The Sunken Sea or entraps them before the kraken-like entity then brings them to his maw and eats the creature whole.

“Come on, we need to take advantage of this opportunity and leave!” Sai Sahan exclaims as everyone else nods to the terrarian in response before the entire group turns and swims away from the ensuing battle. The last thing they could hear as they continue to distance themselves from the fighting was the fear inducing roar of the kraken-like entity.





Some time passes by and after having escaped the large pack of serpents; allowing Echo Silhouette to engage their deep sea foes, the group was currently relieved to spot something that was all too promising to them all: An undersea temple which was obviously dedicated to Crabulon as the statue of a large crab-like entity was all too prominent.

Rainbow Dash in particular could only stare on with a deadpan expression as she comments monotonously:

“All this for a bucking crab…”

“Ah’ know, R.D.” Applejack responds with a deadpan expression of her own. “Ah’ know…”

……….

The group was now entering the temple but something else was starting to capture their attention as glowing objects littered the inner sanctum. Upon realization, they could now see that these were in fact: Glowing Mushrooms. Then, after heading deeper into the flooded temple, they were surprised to see that there was a sort of surface coming up. Incidentally, the glowing mushrooms were now becoming even more numerous as they drew near the water’s surface. The group finally breaches the surface of the water and now found themselves in a large chamber but unlike the one they had arrived in, this one was covered in bioluminescent soil and of course, the ever present mushrooms.

Everyone simply stares on in awe as King Amidias comments:

“By the corals of the sea, I never thought I’d ever see it for myself…” This catches the attention of everyone else present as Jeremy The Angler questions:

“Wait, where the hell are we?”

“Oh my goodness, I recognize this place,” Terralestia states. “I’ve never been here before but I read all about it back when we were still… Yharim’s students,” Terralestia says in disgust as she then walks towards a small cluster of the glowing mushrooms and comments: “There’s no mistaking it, this is: The Glowing Mushroom Biome.”

While many of the group’s members lets out ‘awes’ and ‘whoas’, Rainbow Dash in particular comments with a deadpan expression:

“Gee, go figure- ouch!” The cyan pegasus lets out a painful exclamation as Applejack hits her stomach region with a forehoof.

“Rainbow, don’t be rude.”

“Oh come on, I was just saying-”

“Ooph!” A new voice exclaims which causes the group to turn towards a new entity who seems to be splayed out on the floor. From what they could tell, this new individual seems to have tripped and fallen. However, what gets their attention even more is the fact that this entity was a sort of sentient mushroom humanoid.

Everyone was of course shocked by this new creature as they took on expressions to match their current state. However, one in particular, Terralestia, comments:

“T-that’s… a Truffle.” The aforementioned entity then starts to rise back onto its feet before attempting to dust itself off. The humanoid mushroom then turn around and comments:

"Forgive Shroom if Shroom has scared you. Shroom knows that Shroom look is scary, but Shroom no try to harm you. Shroom wish to be friend, no foe. Also... Shroom want your help."


(Image belongs to its respective owner.)
> Chapter 117 - Hidden Allies.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Most of the denizens of Home Town were currently going about their business. Ceeman The Arms Dealer was currently guarding the wall all while Vinny The Demolitionist was overlooking the opposite side of town.

Helena The Nurse was currently cleaning out her nursery along with the aid of both Fluttershy and Ritsu.

……….

Lucan The Merchant and Ross Bossman The Tavernkeeper were currently conversing about some recent events along with Ross mentioning wanting to set up another tavern. He was currently conflicted on whether or not he’d do it here or simply wait until they travel to the capital.

……….

Having finally woken and currently engaged in conversation, Tempest The Bandit had inquired Magius The Wizard about what had happened during their recent delve into The Dungeon and why there was a large multicolored dome currently over the aforementioned location.

“W-well, you see, Tempest… a creature, or an ancient god named: Greed, had adjusted your memories due to his suspicions of you realizing who he was before he betrayed us all and rendered you unconscious…” Magius answers as he goes on to inform The Bandit of all that had transpired during her unconsciousness.

……….

Within Candy Cane Corner, both Pinkie Pie and Candy The Party Girl were currently preparing various meals and baking a multitude of pastries. In addition, they had also finished decorating the establishment; along with setting up a various assortment of party props. This was all in preparation of throwing a surprise party for a certain duo. However, during this time, the pink pony couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness as she comments:

“I miss you so much, Mena.”

“Don’t worry, Pinkie,” Candy comments. “We’ll help your sister and get your life force back.”

“B-but, how? Where do we even start?” Pinkie Pie inquires in a saddened tone as her mane mildly deflates. However, Candy suddenly leans into the party pony and says in a lowered tone:

“My sis and I know some people. We actually might’ve told them to infiltrate Yharim’s stronghold; along with another ally of theirs: Leinfors.”

This causes Pinkie Pie to gasp in response before she questions:

“Wait, who’s Leinfors?”

“As I mentioned, he’s an associate of another duo my sister and I know. We’ve already informed them of you and your sister’s plight and they agreed to help her. Fun fact: Did you know that Leinfors used to be a famous adventurer? He even knew another adventurer named: Snow.”

Pinkie Pie was noticeably shocked by this revelation as she then recovers her composure and says:

“Wait a second, why didn’t you tell me any of this before?” This causes Candy to laugh sheepishly in response as she puts a hand to the back of her neck and says:

“I, uh, kind of had to play it safe. I couldn’t risk any of this leaking out.” Pinkie Pie then gasps before replying:

“Oh my gosh! Candy, are you like some secret agent?!”

The Party Girl simply laughs in response before she says:

“No, not exactly. Let’s just say that I’ve been around, and earned a lot of favors. I cashed this one in and my two contacts should be within Yharim’s forces by now. I can only hope that all goes well...”

“Yaaaay!” Pinkie Pie exclaims happily as she then hugs The Party Girl. “Thank you so much for this, Candy. Oh! And you too inside there, Candymena.”

Candy then takes on an attentive expression, as if listening to an invisible entity, and giggles before saying:

“Sis says: It’s cool.”

“So, what are the names of your secret agents?” Pinkie Pie inquires as she then pulls a large brown jacket out of her mane, accompanied by a detective’s hat, and wears the vanity items in mere seconds.

Candy gives the party pony an approving nod before she responds:

“Their names are: Braelor and Statis.”

……….

A sudden beam of light mixed with ice materializes itself into being; followed soon after by four individuals: Steven The Clothier, Rarity, Shadow Thunder, and Starlight Glimmer.

“I can’t believe you two were spying on us.” Starlight comments with narrowed eyes.

“Perish the thought, darling,” Rarity responds with a small pinch of nervousness. “We simply happened to be passing by, is all,” Rarity then turns to Steven. “Right, Steven?”

“Y-yeah! We were, uh, finding some cobwebs to make more cloth. Would you believe that you two happened to be near a large spider cave?”

Both Starlight and Shadow Thunder glances towards each other with a raised eyebrow before they then turn back towards the fashionistas. The dark stallion then chuckles before he says:

“I’m just glad that Starlight is feeling better now.” The unicorn mare then laughs sheepishly before saying:

“Yeah… I guess now that I think about it all, and with a clear mind now, I really was blind to punish myself like that. I owe you big time, Shadow Thunder.”

“It’s no problem at all, beautiful.” The dark pegasus responds which causes Starlight’s features to go beat red as she then turns her head away. Where at one point she would normally reject the compliment, prior to her talk with Shadow Thunder, she now embraced the compliment as for the first time in a long while, the unicorn mare truly felt as if she actually deserved it. That she was indeed worthy of being called: Beautiful.

Starlight then takes on a determined expression as she regains her composure and says with her head held high:

“You know what? I was never a mare to beat around the bush,” She then turns towards Shadow Thunder, all while drawing the attention of the two fashionista’s and of course the dark stallion, as she says: “Shadow Thunder, It would be my pleasure to accept your proposal for a date, to take me out to dinner,” She then fidgets in place and runs a forehoof against the ground before stating: “I-if you’d still have me, that is?”

Rarity was now on the verge of screaming in absolute delight all while Steven gave Shadow an approving gesture. The dark pegasus was momentarily taken aback by Starlight’s forwardness, although it certainly was a pleasant change compared to how the unicorn mare held herself up once before. Finally; with a smile forming onto his muzzle, Shadow Thunder bows down before the unicorn mare as he lowers his left foreleg and says:

“Starlight, it would be an honor to have you as my date. And, yes, I definitely would still like to have you,” The dark stallion then rises back to his complete stature, all while Starlight takes on a pleasant expression in addition to both Rarity and Steven admiring the scene in the background. The pegasus then continues: “We can start things off slowly and see where we go from there. However, If I’m being honest with you…” He then chuckles nervously as he puts a forehoof behind his head and continues: “I, um, really hope that you’ll take me as your special somepony, someday.”

Starlight giggles in response with a forehoof covering her muzzle before she then starts to walk, with a bit of a skip in her steps. She passes by the momentarily confused stallion and absolutely stuns the dark pegasus by what she does next. The unicorn mare pauses for a moment, looks over her shoulder, and brushes her tail gently across the stallion’s face as she comments:

“You just might~” The unicorn mare then holds her head high, closes her eyes contently, and skips merrily towards the direction of the library; leaving behind an absolutely flustered pegasus pony who was now completely under her spell as he comments with a derpy looking expression:

“W-woooooow~”

Using her left forehoov to fan herself, Rarity comments:

“My word, darlings. I never took Starlight to be a flirt.” This causes Steven to take on a confused expression as he questions:

“I assume this is a pony thing? What was with the tail brushing?” Rarity laughs in response with a hoof covering her muzzle as she then replies:

“Ohoho, let’s just say that Starlight might very well be interested in our good stallion here. That, and the fact that Twilight and the others will have quite the amount of revelations when they get back,” Rarity then looks off towards the skies as she comments: “I hope you’re all doing ok, darlings.”





-TERRARIA, THE CRIMSON-

A pillar of flames suddenly appears as Twilight, Tori, Linn, and Celebes The Dryad were brought into being soon after.

“I can’t believe that we didn’t learn all too much in Draedon’s lab… most if it was just about the origins of The Perforators and The Hivemind. Not to mention Cyborg Brainiac,” The lavender mare then lets out a sigh of relief as she then comments: “I’m just glad that this doctor wasn’t able to complete that in time. According to the file, that is.”

Everyone nods in response as Tori then conjures forth a very particular device. Upon closer inspection, Twilight inquires:

“I-Is that… a type of detonator?” Tori nods in response before the kenku then imitates, shockingly, Applejack’s voice and responds:

“That is correct, Ah’ have set various sticks of dynamite throughout the lab. Once ah’ activate this detonator, the explosion will no doubt catch unwanted attention.”

“Tori’s right,” Linn comments. “We’ll need to be swift, which is why…” The pink haired terrarian then conjures forth some type of magical object which held the appearance of an apple. Linn then raises the apple high into the air and calls forth two horses: Ves, and another horse that accompanied Linn’s trusty steed which was of a red coloration with a black mane and tail. “That horse is for you, Celebes,” She then turns her gaze towards both Twilight and Tori. “You two need a horse? I figured since you both had wings, you’d be ok, but I have three more left thanks to this item.”

Twilight’s eyes widened with absolute curiosity as she took notice of the apple-like object and its effects. However, before she could say anything, Tori interjects and comments with Applejack’s voice still in effect:

“Naw, ah’ can keep up with y’all mighty fine, but ah’ appreciate the offer.”

“Ok, you and I are going to discuss your species’ various properties in the future,” Twilight comments as she then replies to Linn, saying: “And I’ll be fine as well. Thank you, Linn.”

With Celebes and Linn now mounted on their horses, in addition to Twilight ready to take off towards the crimson skies, Tori prepares to activate the detonator as the kenku performs a countdown like gesture with their left hand by holding up three fingers and clasping the others. One by one, the three fingers also start to clasp into a closed fist as Tori finally activates the detonator.

[BOOM]

[BOOM]

[BOOM]

A series of multiple large explosions roars out as piles of flesh are being thrown into the air. Both Celebes and Linn prompt their mounts to start moving all while Twilight takes to the skies. Tori performs a sprint alongside the two horses while also letting the kenku’s arms stretch outwards, behind the humanoid bird. As expected and following the large explosion, various roars of the monsters from the living flesh echoes out as the aforementioned monstrosities start to form from the fleshy landscape and soon gives chase to the fleeing group.





-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM-

Having successfully planted the runes in Camelot and returned to the underground kingdom of The Jungle Tyrant, Pinkamena was currently making her way towards her quarters as she often placed a forehoof to her head and gritted her teeth. Ever since this “Oblivion” entity, or even consciousness, made itself known, the dark pink pony has often had sudden headaches ever since the experience. Fortunately, like an explosion, it would only come and go but it did leave her with many questions as she says:

“What the buck is going on with me? What does all of this mean? And why is it showing up now of all times?” Pinkamena then takes notice of two guardsmen who were currently positioned outside of her quarters, on opposite sides of the door/entrance. Now drawing near them, the two guards take notice of the encroaching pony as they then turn to each other and give the other a nod. The guard on the left side of the door opens it, all while the guard on the right says:

“Welcome back, Pinkamena. Your quarters have been prepared for you during your absence.”

“Cool.” Pinkamena responds monotonously as she enters the room. However, instead of hearing the door close behind her, the dark pink pony’s ears perk up as she could instead hear the two guardsmen enter her room before they then finally close the door, with a fairly loud thud.

In preparation and thanks to the room’s secrecy, Pinkamena says internally:

-Yo, Skelly-

-What is It, pony?-

-Get ready to tear these two apart, why the buck would they--

“Pinkamena, my partner and I are your allies,” One of the guards comments which causes the dark pink pony to turn around completely and meet their gaze. The very same guard who had just spoken then removes his helmet before saying:

“My name is: Braelor,” Braelor then extends a hand towards his ally and says: “And this here is: Statis.” Statis in turn also takes off his helmet before saying:

“We understand that you might not trust us, which is why we brought you a gift from someone.” Statis then conjures forth a very particular pastry from his inventory, one that instantly caused the dark pink mare’s eyes to widen in recognition as she comments:

“T-that’s… a cupcake from… my sister.”

“Yes,” Statis responds. “Our associate, Candy The Party Girl, managed to procure this for us and told us that it will earn us your ears,” Statis then walks closer and beckons for the dark pink pony to take the pastry. “All we ask is for you to hear us out. This may very well be most interesting to you.”

With a small hint of caution, Pinkamena walks forth as her gaze is focused on the cupcake, a piece made from her beloved sister. She then takes the cupcake into her left forehoof and caresses it as if it were Pinkie Pie herself.

After a few moments of admiring the cupcake, Pinkamena turns her gaze back towards the two men before her, who appeared to be terrain from what she could tell, as she says:

“Candy knows her stuff, it seems. Fine, you two have thirty minutes to convince me that what you have to say is worth it.”

“I thank you,” Braelor says in response as he and Statis take a seat on Pinkamena’s nearby table, which was paired with two chairs on either side. The two men takes a deep breath as Braelor then says:

“I’ll give you the short version: How would you like to screw over Yharim?”

Pinkamena didn’t even need to hear any more of it as her facial features immediately morphed into pure mischief. She then gently places the cupcake onto her bed as she chuckles to herself and says:

“At first, you had my curiosity. But now, you have my metaphorical erection.”
> Chapter 118 - The Glowing Mushroom Biome
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME-



The group, along with their new subterranean visitor, were currently within a large chamber which in turn served as one of the many entrances to The Glowing Mushroom Biome.



Having explained their story, along with their kind’s current circumstances, the large truffle now waits for the responsive answer from the group who stood before them, all of whom were wearing facial expressions of absolute disbelief.

The ponies simply stared on with wide eyes and hung mouths all while some of the various terrarians and sea folk seemed to ponder on The Truffle’s words; who was revealed to be named: Shroom.

“So, uh,” Jeremy The Angler comments as he finally breaks the silence. “Shroom was your name, right?”

The Truffle nods its head in response.

“And you’re a male member of your species?” Terralestia inquires.

“Shroom is male. Shroom’s kind comes in two different colors for each… what was word?” The Truffle inquires as he ponders on it for a moment, to which Sai Sahan answers:

“Would you by chance be referring to: Each gender?”

“Yes,” Shroom comments in response. “Shroom thanks you. Dark blue is male truffle, light blue is female truffle. Female truffle also smaller than male truffle, but female truffle is faster. Male truffle only stronger.”

“By the coral of the sea, I’ve heard about your kind from one of my ancestor’s records, but to see it for myself...” King Amidias states.

Finally recovering from their shocked states, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash began to draw closer to Shroom as the cyan pegasus says:

“Ok, wait a second… what exactly is going on here?”

“Ah got’ta agree with R.D.” Applejack comments as the cowmare then conjures forth her hat from her inventory. She then holds it against her chest and continues: “Mah’ apologies, Mr Shroom… but ah’ was kind of spaced out by yer’, um, unique appearance. B-but don’t think that ah’ don’t like ya’, not at all! Ah’ just was… surprised.”

Rainbow Dash suddenly takes on a rather curious expression as she floats into the air and tries to truly take in The Truffle’s appearance. This entity was a giant compared to the average pony, that of which often stood five feet tall with certain individuals going only a few inches above that. Even an alicorn like Princess Celestia, who was somewhere between seven to almost eight feet in height, was dwarfed as Shroom measured in at a whopping ten feet in height. The entity could easily toss anyone who was currently sitting before them with relative ease as Shroom was also fairly large and bulky to go with its tall, mushroom-like, frame.

As Rainbow dash continues to observe The Truffle, who in turn doesn’t seem to mind, Tanner The Guide suddenly clears his throat as he says:

“So, you mentioned that you needed our help?”

“Yes, Shroom’s kind is at war with surface dwellers,” This momentarily causes everyone to take on concerned expressions, to which Shroom comments: “No fear, Shroom knows you not surface dwellers, who help bad surface dwellers,” Shroom then points his right hand towards both Rainbow dash and Applejack as he says: “Shroom knows you good because Shroom see you have pony. Harmony is friend to Shroom, and Shroom’s fellow truffles. Harmony, good. Ponies, good.”

This causes Applejack’s ears to perk up as she says:

“Well ah’ be darned, are yer’ sayin’ that we ponies and truffles get along well?” Shroom nods in response before saying:

“Truffles teach… what is orange pony type, again?”

“Oh, are ya’ askin’ what kind of pony am I?” Applejack inquires.

Shroom nods in response.

“That’d be an earth pony.” Applejack answers to which Shroom responds:

“Yes, truffle not good at surface dweller language. Shroom try his best, but Shroom not too good. Shroom have much to learn. Like Shroom said, Shroom’s fellow truffles and earth pony work together, we teach them to make ground become green again. We make farms, and we connected to earth in way that only dryads can understand.”

“Woah woah woah woah,” Rainbow Dash injects. “Are you saying that truffles taught earth ponies how to be connected to the land? And to grow stuff effectively?”

“Yes, flying pony. Shroom and his truffles teach earth ponies to live off earth. Our gift to Harmony, truffles thanks for her help long ago. Now, truffles in danger again. Shroom beg for your help.”

“Well ah’ be darned!” Applejack exclaims enthusiastically. “If ya’ll really did teach the earth ponies here how to do what we do, then of course we’ll help ya’!”

“Not to sound like an ass,” Jeremy The Angler comments. “But we kind of have a mission here. We still need to track down the crab-”

“Raaaaaawwr!” Suddenly, The Angler’s words were cut off by Shroom, who lets loose a mighty roar in response. The Truffle then stomps his left foot into the glowing dirt of the edge of the biome; causing the earth to crack bellow him before he exclaims: “Shroom hate stupid crab! And surface dwellers who help crab!”

This instantly catches the attention of everyone else present as The Truffle specifically mentioned the very same cultists that they’ve been searching for.

“Wait a second,” Terralestia comments as she then starts to draw near The Truffle. “Those ‘surface dwellers’ that are aiding this giant crab are the same individuals that we’ve been tracking down. Shroom, you most definitely will have our help. Let us work together to defeat them.”

“Kdgdhfhf dhhd nd!” The Truffle exclaims while raising its left arm into the air; in a tone that was reminiscent of happiness. This of course leaves everyone absolutely confused as Tanner The Guide questions:

“Uh, what did you say?”

“Oh, Shroom speak in truffle. Shroom say that Shroom happy for help.”

“If I may be so bold, Shroom,” King Amidias injects as The Sea King starts to float towards The Truffle, followed closely by his men. “Can you take us to where these cultists are gathering? Or an encampment of sorts?” Amidias’s features then turn into sadness before he continues: “Please, my daughter’s life is in jeopardy and we need to find The Giant Clam’s pearl to help her. Not to mention bringing those foul cultists to justice, along with their idol, Crabulon.”

The Truffle momentarily stares at The Sea King before replying with a saddened tone:

“Shroom understands. Shroom also saw Giant Clam you search for. Giant Clam forced to make pearl for stupid crab and bad surface dwellers.”

“The Giant Clam is also a prisoner?” King Amidias questions as he tilts his head to the side. “Then our records must be slightly inaccurate. We got the impression that it willingly aided Crabulon, and formed a sort of symbiosis relation with that creature.”

“No, Giant Clam is sad. Shroom talk to clam once before. Shroom once escape from being prisoner. Clam wish to return to water behind you,” The Truffle then points his left hand towards the pool that sits behind the group, the exact same pool they emerged from. “Crab trapped clam here in Glowing Mushroom Biome. Clam wants to go back into water,” Shroom responds as The Truffle then turns around and beckons them to follow before saying: “Come, Shroom take you to Mushroom Village. Truffles be happy to see you. Shroom then take you to stupid crab and bad surface dwellers.”

Suddenly, just as the group were about to take their leave, a very particular dolphin suddenly jumped out of the water behind them, which in turn caught the group’s attention. Before the dolphin could make contact with the glowing dirt of the biome, the sea creature’s body is engulfed in green flames as a very familiar humanoid changeling flips in the air and lands on his feet in one swift motion.

“Hey! What’d I miss?” Echo Silhouette inquires before he then takes notice of The Truffle. He simply stares at the entity with curiosity, and a small bit of shock, before saying:

“Ok, seriously… w-what exactly did I miss?”

Everyone simply stares at the humanoid changeling with questioning expressions, no doubt wanting to ask Echo for his well being after the recent battle, before Applejack then manages to recover and says:

“Ah’ll fill you in along the way, partner.”





Some time passes by as Shroom leads the group diligently throughout the large underground biome of glowing mushrooms. Tall spires of glowing mushrooms towered over the subterranean landscape all while the very grass of this biome were also glowing in a similar fashion. Despite the absence of a sort of artificial sun, much like The Underground Jungle Biome, this entire biome was alighted by the vibrant glow of its flora and fauna. The group bore witness to many forms of life as creatures had adapted incredibly well to this underground biome. Simply put: It was truly a sight to behold.

“This is simply beautiful,” Sai Sahan comments as he then takes notice of a glowing flower, that of which was etched onto a bushel of blue leaves. He successfully plucks the flower from its place with his right hand and turns to Terralestia, saying:

“For you, milady.” Sai offers the flower by extending it towards the rainbow haired terrarian via his right arm, who in turn accepts it gracefully and responds with reddened cheeks:

“My my, Sai. Aren’t we a gentleman~” She then winks at Sai before placing the flower just over her ear by piercing her hair with its stem, now securing it in place. The glowing flower easily complimented the ever changing color of Terralestia’s hair, as Sai then comments:

“You truly look beautiful, Celly.”

Currently walking in front of the duo was a certain cowmare who looks over her shoulder; forms a smirk on her muzzle, and comments:

“Ah’m surprised y’all ain’t a couple yet.” These words causes the duo to look towards each other before they then turn their gaze back to the cowmare as Terralestia responds:

“Actually, Sai and I have been dating for nearly two whole years.” This causes Applejack to blink twice before replying:

“Well ah’ be, really? Y’all don’t really act the part, if ya’ get mah’ meanin’.” Sai Sahan chuckles in response before saying:

“We might not tell each other with every passing second how much we love the other, like couples do nowadays, but we show our love for each other by our actions. Not our words.”

“Sai’s right,” Terralestia states pridefully. “He’s been what’s held me together ever since I lost my brother. It only made sense that we’d eventually be drawn closer, you know? I guess what I’m trying to say is that he’s got my back, and I’ve got his,” She then turns towards Sai with a smirk. She half lids her eyes and says: “And he really does get my backside~”

“C-Celly!” Sai exclaims with reddenned features. “Please, love… not in front of them.” Terralestia covers her mouth and giggles in response all while Applejack continues to watch on. A sudden thought comes to her mind as she says internally:

-Ah’ wonder If ah’ should consider findin’ a special somepony-

“Hey, um, A.J.” Rainbow Dash comments which draws the cowmare out of her inner thoughts.

“Wha’? Oh, sorry about that, sugarcube. Was lost in mah’ thoughts there.”

“Nah, It’s cool,” Rainbow replies with a dismissive hoof as she then brings out two of the very same flowers that Sai Sahan had gifted to Terralestia. “I, uh, thought that these flowers were awesome... so I think we’d look even more awesome with them on.”

Applejack tilts her head momentarily before she then chuckles and says:

“Ah’m mighty surprised, R.D. Ah’ would reckon that this kind of stuff would be too sappy fer’ ya’.”

“W-well, yeah, but I still think that we’d be awesome toge- I mean, with them on!” The cyan pegasus quickly places her own flower on top of her ear, piercing her mane with its stem. She then offers the other flower to the cowmare and says: “Here, take it.”

Applejack was momentarily taken aback by this action as she then forms a smile onto her muzzle and comments:

“Thanks fer’ this, R.D.” The cowmare takes the flower and imitates the pegasus’s actions; placing the flora above her own ear. Applejack takes a moment to admire it before saying: “Ah’ love it. Yer’ a good friend, Rainbow.” Applejack then pats the pegasus on her head as the cowmare proceeds to walk forwards.

The cowmare’s words in turn causes the pegasus to be stunned momentarily and also slows down her steps as a result. Truth be told, Rainbow felt internally disappointed by those words. Specifically, being called just a friend.

Taking notice of this by looking over his shoulder, Echo Silhouette purposely slows down his steps and soon finds himself alongside the pegasus as he says:

“Good try, but you need to be more forward. Although, I must also comment that your intended mate is quite… dense.”

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash growls in response with a lowered tone. “She’s not that dense, she just doesn’t realize what’s going on. That’s all.” Echo simply stares at the pegasus with a deadpan expression before he then responds:

“You’re doing that thing again when you contradict what you say. You say that she’s not dense, but then you admit that she is.” The humanoid changeling’s words throws off the cyan pegasus as she stutters:

“I-I… s-she… oh, just, shut up.” Rainbow then scoffs as she turns away with reddenned features. This in turn causes Echo to state internally:

-Could she be one of those tsundere types?-

Both Sai Sahan and Terralestia witnessed the scenario from behind as the ever changing rainbow haired female terrarian comments in a lowered tone:

“So, how long do you think it’ll take for those two to finally get the hint?”

“If we’re lucky, I give them till after we defeat Crabulon.” Sai Sahan answers in a matching tone.

……….

Tanner The Guide was currently standing alongside Applejack, with both Rainbow Dash and Echo Silhouette currently behind them, as The Guide states internally:

-Soon, it’ll be time to make my move-

He then sneakily glances towards Applejack and continues his inner thoughts:

-You, Applejack… are the final pony that I’ve decided to target-





FLASHBACK:

-TERRARIA, THE UNDERWORLD-

Within the fiery depths of The Underworld, Tanner The Guide was currently positioned on a large cliff composed entirely of brimstone which in turn stood before a large sea of lava. Incidentally, a large wall of flesh also stood before him as The Guide bends a knee and says:

“Lord Legion, I have returned and everything is prepared within the capital.”

“Excellent, Tanner,” The Wall Of Flesh responds as the entity’s voice nearly quakes the local area. “We have also gained word from Ocram that the demonic runes have been positioned within The Crystal Empire. Soon, I, Nyarlethotep, shall rise once again! I shall lay claim to both worlds and mold them into a singularity,” The large entity then focuses all of its many eyes upon Tanner as each of its mouths speaks in unison: “We only need one last piece to our grand puzzle. Or shall we say: Three.”

Tanner smiles devilishly in response before saying:

“I have set up perfect scenarios in order to capture three ponies in particular.”

“Which ones are they? Remember, Tanner… Twilight Sparkle must be one of the three.”

“Yes, my lord,” Tanner then rises to his feet and now stood at his full stature before he continues:

“The other two ponies are: Starlight Glimmer and Applejack.”

END FLASHBACK
> Chapter 119 - Samyueru.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME-

The group were currently being led by Shroom towards what was all too apparent to be an underground settlement, within the biome of glowing mushrooms. As they drew near, everyone began to see small truffles playing on the outskirts of the settlement, all while older individuals, of which were light-blue in coloration, watched over them. Shroom reveals that these truffles were in fact their species females and were the various mothers of the youngsters as he also goes on to say:

“Mother truffles is dangerous. Do not threaten mother truffle’s young, less mother truffle destroy you.”

“Yeah, um, no need to worry about that with me,” Jeremy The Angler responds with a nervous expression. “Especially since your females look like they could rip me apart.”

“You’re a pretty rude person, you know that?” Terralestia inquires with a raised brow. The Angler simply shrugs before saying:

“Eh, I’m just brutally honest.”

………. 

A few more moments passed by as the group now entered the town, which was appropriately named: Mushroom Village. Its various structures were composed entirely of mushroom forged components. In addition, various homes looked as if a truffle simply burrowed into a large mushroom and plopped down a door to form the entrance. Incidentally, the door was also made entirely of mushroom components.

Various onlookers watched curiously as Shroom led the group through the lively village. However, what was most notable is the fact that each and every truffle seemed to let loose a sort of gasp, but one that was forged from familiarity. As if they finally saw something that they haven’t seen in an era. This was, however, all too accurate as this was aimed towards two members of the group: The ponies. 

The denizens of Mushroom Village even starts to speak in their native tongues, but one word easily stood out:

“Eghfg df pony.”

“Pony gfd eh sdfg, pony?”

“Pony! Ehg aqw bnfini, Harmony.”

“Latu defgh awry Shroom legu te pony.”  

All members of the passing group, aside from Shroom, were simply baffled by this seemingly ancient language. Or at least it was a language that was exclusive to the truffles. Hearing the word: Pony, and noticing the truffles’s gazes being focused on them, Applejack leans into Rainbow Dash and questions:

“Hey, uh, Rainbow?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Is it just me or are these truffles lookin’ at us.”

“No, they’re definitely looking at us,” Rainbow Dash responds as she looks all around the group, turning her head to and fro. She then awkwardly waves a forehoof towards them and says: “H-hey there every, um… everytruffle?”

Rainbow Dash was certainly shocked by what happens next as many of the truffles started to wave back in response.

“I guess Shroom was right,” Tanner The Guide comments as he walks closer to both Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “He mentioned that truffles and ponies were friendly to one another. I get the impression that these truffles are taking a liking to you two. I mean, they’re curious about the rest of us, but you guys are a little different.”

“We almost there, surface dwellers,” Shroom states as The Truffle then interacts with various individuals, all while he continues to guide the group towards a very specific location. “Shroom take you to History Mushroom, then Shroom take you to giant crab and bad surface dwellers.”

“We thank you very much for you and your fellow truffles’s hospitality, Shroom.” King Amidias comments with a slight bow all while his men continue to float alongside him with stoic expressions.

During the entire venture through the town, Echo Silhouette continues to take in his surroundings as the humanoid changeling couldn’t help but feel sympathetic towards these entities. Going off of Shroom’s words, the humanoid changeling could only imagine what The Brotherhood Of The Crab had no doubt done to these seemingly peaceful beings, despite their appearances. It all reminded him of the actions done to his own kind; from The Jungle Tyrant himself, Yharim. 

Pushing these thoughts aside for the time being, Echo continues onward as Shroom then declares to the entire group:

“There History Mushroom, surface dwellers.”

……….

The group now found themselves before what was easily the largest structure in Mushroom Village. However, it differentiated itself as the entrance seemed to be created over the mouth of a cavern. In essence, It was as if the truffles had placed one of their mushroom composed houses directly in front of a cave entrance; thus merging the two together into a singularity.

Two large male truffle individuals were currently positioned on either side of the structure’s entrance, which was in the form of two large, mushroom composed, double doors. These truffles were obviously acting as guards and were even larger than Shroom himself, as they in turn reached heights of twelve feet, two feet taller than the group’s very own guide. 

“Sweet Celestia,” Applejack comments with a face of disbelief. “That there are some big ol’ truffles.”

“No kidding,” Rainbow Dash responds with a matching expression. “And here I thought Shroom was big enough.”

One of the large truffles raises its hand into the air which causes a wall of mushrooms to block the entrance to, what the truffles call, History Mushroom. The conversation that follows was spoken in their native tongue as Shroom and both of the guards started to converse.

“Pehj stfgh, Shroom.” The guard on the right comments.

“Shroom degm ons History Mushroom. Sgh fghj wadgh,” Shroom then turns around and points at both Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Pony.”

Following Shroom’s gesture, both of the guards seemed to be shocked upon seeing the two ponies as the guard on the right says:

“Pony?! Asgb deghf, Harmony?” Shroom returns his gaze back towards the duo and responds:

“Harmony no swed bgfh… igh pony, gahs wsgh: Crabulon.”

The two guards both punches the ground in unison at the mention of that name as they both exclaims in anger:

“Crabulon!” Shroom in turn also imitates the action as he punches the ground with such powerful force; even causing members of the group to sweat nervously, as he also exclaims:

“Crabulon!”

The two guards then nods in response, following their recent action, as the very same guard who summoned the wall of mushrooms raises its hand once more and removes the barrier of fungi. They then turn sideways and beckons for them all to enter.

Shroom then turns around, seeing a group with faces of absolute shock and awe, and comments: 

“Shroom convince them you help truffles. They allow Shroom to lead you inside,” The large truffle then turns forward once more and continues: “Come, Shroom has much to show. Then, we go destroy Crabulon and bad surface dwellers.”

Heeding to his request, the rest of the group starts to follow Shroom into the structure as they each enter one by one, walking in between and passing the two large truffle guards. 

Both Sai Sahan and Terralestia enter with expressions of wonder, even waving at the two guards as they pass by. 

Jeremy The Angler was shaking nervously as he walked past the two large behemoths; praying that he doesn’t somehow insult them and get torn apart. King Amidias simply laughs at The Angler’s obvious plight as he and his guardsmen follow close behind. 

Tanner The Guide gives the duo a thumbs up as he passes by although one of the guards turns towards The Guide as he walks away. The guard’s singular eye narrows itself for a moment before the entity then returns its gaze forwards.

It was now Echo Silhouette’s turn to pass but upon doing so, the guard on the right seemed to take on a face of familiarity as it says:

“Changeling.” This of course shocks Echo and stops him dead in his tracks, not to mention the two ponies behind him, as the humanoid changeling had assumed that he did something wrong. Then, the large truffle raises its hand towards the cap portion of its head and breaks off a glowing mushroom. He then offers the mushroom towards Echo, who in turn questions:

“W-wait… you want me to… have this?” The truffle nods in response. 

Echo then takes the glowing mushroom into his right hand and what happens next absolutely dumbfounds him. The glowing energy of the mushroom starts to be absorbed into the changeling. The once glowing fungi was now comparable to any other normal mushroom as it lost its vibrant glow. However, Echo’s body was starting to glow in response as the changeling goes on to comment:

“T-this feels… great. It’s almost as if I just ate the love of three separate entities.”

“You help Shroom beat Crabulon. You be stronger.” The guard comments to which Echo smirks and nods in response. The humanoid changeling had so many questions. The most notable being Echo wondering just how these truffles knew how to do that. He was certain that he’d soon get answers within this structure or at the very least, Echo could always try to inquire Anubis about this action. 

The humanoid changeling enters the structure and it is now both Rainbow Dash and Applejack's turn to pass. Upon drawing closer, what happens next absolutely shocks the duo as the two guards actually lower themselves and pats each individual pony on the head. The two ponies didn't know how to react as they were simply dumbfounded by this action. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, nor was it painful in any way, it was simply unusual.

The guards remove their hands after petting the ponies as Applejack comments:

“I, uh, appreciate that, partner.” The cowmare then waves with a nervous smile as she enters the structure.

“That was, uhm, weird. But you guys seem pretty cool.” Rainbow Dash compliments as she salutes to the duo with a forehoof and flies after Applejack, thus entering the structure as well.

……….

Now within History Mushroom, with Shroom still in the lead, the group could see that their earlier assessment was indeed true. They found themselves within a cavern but what was most interesting was the fact that etched onto the cavern walls were various images. Much like Anubis’s pyramid, albeit a bit more primal, there were depictions of what one could best surmise to be past events. However, these images had something in common, a repeating trope: Each and every one of them always contained a pony, one of every type.

“Whoah, what the hay happened here?” Rainbow Dash questions in amazement. “Each and every drawing has a pony, but it looks like the truffles are helping us. Look, that one has some foals playing with a truffle.”

“Ah’ don’t know, R.D.” Applejack responds with equal astonishment. “But ah’ guess it’s a good thing that we seem to be good friends.”

“Wall show history of truffles and ponies,” Shroom comments as he goes on to monologue the various images on the walls, like a tour guide within a museum. “Every drawing comes from a truffle, and pony. Long ago, Harmony need help with teaching earth pony to survive. Truffles owe Harmony debt so we teach earth pony how to connect with earth.”

“Wait a second, so you’re saying that earth ponies were in some sort of danger?” Applejack inquires.

“Harmony say that earth pony no have power like flying pony and magic pony. Harmony fear earth pony safety so we teach earth pony to be empowered by earth. Now, earth pony might is strongest of three. Earth pony crush rock and grow food better than flying pony and magic pony.”

“Ah’ be darned, so what you were telling us before was nothin’ but the truth. Not that ah’ doubted ya’ or thought that your were lyin’, of course. Ah’ am The Element Of Honesty after all.”

Shroom lets loose a rumble before he responds:

“We live together on surface for long time. Glowing Mushroom Biome not always underground. It once exist on surface. However, monster attack and we try to defend ponies. We no choice, we all flee underground,” The Truffle then takes on what one could tell to be a saddened expression as he then says: “However, monster kill pony friends. They not strong like truffle and monster kill them. We sad for lost friends.”

This causes the group’s eyes to widen in shock as King Amidias comments:

“You have my sincere condolences, Shroom.”

With a saddened tone and a matching expression, Applejack states:

“So… that’s why y’all were surprised to see us down here. We remind ya’ of yer’ friends that y’all lost,” Applejack then takes of her hat and holds it to her chest. “Ah’m mighty sorry for yer’ lost.”

“Buck,” Rainbow Dash mutters with shock. “What kind of monster could do that? Oh, wait, let me guess… is this bucker’s name: Yharim?”

Terralestia grunts in disgust all while Sai Sahan growls upon the mention of The Jungle Tyrant. Even Amidias and his fellow seafolk were disgusted by that name as The Sea King comments in a lowered tone:

“My trident will find your head for what you did to my former kingdom. You ordered that witch to scorch my sea with hellfire and reduced it to a desert wasteland.” 

“No, truffle don’t know that name,” Shroom responds, which catches everyone off guard as they were expecting the aforementioned tyrant to be the cause. “Monster was different, giant lizard with seven heads. Lizard shoot death from many mouths.”

“What in tarnation? That sounds like some kind ah’ messed up hydra.” Applejack comments.

Suddenly, Echo Silhouette’s features become horrified as he recalls something that matches Shroom’s description. 

“N-no… please don’t be that creature.” Echo says with fear seeped into his voice.

“What’s wrong, Echo?” King Amidias inquires.

“M-my mother… She told me stories of that creature. A being of seven heads, so strong that even gods feared it.” However, before Echo could go any further, the group now found themselves mere moments from entering a large chamber within the cavern. 

Upon entering, their eyes widened in absolute horror as they saw a very large image etched onto the entire chamber’s walls and ceiling which seemed to portray the scenario that Shroom had referred to earlier. 

Rainbow Dash and Applejack in particular were mortified as they saw ponies in the image running for dear life, others were even drawn laying dead on the ground. Truffles could be seen trying to defend the ponies as best they could. One image in particular caused Applejack to close her eyes and turn away as it portrayed a pegasus mare who sacrificed herself in order to save her foal, the foal in turn was being cradled by a truffle who seemed to be carrying it away to safety.

Many horrible events were depicted in this large image but one thing stood out most, the very same thing that induced all of this carnage and mayhem: A seven headed entity who seemed to be enjoying every last second of this event. The middle head was drawn to be laughing throughout the entire scenario all while the other six heads were firing off projectiles and eating various individuals, both truffle and pony alike.

“That monster who killed truffle friends. Monster enjoy our suffering.” Shroom comments as Echo Silhouette walks towards the front of the group, and soon finds himself standing right next to Shroom as the humanoid changeling says:

“It’s just like my mother said… Yamata, the devil with seven heads.”







-TERRARIA, THE CRIMSON BIOME-

Having escaped from the monsters of the flesh and heading towards their current objective, Twilight was currently flying high in the crimson colored skies as she then seems to spot something in the distance. She lowers herself to the earth and was soon flying alongside both Celebes and Linn, who were mounted on their horses, along with Tori who continues to keep up by running alongside the horses with their arms hanging backwards in a sort of V formation.

“I see the giant hole nearby!” Twilight exclaims which causes Linn to snicker and comment:

“That statement is hilarious without context.” This in turn causes Twilight to take on a deadpan expression as she responds:

“You’re almost as bad as Rainbow Dash.”

Celebes The Dryad simply turns her head left to right in response as she comments:

“Innuendos aside, Linn, I’m glad to hear that, Twilight,” The Dryad then turns towards Tori and says: “Go on ahead and scope things out for us, we’ll be there momentarily.” The kenku nods in response as Tori then lets out a:

“Hummf!”

[WHOOSH]

In one swift motion and leaving behind a gush of wind, Tori rushes forth with lightning speed in a fashion similar to Pinkie Pie’s ‘blurs’, minus the pink coloration which was instead red thanks to Tori’s current attire.

……….

Tori was now positioned before a large shaft which looked as if someone had dug a hole into the flesh covered earth itself. Seeing as the coast was clear, the kenku was about to establish a perimeter before the humanoid bird could suddenly feel a presence, one that instantly widens the kenku’s eyes before they then close soon after as Tori recollects their composure.

“I see you have sensed my arrival, Tori.” A new voice comments but what was most foreboding about it was that fact that it sounded a lot like Yharim’s voice. However, at the same time, this wasn’t Yharim at all as another kenku suddenly appears behind Tori. “I trust you haven’t forgotten your own father, my child.”



With absolute hatred in Tori’s voice, the kenku imitates Twilight’s voice and responds:

“Samyueru,” Tori then turns around and faces their father. “This biome of sin is now the seven circles of The Underworld with your presence alone, coward.”

“You will show me respect, boy. I am the destroyer of Torinago!”

“No, Yharim destroyed Torinago due to our kind being immune to mind control. You sided with him to save your own sorry feathers!”

“Despite your disrespect,” Samyueru responds as he then extends a hand out towards Tori and continues: “I offer you one final chance, Tori. Come with me and serve a higher purpose.”

Tori simply spits onto the crimson floor in disgust before saying:

“I’d rather pluck my feathers out before I ever consider coming with you. However, I’m partially glad you’re here,” Tori then takes on a combat stance. “Because now I shall behead you for what you’ve done. You are my prey, nothing more.”

“And you are a mistake that I shall soon correct!” Samyueru roars out as the two ninjas run towards each other in a V pose before vanishing in thin air. They then re-emerge in the sky as they engage in close quarters combat all while slowly falling down towards the flesh covered earth below.

Every strike and attack they made were calculated. For every kick Samyueru would unleash upon Tori, Tori in turn would also let loose their own kick which resulted in their appendages colliding with each other, sending out a small force of wind as a result.

The two kenkus would continue to match each other blow for blow before they each kicked off each other mere moments before they landed onto the crimson earth. Upon landing, they each gracefully landed on a single leg as they posed in a crane like fighting style. In tandem, they each lowered the other leg while raising the leg that they landed on at first while also transitioning their arms current fighting pose.

The two kenkus then conjure forth their own blades, as they then hold the blades in various stances. The two start to circle each other before kicking off and spiraling towards their opponent.

[CLANK]

[SHLINK]

[CLANK]

[SHLINK]

The clashing of blades echoes out throughout the flesh covered landscape as the two kenku ninja zooms around the large shaft that laid before them. Then, currently positioned on either side of the hole, the two jumps towards each other high into the air, positioned just over the shaft, and clashes their blades together as Samyueru comments with Yharim’s voice still in effect:

“So what’s your plan, my child? Two evenly matched ninjas trapped together in an endless struggle?” 

“No, I’m waiting for the lavender wings of friendship to come crashing down upon you.” Tori responds with a smirk.

“What?” Samyueru inquires in confusion before a lavender colored beam of energy collides with him, sending the kenku flying towards the opposite side of the hole.

“I’m coming, Tori!” Twilight roars out as she flaps her wings with all due haste.

During this time, Samyueru manages to recover on the opposite side of the chasm, albeit with a fairly large batch of burnt feathers thanks to Twilight’s attack. The kenku then looks up towards Tori, who looked down upon him from high above, and exclaims:

“Our story is just beginning, my child! The next time we meet, you will not have allies to help you and I shall claim your head!”

“You will try!” Tori replies as the kenku sends their weapon away. “But like today, and like back in Torinago… you will always fail! For you are nothing but a coward! Yharim’s plaything!”

“Speak while you still can! I shall gut you like the turkey you are!” Samyueru roars out as he then brings forth a smoke bomb that was etched onto his current attire. “I’ll see you soon, Tori!” He then slams it into the ground, thus disappearing without a trace. 

Finally reaching the kenku, Twilight questions:

“Tori! Are you alright? Who was that other bird-”

“Kenku.” Tori responds with Twilight’s voice still in effect.

“I’m sorry?” Twilight questions in response with a tilted head.

“Kenku, my kind’s species.”

Upon hearing this, Twilight’s eyes were starting to fill with stars as she enthusiastically says:

“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh, that’s your species name?! You must tell me more about-”

“No.” Tori interjects simply as the kenku pats Twilight’s head before returning to the crimson ground, where both Linn and Celebes were currently positioned on their horses, as they finally managed to catch up.

This leaves behind a pouting Twilight who exclaims:

“Awww, but we were making progress!”

However, even after the conclusion of the battle, Tori was still left to ponder on one thing as the kenku couldn’t shake the feeling that Samyueru was here for an entirely different reason, and that fighting Tori was just a bonus.

One thing was for sure, Tori would need to stay attentive for the remainder of the group's journey to find a Crimson Altar. If Samyueru was involved, Tori knew... it wouldn't be good.
> Chapter 120 - One down, two to go.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE CRIMSON BIOME-

Using their advanced version of a grappling hook, which incidentally was in the form of Skeletron’s arm, both Linn and Celebes The Dryad were currently traversing down the large chasm by firing the arm of Skeletron downwards. The hand portion of the appendage would grab onto a surface before pulling their wielder down in the process. The two women repeat this process all while both Tori and Twilight float downwards, given their flight capabilities.

Both Twilight and Tori had to fight off some of the flying monstrosities of the flesh as the entities tried to intercept both Celebes and Linn’s delving. This scenario plays on as they all lower themselves into the dark depths of the chasm.

Finally, after killing many of the flying entities in addition to some spider-like abominations who crawled on the walls with little to no effort, both Celebes and Linn were now able to land on flat ground as they finally, and assumingly, reached the absolute depths of the shaft.

“Phew, that was probably the worst hole I ever had to get into,” Linn comments, but instantly turns to Twilight and says: “No, don’t you dare call it a-”

“That’s what he said about her!” Twilight exclaims with a raised hoof to which Celebes facepalms and comments:

“Not only did she get it wrong… she’s also hanging out with you way too much, Linn. Ever since the lab, you two have been inseparable.”

Tori simply walks over to Twilight and gently bonks her on the head before saying:

“Clear your mind of such thoughts, lavender Princess Of Friendship.”

“B-but, I was just working on my humor,” Twilight defends as she raises a forehoof and says: “In fact, I’d say that my humor has increased by twenty percent.”

Linn starts to laugh hysterically, despite being in the dark depths of the biome of living flesh, as she comments:

“Y-you actually said those words in a serious manner. Oh sweet ancestors of mine, you’re too much, Twilight,” Linn then walks over to the pony and pats her on the head before saying: “Keep working on it.”

“If we could please get back to our mission,” Celebes injects after clearing her throat. “Perhaps we could now start looking for an altar?”

Both Twilight and Linn smiles sheepishly before saying in unison:

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

……….

Some time passes by as the group traverses throughout the fleshy underground caverns of The Crimson. The lavender alicorn did not have all too fond memories of being down here, considering past events with Brainiac who trapped the alicorn, along with three of her friends. This causes her to shudder at the memory before her fears were then swept away by Linn who places her hands onto the alicorn’s shoulder region and says:

“I know that you went through some messed up stuff the last time you were underground here. Sai Sahan told me all about it. But this time…” Linn then conjures forth her lance and holds it proudly over her shoulder before saying: “You’ve got a badass paladin like me,” She then points to Tori. “A freaking mysterious kenku ninja-rogue,” She then moves her finger towards Celebes. “And a dryad who oversaw the prison of the freaking Moon Lord for untold years. I dare another giant brain to try coming after you now.”

This does manage to ease the alicorn mare as Twilight smiles and responds:

“Thank you, Linn. That really makes me feel much better,” However, Twilight suddenly gets a thought before saying: “But now that you mention it, that brings up something that I was curious about,” Twilight then turns her gaze towards Celebes and questions: “What in the world happened to Razeem when we came here? Where did he go?”

Upon hearing those words, Celebes stops dead in her tracks; thus causing the entire group to stop walking in response. Truth be told, both Linn and Tori were also curious about The Moon Lord’s whereabouts as they had heard of the eldritch nightmare’s actions, some time ago. The Dryad takes a deep and exhales sharply before saying:

“I… I don’t know.” This causes Twilight’s ears to perk us as she responds:

“You mean he just… vanished?” The lavender mare inquires to which The Dryad turns around and meets her gaze before replying:

“That’s exactly it... he was just… gone, no trace left of him at all. And that frightens me.”

Everyone simply stares at her with shocked expressions as they were hoping that The Dryad would know something, anything, about the eldritch’s whereabouts.

“That is why we must grow as strong as possible before Razeem inevitably strikes again. I fear that this time… The Terra Blade alone won’t be enough to stop him.”

“B-but, we can defeat him once we reforge the blade!” Twilight exclaims in response as she then tries to come up with the right words to say next. “I mean, just you, me, and my friends--not to mention Discord--were enough to defeat him with your blade’s blessing. But now, we have so many powerful allies that we can’t-”

“He was weaker, Twilight.” Celebes interjects which causes Twilight’s ears to fold against her head as she questions in disbelief:

“W-what?”

“Razeem wasn’t at full power when he invaded your world.”

“That’s madness!” Linn roars out in response as she too was shocked by this revelation. Tori’s eyes widened even further than they already were upon hearing this as the kenku then closed their eyes in thought.

“H-how?” Twilight questions with a tone of disbelief. “He was weakened… and yet, was still powerful enough to rip the very fabric of space and enter Equus? The power he used to kill Princess Celestia... wasn’t even him at his max?”

“I’m sorry, Twilight… but yes,” Celebes answers hesitantly. “The seal that my ancestors used to shackle him to the moon was also designed to weaken him. Even so, even after he escaped his confines, Razeem was still strong enough to combat me to an extant. Now, I fear that he’s in hiding and is slowly, but surely, regaining his full power. Possibly even pushing himself to new heights,” The Dryad turns around once more and looks down the direction of the flesh cavern’s hallway. “And we must do the same to prepare for his return.”

The Dryad takes one final sigh as she then beckons for the rest of the group to follow behind her. The sounds of their steps echoes throughout the flesh covered cavern as they continue onwards. Twilight in particular seems to ponder on something as she says internally:

-No matter how strong you think you might become, we will stop you… Moon Lord-

……….

Having walked further down into the dark depths of The Crimson Biome, and tearing apart the fleshy wall that barred passage to the large chamber they currently found themselves in, the object of their current objective now stood before them all: A Crimson Altar.



The altar pulsated with a dark red energy all while the eyes that were etched onto it became dilated, as they focused on the group before them. Seeing this, Twilight comments in a tone of caution:

“Hey, Celebes?” This causes The Dryad to turn their gaze towards Twilight. “How can we be sure that this won’t, well... backfire on us?”

Celebes suddenly takes on a saddened expression as she responds:

“These altars, despite their appearance, are indeed going to help us forge the blade without any form of treachery,” The Dryad then places a hand over her heart before she continues: “Because… they’re dryads who have been captured by the living flesh.”

“What?!” Twilight exclaims in shock all while both Tori and Linn take on a sympathetic expression. “W-we can save them, right? There must be a way to free them all! This is horrible!”

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Celebes responds as she starts to walk up towards the altar. Now standing mere inches before it, The Dryad places a hand onto the altar as all of the eyes that were etched onto it started to shed tears, at the very moment of Celebes’s touch. “Their bodies are already long gone and their spirits remain trapped within this altar. However, The Crimson isn’t capable of integrating these poor souls’s knowledge, their consciousness, into the biome so instead... These altars act as a prison. My hope is to one day find the means to free them… and give them peace.”

“Does The Corruption also have these altars? I’ve never seen that infection before, for obvious reasons, but you and your people have.” Linn inquires.

“Yes, Linn,” Celebes responds with her saddened tone still in effect. “The Corruption does have an altar of its own. Appropriately named: Demon Altars. The biggest difference is that it can also store sin; alongside the souls of the lost.”

“I just hope that everyone back home is ok. My family, The Princesses… everyone,” Twilight comments with her ears flat against her head. “I can’t imagine how bad things must be there. And… I hate the thought of innocent lives being forced into those altars.”

Celebes turns away from the altar and walks over to Twilight. The Dryad places a hand onto the alicorn as she comments:

“Have faith, Twilight. Yes, things are no doubt difficult back on Equus. I will not pretend otherwise. However, I get the feeling that your world is doing its very best against the infection. It’s the best any of us can do for now, which is why…” Celebes then conjures four blades from her inventory: The Blade Of Grass, The Muramasa, The Fiery Greatsword, and The Blood Butcherer. “I would like for you to do the honors. Bring us one step closer to saving your world as well, Twilight.” Celebes then floats the blades over to the lavender mare as they dance over the pony’s very form.

Twilight could only stare at the blades in awe as she then fires up her horn and takes them into her lavender colored aura. The alicorn takes on a determined expression and walks towards the altar with the four blades floating overhead.

……….

As this is going on, Tori felt that something just wasn’t right. In fact, this feeling never left the kenku ever since their battle with Samyueru. Taking notice of this, Linn questions:

“You alright, Tori? I didn’t want to pry but I noticed you were bothered by something ever since your battle with that kenku.” Tori’s eyes narrow as he gives Linn a nod in response before turning to inspect the chamber.

Seeing that both Twilight and Celebes were currently fulfilling the group’s main objective, Linn decides to assist Tori in the kenku’s uneasiness.

……….

Meanwhile, Twilight finally reaches the altar as she places a forehoof onto it and comments:

“I’m so sorry for what happened to all of you. No living thing should have to endure this,” Twilight then floats the blades over the altar as they begin to dance and circle around it. “Please, help me forge the weapon we need to save my world someday. In fact, I want to save both of our worlds, if I can.”

Suddenly, the red aura that surrounded the altar starts to glow vibrantly as it takes possession of the four blades that floated overhead. In an absolutely mind boggling display, the four energies of each blade starts to circle around the altar in rapid succession, all while the energy from the altar outlined four separate colors; which represented each blade: Green, blue, orange, and red.

The four energies then collide into each other as a new object floats over the Crimson Altar. Specifically, a blade: The Bloody Edge.

……….

All the while, both Tori and Linn were currently positioned towards the entrance of the flesh covered chamber as the kenku seemed to have spotted a crumpled up paper that was tossed behind a small blob of flesh. Tori picks up the paper and begins to unravel it as Linn inquires:

“Found something?” The kenku nods in response as they finally unravel the paper, only for both Tori and Linn’s eyes to widen in horrific realization by its contents:



Samyueru,

You are to assist Tanner The Guide in placing a demonic rune under a very particular Crimson Altar. He has a plan to capture three ponies that he’s chosen as his targets. This rune is a little different and was specifically designed to activate when a pony steps within its limits, but only once they reach its epicenter. Let’s just say that It’ll teleport them to this world’s darkest depths.

We are so close to the unification process of the two worlds. We will continue to use Tanner, and by extension the forces of The Underworld, to fulfill our desire. From what Calamitas has informed me with her interactions with ‘The Guide’, Nyarlathotep needs three of the ponies here in order to truly achieve their plans. However, one of which requires: Twilight Sparkle.

It’s a shame, she intrigued me when we spoke in Home Town. Then again, I suppose it’s ironic given what happened to a certain other Twilight Sparkle. But I digress, now go forth and fulfill this mission. Failure is NOT an option.

The Jungle Tyrant,

Yharim.



Both Tori and Linn were absolutely horrified as they turn towards Twilight and shouts in unison, with Tori mimicking Linn’s voice:

“Wait! No!”

……….

Mere moments before both Tori and Linn shouts in unison:

Twilight simply stares on in marvel at the blade that now floated before her. The alicorn fires up her horn and covers the blade in her lavender aura, bringing it closer in the process. The Dryad watches on proudly as the pony then turns around enthusiastically and exclaims:

“We did it! Now we’re so-”

“Wait! No!”

The exclamation from both Tori and Linn sadly reached Twilight and Celebes too late as the rune that was planted by Saryuesu activates itself. A vibrant barrier with demonic symbols traps Twilight from within as she shouts:

“What’s goin on?!”

“No! Twilight!” Celebes roars out as she runs towards the barrier in an effort to free the trapped alicorn, only for a surge of red lightning to zap The Dryad and actually sends her flying into the nearby wall of the cavern.

“Noooo!” Linn roars out as she rushes forth with her lance and thrusts it forth with all her might. Upon contact with the barrier, red energy starts to sizzle from the struggling forces of Linn’s lance and the barrier itself. “Dammit all! Twilight, hang on, I won’t let you go!” The pink haired terrarian then goes on to strike at the barrier multiple times before the same energy that sent Celebes aloft starts to shock Linn as she grits her teeth in pain and is pushed back. The pink haired terrarian slams her lance into the flesh covered floor in an effort to stop herself and exclaims:

“God damn this barrier!”

Seeing that she still wielded The Bloody Edge, Twilight tries to strike away at the demonic barrier in an effort to free herself, but to no avail. Twilight even tries to teleport out of the barrier but it in turn somehow managed to block any of her attempts. The alicorn then realizes what she must do as she turns towards Tori, who was trying to calculate a way to breach the barrier, and prepares to throw the blade at him as she shouts:

“Tori! Take the blade and protect everyone! It’s all up to you guys now!” The alicorn then roars out as she tosses the blade outside of the barrier, to which Tori catches it in response.

Recovering from being sent hurling into the nearby wall, Celebes shakes her head in an effort to regain her composure and fixes her gaze upon the trapped unicorn. Everyone present could only watch helplessly as Twilight literally disappears before their very eyes as the rune successfully activates itself; taking her away to another destination.

Shock was the only thing that filled the fleshy chamber as both Linn and Celebes stared on with widened eyes and hung mouths. Tori then looks down towards the blade that the kenku now possessed and says internally, while mimicking Twilight’s voice:

-I won’t fail you-

The kenku then turns towards their allies and exclaims with Twilight’s voice:

“This ends now! Tanner will be stopped!” The kenku then forms a hand gesture and shouts: “Hummf!”





-TERRARIA, THE UNDERWORLD-

A familiar demonic rune now forms into being as a lavender colored alicorn follows soon after. The rune dissipates all while Twilight is laid down upon the ashy ground beneath her. She slowly starts to come to and opens her eyes as she says:

“W-where am-” She cuts off her own words as her eyes widen in horror. “S-sweet… Celestia…” The alicorn instantly took on a facial expression of absolute fear as she took in her surroundings. Fire and brimstone was all around the pony and upon further inspection, Twilight was currently positioned just before a large cliff made entirely of brimstone, which in turn overlooked a large sea of lava.

She tries to recover her composure but this fiery underworld instilled so much fear into the alicorn that she was currently shaking uncontrollably. Then, as if her fears weren’t already instilled enough, a large entity starts to rapidly move towards her in the distance of the sea of lava: A wall of horrid flesh.

“Wha… what is t-that… thing?” Twilight inquires in a fearful tone, even on the verge of tears, as the entity now stood before her. Long tendrils of flesh which ended with opened mouths were starting to reach out to her all while the many eyes of the flesh wall gazed down upon the alicorn, like a predator about to pounce onto its prey. Every last one of the entity’s mouths started to open in tandem as they say in unison:

“Greetings, Twilight Sparkle. We are: Legion, but you have the honor of calling us: Nyarlathotep. Welcome to The Underworld!”

> Chapter 121 - Betrayal Pt:1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM-

Having just told Pinkamena the full extent of their plan, both Braelor and Statis are currently waiting patiently for her response in their seats as the dark pink pony ponders on it with a hoof to her chin. Before she could say anything, a certain voice speaks up and says within her mind:

-Take the offer-

-Ok, seriously, what exactly is your goal, Oblivion?-

-Our goal, Mena. It’s our goal, but we’ll cross that bridge very soon. If you wish to aid our sister then you must take this offer-

Pinkamena ponders on those words for a moment as she tries to make sense of all this. The entity from within hasn’t exactly told her everything and the only thing she can recall was the few moments before this Oblivion consciousness took over her body and performed the task of planting the runes on Pinkamena’s behalf, along with adding some of its own personal touches to the runes.

It was certainly an unusual scenario for the dark pink pony. Unlike with what happened with Nightmare Moon and Luna, or even Rarity and her own version of the nightmare, Oblivion wasn’t trying to deceive Pinkamena, or even trying to overtake her. No, according to the entity’s words from before, that wasn’t at all necessary since Oblivion IS Mena.

Many revelations would be needed for the dark pink pony to truly understand what was essentially her very own existence, along with that of Pinkie Pie’s. Heeding to the inner voices words, Pinkamena looks towards Braelor and Statis before saying:

“So to recap on everything you told me: This plan revolves around us turning the slave-bitch against Yharim by exposing what he’s done with her DNA, cloning the she-bitch without her knowledge.”

“Yes, that is the first phase of the plan.” Statis responds which prompts Pinkamena to continue:

“Then, you want to use The Temple’s Golem to attack Yharim’s forces as they prepare for the coming event that’ll happen in Camelot.” 

“Indeed,” Braelor responds as he then conjures forth a piece of paper which seems to be rather ancient, judging by its current condition. “The lihzhards created every Temple in every Underground Jungle Biome, in all of existence. Within said Temples lies a guardian of their very own design, as you mentioned before: The Golem.” Etched onto the ancient piece of paper was the very image of the aforementioned entity as Braelor displays it for Pinkamena by rising the sheet of paper into the air.



After observing the image before her, Pinkamena still needed to be absolutely sure of this plan. After all, were Yharim to gain wind of her involvement… she already knew the results. It was her sister’s life on the line, after all. However, Oblivion’s voice once again injects itself into the conversation as it comments within her mind:

-I assure you, the plan will work and Pinkie Pie will be safe. Oblivion has spoken. We, have spoken-

Giving into the voice once again, and accepting its words, Pinkamena inquires about the very thing that still bothers her as there was one part of their plan that she needed to check on:

“How do you know that Yharim hasn’t just up and destroyed that Golem already? I sure as Tartarus never saw some Golem in my time here.”

“Ah, but there is,” Statis responds confidently as the terrarian conjures forth a very particular device: Dr Draedon’s Log. The terrarian tosses the log over to the pony, who in turn catches it with her right forehoof. Pinkamena activates the log and a hologram follows soon after, which was being projected from the device:



Dr Daedon’s Log:

Designation: Ravager.



Yharim continues to surprise me with his curiosity and creativity. Hell, it damn near rivals my own. In essence, he wants to use The Golem that’s stored within the deepest depths of this temple and incorporate flesh from The Crimson into its design. In addition, he wants to bestow upon this creation the necromantic powers he "received" from Skeletron. 

According to what Yharim had informed me, he not only shoved Skeletron into that Pink Pony in an effort to subdue it, and get some use out of her in the process, but to also harvest the powers of necromancy from Skeletron himself. Incidentally, he also added this power to another project of ours: The Plaguebringer. Nasty beast right there but I’m proud of that accomplishment.

There are things that currently racks my mind: What is Yharim’s true intent for the pony? Why is he so invested into her? Of all the ponies that were brought here, wouldn’t he want to target Twilight instead of allowing The Underworld to take her? Especially given The Devourer Of Gods former alias. I doubt the two are connected and only share the same name. In addition, he also wants to capture the other one, Pinkie Pie, and is only holding her life force to make Pinkamena bend to his will. But why? What is so special about those two?

One final thought before I end this log: Why did it have to be Skeletron’s powers of necromancy? Couldn’t we have just used Calamitas’s prowess? She’s quite skilled in the practice. Yharim’s intentions elude me in that regard, but I shall get answers. One way, or another.

-End Log-



Having watched the log to its very end, Pinkamena was absolutely seething with rage as she roars out:

“Are you bucking kidding me?! He plans to capture my sister even after he already has me?! He’s just waiting a bit longer?! What the buck for?!” The enraged pony starts to breath heavily and growls like a Timberwolf,  all while Braelor leans into Statis and comments in a lowered tone:

“It’s a good thing you thought to soundproof this room before hand,” Braelor then stands up and gets out of his seat before speaking to the enraged mare: “I understand your anger-”

“Do you?!” Pinkamena interjects and roars out in response. “Do you have any idea what this revelation has told me?! It’s basically saying that I’m doing that bucker’s work for nothing!”

Upon saying those words, the dark pink pony's eyes starts to dilate as they then become consumed by a black abyss. In addition, her pupils become crimson red; all while her teeth starts to sharpen in tandem. In an attempt to cease any further progression, Oblivion intervenes and comments:

-Temper, Mena. You must mind your temper and have patience in this scenario. Now is not the time for us to rage just yet. Our sister is counting on this plan’s success and we are not at full power as of yet. Control. Control. Control. Con… tr… ol-

The inner voice of Oblivion manages to calm down the once enraged pony as Pinkamena slowly starts to regress into her normal self, although features of her inner nature still remained. The dark pink pony then takes a breath, in an effort to regain her composure. 

Despite the scenario playing out before them, both Statis and Braelor simply observes the dark pink pony's actions. Upon seeing Pinkamena becoming more 'clear of mind', Statis rises from his seat and comments:

“So it's true... you really are Oblivion," The terrarian's words causes Pinkamena's ears to perk up as he continues: "Shocked that we know about that? Trust me, there's a lot more to us than meets the eye. As I'm sure you are all too familiar with," Statis then stands confidently before saying: "The plan will work, Pinkamena. And once it does, we will have delayed Yharim’s plans long enough for other forces to gather enough strength to face him. But, all three of us must remain focused.”

-Listen to him, Mena. Focus. Focus. Focus. Focus-

The inner voice of Oblivion repeats which in turn results in the dark pink pony truly regaining her composure. Gone was the blackness that had consume her eyes and her pupils return to their normal state. Her teeth also regresses to normal before she finally replies:

“W… when do we enact this… plan?”

“Let us take care of that. All we wanted was you joining our operation. We will contact you again very soon, once we’re sure that everything is ready.” Braelor responds.

“We know that your sister’s life is on the line which is why we must execute this plan to the utmost perfection. We will take the appropriate steps to ensure that it’s ready to go but we’ll need a few more days.” Statis comments as the two allies grab their helmets from the table, which was in the form of Yharim’s forces attire, and place the helms onto their heads. The two terrarians nod to each other as they start to head towards the exit.

“Why are you two helping me? Who exactly are you?” Pinkamena inquires from behind which causes the two men to stop. Statis in particular turns his head to the left and looks over his shoulder, responding:

“Yharim has wronged us in a way similar to your own. We’ll tell you more about it in the future but for now, rest up. We’ve got a lot to do in the coming days.”





-TERRARIA, THE CRIMSON BIOME-

“That son of a bitch! He’s been deceiving us all along?!” Linn roars out in anger as the group truly takes in recent events, not to mention the note that was tossed aside by Samyueru.

“How could Tanner do this? He’s The Guide! The Pillar Of Knowledge! It’s their purpose in life to protect this world by guiding those who will fight to defend it!” Celebes roars out.

“Oh... sweet ancestors…” Linn comments with a horrifying realization.

“What is it?” Celebes inquires.

“Tanner, he’s with the others on their mission!” 

“Worry not, for some among us have been scheming against the traitor,” Tori injects with Celebes’s voice as the kenku still has a certain hand gesture present before them. “Now, it’s time to swoop down on our prey.”

“What are you talking about?” Celebes inquires.

“I see no reason to hide the truth from you two…” Tori responds as the kenku goes on to reveal the plan that Tempest, Steven, Rarity, and the kenku themself were involved in.

Incidentally, another scenario in a far off biome plays out during this time.





-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME-

Some time after the revelation at History Mushroom, both Applejack and Tanner The Guide were currently making their way towards their current objective; with Tanner in the lead. The objective was to scout a temple that was erected in Crabulon’s honor, via The Brotherhood Of The Crab, thanks to Shroom giving them its location. The plan was for the duo to report back to the others afterwards, as the group in turn prepares their forces for the coming battle.

As they continue on, the cowmare ponders on something that’s been bothering her as she says:

“Hey, uh, Tanner?”

“What’s up?”

“Ah’ was just thinkin’, and fer’give me If ah’ intrude, but why did ya’ lie to me before?”

This causes The Guide to stop instantly as he then looks over his right shoulder before he responds:

“What do you mean?”

“Well… it was in Anubis’s throne room, and even before that at the outskirts to The Desert Biome. Ah’ was just-” Suddenly, her words were cut off by The Guide as a drawn out laughter starts to be let loose by his lips. It started off in a low tone, before it then rises to the point that he laughs in exclamation, hysterically. 

This of course results in a very confused cowmare, who tilts her head sideways momentarily. However, she suddenly gets a very foreboding feeling as her eyes widen in absolute caution. She slowly starts to back away from Tanner while she comments:

“Th… this don’ feel right.” Hearing this, The Guide recovers his composure and responds:

“Ah yes, and that is why I chose you, Applejack. Your ability as that Element Of Honesty is a pain in my ass. Thank you for telling me all about that, by the way.”

“By Celestia… ah’ knew ah’ sensed somethin’ funny about ya’! Ya no good snake in the dirt!”

“Guilty as charged,” Tanner replies in a dark tone as a fiery aura surrounds ‘The Guide’. His eyes are also consumed by this aura as his voice deepens in addition, practically demonic in nature. “I am a demon from The Underworld! And your flank…” Tanner suddenly rushes forth in full force, almost as if a fireball was heading towards the cowmare, and finishes with: “... Is mine!”

Suddenly, the cowmare’s shadow starts to twist and morph as a very familiar kenku emerges from it.

“I think not!” Tori exclaims in Applejack’s voice as the kenku conjures forth a Red Phaseblade and blocks Tanner’s assault. In addition, Applejack’s hat seemed to be ‘acting’ rather strange as the cowmare grabs it off of her head and questions:

“What in tarnation?”

She then drops the hat as it becomes engulfed in green flames. The very same flames of a certain humanoid changeling. Echo was now standing before the cowmare and conjures forth her real hat from his inventory. He then returns the apparel to her and comments:

“It’s a good thing that Tori filled me in on their plan. Forgive me for taking your hat, Applejack. You left it unattended for a moment back in Mushroom Village, so I took advantage of the situation.”
> Chapter 122 - Betrayal Pt:2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some time before Tanner’s betrayal: 

-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME, MUSHROOM VILLAGE-

Echo Silhouette was preparing for the coming confrontation with The Brotherhood Of The Crab as the humanoid changeling was currently positioned at the top portion of History Mushroom. The changeling ruler wanted to double check his equipment beforehand. Suddenly, a certain kenku arrives in a gush of wind and lands before Echo seconds after.

“I have a proposition for you, Echo.” Tori comments in Applejack’s voice. This instantly gets the changeling’s attention as he inquires:

“A proposition? What for?”

“Your capabilities as a changeling, specifically your gift for transformation, are indeed most beneficial for my hidden agenda. In short, I wish to employ you.”

“You kind of already did. It’s why Lord Anubis sent me along to aid-”

“No, you don’t understand,” Tori interjects with a raised arm. “This doesn’t concern the battle with Crabulon and the cultists. This is a different matter entirely.”

Echo was momentarily taken aback by this as he was not expecting there to be a secret objective amongst the group’s members. With a raised brow he questions:

“Ok, what exactly is going on here?”

“I shall be straightforward with you. What we are about to discuss is in regards to Tanner, The Guide.”





Present:

-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME-

Applejack was currently at a loss for words at the sight before her. Both Tori and Tanner The Guide were going to war against each other all while Echo Silhouette stood before Applejack. Before the humanoid changeling goes to join the battle, he looks over his right shoulder and says:

“You need to leave, now! Tanner wants you out of the picture!”

“B-but, ah’ can’t just leave y’all-”

“You’re not leaving us if we’re telling you to go, so go! Warn everyone about Tanner’s betrayal!” The changeling ruler exclaims as he conjures forth his bow and goes to join the battle; leaving behind a heavily conflicted cowmare.

Applejack’s mind was currently racing back and forth as she wanted to stay and support her two allies. However, she also understood why they’re fighting off Tanner, in order to stop the plan he has for the cowmare. With slight hesitation, Applejack roars out:

“Fine! But y’all better be safe!” Upon saying those words, the orange earth pony turns around and starts to run away. Taking notice of this, but still caught in combat with Tori, Tanner roars out:

“No! You will not esca-”

“Fool,” Tori interjects as the kenku impales Tanner in his neck region with a kunai; causing The Guide to roar out in response. “Taking your eyes off of me is punishable by death!” The kenku then conjures another kunai into being, within the hand of their remaining free arm, and plunges it into ‘The Guide’s’ left eye. Tori then once again brings forth their Red Phaseblade as they had sent it away before the kenku’s actions.

Tanner grunts in momentary pain as he then engulfs himself in a pillar of hellfire. This causes Tori to jump backwards in order to avoid the fiery pillar. The Guide then raises a hand and dissipates the pillar of flame from within while saying:

“Had that been permanent... I would have been very, very upset with you!” The fire that was spiralling around The Guide ceases and what remains momentarily stuns Tori as lava seems to be leaking from the kenku’s strikes against Tanner’s neck and left eye, which seemed to act as the demon’s ‘blood’. Suddenly, the leaking lava actually gets reabsorbed into the wounds as it then causes them to heal instantly in the process. Tanner’s left eye was returned to normal all while the wound to his neck heals completely as he comments:

“Never wound what you can’t kill, chi- graugh!” Tanner suddenly roars out in pain and his words are cut off by an arrow that pierces his forehead.

“Headshot.” Echo Silhouette comments as the changeling was currently wielding their uniquely designed bow. The humanoid changeling then prepares to fire off another arrow before Tanner roars out with an arrow still in his forehead:

“You idiots just don’t get it! You’ll never kill me!”

“This arrow just might,” Echo retorts with a smirk as the changeling ruler fires off the projectile, all while Tori conjures forth a Minishark and prepares to join the humanoid changeling’s ranged assault.

“What did I just tell you clo-” Suddenly, Tanner’s eyes widened in a mix of fear and realization as he watched the arrow draw ever closer. The demon barely manages to avoid the projectile in time as it passes mere inches by his face. The arrow collides with a nearby wall of glowing mushrooms as a powerful burst of holy light is let loose soon after.

“Raaargh!” Tanner roars out in response as the holy light manages to cause its own form of burning effect against the demonic entity. Tanner tries to conjure forth a barrier of flames in order to stave off the light show, only for Tori to swiftly swoop in with their dual wielded weapons: Red Phaseblade and The Minishark. The kenku decapitates Tanner’s head with the energy based melee weapon while firing off The Minishark and unloading it into Tanner’s body. This in turn causes pools of lava to leak from Tanner’s body like an erupting volcano.

Before the head of The Guide could reach the ground, a normal arrow was let loose by Echo Silhouette which actually intercepts Tanner’s head and pierces it before pinning it against a nearby tall mushroom. This causes the head to laugh maniacally before Tanner comments:

“Got to give you credit for that holy light show. Should’ve expected someone who works for an ancient god to possess weaponry like that. Also, Tori, very rude of you to cut my head off. Regardless, despite this cleverly laid trap of yours,” The dismembered head then starts to glow with a red aura which in turn draws all of the lava that was leaking from its body, not to mention from Tori’s ranged assault against it. Echo was about to fire off another arrow embedded with holy light but was interfered as some of the lava broke off from the others and took on the form of a sword. The newly formed blade rushes towards the humanoid changeling and tries to strike away at him.

Before the blade could attack Echo, the changeling ruler quickly transforms into a glowbug and easily dodges the blade.  He then returns to normal and conjures forth a Blue Phaseblade in retaliation from his inventory.

[WHOOM]

[SKSH]

[WHOOM]

[SKSH]

The clashing of Echo’s energy based weapon and the lava created blade echoes throughout the local area as the changeling ruler fights off the magical anomaly.

During this time, Tori douses the remaining lava that tried to reach Tanner’s head with a bucket of water which in turn turns the lava into obsidian. The kenku then rushes towards Tanner’s head, of which was still pinned against the large mushroom, as the kenku imitates Tanner’s own voice and comments:

“It’s over, foul demon of The Underworld. Return Twilight Sparkle to us,” Tori then brings their Red Phaseblade up to Tanner’s head. “Then, you have my permission to die.”

Tanner simply laughs in response and takes on a condescending expression, despite being a dismembered head, and replies:

“Die? Good luck trying to kill a demon off permanently,” Tanner then lets loose a mischievous chuckle before saying: “You think that I haven’t planned for any of this?”

This of course causes Tori to narrow their eyes in response before questioning:

“What are you on about?”

“I admit, I wanted to get Applejack out of the picture due to her ability. I wanted to keep the element of surprise, but I suppose that’s moot now,” The dismembered head then smiles devilishly before it continues: “However, I still have more options available to me. Tell me, Tori, did you by chance account for Rainbow Dash? How about Fluttershy? Rarity? Pinkie Pie? Oh! And don’t worry about Starlight.”

Tori’s eyes were widened in shock as the kenku roars out with Tanner’s voice in full effect:

“What did you do?!” The dismembered head simply laughs in response before saying:

“I made a few adjustments. We already have Twilight Sparkle and all we need is two of any of the other ponies.”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Starlight was currently within her room which in turn was a part of the library. She was currently squealing with glee as the unicorn mare comments:

“I’m actually going on a date with a stallion. Oh, I need to make sure that I look my absolute best,” The unicorn then runs over to her mirror and takes on various poses while. She then clears her throat and continues: “Why yes, Shadow Thunder. I suppose I do look great for our date. You don’t look too bad yourself,” Starlight compliments as she pretends that the aforementioned stallion was positioned before her. The unicorn mare then giggles soon after before she says: “This is going to be so great! Watch out Shadow Thunder, because this mare’s gunnin for ya.” She then turns around and runs towards her bed with absolute excitement. The unicorn hops into the air and gracefully lands onto the bed before hugging a pillow soon after. She lets out a content sigh and says:

“Yes, I’d love to become your special so-”

[SKSH]

Suddenly, her words were cut off as a demonic rune activates itself soon after she plants herself onto the bed. A red barrier with demonic symbols now entraps her as she jolts onto her hooves and shouts:

“W-what’s going on?!”

“Starlight! Are you ok in there?!” A familiar voice questions in exclamation which causes Starlight’s ears to perk up before she exclaims

“Shadow Thunder! Help me!”





Some time before the rune activates and traps Starlight:

Shadow Thunder was currently making his way upstairs and headed towards the direction of Starlight’s room as he ponders on Rarity’s words within his mind:

-Please be a dear and inform Starlight that we’ll be having lunch soon, darling. Also, you’ll both be happy to know that both myself and Steven have already begun fashioning appropriate attire for your coming date-

The dark pegasus chuckles to himself in response to the memory, all while he was mere moments from standing before Starlight’s room, before saying:

“I can’t wait to see what you have planned for Starlight to-”

“W-what’s going on?!” Suddenly, the fearful exclamation of the aforementioned unicorn mare causes Shadow Thunder to bolt the rest of the way towards Starlight’s room. He now stands before the door and shouts:

“Starlight! Are you ok in there?!

“Shadow Thunder! Help me!”





Present:

“I’m coming!” The pegasus responds as he rears up and slams his forehooves into the door.

[CRASH]

The door instantly gives into the dark pegasus’s strength and falls before him like some type of foe. What he sees within the room shocks him beyond all belief as a demonic barrier surrounds Starlight’s bed, with the unicorn trapped inside.

“Shadow Thunder! Thank goodness!” Starlight exclaims with a hopeful expression as she takes notice of the stallion’s presence.

No more words were spoken for as of this moment, the dark stallion needed to take immediate action. Shadow Thunder rushes into the barrier and tries to strike it with a forehoof. Upon contact, a series of red electricity sizzles outwards before the barrier repels the stallion and tosses him away, sending him hurling into a bookcase which breaks upon impact and showers its many books down upon the stallion.

“Shadow Thunder!” Starlight roars out with concern.

Suddenly, a shocking scenario takes place as a series of shadows gathers around the shattered bookcase with the dark stallion buried under the series of books. Then, a loud roar is let loose soon after as a large entity explodes out of the rubble. Starlight’s eyes widened in absolute surprise as she saw an entity that resembles a foe from her past. Specifically, what was once a dark pegasus was a being who looked a lot like: The Pony Of Shadows.

“Raaaaaawr!”
> Chapter 123 - Wrath Of Shadows And Thunder.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN, STARLIGHT’S ROOM-

A towering entity was now standing where Shadow Thunder once stood as Starlight’s eyes were widened and her face was currently in a mixture of both recognition and shock. The being that the dark pegasus had become was all too similar to The Pony Of Shadows but with a noticeable difference. This entity’s body and wings were dark blue, much like that of Shadow Thunder, unlike the Pony Of Shadows’s blackened form. In addition, instead of the dark grey coloration of The Pony Of Shadow’s mane, tail, chest region, and the tip of his curved-back horn, Shadow Thunder’s new form was black in these regions.

“S-Shadow Thunder? Is that really… you?” Starlight questions; all while the barrier around her starts to shift in a chaotic fashion. Much like what had happened to Twilight in The Crimson Biome, the activated demonic anomaly was moments away from wisping the unicorn away to the fiery pits of The Underworld.

“I’m coming, Starlight!” The giant pony of darkness roars out as he stomps his way over to the barrier and roars out defiantly before slamming his large frame into the barrier. Much like what had happened before, a series of red electricity emitted from the point of impact but unlike last time, it wasn’t enough to push back Shadow Thunder in his current form. However, the giant dark entity was grunting in response as he continued to slam his girth against the barrier.

Starlight could only watch from within as she witnesses the behemoth trying its darndest to break through with physical force. She then shakes her head from left to right in an effort to regain her composure as she then fires up her horn and tries to teleport outside of the barrier. Unfortunately, and much like her teacher before her, the unicorn mare’s efforts were for naught as the barrier managed to block any of her attempts. 

“Raaaaaawr!”

Another powerful roar is let loose by the behemoth which in turn causes the entire room to quake as he then jumps backwards. Upon landing his jump, Shadow Thunder causes the entire room to shake thanks to his mass. Dark energy starts to gather around his horn as Shadow Thunder exclaims:

“Hang on, Starlight! I’ll get you out of there! I’ll never stop until I do!” Upon gathering a sufficient amount of power around his horn, Shadow Thunder rears up his large frame and slams his forehooes back down before unleashing the full force of his horn’s gathered strength. A powerful beam of dark energy is let loose which soon makes contact with the demonic barrier.

[SKSHSH]

A type of beam struggle ensues as the beam of dark energy collides with the barrier. Shadow Thunder growls in tandem as he pushes against the anomaly with all his might being channeled into his horn. Hope was seemingly shining upon them as a crack did indeed form onto the barrier, to which Starlight exclaims:

“It’s working! You’re doing it, Shad-” However, the unicorn mare’s words were cut off and both of their hopes were instantly taken away as the barrier miraculously repairs itself.

“Noooo!” Shadow Thunder roars out in both anger and frustration as he continues to unrelentlessly blast away at the barrier. 

Both the barrier and the rune that was positioned beneath Starlight were starting to change once more before the inevitable teleportation process would commence. Shadow Thunder stops his beam of dark energy and stomps up to the barrier once more before unleashing an endless series of physical blows. The behemoth would rear up and slam his forehooves into the barrier with all his might; even ignoring the red electricity that shocks him in response.

Starlight could only watch on helplessly as she observes the large shadow pony’s actions from within the barrier. Then, tears starts to flow down her cheeks all while she continues to smile towards the behemoth as she says:

“It’s ok, Shadow Thunder,” Her words cause the shining eyes of the large dark pony to widen, all while he continues to slam against the barrier. “It’s ok, don’t use up all of your strength just for me.”

“It’s because It’s you that I’m doing this!” The large pony exclaims in response.

“I know,” Starlight responds with both her tears and her smile still present. “But we both know that neither of us are going to breach this barrier, and upon closer inspection… I realized that it’s a teleportation rune.”

“All the more reason for me to get you out,” Shadow Thunder responds as he continues to wail on the barrier with his physical might. “I refuse to allow whoever planted this thing to take you away from me!”

Starlight could only smile towards the behemoth as he continues to try and tear apart the barrier with both physical and magical prowess. She then closes her eyes contently and goes on to comment:

“Shadow Thunder, thank you for saving me from myself. You’re an amazing stallion and I’m so lucky to have gotten to know you,” The large shadow pony roars out again and strikes away at the barrier before she continues: “You have no idea how happy I was when you still wanted to take me out on a date. I was so happy when I got back to my room that I wanted to look perfect for the occasion.”

“Raaaaawr!” The shadow behemoth roars out again.

“I’m so sorry… I guess our date is going to have to be postponed for now. But, I want you to know something...” The barrier was now starting to sizzle out of existence. Unfortunately, this also included the unicorn mare who was being taken away in the process. During this time, Shadow Thunder continues to rage against the demonic anomaly as he even goes on to demand:

“Give her back! I command you to give her back to me! 
Raaaaaawr!” 

Unfortunately, Shadow Thunder’s words would be unheeded by the demonic forces at work as both Starlight and the anomaly continues to dissipate. However, the unicorn mare was able to finish her words from before as she says:

“I want you to know that… I can really see you becoming my first ever... special somepony.” With those final words, the unicorn mare was now finally gone as the demonic rune dissipated before Shadow Thunder’s very eyes.

The world was cruel in that very moment for the large shadow pony felt as if it had taken away a mare he could potentially form a strong bond with. He wanted to get to know her even more than she had already revealed to him. The dark behemoth was looking forward to their coming date, only for it to be squandered before it could ever even happen. His current expression matched this inner turmoil as he says:

“No… no… NOOOO!” 



In a fit of rage, the dark behemoth spreads its wings to their full extent and flies upwards. He effortlessly breaks through the ceiling and continues to do so before he literally breaks through the rooftop of the library. A large shadow pony emerges from the building and continues to fly high into the skies above Home Town.

……….

During this time and within Home Town, Shadow Thunder had caught the attention of some bystanders who were currently out and about. They had all bore witness to the giant equine shadow entity breaking out of the library and flying high into the sky as they comment:

“Holy shit! Is that thing, Shadow Thunder?!” Ceeman The Arms Dealer exclaims in shock.

“My word, what happened in the library?! Why does he look like The Pony Of Shadows?!” Rarity inquires in a fashion similar to The Arms Dealer.

“Something went wrong! Shadow Thunder’s gone mad!” Steven The Clothier comments.

“Everyone, let me go and check on him,” Fluttershy says as she spreads her wings to their full lengths. “I don’t know what’s going on but I think-”

“Are you crazy, Fluttershy?!” Ritsu The Zoologist exclaims in response. “You want to go up there and try to talk to that enraged… thing?!”

“I have to, Ritsu! I’m the only one who-” Suddenly, the yellow pegasus’s words were cut off by what happened next as the skies started to blacken; followed soon by roaring thunder. 

Both Pinkie Pie and Candy The Party Girl suddenly appears in a duo of pink blurs as the party pony says:

“What in the world is going on?! Why is Slim Shaddy all angry and Pony Of Shadows like?!”

“And why is he creating a crazy thunderstorm?!” Candy exclaims as she then brings out an umbrella from her inventory, which sadly got taken away from a powerful force of wind.

“This is bad! We’ve got to calm him down before he unintentionally destroys the town! The storm’s getting worse by the second!” Vinny The Demolitionist shouts.

Before anyone could go any further, Fluttershy flies into the air and goes off to chase after the enraged Shadow Thunder. Upon seeing the pegasus’s actions, everyone shouts in unison:

“Fluttershy!”

……….

The form of a yellow pegasus could be seen puncturing the storm clouds as she determinedly tries to reach the epicenter of the raging force of nature. 

“You can do this, Fluttershy,” The yellow pegasus comments. “Pegasi are perfect for dealing with storms like these… I think,” The shy mare bravely flies into the heart of the storm and gazes upon the angered entity who was responsible for it.

“Raaaaawr!”

The dark entity who was floating before the shy pegasus lets loose a series of enraged roars and with every one that was let loose, the thunderstorm all around them continued to get worse with every passing moment. In addition, black twisters of darkness were starting to form into being as they threatened to descend upon Home Town.

“Shadow Thunder! Please! You need to calm down!” Fluttershy exclaims in an effort to reach the angered behemoth of darkness. Instead of getting a response with Shadow Thunder’s words, Fluttershy barely manages to avoid a bolt of electricity which in turn was blackened in coloration. “Oh no, he’s not listening to me… what do I do?” As the pegasus pondered on her next plan of action, the spiraling twisters of darkness were starting to enlarge themselves and even began to descend slowly, but surely, into the town below.

……….

Taking notice of the spiraling nados of darkness, everyone down below was starting to evacuate the town and move away to a safe distance. During this time, Rarity looks up towards the sky and comments:

“Oh Fluttershy… please be safe, darling.”

……….

High above Home Town and still within the heart of the thunderstorm, Fluttershy has already tried to reach the shadow comprised behemoth with both her words and her actions. But to no avail. However, the yellow pegasus suddenly gets an epiphany as she realizes something. As The Core Of The Slime Gods, she was enabled to use the abilities of every type of slime in existence. One slime’s ability in particular was perfect for this occasion: Princess Pinkie.

“Oh my gosh, that’s right,” Fluttershy comments with a hopeful tone as she begins to channel a pink aura into her cutie mark, which in turn also possesses the mark of the core, as the aura then spreads throughout her entire body. “Princess Pinkie can affect the emotions of those she touches.” 

With a determined expression, Fluttershy flies forth with all her will and might as she approaches Shadow Thunder. Bolts of black electricity threatened to intercept her, however, she began to close her eyes in concentration as a sudden multicolored gelatinous dome both surrounds and protects the yellow pegasus. The dome easily defends Fluttershy as she continues to race towards the large shadow pony.

Upon reaching Shadow Thunder, who in turn wasn’t paying her any mind as he was roaring out into the skies above him. With her gelatinous dome still in effect, she manages to reach Shadow Thunder and extends her left forehoof outwards which is currently surrounded by a pink aura.

“Please, let this work,” The shy pegasus comments as her hoof finally makes contact with the dark entity who was still roaring prior to the action. Then, the very moment that her hoof makes contact with Shadow Thunder’s form, the raging storm and darkened skies start to dissipate with a magical force, including the spiraling twisters of darkness. The weather soon returns to normal and the large behemoth that caused it all was beginning to shrink down in size. Soon enough, Shadow Thunder had returned to his original self as the dark pegasus states with a sorrowful expression:

“I… I’m so sorry… I never-”

“It’s ok, Shadow Thunder,” Fluttershy interjects as she then brings the dark pegasus into a hug with her forehooves and continues: “I saw everything when I used Princess Pinkie's abilities… I know what happened to Starlight… and I know that you tried to save her.” 

The dark pegasus could only take on a face of both sadness and regret as he responds:

“Sh… she’s gone… she told me that it was a teleportation spell. What’s going on?”

“We’ll figure that out,” Fluttershy replies as she pats Shadow Thunder on his back. “And we’ll find her, together.”

Little did they know, and down below in Home Town, the answers that they seek would soon come to them as a certain group from The Crimson Biome had finally arrived via a spire of flames; thanks to the many and combined abilities of a newly forged weapon: The Bloody Edge.
> Chapter 124 - The Guide Voodoo Doll.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE UNDERWORLD-

A sudden demonic rune manifests itself into being as Starlight Glimmer followed soon after. The unicorn mare was currently sitting on her flank and still had tears coming down her features following the events of the library as she comments:

“I’m so sorry, Shadow Thunder… everything we had planned was ruined-” Suddenly, the unicorn cuts off her own words as she now truly takes in her surroundings. Fire and brimstone were all around her as she gazed upon the fiery underworld with a shocked expression. “W-where am I? This place is… evil... horrible.”

“Why thank you,” A new and deep voice responds which not only sends chills down the unicorn’s spine but also causes her to jolt onto her hooves and turn towards its source. Starlight was at a complete loss for words as she saw multiple entities flying before her very eyes. Their skin was as red as the hellish landscape all around them all while they possessed bat-like wings. Various types of horns adorned the features of every entity before her as the individual whom spoke before, comments:

“We demons are so glad that you feel that way. We try our best to get such a reaction from those like you,” The other demons all around them start to laugh in agreement before the creature before Starlight continues: “But I digress. It seems that Tanner has captured yet another pony. That’s two down and only one more to go before our glorious invasion can truly begin.” Upon saying those words, all of the demons present start to let loose terrifying roars in unison all while Starlight is stunned in horror as she watches the hell dwelling entities celebrate what is coming.

Soon enough, the demons halt their laughter as the one who floated just before the pony begins to lower itself. This causes the frightened unicorn to fall backwards as she says:

“N-no, p-pl-ease, stay away from… me,” The demon simply smiles devilishly as fire begins to leak from its snarl, all while it continues to draw closer. One would think that the unicorn should fight back, to fire up her horn and start blasting away at these demons of The Underworld. Sadly, the mare was simply too frightened by these entities in addition to the hellish landscape all around her as she says: “No, stay away, I don’t want to-”

“Hahahaha!” The encroaching demon laughs in a mocking fashion before saying: “Fear not you pathetic creature of Harmony. We won’t kill you… yet.” 

Somehow managing to form a coherent thought, Starlight tries to fire up her horn in an effort to escape from her current predicament. However, the attempt failed and absolute dread was plastered onto her face as she comments:

“M-my magic, why can’t I-”

“The rune that brought you here cuts off your supply of mana. It denies you from escaping at first before it then completely shuts you down by embedding a mark onto your body,” The demon interjects as the entity then points at her chest. “See for yourself.”

As was pointed out by the demon, Starlight looks down towards her chest region and sees a pentagram encased within a circle embedded onto her very being. The unicorn now felt absolutely helpless as the demon drew ever closer while cackling at her current situation. 

The demon now stood before the quivering unicorn as the entity carelessly picked her up by her mane, which caused her to scream out in pain as the demon states:

“Yes! Your screams are lovely! It’s music to my ears!”

“Please! Stop! It hurts!” Starlight pleads.

“That's the point!” The demon responds brutishly. “You’re in The Underworld! Pain and suffering is always present here and we demons love to enforce it!” Using their remaining free arm, the demon points the appendage behind them and conjures forth a sort of hell portal. “Usually I’d torture my prey until their soul is beaten and battered before I consume them,” He then brings the pony closer, all while she continues to cry out in pain and tries to free herself from the demon’s grasp. “But Lord Legion ordered us to throw you into your little cage. But know this, pony. Once your usefulness to The Wall Of Flesh is over, I will come back for you and the other ponies. Your suffering will be endless!” The demon then looks over its shoulder and towards the portal as the entity spins around and hurls Starlight into the hellish anomaly. 





Within a cell that was positioned in the dark depths of a structure made entirely of black bricks, a portal of hellfire suddenly materializes and opens up. Soon after, a unicorn mare comes flying out of the anomaly and skis across the floor of the cell a short distance. 

Incidentally, someone was already being held within the prison as a lavender colored alicorn, who also happens to have a demonic rune etched onto her chest region, widens her eyes in realization and shouts:

“Starlight!” 

Twilight hurriedly makes her way towards her student as she lowers her head and nuzzles Starlight while saying: 

“Are you ok, Starlight? They didn’t hurt you too much, did they?”

“Tw…Twilight?” Starlight inquires in disbelief as the alicorn’s nuzzling manages to catch the downed unicorn's attention. Starlight’s eyes widened in a mixture of shock and relief as she jolted onto her hooves and hugged her teacher while saying: “Twilight! It was so horrible! This place is so terrible!”

“I know, Starlight… I know,” Twilight responds in a comforting tone as she pats her distraught student on their back with a forehoof. “But at the very least, we have each other now.”

After holding each other for a few moments, Starlight gently breaks away from the hug and comments:

“Twilight, just what in the world is going on? Why are demons capturing us? And how was a demonic rune in my bedroom?”

“Starlight, I don’t know how to truly explain this but dark forces are at work here. Forces that want to not only take over Terraria… but also, our world.” Twilight responds which causes the unicorn’s eyes to widen in horror.

“What do you mean ‘our world’? You’re saying that these creatures want to somehow take over Equus as well? How can they do that?”

“It’s more than that, Starlight… It’s so much more,” Twilight then looks towards a nearby object and continues: “Perhaps you should tell her the rest of it, Tanner.”

“T-Tanner?! But those demons told me-”

“That imposter isn’t me. He is The Voodoo Demon,” A familiar voice interjects which notably sounded exactly like Tanner The Guide. This causes Starlight to turn towards the object and her eyes widened when she sees what stood leaned up against a wall: A doll. “Hello there, Starlight. Twilight’s told me all about you.”

“T-Tanner? Wh… what the hay is going on here? Why are you a doll?”

“I’d like to apologize for what that imposter has done to you all, but I assure you, I am Tanner The Guide. The real Tanner. But I suppose you could also call me: The Guide Voodoo Doll. And I have a lot to reveal to you, as I did for poor Twilight here,” The doll then takes a moment to recollect itself before saying: “Before we begin, could I be so bold as to ask you to carry me, Twilight?”

“Of course, Tanner.” Twilight responds as she walks over to the doll and performs the action. She holds the object within her left forehoof and caresses it against her chest region all while the doll’s face looks forward. The lavender alicorn brings the doll closer to Starlight as Tanner says:

“I’m going to tell you what they have planned for both of our worlds, but you must hold any and all questions until after I’m done explaining it,” The doll then chuckles before saying: “Twilight here kept cutting me off every five seconds when I told her the very same thing that I shall soon reveal to you.” 

“Ehehe… yeah…” Twilight comments as she smiles sheepishly.

“So, um, If I’m understanding things correctly… You’re truly Tanner and not some monster who’s deceiving us?” Starlight inquires with a hint of fear.

“I’m the Tanner that should’ve been there when you all came to our world… the one who should’ve properly guided you all, instead of that damned imposter. However, we can get to regrets later,” The doll then goes silent for a moment as it seemed to be trying to gather the appropriate tale for the unicorn mare. The doll then lets out a sigh, which was rather strange given its current form, as the object then says:

“The Wall Of Flesh, or Legion, is in fact an ancient Outer God who has incredible control over reality: Nyarlathotep. Here’s a side fact: It was that creature who lured Cthulhu to our world but you’ll be happy to know that it backfired on Nyarlathotep. To an extent, anyway. 

Returning back to the main subject, Its current objective is to merge both of our worlds into a singularity. One merged world. They have already set things in motion and have captured two of the three final pieces that they need to open an established link between both worlds. Think of it like a bridge for the Outer God to cross over and bend to their will whatever lies on the other side of that bridge,” The doll pauses for a moment and goes on to say: “Judging by your expression, Starlight, you have something to say?”

Hearing the doll’s words, Starlight swallows a lump that was forming in her throat during the real Tanner’s tale as she then replies:

“Um, these three pieces that they need… are these being kept away from them? Someone must be protecting them, right?”

Both Twilight and Tanner, the voodoo doll, were hesitant to answer the unicorn mare’s question. However, Twilight takes it upon herself to answer the inquiry as the alicorn looks at her student and says:

“It’s us, Starlight… we are the pieces… and they already have two out of three.”

“B-but, why us?” Starlight questions in a saddened tone. “Why does it need us?”

“It’s because we’re from Equus,” Twilight responds in a matching tone. “And like Tanner has said before, this is like a bridge. Sadly, we are the three pillars that will support that bridge by force.”

“There is however one thing that baffles me,” Tanner The Doll comments which catches the attention of both ponies. “Why does one of the three have to be you, Twilight?”

“Wait, what do you mean by that?” Starlight inquires. 

“Apparently, I’m needed for the process to begin and only two of any one of us from Equus are needed alongside me. But, that’s just the thing, I don’t know why I would be so vital to their plan.”

“Funny you should mention that, because I’m here to confirm a suspicion of mine and it involves an ‘associate’ of ours,” Another voice injects itself into the conversation. Everyone gasps in horror as they see… him. Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as she questions in disbelief:

“Y-Yharim?!”
> chapter 125 - Yharim's Confirmation.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE UNDERWORLD-



The eyes of both Starlight and Twilight were currently shot wide open in horror as they gaze upon the fear inducing form of Yharim. The Jungle Tyrant was currently positioned outside of the cell that contained the ponies; along with an object that resembled Tanner The Guide in the form of a doll.

“Yharim, w-why are you here? And… w-what do you mean by that?” Twilight questions with both hesitation and fear in her voice.

“It’s been some time ever since we last spoke in Home Town, hasn’t it?” Yharim responds as the tyrant conjures forth a duo of water bottles from his inventory and floats them into the cell as he questions: “Thirsty? You two must be famished being here in The Underworld,” Yharim then looks towards the doll and continues: “I’d offer you some too, but, obviously that wouldn’t be necessary. Given your current form and all.”

“Wait… that’s Yharim?!” Tanner The Doll inquires in disbelief. This catches Starlight’s attention, all while Twilight continues to stare at Yharim, as the unicorn mare leans into the doll and replies:

“You know him?”

“Of course I do! He’s the bringer of destruction and the greatest form of calamity!”

“Well, yes. But actually, no,” Yharim replies as he then lowers the two water bottles he offered the ponies onto the cell floor. “I’ll just leave those there for when you two inevitably get thirsty.” 

“Gee, how thoughtful of you,” Starlight says with dripping sarcasm. “It totally wouldn’t surprise me at all if these were poisoned. No, not. At. All.” 

Yharim simply chuckles in response before saying:

“Well that certainly sounds like something I’d do. But, no, they’re not poisoned and I’m not tricking you.”

Starlight rolls her eyes in response before saying:

“Yeah, and I’m the Alicorn Princess Of The Underworld.”

“Keep running that muzzle of yours and I’ll happily arrange that, but not in the way that you’d like.”

[CRUM-CLOP]

“Enough!” Twilight exclaims as she rears up and stomps her forehooves onto the blackened floors of the cell. “Why are you here, Yharim? And what do you mean by you wanting to confirm a suspicion? What suspicion? I doubt you came all the way down here just to offer us some water and to argue with Starlight, so start talking.”

Yharim simply stares at the lavender mare for a few more moments before he then sighs deeply and comments:

“So much for the friendly approach, I guess. That’s very unbecoming of you, Princess Of Friendship.”

“Don’t you dare go there!” Twilight exclaims with anger. “You never intended to be ‘friends’ with us from the start. You stole Pinkie Pie’s life force and used it to blackmail her own sister for Celestia’s sake. And that’s not even mentioning all the horrible things you’ve done even before we came to Terraria,” Twilight then spreads her wings to their full extent before she continues: “Yes, I often offer friendship even to my enemies. But sometimes that simply isn’t an option when it comes to people like you… people who want nothing to do with loving bonds!”

What happens next absolutely shocks everyone currently within the cell as Yharim simply phases through the bars of the containment. The confidence that was once vibrant within Twilight instantly turns into absolute fear as her wings lower themselves and folds against her body. The alicorn even begins to shake in terror as the large frame of Yharim now stands before her, towering over her like a Timberwolf to a filly. 

In an act of commendable bravery, Starlight actually throws herself in Yharim’s path and defends her teacher, saying:

“Leave her alone… she’s done nothing wrong to you. None of us has ever wronged you. I don’t care if you could destroy me with a finger, you’ll have to kill me before you get to her.”

“My, aren’t we brave,” Yharim sarcastically compliments. “Where was this when those demons were tossing you around earlier?”

“This is different. When it comes to someone I care about, my friend, I toss aside my fears and defend them. But you wouldn’t understand that, would you? It’s just like Twilight said… you know nothing about loving bonds! You just enjoy tearing them apart!”

As this is going on, Tanner The Doll could only watch on helplessly and observe the scenario that played out before ‘him’. Despite the fear-inducing presence of Yharim, the doll could only admire the ponies for standing up to an entity who could kill them in mere seconds.

One would simply expect Yharim to strike both of the ponies in response; to retaliate for standing up to him in such a fashion. However, everyone in the cell was once again shocked by Yharim’s actions as he simply turned and walked towards the direction of a nearby wall. His golden armor and powerful footsteps echoes throughout the containment as he finally reaches the wall, turns around, and leans against it before sliding to the floor and taking a seat. He rests both of his arms on his knees and states:

“Is that what you truly think? That I don’t know the warmth of such bonds?” These words of course shocks the ponies, even more than they already were, as Twilight responds:

“If you did, you certainly don’t show it nor do you even respect it. However, there is something that I’ve been wanting to get from you, Yharim,” Twilight then walks around Starlight and stands beside the unicorn mare before she continues: “I’ll ask you the same thing I did back in Home Town; during Skeletron’s attack. Why are you doing all of this? You seem to imply that you know the bonds of friendship, of family, of love, and yet you treat others like mere playthings. You’ve torn apart Celestia and Lunaris, Pinkie Pie and her other self who’s apparently her sister, although I admit that I still don’t understand that. You’ve committed so many horrible acts and I just want to know, why?”

Yharim seemed to thoroughly ponder on the lavender alicorn’s words as he tilts his head upwards in thought. After a few moments, he answers:

“I can give you many answers to that question which range from good, to bad. I do it for the pain of those I’ve lossed, I do it because it simply makes me feel better. I do it to correct the wrongs in this world and I do it to simply tyrannize this cruel life of ours. I want to become the world’s greatest hero, and its greatest villain. Those are just a few answers but do you want to know something interesting?”

Both Twilight and Starlight’s ears flicker in response all while they continue to take in his words. 

“What is it?” Twilight asks with hints of both curiosity and caution. Yharim then raises his body up and stands to his full stature before responding:

“Sometimes… I just don’t know why I even bother going on anymore, but I also feel that I can not stop,” He then starts to make his way towards Twilight. “Anyway, I came here to confirm something but I’d also like to ask you a question, Twilight.”

“Y-yes?” Twilight responds hesitantly all while Starlight motions for the alicorn to stand behind her.

“What do you truly know about: Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena?” Yharim questions.

“Wh-what kind of question is that?” Twilight responds. “Pinkie Pie is my best friend and she’s always been there to raise our spirits. She knows how to make us laugh even in times of trouble. As for Pinkamena, I don’t know much about her but if Pinkie Pie trusts her, then so do I.” 

Yharim places a hand to his chin in thought and goes on to say:

“Yes, I suppose that’s true from what you’ve experienced so far with that party loving pony. However, I’m mostly referring to if you truly know what they are.”

“Well, they’re earth ponies, of course. Why are you asking me this?”

“Tell me, Twilight, are you familiar with an entity called: Oblivion?”

“O-Oblivion? N-no, I have no idea who that is. But, what does that have to do with Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena?”

“Oblivion…” Tanner The Doll comments and injects ‘himself’ into the conversation. “Oblivion is one of the ancients, a type of god if you will. There were many of them throughout Terraria’s history, but the most well known were: Greed, Anubis, Athena, Harmony, Daybringer, Nightcrawler, Abaddon, The Slime Gods technically count as well seeing as they’ve been here from the dawn of life itself. The list goes on but among them were two ancients in particular: Oblivion and Valencia. I bring up Valencia since one can not speak of Oblivion without bringing up their counterpart. In a sense, where Oblivion is meant to destroy, Valencia is meant to create.”

Yharim then starts to clap in response as he comments:

“Well done, my good guide. Unlike that imposter who’s taken your role, you my good sir are truly well deserving of the title. That'll be enough for Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena, but I couldn’t help but notice that you refrained from mentioning one ancient in particular.”

“No… not in front of her, Yharim.”

“Wait, are you two referring to… Twilight?” Starlight questions as she catches onto their implications.

“M-me?” Twilight inquires while pointing a forehoof to herself. “What did you mean by that, Tanner?”

“Please, Yharim… I beg you to spare her from this information.” The doll pleads.

“Ah. But you see, my dear guide, that is part of the suspicion that I came here to confirm for myself,” Yharim then turns towards Twilight. “My good pony, there is so much more to this than even you could ever imagine. The ancient that Tanner refrained from mentioning was the third sibling to Daybringer and Nightcrawler. She was the bringer of the dawn and absolutely excelled in powerful forms of magic. And thanks to yours truly, she is now my personal god-killer: Twilight Sparkle.” 

The alicorn’s world came crashing down upon her as she fell onto her flank and stutters:

“W-what? B-but, I was born on Equus… how could I ever have been here before? I… I never even knew of Terraria beforehand. M-my sibling h-has, and only will ever be: Shining Armor.”

“That’s what I came here for, Twilight. To learn the truth and confirm my suspicions of what Harmony has done.” Yharim comments as he took a few steps closer. Starlight tries to intercept him, however, he simply snaps his fingers and causes her to disappear momentarily before reappearing against the nearby wall being shackled in restraints.

“No!” Starlight roars out as she struggles against her restraints. “Please! Leave her alone!”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” Yharim responds as he then places his right hand onto Twilight’s head. “Now then, show me what you’ve done, Harmony.”

A red aura suddenly surrounds Twilight’s form all while the alicorn’s eyes were consumed by a vibrant white light. Yharim simply stood firm as he continued to perform this mysterious action. During this time, both Tanner and Starlight were begging Yharim to stop in exclamation but were sadly unheeded as he continued the action. 

A few more minutes goes by and Yharim finally removes his appendage from Twilight’s head. The red aura that surrounded her was now gone and her eyes returned to normal as she fell limp to the black floor of the cell.

“Harmony… you clever Empress Of Light. This changes things.” Yharim comments as he turns around and begins to take his leave.”

“W… wait… Y-Yharim,” Twilight calls out weakly. “Wh… what did you… see? P-please… tell… me.”

The Jungle Tyrant was now outside of the cell with his back turned as he then looked over his shoulder. Having heard the alicorn mare’s words, he responds: 

“I used what’s called: Soul reading. At first, I thought it was just an alternate universe thing. Just because you meet your alternate self in another universe, it doesn’t mean that you are one in the same. You are simply identical but you are also two separate beings entirely. You do not actually have a connection to one another,” Yharim then looks forward and conjures a portal before he continues: “But I was wrong to assume that about you, Twilight. What Harmony has done is something I never even considered.”

The Jungle Tyrant was now starting to enter the anomaly as he says one final thing before it dissipates and takes him away along with it:

“Go and ask her about it when you eventually meet her for yourself... my dear reincarnation of this world’s Twilight Sparkle.”

The portal finally closes, and Yharim is now finally gone… but he leaves behind an alicorn whose very existence was being questioned by herself.
> Chapter 126 - The Final Target.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME-

Having returned to Mushroom Village after Tanner’s failed attempt at her capture, Applejack informs everyone of ‘The Guide’s’ betrayal. In addition and not too long afterwards, both Tori and Echo returned as well but brought with them a very particular third member: ‘Tanner’s’ head. Shockingly, the head was contained within an empty fishbowl with Anubis’s runes etched onto it, which in turn was compliments of Echo Silhouette.

Tori had also informed the group of the events that had transpired within The Crimson Biome via the kenku’s link to their other self, which was currently in Home Town and informing its denizens of ‘Tanner’s’ betrayal. From the discarded note left behind by Samyueru to Twilight’s capture, Tori had revealed the traitorous intent of ‘The Guide’, not to mention their recent battle with the demonic entity.

……….

After those revelations and scenarios, and now positioned within Shroom’s home, the entire group, barring Jeremy The Angler and Shroom who weren’t present, are currently wearing facial expressions of anger, disappointment, and shock as they simply stared at the beheaded entity within the fishbowl; who in turn was currently looking back at them with a condescending expression.

Finally breaking the silence, one member of the group in particular grits her teeth in absolute rage as Rainbow Dash exclaims with extended wings:

“I say we go back to The Sunken Sea and feed this bucker’s head to the serpents!”

“We probably shouldn’t do that… I’d feel bad for the serpents having to eat this thing,” King Amidias responds as The Sea King then floats closer to the table and slams his left hand onto it before shouting: “How could you do this?! You’re The Guide! It is your purpose to help those who want to protect this world from disasters and monstrosities!”

“He ain’t no guide,” Applejack comments as she too draws closer to the table. “He ain’t nothin’ but a snake from The Underworld, ‘member? Ya’ tried to take me, but ya’ underestimated mah’ friends here,” The cowmare points a forehoof towards Tori and Echo. “And now look at ya’... yer’ nothin’ more than a head in a fishbowl. However, there’s one thing ah’ want to know,” The cowmare then shoves her face against the fishbowl with a predatory scowl and exclaims: “How the buck do we get Twilight back?! Ya’ better tell us or-”

“You’ll do what? Hmm? I can see that you’re all trying to be intimidating, but you need to be, well, intimidating.” The beheaded demon comments with a small snicker.

“You bucking-”

“No, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack interjects and stops the cyan pegasus, who was about to slam their right forehoof onto the fishbowl and likely shatter it on impact. “Ah’m angry just like you are, ah’ want Twilight back just as much as yer’ do. However, remember what Tori and Echo said about that there fishbowl with them runes on it.”

“Awww, what’s wrong, little Dashie?” The head antagonizes. “Can’t do whatever you want without mamma Applejack’s approval?”

“Quit tryin’ to provoke her, ya' demon,” Applejack responds with a gesturing forehoof. “Ah’ know yer’ tryin’ to rile us up just to get us to shatter that there fish bowl, and set ya’ free.”

“Wow, I guess the inbred Apple Family isn’t as dumb as I thought,” The head responds before taking on a southern accent and mocking the cowmare: “Well howdy, Applejack. What y’all mad at?” The cowmare growls in response as her anger starts to build up from ‘Tanner’s’ mockery of her family. “It ain’t any good to keep all that tension pent up so why don’t ya’ go find yer’ brother and fuck em’? Assumin’ he and the rest of yer’ inbred family back on Equus ain’t dead that is!”

“Ya’ buckin’ two timin’ snake! Imma’ kill ya’!” Applejack roared out, and was about to do exactly what she stopped Rainbow Dash from doing. However, Echo quickly transforms his right arm into that of a large gorilla’s and captures the enrage cowmare’s forehoof, all while she continues to spew all manner of words towards the beheaded demon in disguise, who was enjoying every second of the pony’s apparent pain.

“Take her outside and let her cool off,” Sai Sahan says as he then leans into Echo Silhouette. “And take her to the edge of Mushroom Village. I don’t want her to come barging in here just to tear ‘Tanner’ apart. We can’t allow him to leave that fishbowl, he’ll just regenerate himself and escape.”

Echo nods in response as the humanoid changeling then starts to leave Shroom’s house, all while applejack continues to squirm in his grasp while shouting:

“Let me at that varmint! Ah’ll buck em’ back to The Underworld real good!”

“Ooooh~ kinky. Don’t go teasing me with a good time, Applejack!” The head exclaims in response.

“I’ll go with them,” Rainbow Dash responds as she then takes one final glance towards the head and continues: “Without A.J being here, I’d probably lose it again if I continue to hear this bucker’s mouth.”

“You cut me deep, Dash… you cut me real deep,” ‘Tanner’ comments before the beheaded entity then laughs momentarily and says: “Hey, Dash! What’s blue and has hair that’s obviously colored after the gay agenda?! You!” The head then goes on to laugh hysterically while the cyan pegasus takes on an angered expression as she makes her way outside. After leaving the house, Rainbow Dash could hear ‘Tanner’s’ final words before they became muffled as she drew away:

“Grow a pair and tell her already! You spineless chicken! If I were in your position, I’d already be giving it to Applejack and making her scream my name!”

……….

“Will you just shut up!” Terralestia exclaims as she finally had enough of the beheaded demon’s words. “Is talking trash all you’re good for? You’re nothing but a head trapped in a fishbowl, a fishbowl!”

“As much as I’d enjoy this worm’s silence, I highly doubt we’ll get what we want.” King Amidias comments.

Finally breaking their silence and getting away from the wall they were leaning on, Tori approaches the table and imitates Samyuesu’s voice; saying:

“We already know your entire plan thanks to the note that was left behind by that coward. Not to mention the fact that my other self is already in Home Town. Everyone there knows of what you’ve done and steps have been taken to keep the remaining ponies safe. Your plan is moot and you have failed.”

The head simply smirks in response; to which Sai Sahan inquires:

“What are you smirking at? You do realize that your plan is soon going to come crashing down, right? All that remains is for us to find a way to retrieve our captured friend.”

“Friends, actually,” Tanner corrects. “We have two of your friends captured at the moment. All we need now is the last piece, and we’ll be golden.” Terralestia slams her right hand onto the table in response and exclaims:

“Who did you take?! How did you manage to do that if you’re here with us?!”

“Starlight Glimmer. Poor mare, she was looking forward to that date too. It’s a good thing I planted those runes under every one of the ponies’ beds, eh?”

“I’m already aware of that,” Tori replies with Samyueru’s voice still in effect. “Shadow Thunder has already informed my other self of what happened. And, he’s currently very displeased with you.”

“I could care less about how any of you feel,” The dismembered head responds before it then starts to laugh uncontrollably.

During ‘Tanner’s’ laughter, Terralestia, Sai Sahan, and King Amidias simply stare at the fishbowl with annoyed expressions. However, Tori felt like something was completely off as the kenku narrows their eyes towards the imposter’s head. Then, as if someone had flicked a switch, Tori’s expression morphs into realization.

Taking notice of this, the dismembered head says:

“You ninja from Torinago are always a pain to deal with. Especially when it comes to a kenku, and judging by your current expression... did you figure it out, Tori?”

In an instant, the kenku turns towards the door and hurriedly runs outside before conjuring forth a Recall Potion from their inventory. Tori then drinks the magical beverage as it wisps the ninja kenku away to Home Town.

……….

“Where did Tori go?” Terralestia questions with a hint of surprise. However, King Amidias suddenly realizes something as he turns towards the head and says:

“Wait a second… what did you mean by “Figure it out? What has the kenku come to realize?! Answer you foul creature from below!”

“Oh, I will,” The fishbowl head responds with a smirk. “And that’s the beauty of this. It’s already too late and my first back up plan is going to bear fruit.”

“What backup plan?!” Sai Sahan exclaims in anger as he slams his right fist onto the table. “Enough with your games and reveal your scheme, demon!”

“Yeesh… and here I thought we were friends, Sai. I mean, you, Celestia, Lunaris… you’re all part of my guild for goodness sake. Well, before Lunaris went and-”

“Leave my brother’s name out of your foul mouth and speak the truth!” Terralestia replies in exclamation. “What is the backup plan?!”

“One of two but for separate reasons, actually. So let me answer your question... with another question,” A devilish expression suddenly forms onto the head’s face as it questions: “Do you like, zebras?”

The expressions of everyone who was left in Shroom’s home instantly morphs into horrific realization as Sai Sahan goes on to comment:

“Oh no…”

“How could we be so foolish?!” Terralestia exclaims in a mixture of anger and frustration.

“Sai? Celestia? What is happening, my friends? What does this have to do with a zebra?” King Amidias inquires.

“Sh-she... she,” Terralestia stutters before she swallows the lump in her neck and continues: “Zecora… she came here with the others.”

“I sometimes feel bad for that zebra,” The dismembered head comments with sarcasm. “Zecora gets overshadowed by the ponies and more often than not, she’s kind of forgotten until she reveals herself. Lord Legion prefers the ponies, but the simple fact that Zecora came from Equus as well makes her a beautiful back up plan. I’m so relieved that I took the time to set up a rune for her as well.”

"B-but, you said that you needed the ponies!" Sai Sahan exclaims.

"Yeah, see, that was both the truth and a lie," The head responds. "I just needed one of the three to be Twilight Sparkle while the other two can be anyone who was born on Equus. Saying that we only needed the ponies was just to keep you from including Zecora."

Suddenly, loud exclamations and a blood pumping commotion takes place outside as one of King Amidias’s men kicks the door open and shouts:

“My King! The Brotherhood Of The Crab is invading the village!”

“Those insolent cultists!" King Amidias responds in anger before he raises his hand and continues: "Go forth, my brave warriors! And help the truffles defend the village!”

“There is another thing, my King! Crabulon is leading the assault!” The Sea king's guard replies.

“Ah! And that’s my second backup plan!” The head in the empty fish bowl exclaims happily.

“You son of a bitch!” Terralestia roars out as she comes to realize what ‘Tanner’ has done. “You tipped them off and revealed our plans to them!”

“Well, duh! Why do you think I took Applejack with me to ‘scout’ the cultists? I wasn’t going to scout, you morons! I just didn’t want Applejack to get caught up in all of this. But change of plans and with Zecora soon within our possession, you can all die now!”

Quickly springing into action, Terralestia, Sai Sahan, and King Amidias grunts in anger and exits the home as they go on to join the coming conflict; leaving behind ‘Tanner’s’ head on the table. However, another individual then enters the mushroom comprised home and is revealed to be one of the crab cultists. Taking notice of this, the head states:

“You sure took your sweet time, Prophet Of Crabulon.”

“The great crab always honors his agreements, Tanner. And as his prophet, I shall enact his will.” The Prophet then enters the home and conjures forth an iron hammer before raising it over his head.

“Yeah yeah spare me your religious crab mumbo jumbo! And make it snappy! I’ve got a kenku to intercept! I will not allow a fucking ninja-bird to ruin this for me!”





-TERRARIA, HOME TOWN-

Having just arrived in Home Town thanks to the Recall Potion, Tori runs at full speed towards his other self, who in turn was with the rest of the town’s denizens as they were conversing about Tanner’s betrayal. Shadow Thunder in particular was in anguish due to the loss of Starlight all while both Linn and Celebes The Dryad does the same for Twilight.

Noticing the newly arrived kenku rapidly approaching the group, Rarity exclaims:

“You’re the Tori who was with the others, right?! Where’s Applejack and Rainbow Dash?! Are they ok?! That foul brute is with all of you!”

Ignoring the unicorn mare’s words, not to mention that of the town’s denizens, the newly arrived Tori and their counterpart runs towards each other and fuses together into a single entity. The now unified kenku then turns towards the direction of The Jungle and says in Rarity’s voice:

“Zecora.” The kenku then takes off and, having heard Tori’s words, both Shadow Thunder and Linn, who hops onto her horse, Ves, goes after the kenku as they go on to hopefully save the final target. The zebra of The Everfree Forest.
> Chapter 127 - Boss Fight: Crabulon Pt:1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE JUNGLE BIOME, ZECORA’S HOME-

The Jungle was covered in an orange veil as the late afternoon sun colored the leaves of the jungle trees. In addition, a structure that was built into a hollow tree was also kissed by the sun’s rays, one that was built by a zebra from another world.

 Within her home and standing before her cauldron, Zecora was currently working on a new series of potions as she mixes and adds various ingredients while commenting:

“This will be quite the surprise for Gex, the Water Walking Potion is sure to be one of my best,” She then adds a Shark Fin to the mixture and continues: “I must thank him for journeying to the sea, and giving me this fin to finish my remedy,” The zebra then conjures forth a very particular plant: Waterleaf. “And thanks to my friend, Rainbow Dash, who would’ve thought her trip through the desert would give me quite the plant.” The rhythmic equine then adds the plant to the mixture and nods in content before she turns and heads towards her bed, where an open book lies in wait.

“let us see what I can procure next, thanks to this book I bought from The Traveling Merchant, a friend of Gex,” Zecora then starts to flip through the pages. “This book can take me far and a lot it has to show, perhaps I could one day meet its author named: Snow.”

Today was meant to be a day of learning for the zebra of The Everfree forest, to procreate various potions to assist not only herself, but her friends in Home Town as well. It saddened the zebra to be away from everyone for extended periods of time but it did become bearable thanks to the presence of Gex, The Witchdoctor.

Sadly, both the zebra’s peaceful abode and her plans for the remainder of the day would soon get a rude awakening. While she reads through her book, a sudden flash of red energy is let loose as a very familiar rune activates itself. However, before the barrier could be erected and trap the zebra within, like two certain ponies before her, a loud exclamation practically shakes Zecora’s home:

“WULD NAH KEST!”

In one swift motion, a green blur zooms into the home and snatches the zebra away from the barrier’s grasp. Then, Zecora re-appears right next to her cauldron along with her lihzhard savior who says:

“Zecora! I’m glad that I wasn’t too late, I casted the Whirlwind Sprint and came to your aid with due haste.”

Zecora was momentarily stunned by the events that had just taken place before she smiles gratefully and gestures for Gex to let her down. With reddenned features, the lihzhard heeds to her request via her gesture, as she comments:

“Thank you for saving me, Gex, but perhaps setting me down gently would be best?”

“M-my apologies, Zecora.” Gex replies as he sets her down onto her hooves. The two then looks at the demonic anomaly before them as Zecora questions:

“What is this unusual rune that causes me such dread? And why was it set under my bed?”

“It looks like a rune made by demonic forces, judging by its dimensions, I fear that you were the target for unfriendly intentions.” Gex replies with his left hand to his chin.

“It would appear that trouble is amiss, perhaps we should go and discuss this with Twilight and friends?” Zecora responds as the two nod in agreement and leaves Zecora’s home; leaving behind the demonic rune which soon dissipates.

Little did the two denizens of The Jungle know, they would soon be involved in a battle that was currently taking place not too far from Zecora’s home.





-TERRARIA, OUTSKIRTS OF THE JUNGLE BIOME-

At the very edge of the lush jungle biome was a large clearing of green grass; accompanied by various flowers which danced with the wind. This meadow represented a sort of serene peace and tranquility. Sadly, this would soon become chaotically interrupted as a sudden fireball makes impact and sends additional flames hurling in several directions.

The fireball was a result of a nearby conflict which was taking place as a dark pegasus could be seen flying through the air. In addition, a humanoid bird ninja could be seen dodging various fire based attacks; along with a pink haired terrarian who was engaged in close quarters combat with their foe: Tanner The Imposter. The two enter a struggle in a contest of strength as ‘The Guide’ comments:

“This is all meaningless, and I’ve already won! Zecora is no doubt captured by now! I sensed the activation of the rune, and I successfully intercepted you morons! Remind me to thank Crabulon’s prophet in the future! Then again, you’ll all be-”

“You talk too much.” Linn interjects.

Suddenly, In an impressive display of strength, Linn forces ‘Tanner’ back with her physical might and grabs the demon in disguise by his neck region. She then spins in place and flies him into the air. The imposter’s current predicament wasn’t finished as a dark pegasus follows Linn’s actions and strikes at ‘Tanner’ with his left hind leg; sending the traitor hurling into the earth below.

The demon in disguise grunts in anger and quickly gets back onto his feet as he stands within a small crater. Suddenly, a grappling hook in the form of Skeletron’s arm grabs the demon in disguise’s head with its skeletal hand from behind as a certain kenku roars out in Twilight’s voice:

“Get over here!” Tori yanks on the skeletal appendage and forces ‘Tanner’ to come hurling towards the kenku. The kenku then runs forth, all while the demon in disguise is still flying through the air, and slams a stick of dynamite into ‘Tanner’s’ mouth while zooming past the traitor.

[BOOM]

An explosion is let loose as a result and what’s left behind is a crater that’s suddenly filled with lava. Then, a ball of lava starts to float above the crater as the upper portion of ‘The Guide’s’ body forms into being. The disguised demon’s eyes start to glow with a red energy before ‘Tanner’ breaths a large surge of hellfire from his mouth. The trio of Linn, Shadow Thunder, and Tori dodges the attack but what happens next shocks everyone present as the flames start to bend and spread outwards.

“Let’s turn up the heat!” The upper portion of ‘Tanner’ roars out as a large demonic rune is suddenly etched onto the surface of the land around them. As it turns out, the flames that were let loose by ‘Tanner’s’ mouth had created a pentagram. The upper body of the traitor then raises its arms and shouts: “Now burn!”

Both Tori and Shadow Thunder were able to escape the boundaries of the large pentagram. However, Linn simply stands in place and conjures forth her lance before she impales the earth below her with the weapon.

The pentagram activates and a large pillar of fire fires up into the air from the earth below; consuming both Linn and ‘Tanner’ in the process. The attack soon dissipates as the local area becomes much warmer from the traitor’s attack. The landscape that was within the pentagram was absolutely scorched and any grain of grass that was once there was simply eradicated.

Seeing both Tori and Shadow Thunder nearby, both of whom were wearing facial features of determination, ‘Tanner’ turns his head towards them and goes on to regenerate the rest of his body as the pool of lava that was below the upper body floats up and joins him, molding into his lower portion which makes him whole once more. Unfortunately for everyone else present, the disguised demon was completely naked due to their clothing being eradicated by Tori’s earlier explosion.

“Now it’s just you two left!” The traitor exclaims. However, his facial features morph into confusion as he noticed something rather strange about the duo. One would think that after watching their ally being scorched by a pillar of hellfire, both Tori and Shadow Thunder would be worried for Linn’s well being. Instead, the duo just stood there on the edge of the scorched landscape with a smirk.

“Psst, I’m still alive,” A feminine voice whispers into the disguised demon’s ear as he turns his gaze towards Linn’s right hand’s index finger, which pokes his left cheek, before her left arm’s fist crashes into Tanner’s face. This forces ‘The Guide’ backwards as he tries to catch himself by forcing both of his legs into the earth all while he skis backwards. This action leaves behind a trail that was embedded into the earth as ‘Tanner’ rubs his face and states:

“How?! You should’ve been dead!” Then, his eyes widen when he sees the lance that Linn was currently wielding. Something about this lance made him feel uncomfortable as he comments: “This aura… that weapon… why does it feel like-”

“Excalibur?” Linn interjects with a raised eyebrow. “You could say that this lance is a child of Excalibur, but not as powerful,” She then thrusts the lance forth while saying: “Even so, I can’t imagine a better weapon to shove up your ass!”





-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME, MUSHROOM VILLAGE OUTSKIRTS-

 All out war was currently echoing throughout the underground biome of glowing mushrooms as everyone fought against The Brotherhood Of The Crab; just outside of Mushroom Village.

Truffles and merfolk alike could be seen fending off members of the cult as King Amidias, Shroom, and Jeremy The Angler were among them. The truffles had created a large wall of fungi to defend the village all while various individuals, most notably being female truffles, young truffles, and injured soldiers, were within the village’s safety.

Elsewhere, but still nearby, Sai Sahan, Terralestia, Echo Silhouette, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were currently contending with the idol of this cult: Crabulon.



“Well well well, so you’re the ones that Tanner had warned me about. I’m not impressed.” Crabulon comments.

“I could say the same, crab cake!” Rainbow Dash roars out in response as she was currently wielding her ranged weapon: Eviscerator. “Seriously, you’re just some stupid crab covored in mushrooms! You’re nothing compared to what we’ve faced before!”

“Fair enough,” Crabulon responds while a ‘shrug’ as the crustacean raises both of its claws. “I might not be Skeletron or even those monstrosities from The Crimson, and I definitely ain’t no Moon Lord,” Crabulon says while waving a dismissive claw. “Even so, I’ll give you one shell of a time!”

“Wait, how did you know about all of that?!” Sai Sahan inquires.

“I have my ways, little descendant of Sombra,” Crabulon responds which causes Sai’s eyes to widen in shock. “And before you ask, no, Tanner didn’t tell me anything about that. My little cultists have been gathering knowledge for me throughout the ages.”

“But that was a long time ago!” Applejack exclaims. “How in the hay could ya’ have known anythin’ about Sai’s ancestor?!”

“My dear little pony, I’ve been around ever since the Time Of The Ancients. And no, before you ask, I’m not actually a god. Despite what my cult/dance crew would tell you. I’m just biologically immortal, but not actually immortal. I’m also one funky crab who’s gonna slap you around in this fight!” Crabulon comments as the crustacean moves its body side to side in a dancing crab gesture while also clicking his claws together.

“Enough of this!” Terralestia roars out as she spreads her wings to their full lengths and flies up into the air before she takes aim with her magic based weapon: Space Gun. The terrarian fires off multiple projectiles of green energy as they all then make contact and explodes against Crabulon’s form. However, just before the point of contact, the ancient crab took on a defensive posture as it hides its eyes by retracting them into its shell and clasps its claws against its face.

Dust was beginning to fog the area as a result of Terralestia’s attack which also managed to hide Crabulon’s form in the process. The group was hoping that the ancient crab was simply all talk and no action. However, Echo narrows his eyes and comments:

“No… this isn’t even close to being over.”

Suddenly, a giant crab claw extends itself outwards and swipes the fog made of dust away; revealing to everyone a completely unharmed Crabulon who comments:

“Oh what a terrible performance there, Celestia,” The giant crab then dances once more as it rapidly moves from side to side all while it approaches the group. “My shell’s pretty darn tough, eh?”

Upon closer inspection, Echo Silhouette’s eyes widened in realization as he came to see what Crabulon’s shell was entirely made of, in addition to the crab’s claws. Terralestia’s attack had blown away some of the dirt and glowing mushrooms, but it revealed a very rare mineral that made up Crabulon’s form to which Echo comments:

“It can’t be, that’s... Cobalt!”
> Chapter 128 - Boss Fight: Crabulon Pt:2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME-



Despite all of their weaponry and equipment, the group continues to struggle against the nearly impenetrable armor of Crabulon. The ancient crab was literally dancing around the group; all while it continued to comment on their ‘terrible performances’.

“Show me your moves, chicken horse!” Crabulon exclaims as the crab points a claw towards the cyan pegasus.

“Chicken horse?!” Rainbow Dash exclaims in response as she flies through the air with her ranged weapon at the ready. “I’m not a chicken horse! I’m a pegasus pony, you bucking crab!” The cyan pegasus fires her Eviscerator and unleashes a series of blood composed projectiles. Each projectile was ressemblent to a bullet made entirely of blood, as it also leaves behind a trail of blood while traveling to its wielder’s target.

Crabulon simply strikes a defensive pose and takes the attack head on; without even attempting to avoid it. The projectiles splats onto the crab as the blood covered areas start to burn acidically. However, all the attack did was remove the dirt and glowing mushroom from the affected areas of Crabulon’s body. It had no effect on the armor that lies beneath.

As Rainbow Dash, Sai Sahan, and Terralestia continue to fight the ancient crab, both Echo Silhouette and Applejack dodges one of Crabulon’s strikes as they both hop backwards in tandem, before the cowmare exclaims:

“Echo! What in tarnation is Cobalt?!”

“It’s a rare mineral that Lord Anubis has informed me all about, and with our current equipment, I don’t know if we could ever puncture Crabulon’s shell.” Echo responds.

“Well, how in the hay do we get our hooves on some?!” 

……….

As Applejack and Echo converse, and during the battle before them, Sai Sahan attempts to strike at Crabulon with his Red Phaseblade, but the weapon simply bounces off of the nearly impenetrable armor as Crabulon shouts in response:

“Booo! You suck!”

……….

Echo fires off another series of arrows, but they were sadly of no effect as the projectiles simply bounced off of the giant crab. 

“Nice try, bug boy!” Crabulon shouts in response to Echo’s failed attack as the crab’s eye elongates itself to look over its shell. This in turn causes the humanoid changeling to grunt in annoyance. Crabulon then retracts his eye and turns his gaze back to Rainbow Dash, Sai Sahan, and Terralestia who were currently attacking the crab in combination. 

……….

The humanoid changeling finally responds to Applejack’s earlier inquiry as he answers:

“It’s said that should one perform a great deed for the world, Cobalt shall be blessed upon all of Terraria; in addition to multiple other minerals such as Mythril, Orichalcum, Adamantite, and the list goes on and on.” 

“But then, how in da’ hay did this thing get Cobalt?! It sure ain’t done no great deed fer’ the world!” Applejack replies

……….

Overhearing the cowmare’s words, Crabulon spins in a full circle and bats away Rainbow Dash, who happened to be swooping in at the time, with his right claw which sends her flying away from the force of the blow. 

“Rainbow Dash!” Terralestia exclaims as she flies after the cyan pegasus to intercept her.

As that happens, Sai Sahan joins both Applejack and Echo Silhouette all while Crabulon goes on to answer Applejack’s question:

“How did I get this beautiful shell of mine? Why, The God Of Greed, of course. Let's just say we worked something out a long time ago.”

“The God Of Greed? Wait, y'all don't mean the one from those pictures in the pyramid, do ya'?” Applejack questions.

"The very same one!” Crabulon roars out as he attempts to slam his left claw onto the pony; threatening to crush her as a result. The trio dodges the crab’s strike as Echo Silhouette exclaims:

“Greed?! But he should be confined to his caverns and trapped with his hoard!”

“Oh, that was part of the deal,” Crabulon responds as he tanks a blow from Applejack’s Orange Phaseblade and bats her away with his right claw. This in turn causes her to let out a painful exclamation as Sai goes to aid her. Crabulon continues: “In exchange for a large sum of Cobalt Ore, I ordered my cult to free the trapped god from his imprisonment. I then had my cult simply melt the ore onto my body, and bang! Cobalt covered body in your face! Since then, Greed's been wandering the world in a disguise and imprisoning a whole bunch of other gods. I think it was Logan? Loganic?”

“But, that’s madness! The God Of Greed should know that by doing so, the world could fall out of balance!” Echo roars out in response.

“Funny enough, I said the same thing, bug boy. Want to know what he said in response?” Crabulon inquires as he prepares to strike at the humanoid changeling by raising both of his claws. “Who needs balance when you can have it all?! And I happen to agree with that!” Crabulon slams his claws down upon Echo Silhouette, but is instantly surprised by what happens next as a sudden force pushes against the crab’s claws. 

A large spire of green flames suddenly erupts from the changeling as his body starts to morph during the process. Seven heads were beginning to emerge from the green flames; followed soon by a large quadrupedal body and a powerful long tail. 

Crabulon’s eyes widened in response as he recognized the entity that Echo Silhouette had copied: Yamata, the devil with seven heads.

“Well now... aren’t we a bold one to assume the form of the devil. Although, you’re much smaller than Yamata… the real one is so big, they can’t even fit down here.” Crabulon comments.

“I may have taken that monster’s form, but I’m nothing like them,” Echo responds via the middle head of Yamata. “Thanks to the truffle’s History Mushroom, I was able to see what Yamata actually looked like.”

“Which begs the question: Do you also have their power?” Crabulon inquires.

The middle head of the hydra-like entity narrows its eyes in response, all while the other six heads slithered about and prepares for combat, as Echo responds:

“No, I can imitate a being's form and somewhat copy their physical might, but not their power. Even so, this will help me to defeat you!” The hydra-like monstrosity rushes forth as all seven of its heads prepare to wrap themselves and bite into Crabulon’s form.

“Hah! Change into whatever form you want! You still can’t pierce my armor!” Crabulon roars out in response as the two entities are moments away from colliding into each other.





Nearby and just before the wall of fungi that protects the village, King Amidias, Jeremy The Angler, and Shroom, in addition to other truffles and Amidias’s guards, continues to fight off The Brotherhood Of The Crab.

“Come on you crab worshipping maniacs!” The Angler roars out as he fires off his harpoon and impales the head of a crab cultist who was rushing towards The angler with a crab shaped melee weapon, in a maniacal fashion.

……….

Shroom conjures forth a wall of fungi, a miniature version of the one that surrounds the village, and sends it forth with a gesture of the truffle’s left arm. The wall then collides with various cultists and both crushes them under its force, or sends them aloft. In addition, Shroom roars out as he lifts his arm and smashes a cultist who tried to strike at him with a spear, leaving behind a mound of gore mixed with the cultist’s clothing.

“Shroom smash evil surface dwellers!”

……….

Powerful bolts of lightning are let loose by the trident of King Amidias as they reduce various cultists to ashes upon the very moment of contact. Some of the cultists attempts to bombard The Sea King with magic based attacks, but failed as Amidias erected a barrier of water all around him. He then extends his right arm towards some of the cultists and exclaims:

“Water exists in all forms of life!” The cultists suddenly start to cry out in pain and discomfort, and are both stunned in place and lifted into the air as their mouths seem to be forcefully opened. “The blood that flows within your very being is proof of that.” With a simple gesture of his right hand, Amidias drains the blood right out of the cultists and forces it out of their mouths, eyes, ears, nose, and even their… ‘backside’. A series of corpses now lies all around The Sea King, while the blood he drained still floats all around him, as he goes on to say:

“I do not enjoy using this ability, but you’ve left me with no choice,” Bending and morphing the blood to his will, Amidias forms a series of melee weaponry and hurls them towards other cultists. "Blood bending is only allowed as a defensive action within my kingdom."

Witnessing this event, and with a nervous tone and a matching expression, Jeremy the Angler comments:

“I would like to point out--for the record--that I humanely catch my fish. So, uh, please don’t ever do that to me…” Amidias simply chuckles in response as he raises his trident into the air and exclaims: 

“Such things do not matter as of this moment! Come, Jeremy, let us meet our foes in combat!” 

Suddenly, a loud warhorn goes off and everyone's attention is drawn towards a new type of enemy: Mounted members of The Brotherhood Of The Crab. The large crustaceans they rode upon were orange and white in coloration. However, the crabs also had a rune etched onto their shells which was just under the saddle that their riders were sat upon.



At the lead of these new forces and mounted on a blue and white large crab, instead of the orange and white coloration of the others, was a very particular individual: Crabulon’s Prophet.

“For the glory of Crabulon! Bury these blasphemers in the dirt and paint The Glowing Mushroom Biome red in their blood!” 

The newly arrived mounted enemies then start to go forth into battle as Shroom, other truffles, and Amidias’s men collide with these forces. 

Seeing the crabs that the cultists were mounted upon, King Amidias shouts:

“You dare to turn creatures of the sea against me?! Fools!” Amidias then raises his left arm and aims it towards the large crabs. A vibrant blue aura surrounds his body as he narrows his eyes with a determined expression and grunts in effort. However, his eyes are shot wide open as he says: “What devilry is this? What have they done to these creatures?!”

“What’s going on?!” Jeremy The Angler inquires.

“They do not heed to my call! The call of the sea! Something is blocking my-” The Sea king’s words were cut off as he takes notice of the runes that were etched onto the backs of each and every crab. He then grits his teeth in anger and shouts: “Insolent cultists! You dare meddle with the minds of these sea creatures?! I shall punish you accordingly!” 

The war continues to wage on as both King Amidias and Jeremy The Angler join the fray. All the while, and nearby, a large seven headed entity and a large blue crab, the idol of the cult, continue to struggle against each other with a pegasus, an orange earth pony, and two terrarians supporting the hydra-like entity.

 



-TERRARIA, THE JUNGLE BIOME OUTSKIRTS-

Both Zecora and Gex were making their way through the lush jungle as they could hear a very particular commotion nearby. Various leaves were being forced aside and the sounds of cracking sticks echoes out as both the zebra and the lihzhard continues onward. 

Pushing aside one final bushel of leaves, they bear witness to a battle taking place in the distance within a large clearing, or a meadow. They could see a kenku, a pink haired terrarian, and a dark pegasus going to war against a foe who continues to spew hellfire at them. The zebra narrows her eyes in both determination and recognition as she comments:

“I do not know what is happening, but our friends need our aid. Come Gex, let us join the fray!”

“I see that their foe is The Guide, this is most unsettling. But alas, let us continue with our meddling!” 

The two jungle dwellers then start to conjure forth their weapons and spells as they run full borth into the distant battle. However, the duo won’t be alone as they noticed another group was currently making their way towards the battle, and upon closer inspection: These were the denizens of Home Town.
> Chapter 129 - The Demon Horde Pt:1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE JUNGLE BIOME OUTSKIRTS-

The three on one battle that was currently echoing across the large meadow, and scaring the land with their attacks in the process, continues to rage on as Tori, Shadow Thunder, and Linn battle against the traitorous demon in disguise. However, this would soon change as the denizens of Home Town and the duo of the jungle: Zecora and Gex, all made their way towards the battle.

……….

Flying ahead of the other members of Home Town, Fluttershy hurriedly makes her way over to the battle and exclaims:

“You monster! Give Twilight and Starlight back to us right now!”

This causes the traitor to turn towards the yellow pegasus, not to mention the other denizens of Home Town, but pays for it dearly as Shadow Thunder conjures forth a large hand made entirely of shadows which grabs ‘The Guide’ and slams him into the earth back and forth, over and over again.

……….

As Shadow Thunder attacks the imposter, the others from Home Town arrive and start to comment on the battle taking place before them:

“You demon! Tori told us all about what you really are, and your plan!” Lucan The Merchant roars out.

“What did you do with the real Tanner?!” Helena The Nurse inquires.

“You big bad meanie! You’re even worse than Skeletron!” Candy The Party Girl exclaims.

“Give us Twilight and Glim Glam, buster! Or I’ll shoot you with my party cannon! And it’s not filled with confetti this time!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as she pulls the aforementioned cannon out of her mane and takes aim.

“Ritsu! Vinny! Ceeman! Tempest! Magius! Candy! Rarity! Pinkie Pie! You’re with me! We’re going to support them and take that traitor down!” Celebes The Dryad exclaims and starts to run towards the battle with the aforementioned individuals following after her. This leaves Steven, Lucan, Gorglock, Helena, Ross, Katelyn, and Livian on the side as they witness the scenario play out before them. However, The Nurse in particular exclaims:

“I’ll be ready to heal anyone who’s injured in this fight, loves! Just come back to me when you need me!”

In addition to some of the denizens of Home Town, both Gex and Zecora are also drawing near the battle as they too join the fray.

……….

The demon in disguise was still being tossed around by Shadow Thunder’s dark appendage as he grits his teeth in annoyance and shouts with a red aura consuming his eyes:

“Enough of this!” The imposter then turns into a moving ball of flame and escapes the grasp of the darkness comprised appendage. The ball of fire heads a short distance away as ‘Tanner’ reappears once more soon after. However, his eyes widen in shock when he finally takes notice of a certain zebra that unites with the rest of the group, along with Gex. 

“Impossible! You should’ve been captured!” The disguised demon exclaims.

“Thanks to my dear friend, Gex, I was spared from your mess. I know not of what has transpired, but from what I can see, you are a liar!” Zecora roars out in anger as she conjures forth her spear-like weapon from the battle with Cthorator: Sausage Maker. “Though I might not be gifted in magic, nor do I possess the gift of flight, you should never underestimate my physical might!”

Everyone present gathers together and prepares to combat against the traitor in unison. What was once a three on one battle, was now escalated into twelve individuals who were going to fight in unison against the lone demon in disguise. However, despite the numbers advantage of his current foes, the traitor simply laughs maniacally as he then exclaims sarcastically:

“Oh dear! It looks like good old Tanner has lost this fight!”

“You’re not Tanner!” Rarity exclaims in response with a raised forehoof. “You’re nothing but a foul brute from The Underworld!”

“Yeah! And in case you didn’t notice...” Ritsu comments as she then shifts into her werefox form. What was once a dark skinned kitsune female who stood about five feet; seven inches tall, was now a large bipedal fox-like entity whose height towered over anyone else present, at a whopping eight feet in stature, as the werefox shouts: 

"You’re outnumbered! And fucked!”

‘Tanner’ simply laughs in response as he then starts to surround himself with a red aura. A pentagram forms on the ground all around him soon after, as he then says:

“You just inspired me, Ritsu,” The disguised demon then raises both of his hands high into the air and exclaims: “Behold! For this isn’t even my final form!”

……….

“Ooh ooh, I know this reference!” Both Pinkie Pie and Candy shouts in unison.

“Pinkie!” “Candy!” The rest of the group shouts the party lovers' names in unison. This causes the duo to laugh sheepishly and respond in tandem:

“Oops, sorry.”

……….

The pentagram underneath ‘Tanner’ starts to glow with a vibrant red energy which also causes the weather to change in response. Red clouds start to gather high above; all while the local area seemed to take on a red veil. This almost reminded the group of The Blood Moon event with the atmosphere's current condition, but the biggest difference of course was that this was happening even though the late afternoon sun hadn't set just yet. 

“What’s he doing?!” Magius The Wizard inquires in exclamation.

“I don’t like this one damn bit.” Tempest The Bandit comments.

“Tail-mane-body-twitching, my Pinkie Senses are going crazy!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as she twitches chaotically.

“Me too! Everything is shaking and my eyes are twitching!” Candy The Party Girl exclaims as much like the pony, the party loving terrarian was chaotically spasming out of control.

……….

The demon in disguise finally sheds its cloak of The Guide, and what remains was a red skinned entity with eyes filled entirely of fiery red aura. Horns also start to elongate from what was formerly ‘Tanner’s’ head; along with bat-like wings protruding out of the entity’s back. Most notably was the fact that the lower portion of the individual was similar to that of the forelimbs of a goat; almost satyr in appearance but instead of the upper portion of a human, it was instead, a red demon.

“Tremble before me denizens of the surface world! For I am your doom: The Voodoo Demon!” The demon exclaims as the entity then raises its clawed hands high into the air. Suddenly, the pentagram that was positioned below The Voodoo Demon was doubled in size and what happens next causes everyone’s eyes to widen in shock. 

“Let’s even the odds a bit,” The demon smirks. “Afterall, It’s not fair that there’s twelve of you, and only one of me.” 

[RAAAAAAWR]

[RAAAAAAWR]

[NEEAWH]

Various roars and growls of demonic nature were escaping from the pentagram, which sends chills down the spines of everyone else present. Then, a horde of demons from The Underworld are released upon the denizens of Home Town as they come flying and crawling out of the pentagram. 

The group that stood before Tanner no longer had the numbers advantage as the new horde of demons were beginning to number in nearly fifty individuals, in just mere moments. What was most unsettling was that even more continued to flow from the makeshift link to The Underworld itself as all of the demons now floated above The Voodoo Demon.

“Everyone! Prepare for combat!” Celebes The Dryad exclaims.

“Time to fight some demons!” Tempest The Bandit roars out.

“Candy, bring out the speakers and play that song.” Pinkie Pie comments with a wink.

“I’m all over it, Pinkie!” Candy responds as she suddenly conjures forth a large speaker system from her inventory; much to the surprise of everyone else present who stares with both questioning and shocked expressions. Candy also brings forth a shotgun; in addition to two pairs of sunglasses. The Party Girl then tosses a pair of the eyewear to Pinkie Pie as the two wear them proudly in tandem. 

Ceeman The Arms Dealer narrows his eyes in recognition as he says:

“Wait a second… how did you- that’s my fucking shotgun! God damnit, Candy!”

“Sorry, Ceeman! I’ll give it back later, K, thanks,” Candy responds as she then turns to her fellow party lover, pumps the shotgun, and asks: “You ready, Pinkie Pie?”

“I’m always ready to party!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as she brings forth her energy based weapon: Blue Phaseblade. Incidentally, the song they chose for the speaker system finally starts to play as the group prepares to combat against the demonic forces.



“Chaaaarge!” Celebes exclaims as the entire group runs and flies toward the horde of demons as they steel themselves for combat.

“Kill them all! But leave one of the Equus lifeforms alive!” The Voodoo Demon declares as all of the demons he had summoned go forth with ravenous intentions.





The battle of the large meadow on the outskirts of The Jungle Biome echoes throughout the land as both demons and the denizens of Home Town go to war with one another, with various scenarios playing out during the conflict:

Flutterhy was currently using her physical might as she had empowered herself by calling upon the powers of a very particular type of slime: Lava Slime. Her body was engulfed in flames all while the pegasus’s wings would leave behind a small trail of lava. One of the demons tried to grab onto the yellow pegasus, only for her to bat the entity’s appendage aside, grab the demon with her left forehoof, and spin around before sending the entity hurling into the earth below. She then meteors down with her right hind leg extended below her and lands harshly on top of the demonic entity. Her leg practically pierces right through the demon and the earth below it as the entity dies in mere seconds, and turns into a pool of gore mixed with lava.

……….

Linn raises her lance high into the air before slamming it down upon the earth below. This sends forth a pulse of light mixed with yellow energy which instantly burns away all of the demons who surrounded her as she exclaims:

“By my lance’s holy light of Excalibur, I cast you back into the abyss, demons!”

Suddenly, more demons joined the fray against the pink haired terrarian but were met instead by a freight train-like force which burned them away on impact. A white horse was glowing with holy light as its armor glowed with a golden aura. If one were to look at the equine with a quick glance, they might have mistaken it for Princess Celestia herself, without a pair of wings and a horn. This was of course Linn’s trusty steed and companion: Ves.

The white horse then trots over to Linn as she places a hand onto Ves’s face and says:

“Good girl.”

……….

Tori was currently zipping through the hordes of demons as the kenku wielded a very particular bow: Zombie Slayer’s Tactical Bow. 



The arrows that were let loose by this weapon were very unique as they enabled Tori to fire them at multiple foes without needing to aim all too much, or with little effort. The kenku simply needed to aim the bow in the demon horde’s general direction before letting loose arrows that tactfully made their way towards the bow wielder’s targets. As if the arrows had a mind of their own, each projectile would evade the strikes of each and every demon that tried to destroy the arrows, and successfully made contact with their demonic targets.

……….

Shadow Thunder flew through the skies and left a trail of darkness in the stallion’s wake. However, the shadows he left behind began to morph and mold into clones of himself as they in turn began to contend with the horde of demons. 

Suddenly, the dark pegasus was cut off by a large ball of hellfire that came from down below as a very particular demon was revealed to be the one responsible. Unlike most of the other demons, this one’s lower body was quadrupedal in nature, unlike the bipedal makeup of most of the other demons. The entity also lacked a pair of wings but did possess a long and thrashing tail with a scorpion-like claw at the end of it. It was also, easily, the largest demon present.

“Did I disturb your little spree, pony?” The demon inquires all while Shadow Thunder lands on the earth and stands before the quadrupedal demon.

“Go back to The Underworld, demon!” Shadow thunder roars out. The demon simply laughs in response before it takes on a devilish smile and says:

“You’ll be the second pony I get to torture today! But unlike the last one, I get to kill you! And I get to do it in my true form!” 

Shadow thunder’s eyes widened in response as he took notice of the words ‘Second pony’. The dark stallion growls in anger as he comments:

“Second pony?! Are you talking about, Starlight?!” 

“Bahahahaha! So you know that pathetic unicorn? Her screams were quite lovely when I dangled her before me, but she was lucky. I wasn’t allowed to kill her, and I was in my repressed form. But now, I-” The demon's words were cut off as a sudden pillar of darkness consumes Shadow Thunder’s form and fires up into the skies. Black bolts of energy were also being let loose by the pillar before a loud roar echoes out from where Shadow Thunder once stood:

“Raaaaaaawr!” 

The pillar of darkness suddenly becomes reabsorbed into a new dark equine entity. A large pony of shadows now stood before the demon with wings protruding outward and a curved horn sparkling with black energy. The large entity growls before saying:

“You tortured, Starlight… you’re mine!” 

The two behemoths run towards each other as they then clash into a struggle of physical might, which also lets loose a small shockwave.

……….

Both Pinkie Pie and Candy The Party Girl stood back to back as they contended against the demons that surrounded the party loving duo. Candy would shred demons to pieces upon letting loose her shotgun blasts all while Pinkie Pie sliced through them while commenting:

“Doom Slayer should try using a Lightsaber, it’s so much fun!”

Candy giggles in response, while also blasting away a few more demons in the process, as she then deepens her voice and says:

“In the first age… In the first battle… there was Candy and Pinkie Pie!” 

“And those who tasted the bite of their cupcakes, named them… The Doom-Party Planners!” Pinkie Pie comments in a deep voice as she blinds a demon with multiple cupcakes before slicing its head off with her Blue Phaseblade.

……….

“FUS RO DAH!” Gex exclaims as the lihzhard blows away a flock of demons who were floating over Helena The Nurse with a spell of unrelenting force.

……….

In her werefox form, Ritsu tore away at her demonic foes as she slams them into the earth, rips them apart with her physical might, and shreds them to pieces with her claws before letting loose a triumphant roar that echoes throughout the battlefield.





To be continued in Part: 2




> Chapter 130 - The demon Horde Pt:2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE JUNGLE BIOME OUTSKIRTS-



Large numbers of demons continued to fly amok and nearly blocked out the sky as they poured out of the pentagram that The Voodoo Demon had created. During this time, The Voodoo Demon simply observes with sick and devilish satisfaction; all while the scenarios before him continue to play out between the summoned demons and the denizens of Home Town:

Rarity, Steven, Livian, Helena, Ceeman, Vinny, Gorglock, Katelyn, and Lucan were banded together as they fought off the demon forces. The unicorn mare had summoned forth her skeletal companion via the Staff Of Necrosteocytes and ordered it to meet the demons head on; all while her summoned Snow Flinx remained at her side. In addition, the unicorn unleashes exploding flaming skulls thanks to her spell book which was appropriately named: The Book Of Skulls. This was also combined with the unicorn firing off her magic based weapon: Space Gun, as green projectiles shot demons out of the reddenned skies above them.

……….

Both Tempest The Bandit and Magius The Wizard were fending off a pack of land based demons as The Wizard summons forth a wall of electricity. With a simple gesture of his finger, Magius sends the wall forth which zaps all of the demonic foes, and those that thought they could avoid it in time met their end as The Bandit’s boomerang-like weapon, Kylie, finished them off.

……….

Zecora displayed a magnificent combination of both a rogue, and a melee fighter. She’d meet her foes head on with her staff and perform all manner of acrobatic attacks, but would go into the shadows thanks to her Sand Cloak when it was necessary. Enemies who remained out of her reach would also meet their ends as she’d throw her spear at them. However, before the spear returns to her, another effect would activate itself from the weapon as balls of blood would be let loose upon making contact with her foes, which in turn would harm the demons even further.

Some of the demonic entities unleashes a form of magic based attack that looked as if a purple scythe was spinning rapidly. These were aimed at the zebra, who in turn gets onto her hindlegs, conjures forth her second spear from her inventory: Dune Hopper, and holds both spears in her forehooves.

“Go ahead and fire your projectiles, for with my spears in my forehooves, I shall dance and deflect your attacks right back at you!”

Staying true to her words, Zecora spins around in place and deflects the purple scythes right back at her enemies, with both of her spears. Upon killing them, she took notice of a spell book that was left behind which read: Demon Scythe.

Incidentally, these spell books were being dropped all over the battlefield as the other denizens of Home Town achieved their own victories, which in turn dropped various other types of loot.

……….

Celebes The Dryad had blessed her allies with her kind’s very own blessing as she moved past them, all while she manipulated the very earth all around her. She lifted a large piece of the earth below her and threw it towards the demonic forces; crushing them as a result. In addition, she conjures forth a powerful blade from her inventory that Tori had given to her after the loss of Twilight sparkle: The Bloody Edge. She raises the blade above her head and calls upon the powers of each and every blade that created the weapon, as four different colors of energy are let loose from the blade.

The blue energy of The Muramasa instantly banished the demons it touches back to The Underworld. The green energy of The Blade Of Grass summoned forth the local flora which began to entangle demons in vines and plant based traps. The orange energy of the Fiery Greatsword instantly scorches the demons with flames that not even they could withstand. The crimson red energy of The Blood Butcherer manipulates the corpses of defeated demons and merges them together into an entity made entirely of flesh, which heeded to the command of the blade’s wielder: Celebes.

After ordering the entity of flesh to assist her allies, Celebes turns her attention to the main cause of their current predicament: The Voodoo demon, who is currently floating high above and keeping a watchful eye on the battlefield.

“This ends now!” Celebes exclaims as she thrusts her blade forth which takes her aloft and flying through the air, enroute to her targeted foe.

As the struggle continued on, and unbeknownst to anyone on the battlefield, powerful forces were watching the battle between demons and the denizens of Home Town.





-???-

“My Queen, did you-”

“I have, Brynhilda. I’m watching it all unfold as we speak. The demons of The Underworld are pouring through that breach.”

“My Queen… could this be what you foretold? The prophecy?”

“The signs are all there, my dear seraph. It’s just as I said: With The Moon Lord’s breach, ponies shall we meet, when the ancients start to rise, and demons threaten mortal lives. The worlds will begin to collide and from it all, a new day shall rise above all. Many curses and seals shall become undone, when Terraria and Harmony become one.”

“That’s what worries me, your majesty. This new day that shall rise above all, and the curses or seals becoming undone... will it be for the greater good? Or shall it be the beginning of even harder struggles for the mortals?”

“Things will definitely get harder, that’s for sure. One could even say: They’ll enter Hard Mode.”

“Pushing those worries of mine aside, would you like for us to aid them in stopping that breach?”

“Yes, Brynhilda. Take your finest warriors and assist them. We’ve been observing them for long enough. We won’t be able to stop what’s coming, trust me… I tried. But the least we could do is ease things up a bit for the mortals.”

“By your will, Goddess Athena.”





-TERRARIA, THE JUNGLE BIOME OUTSKIRTS-

As everyone from Home Town continued to fight against the demons, one demon in particular was calculating a way to snag either Rarity or Zecora, as he says:

“This is annoying… my plan was to snag the zebra, but I should’ve expected that fucking lizard to save her. Now I have to find a way to grab either her or Rarity.”

“Voodoo Demon!” A feminine voice calls out which causes the aforementioned demon to turn towards its source.

“Ah. Hello there, dryad. Ooh, I see you’ve forged the Bloody Edge? Good for you.”

“Can it! You son of a bitch!” The Dryad roars out as she rushes forth with due haste. In response, The Voodoo Demon conjures forth a blade made entirely of hellfire as he says:

“Oh so we’re doing this now, eh?! Ok, I’ll play with you!”

The two roars out as their blades make contact with one another, letting loose an echo of their conflict. Celebes then spins around completely and brings the blade towards the demon once more. However, the blade simply goes right through the demon as he turns his body into flames before he resolidifies himself and slaps her away with his right hand while shouting:

“That’s what we call a bitch slap, my dear- raurgh!” The Voodoo Demon cries out in pain as in one swift motion, Celebes recovers her composure and using the ability of The Fiery Greatsword that was within The Bloody Edge, The Dryad teleports via a stream of flames and re-appears before The Voodoo Demon as she then stabs him right through the stomach region.

The Dryad roars out as she forces the blade upwards which slices the demon’s upper torso completely in half. She then flies back a short distance and calls upon the powers of The Muramasa before she exclaims:

“I know you can regenerate yourself, but you won’t be able to do that before I send you back to hell!”

“Raaaaawrgh!” The Voodoo Demon roars out as it elongates its right arm in order to prevent The Dryad from her next action. She simply avoids the effort before she then cuts off the demon’s arm with her blade as the dismembered appendage falls down to the earth below.

“What a pathetic attempt on your part, demon.” Celebes comments as a powerful blue aura, originating from The Muramasa, surrounds The Bloody Edge.

“You bitch!” The Voodoo Demon roars out with its right arm missing. “This isn’t over! Even if you send me back to The Underworld and cut off my breach, you still have all of these demons to contend with!”

“We’ll manage,” Celebes said; with a smirk. “But at least you won’t be able to take Zecora, nor Rarity, for your damned plan!” The Dryad then zooms forth and drives The Bloody Edge right through The Voodoo Demon’s head while she also comments: “And just for good measure, I went for the head!”

“Nooooooo!” The Voodoo Demon roars out.

In a swift display of powerful energies, the ability of The Muramasa takes effect as the blue aura that surrounded The Bloody Edge was now consuming the demon’s form. Celebes removes The Bloody Edge from the demon’s head. Then, the demon was sent hurling away and towards the pentagram that he himself created, which in turn catches the attention of every other demon present; not to mention the denizens of Home town, as the blue aura forces The Voodoo Demon back into the pentagram, which closes moments afterwards. This results in the near endless flow of demons to stop, as all that were left behind were those who were already through the breach.

Now that the demons were cut off from gaining more numbers via the pentagram, Celebes exclaims from her current position high above the battlefield:

“My friends! The demons can no longer bolster their numbers and our victory is close at hand!”

As she makes this declaration, The Dryad’s allies down below continue to wage war against the demons. Despite the denizens of Home Town receiving some injuries, which were soon healed up via their potions and the assistance of Helena The Nurse, they now sported a much more determined expression than they ever had before. The Dryad then roars out:

“We have prevented The Voodoo Demon’s scheme! And by extension, those of Nyarlathotep himself! Zecora and Rarity are safe! All that’s left, my dear allies, is to finish off these demons!”

Everyone lets loose a war cry in response as they cut, punch, blast, shoot, rip and tear their way through the demons down below; all while they try their best to avoid the blows of the demonic forces.

However, amongst the chaos and crawling through the shattered landscape like a serpent was the severed right arm of: The Voodoo Demon. If one were to listen closely, they could practically hear the haunting voice of the demon as he says:

"Here I come... Zecora."
> Chapter 131 - "Save, Zecora."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE UNDERWORLD-

Having been forcefully sent back to The Underworld via the effects of The Muramasa, which in turn was fused with The Bloody Edge, The Voodoo Demon recovers from the actions of Celebes as the entity’s upper torso was beginning to regenerate. Flesh starts to stitch together from left to right, and vice versa, which soon brings both halves of the severed upper portion of the demon’s body together; becoming whole once again. The hole that was present on the right side of his head, thanks to the impalement of Celebes’s blade when the head was split in two, also starts to close and repair itself. However, one piece of the demon was still missing, or simply wasn’t able to regenerate due to unknown means: His right arm.

“That bitch, I’ll be sure to make her suffer for this,” The Voodoo Demon comments as he then takes on a devilish smile. “Fortunately, I have one final last ditch effort to ensure our plan’s fruition.” The demon’s eyes start to glow even more vibrant red than they always were as he says: 

“That dryad is a fool… did she really think that me trying to grab her with my arm was a desperate attack? Stupid bitch. It’s simply my insurance policy,” He then focuses on his appendage, which was still on the surface, as he says: “Here I come… Zecora.”   





-TERRARIA, THE JUNGLE BIOME OUTSKIRTS-

Some time passed by, the sun was now completely set, and the number of demons were starting to dwindle as the denizens of Home Town were achieving victory across the night covered meadow/grasslands. During this time, Celebes had lowered herself to ground level and joined everyone else in their struggle against the demons.

Throughout this conflict, The Voodoo Demon’s severed right arm decided to burrow itself into the earth, as it stealthily approached its chosen target: Zecora. The zebra was a far more likely target due to the fact that rarity was currently surrounded by other denizens of Home Town. In addition, Zecora was currently alone as she fought off various demons with her dual wielded, spear-like, weaponry. All while she fought on her hind legs.

……….

The battle continues to progress, but the severed arm does the same as it nearly approaches Zecora from beneath the earth. Even from The Underworld, one could practically hear the words of The Voodoo Demon as he comments:

“Swiggity swooty, I’m coming for that zebra booty.”

……….

Aside from a few individuals, specifically Tori, Shadow thunder, and Zecora, everyone was gathered together as they continued to finish off the remaining forces of The Underworld. Although the demons were certainly powerful foes, the great coordination of Home Town’s denizens; in addition to them efficiently protecting Helena The Nurse, was a great counter to the nearly endless numbers of the demons. Before the pentagram was removed thanks to Celebes forcing The Voodoo Demon back to The Underworld, that is. Now, It was a simple matter of clearing up those who remained.

“We’re nearly there, everyone!” Linn exclaims as she kills a trio of demons with a thrustful swipe of her lance.

“We received some injuries here and there, but thank goodness for Helena, darling.” rarity comments as she glances towards The Nurse, all while she unleashes more flaming skulls and fires off her Space Gun.

“I’m no good in combat, but I can certainly kill my enemies with kindness!” The Nurse responds as she casually heals Vinny The Demolitionist, who in turn was just wounded by a Demon scythe.

“Wait a second, has anyone seen Shadow Thunder?” Ceeman The Arms Dealer questions.

Steven points a hand towards the sky and simply responds:

“Look up there.”

As was pointed out by The Clothier, Ceeman turns his gaze towards the sky as a large dark entity, a pony of shadows, was meteoring down to the earth below. However, the giant shadow pony held a quadrupedal demon below him as it was revealed that Shadow Thunder’s intent was to slam the demon into the ground. Very harshly.

[BOOM]

A large cloud of dust erupts into the air nearby as a large crater could be seen being formed as a result. Within the crater was the towering form of Shadow Thunder, who was of course currently transformed. Below the large behemoth was the now deceased form of the demon who had tortured Starlight. The large shadow pony places a forehoove onto the demon’s head before saying:

“Puny demon.” He then forces his hoof down and crushes the demon’s head beneath as a result. Hellfire suddenly consumes the demon’s body as the entity is soon reduced to nothing but ash.

……….

Tori could be seen in the background contending with various demons as the kenku ran to and fro, while also firing their unique bow at the hell spawns. However, Tori suddenly gets a terrible feeling as the kenku looks towards the direction of Zecora, who in turn is a fair distance away from everyone else and contending with her own demons. Something felt absolutely wrong to the kenku, and they were never one to ignore their feelings as Tori started to rapidly make their way towards the zebra. 

“You will not interfere with The Voodoo Demon’s plan!” Many of the remaining demons exclaim in unison as what happens next absolutely shocks everyone present. The demons that were fighting the denizens of Home Town suddenly turn towards Tori as they all begin to fly and run after the kenku.

Tori was currently so focused on the demons who were chasing them at the moment, that the kenku barely had time to notice the large horde that was rapidly approaching. The only warning Tori had was from Rarity, who exclaims:

“Tori! Be careful, Darling!”

Tori turns their gaze towards the large pack of encroaching demons, only to see that each and every one of them unleashed a barrage of Demon Scythes. The kenku was cut off from joining Zecora as they were forced to dodge the coming projectiles. The kenku did exceedingly well dodging many of the scythes, but there were simply too many to dodge as one of them managed to graze Tori’s flesh, resulting in the kenku letting out a painful exclamation similar to that of a bird. To make matters even worse, Tori had already used all of their healing potions throughout the long duration of the battle with the demon horde. Thus preventing the kenku from attending to themselves properly.

Quick to act on the situation and taking notice of Tori’s injury, everyone hurriedly runs to the kenku’s aid; with the groups fastest sprinters and flyers in the lead.

……….

Zecora had just finished dispatching the demons she was in combat with as she then turned her gaze towards the others. Her eyes widen in both shock and worry as she could see an injured kenku on the ground with a horde of demons flying above them; all while the denizens of Home Town rapidly approaches to aid the kenku. 

Zecora was about to start making her way towards them as well, but fate had other plans for the zebra as the right arm of The Voodoo Demon erupts from the ground behind her and elongates itself into a blob of flesh. The flesh starts to entangle the now struggling zebra as she exclaims:

“No! This can not be! I mustn't allow you to capture me!” The blob of flesh suddenly forms multiple mouths onto its very being, as they all reply in unison: 

“Oh my dear zebra, simply surrender to our whim, for soon you shall be reunited with your friends.” The mass of flesh replies as it mockingly speaks in rhyme. 

“Nooooo!” Zecora roars out as the flesh starts to cover her face. Before the world all around her disappears behind a mass of flesh, she says: “Forgive me, my friends… for my actions have doomed us all by days end.” The zebra was now completely covered by the flesh as a new pentagram forms beneath the mass. The flesh with the captured zebra within then lowers itself into the pentagram. However, much like the pentagram from before a new wave of demons starts to come rushing out of the makeshift breach.





Moments before Zecora is captured:

“Get away from Tori! You foul brutes!” Rarity exclaims as she and the rest of Tori’s allies rushes to the kenku’s aid, who in turn was holding their wound with their right arm. 

Celebes was the first to reach the demonic horde; followed closely by Ritsu in her werefox form, Shadow Thunder, Linn, and Fluttershy as they began to contend with the demons who were flying; or standing above Tori. 

As this happens, the rest of the group reaches the injured kenku as Helena The Nurse quickly tends to Tori’s wounds. Now healed up, all while the other members of the group are finishing off the demons, Helena asks:

“Tori, are you ok now, love?”

Having regained their composure, the kenku responds in Zecora’s voice:

“Save, Zecora.”





Present:

Sadly, Tori’s words would soon mean nothing as a new and endless wave of demons come pouring out of the new pentagram that was left behind by the mass of flesh, which in turn possessed a captured zebra. 

Having just killed off the demons that had surrounded Tori, the group now turn their gaze towards the new surge of demons as Pinkie Pie in particular roars out:

“Are you kidding me?!”

“We’re right back to square one!” Celebes roars out in frustration.

“Ah shit, here we go again!” Werefox Ritsu Exclaims with a hint of annoyance.

“I don’t suppose you could banish all of those demons, Celebes?” The large form of Shadow Thunder inquires.

“It won’t matter if we can’t seal up that breach. The demons will just keep coming out of that pentagram, and we lack the means to close it ourselves,” The Dryad then pierces the ground in frustration with The Bloody Edge and says: “Damn that Voodoo Demon! He closed that portal willingly just to give us all false hope, and to put our guard down.”

“And now… they have, Zecora.” Rarity comments with a saddened tone; all while the demons continue to flow out of the pentagram and soon, the area is completely covered once more with the forces of The Underworld.

Suddenly, a powerful beam of light enlightens the reddenned night skies as various winged entities begin to descend. 

“To arms, seraphs! Aide these mortals with all due haste, and destroy these demonic scourges!” A new feminine voice exclaims which causes the group to look up into the skies. 

What they see absolutely baffles them as a new army of winged entities is flying down the beam of light. These winged individuals were similar in appearance to a harpy, but were also vastly different. Unlike the harpy, these seraphs were much taller and were far more sentient in comparison to the more primitive harpy. In addition, where harpies had a blue feather coloration, seraphs possessed silver feathers which also made double as a natural shield for these flying entities.



Many of the seraphs went to war against the demons; all while the very same seraph, who had spoken before and ordered the others to assist the denizens of Home Town, lands before the group gracefully as she then focuses her gaze on The Dryad and comments:

“Hello there, dear dryad,” The seraph then gives a respectful bow. “My name is: Brynhilda. We’ve come to aid you and these mortals on behalf of The Goddess Of Space, and Queen Of The Seraphs: Athena.”

While other members of the group were in absolute disbelief and awe, this causes Celebes, Tori, Linn, and Shadow Thunder’s eyes to widen in a mix of shock and recognition as they all exclaim in unison:

“Athena?!”

……….

“Who’s Athena? Ooh! Is she a turkey too?!” Pinkie Pie questions which causes everyone, aside from Candy who was giggling, to fall onto their backs while their legs are high up in the air.





-???-

Having overheard Pinkie Pie’s words, and overlooking the battle, The Goddess: Athena, gasps in shock before she slams her hands onto the armrests of her throne and shouts:

“Why I never! For a daughter of Oblivion to call me a ‘Turkey’, is just plain rude!” Athena then ponders on those words for a moment; with her right hand on her chin, before she says: "Then again... Oblivion's a bit of a dick, as is Greed. Those two are easily the most annoying Ancients of us all."


> Chapter 132 - Terra And Xeroc.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE JUNGLE BIOME OUTSKIRTS-

After recovering from Pinkie Pie’s comment, various denizens of Home Town couldn’t believe their eyes as these winged entities went to war against the demons of The Underworld. In addition, the name: Athena, wracked the minds of most who hailed from Home Town. However, Shadow Thunder, Celebes, Linn, Tori, and even Candy The Party Girl weren’t exactly ignorant to her name, nor when it came to their flying companions.

“Ok, wait a second,” Katelyn The Mechanic comments with a confused expression. “So you’re saying that your species are a more advanced version of a harpy?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Brynhilda responds. “We are: Seraphs. We differentiate to harpies in a way similar to how you terrarians are similar, but still different, to apes.”

Brynhilda then takes notice of Tori as she half lids her eyes before saying:

“Well, hello handsome~” The seraph then spreads her wings as if to put on a display for Tori, all while various members of the group start to laugh or simply stare at the situation dumbfoundedly. “Did I mention that we seraphs really have a thing for kenku? It’s often hard to tell your gender, but that’s half the fun of it. Besides, it’s nothing a Gender Change Potion can’t fix~”

“No.” Tori responds with Brynhilda’s own voice, arms crossed across the kenku’s chest. A couple of reactions go off as a result and in tandem:

“Hehehe, Tori’s not a Simp.” Candy whispers to Pinkie Pie.

“My word… you’re very, um, forward.” Rarity comments with reddenned features.

“Oh… m-my…” Fluttershy said with reddened features.

……….

“Awwww... but we’d be perfect together,” Brynhilda responds to Tori while pouting and also dropping her wings in the process. She then clears her throat and suddenly takes on a serious posture before saying: “Well, anyway, let’s get down to it.”

“Nice segway…” Celebes comments with a deadpan expression.

It was an awkward moment to realize that while this was going on, the sounds of combat echoes out in the background as seraphs continue to fight, and win, against the demons.

Celebes then clears her throat in preparation to speak, and get things back on track, as she says:

“You mentioned The Goddess: Athena? What’s an Ancient doi-”

“Wait, she’s an Ancient?!” Both Rarity and Fluttershy questions in unison. Various other members of the group also tensed up as they recalled their experience with another Ancient: Greed.

“Yes, Queen Athena is both the ruler and creator of our kind,” Brynhilda responds proudly. “In addition, she is also The Goddess Of Space,” The seraph then tilts her head to the side as she questions: “Aside from Celebes, some of you seem to be... shocked, by this?”

“Oh, um, it’s just that…” Fluttershy comments as the yellow pegasus then takes on a sudden expression of sadness. “We met an Ancient named: Greed. He was, um, really really mean.”

“What?!” Both Brynhilda and Celebes exclaim in unison. The Dryad then recovers and questions the yellow pegasus:

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“In her defence, we were still at The Crimson when this likely happened.” Linn said.

“You all encountered, Greed?!” Brynhilda questions in disbelief. “How are you all even alive?!”

“Ooh ooh, pick me! Pick me! I can answer that one!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as she hops in place with a raised hoof; much to Brynhilda’s confusion. However, something about the pink pony threw off the seraph as she questions:

“You seem… familiar… something about your presence reminds me of someone else,” Brynhilda then simply chooses to push that aside for now and continues: “But, yes, please do.”

Pinkie Pie jumps into the air in celebration while shouting:

“Yippee!“ She then lands back onto the earth, all while everyone else present-aside from Candy-stares at the party pony with deadpan expressions. Pinkie Pie then clears her throat before she starts:

“Weeeeeell, It all started when Loganic lied and asked for our help…”





-TERRARIA, THE UNDERWORLD-

After being captured by The Voodoo Demon and within a structure made entirely of blackened bricks, Zecora was currently being taken to the very same cell that contained Starlight Glimmer, Tanner The Doll, and Twilight Sparkle. Two demons were walking on either side of the zebra as they forced her to move via their devilish pitchforks. Due to the seal that was now etched onto Zecora’s chest, similar to what was present on the two former ponies, the zebra wasn’t able to access her inventory nor was she able to perform any magical feats.

“You demons might think you’ve won, but my friends shall see you all become undone!” Zecora roars out in defiance. The two demons simply laugh at her courage as one of them moves their pitchfork into their other arm and backhands the zebra with no remorse. This causes the zebra to be sent falling to the ground as a red was now present on her right cheek.

“Consider yourself lucky, stripes. We aren’t allowed to kill you just yet.” The demon who struck her says.

“Why don’t you remove this seal from my chest, then we’ll see whose might is best?” Zecora challenges.

“Hah! As if I'd give you the satisfaction, worm.”

“For one who claims to be tough, you seem to be afraid that I’ll buck you up.” Zecora said with a condescending smirk. This causes the demon to growl in response as the entity was literally going to do just that, to remove the seal on the zebra and accept her challenge. However, the other demon stops them before saying:

“Idiot! She wants you to do that! Don’t be so foolish as to fall for her game.”

“Raaawr! I will not be challenged by some striped abomination!”

“You can devour this morsel when Lord Legion is done with her. But for now, focus on getting her into the cell.” The demon then looks down at the zebra and shouts: “Get up! We’re almost to your little cage.”

The other demon, who had struck Zecora earlier, forces the zebra back onto her hooves as the demonic duo continue to forcefully guide the zebra deeper into the depths of the blackened bricked structure. 





Deep within the bowels of the dark structure, and within a charcoal colored cell, Starlight Glimmer was currently tending to the shattered state of her teacher, who in turn was sitting on her flank in defeat. After Yharim’s recent revelation, Twilight’s world was practically flipped upside down as she came to learn about her apparently being the reincarnation of The Devourer Of Gods.

“But, how can that be? I was born and raised on Equus,” Twilight comments with disbelief and sadness in her voice. “How could I be the reincarnation of a being that originated from an entirely different world?”

“I don’t know, Twilight,” Starlight responds. However, she suddenly ponders on something and narrows her eyes before shooting her gaze at The Doll. “It just occurred to me. You tried to make Yharim stay quiet about something else.”

“W-what? But, he came here to confirm so-”

“You know even more about what’s going on,” Starlight interjects and cuts off The Doll’s words with an accusative forehoof. “You’re The Guide, the real guide. I did my homework, pal, and I know that you’re connected to Terra. It’s where you get all of your knowledge from.”

“Th-that’s right,” Twilight says as she then gets off her flank, and stands on her hooves. “You should know all about this. Terra is the creator of Terraria, the alpha deity, and The Guide is connected to her in a similar fashion to the dryads. I can’t blame you for not knowing anything about my world, but surely you can tell us something about what’s happened to this world’s Twilight? If I’m truly their reincarnation, then what led to that happening in the first place? How was that even achieved?”

“Please, stop. I-I promised her that I wouldn’t-”

“Who did you promise?!” Starlight exclaims and interjects.

“Please, Tanner... I want to know,” Twilight pleads before she then takes on a more authoritative approach and stomps her left forehoof. “No, I deserve to know.”

The Doll was absolutely at a complete loss as he hesitated to say anything further. However, seeing the pleaful and demanding faces of the two ponies caused him to cave in as he sighs in defeat and says:

“Alright… I’ll tell you. I suggest you both sit-” Suddenly, Tanner’s words were cut off as the trio of prisoners could hear footsteps outside of the cell; drawing ever closer. What sent absolute dred up their spines, however, was the fact that they could also hear the clopping of whooves. This told all three of them, one thing: The final piece has been captured.

After a few moments, two demons arrive before the cell; along with their captive: Zecora. One of the demons opens the cell door while the other brutishly kicks the zebra into the containment, which lets loose a painful exclamation from the zebra. Incidentally, it was the same demon who Zecora tried to challenge earlier.

“Zecora!” Twilight and Starlight exclaim in unison as the two ponies run to the zebra’s aid.  

“Once Lord Legion is done with you, zebra… I’ll devour you!” The demon who kicked the zebra roars out as the entity then slams the cell door shut. The two demons then take their leave after mocking the captured prisoners.

Within the cell, both Starlight and Twilight help Zecora onto her hooves while Twilight comments:

“Zecora, are you ok?”

“I’m fine, my friend, but perhaps I feel slightly off in my head.” Zecore responds as she now gets onto her hooves with the assistance of the ponies. “Those demons wanted to see me beg for mercy, but I denied them such satisfaction and spat at their actions.”

Starlight chuckles in response before commenting:

“You’re one tough zebra, you know that?”

“When one lives within The Everfree like me, you must always be at attention less a Timberwolf be your final lesson.” Zecora responds proudly before she then takes notice of Tanner The Doll. The zebra approaches the object while commenting: “Forgive me for silencing our chatter, but why is there a doll who looks like Tanner?”

“Hello there, Zecora.”

“By the tribes of Zebrica!” Zecora shouts in shock as the doll’s words caught her completely by surprise, which causes her to fall backwards and onto her flanks. Both Twilight and Starlight giggled in response as Zecora managed to regain her composure and say: “Please strange object, do not scare me like that, your surprise almost made me take a crap.” 

Both Twilight and Starlight were now laughing uncontrollably all while Zecora became embarrassed by her outburst. Tanner The Doll joins in on the laughter before responding in his own attempt at rhyme:

“My apologies for scaring you, Tanner The Doll would be me. It’s nice to meet you, Zecora of The Everfree.”

“It is quite alright and despite my freight, a talking doll is quite the sight.” Zecora replies with a dismissive forehoof.

……….

After checking on Zecora’s well being and proper introductions, both of the ponies now stood at the zebra’s side as Twilight looks towards the doll and says:

“Now then, I believe you were about to tell us something before those demons showed up?” 

“I still say that I shouldn’t tell you this, since I promised Harmony that I wouldn’t tell a living soul about her plan,” The doll then sighs before laughing lightly. “But you’re right, Twilight. You do deserve to know the truth and despite my hesitation, you’d all probe me for the information anyway.”

The trio before the doll all chuckles in response. Tanner then ponders on the appropriate words to use, all while the trio before the doll waits patiently. Then, after a few moments, the doll begins:

“As I said before, Harmony came up with a plan. A plan that she was forced to create because of the conflict between The Ancients, and Yharim. Before you ask, no, I wasn’t there. Terra herself had informed me all about the battle.”

The three Equus born individuals lower themselves onto their flanks and continue to listen attentively.

“During that battle, Yharim called upon the god killer and sent it forth upon the other Ancients. It took the combined efforts of the Ancients who still remained, and the aid of the dryads, just to seal away The Devourer Of Gods.”

“Unbelievable… this thing was so strong that they couldn’t destroy it, so they had to seal it away instead?” Starlight inquires in disbelief.

“Yes,” The doll responds. “In order to achieve this, and with the permission of Terra herself, it was decided that due to The Devourer’s incredible strength, we would need to banish it to a pocket dimension and keep it sealed within by linking the key to its escape, to: The dryads.”

“But why? I understand that the dryads were incredibly powerful, but what exactly is their connection to Terra?” Twilight inquires.

“To tell you that, I would also need to tell you of how The Ancients came to be. Specifically, the entities who created them. In the beginning, when the universe itself was nothing but an empty void there existed two consciousnesses. One was Terra, The Elder Goddess Of Light And Creation. The other, was he who would bring about all the great evils and destruction to the universe itself: Xeroc, The Elder God Of Darkness, Oblivion, And Destruction.”


> Chapter 133 - Terrarium.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE UNDERWORLD-

Taking a moment to recollect their words, Tanner The Doll goes silent after the revelation of both Terra and Xuroc. The trio before the doll, which were in the form of two ponies and a zebra, were absolutely in awe at this revelation.

Regaining some of her composure, Twilight in particular comments:

“This is absolutely mind boggling… the dryads are connected to the creator of all reality?”

“Well, one of its creators. For you see, even Xurloc contributed to the universe’s creation so it wouldn’t be accurate to say that Terra made everything. However, we guides are also connected to Terra but play a different role in comparison to the dryads.” The doll responds.

“This is all simply a marvel and leaves me in awe; what is the role Terra proposed to you all?” Zecora inquires.

“The dryads are meant to physically shape the world with the guidance, and blessings, of Terra herself.” The ears of the trio before Tanner flickers in response. “As for the station of The Guide, and as I’m sure you probably know by now, it is our duty to help those who would keep this world safe from world ending events, tyrants, and monstrosities. In addition, The Guide is also the keeper of all knowledge in regards to Terraria’s history, present, and even its future.”

“Now I understand,” Starlight comments with a raised forehoof. “The dryads were the best option for Terra to connect the seal that binds, well…” Starlight nervously looks towards Twilight and hesitates to go any further. Taking notice of this, Twilight says:

“It’s fine, Starlight,” The alicorn turns her gaze towards the doll. “So I kind of understand the end results of the battle with Yharim, but how did I become the reincarnation of this world’s, Twilight? And what exactly did Yharim do to her that made her become so monstrous?”

“That is another reason as to why I brought up Terra, and Xeroc,” The doll responds. “Yharim somehow managed to call upon the powers of the Old God and heartlessly corrupted Twilight Sparkle, the third lost sibling to Daybringer and Nightcrawler. During the conflict, the duo unfortunately met their ends to The Devourer.”

“That’s horrible!” Starlight exclaims as her ears perk up. “Yharim forced the siblings to combat each other?! And had one of them kill the other two?!”

A momentary silence overtook the cell before the doll breaks it and replies:

“That’s unfortunately what happened on that fateful day. I’d rather give you the full details of it someplace safer, but what I’m telling you now are the key factors of the battle with Yharim, when the Time Of The Ancients came to an end and those who still remained alive went into a slumber, or into hiding.”

“So, what exactly did Harmony do?” Twilight questions.

“Ah, I was just getting to that. For you see, all hope wasn’t lost for the siblings that day. You remember when I mentioned Harmony’s plan?” The trio nods in response. “At the very end of the conflict, Harmony was able to draw out what was left of the souls of Daybringer, Nightcrawler… and you, Twilight. You are a fragment of The Devourer’s true self, a piece of its soul that Harmony managed to preserve.”

“But that still leaves one question, despite our lesson: How did Twilight become born to Equus?” Zecora inquires.

“It’s simple… Harmony’s Ark Plan.”





-TERRARIA, THE JUNGLE BIOME OUTSKIRTS-

After hearing Pinkie Pie’s tale, and having defeated the demon hordes with the assistance of Brynhilda and the seraphs, the denizens of Home Town now stood before the pentagram as Magius The Wizard questions:

“How did you manage to cut off this breach even though it’s clearly still active?”

“The blessing of Athena cuts them off from entering our world. The pentagram is still active and we ourselves could enter it, but they can’t escape from this breach.”

“So what are we waiting for?!” Ceeman The Arms Dealer exclaims. “Let’s go get the others back from the fucking pits of The Underworld. I say we jump in there and-”

“None of you are ready,” Brynhilda interjects. “Do you honestly think that going into The Underworld, unprepared, is a good idea? If the endless numbers of demons there don’t kill you, Nyarlathotep, will. And that’s not even including The Brimstone Crags.”

These words cause various members of the group to look at each other with worry, while others simply ponder on the seraph’s warning. Then, Linn breaks the silence and says:

“Brynhilda’s right. Invading The Underworld isn’t something one should ever do so lightly. Let us train ourselves, hone our equipment, and increase our might. However, I’m still worried about the others,” Linn then takes on a saddened expression as the pink haired terrarian looks to her own hands, and says: “I was right there… Twilight was right there before me, and I couldn’t do a damned thing to get her out of that barrier.”

“I know how you feel, Linn,” Shadow Thunder comments as he walks forth. “It’s how I felt after I failed to free, Starlight. Sh-she told me to stop… to not use all my strength to free her… but I couldn’t. I just had to get her out of there, and I failed.”

“Don’t do that to yourself, darling,” Rarity responds as she too walks towards the dark pegasus and Linn. “Starlight does not blame you for what happened. She probably just didn’t want you to hurt yourself in trying to free her.”

Shockingly, the dark stallion feels a hand rest itself onto his right shoulder as he turns his gaze towards a certain kenku. Tori pats the pegasus’s shoulders twice before walking forth and soon standing alongside Linn. This leaves behind a very confused pegasus as he goes on to say internally:

-I wonder what that was for? Wait… did Tori already know about me and Starlight?- The dark pegasus then chuckles to himself. -I just can’t understand that kenku sometimes-

……….

“So how do we start preparing for The Underworld, darlings?” Rarity questions. Brynhilda simply chuckles in response before saying:

“I know just the guy to train you all. Now, you mentioned that you met an Ancient in The Dungeon, yes?”

This causes various members of Home Town to nod in response, which prompts Brynhilda to continue:

“Like Greed, there is another Ancient who we ca-”

“Anubis.” Tori interjects with Anubis’s voice. This causes many among the group to stare at the kenku in shock as Celebes The Dryad goes on to say:

“Ok, seriously, just what the heck did Applejack’s group go through? They met an Ancient as well?”

Tori nods in response. Although the kenku had informed the group of Tanner’s betrayal in The Glowing Mushroom Biome, Tori didn’t have the time to tell them about meeting Anubis beforehand. Not to mention the events in The Sunken Sea.

Brynhilda half lids her eyes and flies next to Tori, before whispering into the kenku’s ear:

“Maybe we can go do our own type of tra-” Brynhilda is cut off, and starts to cough uncontrollably as Tori swiftly drops a smoke bomb. The kenku was now gone; leaving behind a coughing seraph who managed to recover her composure. However, instead of feeling rejected, she instead seemed to be more determined than ever as she exclaims with heart in her eyes:

“We love it when kenku play hard to get!”





-???-

Athena was currently sat on her throne, and still observing the group on the outskirts of The Jungle, as she facepalms herself in embarrassment and comments:

“By, Terra… Brynhilda… you embarrassing wreck.”





-TERRARIA, THE JUNGLE BIOME OUTSKIRTS-

Taking notice of the group staring at her with deadpan expressions, Brynhilda clears her throat before taking on a more serious tone and posture; saying:

“Well, anyway-”

“Nice segway…” Everyone interjects and comments in unison. Celebes in particular regains her composure and states:

“So we have a plan now. We’re going to meet up with Lord Anubis and begin our training with him. However, I’m worried about the others who are still down in The Glowing Mushroom Biome,” The Dryad then positions herself before everyone. “We’re going to split up, Shadow Thunder, Linn, Ritsu, Magius, and Tempest, you’re all going down to The Glowing Mushroom Biome. The rest of you will head to Lord Anubis’s pyramid.”

“Oh, um, what about you?” Fluttershy questions.

Celebes chuckles in response before she then walks towards the pentagram and destroys it in mere moments as she conjures forth and plunges The Bloody Edge into the anomaly. She then raises the blade overhead and says:

“I’ll meet you all there. I need to go speak to Terra.” A spire of flames consumes the dryad as she soon disappears before everyone’s eyes. A moment of silence ensues, but Brynhilda breaks it by saying:

“Soooo… anyone here knows if Tori is single?”

“For the love of Terra...”
“Sweet Celestia…”





-???-

In a pillar of flames mixed with light, Celebes reappears within what seems to be a vibrant realm of emerald green. All around The Dryad was a beautiful display of gems, crystals, and the ever present emerald lighting of this unknown biome.





The Dryad takes a few steps forward and there, positioned just before her very eyes, was what appeared to be a tree made entirely of the emeralds. Celebes kneels down before the tree shaped object and says in loving tone:

“Forgive me for being away for a short while, Terra," Celebes takes in her surroundings once more before she continues: "Terrarium looks just as beautiful as ever. However, There is something I wish to discuss with you.”

A powerful motherly voice that could put anyone else to shame echoes throughout the biome, and originates from the emerald tree, as the voice responds:

“It is quite alright, my faithful dryad. I already suspect what you wish to discuss with me, and it is all too true. Athena also foretold what I already knew, but sadly couldn’t intervene: A great change is coming to this world, my beloved creation.”
> Chapter 134 - Crab Rave.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, TERRARIUM-

Celebes rises from her kneeling gesture, along with a shocked expression, as she blinks twice and comments:

“Wait, you mean you foresaw this coming? B-but, why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve-”

“I’m sorry, my beloved dryad,” Terra responds with a saddened tone. “There was nothing we could ever do to prevent the coming events. Especially in my current… state. For you see, a powerful force is moving the pieces of this board game.” Terra seemed to hesitate for a moment before the ancient deity seemingly lets loose a sad sigh.

Taking notice of this, Celebes asks:

“Are you referring to: Nyarlathotep? Or, The Moon Lord? Yharim?”

“No, my dear. For even those individuals are a pawn in this game. Yharim in particular seems to be their favorite piece on the board.” The Dryad was now absolutely stunned by Terra’s words as she responds in shock:

“Y-you mean even that monster is being used?!” 

“They are, and by an ancient foe that I wish no one in all of existence to have to ever face: Xeroc… my brother.”

The Dryad’s face morphs into absolute dread, and her eyes shoot wide open as she says pleadfully:

“No… n-no… this can’t be, Xeroc shouldn’t be able to influence anyone at all.”

“It is the truth, and Xeroc is indeed manipulating many of the recent events that have transpired throughout Terraria’s history. I’m truly sorry, Celebes… I’ve failed you all-”

“Don’t you dare say that!” Celebes roars out in response, but with loving intentions, as she declares: “You brought us all this far! Even in your current state, you still do everything in your power to keep our world safe! You are the one who rewards adventurers and heroes with powerful items, when they defeat a Boss, or even a Mini-Boss. Heck, all loot in general comes from you,” The Dryad then runs up to the emerald tree, and hugs it. “You took me in when the others died… my parents. I love the royal family in Camelot, but it was you who comforted me through the years as I watched over Razeem’s prison on the moon.”

The echoing voice of Terra lets loose a loving chuckle, before she replies:

“This reminds me, you changed your name to that of your mother. But, I will always refer to you by the name Celebes gave you: Tree Hugger.”





-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME-



Crabulon was simply having the time of the crab’s life as the entity continued to literally dance around their opponents. No matter how hard Applejack would swing her Orange Phaseblade, it wouldn’t work. 

“Come on, orange pony. Swing a little harder next time and move that tooshy. While you do that, I’ll be doing the crab rave.” Crabulon comments while dancing in crab motions.

Despite still using the form of Yamata, Echo Silhouette’s attacks simply couldn’t breach the cobalt armor of Crabulon. 

“Maybe you should try copying someone else? It might improve your terrible performance. Yehee!” Crabulon states, as the crab performs its own version of a moonwalk.

Rainbow Dash unleashed most of her ammunition into the ancient crab, but to no avail. The cyan pegasus was running dangerously low on ammunition, and even resorted to relying solely on her melee weapons: Bloody Rupture and Aquatic Discharge. Dual wielding the two dagger-like weapons, the pegasus makes swift passes in flight and slices away at Crabulon’s armored body, but of course, to no effect.

“Again, nice try! Chicken horse! Ow! Sing it to me baby!” Crabulon antagonizes while moving side to side in crab fashion.

Both Terralestia and Sai Sahan were growing ever frustrated as they had to not only watch Crabulon mock them, but witness their attacks fail to do any damage at all thanks to the crab’s cobalt covered body. In addition, the crab idol’s dancing was also beginning to get on their nerves as Terralestia shouts:

“I can’t stand this stupid crab!”

“Crabulon is certainly an annoying opponent. I think I’d rather go to The Crimson and fight its monsters, then having to fight this overgrown crab any longer.”

Having overheard the duo, Crabulon turns towards their direction and says:

“What’s wrong? Can’t handle the crab rave?” The ancient crab then rushes forward in an attempt to crush the two terrarians. The crab slams his claws onto the duo, but sadly misses as they both roll to the side at the very last second before they retaliate by unleashing their own attacks. Both physical and magical. But of course, to no effect.

……….

Nearby, the battle with the crab cultists continues to wage as the truffles, merfolk, and Jeremy The Angler contends against the mounted opponents of the cult; in addition to the Prophet Of Crabulon. 

“You shall never stop the rave of our cult!” The Prophet roars out while their large crab mount combats against Jeremy The Angler.

“There are a lot of things wrong with that sentence!” Jeremy shouts in response as he dodges the large crab’s strike and fires away at The Prophet with his Harpoon, but the weapon’s projectiles are blocked by the aforementioned prophet of Crabulon, via his sword with a crab shaped hilt.

……….

Shroom elongates his left arm and forcefully plucks a cultist right off of his crab mount. The truffle tosses the cultist away before flipping over the large orange and white crab by wrapping around it with his right arm like a vein.

“Shroom smash stupid crabs!” The Truffle roars out as he prepares to attack more of the large crabs and their riders. However, a hand gesture from King Amidias stops Shroom’s actions, as the Sea king states:

“Please, Sir Shroom, these creatures are not doing this out of their own wills. Those runes on their backs are messing with their minds. Remove them, and perhaps we can save these poor creatures of the sea.”

“Shroom no attack big crabs? But big crabs are bad crabs, no?”

“Their riders are bad, yes. But not the crabs themselves. The only crab on the battlefield that’s our enemy is: Crabulon.” king Amidias responds as he reduces a few more cultists to ashes via a lightning bolt from his trident.

“Ok, Shroom no hurt crabs. Only surface dwellers on crabs. And Crabulon. Shroom understands.” The Truffle then lets loose a powerful rumbling from his mushroom-like form as the other truffles nearby seems to understand this form of communication. They in turn let loose a similar rumbling as they then dismount various members of the cult, while also immobilizing the large crabs via walls of fungi or long veins of roots.

“I thank you and your fellow truffles for this kindness, Sir Shroom.” King Amidias said. Shroom nods in response as they continue the fight against The Brotherhood Of The Crab.”





-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON DEPTHS-

To say that Greed was absolutely infuriated would be an understatement as the Ancient was currently curled up in the normal fashion of a serpent. 

“If I continue to stay here, I’ll be driven mad! Blast that pony and her damned Slime Gods.” The God Of Greed said as all around him, he could see a series of multicolored lighting thanks to the dome that had practically shone upon the depths of The Dungeon. But not entirely.

However, despite his current circumstances and anger, The God Of Greed didn’t feel all too helpless as he had already set a series of plans in motion; in order to assist regaining the Ancient’s freedom. In addition, he was becoming very curious of a certain presence that he could feel even deeper down The Dungeon’s depths. 

“Hmmm, perhaps I should go see this for myself. Much like the caverns of Terraria-of which I personally created-nothing is gained shall one never try to venture.” The Ancient then uncurls himself and slithers his large frame down into the depths of The dungeon.

……….

As Greed continued to descend, he could already hear the many whispers of an ancient sentience. Of course, Greed himself was far more ancient than whatever this hidden force was, but it did still incite curiosity out of The God Of Greed. However, The Ancient did know one thing as he states:

“Well well well, Yharim. We’ve been a little bad boy, now haven’t we? As if sicking Twilight Sparkle on us wasn’t bad enough, you shoved the dead souls of the corpses you threw into The Sulphurous Sea, down here? Naughty naughty. Anubis must really hate you,” Greed then smiles devilishly as he goes on to say: “But, I’m not a bleed heart like Anu-bubugaga, this is a very good opportunity for me.”

……….

The large serpentine entity was now positioned before a narrow hallway which was far too small for his serpentine body. The Ancient grunts in annoyance as he comments:

“I hate using that… guttural form.” An aura of varying colors overtakes his body as Greed begins to reduce in size and takes on the form of a terrarian. One he used to trick many other individuals, and even captured other gods: Loganic.

The newly transformed individual looks himself over, before saying:

“Let’s just get this over with. I look forward to meeting your acquaintance, and perhaps we could strike a bargain… Polterghast.”
> Chapter 135 - Greed's Purposal.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, THE DUNGEON DEPTHS-

Still donned in his terrarian form, Greed/Loganic nonchalantly makes his way towards the large crowd of voices that were getting louder with every step he took. The Ancient was also singing a tune, while dancing in tandem by spinning around in circles:

“Dun dun dun da dun dun dun dun dun,” Greed humps the air before continuing on. As he traverses, The Ancient seems to be having a conversion with the crowd of voices as he comments: “Yes yes, I get it, you hate Yharim. As do I, which tends to happen when someone sends a god killing monstrosity after you.”

“We... want... Yharim!”

“Ok, looky here, Polterghast. Do I look like someone who gives a damn about, Yharim? A dead man? Sure, I hate the guy for sicking Twilight on me, but I’ve got better things to do like, oh, I dunno… getting the hell out of here?!”

“Yharim… must… die!”

“How about you just hold onto that thought until you hear my bargain. Then! When we’re both free, you can go down to The Underworld, find his likely tortured soul, and just whoop him up.”

“Yharim… alive!” Polterghast exclaims in anger which in turn momentarily stuns Loganic as he blinks twice, and questions:

“Come again?”

“Yharim… lives… came here… took the undead… with a pink pony.”

Greed growls angrily in response, but interestingly, not towards Yharim… but to the very  mention of a pony as he stomps his right foot and roars out:

“I despise ponies! It was that damned yellow pegasus who trapped me here; along with her Slime Gods! Let me put it this way: As you despise, Yharim,  I despise, Fluttershy! And by extension, ALL PONIES!” A multicolored aura emanates from Loganic’s form as he exclaims in anger, before the ‘terrarian’ then brushes a hand through his hair while saying:

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I’m cool… I’m cool. Calm down, Greed, priorities first you handsome Ancient.” Loganic continues on, all while ignoring Polterghast’s words, as the ‘terrarian’ goes on to make a list with his right hand’s fingers:

“Get free, kill Fluttershy, return to my hoard, kill Fluttershy, send my agents to infiltrate nations, kill Fluttershy, find other possible gods still lurking about, and capture them, kill Fluttershy,” Loganic then brings his right hand up to his chin in thought. “Did I forget to add ‘kill Fluttershy’ to the list?”

Both shockingly and suddenly, Loganic grabs his head with both hands and starts to wobble around from left to right, and shouts:

“What is wrong with me?! I’m being driven mad as I remain locked up!” With absolute rage in his eyes, he spats: “ This is all your fault, Fluttershy! I was always a collected Ancient, one who calculates and plans… but yooooou… you’re doing this to me!”

The God Of Greed once again catches himself as he practices breathing exercises after unleashing those exclamations.

“Breath in, breath out… breath in, breath out...”

Regaining his composure, Loganic could finally comprehend the words of Polterghast as The Ancient had subconsciously ignored the entity’s words throughout his momentary lapse in sanity.

“Oh… you’re still here... right,” Loganic clears his throat, “So hear me out, Polterghast. I would like for us to cooperate, and by doing so, achieving a beneficial result for both of us in our current situation.”

Suddenly, light blue energy starts to manifest itself into being as it slowly morphs into a ghostly aura. The aura itself began to shift chaotically as the screams of numerous souls echoed out from the anomaly. Soon after, what seems to be a form of chitin starts to manifest as the ghostly aura etches itself onto it, as the two combine into an entity that somewhat resembles a species of insect. In fact, it reminded Loganic of the Antlions in The Desert Biome, only this one was composed of nearly countless vengeful spirits.



Finally meeting the entity he had been speaking with and sensed all along, Loganic performs a bowing gesture before rising back up to his full stature and saying:

“Greetings, my fellow benefactor.”

The many voices of Polterghast speaks in unison as the entity’s words practically echoes throughout The Dungeon’s depths, and the ancient catacombs that lies beneath.

“We are: Polterghast. We demand Yharim’s life, our vengeance can never be sated until we end him. Now tell us, Ancient, why should we not just take you for ourselves?”

Loganic raises a finger in response and says:

“Well, one: Good luck with trying to ‘take me for yourselves’,” Loganic raises a second finger, “Two: We both want the same thing, unless you just ignored my little rant and momentary lapse in sanity,” The Ancient takes a few steps closer, “Vengeance. No, wait, you want vengeance, and I want freedom. No no no no, I want vengeance and freedom, just like you. No! Wait, I want vengeance! But then again… I want freedom.”

Polterghast could only stare at The Ancient’s obvious loss of sanity once more before the anomaly clicks it mandables together and responds:

“We sense something within you... something that’s a lot like us. You are being driven mad, but you also seek freedom to exact your revenge. We understand and share this, Ancient.”

“No no no no no, I’m not mad,” Loganic responds. He then puts a hand up to his chin in thought, “Or maybe I- No! I am perfectly sane, just mad! Wait… I just admitted to being mad, but I’m referring to enraged mad, not insane mad. But I am mad!”

“You are both,” Polterghast responds as the entity draws nearer while clicking its mandibles, “We’ve come to understand you, God Of Greed.”

“The only thing you need to understand is that we shall both get what we want, and deserve. So here’s the deal: I want us to form an alliance. Plain and simple. Should I ever call for your aid, you will answer. And in return, I shall free you from this place.”

The clicking of Polterghast’s mandibles echoes out once more as the entity seemingly ponders on this proposal. However, the entity gets a thought and asks:

“If we were to agree to this offer, how do you plan to free both of us?”

“I have agents who are already working on that as we speak. You see, my gathering of vengeful souls friends, despite being locked up in The Dungeon I’m still able to speak to my servants. I can get us free, but I know for a fact that the world has changed during my absence. I do not doubt that powerful foes have arisen while I slumbered.”

“We see… so in exchange for our aid and strength, you will free us as well?”

Loganic chuckles, and forms a smirk before responding:

“Polterghast, If Yharim is truly alive… I’ll ensure that you’ll be chewing on his corpse by the end of this,” The ‘terrarian’ extends his right arm, “Do we have an accord?”

The gathering of vengeful souls rears back and clicks it mandibles for a few moments as it no doubt pondered on Loganic’s promise. The entity then extends a ghostly tendril and places it onto Loganic’s hand while saying:

“We agree. But know this, Ancient, should you dare to betray us… that yellow pegasus will be the least of your worries!”

“You wound me, Polterghast. I’m The God Of Greed, not of bullshit. I always honor my agreements, just ask my clients such as Crabulon, or even The Storm King. Besides, I do kind of owe you for those Water Candles.”

These words causes the ghostly entity to hiss, and clicks its mandibles before replying:

“So it was you who snatched up those rogue souls and created those candles. We should devour you for doing that, but those souls were useless to us.”

“Like I said, I don’t betray my benefactors. While I do admit to tricking mortals; even captured other gods, I never did so after making an agreement. And that’s a damn fact.”

The two remove their appendages as the ghostly entity goes on to state:

“We must ask: How exactly do you plan to remove this seal on us? Yharim used powerful magics to do this, when he ripped our souls from our bodies and hurled us into the depths of these catacombs.”

“Fortunately for you, let’s just say that I’m the right type of Ancient. Tell me, are you familiar with how we came to be?”

“Obviously we do not have that exact knowledge. We only know that you Ancients existed from the dawn of creation itself.”

“Indeed, I was just making a point,” Loganic then shrugs his shoulders, “Long story short: I took after, Xeroc. And from what I’m sensing, you’re right, Yharim did indeed use powerful sealing magic on you. Or should I say: All of you?”

“Why do you tell us something we already know? We suffer from it even now!”

“Because I know how my ‘old man’s’ powers work, as do some of the other Ancients like Anubis, or Oblivion, and I know how to undo it. The task will take some time, but that’s all I require to get us out.”

“You are not bound to it like us. The Slime Gods were the ones who sealed you away, not Yharim. Undoing our seal does not undo yours.”

“Ah, but you’re thinking about it the wrong way,” Loganic raises a finger to emphasize his point, “The seal that was made from The Slime Gods is indeed effective, but it’s nothing compared to what binds you here. Like the saying goes: Two birds with one stone.”

Polterghast clicks its mandibles together once more before responding:

“We see... so by undoing our seal, you’d be undoing your own as well.”

“Ding ding ding, you got it!” Loganic exclaims in celebration.

“Very well then, Greed. We look forward to being free of this wretched place.”

“As am I, my good friend,” Loganic then conjures forth a very particular set of items: A table, chair, and a chess game board. The ‘terrarian’ takes a seat; all while Polterghast asks:

“What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I plan to challenge you to a game of chess.” Loganic responds as he sets up the board, “Would you like to be the black or white pieces? Or shall I change your side to light blue pieces?”

“You’re seriously asking us to play… a board game?” Polterghast questions in a tone of absolute dumbfoundedness.

“Look, I’m going to be driven mad again if I don’t have something to take my mind off of things; while I wait for my servants to free us. Plus, I don’t want to get bored. Besides, you technically have the advantage given you’re made up of hundreds, if not, thousands of different souls. Although… I suppose I do have other gods trapped within me.”

The ghostly entity simply clicks its mandibles as it watches Loganic finish arranging the final pieces of the chess board. The ‘terrarian’ moves a pawn piece before gesturing for Polterghast to move a piece on their side of the board while saying:

“Your move.”

What happens next momentarily causes a smile to form onto Loganic’s face as the many voices of Polterghast seemed to be speaking to one another. Then, one of the ghost entity’s tendrils moves a pawn piece of their own, and comments:

“Your move, Ancient.”





-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM, TEMPLE-

Pinkamena was going for a simple walk through the temple as she waited patiently to hear back from both Braelor and Statis. The aforementioned duo hadn’t even been seen as of late by the dark pink pony. She could only assume that they were indeed ensuring the absolute best preparations for their coming plans.

The dark pink pony turns a corner and soon finds herself heading down a hallway with cells and various forms of containments on either side. Each cell held a prisoner of various races, but her eyes were shot wide open in momentary shock as she discovered cells that contained: Ponies.

“What the buck? So Yharim managed to snag some ponies before The Hallow disappeared? Why doesn’t he use them as slaves?” Pinkamena asks herself as she stops in front of a cell which held an earth pony stallion within. The pony was currently sitting on his flank while his head was slumped down and eyes staring at the temple floors of the cell. From what Pinkamena could see, the stallion’s body was light blue while his mane and tail took on a golden yellow coloration.

Pinkamena bangs her left forehoof against the cell bars, but gets absolutely no response from the pony. She then calls out:

“Hey, what’s your name?” The earth pony didn’t even bother to turn his head towards her. “You deaf? What’s your name?” Still, no response. The dark pink pony rolls her eyes before saying: “Alright, fine, I guess you prefer being in that cage.”

“Why bother… I’m nothing now.” The earth pony finally responds. This causes Mena’s ears to flicker before she responds:

“Looks like that muzzle of yours does work. Turn your head and talk to me properly, my face is over here, not on the floor.” Pinkamena demands. The stallion heeds to her request and slowly turns his gaze towards the dark pink pony. She blinked her eyes twice as the mare took notice of the stallion’s expression. She knew exactly what it was: Absolutely lifeless. The earth pony was simply empty. No hope, no love, no happiness, nothing at all was present within the stallion’s heart.

Pinkamena simply turns away as she comments to herself:

“There’s no point in talking to him any further… he’s a living corpse now. So thoroughly broken that he’s just a moving mass of flesh, but nothing more.”

As she continued on, the other ponies in the nearby cells were no different to the earth pony stallion. Pegasi, unicorn, and other earth ponies, both stallion and mare alike, were all in the same shape as the light blue stallion.

……….

Pinkamena was now a few turns away from the cells that held the ponies as she comments:

“It’s not that Yharim didn’t turn them into slaves, he clearly did, but they became so broken… they’re useless now. But why does he keep them alive?”

“You useless brat! You are nothing but a mistake!”

Pinkamena’s ears perked up as she could hear the exclamations of a very familiar voice. In addition, the dark pink pony could make out what sounds like slapping and punching. However, whoever was on the receiving end of these strikes weren’t letting out any painful exclamations, like one would normally assume so.

“I never should’ve had you, ungrateful pup! You dare to defy the orders of your mother?!” The voice roars out once again as Pinkamena draws ever closer to its source. Then, she saw an opened containment cell, but what was most interesting about this one was that it seemed to be much more advanced than most of the other cells. In fact, it looked as if Dr Draedon himself had designed it as the containment’s door was mechanical in nature.

Pinkamena peeks into the containment and is greeted with an extremely bizarre sight, in addition to it being rather cruel. She could see the source of the exclamations now standing over what seemed to be a kitsune, as Pinkamena comments:

“Cosmos, what the buck are you doing here?”

This causes The Kitsune Tyrant to turn her head towards Pinkamena, all while she stands over a kitsune, as Cosmos replies:

“This doesn’t concern you! Oblivion’s brat with, Harmony!”

This causes Pinkamena’s ears to shoot up high as her eyes widened to their absolute capacity. So many questions popped up in her mind upon hearing Cosmos’s words, but one seemed to dominate the others as she roars out:

“What did you just bucking say?!”

However, Pinkamena was thrown off as another voice responds to her from within:

-Mena, that kitsune at Cosmos’s feet… I urge you to assist her-

Recovering from her shock, Pinkamena responds internally:

-Oblivion? What the buck is going on here?! Why is this crazy ‘Discord’s Bride’ wannabe calling me your brat?!-

-The truth is, complicated… and It’s because you are, Mena. You and Pinkie Pie are my daughters… as is the kitsune at Cosmos’s feet, your half-sibling. The daughter of Cosmos… and myself-
> Chapter 136 - Crystal Moonbeam.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM, THE TEMPLE-

Upon hearing Oblivion’s words, Pinkamena's mind was overflowing with everstacking questions and mounds of confusion. All the while, Cosmos simply stares at the dark pink pony with a questionable gaze before she then growls and turns her attention back to the kitsune who was still positioned beneath her.

The kitsune in turn is a white furred individual, while also sporting crystal red eyes. In addition, she differentiated from any other kitsune; possibly any other werebeast, due to the fact that she possessed a rather unique trait: Three tails. Each tail was as white as her fur, but the tip of each appendage had a red coloration like that of her eyes.

Bringing her left arm back and preparing to strike at the white kitsune once more, Cosmos roars out:

“Don’t think that Oblivion’s brat saved you from your punishment, Crystal Moonbeam!”

-Stop her now, Mena! You must defend your sister!- The inner voice of Oblivion roars out with concern.

“I was going to do that!” Pinkamena replies outwardly as she runs towards Cosmos with all due haste. 

Before her left arm could come crashing down upon the white furred kitsune, Cosmos smirks as she could sense the ever approaching form of Pinkamena. The Kitsune Tyrant glances her left eye towards the dark pink pony, and says:

“Ohoho? You’re approaching me? Instead of leaving us to it, you’re coming right to me?”

“I can’t beat the shit out of you without getting closer! Get away from my sister!”

Cosmos snickers with a finger covering her mouth; before she roars out:

“Oh, how cute! Come and make me get away from her, welp!” The Kitsune Tyrant then floats into the air and gleefully awaits Pinkamena's approach. 

The dark pink pony jumps into the air and conjures forth her Vampire Knives before swiping away at Cosmos. Amazingly, Pinkamena manages to cut through The Kitsune Tyrant’s chest region as a spray of blood is let loose from the strike, all while the dark pink pony lands on the other side of the room. Cosmos falls onto the floor and wails in pain while screaming:

“Ouchie! Oh dear, I’ve been defeated! Please, show mercy to this poor and defenceless creature!”

-She’s so full of it. Be very aware, Mena. Cosmos is a powerful opponent, and I’ll be honest with you: As you are now, and despite your inner rage… you’ll need a miracle to stop her- Oblivion comments from within Pinkamena’s mind. The dark pink pony nods in response and shouts: 

“Your acting is even worse than Discord’s. Try again, you ‘senpai please notice me’ reject!”

Cosmos instantly stops her actions as she then lies down on the ground with a hand to her cheek, which lifts and supports her head, as she responds:

“Yuup, you’re definitely Oblivion’s brat… that mouth of yours can get you into a lot of trouble, squirt,” Cosmos then conjures forth a wine glass and places it against her chest. The blood that was leaking from Pinkamena’s attack fills the glass completely as Cosmos then takes a satisfying sip and comments:

“Ah, fine wine,” The Kitsune Tyrant then takes notice of Pinkamena’s annoyed expression, “What? You didn’t really think you could actually hurt me, did you?”

“Of course not. As I said, your shitty acting made that all too obvious,” Pinkamena responds as she prepares to strike at Cosmos once more. “But a mare can dream!”

“Oh please, this battle that you think you can actually win? That’s the dream.” In one swift motion, and before Pinkamena could even take a step to strike at Cosmos, The Kitsune Tyrant disappears and reappears before the dark pink pony before grabbing her by the throat, and lifting her aloft.

“Hello there, Oblivi-wizzy. It must annoy you to know that all you can do is watch as I beat your little brats, before your very eyes.”

-Cosmos! When I return, I will butcher you myself!- Oblivion roars out in absolute rage from within Pinkamena’s psyche.

As this goes on, and while Pinkamena struggles within Cosmos’s grasp, Crystal Moonbeam is simply staring at Pinkamena with a slightly worried expression. However, Moonbeam’s expression suddenly becomes much merrier upon seeing, him.

“What do you think you’re doing, Cosmos?” A familiar, but all too terrifying voice calls out which causes both Cosmos and Pinkamena to turn their heads towards the source. There, standing in the mechanical doorframe of the containment was the form of The Jungle Tyrant, Yharim.

Cosmos lets out an annoyed growl before replying:

“What does it look like? I’m punishing these little abominations!”

Yharim simply stares at The Kitsune Tyrant for a moment as he then clasps his hands together and comments:

“Cosmos, I specifically told you to ‘fetch’ your daughter, yes?” Yharim takes a few more steps, “NOT, punish your daughter. I’m very particular with my words,” Yharim now stands before Crystal Moonbeam as he places a hand onto her form and heals her from Cosmos’s attacks. 

The white kitsune then hugs Yharim lovingly, much to the confusion of Pinkamena, and not to mention the enraged Oblivion within who roars out:

-Yharim! How dare you! What did you do to my daughter?! I will personally ensure that not even Anubis can claim your soul!-

………...

“Father!” Crystal Moonbeam exclaims with glee, “Thank you so much…”

“It’s all right, my little fox,” Yharim responds as he helps the kitsune get up onto her feet, “Why don’t you go play with your uncle Yharon? I’ve got… business that needs my personal attention.”

“I will, father,” Crystal Moonbeam responds, but was stopped immediately as Pinkamena roars out:

“Wait, sis, you gotta listen to me!”

“Thank you… but... ” Moonbeam responds as she glances back towards Pinkamena, who in turn was still held within Cosmos’s grasp. 

“All I have… Is my father: Yharim… and hatred,” The kitsune says, glancing towards the ground, before murmuring to herself. “But maybe… I should give it a chance…”

The white kitsune then glances towards Cosmos, eyes dripping slightly with a black, goo-like substance.

“Oh, and by the way, ‘mom’… you can never truly hurt me. It just makes me stronger.” Moonbeam then leaves the containment as Cosmos turns her glare on Pinkamena.

“You insufferable- I should kill you right now,” she growls, attempting to strangle the pink mare.

“Cosmos…” Yharim interjects, “What exactly did I tell you to do?” 

Suddenly, a lavender colored aura pulls a gasping and retching Pinkamena away as Yharim tosses her aside. 

“As I said before, I specifically told you to ‘fetch’ your daughter, not ‘punish’ her,” Yharim walks closer, “Punish, fetch, punish, fetch… do those words sound remotely the same?”

“You think you can treat me like a child?!” Cosmos shouts as she then floats right into Yharim’s face, hidden behind his helmet, “I only joined you in order to achieve my own ends! I do not serve you, mortal!”

“Is that so?” Yharim questions, and in one swift moment, he grabs the Kitsune Tyrant by her neck with his right arm and forces her to the ground. She lets out a series of struggling grunts as Yharim says: “Look at that... now you’re kneeling to this mortal.”

“How dare you!” Cosmos roars out and attempts to use her powers. However, her eyes widen in absolute fear and says: “W-what’s going on? My… my powers are-”

“Performance issues? Tell me, Cosmos. Aside from now, has a goddess like you ever experienced true fear before?”

Cosmos continues to try and free herself of Yharim’s grasp, but to no avail. 

……….

All the while, Pinkamena could only stare on in absolute dumbfoundedness, at this very strange turn of events. However, the dark pink pony couldn’t stop thinking of her half-sibling as she says internally:

-What did Yharim do to her? She’s so obedient to him, but it doesn’t look like he’s forcefully controlling her-

-There’s no mind control taking place here, Mena. For Yharim has earned her allegiance by giving her something that I wasn’t able to: A father’s love-

-What the buck do you mean? Oblivion, or… dad? We’re having a serious talk after all this-

Pinkamena could both hear and feel Oblivion’s growls of anger, as The Ancient spats:

-Yharim… I despise him even more than I ever did before… he planned this. It wasn’t about just getting me out of the way, when he banished me from Terraria with Xeroc’s powers. He was also targeting your sister all along; to earn her loyalty in my absence-

-But, what the buck for?!-

-The same reason he keeps that witch, Calamitas, around… powerful pawns for him to use-  Oblivion pauses for a moment, and soon continues: -Little does that imbecile realize, he’s also a pawn piece... to Xeroc- 

……….



Suddenly, both Pinkamena and Oblivion’s conversation were halted immediately as Yharim conjured forth a very particular portal. One that was lavender colored in appearance. In addition, Cosmos’s features became even more terrified when she sensed a horrible presence from within the anomaly, as she comments:

“Wha… what is this… presence?”

“Your end...” Yharim replies as a serpentine, or worm-like entity starts to move chaotically within the portal. Then, four lavender colored eyes gazed out of the anomaly which sent cold chills down the spines of both Pinkamena, and Cosmos.



Whatever dwelled within that anomaly was something that absolutely terrified Pinkamena as she falls onto her flank with quivering hooves, a horrified expression, and questions internally:

-Oblivion, wh… what the b-buck… is that thing?-

-Ooooooh fuuck meee… Twilight Sparkle… The Devourer Of Gods-

……….

Cosmos was simply at a loss for words as fear began to consume her entire form. For the first time in her life, and keeping true to his words, Yharim had caused the Goddess Of Malice to fear for her very existence.

The entity in the portal spoke no words, and all that could be heard was the ever moving form of the undoubtedly large being. The Devourer simply stared at Cosmos, like a pet who waited patiently for their owner to drop today’s lunch within their enclosure.

With a quaking tone, and matching facial features, Cosmos literally begs for her life as she screams out:

“I, I submit! I swear undying loyalty to you! Please, don’t throw me in there with that thing!”

“But, Cosmos… you have me confused here,” Yharim replies sarcastically while scratching his helmet, “I thought you said that you refused to serve a mortal? You only joined me to achieve your own goals, no?”

“I… I… I lied! I was just having some fun! P-please! I won’t disobey you ever again!”

“Hmmmm, I don’t know... I’m not convinced,” Suddenly, Yharim chuckles darkly as he looks over to Pinkamena, and says: “Say, Mena… what would you like to do with her?”

This catches Pinkamena completely by surprise as she recovers a small fraction of her composure and responds:

“You w-want me to decide her fate? Like I give a buck about her. Throw her in or use her as your pawn... I don’t care which,” The dark pink pony then rises to her hooves, “What I do care about is my sister, Crystal Moonbeam. Who apparently worships you and calls you her father!”

Yharim simply chuckles in response, all while Cosmos’s terrified eyes never leave the portal, and the entity within continues to stare at the Kitsune Tyrant. 

“That she does, puppet. Your sister sees me as the father that yours never was. Isn’t that right, Oblivion? I know you can hear me in there.”

-Son of a bitch! This wasn’t part of the plan at all, medamnit!- Oblivion roars out from within Pinkamena’s psyche.

“My father, who I just now learned about, never got the chance to be that! Because you banished him!” Pinkamena exclaims with accusative forehoof pointed at The Jungle Tyrant.

“Details, details,” Yharim replies as he then conjures forth a certain pink energy within his free left hand. “Remember this?”

“My sister’s life force…” Pinkamena comments in a horrified tone. Yharim slightly tightens his grip onto the pink energy, which causes the dark pink pony to cry out: “No! I did everything you asked! Please don’t do that to her!”

……….

Incidentally, at that very moment when Yharim tightened his hold on Pinkie Pie’s life force, the party loving pony had collapsed onto the floor of Anubis’s Pyramind as she held onto her chest in pain.

“Pinkie Pie!” The denizens of Home Town roars out in unison as they all run to her aid.

……….

“No! Please! No!” Pinkamena exclaims and pleads for mercy, all while Oblivion was absolutely seething with rage from within. “I won’t talk back to you anymore!” Tears were beginning to form in the dark pink mare’s eyes.

Yharim simply ignores her pleading and continues to slowly tighten his grip while saying:

“Too late, puppet.” 

 “Yharim! You’ve made your point, so stop!” A new but all too familiar voice echoes from outside the cell, which catches the attention of both Yharim and Pinkamena. Before the entrance to the cell were the fiery red and orange eyes of a large red dragon. The outside of the cell was big enough to support the dragon’s size, but the cell itself was too small for the dragon to enter.

Incidentally, Yharon was accompanied by two guardsmen; along with a small fox who was rather curious about the dark pink pony as she remained hidden behind the mechanical foundation.

………..

“Yharon…” Yharim comments as he then sends away Pinkie Pie’s life force, and even drops Cosmos, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Stopping you from performing this action. Especially when there’s no need to do it.” The dragon responds with a small growl, “I care not for The Kitsune Tyrant, kill her if you must, but Pinkamena hasn’t earned your ire, nor has her sister. You are being unfair, brother.”

“Fair?” Yharim questions as he then closes the lavender portal with a snap of his fingers, “You want to talk about fairness?! Have you forgotten about what this world did to us?!”

“I will never forget, brother. And I will always beckon to your call, I will always be at your side. But, this, I can not just stand by and watch you torture Pinkamena, and her sister.”

“And why do you care If I do this to them?!” Yharim roars out with a swipe of his left arm. 

“That expression on Pinkamena’s face… it’s what we had that day when he betrayed us… and killed mom,” The dragon’s words causes Yharim to stop any and all actions as The Jungle Tyrant’s arms fall to his sides. 

Pinkamena could only stare at Yharon with tears going down her cheeks. The same tears that were forming from her begging for Pinkie Pie’s life, were now flowing freely. The dark pink pony could care less about the terrified form of Cosmos, or even Yharim’s momentarily stunned position. She wipes her face with a forehoof, and says to Yharon:

“Thank you.”

-I like this dragon. He seems pretty damn cool.- 

Oblivion comments from within.





Having regained his composure thanks to the interference of Yharon, Yharim looks back towards The Kitsune Tyrant and says:

“You have one more chance, you useless ‘Goddess’.”

Cosmos continues to quiver in place as Pinkamena trots over to her and spits next to her head.

“Dad wants to know how you like getting one-shotted, bitch.”

The Kitsune Tyrant whimpers in response; using a tone that would even put Fluttershy to shame. 

Exiting the containment, Yharim glances towards his brother and says:

“I want you in my throne room, we need to talk.”

“Very well, brother… but I must take care of matters here first.” Yharon responds, to which Yharim waves a hand dismissively and walks down the hallway. The dragon watches his brother depart before turning his gaze back towards Pinkamena and saying: 

“I… apologize for my brother’s actions. However, there is something we must discuss,” The dragon sneaks a peak towards the direction of Yharim one last time, before he continues: “I can not allow this to go on any longer. With you and your sister, that is.”

“Don’t apologize for something you didn’t have a hand in… or claw, as it were,” Pinkamena responds, kicking the Kitsune Tyrant in the side and drawing blood before trotting towards Yharon. “Something on your mind, Drago?”

“As the terrarians say: Let me give it to you simply, I wish to train you. I mean no disrespect… but your performance was… laughable.”

“Sure, tell me more about how badly I got my ass kicked, why don’t you.”
 
Yharon chuckles, before responding:

“You didn’t let me finish. Your performance was bad… but I admire your courage. As such, I wish to hone your skills in both combat and, well… to take a hit better.”

The mare grumbles in annoyance as a small paw is placed on her shoulder.

“Um… Don’t feel bad. I may not know you, like… at all, but you still tried helping me… It’s just… She’s really strong…” says the three-tailed kitsune from before.

“Ugh… I never really was the strongest in the GrimDark… Silent Ponyville never bothered teaching me anything. So… sure, I guess. My self-confidence is nearly zero right now, may as well drop it down to the negatives, right?” mutters Pinkamena.

“Consider that the start to your training,” Yharon comments as he lowers himself to Pinkamena’s eye level, “My faithful student.”

“So you’re Celestia now, gotcha.”

Yharon turns his head sideways in confusion, and questions:

“Are you referring to Yharim’s former student?”

“...Y’know what, forget it. Let’s just do what dragons do to train,” she says.

“I… I want to train too, Uncle Yharon,” Crystal pipes up.

A small rumble emanates from the dragon as he responds:

“Of course, little one. You will always be welcomed.”

“So now that we got the touchy-feely stuff out of the way, you wanna tell me how exactly you’re going to train us without your lovely brother finding out? I get the feeling you’re not supposed to do this kind of thing.”

“I’m not… but I believe you have a sort of, heist, coming up… yes?” Yharon replies.

“Alright, who the buck told the dragon? That could’ve gone badly if he weren’t so nice,” says the mare, staring at the readers.

“That would be us, Mena,” One of the guardsmen says as he takes off his helmet, “I hope you still remember me? Also, who were you speaking to just now?”

“Oh. Ignore my staring up at something you can’t see. Braelor, right?”

“Yes, and my friend here,” Braelor gestures towards his companion, who in turn also takes off his helmet.

“And that would be uh… um… Ninja dude?”

“Hah! I like your humor,” Statis roars out with a small bit of laughter, “But you’re not exactly wrong, either.”  

“Uh… No, seriously, I can’t remember your name. Kinda went through a bit of ‘Crisis a la Sister-nearly-dying’.”

“I’m Statis, and I believe we promised to tell you who we were before our little heist started? I’ll give you the T.L.D.R version: We once served Twilight Sparkle. The REAL Twilight, not that god killing abomination.”
 
“Reality is a bit of a mixed bag, you talking about Princess Sparks, EXE Sparks, or Worm Sparks?”

“The one who scares the shit out of your dad, Sparkle.” Braelor comments with a wink.

-THAT IS A BOLD-FACED LIE, BRAELOR, YOU SACK OF SHIT! I WAS THE ONE THAT STOOD UP TO THE FUCKER!- Yells Oblivion in Mena’s mind.
 
“Hah! I can’t hear him, but I know for a fact he’s somewhat pissed about what Braelor just said.” Statis comments before laughing.

“...Ow… My head… You mind, I dunno, NOT screaming, Dad?” says the mare to her father.

-Sorry, Braelor always made this joke to me. And I told him! Every time I told him I would be the one to stand against her, but NOOOOOOO, HE HAS TO TEASE ME STILL!-

“DAD. SHUT. THE. BUCK. UP.”

 As this goes on, Yharon witnesses the scenario playing out before him with a dragon’s version of a deadpan stare. 

“Maybe we should get back to the point…?” Asks the little kitsune.

“Thank you, Moonbeam,” Yharon replies as the dragon clears his throat, which in turn ceases the trio before the dragon, and continues: “Your ‘heist’ will give me the opportunity to take your sister’s life force from my brother, and stall our forces from attacking Camelot.”

“How do you plan on getting that when Yharim hides it somewhere?”

Yharon chuckles with anticipation and comments:

“Simple, my soon to be student: His inventory. I am connected to it.”
> Chapter 137 - "Ask for help."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some time before Yharim tightens his grasp on Pinkie Pie’s life force:

-TERRARIA, ANUBIS’S PYRAMID-

Having arrived at Anubis’s desert domain, not to mention meeting the merfolk and humanoid changelings, the denizens of Home Town had enacted their plan and split up into two separate teams. In essence, while one team would go down to The Glowing Mushroom Biome to support the conflict with Crabulon, the other would remain topside in preparation for Anubis’s guidance and training. 

The team currently assigned to head down to The Glowing Mushroom Biome consisted of Shadow Thunder, Linn, Tori, Ritsu, Magius, Helena, and Tempest. All of whom had already taken their leave via a Wormhole Potion crafted by Gex, The Witchdoctor.

In addition, and before reaching Anubis’s throne room via the guide of a humanoid changeling, many of the denizens of Home Town were absolutely baffled by the pyramid’s various revelations. The images that were etched onto the walls of the pyramid caused many of them to look on with shock, awe, and when it came to one large image in particular, fear. 

Incidentally and during this time, Home Town wouldn’t be left unguarded as Ross The Tavernkeeper, Katelyn The Mechanic, Livian The Stylist, and Gorglock The Goblin Tinkerer stayed behind to keep a watchful eye on the town. Just for added measure, Shadow Thunder had also created clones of himself to aid the remaining denizens of Home Town. Of course, the real dark pegasus was assigned to head down to The Glowing Mushroom Biome.





-ANUBIS’S THRONE ROOM-

Despite Anubis being the God Of Death, his throne room was quite lively as various conversations and scenarios played out before him. All the while, he himself was sat upon his throne and speaking with a very enthusiastic pink pony; along with an equally optimistic party loving terrarian.

……….

While chatting with some of Terraria’s changelings and the various merfolk of King Amidias’s kingdom; on a large golden round table with accompanying chairs of the same coloration, both Steven and Rarity were simply in marvel, as the unicorn comments:

“I must say: Despite being slightly different to our own, you changelings are quite divine,” She turns her gaze towards nearby female merfolk, “The same goes for you, darlings. I never expected to meet those who were so experienced in fashion like Steven, and moi.”

“Oh, why of course, darling,” A female humanoid changeling responds as she takes a sip of her tea cup before setting it back down onto her saucer, “We simply must exchange designs sometimes, and we especially did not expect to meet you in person, Steven The Clothier.”

“Ohoho! Indeed!” A female merfolk exclaims excitedly, “Even in the depths of our beloved sea, we merfolk fashionistas have heard all about your legendary clothing line, darling.”

Steven chuckles with reddened features before saying:

“I am all too humbled by your words, ladies. It brings me joy to know that my clothing line has reached fine fashionistas like yourselves. Especially after...” Suddenly, Steven hesitates to continue any further as he takes on a saddened expression and recalls his past as Skeletron’s former vessel.

Taking notice of this, some of the others on the table looked on with both worried and curious expressions. Rarity in particular knew exactly what caused Steven’s hesitation as she says:

“Steven, dear… would you like to-”

“It’s fine, dear Rarity,” The Clothier responds as, shockingly, he takes on a merrier expression like a flick of a switch, “I am now free to enjoy my life. I am no longer bound to that monster and as such, I shall no longer allow him to hold me back.”

Rarity giggles in response, and says:

“I am all too happy to hear that, darling.”

……….

“By the corals of the sea! I never imagined that I’d ever meet a lihzhard!” A male merfolk shouts in amazement as he and various other individuals, both merfolk and humanoid changelings alike, gazed upon the form of Gex; who in turn responds:

“Although my kind are rare, trust me when I say that we are still far and wide, for The Jungle is where we hide and reside.”

……….

After setting up some target dummies, Ceeman The Arms Dealer had challenged some of the humanoid changelings, and merfolk, to a contest of accuracy. 

The gun merchant and a male humanoid changeling were at the ready; aiming their ranged weapons towards two separate dummies as Vinny The Demolitionist raises his right arm, on the far right side of the two competitors.

“On your marks… take aim… fire!” Vinny The Demolitionist exclaims and brings down his arm, upon which both Ceeman and the changeling fires a single shot. The Arms Dealer was equipped with a Musket; all while the changeling used a very unique bow which was similar to that of Echo Silhouette’s.

After firing their shots, Vinny runs up to the dummies and inspects each one individually. Both Ceeman and the male changeling watch on with anticipation as The Demolitionist soon turns around and exclaims:

“Tie!”

……….

Fluttershy was enthusiastically conversing with some of the merfolk as they told her all about the creatures of the sea. However, one creature in particular caught the yellow pegasus’s attention as she says:

“Oh m-my… T-the Leviathan?”

……….

Many conversations and scenarios continue to play out within the throne room. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie cries out in pain as she grabs onto her chest and falls off of Anubis’s throne, of which she was currently sitting on its arm rest.

Tears were beginning to form in the party pony’s eyes from the sheer amount of suffering and pain she was currently experiencing. This causes the shocked bystanders to cry out in unison:

“Pinkie Pie!”





Present:

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie feels a set of gentle claws holding her and as she looks up, what appears to be a wolf skull is looking down at her.

“I’ve got you. Don’t worry, Dad’s gonna keep you safe, okay?”

No one else could see nor hear the phenomenon, but Lord Anubis was momentarily shocked from seeing his ancient cohort. However, he decided it would be best to act oblivious to Oblivion’s ghostly presence.

“Dad’s gonna fix this for you. He won’t let that bad man hurt you, okay?”

Pinkie looks up at the strange vision, eyesight cloudy as she can’t fully make out the shape of the hallucination. The pain increases and she begins choking slightly, to which the skullwolf tears up and holds her closer.

“Stay strong, little party pooper. I know it hurts, but you’ve been through worse.”

Despite feigning ignorance of Oblivion’s presence, Anubis could only hope that whatever Oblivion was doing could help the poor mare; all while the denizens of Home Town, especially Rarity, Fluttershy, and Candy The Party Girl, stood over the party pony with concerned expressions.  

The skullwolf looks up at Candy, seeming to look deep into her soul and speak with the entity within.

“Candymena. Listen to me very carefully. I know you keep a Life Crystal with you all the time in case Candy gets hurt, but I need you to help my daughter. Please, my loyal subject… She doesn’t have long.”

“You don’t even need to ask me twice, Lord Oblivion.” Candymena responds from within Candy’s psyche as the aforementioned heart-shaped crystal conjures into being and falls down into the hands of the highly confused Party Girl, who says:

“W-wait, wha-”

“Just go with it, sis. Lord Oblivion’s orders.” Candymena responds from within.

“I promise you, you will be rewarded for this.” Oblivion states.

“No rewards are needed. We serve dutifully, my lord.” 

..........

"Uh, C-Candy? Who are you talking to?" Asks Ceeman The Arms Dealer as everyone else present were still unable to both hear and see Oblivion's presence. Candy simply ignores any and all inquiries as she continues her work with the guidance of Candymena from within.

..........

As this goes on, Anubis suddenly smirks as he catches onto Oblivion’s current plans. As a fellow Ancient, only The God Of Death could both see and understand these hidden events; in addition to The Party Girl who had a very unique connection to Oblivion.

“Pinkie… if you can still hear me… I’m going to let Candymena do something for you, okay? You’ll see a red heart-shaped crystal. It’ll be just like the rock candy you love. Don’t be scared by her sudden… transformation,” says the skullwolf comfortingly as he looks at Anubis. “Anubis… I’m gonna need to pull that favor you owe me.”

Heeding to Oblivion’s request, Anubis spoke in a fashion that was exclusive to only the ears of Ancients, as he responds:

“Took you long enough to cash that in, but here’s the thing… I do this free of charge. I like your daughter… she reminds me of her mother, Harmony.”

“She certainly takes after her. Thanks, old friend. I’ll be ready to aid you against Yharim soon. You’ll have to deal with Legion first.”

“Hah! You can pay me back by not sending all of your kills to me for guidance.”

“No promises, but I’ll do my best, heh…” says the skullwolf with a smirk.

Anubis chuckles in response, before saying:

“Who are we kidding? I’ll end up dealing with it anyway...”

“Probably. Must suck being the God of the Dead, huh.” he chuckles, returning his attention to Pinkie Pie, whose life force was slowly fading away. “We’re out of time, we need to do this now.”
  
Candymena quickly performs the action and suddenly takes over The Party Girl’s form. Much like Pinkie Pie had done when she and her sister were unified, The Party Girl’s hair deflates and her skin took on a darker coloration as Candymena takes the scene. With the heart-shaped crystal in hand, Candymena prepares to use the object, but the nearby voice of Rarity comments:

“My word… what is that divine gem?”

“Oh my... It reminds me of The Crystal Heart.” Fluttershy says.

……….

“The gem that’ll save her life,” Candymena responds before crushing it and placing it on Pinkie’s tongue.

Oblivion gently strokes Pinkie’s mane as he tilts her head up to get her to swallow it. He continues stroking her as the life leaves her eyes.

“Your turn, Anubis... And you know what to do, Candymena. You’ll have to use that form’s magic to grant permission since I’m not actually physically here. I’m struggling to even manifest right now.”

Candymena simply nods in response as a vibrant red energy consumes her entire form. The onlookers all around her start to back away in both shock, and a small hint of fear, as the unusual scenario plays out before them. The bipedal form of what was once The Party Girl, was now morphing into two separate spherical entities.



“Wait a damn second!” Ceeman the Arms Dealer exclaims in absolute shock, “You’re a demon eye?!” 

Suffice to say, everyone else present were equally shocked by the two new entities before them. While the toothed eye stood floating over Pinkie Pie, the other eye begins to float around the room as the voice of Candy The Party Girl shouts:

"Yippeee! It's been so long ever since we used these forms," The eye then starts to sing:

"I'm like a bird,
Now watch me fly away!"

One bystander in particular, The Demolitionist, rubs his forehead and comments:

"I need to stop drinking..."

..........

Suddenly, everyone's gaze was pulled away from the two floating eyes as Oblivion concentrates, pouring the remainder of his magic into an unstable physical form; capable of being seen by all present. The now revealed Ancient looks towards The Arms Dealer, and says:

“Yes, Ceeman… but these two are Wandering Eyes, not the mindless Demon Eyes. And one of my most faithful servants.”

Now revealing himself to everyone present, which naturally causes shock and awe among those in attendance, Oblivion causes Anubis to sigh with a small hint of irritation, before he says:

“So much for secrecy.”

“Shut up, Anubis, I was gonna do this eventually. May as well let them get used to seeing me.”

Regaining his composure before anyone else, Ceeman The Arms Dealer comments:
 
“B-but… we killed so many of your kind when we fought in The Crimson!” However, there was also a hint of worry in Ceeman’s words, as he feared Oblivion might be angered by those actions.

“I know. I was there, buddy; watching from deep within both Pinkie and Mena's psyche when they were still... together. I Guess The Crimson refused my offer of an alliance, and took the eyes I sent in my stead. Oh well.”

“W-wait, so you’re saying that those Demon Eyes were loyal to you?” Helena The Nurse inquires.
 
“A long, long time ago, yes. But in my absence, it seems most Eyes can’t resist mind control. Guess Brainiac was a little too much of a genius.”

“My word, darling! That’s just dreadful! I mean, sure, they’re floating eyes… but no one should be forced into serving that brute!” Rarity roars out in response.

“I don’t think Mr. I’m-The-Perfect-Mind cared very much. Anyways, Anubis, got that soul yet?”

“As expected from an incarnation of Cthulhu,” Anubis comments. “And as for your question, yes, Pinkie’s soul is within my grasp. She’s not dead… but whatever Yharim is doing to her… she’s damn close.” 

“Good but also… uh… Bad. Candymena, use that sick-looking soul beam I taught you.”

As this goes on, many were just dumbfounded by the actions of the two Ancients and Candymena, as Ceeman comments:

“Ok… you guys are not what I expected gods to act like…”

“You forget that I’m The God Of Death, mortal, and yet you don’t see me pillaging and destroying things. Don’t be so quick to make assumptions based on our stations.” Anubis responds with slight anger in his voice.

“Nah, the pillaging and destroying is my job. Anyways, magic, anytime now. Would be nice.”

“I’d say Greed is more pillaging, you’re more for destruction,” Anubis then forms a smirk, “Then again… Harmony was pretty destructive herself, back in the day.”

Shocked by those words, both Rarity and Fluttershy exclaims in unison:

“Wait, what?!”

“...Eh, fair point,” Oblivion says, with a shrug, as he then turns towards the two mares, “And trust me, you do NOT want to know.”
 
All the while, a beam of green energy was elongating from the toothed Wandering Eye, as Pinkie Pie’s breathing became more controlled.

“Good job, Eye Candy. Now, Anubis, the soul.”

Anubis nods in response as he held within his right hand a vibrant, but ghostly aura. From what could be observed, it looked as if both light and dark had encompassed Pinkie Pies’ soul, but the light had a noticeable dominance, to which Anubis says:

“She really does take after Harmony, even her soul represents it.”

“That’s my girl… Just a few more seconds.”

 Anubis then kneels before the downed earth pony and gently places his hand onto her form.

“Pinkie Pie… I once promised your mother that I would always protect those she loved. And trust me when I say: She loved you and your sister. It broke her heart when we agreed for Oblivion to take you two with him, when Yharim banished him a long time ago…”

“...In my defence, I wanted them to have a better life than the hellhole I call home. So I did eventually let Harmony take them.”

Anubis then chuckles to himself before saying:

“I’d ask how you got these two into her realm, but knowing you, my old friend… you planned this. Didn’t you?”

“Well… I DO have a habit of seeing future events coming. Comes with the perks of being the end of all things,” the skullwolf says with a sly grin.

Hearing this, both Fluttershy and Rarity walk closer to the duo of Ancients. Many questions were on their minds, and they would no doubt demand to know more about this in the future. However, all they cared about as of this moment was for the well being of Pinkie Pie.

“Will she be ok, darlings?” Rarity inquires.

“We love Pinkie so much… we don’t want anything bad to happen to her.” Fluttershy comments. 

“Yeah… We got it done in time. She should be waking up right about… now.” Oblivion responds.

Pinkie Pie was now starting to come to as she slowly opened her eyes. She could see all of her friends and loved ones, but among them, she saw what appeared to be a wolf-skulled entity. It was strange, the being made her feel… happy?

“Take your time, little party pooper. I’ve got a few minutes left in me. It's taking everything I have to keep this form together.”

Being her ever explosive self, and like the flick of a switch, the party pony jumps into the air in one swift motion and exclaims:

“Oh-my-gosh-who-are-you-because-you-seem-so-familiar-and-yet-I-don’t-”

Oblivion grabs her out of the air with a swift movement, hugging her gently.

“You may not remember me, but… I’m your dad.”

The party pony was absolutely stunned by this revelation, but she also wondered about her connection with her family back on Equus. What was Marble, Maud, and all of the other Pie family members to her? Seeming to have sensed the pink pony's concern, Oblivion says: 

“Well, let’s just say your mom found a family that needed some laughter in their life, and you turned out to be the perfect fit. So, in reality… they’re as much your sisters as you are my daughter. Which is very much. I could’ve phrased that better,” he says, stroking her mane gently with a claw.

“You suck at this…” Anubis comments with a deadpan expression.

“Fuck you, Anubis.”

After holding his party loving daughter for a few moments, Oblivion sets her down gently. However, before any further conversation could commence, all of Pinkie’s loved ones practically pounced onto the party pony as she was barraged with hugs and various questions.





-TERRARIA, TERRARIUM-

Having spoken to her motherly figure, Celebes was about to join her allies in the battle against Crabulon and his cultists, but Terra stops The Dryad by saying:

“I sense your allies down in The Glowing Mushroom Biome need our aid.”

“Oh, it’s fine, dear Terra. My allies are-”

“No, my dear dryad. You will require the aid of The Observers.”

This causes The Dryad to tilt her head in confusion as she inquires:

“The Observers? But, their master is long gone.”

The loving voice of Terra chuckles throughout Terrarium as she responds:

“Oblivion is not truly gone, Tree Hugger. Displaced and banished, but never truly gone. He works behind the scenes to get back into Terraria. And I can sense he has succeeded in his goal.”

“So… how do we get aid from Oblivion’s forces, if The Void is banished?” Celebes inquires.

“With my help!” says a feminine voice from above.

Looking upwards and taking notice of a small Demon Eye, Celebes raises an eyebrow. What was most particular about this Demon Eye was the fact that its pupil seemed to be ever leaning towards the left side of its sclera.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that! Just because I’m a low-rank doesn’t mean I can’t bring you there!” says the Eye, zooming downwards.

“Uh, Terra, you sure you can't give me someone more… promising? This one's eye seems to be… off.”

“Fine, you want me to prove myself to you?” the demon eye says angrily as its pupil glows and fires a beam of energy at Celebes’s sword, knocking it out of her hand, though not far from her.

“Ow! Hey, don’t do that! We need it to re-forge the Terra Blade someday!”

“And I need you to not insult me!” it says, seeming to be glaring at the Dryad.

“This is Derpy, Tree Hugger. They will aid you in gathering Oblivion’s forces.” Terra comments which causes the dryad to stare at the eye for a few more moments, before letting out a drawn out:

“Oooook, then.” She then picks up The Bloody Edge, “So, where do we begin?” 

“Well, first, I need that slab thingy you’ve been keeping, Terra. Y’know, the one with my kind swarming the sky on it?”

“Indeed, I recall that day as if it had just passed.” Terra comments.

Celebes was noticeably ignorant of this as she questions:

“I’m sorry, did this happen before I was born?”

“I think so! Actually, that makes me older than you, so HA!”

Tree Hugger had to suck up her pride as she recalled her mother always telling her to respect her elders. Which, apparently, this demon eye was.

“M-my apologies.” the dryad then bows in respect, and in apology.

“Hmmmm… Don’t worry about it. I’m used to it. I’ve been teased a lot because my pupil sometimes moves to the side. And up. And anywhere, really,” the demon eye says, as its pupil appears to be on top of it now, spinning around.

In mere moments, a portal of red and black energy is formed via the eye’s actions as Celebes was about to peer into the anomaly, but the emergence of a Crimera startles the dryad. She then kicks the flesh monstrosity back into the portal while shouting:

“Seriously?! And, wait, how the hell did you do that?!”

“Oops! Sorry about that… But you didn’t need to kick him… He’s a friend of mine!”

“Ow…” groans a male voice from inside the portal, as the Crimera peeks back out, before retreating as the portal closes. “Thanks for the welcome…”

Celebes takes on a dumbfounded expression as she takes notice of this random event.

Terra lets loose a bit of laughter, before she states:

“Derpy is a very special type of Demon Eye. That spinning motion that she takes on allows her to conjure a portal,” Terra giggles, “But she sometimes makes a mistake. Even so, her powers are exclusive to her, due to the fact that she shall become the next, well, Eye Of Cthulhu.”

This noticeably confuses the dryad as that eye had been spawned from what remained of the aforementioned eldritch horror.

“Oh, Eye of Cthulhu is just a term used to describe the next King or Queen of Eyes!” says Derpy, her pupil now leaning to the right.

“You must keep in mind, that creature was Cthulhu’s way of mocking Oblivion. In fact, the other incarnations are both mockeries and, well, homage to some of the Ancients. Razeem in particular? Take a good guess who Cthulhu fashioned him after.”

Tree Hugger ponders on this for a moment, but comes to a realization as she notices a very particular appearance to the opposite of Terra: Xeroc.

“Wait, so the incarnations of Cthulhu were made in other beings' images?” Celebes questions.

“Yes, but it’s much more than that, Tree Hugger,” Terra responds as she seems to hesitate; before she continues: “There’s something I must reveal to you. What truly happened on that day when Cthulhu was, well, ‘cut up’.”

“W-what?" Celebes questions in shock.

“Ooh, I remember this story!” Says the demon eye, floating from side to side in midair. “Xeroc apparently saved Cthulhu by giving the pieces life!”

“What?! B-but, you told me that my race sacrificed themselves to stop Cthulhu?!”

“They did, my sweet Tree Hugger… but it wasn’t strong enough to stop Xeroc from creating the other incarnations. Your fellow dryads did defeat Cthulhu with their sacrifice, but that didn’t stop Xeroc from saving what was left of that monster’s life force. That life force in turn became the monsters known as: The Moon Lord, The Eye Of Cthulhu, and so on.”

The dryad was understandably mind blown as she couldn’t fathom just how deep Xeroc’s influence truly was. Terra cuts off any more of the dryad’s questions as she says:

“But now is not the time to speak on those events. I promise to reveal more about it, but for now, we must focus. Derpy, I trust all is ready?”

“Yep! I have the slab!” says the eye, waving it around in what appears to be its eyestalks.

Terra lets loose one final, echoing response: 

“Very well, then you two shall depart immediately.”

Both Celebes and Derpy nod in response, although the eye seems to just hover up and down, before it begins spinning its pupil again, bringing up a pitch-black portal, darker than the deepest depths of space.

“Well… Let’s go meet some eyes you’ll probably be more impressed with than me…”





-TERRARIA, THE VOID-



As Celebes and Derpy exit the portal, an unearthly silence surrounds them. As they look around, they find themselves on a fairly large floating island, surrounded by what appears to be space debris and a swirling, nebulous cloud in the distance. The complete absence of normal light in the area sends chills down the spine of the dryad and the sclera of Derpy.

“I… to be truthful, I never really liked the place after the whole spacetime-getting-ripped-apart thing…” says the demon eye, pupil moving rapidly. “It just feels like this whole place got turned into a tomb… There used to be a whole city here, and now it’s just… a graveyard.”

“By the green of Terraria… this place… it’s like I’m in The Underworld, but completely detached from reality itself.”

“You’re not wrong about that,” says a metallic voice from behind them.

The demon eye and Dryad whip around, the dryad in particular with the Bloody Edge at the ready. Though nothing could be seen, its presence could be felt, as a reddish glow emanates all around them.

“Uh… Um… Wh-Who’s there?” asks the demon eye.

“Heheh… I am Sagittarius, or as I was once known as, Venomous Sting,” the entity says, revealing itself. “And welcome to The Void, land of misery.”



Celebes was understandably taken aback by the appearance of this entity as she couldn’t help but to think about the ponies. This creature was practically a mockery to their image, as the dryad comments:

“What in The Underworld are you? You seem to resemble a pony… but you’re nothing like them.”

“How rude, Miss Celebes. Shouldn’t you be respecting your elders?” says the metallic monstrosity, some kind of metallic grin appearing on its face.

The dryad simply raises an eyebrow as she responds:

“Seriously? You’re using that card on me?”

“Would you rather the card where I tear you limb from limb and absorb your biomass? I can do that, too.”

“Heh, you think I’m afraid of you? If I die, you unleash Twilight… genius.”

“Oh my… You seem to misunderstand my abilities, Miss Celebes. If I absorb your biomass… I gain your power with it.”

“That’s not how the seal works, but fine. I’m not interested in arguing with an abomination. I came here for help, so beat it.”

“Aw, thank you for the compliment. But I’m not going anywhere. See, I’m the boss of this place, so you might want to hold your tongue and tell me what you want, YOU INSUFFERABLE WHELP.” says Sagittarius, seeming to glitch slightly at his last few words.

“Well then, boss, quit being a nuisance and tell me if you’re going to help me or not,” The dryad then sighs, “Look, I hate Xeroc, you hate Xeroc, or at least I hope you do. So help me stop him."

The metallic abomination tilts its head as it seems to be communicating to something. It growls and looks at the Dryad.

“It appears you’ll avoid becoming my biomass today. He wants to speak to you. Come along.”

The dryad smirks before she responds:

“He wants to speak to me? So much for you being the boss. You're just the messenger.”

Sagittarius’s eyes glow red before he growls, ignoring the dryad, flying to a nearby island. He waits, even putting what appears to be a quest marker above the island. The demon eye’s pupil shifts in a spinning fashion, this time opening up a blue and white portal. From it appears a small wyvern, just big enough to carry the Dryad.

“All aboard!” Derpy exclaims excitedly, all while Tree Hugger stares at the wyvern, but with a look of familiarity. Then, she comes to realize that this wyvern had the ensemble of Athena. In addition, a very familiar voice chimes in:

“One wyvern from lady Athena, as requested, Derpy.” says a seraph.

“Thanks, Brynhilda! I’m guessing you’re coming along to visit that kenku friend of yours?”

Without even attempting to feign ignorance, Brynhilda responds:

“Oh sweet baby, yes~”

“Oh dear Terra…” Celebes comments with a deadpan expression.

“Well, are you two coming along to see him or are you going to sit there gossiping. I’m getting hungry for biomass,” says Sagittarius in annoyance.

“Yeah, yeah,” Celebes responds as she then mutters in a lowered tone: “You assless pony.”

Before anything could progress further, Brynhilda injects herself by saying:

“Well, I'd better start heading to Anubis's Pyramid, don't want to be late!”

“You just want to hurry up and see Tori…” The dryad says as she boards the wyvern. The serpentine entity hovers into the air and takes Celebes to her destination; with Derpy flying after them.

………………..

Once there, Sagittarius moves aside as a strange machine comes into view. It seems to be glowing with all different colors, though glitching at the same time. It appears to be inactive, but an ominous feeling emanates from it, somehow even colder than The Void itself.

“Lord Zero, They’re here as requested.” Sagittarius says.

“Thank you, Venomous. You are dismissed,” the machine says, in a calm tone.

Sagittarius nods and disappears, leaving them alone with whatever new abomination wanted to see them.

“So… I assume you wish to awaken The Observers once more.”





-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME-

Crabulon continues to mock his opponents as they simply lacked the means to effectively combat against his nearly impenetrable shell. In addition, both Rainbow Dash and Echo Silhouette had run completely out of ammunition; forcing the duo to rely on close quarters combat.

Echo had also shed the form of Yamata during the duration of the battle, but not due to loss of magic or fatigue. It was instead more effective to combat Crabulon in his normal form, considering the other forms he took simply had no effect.

Terralestia, Applejack, and Sai Sahan were currently exhausted from fatigue; all while the ancient crab practically absorbed their misery, and frustration.

“Awww, are my dance partners worn out? I didn’t even get to perform the climax of my crab rave.” Crabulon says as he moves side to side in a dancing fashion.

……….

Nearby and on the outskirts of Mushroom Village, Shroom, King Amidias, and Jeremy The Angler continue to battle against Crabulon’s Prophet, who was currently engaged in a sword battle with The Angler.

“I feel insulted! I should be fighting The King Of The Sea, but I instead must contend with someone as meaningless as you?!” Crabulon’s Prophet roars out.

“Yeah yeah, but you know something funny?” The Angler questions with a smirk.

“What?”

“I fight dirty,” The Angler then kicks The Prophet in his ‘man bits’, who in turn falls limp to the ground while saying:

“Y-you honorless… weakling…”

“Says the crab worshipping maniac who used a giant crab mount on me!” 

Suddenly, The Prophet grits his teeth in anger before conjuring forth a Healing Potion. He drinks the magical beverage and performs a sweeping maneuver. In one swift motion, The Angler falls onto his back. The Prophet is quick to act on the opportunity as he gets up and mounts Jeremy. He threatens to drive his sword into The Angler, but another blade slices the head of the prophet clean off; sending the dismembered head skywards.

Jeremy could only stare in disbelief as he takes notice of a certain kenku: Tori. Imitating The Angler’s voice, Tori comments:

“Today is not your time to die, angler,” The kenku says, offering a helping hand. 

“Holy shit… am I glad to see you guys.” The Angler responds as he takes the kenku’s hand gleefully, who helps him back onto his feet. Incidentally, behind Tori was the reinforcements of Home Town which consisted of Shadow Thunder, Magius, Tempest, Linn, Ritsu, and Helena The Nurse.





-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM, TEMPLE THRONE ROOM-

Yharim sits on his throne with a pondering gesture as the large double doors in the distance suddenly part via his guardsmen. The parting of the doors revealed a large red dragon who enters the throne room with its head held high. The doors crashes shut behind the large entity, as Yharon says:

“Brother, I have a good feeling that-”

“What the hell was that, Yharon?” Yharim interjects with an authoritative tone, “You dare to bring up our past just to, what? Make your point?”

“You misunderstand my reasoning for bringing up that day. What you were doing to them-”

“You insufferable dragon!” Yharim roars out as he bolts onto his legs and stands at full stature, “I care not for your reasonings! You are to follow my commands without question!”

“And I always shall!” Yharon exclaims in protest as he extends his wings to their full lengths, “I have always followed your orders to absolute perfection! And without question! But-”

“What you did down in those cells is the opposite of following my commands! You useless scaly liza-” Suddenly, Yharim stops his words as a flood of absolute regret and guilt consumes his entire form.

All the while, Yharon’s heart was absolutely shattered by his brother’s words as the dragon’s wings closed themselves and his head momentarily lowered itself to the floor of the throne room. With a saddened tone, Yharon responds:

“I… I apologize for my lack of… usefulness,” The dragon then slowly turns around, “I shall prepare our forces for our coming battle… brother.”

As the echoing steps of the dragon drew further away from Yharim, his left arm slowly reached out towards Yharon. By the time the arm extended fully, the dragon was already gone as Yharim whispers:

“Y… Yharon… I…” The Jungle Tyrant falls backwards and lands on his throne; followed by the very same arm he had extended to be brought to his head. Absolute shame was present throughout Yharim’s body as he mutters sorrowfully:

“Brother… forgive me…”

The once confident posture of The Jungle Tyrant was now slumped against his throne as Yharim’s guilt continued to haunt him.

..........

As Yharon distances himself from the throne room, with a heavy heart still present, he starts to ponder on his brother’s very own well being. The dragon could no longer be certain that Pinkie Pie’s life force would be safe, due to a rage induced action by yharim. With absolute determination, Yharon comments:

“Brother, despite the pain in my heart… I will always be loyal to you. However, I am now more determined to part Pinkie Pie's life force from your grasp,” The dragon continues onward and says: “But first, I must speak with Pinkamena once more. I have to set up our training regime.”





-TERRARIA, NEXUS-

Snow was currently making his way towards a secluded portion, and on the outskirts, of the underground settlement. The leopard/wolf hybrid looks around once more before placing his hand onto the wall that stood before him. A series of rumbling results from his touch as a secret passage reveals itself soon afterwards. From the entrance, one could see a flight of stairs descending down into the torch lighted passageway as Snow comments:

"I'm sorry for being away for a small while, Mom, Dad." The werebeast hybrid then descends the flight of stairs as the entrance closes behind him. Incidentally, he also strapped on a face mask.

..........

After walking down the flight of steps, Snow could see a light at the very end of the descending tunnel as he drew ever closer and entered said light. What was now present before him is something that was very similar to NEXUS, but a smaller version of it as it contained only a medium sized, two story house in the distance. Large fields of grass stretched across the local area as Snow walked down a remarkably well kept dirt road. All of this was complete with an artificial sun beaming down from the ceiling.

The werebeast finally reaches the house and knocks on its red door. A series of movement could be heard from within as soon enough, Snow could hear the door knob being fiddled with as the door itself opens widely; revealing a terrarian woman who smiles instantly upon seeing the werebeast. However, what was sort of off putting about her was the fact that her body contained obvious signs of: The Astral Infection.

"Hello, Mom."

"Snow! Oh, my sweet boy!" Snow's mother exclaims happily as she desperately wanted to embrace the werebeast, but couldn't do so as her dose of The Astral Infection was highly contagious upon contact. 

Snow's parents were very lucky as they possessed a minor version of the infection, but still volatile all the same. Because of this, it was easy to contain the infection from spreading throughout this underground landscape so long as the appropriate measures were taken. Snow made doubly sure to cover all bases and despite having to separate his parents from the rest of NEXUS, they were not shunned or hated by the populace due to their illness. On the contrary, everyone was worried about the couple and this separation was made only to ensure everyone's safety. 

"I missed you too, mom. Where's dad?"

"He's using the restroom at the moment."

"T.M.I mom..." Snow responds, then chuckles. His mother giggles in response, before saying:

"Oh! Maybe we could all-"

"I found it, mother." Snow interjects which causes his mother's expression to morph into absolute shock. She knew exactly what her son was referring to as she stutters her words and replies:

"I-impossible... I thought... Y-you found... a cure?"

"I did, and thanks to my recent heist, I now know what I must do."

"Come inside, son. Tell us all about what's happened," Snow's mother responds as she gestures for him to enter the home and the red door closes behind them.





-TERRARIA, THE VOID-

Celebes collects herself for her coming words as she takes on a confident posture and says:

“My allies need my assistance, and Lady Terra has asked me to seek you all out. So here I am.”

“Hm… Yes, I recall you. You were naught but a child when I last saw, Tree Hugger,” the machine rumbles.

This catches the dryad off guard as she was momentarily taken aback by those words.

“Y-you know of me? Wait, last seen me?”

“Hmm… Perhaps you do not recognize me in this form that I have taken. One moment, my dear.”

The machine glows with a blinding light as a pony with Midnight Black fur and a Green-black mane appears where it once was, though surrounded by a glitch sphere. The pony smiles warmly, despite the fabric of reality practically being torn apart where it was floating.

“Does this form strike you as familiar, my dear?” he says.

Celebes's eyes were widened in absolute shock as she questions in disbelief:

“S-Silence? Is that really you? Mother told me that you mysteriously vanished.”

“Indeed, young one. I am glad you remember your old babysitter,” he says, beaming with a smile that seemed quite warm and welcoming in this hostile and cold place.

“How are you here? Wait, you always told me that you came from ‘out of this world’, but I just assumed, well, a different planet.”

“In a fashion, my dear… Perhaps I can spare some time for a little story. Please, make yourself comfortable, as best you can.”

“I... I’d love to catch up… but, aren’t we running low on time?”

“Here? No, my child, though it feels like five minutes here, it has been no more than five seconds in Terraria. The Void is not governed by the same rules of spacetime.”

Tree Hugger was shocked by this revelation. She had tried to prepare herself for this realm, but the differentiation of time itself was something she could’ve never prepared for. Letting loose a small sigh, she comments:

“If you’re sure about this, then yes. I… I’d like that.”

Silence smiles, sitting on his haunches in the glitching bubble, a posture he had taken many times before when telling Tree Hugger a bedtime story. Some people had called the old pony ‘The Storyteller’.

“A different planet… Hm… A term many have used to describe beings they cannot quite understand. It’s rather amusing. But no, I am not from a different planet. I am from the GrimDark, a place you most likely have heard of, and where our… acquaintance… Pinkamena is also from,” begins the old pony.

“I knew it… I sensed it from within Pinkie Pie when I first met her on Equus, but I foolishly shrugged it off. I knew there was something about those two.”

“Indeed. In comparison to most of the GrimDark, they are fairly young. You see, my fair Dryad, The GrimDark used to be a paradise, a long, long time ago,” Celebes's eyes widened in response, “In the old days, Oblivion, the Ancient of Entropy, wanted nothing more than to create, a skill unfortunately erased by the actions of The Tormentor, Xeroc.”

Celebes grunts in disgust and comments:

“Of course Xeroc’s involved. Terra informed me that he’s been scheming as the absolute mastermind.”

“Indeed. He favors Yharim as a pawn. Think of it as a pawn promotion… Of course you would remember chess, I am sure. It used to be your favorite game to play. But I am getting off-topic. Once, Oblivion was in fact supposed to take the title of Creator, not Destroyer. Terra truly favored him for his dedication to protecting the land. But Xeroc… He wanted otherwise.”

The pony takes a moment to adjust himself into a more comfortable position, causing a wave of glitches to ripple across the bubble. Silence continues:

“Oblivion created the GrimDark, much to the happiness and pride of his mother, and back then, it was a beautiful place. Beautiful blue oceans, lush, forested lands… a world ravaged by neither disaster, nor war, a world at peace. I’m sure you would have loved to visit it if you were born back then.”

"Let me guess... Xeroc had other ideas?" Celebes inquires.

“When Terra was distracted with admiring the land her son had created, Xeroc took the opportunity to begin the destruction of the world you know as Terraria. And yet, it was not for his own twisted pleasure. He wanted the Protector of Terraria to face him. He wanted to force Oblivion to make a choice.”

..........

The bubble seems to grow dark as a burning Terraria appears in it, with two mighty tyrants facing one another, one standing over the other.

Celebes finds herself in what appears to be that very same land, looking around at the destruction.

“Where are we now-” Suddenly, Celebes’s eyes widened in horror as she took notice of the tarnished world beneath her, “What is this?! This is… this is even worse than what Cthulhu had inflicted upon the world! What’s happening?!” 

Silence’s soothing voice rings out over the landscape as a spectral image of his form stands next to Celebes.

“Fear not, my dear. This is simply an illusion to truly tell you the story. You will not be harmed. Now watch, for your questions will be answered.” Silence then guides Celebes's gaze towards the nearby scenario. The Dryad's features become absolutely mind blown by what she sees: A different Oblivion, and Xeroc.

“You… You won’t get away with this, father… You will answer to Terra!”

“Answer? No, she will lie dead before me in due time. However, I have a proposition for you.” 

“Bastard, your deals are nothing but pure evil and hellfire!”

“Hahahaha, indeed. Which is why you will have no choice but to accept my proposal.”

“Make your offer, Tormentor,” spits Oblivion venomously.

“It is simple, really… I want you to be my emissary, my little destroyer.”

“And what will I receive in exchange, monster?”

“Receive? You fail to understand why I’m called: The Tormentor. YOU! WILL! GET! NOTHING!” A powerful aura emanates itself from Xeroc as he causes all of creation to quake.

“I am the protector of this world. You will not sway me with ideals of power. Your offer means NOTHING!” says Oblivion, magic flowing over him unnoticeably.  

Xeroc simply laughs in response before saying:

“Then perhaps a display of the consequences of your decision, is in order?” The Tormentor raises his left arm and with a mere gesture, conjures forth various Ancients who were entrapped within a spherical aura.

“BASTARD! RELEASE HIM AT ONCE!” yells Oblivion as the magic begins getting stronger.  

“Oh I shall, but not in the way that you’d imagine,” Xeroc then calls forth the sphere that contained Anubis, and floats it before Oblivion, “Perhaps we shall start with your brother?”

“Anubis… Anubis, hang on for me, okay little bro? I’ll get you free. I promise.” says Oblivion, gathering even more magic with a determined expression.

“Oblivion… do not worry about me, for all shall be well. However, do me a favor… and slap our old man around!” 

“Behold your decision, ‘son’.” Xeroc antagonizes as he goes on to grab Anubis by his neck and dangles The Ancient in front of Oblivion.

..........

Silence looks away at this point, seeming sorrowful about something, bowing his head.  

“No...no… stop! Don’t do this, Xeroc!” Celebes roars out with tears forming in her eyes, “Please, no!”

“There is no point, my dear dryad… He cannot hear you.” the pony says, laying a soft wing across Celebes’s back. All the while, the dryad continues to struggle against the inevitable.

..........

With a resounding snap, Anubis’s form goes limp before Oblivion’s eyes. Xeroc lets out a satisfied laugh before tossing the dead Ancient aside with no care. 

Oblivion stares in shock and horror as his tears fall. A magic surge the like of which was never seen before rushes forth, surrounding the Ancient as he lets out a cry of primal anguish. All around, fauna and flora are drained of their very life essence, wilting and rotting before The Dryad’s very eyes. 

As this apocalypse goes on, Celebes could only be reminded of her people dying at the hands of Cthulhu. In fact, for a very brief moment, the form of Xeroc was replaced by the eldritch horror. What she was experiencing was Oblivion’s very own version of her nightmare. A nightmare that scarred her for the rest of her life. All she could do was stretch out her hand, as if offering it to the Ancient.

………..

The other captured Ancients realize their opportunity and begin aiding in the influx of magic, strengthening it, as if calling on the Elements of the world.

Taking notice of this, Xeroc looks back towards the other Ancients and roars out:

“What do you think you’re all doing? There is no hope, there is no light, there is no life… only Xeroc exists.”

“Father… You took away my light… Now I will take away yours.” says the still-grieving Oblivion, staring at his father with a hatred so powerful that even the shadows recoiled.

Xeroc began to finally sense the change that was taking place before him as The Tormentor shot his gaze back towards Oblivion and roars out:

“What’s going on here?! What are you doing?!” The Tormentor attempts to strike at Oblivion, but is stunned upon noticing that his powers are being siphoned into his opponent.

“You wanted me to become a Destroyer… Then very well.” says the Ancient as the magic begins swirling around Xeroc. “Then I shall accept your proposal… But only if you are destroyed first.”

“You wretched trickster! You’ve been draining my power all along!”

“Good riddance, father. I hope you suffer in Limbo for eternity.”

As the magic swirls around Xeroc, slowly banishing him from the world of Terraria, the illusion fades, returning the Dryad to The Void, as if nothing had been seen at all. The Storyteller floats in his bubble, looking gravely at Celebes.

“I hope that was not too disturbing for you, young one… That is one of my darkest stories, as I witnessed it myself.” 

Celebes’s tears flowed like a river upon seeing the story unravel before her. The Dryad stands up and runs towards the edge of the sky island before she roars out into the abyssal plane:

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGH!” 

……….

After the dryad screams out her sorrow and falls onto her knees, Silence quietly asks:

“Are you prepared to listen to the end of my story, my dear?”

“Why did you show me that vision? I... I don't truly understand everything I just saw, but after seeing that, I’m afraid of what Razeem could do one day. It’s just… what if I fail to stop Razeem, and history repeats itself?”

The wise pony smiles softly and beckons her closer, faint blue sparks appearing on the bubble. Celebes rises onto her feet, and wobbly walks closer to Silence. The blue sparks expand, as if it were lightning striking through the clouds.

“But you won’t fail, my dear. That vision I showed you wasn't the entire story, but a piece of it. It also serves... another purpose. You see, Oblivion was alone that day. No one to help him, no one to keep him strong and despite being empowered by some of the captured Ancients, he still acted alone. But you…” the pony says, waving a hoof, causing the blue sparks to form into shapes of the Dryad’s allies. “You have all your friends… All of your loved ones to help you.”

He smiles, crossing his hooves and looking at her.

“After all… Friendship is Magic, is it not?”

Celebes’s eyes were widened in realization as she gazed upon the forms of her new found friends. A vibrant illusion of Home Town was constructed before her very eyes as all of its denizens go about their business. Ceeman and Vinny could be seen watching over the stone walls all while Rainbow Dash flew over the town. Fluttershy was seen leading a flock of animals into her home with the assistance of Ritsu.

The more she watched, the more she began to realize her biggest flaw: Shouldering all of her burdens alone. She thought back to when she watched over The Moon Lord’s seal and came to question if she could’ve stopped Calamitas that day. So many of her choices could’ve had very different outcomes were she to do just one thing:

“Ask for help.” says Silence, leaning forwards. “You just need to accept that you cannot do this alone. Stop focusing on the Terra Blade… If Oblivion couldn’t take down Xeroc on his own, what chance do you have to defeat Razeem? Ask for help.” 

The Dryad had a world of realization crash down upon her as she recovers from her stupor and turns towards Silence, saying:

“Thank you… I see that there’s still much for me to learn, huh?”

“Sometimes, stories open up things you never thought were possible. Now…” Silence says, smiling. “I believe you have some eyes to ask for help from, hm?”





- TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME-

Some time after killing Crabulon’s Prophet, Tori was cutting through the members of the cult; along with the assistance of Linn, Tempest, Ritsu, Helena, Magius, and Shadow Thunder. 

Shroom had just flattened one of the cultists by stomping on them, before then extending his arms and sending the other members of The Crab Brotherhood aloft. King Amidias unleashed powerful bolts of lightning from his trident as Jeremy The Angler fought alongside The Sea King. 

In the background, other truffles and various merfolk continued to rage against the cult, whose numbers continued to dwindle as the battle went on.

……….

Crabulon currently has Applejack pinned against his claws and dangles her struggling form before the rest of her allies. Echo, Terralestia, Sai Sahan, and Rainbow Dash stares on in horror, as the crab idol says:

“So now, who wants to watch me ‘bust’ one final move?”

“No! Please! K-kill me instead!” Rainbow Dash pleads.

“R-R… ainbow… no… ah don’t want ya’ ta- graugh!” The cowmare cries out in pain as the ancient crab tightens his grip once more. The group could only stares on helplessly as the ancient crab was mere moments away from snuffing out the cowmare's life.

Suddenly, a laser shoots Crabulon in the claw; causing him to drop Applejack to the ground as a voice calls out:

“Your dance number’s over, Mushroom Crab Thing!”

Derpy the Demon Eye zooms into the battlefield, pupil red with concentration as she prepares to shoot again.

……….

All the while, Rainbow Dash swiftly flies in and sweeps Applejack off of the floor. She then flies over to Echo, Terralestia, and Sai Sahan, before setting the cowmare down gently.  

……….

Crabulon was absolutely stunned by this, but was too blinded by shock to realize that his claw was now missing.

“Ok… wait, what?” Realization finally takes hold of the crab as he exclaims in absolute shock: “Holy crab legs! My crabbing claw is gone?!” He then turns towards Derpy and roars out: “You little-”

A large number of lasers shoot from a sudden anomaly that conjures itself into being, all hitting their mark on the crab’s back as multiple voices begin shouting:

“For the Eye of the Abyss!”

“For the honor of Lord Oblivion!”

“For Terra’s love!”

..........

Hundreds of demon eyes and wandering eyes begins to pour through the portal, some of them even wearing what looked to be a strange abyssal armor. As they begin to spread throughout the battlefield, several eyes stop by the injured contenders and literally airlift them to The Nurse, who appears to be shocked by the newcomers.

“Ok… I’m charging for my services from now on.”

A large bag of platinum coins drops from a wandering eye, who stares at her and asks:

“Will that cover it?”

Helena stares at the bag momentarily, before responding:

“On second thought, bring all of the injured here now!”

..........

In the middle of the battle against the Crab Cultists, Shroom’s fellow truffles and King Amidias’s men were combating against their foes, until a large cluster of Demon Eyes, which numbered in the thousands, swept across the battlefield and killed all cultists in their wake. However, It wasn’t just the local area that the battle was taking place in as the swarm spread itself throughout the entirety of the biome.

This phenomenon caused various reactions from the truffles, merfolk, and other bystanders as they were admittedly confused by it.

Upon closer inspection, Shroom seemed to be familiar with this event as the truffle comments:

“Shroom remember swarm like this… Night Of Eyes.”

“Oh, hi Shroom!” waves a Drippler with a blood tendril. “Remember me? Doctor Eyestalk.”

“Shroom remember you. You take pony to safety for Shroom.”

“Heh. Just what I do.”

……………….

Witnessing the scenario before him and seeing his cultists being reduced to nothing by the second, Crabulon was so shocked by these current events that he didn’t even take notice of The Dryad who conjures forth her blade, Bloody Edge, and plunges it into the ancient crab’s form. 

“Sorry I’m late!” Celebes exclaims from atop of the now panicking crab. She then turns her head slightly and winks before saying: “Had to go ask some friends for help.” No one else present could see it, but a certain green-maned pony winked back before slowly fading away.

“Oh crab! She stabbed me! How the crab did she stab me?!” The ancient crab runs around frantically while snapping his claws in a fit of horror. Celebes pulls out her blade, and shouts:

"Now! Derpy!"

“Anyone up for Steamed Crab Legs?!” Replies Derpy, shooting her laser at the injury and blowing a hole big enough for her to fit in.
 
“Well… I’m crabbed…” Crabulon comments; all while Rainbow Dash, Echo, Applejack, Terralestia, and Sai Sahan stare on with their mouths hung agape. 

“Is… is this seriously happening right now?” Terralestia questions in disbelief.

“I stopped questioning stuff like that when Fluttershy threw around some giant flesh thing like a ball, back in The Crimson.” Rainbow Dash responds.

Derpy lets out a roar similar to the Eye of Cthulhu and charges into Crabulon’s wound as the crab strikes a jazz pose.

“Well, folks, that’s all for now!”

Upon speaking his final words the ancient crab expands, shrinks, and expands again before exploding into cooked remnants of his former self. Various steaming crab legs were thrown into multiple directions; all while his remaining claw is sent aloft and incidentally lands in the center of Mushroom Village.

Derpy gets spun around, causing her to accidentally open a green portal and allowing a slime in before crashing into a wall.

“Uhhh… I’m fine! Also, dinner’s ready.” she says, waving an eyestalk around.

……….

The runes that were present on the backs of the large crabs, who acted as the cult’s battle mounts, begin to fade upon the very moment of Crabulon’s death. The now freed entities start to look to and fro in confusion, as King Amidias declares: 

“Praise be to the sea, my beloved creatures, for you are now free!” 

All of the crabs start to click their claws together in celebration as an all too familiar scenario plays out next: The crabs start to dance.



Much like Crabulon before them, the newly freed crabs were performing various dance moves suited for their anatomy. Crabs raised and lowered themselves to the ground all while others moved their bodies side to side. This event seems to have infected everyone else present as the merfolk, truffles, and even The Observers start to dance alongside them. Truffles simply leaned side to side to the beat, all while sea folk used their magic to imitate the actions of the eyes.

A few eyes simply bob up or down, or side to side, but many of the Eyes are waving their stalks and their pupils, while a couple more zoom everywhere in what seems to be a very vibrant folk dance.

As the celebration rages on, Rainbow Dash, Terralestia, Sai Sahan, and Applejack stare on dumbfoundedly before the two terrarians turn to each other. Sai bows towards Terralestia and asks:

“Would you like to dance?”

“Why, I would love to.” Terralestia replies as she takes his hand and accepts the offer.

..........

Meanwhile, Celebes is trying her best to free Derpy who in turn was etched into the nearby wall.

“Ow, you’re pulling my stalk… OW, that’s my OTHER stalk.”

“Wait, your other what?!” Celebes exclaims as she grunts in effort, before letting go of the appendage and screaming: “Ewww! Gross!”

……….

Rainbow Dash was currently watching the two terrarians dance before her as an idea pops up into her head. She turns around towards the cowmare behind her, but is surprised as Applejack was inches away from meeting her muzzle, with Rainbow’s own.

“Well howdy partner, fancy a dance?”

Shock wasn’t the only thing that consumed the cyan pegasus as her wings shot straight up into the air.

“Wha- A.J! Don’t scare me like that!”

“Ya’ didn’t answer me, sugarcube. Also, this is fer’ savin’ me,” In one swift motion, the cowmare closes the distance and locks lips with the pegasus. As if her wings weren’t already fully extended, they certainly reached their absolute lengths as rainbow’s face turned beet red. 

Applejack pulls away as a very stunned pegasus stutters:

“Wh-when-why d-did you kiss m-me?” 

“Ah’ always knew, R.D. Ah’ just never was brave enough to act on it. Guess we ain't as tough as we like ta’ lead on, huh?” 

“Wait, but how the buck did you know about my-”

“Element Of Honesty, Rainbow. Also, it helps to have a kenku tell ya’ some things.”

Incidentally, Tori was hanging on the ceiling and observing the duo. With a bucket of popcorn.

Rainbow Dash recovers her composure and chuckles in response before she takes on a confident look and says:

“Buck it. Applejack, I want you to be my special somepony.” 

“Took ya’ long enough! Now come on over here and shake that flank with me!”

..........

The celebrations continue on as everyone dances to their victory. Although, a very particular eye is still trapped against a wall, all while Celebes seems to be washing her hands in a nearby stream; while repeating:

"Gross gross gross gross gross..."

“...Help… Someone… Please…” Derpy says.





-EQUUS, THE CORRUPTION BIOME, CANTERLOT CASTLE- 
 
Ocram was currently gazing into the large floating orb before him as a portal manifests into being. This causes the entity to turn around in response as both Cozy Glow and Tzana exits the anomaly, which closes behind them. Notably, Tzana had an alcoholic beverage held within her right forehoof.

“Oh golly, Mr Ocram, what did you summon us for?” Cozy Glow questions.

"Hope this is good, boss. I was just taking some refreshments from rather, 'generous' ponies." Tzana comments as she brings the alcoholic beverage to her muzzle and chugs it down gleefully.

"Eeeewwww," Cozy Glow says in disgust, "How can you drink that stuff?"

Tzana stops drinking and gives the filly a sideways glance, saying: 

"I'd offer you to try some, but this is all mine, kiddo."

"I'm, uh, fine..."

"You say that now, but when you're a few years older... you'll thank me."

“If you two are finished with your babbling," Ocram says as the entity floats closer to the duo, "Are the preparations prepared? Have you both completed your missions?"

“Yup yup yup! All of those runes you told me to plant are set in place!" Cozy Glow responds, but ponders on something, "But… what are they for?”

“You already know the answer to that question.”

"My mission's done too, just throwing that out there." Tzana comments as she then starts to drink again.

“No no no no, I get WHY you had me plant them, but you never told me about what they do.”

"Aside from Blueblood, who we shall soon aid, you two are the only ones that we shall bestow this knowledge upon, so listen closely," Ocram comments which causes the two ponies to flicker their ears in attention, "Our true purpose for everything we've done in this world is to prepare it for our master: Nyarlathotep."

This instantly catches Tzana's attention, even more than before, as she tosses aside the empty bottle of alcohol and says:

"Sounds cool. Your boss has an Interesting name, bit of a mouthful though." 

"Says the pony whose mouth was just filled with that... stinky stuff." Cozy Glow responds with a waving forehoof. Tzana simply shrugs in response before replying:

"I'll have you know, that 'stinky stuff' is the gift of whatever divine being influenced us to create such beauty. Besides, it's not like I can just go waltzing down The Crystal Empire and grab one anymore. I'm a wanted criminal, I've had to steal for my next meal. You haven't been discovered by The Coalition yet, so you're living the good life." 

"Enough, both of you," Ocram injects as the entity starts to glow with a purple aura, "Canterlot has been a most useful decoy, but now we shall move onto our new base of operations," A new portal opens up, while Ocram also floats the large purple orb and makes it follow closely behind the entity, "Tzana, you and Tirek shall remain here and gather our forces for the attack on The Empire."

"Sounds like a plan, boss. Don't suppose one of you could get me a six pack from The Empire? The pickings have been fairly low as of late and stealing from those caravans entering Equestria's borders aren't as 'lucrative' anymore." Tzana questions.

"You've managed to get this far, we're certain you'll survive." 

"Hey, uh, Mr Ocram... where are we going?" Cozy Glow inquires.

"As Tzana said, you've yet to be discovered by those worms, so you'll continue to mingle amongst them. As for us, we'll be right under their noses." Ocram then enters the anomaly, with both Cozy Glow and the large purple orb in tow. This leaves behind Tzana, who in turn brings forth the very same scroll she used to teleport herself to a secret meet spot with The Princess Of The Night: Luna.





-EQUUS, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, CASTLE DUNGEON-

Both Tempest and Grubber were currently positioned within their cell as guards would often pass by the containment. Many would spat insults and wish the absolute worst case scenario on the broken unicorn. However, this would not have any affect on her as she had steeled herself for this mission.

“The time is almost here, Grubber.” Tempest comments in an exhausted tone.

“I hope Tzana and the others are ok… things aren’t going to be good in the coming days.”

“Oh, I’m sure everything will work out. Tzana has secured herself within Ocram's trusted few, even if our exposure was the cost of it. Sunset Shimmer and the others are also still playing the part, but they're not in that circle.”

“Not to doubt us or anything, but... how do you know that everything will work out?” Grubber inquires which causes the mare to stare at the nearby wall, before she responds:

“Because I have no bucking idea what we’ll do if this plan doesn’t work. It's all up to you now, Journey Joy.”
> Book One Finale.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 -TERRARIA, ANUBIS’S PYRAMID-

After the climactic event of Crabulon’s defeat, everyone returned to the surface via The Dryad’s Bloody Edge. In addition, they had also brought along their new found ally who decided to leave the underground biome: Shroom. His appearance was certainly shocking to those who have yet to meet him, but Pinkie Pie in particular was easily the most ecstatic to greet the entity. 

..........

Anubis was certain that all were present to hear his declaration, as he then sneaked a glance towards Oblivion’s hiding place.  

“Don’t you fucking dare, Anubis,” says the hidden Ancient via telepathy.

“Imma do it.” Anubis says with a smirk.

“I swear to all that is unholy, if you even try fucking around…”

“You do realize that you just begged me to do it, right? Now I just have to do it.” Anubis then clears his throat before declaring:

“Everyone! Presenting his royal assness, he who submits to slimes, not to mention Twilight Sparkle, and he who sleeps while sucking on his thumb-”

“Shut the fuck up. The only ‘slime’ I submit to is Harmony’s, and what the FUCK do I need to do to get you to accept you hid from her while I fought her AND Yharim, the REAL Royal assness, AT THE SAME TIME.” says Oblivion, appearing with a deadpan expression.

“Yeesh, I see where Pinkamena gets her mouth from. And, correction: You made me leave you alone to fight her.” 

“Details, fluffo.”

“Says the skullwolf. But yes, those of you who haven't met him yet, say hello.”

“Skip the formalities, I’ve got important shit that you all need to know and prepare for. That includes you, Anubis,” says the skullwolf completely seriously. “I don’t have much time either, so listen the fuck up.”

“My word, darling! Such foul language!” Rarity exclaims in disgust.

“ZIP! Ears open, muzzle closed. Sorry, babe, but you all need to know this,” the skullwolf says.

“Wh-what did you just-” Rarity’s words were silenced as Celebes covers the unicorn’s  muzzle with her left hand, and says:

“Please, go on.”

“I’ll keep it short: Your lives are all in extreme danger,” begins the Ancient.

A series of gasps echoes out from certain individuals while others simply ponders on those words.

"Have y’all heard of Lord Legion, otherwise known as Nylrathomep?”

“It’s Nyarlathotep, you dumbass.” Anubis corrects.

“I’m joking, you dumbass,” responds Oblivion without missing a beat.

“We both know that you don- wait, oh… you are joking. I guess you got smarter while you've been gone.”

Oblivion simply stares at Anubis with a deadpan expression, before he continues:

“Now that Inspector Holmes’s inspection is outta the way, I’m gonna continue.”

Anubis remains silent, but simply flips off Oblivion in response.

“So, like I said. I’m sure most of the natives here have heard legends about Lord Legion, High Demon of the Underworld. Well, I got bad news for you lot. He’s coming back and he’s gonna be coming back in Camelot.”

The faces of everyone present morphs into absolute concern and fear as Gex The Witchdoctor says:

“So it would seem the Outer God’s plans are in action, and your words confirm my suspicions, to which I have yet another question.”  

“lihzhard? Shut the fuck up. I’m not done talking.”  

The sound of laughing could be heard as Rainbow Dash falls onto the floor in response.

“Hey, Skittle.” growls the skullwolf, standing over the pegasus at his full seven foot height, without seeming to have moved. “This ain’t a laughing matter. Get the fuck up.”

Oblivion then picks up the cyan pegasus and holds her before his angered features. This absolutely terrifies the pegasus as her eyes widen and her pupils are reduced to pinpricks

“Oi, Oblivion."

"The fuck do you want, Anubis?!" Oblivion roars out as he turns away from the quivering pegasus in his grasp.

"Put her down and finish your tale."

Oblivion ponders on the Ancient's words before nonchalantly dropping the cyan pegasus onto the floor of Anubis's throne room.

..........

Applejack walks over to the wide eyed pegasus and says:

“Ya know, ya’ kind of deserved that one, R.D.”

.......... 

After dealing with Rainbow Dash and wanting to speak without any further interruptions, Oblivion once again stood before the crowd and states:

“Now, you’re probably wondering how I know this. Well, considering the fact that I’m stuck in my little psycho’s mind, I have pretty strong evidence that Yharim forced her to put down demonic runes all over the city. Only thing I managed to do was add a touch of my own… So that y’all won’t be alone in this fight.”

“My word… so why didn’t you, you know, remove the runes?” Rarity says, but immediately regrets asking her question as she takes notice of Oblivion’s features. “On second thought, never mind… darling.”

“No, no, I’m gonna answer your question,” he says with a frightening calm tone as he towers over the unicorn, flicking her horn with a claw before leaning down. “You wanna know why? It’s because my FUCKING DAUGHTER WOULD HAVE DIED IF I DID,” he roars.

Rarity quivers in response before fainting, but is luckily captured by Steven The Clothier. In addition, Anubis pats Oblivion on his back and says:

“Leave the marshmallow alone and finish your tale.”

Steven, being the only one close enough to see the skullwolf’s face, notices the glimmer of tears in his eyes before he wipes them away with a claw and stands up again. 

“Anyways… there’s no way to stop Lord Legion from rising… But there is a way you could all stop him before he destroys everything. Soon as I’m finished talking here, you need to start getting ready to leave for the capital. You need to steel yourselves, because Lord Legion is going to be stronger than any other enemy you’ve faced,” he says, looking at the gathered group, “And if you do beat him… Prepare for the storm that’s gonna arise from the ashes of calamity. Now get outta here. You’ve got today and tomorrow to prepare, that’s it.”

The skullwolf disappears into the shadows, but doesn’t leave quite yet, since a certain dryad seemed to be eyeing the place where he was standing.

……….

As everyone took their leave in preparation of Anubis’s training, Celebes stayed behind and made doubly sure that all had left the throne room. 

“Whaddaya want, Celebes, O Hugger of Trees,” says Oblivion from behind her.

Celebes, admittedly, didn’t feel insulted by those play on words as she chuckles in response and says:

“It’s just… I, I’m sorry…”

“The fuck you sorry for?”

“I saw everything… Silence showed me what happened that day between you… and Xeroc. I’m so sorry...” The dryad lowers her head in both sorrow and sympathy. 

“Kid… Look, I got over that long ago. It’s in the past. Ain’t something to dwell on.”

“I realize that now, which is why I want to thank you for something else.”

“Unless I fucked you a while back, you ain’t got nothing to thank me for.”

Celebes’s features momentarily went red as she coughs in response and says:

“Well... you’re just as blunt as Terra told me you’d be. However, putting aside your… comment. I learned something from watching you.”

“...If it had anything to do with Harmony, you watched the wrong video, kiddo.”

“What I watched was your mistake, It’s the same one-”

“That you made? Yeah. I didn’t know if I could keep fighting that day. The way that fucker broke Anubis's neck…” the Ancient growls in anger, clenching his fist hard enough to make himself bleed.

“I'll have to ask Anubis how he's still alive, but I suppose you can't really kill the God Of Death. However, what I saw reminded me of when I faced Razeem all on my own, and now the world is going to suffer because of my actions. But, thanks to you, I now know that I’m not alone.”

“...Kid, let me tell you something. Y’know how I can see glimpses of the future?”

“Yes, Terra did mention you had gifts. To be honest with you? You having foresight doesn’t even surprise me. Especially after what I saw in your realm.”

“You’re gonna be in my shoes eventually, kiddo. You’re gonna have to take that bastard down, because… I’ll have done something I’ll never be able to forgive myself for.”

“It’s funny, even if we beat him, no, when we beat him, I’m sure that even greater foes will show up. But I’m not afraid anymore. And here’s the thing: Even if you are our enemy, you’ll be stopped too. So take comfort in that.”

“I’m not worried about being stopped, hell, I probably wouldn’t even try that hard. It’s the fact that he’d get what he wants, even with my greatest efforts… And I wouldn’t be able to stop jack-shit.”

“Even so, there’s one, or shall I say, two lights at the end of your tunnel.”

Oblivion knew exactly what those 'two lights' were a reference to as the Ancient chuckles in response.

“...Good luck, kiddo. Don’t make my mistakes,” Oblivion says, fading off after the magic that kept him in his physical form finally dies out.

The dryad simply smiles after Oblivion fades away, as she comments:

“Ah, but that’s just the thing. Should I make such mistakes, I’ll trust my friends and the next generation to correct them. Carrying everything on our shoulders, all on our own, was our biggest mistake. All it takes is for us to just ask for help.” 

The Dryad then takes her leave as Anubis’s training begins.





-End of Book 1-